US2674939A

US2674939A - Marking device and mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2674939A
Application number: US786069A
Authority: US
Inventors: Brengman Fred Carlton
Original assignee: Anchor Hocking Glass Corp
Current assignee: Anchor Hocking Glass Corp
Priority date: 1947-11-14
Filing date: 1947-11-14
Publication date: 1954-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 1971-04-13

Description

April 13, 1954 Filed Nov. 14, 1947 F. c. BRENGMAN 2,674,939

MARKING DEVICE AND MECHANISM 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 71"! far/fan En g a XML/JANA HTTORNEY April 1954 F. c. BRENGMAN MARKING DEVICE AND MECHANISM Filed NOV. 14, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet I5 I NTOR 75w] furl/m Zmg maw HTTORNEY 10 3 I HIM: IN] N I Ill April 13, 1954 F. c. BRENGMAN MARKING DEVICE AND MECHANISM Filed Nov. 14, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Brwgg'mw far BY KM mu EY Ap 1954 F. c. BRENGMAN 2,674,939

MARKING DEVICE AND MECHANISM Filed Nov. 14, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 .a 1 fig. 8 I

1 l 4Z5 E] 1 m M104 L109 h INVENTOR fin] far/fan Bragg/flaw HTTORNE Y vide a new and device.

'- 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Patented Apr. 13, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE MARKING DEVICE AND MECHANISM Fred Carlton Brengman, Lancaster, Ohio, as-

signor to Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation, Lancaster, ()hio, a corporation of Delaware Application November 14, 1947, Serial No. 786,069

3 Claims.

' closure caps of sealed containers.

L1 connection with the packaging of foodstuiTs in glass containers, for example, it is frequently desirable that there be applied to the closure cap of the conta ner some designation or code number which may serve to indicate the source of l the particular lot of material being packaged,

the time or date when the particular lot of material was packaged, or which may give other information. Such marking with a code number or legend cannot be practically done at the time when the caps are manufactured but must be performed at the time when the products are sealed, and preferably immediately upon emergence of the sealed containers from a sealing machine.

The present invention aims to meet the above and other desired objectives by providing a new and improved coding device or mechanism that may be utilized to apply code numbers or legends to closure caps of sealed containers. The-invention further contemplates the provision of new and improved means for placing ink on a code or legend applying member prior to the member coming into contact with a closure cap of a sealed container.

An object of the present invention is to proimproved code or legend applying Another object of the invention is to provide an ink supplying means for use with a code applying means.

Another object of the invention i to provide a code applying device which is relatively simple in construction and operation.

Other and further objects of the invention will A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification,

wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view illustrating one form of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectionalview taken, along the line Fig. 2a is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating a detail of the invention shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view partly broken away, taken along the line 4 l of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a view showing a modified form of the invention;

Fig. "I is a sectional view taken along the line ll of Fig. 6; and s Fig. 8 is a sectional view illustrating another modified form of the invention.

Described generally (Fig. 1), the present device or mechanism comprises a moving conveyor belt I adapted to move sealed containers 2 beneath a code applying head 4 of the machine. An inking head 5 is adapted to supply ink to the code applying members of the marking head 4. The marking head 4 and inking head 5 are preferably carried by a vertically adjustable support I, which is in turn supported upon and guided by spaced upright members 8 and I0. As the conveyor belt I moves sealed containers beneath the marking head 4, the closure caps 3 of the containers are imprinted with the desired code number or legend.

The terms code or legend are used herein to indicate generally any desired form of marking which it may be desired to apply to a container or closure cap. Also, the term ink is intended to include any marking fluid or marking medium which may be utilized to form the actual representation upon a container or closure cap.

Referring again to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 through 5 thereof, there is shown one form of the present device. The device shown in these figures is preferably located immediately adjacent the exit end of a sealing machine (not shown) which applies closure caps 3 to the filled containers 2. The coding device may be utilized with any desired type of sealing machine, and it is considered unnecessary to show the present coding device associated with any particular type or form of sealing machine.

