Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65C—LABELLING OR TAGGING MACHINES, APPARATUS, OR PROCESSES
  • B65C9/00—Details of labelling machines or apparatus
  • B65C9/40—Controls; Safety devices
  • B65C9/42—Label feed control
  • B65C9/44—Label feed control by special means responsive to marks on labels or articles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65C—LABELLING OR TAGGING MACHINES, APPARATUS, OR PROCESSES
  • B65C9/00—Details of labelling machines or apparatus
  • B65C9/08—Label feeding
  • B65C9/18—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls
  • B65C9/1803—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls the labels being cut from a strip
  • B65C9/1807—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls the labels being cut from a strip and transferred directly from the cutting means to an article
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65C—LABELLING OR TAGGING MACHINES, APPARATUS, OR PROCESSES
  • B65C9/00—Details of labelling machines or apparatus
  • B65C9/08—Label feeding
  • B65C9/18—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls
  • B65C9/1803—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls the labels being cut from a strip
  • B65C9/1815—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls the labels being cut from a strip and transferred by suction means
  • B65C9/1819—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls the labels being cut from a strip and transferred by suction means the suction means being a vacuum drum
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65C—LABELLING OR TAGGING MACHINES, APPARATUS, OR PROCESSES
  • B65C9/00—Details of labelling machines or apparatus
  • B65C9/08—Label feeding
  • B65C9/18—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls
  • B65C9/1803—Label feeding from strips, e.g. from rolls the labels being cut from a strip
  • B65C2009/1834—Details of cutting means
  • B65C2009/1838—Cutting drum

Definitions

• the invention is generally related to labeling machinery, and in particular to adhesive application, web registration and article handling therewith.
• a particularly cost-effective manner of labeling beverage containers utilizes a continuous web of pre-printed polymer label material that is cut into predetermined lengths, supplied with adhesive, and applied directly to the surface of a container. Adhesive costs may also be reduced by applying adhesive only to the leading and trailing edges of individual labels and wrapping the labels completely around the containers.
• Label machines have been developed that are capable of relatively high-speed operation, e.g., as high as 750 containers/minute or more. However, such machines have been found to be limited in several respects.
• a turret is typically a rotatable body that includes mechanisms disposed about the periphery for gripping articles from the top and bottom ends thereof.
• a star wheel is typically a rotatable body that includes pockets disposed around its periphery that contact the sides of articles to advance the articles through the machine.
• Articles moving past a transfer drum are typically rotated as they pass the transfer drum (e.g., by virtue of contact between the drum and a fixed guide) so that labels on the drum are wrapped around the articles.
• Turrets typically provide the greatest degree of precision in handling and transporting articles. However, due to the additional components and coordinated movements required to bring top and/or bottom gripping mechanisms into contact with articles, turrets are relatively slow and expensive. Star wheels are typically faster and less expensive, but have the drawback that articles are not held as securely and can become misaligned within the star wheels.
• star wheels are typically used in conjunction with a moving conveyor that supports the articles and moves at a fixed linear velocity.
• a label transfer drum then rotates with its outer surface traveling in the same direction as the conveyor.
• the velocities of the pockets in the star wheel and the outer surface of the drum are typically matched so that an article contacts a label on the drum while each is traveling at the same velocity.
• the articles may also be rolled or spun about its longitudinal axis to wrap the label around the article — typically by passing the article by a fixed guide or contacting the article with a relatively faster-moving belt.
• Some conventional designs also incorporate feed screws at the entry and/or discharge ends of a label application station to convey the articles in a linear direction.
• the feed screws may also have variable pitches to control the linear velocity of the articles, and thus the separation between articles.
• feed screws also are unable to accurately control the rotational rates of articles, and thus, label mis-registration and/or article jams still remain a significant concern.
• Pressurized air is also used in some labeling machinery to improve label control.
• pressurized air directed toward the leading edge of a label may be used to assist in directing the label from a cutter drum to a transport drum after the label has been severed from a web, or to assist in directing the label from a transport drum to the surface of a container.
• pressurized air may be supplied to an unsupported portion of the backside of a seam formed between the leading and trailing edges of a label wrapped around a non-cylindrical article, to strengthen the bond between the leading and trailing edges.
• Adhesive applicators used are typically utilized to deposit an adhesive material such as a hot melt or pressure sensitive glue composition to a label immediately prior to placing the label on a container.
• adhesive applicators include an adhesive roller that forms a nip with a label transport mechanism such as a vacuum drum, and that is supplied with a source of adhesive on its outer periphery such that adhesive is applied to a label supported on the transport mechanism as the label is fed past the adhesive roller.
• One difficulty associated with conventional adhesive applicators is that the leading edge of a label can in some instances separate from the surface of the transport mechanism and follow the adhesive roller as the leading edge of the label exits the nip formed by the adhesive roller and the underlying transport mechanism. When this occurs, the label will often jam the adhesive applicator and the remainder of the labeling machinery, resulting in defective product and downtime associated with cleaning and restarting the machine.
• some adhesive applicators utilize mechanical devices such as a series of parallel wires adjacent an adhesive roller to keep the leading edge of a label from wrapping around the roller.
• the parallel wires leave undesirable patterns on the adhesive applied to each label.
• glue droplets on the wires can contaminate both the labels and the transport mechanism. Misadjusted wires can also wrinkle or displace labels on the transport mechanism, resulting in defective labeled articles.
• Another difficulty associated with conventional adhesive applicators is the overspray of adhesive that often occurs during the application of adhesive to the trailing edge of a label.
• the trailing edge (which is supported on the surface of the transport mechanism) may be separated from the roller by a gap across which excess adhesive may spray.
• a portion of the adhesive may deposit on the surface of the transport mechanism, resulting in contamination of the mechanism.
• the transport mechanism may jam and halt the machine, requiring a more extensive and time consuming cleaning and restart operation. Given that any downtime negatively impacts the efficiency and productivity of labeling machinery, cleaning operations of any type are often highly undesirable.
• Containers are typically fed to and from a labeling machine via a conveyor.
• Infeed and discharge mechanisms are typically used to transport containers from the conveyor, past a label transport mechanism, and back onto the conveyor.
• Starwheels are toothed wheels that carry containers around an arcuate guide within the gaps formed between adjacent teeth, also referred to as pockets.
• multiple starwheels are used, e.g., where a small flow starwheel introduces initial gaps between incoming containers so that the containers can be picked up by a relatively larger infeed starwheel for transportation past a label transport drum.
• One potential problematic characteristic of a starwheel is that in some instances gaps can exist between a container, the starwheel and the guide around which the container is transported.
• belts may not provide adequate stability, particularly with light-weight containers having relatively high centers of gravity (e.g., unfilled two liter plastic beverage containers). Misfeeds of containers may occur, jamming the machine and requiring a time consuming cleaning and restart operation.
• centers of gravity e.g., unfilled two liter plastic beverage containers.
• the invention addresses these and other problems associated with the prior art by providing in one aspect an apparatus and method that utilize a rotatable drum implementing both an attraction mechanism and a cutter mechanism to controllably sever segments of material from a web.
• the drum is rotated at a rate greater than the rate at which the web of material is advanced so that the attraction mechanism supplies the sole source of tension in the web.
• the cutter mechanism severs segments of material while at least a portion of the web of material engages the outer surface of the drum.
• the outer surface of the drum tends to slide relative to the leading edge of the web, with the attraction mechanism operating to apply a controlled pulling force thereto.
• this permits less-expensive stretchable web material to be utilized, thereby lowering material costs.
• greater reliability at high speeds is also often realized — an important consideration for many just-in-time manufacturing applications.
• the invention also addresses additional problems associated with the prior art by providing in another aspect an apparatus and method that dynamically control the relative rates of advancement of a web of material and an outer surface of a drum such that a predetermined length of material is advanced forward of a predetermined rotational position of the drum so that the predetermined length of material is severed from the web of material while at least a portion of the web of material engages the outer surface of the drum.
• the rate of advancement of the outer surface of the drum is different from that of the web of material such that relative slippage of the web of material and the outer surface of the drum is provided.
• a web of material may be controllably severed into predetermined lengths using a relatively mechanically-simple configuration, which aids in accuracy and reliability, particularly in high speed applications.
