US3558404A - Apparatus for applying a label to a container by moving the container through resilient fingers having the label mounted thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

A LABEL IS APPLIED TO A CONTAINER BY FIRST PLACING THE LABEL OVER THE SMALL END OF A CONICAL-SHAPED, EXPANSION DEVICE. NEXT THE CONTAINER IS MOVED THROUGH THE LARGE END OF THE CONICAL-SHAPED DEVICE AND AS THE CONTAINER APPROACHES THE SMALL END IT WILL EXPAND BOTH THE SMALL END

AND THE LABEL. AS THE CONTAINER CONTINUES ON IT WILL PASS THROUGH THE LABEL UNTIL IT IS IN THE CORRECT POSITION.

Description

Jan. 26, 1971 A D. w. METCALF 3,558,404

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A LABEL TO A CONTAINER BY MOVING TH-E CONTAINER THROUGH RESILIENT FINGERS HAVING THE LABEL MOUNTED THEREON Filed-May 51, 1968 34 I 1 r 30 46 36b W28 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. D.W. M E TCALF FIG. 5

A TTORNEYS United States Patent 3,558,404 APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A LABEL TO A CONTAINER BY MOVING THE CONTAINER THROUGH RESILIENT FINGERS HAVING THE LABEL MOUNTED THEREON Dean W. Metcalf, Grand Prairie, Tex., assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 31, 1968, Ser. No. 733,440 Int. Cl. B65c 3/08 US. Cl. 156-484 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A label is applied to a container by first placing the label over the small end of a conical-shaped, expansion device. Next the container is moved through the large end of the conical-shaped device and as the container approaches the small end it will expand both the small end and the label. As the container continues on it will pass through the label until it is in the correct position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a label applicator. In One aspect this invention relates to expanding a container label and pushing a container through the label until the container is in the correct relationship with the label. In another aspect this invention relates to using resilient fingers as a means to expand a label by forcing the container through the fingers after the label has been placed over the fingers.

It has always been desirable in the container field for labels to be placed on containers for easy and quick identification. There has been a problem with printing the label on the exterior of the container material prior to packing since the label may become damaged during processing and packing of the container. Also, the application of labels on containers after processing where the label is made of some easily torn or damaged material such as paper has also been a problem. It is possible that a paper label may be torn during shipping and handling and thereby reduce the aesthetic appearance of the container. It is well known in certain areas of marketing, where the product is sold to the consumer in the container, that a damaged label may reduce the marketability of the product unless the price is reduced.

Also, there is a problem in that containers made out of certain types of materials, such as polyethylene, will not make a good adhesive bond with a label. If a label is to be bonded to a polyethylene container then the container must be treated in order for a good bond to form. This special treatment adds to the expense and time required in labeling the container.

It has been found that all the problems discussed above may be eliminated by the use of a tubular plastic sleeve label. This label may be applied before or after the container is processed with no danger to the printing on the tubular plastic label. Also, tubular plastic labels are very hard to tear and damage to the label during handling is rare.

There has been a problem with the use of tubular plastic sleeve labels in applying the label to the container. One method has been to make the label of a heat shrinkable material and to make the size of the label so it easily fits around the container. After the label is in place, heat is applied which shrinks the label to fit snugly around the container. While this method is successful with certain types of materials used in containers, it is not suitable for all containers. Some container materials may be adversely alfected by the heat shrinking process. Also the heat shrinking process is time consuming and increases the expense of placing the label on the container. It has been found that by using the present invention the advantages of using a tubular plastic sleeve label are utilized while the problems of applying such a label are eliminated.

Therefore, it is the object of the present invention to provide a device wherein tubular plastic sleeve labels may be applied to containers. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device wherein a tubular plastic label may be applied to a container without requiring a special treating of the container. It is a further object to provide a device for applying tubular plastic labels to a container without requiring special treatment of the label after it is applied to the container.