As shown in Fig. 1, the conveyor belt or member l moves arow or line of sealed containers from left to right. In some cases the conveyor belt may actually be an extension of the same conveyor belt which moves containers through the sealing machine during application of the closure caps thereto. In some instances it may be desired to provide a separate endless belt and to transfer containers from the sealingmachine to the coding device by suitable guide means. The conveyor belt i may be driven in any suitable manner and in actual practice it has been found convenient to drive the belt from a power take-oil or shaft of the particular sealing machine with which it is used. Guide rails H and 23 may be utilized to assist in retaining the moving containers on the traveling belt; the guide rails may be adjusted transversely with respect to the surface of the conveyor belt so as to accommodate containers of diiferent diameters.

As sealed containers are carried along by the moving belt 5, they approach a star wheel I4 which has outwardly disposed spokes or fingers thereof projecting over the traveling belt. The spaced arms or fingers of the star wheel receive containers and serve to accurately position them with respect to the marking head 4, previously referred to in connection with the general description. It will be noted that the marking head 4 is shown positioned over the conveyor I immediately above the star wheel I4.

In Fig. 2, the star wheel 14 is shown driven by a worm gear 16, mounted upon a shaft H; the shaft I! may be driven from a sealing machine through a flexible coupling or other appropriate means (not shown). The worm gear i6 meshes with a gear l8 keyed to the shaft 19, and this latter shaft I9 is fixedly secured to a collar 26 which carries a flange member 22, to which is bolted the star wheel [4. Thus, as the shaft ll connected with the sealing machine rotates, the star wheel l4 likewise revolves to receive containers and move them beneath the marking head 4. The conveyor belt I is preferably driven in timed reltaionship with respect to the drive shaft 11, and thus sealed containers emerging from the exit end of the sealing machine are spaced in approximately correct relationship along the belt which moves past the location of the star wheel [4. The shaft I9 may be mounted in bearings l2, l5, 2| and 23 carried by the housings or casings 6 and 9.

The marking head 4 is shown in greater detail in Figs. 2 through of the drawings and comprises amounting disc-3l secured to the shaft 28 by a taper pin 32, an adjusting ring 34 bolted to the mounting disc 3! by bolts 35 projecting through slots 33 in the mounting disc 3!, a carrying member 31 carrying marking element hold ers '38, and-a retaining plate 40 normally held in position by a clamping plate 41 and wing nut 42. The retaining plate iq and carrying member 31, and adjusting ring 34 may be held together by screws or bolts 46.

The mounting disc 3| is secured to form a seat for the adjusted ring 34 bolted thereto and forms a seat for the carrying member 31 which has assembled therewith the marking element holders 38. The retaining plate 49, together with the clamping plate 4i and wing nut 42, facilitate ready assembly and disassembly of the parts with the shaft 28.

-As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the carrying member 31 is provided with apertures or recesses 44 at spaced intervals about its circumference.

'These recesses 44 are adapted to contain portions of the marking element holders 38, the holders 38 being normally urged outwardly by springs or other resilient means 45. Outward movement of the marking element holders 38 is limited by shoulders 4'! on the retaining plate 49, the shoulders co-operating with complementary shoulders or ledges 48 on the holders 33. Thus the marking-members arenormallyurged outwardly by the springs or other resilient means 45 but may move inwardly upon the application of sufiicient pressure against marking elements 39 carried within pockets of the holders 38.

The foregoing construction, by which the marking members and marking elements are yieldably mounted on carrying member 31, facilitates application of code numbers or legends to containers of the same size, but which containers may vary slightly from each other in height, due to manufacturing tolerances and conditions. During opertaion of the machine, as will be hereinafter brought out in greater detail, if a container of slightly excessive height moves beneath a marking element 39, the element may yield inwardly slightly to imprint the legend without causing damage to the machine or container.

In Fig. 2a the outwardly disposed portion of a marking element holder is shown in greater detail. The marking element proper 39 may comprise a rubber stamp or member with the desired code or legend characters formed at its outer face and having a groove 49 at one side thereof adapted to fit over a ridge 50 which projects inwardly with respect to pockets or chambers carried at the outer ends of the holders 31. The pocket-forming member may be retained in position by a screw or bolt 5!.