• the invention further addresses additional problems associated with the prior art by providing in another aspect an apparatus and method that utilize a carrier mechanism having at least one article carrier pivotably coupled to a rotatable hub and controlled via a camming mechanism that varies the angular velocity of the article carrier relative to that of the hub.
• the article carrier is configured to receive and transfer an article along an article engaging surface of a fixed guide.
• the hub rotates about a first axis, and the pivotal coupling between the article carrier and the hub defines a second axis that is substantially parallel to and separated from the first axis.
• the camming mechanism is operatively coupled between the article carrier and the hub and configured to pivot the article carrier about the second axis in response to rotation of the hub about the first axis to thereby vary the angular velocity of the article carrier relative to that of the hub.
• the carrier mechanism may be configured to match predetermined transport parameters associated with each of first and second stations that the carrier mechanism transports articles between.
• the predetermined transport parameters may be based upon the pitch between sequential articles processed by each of the first and second stations so that the pitch of the articles transported by the carrier mechanism may be controlled to match that expected by each of the stations.
• the predetermined transport parameters may be based upon the velocity of each article processed by the first and second stations so that the velocities of the articles transported by the carrier mechanism may be controlled to match those expected by each of the stations.
• a fluid dispenser is used in connection with an adhesive applicator to improve the reliability of label feed by a label transport mechanism during the application of adhesive to a label.
• the fluid dispenser is configured to direct a flow of fluid toward a nip formed between an adhesive roller on the applicator and the label transport mechanism, and from a position upstream from the nip.
• a starwheel including a rotatable hub and an engagement surface defining a pocket configured to engage an article.
• the engagement surface is resiliently coupled to the rotatable hub to move between first and second positions to vary a rotational position of the pocket relative to the hub.
• the starwheel may be used to control the flow of articles to a second, infeed starwheel in a labeling machine in such as manner that the clearance between the articles and the infeed components is minimized, thereby reducing article vibrations and improving stability.
• a discharge starwheel is utilized to transfer articles from the discharge end of an arcuate guide that opposes a label transfer drum.
• the drum and arcuate guide adhere a label to an article by cooperatively wrapping the label around the article as the article rolls between the drum and arcuate guide.
• careful control of configuration of the pockets on the discharge starwheel can improve the stability of discharged articles through reducing the spin imparted on articles by the label application process and/or decelerating the articles for pickup by a downstream discharge mechanism.
• a discharge starwheel may be utilized intermediate a label application station and a conveyor.
• the discharge starwheel may include a plurality of teeth defined about a perimeter thereof, with each tooth having a profile that decreases the separation between successive articles between the label application station and the conveyor. By reducing the separation between articles, greater stability on a conveyor may be obtained, as adjacent articles tend to support one another downstream of the label application station.
• FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a labeling apparatus consistent with the invention.
• FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of the primary components of the label application assembly of Fig. 1.
• FIGURE 3 is an enlarged top plan view of the label applicator drum of Fig. 1, with portions thereof cut away.
• FIGURE 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the label transfer drum of Fig. 3, taken along line 4-4.
• FIGURES 5A-5D are functional top plan views of the label transfer drum of Fig. 3 at different rotational positions thereof, illustrating the steps in cutting a label, applying adhesive thereto, and transferring the label to a container.
• FIGURE 6 is a block diagram of the control system for the labeling apparatus of Fig. 1.
• FIGURE 7 is a flowchart illustrating a dynamic web registration process for the labeling apparatus of Fig. 1.
• FIGURE 8 is a flowchart illustrating the steps of a startup process for the labeling apparatus of
• FIGURE 9 is a timing diagram illustrating the timing of operations in the labeling apparatus of Fig. 1.
• FIGURE 10A is a side cross-sectional view of one of the carrier mechanisms of Fig. 1, with only one article carrier illustrated for simplicity.
• FIGURE 10B is a functional top plan view of the carrier mechanism of Fig. 10 A, with only one article carrier illustrated for simplicity, and with the hub thereof removed to facilitate viewing of the camming mechanism utilized thereby.
• FIGURE 10C is a functional side elevational view of the carrier mechanism of Fig. 10 A.
• FIGURES 11 A-l IE are functional top plan views of the carrier mechanism of Figs. 10A-10C at different rotational positions thereof, illustrating the transfer of articles from a conveyor to an applicator drum.
• FIGURE 12 is a top plan view of an alternate labeling apparatus to that shown in Fig. 1, utilizing a turret article transport mechanism.
• FIGURE 13 is a top plan view of a labeling apparatus consistent with the invention.
• FIGURE 14A is a top plan view of the label transfer drum and adhesive applicator of Fig. 13, with portions thereof cut away.
• FIGURE 14B is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of a cutter assembly bushing in the label transfer drum of Fig. 14 A.
• FIGURES 15A and 15B are functional top plan views of the label transfer drum and adhesive applicator of Fig. 14A, respectively illustrating the application of adhesive to leading and trailing ends of a label.
• FIGURE 16 is a top plan view of the flow starwheel of Fig. 13, with resilient .
• FIGURE 17 is a cross-sectional view of the flow starwheel of Fig. 16, taken through lines 17- 17.
• FIGURES 18A-18F are functional top plan views of the article infeed portion of the labeling apparatus of Fig. 13, illustrating the transfer of articles from the conveyor to the infeed starwheel by the flow starwheel.
• FIGURES 19A-19D are functional top plan views of the article discharge portion of the labeling apparatus of Fig. 13, illustrating the transfer of articles from the drum to the conveyor by the discharge starwheel.
• FIGURE 20 is a functional top plan view of the article discharge portion of the labeling apparatus of Fig. 13, illustrating the position of an article at a plurality of points during the rotation of the discharge starwheel.
• FIGURE 21 is a top plan view of an alternate flow starwheel to that of Figs. 16 and 17, implementing a resilient outer surface.
• FIGURE 22 is a top plan view of another alternate flow starwheel to that of Figs. 16 and 17, implementing an inflatable body.
• Fig. 1 illustrates a labeling apparatus 10 consistent with the principles of the invention.
• Apparatus 10 is principally used to apply labels in a continuous fashion to a plurality of articles 2 conveyed via an article transport mechanism (e.g., a conveyor 22) from an entrance end 22a to an exit or discharge end 22b.
• Apparatus 10 may be utilized with any number of article designs, including various containers with upright cylindrical portions, e.g., cans or bottles.
• the articles may be suitable for use in packaging beverages or foodstuffs, or any other type of packaged goods.
• one suitable application of apparatus 10 is in applying labels to single-serving plastic soft drink bottles, among others.
• Articles 2 are conveyed past a label application assembly or mechanism 25 using a pair of carrier mechanisms 400, 460, which are described in greater detail below.
• Carrier mechanism 400 transfers articles 2 along an arcuate guide 14 to a label application station 20 disposed opposite assembly 25.
• carrier mechanism 400 operates to vary the separation between successive articles passing through guide 14 between a first separation proximate entrance end 22a to a second separation proximate station 20 that is dependent upon the separation between labels provided on an applicator drum 100 in label application assembly 25.
• Application station 20 includes an arcuate guide 18 against which the articles are compressed by applicator drum 100 as labels are applied to the articles.
• Guide 18 includes a resilient friction surface to impart a rolling action to the articles as the articles pass through the label application station such that labels are wrapped around the articles.
• Carrier mechanism 460 performs essentially the same operation as carrier mechanism 400 except that mechanism 460 operates to decelerate articles from a first predetermined separation that matches the separation of labels on applicator drum 100 to a second predetermined separation suitable for transport on conveyor 22. By doing so, this arrangement imparts greater stability to discharged articles by minimizing relative movement of the articles to the conveyor at the discharge end of track 16.
• Labels are supplied to applicator drum 100 from a web supply 30 supplying a web 4 of labeling material.
• web 4 includes a pre-printed polymer material formed of a polymer such as polyethylene.
• Other materials including polymers such as polypropylene and polystyrene (among others) may also be used, although polyethylene has the additional advantage in that it is significantly less expensive than other polymers.
• Polyethylene film tends to be more stretchable than other polymer films.
