US2042671A - Labeling implement - Google Patents

Description

June 2, 1936.

L. A. -MACLEAN LABELING IMPLEMENT Filedi June 21; 1935 Patented June 2, 1936 UNITED s'rli'rrzsA eATEN'r oFFlcE LABELING IMPLEMENT Leonard. A. Maclean, Reading, Mass.

Application June 21, 1935, Serial No. 27,709

' 7 Claims. (Cl. 91-16) The chief object of this invention is to provide a simple and effective hand controlled implement adapted to print, on the members of a strip of gummed labels, characters indicating the selling price of articles of merchandise to: which the labels are to be attached, and to be operated by one hand of the operator to feed the strip step by step and project one end of it, so that the other hand of the operator may be used in rapidly detaching and afxing one by one, to articles of merchandise, labels detached from a strip projected and price marked by the implement.

An implement embodying the invention, adapted to print price marks on a label strip, includes an inflexible wand, or wand-like guide having means for directing a strip of separably connected gummed labels lengthwise of the wand, a slide movable on the wand and retracted thereon by a spring, the slide having a strip-supporting bed and strip feeding means, a chase carried by the slide and carrying a label printing member, and mechanism for feeding the strip forward on the wand and operating the printing member, the arrangement being such that the slide and strip are first fed' forward and arrested; and the printing member is then operated to price mark a label.

Of the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification;-

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a labeling implement embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same.

Figure 3 is a perspective-view of the guide.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the strip feeding means.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional View showing the printing means, including a printing member formed as a stencil.

Figure 5a is a view similar to portions of Figure 5 showing a different printing member.

Figure 6 shows in perspective a strip feeding lever, and a trigger lever.

Figure 7 shows in perspective a presser operating lever.

Figure 8` shows in perspective the slide which carries the strip feeding and presser operating levers, and the chase which carries the printing member.

Figure 9 shows the stencil in perspective.

Figure 10 is a side View of a portion of the.y label strip.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the figures.

The implement comprises an inflexible wand f" |21, (Figure 3i) preferably of sheet metal having means such as ears I3 for guiding a strip I4 of paper labels lengthwise of the wand. The strip I4 is transversely scored to permit the detachment of the foremost label from the strip, and has a gum coating on its back. Y

A slide I5 is movable on the wand between a forward stop I6, and a rear stop II, fixed to the wand and arranged to limit the movements of the slide to substantially the length of one label. A spring I8 secured at one end to a cross bar 20 fixed to the wand and at the opposite end to an ear 2| on the slide, normally confines the slide retracted against the rear stop I'I. The slide includes a bed portion I5EL which supports the portion of the strip I4 which is acted on by the printing member hereinafter described. The bed portion I5'r1 is movable in a slot I2b in the wand I2. p y

22 designates a chase carried by the slide and containing a presser 23, and printing means operable thereby to print on each label a character, or characters 24 indicating a price.V Said printing means preferably includes an inking pad 25 contacting with the presser 23, and a stencil 26 contacting with the pad and adapted to print the characters 24. The stencil is preferably of the kind used in hektograph machines, and prepared for use by a type-writing machine, the stencil being a slip of paper prepared'so that an impression 2IIa made upon it by a typewriter will permit ink from the pad to ooze through the stencil and reproduce the impression on a label in 'a strip I4 interposed between the slide and the Wand. A metallic printing type'ZIa and an ink ribbon 25a may be substituted for the stencil and pad, as conventionally shown by Figure 5a.

'Ihe implement includes mechanism for feeding the label strip and depressing the printing member. Said Vmechanism may include a. manually operable trigger lever 28 fulcrumed on the wand. Said le'ver is in this instance a member .of the structure shown separately by VFigure 6, and including a sleeve 31 mounted to turn on a stud 31 fixed to one arm of the trigger lever, aside piece 311 secured to the stud 31e, and a pin.3Ic xed tothe trigger lever and the side piece and journalled to turn in a bearing 311 (Figure 3) iixed to the wand I2, said bearing constituting a fulcrum on which the trigger lever is adapted to swing.