While the present marking head is shown provided with four marking elements and holders it will be clear that any appropriate number may be used.

Close synchronization or adjustment of the marking elements 39 with respect to containers moving beneath the marking head may be obtained by means of the slot and bolt construction illustrated more particularly in Figs. 2, 4 and 5 of the drawings. When the bolts 35 are loosened, the adjusting ring 34 may be rotated with respect to the mounting disc 3! to provide for advancing or retarding the marking elements with respect to a medial position or to the container-receiving fingers of the star wheel I4. Thus, there may be obtained variations in the instant of contact of a marking element with a closure cap and also in the positioning of a legend on a closure cap. The extent of adjustment or synchronization is controlled by the lengths of the slots 33 through which the bolts 35 extend. The screws or bolts 45 serve to hold the adjusting ring 34, carrying member 31 and retaining plate 40 together and facilitate making advancing or retarding adjustments of the marking elements. After a desired adjustment or synchronization has been obtained, the bolts 35 may be tightened to securely retain the marking head and elements in position with respect to the disc 35 held by the taper pin 32 to the operating shaft 28.

Ink or marking fluid may be supplied to the outer marking surfaces of the marking elements 39 by an endless belt 55 of the marking head 5. The belt 55 is shown in Fig. 4 with its lower portion passing through an ink supply 56 at the lower part of the ink housing 5'1. The belt 55 is driven in the same sense or direction as the marking head by the marking head shaft 28 through the intermediation of sprockets 58, 59, 69 and a drive chain 6]. The sprocket B9 is an idler sprocket and is utilized for the purpose of taking up excessive slack in the chain 8!; the sprocket 6!] is eccentrically mounted so that its position may be adjusted by loosening the nut 63 ber 1.

to rotate the shaft 64 and its offset arm 65 which carries the sprocket B0.

Rotation of the sprocket 59 by the drive chain 6| serves to turn the belt shaft 61 and rotate the pulley 68 keyed thereto adjacent the outer end 1 thereof. Rotation of the pulley 68 turns the belt 55. The opposite end of the belt 55 is shown passing over a pulley wheel 10. As the belt 55 emerges from the supply of ink or other mark- .ing fluid 55, it tends to carry ink upwardly toward the marking elements which come into momentary contact with it (Fig. 4).

Transfer of an excessive quantity of ink to the marking elements 39 is minimized or prevented by the provision of a roller 12 shown in contact with the belt 55 adjacent to the loca- 'tion at which it emerges from the supply of ink 56. v the'surface and adjacent side edges of the belt 55 and provides what may be referred to as a The roller 12 preferably presses against squeegee action on the belt. The squeegee ef- 'fect tends to remove excess ink from the traveling belt and to leave only sufficient ink thereon .-to wet the outwardly disposed surfaces of marking elements 39.

As shown in Fig. 4, the squeegee roller 12 is 'rotatably mounted. adjacent the lower end of an arm 13, the arm 13 being pivotally mounted on p a pin 14. A spring 15 abutting against the opposite end of the arm 13 serves to urge the squeegee roller firmly against the belt 55. Ad- 'justment of the force with which the spring 15 presses the roller against the belt 55 may be controlled by rotation of a knurled nut 11 threaded into a suitable projection 18 of the Y ing elements would make smeary imprints in instances where containers were not passed through the machine for a period of time and I then were started feeding through.

Ink may be supplied to the housing 51 by a bottle or container 19 mounted in inverted position at the outside of the housing 51 (Fig. 1). A closure 88 may be provided to control the passage of ink from the bottle 19 into the lower portion of the housing 51of the inking head 5.

Height adjustments of the coding head 4 and inking head with respect to the conveyor I may be made by loosening the bolts 81 that extend through split collars 82 of the supporting mem- When the bolts 8| are loosened the supporting member 1 may be lifted or lowered along the spaced supporting shafts 8 and It! to accommodate a particular height of container beneath the marking head 4. After a desired height adjustment has been obtained, the bolts inking head 5 carried thereby, does not change the drive for the marking head or the inking head, as the shaft I9 remains at all times connected with the driving bevel gear through the sleeve 24 which is slidably keyed with the keyway 21 of the shaft l9.