• Web supply 30 includes a pair of supply rolls 32, 34 that supply web 4 to a measuring roller assembly 50. Only one of supply rolls 32, 34 is active at any time, and a conventional change-over mechanism (not shown) may be used to switch between the rolls with minimal down time.
• Measuring roller assembly 50 operates as a linear feed rate sensor using a free-wheeling roller 52 coupled to a rotational position sensor 54.
• Roller 52 has a known diameter such that the linear velocity of the outer surface thereof, and thus the linear feed rate of the web, may be calculated directly from the rotational speed of the roller.
• Sensor 54 may be any known rotational position sensor, e.g., an optical encoder.
• Web 4 proceeds from assembly 50 to a web tracking control assembly 60 that is utilized to maintain lateral alignment of the web in assembly 25. Web 4 then proceeds to a registration sensor station 70 that detects the position of registration marks disposed on the web. Station 70 includes a roller 72 and a registration sensor 74 disposed opposite roller 72 at a lateral position relative to the web to detect registration marks disposed thereon. Registration sensor 74 may be positioned at practically any point between web supply 30 and applicator drum 100 in the alternative. It should be appreciated that registration marks may take any number of forms, whether printed or otherwise fonned in web 4. Printed registration marks may be disposed outside of a visible area on the labels, or may be integrated within the design printed on a label.
• registration marks may be disposed at a cutting position for a label, or may be separated therefrom by a predetermined distance. Other registration mark designs may be utilized in the alternative.
• web 4 proceeds to the surface of applicator drum 100, where an attraction mechanism disposed on the outer surface of the drum applies a controlled tension to the web.
• a pair of movable cutter assemblies 130, 170 disposed on drum 100 operate to sever labels from web 4 as each assembly 130, 170 passes a fixed knife 82 in a cutting station 80.
• the rate at which web 4 is supplied via web supply 30 is controlled relative to the rotation of applicator drum 100 (which is driven by a main drive motor 85) such that a predetermined length of the web is disposed forward of a cutter assembly 130, 170 as the assembly passes fixed knife 82, whereby individual labels are severed from web 4 in a controlled manner.
• An adhesive station assembly 90 is disposed beyond cutting station 80 to apply adhesive to leading and trailing ends of each label using an application roller 92.
• adhesive is applied to the leading edge of the label prior to severing the label from web 4, such that the tension within the web assists in maintaining the leading edge of the label on the outer surface of applicator drum 100 as adhesive is applied to the leading edge thereof.
• the label After adhesive is applied to the leading and trailing edges of a label, the label is presented to an article 2 via rotation of applicator drum 100, whereby rotation of applicator drum 100 through label application station 20 wraps the label around the article as the article rolls against guide 18.
• Label Application Assembly Fig. 2 illustrates the primary components involved in supplying and severing labels from web 4 in a controlled manner.
• Assembly 25 is under the control of a control system 200, which operates to control the supply rate of web 4 relative to the rotation of applicator drum 100.
• Applicator drum 100 is rotated via a main drive motor 85 coupled to the drum via a linkage diagrammatically represented at 86.
• the rate of rotation of drum 100 is measured via a rotational position sensor 88, which may be any type of known rotational position sensor such as an optical encoder.
• Control system 200 also receives the output of sensor 54 to generate therefrom a measurement of the linear feed rate of web 4.
• Control system 200 also receives a registration signal from registration sensor 74.
• control system 200 controls a drive motor 36 to control the rate of rotation of supply roll 32, and thus the feed rate of web 4.
• Drive motor 36 is typically a servomotor, and as such, additional input is provided to control system 200 via a rotational position sensor 38 (e.g., an optical encoder) which provides feedback from drive motor 36. It should be appreciated that a similar servomotor may also be used to drive supply roll 34 in a similar manner.
• Assembly 25 is thus configured in a master-slave relationship, whereby the supply rate of web
• One embodiment of the invention utilizes a servomotor with a built-in encoder such as the FSM 460 servomotor from Centurion as the drive motor 36 and rotational position sensor 38, with an
• Applicator drum 100 includes a rotatable drum body 102 configured to rotate about a fixed shaft 120.
• Rotatable body 102 includes an outer surface 104 having a plurality of vacuum ports 106 disposed thereon and supplied with a source of vacuum and/or positive pressure through a set of distribution channels 108 coupled to a vacuum port
• Two sets of raised pads 110, 111 and 112, 113 are disposed on outer surface 104 to receive leading and trailing edges of a label as the label passes an adhesive application station so that adhesive may be applied to the opposing edges of the labels.
• An applicator roller (not shown in Figs. 3 and 4) is offset from outer surface 104 such a distance that label material supported on any pad 110-113 will be compressed against the roller, but material disposed between the pads will not. Thus, adhesive is applied only to the material supported on a pad.
• drum body 102 is a changeable component such that different predetermined lengths of labels may be accommodated in apparatus 10. Different lengths of labels are accommodated by utilizing different relative spacing between pads 110 and 111, and between pads 112 and 113.
• leading pads 110, 112 may also be desirable to enable leading pads 110, 112 to be removed from outer surface 104 and positioned at various points thereon to support different label lengths.
• the separation of pads 110 and 112, and of pads 112 and 113 will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the desired length of labels, as well as the relative positions of cutting station 80 and adhesive station assembly 90. Determination of the desired separation for any given combination of parameters is well within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art. As shown in Fig. 3, two sets of pads, pads 110 and 111, and pads 112 and 1 13, are provided around the circumference of rotatable body 102, each matched with a cutter mechanism 130, 170. It should be appreciated that any number of cutter mechanisms and associated raised pads may be disposed around the circumference of drum body 102 in the alternative.
• cutter mechanism 130 (which is configured in a similar manner to cutter mechanism 170) includes a rocker body 132 pivotally mounted to pivot about a shaft 134 that extends parallel to shaft 120.
• a spring 136 (Fig. 4) is mounted concentrically with shaft 134 to compensate for temperature expansion in the bearing (not shown) through which the rocker body is pivotally mounted about shaft 134.
• at one end of body 132 is disposed a cam follower assembly 140 including a roller 142 rotatably mounted about an axle 143.
• Axle 143 is secured via a bolt 144 to a follower body 145, and a flexible boot 146 seals the assembly.
• Cam follower assembly 174 of cutter mechanism 170 (Fig. 4) is configured similarly to assembly 140.
• Knife assembly 150 is disposed at the opposite end of rocker body 132 from cam follower assembly 140.
• a knife blade 152 having an edge 153, is secured to the end of rocker body 152 via a bolt or other securing mechanism 154.
• Edge 153 of knife blade 152 projects through an opening 114 in outer surface 104 of body 102, immediately following trailing pad 111 around the circumference of body 102.
• a spring assembly 160 including a spring 162 extends perpendicular to shaft 120 and biases cutter assembly 130 toward an extended position, with knife blade 152 projecting through opening 114 beyond outer surface 104.
• a set screw 164 controls the tension of spring 162.
• Roller 142 of cam follower assembly 140 rides along a cam 122 disposed on the outer surface of shaft 120.
• Cam 122 is circular in cross section with the exception of a recessed portion 124.
• Recessed portion 124 may have any number of profiles, e.g., a flattened profile as illustrated in Fig. 3.
• Recessed portion 124 is angularly oriented such that roller 142 engages the portion when knife blade 152 of knife assembly 150 is directly opposite fixed knife 82 of cutting station 80, thereby extending the knife blade at this position to shear a label from the web.
• Figs. 5A-5D illustrate the steps in severing a label from web 4 and applying the label to an article 2 presented at label application station 20.
• a leading edge 4a of web 4 is shown as fed forward of knife 152 of cutter mechanism 130 to a position where the leading edge slightly overlaps pad 110 when the pad is disposed opposite roller 92 of adhesive application assembly 90.
• drum 100 rotates so that pad 110 sweeps under roller 92, sandwiching web 4 and applying adhesive 6 to the web proximate leading edge 4a.
• knife blade 152 of cutter mechanism 130 is retracted as roller 142 rides along the raised portion of cam 122 on shaft 120.
• drum 100 has rotated to the point at which knife blade 152 is directly opposite fixed knife 82.