Said mechanism includes also a strip-feeding lever 30 fulcrumed at 3| (Figure 4), to bearings 3lEN on the slide, and provided with a strip-engaging dog 32. movable in a slot 32a in the slide, a

printing member operating cam leverl 33 having a cam-shaped nose 34 formed to contact with the presser 23, and trunnions 35 on the lever journalled in trunnion bearings 35ab (Figure 8) on the slide, and connections between the trigger lever, and the presser operating lever 33, and the stripfeeding lever 30. Said connections preferably in- 'clude a connecting rod 36 fixed to the sleeve 31 and pivoted at 38 (Figure 6) to the strip-feeding lever 30, and a connecting rod 39 pivoted at 40 to an ear 4I on the rod 36, and at 42 to the cam lever 33.

The arrangement is such that when the trigger lever 28 is moved to the position shown by dottedv lines in Figure 2, the feeding lever 3,0 is moved to Yfeed the strip I4 before the pressing lever is moved to depress the printing member, the feeding lever and the cam or pressing lever being y,

operated successively by a single movement of the trigger lever to first feed and then print the strip I4. When the trigger lever is released the spring I8 retracts the slide, the feeding lever 30 releasing its hold on the label strip. l

The chase 22 is movably connected with the slide, the latter having the opening 43 (Figure 8) in which the chase is vertically movable. The chase is normally supported by springs 44 attached to it and bearing loosely on the slide I5. The chase is supported in a raised position by the. springs to normally maintain the printing member 26 out of contact with a strip I4 supported by the wand, and is movable by the Icam lever 33 to cause the printing member `to contact with the strip I4. v

To one end of the wand I2 is secured a maga-A Zine 45 `adapted to contain a coiled label strip. An inclined brace 46 connects the magazine with the forward end portion of the wand I2.

41 designates a water receptacle secured, as by a screw 48, to the brace 46 and containing a wick 49 which extends through a tube 50 which bears on an ear 5l!a beside an opening I2a in the wand I2. The wick is arranged to contact with the gummed side of the strip I4.

The rear stop I1 is provided with a resilient tongue 5I which presses a portion of the strip I4 against the wand and prevents loose endwise movement of the strip.

Theimplement as a whole may be manipulated by one hand of the operator, who moves the trigger lever 28 to cause the foremost label of the strip to project from the forward end of the wand, the gummed side of the label having been moistened. 'Ihe operator then manipulates the Wand to press the foremost label against an article of merchandise and cause the adhesion of the gummed side thereto. The attached label may then be detached from the strip by holding the label down and moving the implement away from it. The label may be held down by a presser held by the other hand of the operator, and provided with a pressing face of sand paper, or blotting paper, which is free from liability to rub and deface the characters printed on the label by the machine.

V'I'he slide I5 is formed as shown by' Figure 8 to embrace Vthe portion of the wand on which `it moves, and a portion of the label strip supyto cause it to print the indicia 24 on the portion of the label strip embraced by the slide.

To time the depressing movement of the depressing lever 33 so that it occurs after the stripfeeding lever 30 has fed the label strip, and while the dog 32 remains stationary in engagement with the strip, I provide the rod 36 with slots 52 (Figures 4 and 6), which permit the rod 36, and with it the rod 39, to move forward, while the dog 32 is kstationary and engaged with the label strip. A spring 54 on the rod 36 is interposed between the lever 30 and a stop 55 on the rod 36. The rod 36 is therefore permitted to move forward as shown by Figure 4 while the lever 30 is at rest and its dog 32 is engaged with the label strip, until the rod 39 moves the lever 33 to the position shown by Figure 5,. and operates the printing member.

The described implement is wholly hand controlled somewhat like a pistol, one arm of the trigger lever being exposed so that it may be moved by a finger of a hand grasping the rear portion 'of the implement.

It will be seen that the operator is enabled to so control the implement by one hand that a label projected from the Wand may be conveniently placed with its sticky side in contact with an article of merchandise which may be in either of a number of positions or locations, andv to use the other hand in causing the detachment ofV the label from the strip and its adhesion to the article.