When the foregoing described device or machine is being readied for the application of code numbers or legends to the closure caps of containers, the device will first be set to correct height by loosening the bolts 8| and correctly positioning the supporting member 1 with the marking head 4. Thereafter the position of the marking elements 39 carried by the marking head 4 may be checked to see that they are suitably synchronized or adjusted with respect to the star wheel l4 (the adjusting bolts and slots 35 facilitate this adjustment). Adjustment of the squeegee roller 12 for the inking belt may be made by turning the knurled nut 11 so that a correct supply of ink is fed to each of the marking elements 39.

As containers feed through the marking device, they are received by fingers of the star wheel [4 and moved in correctly spaced relationship beneath the marking head 4. The marking head 4 rotates in the same general direction as the movement of the containers so that an inked marking element 39 comes into contact with a desired location or position on a closure cap (see Fig. 1). Slight variations in heights of the individual containers are accommodated by the yieldable mountings of the marking elements '39; if a container of excessive height passes beneath a marking element, the latter may yield in opposition to the effect of its spring 45 and thus'the particular container passes beneath the marking head without causing damage to the device or to the cap or container.

' While four marking elements are shown carried by the typewheel 4, any convenient number may be utilized.

In Figs. 6 and 7 there is shown a modified form of the invention. In this form the marking head 4a and inking head 5a are carried by a supporting member 1a, the supporting member 1a being mounted adjacent the ends thereof on spaced upright members 8a and 10a. The

spaced supporting members project through split collars 82a formed on the supporting member 1a. The collars 82a form part of a flange member 85 which may be bolted in any suitable position toa framework or support.

The star wheel l4a may be driven from a sealing machine (not shown) through the gear 86, sleeve 81 and shaft 88 slidably keyed thereto. The shaft 88 extends upwardly to a position adjacent the marking head 4a and has keyed to the upper portion thereof a bevel gear 89 that meshes with another bevel gear 90 carried by the shaft 9|. The shaft 91 serves to rotate the marking head 4a mounted adjacent the outer portion thereof.

The inking head 5a is shown driven by the shaft 91 through the intermediation of intermeshing gears 92, 93, 94 and 95. The sprocket drive arrangement described in connection with the embodiment of Figs. 1 through 5 may be utilized to drive the inking head 5a of Figs. 6 and '1. Likewise, a gear train along the lines of that described in connection with Figs. 6 and '7 may be utilized to drive the inking head 4 of Figs, 1 through 5, in lieu of the sprocket and chain drive described in connection therewith.

Containers moved along the table level or conveyor level 91, by an endless conveyor such as described in connection with Figs. 1 through 5.

will, be space dby thesta; wheel Ma in a manner similar to that previously described.

ing the retaining bolts em, serves to e vate or lower the spaced uprights to and Ilia with respect to the conveyor surface 9'! and to thus adjust the height of the marking head 51: and the inking head to.

The foregoing described height adjustment features are desirable in instances where very accurate height adjustments are required. In other cases such accurate adjustment may not be reguired and the co-operating adjusting nut 98 and threaded screw set may be omitted, height adjustments being obtained by loosening the retaining bolts 81a and lifting or lowering th supporting member in, after'which the retaining bolts Sid may be tightened to maintain the adjusted position.

In Fig. 8 there is illustrated a form of the machine which is particularly adapted for use in connection with sealing machines of the type described in United States Patent No. 2,510,568 granted June 6, 1950, and owned by the assignee of the present application.

As shown in Fig. 8, a conveyor ib selVes to present sealed containers to a star wheel I ih spaced above a sprocket 89 which serves to engage and guide the conveyor lb. The star wheel Mb moves the containers in correctly spaced relationship beneath a marking head to similar to that previously described. The marking head 4b is operatively connected with and driven by a sleeve member I03 through the intermediation of vertically slidable collar Hill, bevel gears (B5 and I06 and. shaft lfll'. The star wheel Mb is shown bolted to a flange portion of the sleeve I03 and thus rotates with it. Any suitable form of drive from a sealing machine (not shown) may be utilized for rotating the sprocket 99, star Wheel 14b and sleeve Hi3.