• Web 4 which is fed at a slower rate than the rate of rotation of drum 100, has been fed to the desired label length such that the precise point at which the web is to be severed is located between knife blade 152 and fixed knife 82.
• roller 142 of cutter mechanism 130 contacting the recessed portion 124 of cam 122, cutter mechanism 130 is pivoted about shaft 134 to extend knife blade 152, and thereby provide a shearing action with fixed knife 82 to sever a label 5 from web 4.
• pad 111 sweeps under adhesive roller 92 to apply adhesive 6 to the trailing edge 4b of label 5.
• an article 2 is brought into contact with leading edge 4a of label 5 such that the adhesive thereon adheres to article 2.
• the label is pinched between article 2 and outer surface 104 and is rolled about its longitudinal axis to wrap label 5 around the article.
• a new leading edge 7a is formed for web 4.
• drum 100 processes two labels during each full rotation of the drum. With other numbers of matched cutter mechanisms and raised pads, different numbers of labels may be handled by drum 100 in the manner described herein.
• Control system 200 is illustrated in greater detail in Fig. 6. The control system is primarily controlled via a CPU controller 202, which may be, for example, a CSM/CPU 502-03- 853-03 digital processor from Gidding & Lewis, among others.
• Block 204 provides user interface for apparatus 10 with a operator, e.g., outputting status information to an operator through a video display and/or through various control panel indicators, as well as providing various operator controls, including "Start” and “Stop” buttons, “Jog” and “Auto” buttons, Label Feed “On” and “Off' Buttons and Adhesive "On” and “Off buttons, among others.
• Controller 202 provides output through a discrete output module 208 to generate a digital signal speed control to a main drive frequency control block 210 that controls the main drive motor 85 to operate in “fast” or “slow” modes.
• Block 210 receives a signal from a potentiometer 211 that controls the overall speed of the main drive, and is used by an operator to match the running speed of assembly 25 to the supply of articles. Moreover, block 210 outputs a control signal to analog speed signal control block 212 for controlling the speed of a conveyor motor 214 coupled to conveyor 22
• Controller 202 also interfaces with the various sensors utilized to provide web registration via an I/O module 216.
• module 216 provides an interface between controller 202 and each of servo amplifier 42, encoders 54, 88 and registration sensor 74.
• Servo amplifier 42 is coupled to servo motor 36 and its associated encoder 38 (not shown in Fig. 6). Also shown is the servo amplifier's connection to a second servo motor 40 which drives a web supply roll 34 in a similar manner to servo motor 36. It should be appreciated that only one of motors 36, 40 is driven at a time based upon which supply roller is being run through assembly 25.
• Module 216 also provides an interface with controller 202 to a vacuum drive frequency control block 218 that drives a vacuum motor 220. It is through this arrangement that the level of vacuum (or attraction) supplied to the outer surface of applicator drum 100 is controlled.
• Blocks 210, 212 and 218 are all coupled to a main power source 222. Power is also supplied via block 222 to an oil pump motor 224, a turret up/down motor 226 (if so equipped) and a transformer 228. Transformer 228 provides the power signals for a bus 203 coupled between controller 202, servo amplifier 42, a power supply 230, web tracking control station 60, adhesive applicator 90 and an air conditioner/heat exchanger block 232. Power supply 230 provides power to operator interface and machine controls block 204 and input module 206. Web tracking control station 60 receives input from a web guide sensor 62 and outputs control signals to an actuator 64 to provide lateral alignment of the web, in a manner generally understood in the art.
• Adhesive applicator 90 provides control signals to a bar heater 94 and base heater 96, which respectively heat applicator roller 92 and a tank in applicator 90. These latter components are used in a number of conventional labeling apparatus designs, and will not be discussed in greater detail herein.
• Fig. 7 illustrates a closed loop control algorithm 250 utilized in controller 202 to control servo motor 36 to provide web registration consistent with the invention.
• Algorithm 250 utilizes a plurality of computational blocks 252, 254, 256, 258, 260, 262 and 264 to drive a control signal to servo amplifier 42 to operate servo motor 36.
• Blocks 252-256 are clocked by the leading edge of the output of registration sensor 74, while blocks 258, 260, 262 and 264 are clocked by a clock signal represented at 266, e.g., a 2 kHz clock signal.
• Control algorithm 250 attempts to maintain a ratio of pulses between drum positioning encoder 88 and linear feed rate encoder 54 (designated El and E2) according to the equation:
• R 0 LJ( ⁇ D(E2 ⁇ /ElJ) where R 0 is the nominal ratio, L 0 is the nominal label length, D is the diameter of free wheeling roller 52, and El 0 and E2 0 are the total numbers of pulses, respectively, for full revolutions of encoders 88 and 54.
• block 252 receives the pulse train outputs (designated El and E2) of drum positioning encoder 88 and linear feed rate encoder 54 to generate a registration error signal E that is the difference, expressed in pulses, between the position of the registration mark on the label sensed by the registration sensor 74 and the preset (or expected) position of the mark.
• Block 254 calculates the length of a label n from registration mark to registration mark in pulses of the linear feed rate encoder 54 (designated £2oul). This information is utilized in block 256 to calculate a ratio between encoders 88 and 54 for the next label (n+1) that is corrected for the registration error E, using the equation:
• Block 258 calculates the actual ratio R a of the number of pulses of each of encoders 88 and 54 between time marks using the actual pulse trains from encoders 88 and 54, i.e.:
• Block 250 calculates a ratio error E r that is the difference between the current ratio Renfin (i.e.
• block 62 generates from the command from block 260 the proportional and integrated feedback signals for controlling servo motor 36. This information is summed with the derivative gain feedback generated by block 264 based upon the feedback signal from servo motor encoder 38 (designated E3). It should be appreciated that simultaneous use of integrated, derivative and proportional feedback signals is well known in the art. Moreover, it should be appreciated that other control algorithms which utilize the aforementioned equations may also be used in the alternative.
• a self-teaching start-up routine 280 executed by controller 202 of control system 200 to initialize apparatus 10, is illustrated in greater detail in Fig. 8.
• Routine 280 configures apparatus 10 to operate with a new roll of web material using a self-teaching process that often eliminates the requirement in many applications for the label length to be manually input by an operator.
• Routine 280 is executed by an operator after the operator installs a new web roll and feeds the leading edge of the web into assembly 25.
• the routine begins in block 284 by advancing the web (e.g., in response to user input received from an operator through controls 204) through assembly 25 until the registration sensor is in front of the first registration mark on web. At this time, the operator hits a "Stop" button to manually halt the apparatus.
• the web is advanced (e.g., in response to user input such as an operator depressing a "Start” or “Jog” button) until the registration sensor is proximate the next mark on the web. Then, the operator again hits the "Stop” button to halt the apparatus.
• the output of the registration sensor and linear feed rate encoder are monitored to determine the number of pulses between the marks, and thus, the nominal length of the label (Lute) in terms of the output of the linear feed rate encoder.
• the web is advanced in response to user input from an operator; however, in this block, the controller automatically advances the web and attempts to stop the web precisely at the next registration mark without any additional operator intervention. At this time, the operator may also be requested to indicate to the system whether the automatic advance successfully terminated directly at the next registration mark.
• the controller receives user input from an operator to manually rewind and/or advance the web to the desired cut position for the label (e.g., in response to an operator depressing suitable "Rewind” and "Advance” buttons).
• the operator depresses a button or otherwise indicates to the controller that the cut position has been set.
• the controller monitors the linear feed rate encoder output to set the cut position in units of the linear feed rate encoder pulses relative to the registration mark.
• the controller attempts to operate the apparatus to cut the first label based upon the registration information calculated above for the web, e.g., in response to suitable user input from an operator.
• the controller halts the apparatus after the first label is cut, and in block 294, waits to receive acknowledgment from the operator that the label cut was acceptable. If not successful, a process similar to block 284-292 may be repeated, or the routine may terminate with a failure indicated. However, if successful, the controller stores the program in one of a plurality of program storage locations. After the program is stored, the apparatus is then ready to begin processing articles using the aforementioned closed loop control algorithm when suitable user input is received from an operator.
• the sequence of logic signals in apparatus 10 is illustrated at 300 in Fig.
• a container detector signal 320 is shown being latched to "on" upon receipt of a each container into apparatus 10.