The hand 'control of the implement enables it to be moved quickly from one article of merchandise `to another when the articles are assembled andV spaced `apart on a table or counter, and to quickly apply each projected label to an article and cause its adhesion thereto. Y

A large number of articles may therefore be price marked much more quickly than would be possible if the label strip were held by the hands of the operator and the end label of the strip were detached, moistened, and applied to anv article by hand, as usual.

As implied by the foregoing specification, and by the appended claims, I am not limited to the specified embodiments of the invention shown by the drawing, except as otherwise specified in certain of the more limited claims.

I claim:A

1. A hand controlled labeling implement comprising a wand having means for directing a label striplengthwise thereof so that a label constituting an end member of the strip may be projected from an end of the wand and there detached, a slide movable forward and backward on the wand a distance substantially equal to the length of the label, strip feeding and strip printing means mounted on the slide, said printing means including a depressible printing member, resilient means normally retracting the slide, and manually operable means for projecting the slide and operating said strip feeding means, during the projection of the slide, and for operating said printing means after the slide vis projected.

2. A hand controlled labeling implement comprising a wand havingmeans for directing a label strip lengthwise thereof so that a label constituting an end member of the strip Vmay be projected from an end of the Wand and there detached, a slide movableV forward and backward on the guide a distance substantially equal to the length of a label, strip feeding and strip printing means mounted on the slide, said printing means including a depressible printing member, resilient means normally retracting the slide, a trigger lever fulcrumed on the wand and operating connections between said lever, the strip feeding means, and the printing means, operable by a single movement of the trigger lever to successively feed and print a label strip.

3. A hand controlled labeling implement comprising a wand having means for directing a label strip lengthwise thereof so that a label constituting an end member of the strip may be projected from the forward end of the wand and there detached from the strip, a slide formed to embrace a portion of the wand and a portion of a label strip thereon, said slide being movable forward and backward on the wand a distance substantially equal to the length of a label of the strip, a chase carried by the slide and provided with a printing member normally spaced above a strip portion embraced by the slide and depressible to print indicia on said strip portion, a trigger lever fulcrumed on the wand, a strip feeding lever fulcrumed on the slide and having a strip-engaging dog, a depressing lever fulcrumed on the slide, operating connections between an arm of the trigger lever and said feeding and depressing levers, and a spring yieldingly retaining the slide at the limit of its backward movement and permitting movement of the slide to the limit of its forward movement, the arrangement being such that a single movement of the trigger lever rst causes the feeding of the strip and then a depression of the printing member.

4. A hand controlled labeling implement comprising a wand having means for directing a label strip lengthwise thereof so that a label constituting an end member of the strip may be projected from an end of the Wand and there detached, a slide movable between front and rear stops on the wand, a spring yieldingly confining the slide retracted against the rear stop, a chase carried by the slide and containing a presser and a printing member operable thereby to print a label strip interposed between the slide and the wand, and mechanism for feeding the strip and operating the presser, said mechanism including a manually operable trigger lever fulcrumed on the wand, a strip-feeding lever fulcrumed on the slide and provided with a strip-engaging dog, a cam lever also fulcrumed on the slide, and connections between said trigger lever and the said feeding and cam levers, the arrangement being such that the feeding lever and cam lever are operable successively by a single movement of the trigger lever, to feed and print the strip.

5. A labeling implement as specied by claim 1, the printing means being movably connected with the slide, normally supported yieldingly to maintain the printing member out of Contact with a label strip supported b-y the slide, and movable to cause the printing member to contact with the label strip.

6. A labeling implement as specified by claim 1, the printing means including a presser, an inking pad contacting with the presser, and a stripprinting stencil contacting with the pad and arranged to contact with the label strip.

7. A labeling implement as specified by claim l, comprising also a label strip magazine attached to an end portion of the wand, a water receptacle located adjacent the wand, a wick tube extending from said receptacle to the outer end portion of the wand, and a wick extending through said tube and arranged to apply water to a gummed side of the label strip.

LEONARD A. MACLEAN.

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