'Height adjustments of the marking head 42) may be made by rotating the adjusting nut I08 shown threaded to the upper portion of the shaft Hi), the adjusting nut 168 being connected with ,a connecting housing ill by a clip H3 and split collar lit.

' vides a new and improved device or mechanism adapted to apply code numbers or legends to the closure caps of sealed containers. Containers are accurately positioned with respect to the .marking means and the latter may be closely adjusted or synchronized so as to place the code number or legend in the desired position on a closure cap.

The moving belt of the inking head and the squeegee roller utilized in conjunction therewith provide a highly desirable result in that an optimum amount of ink maybe carried by the inking. belt from an ink reservoir to a marking element are squeegee roller acts "on the 's'ide flanges of the belt as well as on the outwardly disposed surface thereof and serves to limit the ink being fed so that'excess quantities ar not applied to the code'stamp or marking element. This feature is very desirabl since it facilitates continuous operation of the machine without excess quantities of ink being accumulated on the marking elements, even in those instances where for some reason or other sealed containers do not pass through the machine for a period or time.

Height adjustments of the marking and inking heads maybe readily made and means are provided for facilitating very accurate height adjustments where such are desired.

Containers of the same size but of varying tolerances are readily accommodated by th yieldably mounted marking elements, the device serving to imprint closure caps on containers of minimum tolerance and to readily yield and inprint other containers which may be of a'maximum tolerance.

The present marking device or mechanism is of relatively simple and rugged construction and is well adapted to withstand any rough usage to which it may be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangements of the parts herein without departing. from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention in some detail, what I claim is:

1. A machine for applying markings to closure caps on sealed containers comprising means. providing a substantially horizontal path for a series of moving capped containers, a rotatable vertical shaft upstanding behind said path, a horizontal star wheel fast on a lower portion of the shaft having a portion of its periphery overlying the path and adapted on rotation of the shaft to engage containers and move them along the path, in combination with a marking head assembly for coding the caps during movement of the containers by the star wheel comprising a housing mounted on the upper portion of the shaft, a gear in the housing fixed against vertical movement relative to the housing, said gear being splined on the shaft for rotation with the shaft and movement axially of the shaft, a horizontal shaft journaled in said housing and driven by said gear and having an end projecting from the housing, a generally circular marking member fast on the projecting end of said horizontal shaft and having a plurality of printing elements spaced about its periphery and movable successively on rotation of the marking member into printing contact with the caps of containers bcingmoved by the star wheel, means for setting said housing at adjusted elevations on said vertical shaft for operation of the printing elements on the caps of containers of different heights, and means for rotating said vertical shaft and thereby rotating said star wheel and said marking member in predetermined phase relation regardless of the elevation of the housing on the vertical shaft.

2. The machine claimed in claim 1, in which the means for setting the housing at adjusted elevations on the vertical shaft comprises fixed .upright means' upstanding behind the oath and spaced from the vertical shaft, arm means extending from the housing to said upright means, and a connection for securing said arm means at adjusted elevations on said upright means.

3. The machine claimed in claim 1, in which the means for setting the housing at adjusted elevations on the vertical shaft comprises a pair of uprights upstanding behind the path and spaced from the vertical shaft lengthwise along the path, an arm extending from each opposite side of the housing to one of the uprights, and a connection on the outer end of each arm for securing the arm at adjusted elevations on the adjacent upright.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number 10 Name Date Goss Aug. 21, 1923 Wysong Mar. 4, 1924 Wilkinson July 1, 1924 Albertoli Oct. 7, 1924 Roe July 23, 1929 Kranz Mar. 6, 1934 Rawson July 14, 1936 Damm Mar. 2, 1937 Booth Jan. 11, 1938 Kimball Mar. 1, 1938 Serai Mar. 26, 1940 Jackson Mar. 26, 1940 Jordan May 26, 1942 Huntley Apr. 13, 1943 Nordquist Feb. 27, 1945 Davies May 24, 1949 Scott et al July 5, 1949 McKay July 31, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date GreatBritain Feb. 25, 1888