• a label feed logic signal 310 may be enabled, typically in response to an operator depressing an label feed "On" button on the apparatus, or in response to a signal provided by an external device such as a sensor that detects when one or more containers or articles are about to be received in the apparatus for labeling.
• an external device such as a sensor that detects when one or more containers or articles are about to be received in the apparatus for labeling.
• an internal label feed logic latch signal 330 then latches prior to the start of cycle B, so that it is effectively delayed one cycle from the label feed logic signal.
• a servomotor command signal 330 is asserted to start drive motor 36.
• Fig. 9 also illustrates a adhesive roller logic signal 370 that is initially illustrated as enabled to reflect that adhesive should be applied to any labels processed by apparatus 10. If adhesive application is enabled, immediately after the servomotor command signal 340 is asserted, an adhesive roller logic signal 380 is applied, and an adhesive roller solenoid (represented by signal 390) is asserted about 90 degrees delayed relative to signal 380 (so that adhesive may be applied to the last label whenever a labeling is stopped, as described below).
• label feed logic signal 310 is disabled during cycle A. With the label feed logic signal 330 delayed one cycle relative to signal 310, signal 330 is not unlatched until just prior to the completion of cycle B. Then in cycle C, the speed profile 360 of drive motor 36 is altered to perform a stop down, including a minimal deceleration phase 367 from about 90 degrees to about 120 degrees and a rewind phase 368 that serves to withdraw the web a predetermined distance (e.g., about 2-3 mm behind the knife blade) and thus maintain the web in a ready state just beyond the still-rotating drum. After a rewind, the servomotor command signal 340 is shut off, and the drive motor speed goes to null in phase 369.
• a minimal deceleration phase 367 from about 90 degrees to about 120 degrees
• a rewind phase 368 serves to withdraw the web a predetermined distance (e.g., about 2-3 mm behind the knife blade) and thus maintain the web in a ready state just beyond the still-rotating drum.
• Fig. 9 additionally illustrates a restart of label application in cycle D, upon label feed logic signal 310 being enabled during cycle C.
• label feed logic signal 330 is asserted just prior to the start of cycle D, and servomotor command signal 340 is applied to start drive motor 36 and cause the drive motor to follow the speed profile illustrated at 360.
• the adhesive roller logic signal 370 has been disabled, so regardless of whether the internal roller logic signal 380 being set to "on", solenoid signal 390 is not asserted, and no adhesive is applied to a label.
• each carrier mechanism is configured to sequentially transport articles such as a beverage containers along an article engaging surface of a guide and between first and second stations, while varying a predetermined transport parameter for the articles.
• the predetermined transport parameter is the pitch of the articles — that is, the separation between successive articles.
• the articles are carried by article carriers disposed at the ends of arms that are pivotably coupled to a central, rotating hub.
• a pitch varying mechanism utilized by each carrier mechanism relies on a camming action to rotate the arms relative to the rotating hub, whereby the pitch between transported articles may be controlled principally through rotary motion to provide reliable high speed operation for high throughput machines.
• the first and second pitches may each be dependent upon a number of factors, e.g., the linear and/or rotational velocity of articles, the size of the articles, etc.
• the parameters of the surrounding stations that may need to be matched to provide controlled pitch with a carrier mechanism may not be cast in terms of separation, but may instead be based upon velocity or another parameter, as will become more apparent below.
• a carrier mechanism consistent with the invention may alternatively be configured to control other parameters.
• carrier mechanism 400 includes a shaft housing 402 having a drive shaft 404 rotatably mounted therein via bearings 406.
• a cam housing 408 is fixedly coupled to shaft housing 402, and a hub 409 is fixedly coupled to drive shaft 404 to cooperatively rotate therewith.
• Article carrier 410a includes upper and lower arms 412, 414 that respectively terminate with a gripping mechanism such as a pair of pockets 413, 415 integrally formed thereon for receiving an article 2 supported on conveyor 22. Pockets 413, 415 are sized and configured to circumscribe a cylindrical portion of article 2, and may utilize different profiles for other article configurations in the alternative. Moreover, other gripping mechanisms may be utilized as an alternative to pockets 413, 415 depending upon the type of article being transported. Moreover, in other embodiments, multiple axially-displaced pockets may not be required to reliably engage articles.
• arms 412, 414 are fixedly mounted on a rocker shaft 420 that is pivotably coupled to hub 409 through bearings 422.
• Rocker shaft 420 projects through apertures in a phaseable lid 425 and a seal lid 426 that overlap hub 409 and seal the inner components thereof.
• a linkage member 428 is fixedly mounted at the lower end of rocker shaft 420, with a cam follower 429 disposed at a distal end thereof.
• cam follower 429 is configured as a roller that engages an inwardly-facing wall 442 in cam housing 408 that functions as a cam for carrier mechanism 400.
• cam follower 429 and linkage member 428 are circumferentially spaced about rocker shaft 420 from arms 412, 414 to form an acute angle ⁇ relative thereto.
• ⁇ is approximately 60 degrees, although other angles may be used in the alternative.
• the angular offset is provided by manipulation of phaseable lid 425 (Fig. 10A), which is configured to be secured at different angular positions within a defined range to vary the angular offset between arms 412 and 414.
• the angular offset of arms 412, 414 is typically set to impart a tilt to an article retained thereby to an angle ⁇ offset from vertical of about +/- 1 degree (the amount of tilt is exaggerated in Fig. 10C for illustrative purposes).
• Other degrees of tilt may be utilized in other embodiments, and may often be determined empirically based upon factors such as the type and configuration of the articles, among other factors.
• hub 409 is considered to rotate about a first axis 451 defined along the longitudinal axis of drive shaft 404, while article carrier 410 is considered to pivot about a second axis 452 defined along the longitudinal axis of rocker shaft 420.
• cam follower 429 rides along cam 442 to controllably pivot article carrier 410a about second axis 452.
• the angular velocity of article carrier 410a is controllably varied relative to the angular velocity of hub 409. It should be appreciated that a multitude of other known cam and linkage arrangements may be utilized in the alternative to impart a controlled angular offset of each article carrier relative to hub 409.
• the profile of cam 442 is selected to provide a controlled pitch at first and second positions of carrier mechanism 400.
• the first position is the position at which an article carrier (e.g., article carrier 410b) engages an article (e.g., article 2b) on conveyor 22.
• the second position is the position at which an article carrier (e.g., article carrier 410a) deposits an article (e.g., article 2a) against the outer surface of applicator drum 100.
• the pitch in this application is defined as the distance between center points of successive articles.
• the desired pitch is based upon the separation between articles supplied to apparatus 10 via conveyor 22.
• the articles are typically permitted to "queue up" on the conveyor in an abutting relationship.
• the separation between articles is directly related to the size of each article. With each article being cylindrical in shape, the separation between articles is the sum of the radii of successive articles. In addition, assuming each article has the same radius, the separation may be expressed in terms of twice the radius of an article, which is equal to the diameter of the article, designated herein as D A .
• D A the desired pitch at the first position, S 180 is therefore:
• the desired pitch is equal to the separation between the leading edges of labels supplied on the outer surface of applicator drum 100.
• the separation at the second position, S 2 would thus be equal to the circumference of the drum (which is equal to ⁇ times the diameter of the drum, D D ) divided by the number of labels n, or:
• the desired pitch at the second position is:
• the cam profile may also be desirable to configure the cam profile based upon the desired angular velocity of the article carriers relative to the processing rate of apparatus 10. For example, at the first position, it is typically desirable to match the angular velocity of the article carriers with the speed of incoming articles supplied to carrier mechanism to prevent line vibration and its associated problems. Moreover, to achieve the desired separation at the second position, the angular velocity is typically related to the angular velocity of the applicator drum. It should be appreciated that calculation of the desired angular velocity profile for the article carriers based upon the desired separations is well within the abilities of one of ordinary skill in the art.
• the hub of carrier mechanism 400 is coupled to applicator drum 100 and drive motor 85 to provide a 1:2.5 gearing ratio between mechanism 400 and applicator drum 100, whereby applicator drum 100 rotates five times for every two rotations of mechanism 400.
• the cam profile of cam 442 defines two regions segregated at points A and B.
• the first region extending counter-clockwise from point A to point B, has a fixed radius r, that maintains a constant angular velocity for each article carrier having its associated cam follower 429 disposed therein. Coupled with the fixed gearing ratio between the carrier mechanism and the applicator drum, the desired pitch at the second position is assured.
• an article carrier is controllably decelerated to reduce the pitch of an article carrier proximate the first position to match that of the incoming articles, then accelerated to return to the pitch of the article carrier to match that of the labels on the applicator drum.
• the point in which the cam profile switches from decelerating the article carrier to accelerating the article carrier is labeled as point C, and is typically disposed at an angular position that orients the article carrier at the first position (offset an angle ⁇ from cam follower 429).
• the cam profile therefore may decrease from point B to a minimum radius r 2 proximate point C, and then increase back to radius r, proximate point A .
• the variations in the cam profile form smooth transitions to facilitate rapid movement of the cam followers along the cam. It should be appreciated that the design of a cam profile that meets the above constraints is well within the abilities of one of ordinary skill in the art, and may, if desired, be determined in whole or in part empirically. Moreover, any number of alternate profiles that provide the required pitches at the first and second positions may also be used consistent with the invention.
• carrier mechanism 460 (Fig. 1), which operates to transport articles from applicator drum to conveyor 22 at the discharge end 22b of labeling apparatus 10
• an essentially complementary cam profile may be used, which transports articles from a first position that matches the separation of articles being discharged by applicator drum 100 (essentially the same separation as the second position for carrier mechanism 400) to a second position that matches the desired separation of articles discharged onto the conveyor (essentially the same separation as the first position for carrier mechanism 400).
• each article carrier is configured to transport an article along an article engaging surface defined by fixed guide 14, with the pocket disposed at the end of the article carrier merely operating to "push" the article along the guide.
• it may be desirable to abut or engage articles without actually gripping the articles e.g., applying a compressive force to opposing sides of the articles or otherwise restraining the articles from motion in all directions).
• articles may effectively be trapped between the pockets and the guide so that the articles tend to "ride” along the guide under a motive force applied by the pockets — that is, the guide principally determines the path of travel for the articles, while the pockets simply accelerate and/or decelerate the articles as they travel along the guide.
• the need for movable gripping mechanisms is often eliminated. As such, complexity may be reduced, often reducing cost and improving reliability.
• higher speed operation is typically possible since the additional components, movement and coordination that would otherwise be required to ensure that articles are securely gripped and released at appropriate times would likely limit the overall maximum operational speed of a gripping-type article carrier.
• FIG. 11A the sequence of transport for a plurality of articles 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, and 2e is illustrated.
• article 2a is being discharged onto the surface of applicator drum 100 by article carrier 410a, with articles 2b, 2c and 2d queued up on conveyor 22 waiting to be transported to drum 100.
• Article carrier 410b has engaged article 2b, with article carrier 410c beginning to be decelerated via the cam profile to match the linear velocity thereof with that of article 2c.
• article carrier 410b is accelerated by the cam profile to increase the separation between article 2b and the following article 2c, while article carrier 410c continues to be decelerated to match the linear velocity with that of article 2c.
• article carrier 410b has reached the second position, whereby the article carrier engages article 2b against a label disposed on the outer surface of applicator drum 100 with the desired pitch and in proper alignment with the label.
• article carrier 410c engages article 2c in the first position in the same manner as described above for article carrier 410b and article 2b in Fig. 11A.
• Continued rotation of carrier mechanism 400 results in the same sequential controlled deceleration and acceleration of each article carrier 410a-41 Oe so that articles are continuously transferred to applicator drum 100 with the requisite pitch therebetween.
• carrier mechanism 460 operates in a complementary manner to transport articles from applicator drum 100 and back onto conveyor 22. Moreover, it should be appreciated that various modifications may be made to either of carrier mechanisms 400, 460 consistent with the invention.
• a labeling apparatus 500 may include a label application assembly 25' which includes a web supply 30', measuring roller assembly 50', web tracking control assembly 60', registration sensor station 70', cutting station 80', adhesive station assembly 90' and applicator drum 100'.
• Each component in label application assembly 25' may be configured similarly to the corresponding unprimed components in label application assembly 25 of labeling apparatus 10 of Fig.1, or may include any of the alternatives described above for any of such components.
• Apparatus 500 includes an alternate article transport assembly to the arrangement of carrier mechanisms and conveyor for apparatus 10 of Fig. 1.
• apparatus 500 includes a conveyor 502 that transports articles to and from apparatus 500.
• Articles 2 are received from conveyor 502 using a feed screw 510 that provides a controlled separation between articles.
• a first star wheel 520 transfers articles from feed screw 510 to a turret 540.
• Articles are then presented by turret 540 to drum 100' of assembly 25' for application of labels to the articles.
• the articles Upon further rotation of turret 540, the articles are then transferred to a second star wheel 530, and then to conveyor 502 for transport out of apparatus 500.
• feed screws star wheels and turrets are in general well known in the art. It should further be appreciated that other article transport assemblies may be used in the alternative, e.g., various other arrangements of feed screws, turrets and/or star wheels, among others.
• the carrier mechanisms described herein may be used independently of a labeling apparatus to transfer articles.
• such mechanisms may be used to transport articles such as containers with a controlled pitch therebetween in various applications such as bottling machines, filling machines, cleaning machines, packing machines, etc.
• the carrier mechanisms may be used in other applications to provide controlled pitch between articles transported thereby.
• the parameter controlled by a carrier mechanism consistent with the invention may be another transfer characteristic related to pitch such as velocity. This would permit, for example, a carrier mechanism to be used to transfer articles from a first station that outputs the articles at a first velocity to a second station that receives the articles at a second velocity, among other applications. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to any particular field or application of the carrier mechanisms described herein.
• FIG. 13 illustrates another alternate labeling apparatus 1000 consistent with the principles of the invention. With the exception of the specific modifications and enhancements discussed below, apparatus 1000 is similar in configuration and operation to the various designs discussed above.
• Apparatus 1000 is principally used to apply labels in a continuous fashion to a plurality of articles 2 conveyed from an infeed mechanism 1002 to a discharge mechanism 1004 (here, both implemented by a common conveyor 1006).
• Other infeed and discharge mechanisms, appropriate for the particular articles conveyed to and from labeling apparatus 1000 may be used in other applications, e.g., feed screws, belts, etc.
• discharge refers to a downstream position or direction relative to the flow of articles and labels.
• Articles 2 are conveyed from infeed mechanism 1002 to a label application assembly or mechanism 1010 using an infeed carrier mechanism 1012, and then to discharge mechanism 1004 using a discharge carrier mechanism 1014.
• Infeed carrier mechanism 1012 includes a flow starwheel 1020 and an infeed starwheel 1030.
• Flow starwheel 1020 includes a plurality of teeth 1022 that define a plurality of pockets 1024, with each pocket retaining an article 2 for transfer from infeed mechanism
• flow starwheel 1020 includes a pair of resiliently coupled disks that minimize the clearance between a retained article and the flow and infeed starwheels during transfer of the article between the starwheels.
• Infeed starwheel 1030 includes a plurality of teeth 1032 that define a plurality of pockets
• label application station 1036 each for retaining an article 2 for transfer along arcuate guide 1028 to a label application station 1036 disposed opposite assembly 1010.
• flow and infeed starwheels 1020, 1030 increase the separation between successive articles received from infeed mechanism 1002 to a distance suitable for applying labels provided on a label transfer mechanism (here label transfer or applicator drum 1038) in label application assembly 1010.
• Other label transfer mechanisms suitable for transferring a label to an article for application of the label thereto may be used in the alternative, including both rotary and linear-based transfer mechanisms such as belts, movable pads, magazines for cut labels, etc.
• Application station 1036 includes an arcuate guide 1040 against which the articles are compressed by applicator drum 1038 as labels are applied to the articles.
• Guide 1040 includes a resilient friction surface to impart a rolling action to the articles as the articles pass through the label application station such that labels are wrapped around the articles.
• Discharge carrier mechanism 1014 which incorporates a discharge starwheel 1042 having a plurality of teeth 1044 defining a plurality of pockets 1046, performs essentially the same operation as carrier mechanism 1012 except that mechanism 1014 operates to decelerate articles to a linear velocity suitable for transport by discharge mechanism 1004. By doing so, this arrangement imparts greater stability to discharged articles by minimizing relative movement of the articles to the discharge mechanism 1004. Articles are transferred by discharge starwheel 1042 along an arcuate guide 1048 and into a gap formed between guide 1048 and a discharge guide 1050 for discharge onto discharge mechanism 1004.
• guides 1026, 1028, 1036, 1048 and 1050 are all laterally adjustable (e.g., through set screw arrangements, not shown) to customize the width of the article path to accommodate different diameters of articles. For labeling machines that are used only with one type of article, such adjustments may not be required.
• Labels are supplied to applicator drum 1038 from a web supply 1060 supplying a web 4 of labeling material.
• Web supply 1060 includes a pair of supply rolls 1062, 1064, that supply web 4 to a measuring roller assembly 1066.
• Measuring roller assembly 1066 operates as a linear feed rate sensor using a free-wheeling roller 1068 coupled to a rotational position sensor 1070, e.g., an optical encoder.
• Web 4 proceeds from assembly 1066 to a web tracking control assembly 1072 (including a roller 1073) that is utilized to maintain lateral alignment of the web in assembly 1010.
• Web 4 then proceeds to a registration sensor station 1074 that detects the position of registration marks disposed on the web.
• Station 1074 includes a roller 1076 and a registration sensor 1078 disposed opposite roller 1076 at a lateral position relative to the web to detect registration marks disposed thereon.
• web 4 proceeds to the surface of applicator drum 1038, where an attraction mechanism (here a plurality of vacuum ports) disposed on the outer surface of the drum applies a controlled tension to the web.
• an attraction mechanism here a plurality of vacuum ports
• a pair of movable cutter assemblies 1080, 1082 disposed on drum 1038 operate to sever labels from web 4 as each assembly 1080, 1082 passes a cutting station 1084 having a fixed knife 1086.
• roller 1068, 1073 and 1076 it may be desirable to utilize friction reduction mechanisms in one or more of the rollers 1068, 1073 and 1076 to minimize the amount of force required by the attraction mechanism on drum 1038 to draw web 4 from the supply rolls, particularly during initial startup of the labeling apparatus.
• friction reduction in the web supply rolls may not be required.
• An adhesive station assembly 1090 is disposed beyond cutting station 1084 to apply adhesive to leading and trailing ends of each label using an application roller 1092, after the label has been severed from the web at cutting station 1084.
• a fluid dispenser 1094 may be used to direct a flow of fluid (e.g., pressurized air) toward the nip formed between roller 1092 and drum 1038, from a position upstream of the nip. Doing so reduces the likelihood of a label following roller 1092 after the application of adhesive thereto.
• the flow of fluid may permit a free portion of the trailing end of a label to wrap around roller 1092 prior to passing the free portion into the nip, which improves the application of adhesive to the trailing end, and often reduces any overspray of adhesive onto the outer surface of drum 1038.
• the vacuum level provided to the outer surface of the drum can be reduced, minimizing stretching of the web, and often improving web tracking and cutting as well.
• apparatus 1000 incorporates a fluid dispenser to assist in the application of adhesive to labels, as well as unique flow and discharge starwheel designs to assist in both the infeed and discharge of articles to and from the apparatus.
• FIG. 14A illustrates applicator drum 1038 and adhesive applicator 1090 in greater detail.
• Applicator drum 1038 includes a rotatable drum body 1100 configured to rotate about a fixed shaft 1102.
• Rotatable body 1100 includes an outer surface 1104 having a plurality of vacuum ports 1106 disposed thereon and supplied with a source of negative and/or positive pressure through a set of distribution channels 1108.
• Two sets of raised pads 1110, 11 12 and 1 114, 1116 are disposed on outer surface 1104 to receive leading and trailing edges of a label as the label passes adhesive roller 1092 of applicator 1090 so that adhesive may be applied to the opposing edges of the labels.
• Applicator roller 1092 is offset from outer surface 1 104 such a distance that label material supported on any pad 1110-1116 will be compressed against the roller, but material disposed between the pads will not. Thus, adhesive is applied only to the material supported on a pad.
• the leading edges of pads 1110, 1114, and the trailing edges of pads 1112, 1116 are respectively separated from one another around the circumference of drum 1038 at a distance that is approximately the length of the cut labels so that, once a label is severed from the web, the leading and trailing ends thereof are each disposed on a pad when the label passes under adhesive roller 1092.
• adhesive is applied only to the leading and trailing ends of each label.
• roller 1092 may be positioned, and pads 1110 - 11 16 may be separated from one another, to apply adhesive to the leading edge of each label prior to the label being severed from the web.
• Cutter mechanism 1080 (which is configured in a similar manner to cutter mechanism 1082) includes a rocker body 1118 pivotally mounted to pivot about a shaft 1120 that extends parallel to shaft 1102.
• a bushing 1122 formed of carbon bronze matrix operates as a bearing surface against which shaft 1120 rotates.
• bushing 1122 includes a bearing surface 1123 with a recessed portion 1123a formed directly opposite the force vector (identified at "V") applied to rocker body 1118.
• the recess is adapted to bear shaft 1120 at two points to minimize lateral movement of the rocker body on the shaft, and thereby stabilize the rocker assembly. Through this configuration, greater cutting precision may be obtained than conventional bushing designs.
• a cam follower assembly 1124 including a roller 1126 rotatably mounted about an axle 1128.
• Axle 1128 is secured via a bolt 1130 to a follower body 1132, and a flexible boot 1134 seals the assembly.
• Cam follower assembly 1136 of cutter mechanism 1082 is configured similarly to assembly 1124.
• Knife assembly 1138 is disposed at the opposite end of rocker body 1118 from cam follower assembly 1124.
• a knife blade 1140 having an edge 1142, is secured to the end of rocker body 1118 via a bolt or other securing mechanism 1144.
• Edge 1142 of knife blade 1140 projects through an opening 1146 in outer surface 1104 of body 1100, immediately following trailing pad 1112 around the circumference of body 1100.
• a spring assembly 1148 including a spring 1150 extends perpendicular to shaft 1102 and biases cutter assembly 1080 toward an extended position, with knife blade 1140 projecting through opening 1146 beyond outer surface 1104.
• a set screw 1152 controls the tension of spring 1150.
• Roller 1126 of cam follower assembly 1124 rides along a cam 1154 disposed on the outer surface of shaft 1102.
• Cam 1154 is circular in cross section with the exception of a recessed portion 1156.
• Recessed portion 1156 may have any number of profiles, e.g., a flattened profile as illustrated in Fig. 14A.
• Recessed portion 1156 is angularly oriented such that roller 1126 engages the portion when knife blade 1140 of knife assembly 1138 is directly opposite fixed knife 1086 of cutting station 1084, thereby extending the knife blade at this position to shear a label from the web.
• Fluid dispenser 1094 is disposed in a position to direct a flow of fluid toward the nip formed between adhesive roller 1092 and drum 1038.
• Fluid dispenser 1094 in the illustrated embodiment includes an air bar 1170 mounted to a fixed post 1172.
• Air bar 1170 includes a vertical distribution channel 1174 coupled to a source of pressurized fluid (e.g., compressed air or other gas), and a plurality of nozzles 1176 adapted to direct the pressurized fluid (represented at 1180) toward nip 1178.
• a source of pressurized fluid e.g., compressed air or other gas
• air bar 1170 is separated from nip 1178 by approximately four inches, has 10 nozzles, each with 0.04 inch diameters, and is supplied with approximately 20 to 40 psi of pressurized air.
• Other separations, flow rates, directions of flow (e.g., angle of attack relative to the nip), and other fluid flow parameters may be utilized in other applications.
• the label material is advanced by the web supply at a rate slower than the rotational rate of drum 1038, with the vacuum ports on the drum providing tension to withdraw the web from the web supply.
• the leading edge of the web is supported on a leading pad 1 110, 1114.
• cutter mechanism 1080, 1082 passes fixed knife 1086, severing a label from the web.
• leading pad 1110, 1114 passes adhesive roller 1092 to apply a layer of adhesive to the leading end of the label.
• the trailing pad passes the adhesive roller to apply adhesive to the label proximate the trailing edge.
• Cutting and adhesive application of the label is then complete, and further rotation of the drum (coordinated with the advancement of articles) results in the label being wrapped around an article at station 1036 (Fig.
• Figs. 15A and 15B generally illustrate the operation of fluid dispenser 1094 in assisting in the application of adhesive to a label in a manner consistent with the invention. First, as shown in Fig.
• the flow of fluid 1180 directed at nip 1178 may be used to assist in urging the trailing edge 4b to lift from trailing pad 1112 and wrap around roller 1092 before entering the nip.
• Article Infeed Returning to Fig. 13, articles 2 are supplied to apparatus 1000 via an infeed mechanism 1002. The flow of these articles into the apparatus is controlled by a flow starwheel 1020, illustrated in greater detail in Figs. 16 and 17, including a plurality of teeth 1022 forming a plurality of pockets 1024 for advancing articles into the apparatus.
• a flow starwheel 1020 illustrated in greater detail in Figs. 16 and 17, including a plurality of teeth 1022 forming a plurality of pockets 1024 for advancing articles into the apparatus.
• Starwheel 1020 includes a rotatable hub 1200 mounted on a shaft 1202 and secured thereto in a keyed arrangement via a keyed member 1204 secured to the hub by fasteners 1206.
• Shaft 1202 is coupled to a drive mechanism (not shown) used to drive the starwheel in a coordinated fashion with starwheels 1030 and 1042, as well as drum 1038, typically through a drive train providing a fixed relative rotation rate for each such component.
• shaft 1202 may be coupled to a rotatable pulley through a universal linkage, with the pulley coupled via a belt to the other rotatable components in apparatus 1000. It may be desirable to provide a clutch mechanism in the drive for starwheel 1020 to permit the apparatus to be halted in a predetermined rotational position.
• Other drive mechanisms may also be used in the alternative.
• Starwheel 1020 includes a unique engagement surface that is resiliently coupled to the rotatable hub to vary a rotational position of a pocket relative to the hub.
• By resiliently coupling the engagement surface to the hub clearance between an article and either of starwheel 1020 and infeed starwheel 1030 (Fig. 13) can be minimized to reduce vibrations in the flow of articles and thereby improve the stability of the articles as they enter apparatus 1000.
• Provision of a resiliently-biased engagement surface is made through a pair of disks 1208,
• each of disks 1208 and 1210 and hub 1022 include cooperative profiles including a plurality of teeth defining a plurality of pockets therebetween. As used herein, therefore, an engagement surface is defined on each pocket of each disk 1208, 1210. Disks 1208 and 1210 are secured to one another by a plurality of shafts 1212 (e.g., five such shafts) retained within cooperating slots 1214 in hub 1200. One end of each slot 1214 defines a position of the cooperating shaft 1212 (and accordingly the disks 1208 and 1210) in which each tooth defined in the profile of each disk aligns with one of the teeth formed in the profile of hub 1200.
• shafts 1212 e.g., five such shafts
• resilient members e.g., coiled or leaf springs, torsion springs, etc.
• coiled or leaf springs may be utilized to resiliently bias the disks relative to the hub.
• only one disk may be utilized, and in addition it is not necessary in some applications for hub 1200 to have a cooperating profile with each disk 1208, 1210.
• Other manners of providing a resiliently-biased engagement surface may also be utilized in the alternative.
• an engagement surface may be resiliently coupled to a hub using a deformable body.
• a starwheel 1300 may include a hub 1302 having a deformable body 1304 (e.g., formed of a resilient material such as rubber) mounted about the periphery thereof to form an engagement surface 1306. Compression forces applied between the resilient body and infeed starwheel 1030 deform the resilient body to compress an article between such components.
• a starwheel 1310 may include an integrally-formed inflatable body 1312 defining an engagement surface 1314 that is integrally coupled to a hub.
• FIG. 18A-18F The operation of flow starwheel 1020 in providing articles to infeed starwheel 1030 is illustrated in greater detail in Figs. 18A-18F. Shown in Fig. 18A are a pair of articles 1230, 1232 supplied to the path defined between guides 1026 and 1028 by an infeed mechanism. Article 1230 is illustrated as being picked up by starwheel 1020, with the article initially disposed on the trailing surface of a tooth on hub 1200. Absent any opposing force on starwheel 1020, disk 1208 (and disk
• article 1230 Upon further rotation (Fig. 18E), article 1230 becomes seated in pocket 1034, with disk 1208 of starwheel 1020 positioned at its forward-most position relative to hub 1200.
• article 1232 is shown engaging the next pocket of starwheel 1020.
• Article 1230 is still compressed to an extent between disk 1208 and starwheel 1030.
• Fig. 18F next illustrates the release of article 1230 from starwheel 1020, with the article securely retained within in pocket 1034 of starwheel 1030.
• Article 1232 is then in position for transfer to the next pocket in sequence for starwheel 1030.
• each pocket 1046 of discharge starwheel 1042 is defined by a series of arcs between adjacent teeth 1044.
• the width of each pocket (defined by the separation between adjacent teeth) is greater than the diameter of each article such that the precision required to engage an article within a pocket is reduced.
• each pocket is defined by first, second and third sections 1250, 1254 and 1252, with the first and second sections 1250, 1252 defined by leading and trailing edges of adjacent teeth, and having a radius of curvature that is less than that of the intermediate third section 1254.
• Section 1254 providing an engagement surface initially contacting an article, is provided with a relatively larger radius of curvature to minimize the coefficient of friction between the pocket and the article during initial contact with the article.
• Section 1250 has a lower radius of curvature to provide a relatively higher coefficient of friction with the article once the article is engaged with section 1250. Providing a higher coefficient of friction assists in canceling the spin induced on the article by the label application process.
• the transition from section 1254 to section 1250 is gradual, however, so that the coefficient of friction increases as the article slides back in pocket 1046, and a gradual deceleration of the rotational velocity of the article is obtained. As shown, for example in Fig. 19A, article 1246 initially contacts a pocket of starwheel 1042 between adjacent teeth 1044.
• starwheel 1042 is also specifically designed to stabilize the discharge of articles from guide 1048 onto the discharge mechanism (here conveyor 1004 of Fig. 13).
• Each tooth 1044 of starwheel 1042 is configured to impart a decreasing linear velocity to each article as it is discharged along guide 1050 to the conveyor.
• the rotation rate of starwheel 1042 is selected to provide a tangential velocity of articles transferred by starwheel 1042 that is initially greater than the linear velocity of the conveyor.
• the article is fully seated within a pocket of starwheel 1042 as the article engages arcuate guide 1050.
• Fig. 19B as the article is advanced by starwheel 1042, the linear velocity of the article along the direction of the conveyor decreases as the article is conveyed by the tip of the tooth 1044 against which the article rests.
• Fig. 19C further rotation of starwheel 1042 results in a further decrease in velocity for article 1242, until the conveyor picks up the article and carries away from starwheel 1042, as shown in Fig. 19D.
• Fig. 20 illustrates in another way the linear velocity imparted to an article transported by starwheel 1042 at equal time intervals during the rotation of starwheel 1042.
• the position of the starwheel and the container 1242 is illustrated at six points of time t 0 -t 5 with the linear movement of the article during each time interval therebetween denoted as d r d 5 .
• the rate of advancement of the conveyor during the last two time intervals is illustrated at c 4 and c 5 (it being understood that the conveyor is advancing at the same rate during the earlier time intervals as well). It can be seen that from time t 0 to time t 4 , the article is advanced at a linear rate that exceeds that of the conveyor. However, once the linear rate falls below that of the conveyor at time t 4 , the article is advanced at the rate of the conveyor, and subsequently carried away from the discharge starwheel.

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• 1999
  • 1999-06-25 CA CA002335935A patent/CA2335935A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1999-06-25 AU AU50845/99A patent/AU5084599A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1999-06-25 EP EP99935351A patent/EP1098815A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1999-06-25 MX MXPA01000091A patent/MXPA01000091A/es unknown
  • 1999-06-25 WO PCT/US1999/014367 patent/WO2000000397A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation

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