Other aspects, objects and the several advantages of the invention will be apparent from a study of the disclosure, the drawings, and the appended claims to the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the relationship between a conveyor and the driving means and side guard used in the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a machine embodying the present invention. FIG. 3 is an end view of a label stretching device used in the present invention. FIGS. 4 and 5 are successive side views of a label being placed on a container in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a label application is made up of a driving means 12, a positioning trough 14 and a label stretcher 16. Trough 14 is located between driving means 12 and label stretcher 16. A driving disc 22 is attached to a piston rod 24 and a guard plate 26 is attached to the periphery of disc 22 and covers approximately one quarter of the periphery of disc 22. Guard plate 26 is positioned parallel to piston rod 24. Driving means 12 may be of any commerically available device, such as a single acting air cylinder as manufactured Miller Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., wherein piston rod 24, disc 22 and guard plate 26 are moved in a horizontal manner.

Positioning trough 14 is connected to a conveyor 28 which carries containers 36A, 36B and 36C to trough 14. Conveyor 28 is made up of guide walls 30 and 32 and an end wall 34. Containers 36A, 36B and 360 are moved over conveyor 28 by any means commercially known in the art such as a conveyor belt (not shown). Guide walls 30 and 32 form a trough which the containers move through before moving into positioning trough 14.

Label stretcher 16 is made up of a ring 38 and six resilient fingers 40. Ring 38 is of such a diameter that containers 36A, 36B and 36C may be axially passed through it. Resilient fingers 40 are rigidly attached to the end of ring 38 and fingers 40 are biased in such a manner that the ends not attached to ring 38 are closer together than those ends which are attached to ring 38. Resilient fingers 40 are distributed uniformly around ring 38 as shown in FIG. 3. The ends of fingers 40 which are not attached to ring 38 are located close together so that containers 36A, 36B and 36C can not pass through the end without moving the fingers apart. Two of the figures have guide pins 42 which are used to place a tubular plastic sleeve label 44 in the proper position over fingers 40. Pins 42 may be located on any two of the six fingers 40 which are opposite each other. It may also be desirable in certain cases to place guide pins 42 on all six of the fingers.

A fiat surface 48, such as a table, runs along the side of conveyor 28. Supporting means 50 and 52 are used to support and connect driving means 12 to surface 48. A supporting means 54 is used to support and connect label stretcher 16 to surface 48.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown one of containers 36A in a position ready to move into trough 14. Piston rod 24, driving disc 22, and guard plate 26 are shown in a position where the piston rod 24 is at its most extended position. Container 36A is prevented from moving into trough 14, while piston rod 24 is in the extended position, by guard plate 26. If container 36A was allowed to move against piston rod 24 while it is in the extended position, then when rod 24 tried to return to its retracted position (as shown in FIG. 2) it would jam disc 22 into container 36A thereby preventing the machine from operating properly.

Wall 30 is curved and sloped in such a manner that the gravitational force will roll the containers oif of wall 30. Wall 32 is attached to wall 30 and the two walls form a trough. Wall 32 supports the containers against the gravitational force until the containers reach a point 46 where wall 32 ends. Therefore when a container is in the position shown by container 36A, FIG. 1, the container will have a tendency to roll into trough 14 except that guard plate 26 prevents this. End wall 34 is placed in a position at the end of conveyor 28 so that if container 36A is blocked from entering trough 14 due to guard plate 26 then the container will come into contact with end wall 34 and held in place until guard plate 26 is removed. As piston rod 24 moves toward its retracted position, disc 22 and guard plate 26 will also be moved toward the same position.

Referring to FIG. 2, piston rod 24, disc 22, and guard plate 26 are in a retracted position and container 36A has moved out of conveyor 28 and into positioning trough 14. Tubular label 44 is then positioned over fingers 40 up to guide pins 42. Label 44 may be made of any material which will stretch when tension is applied and then return to approximate shape after the tension is released. An example of such a material is polyethylene.

After container 36A has rolled into trough 14 and label 44 is placed over fingers 40, the driving means 12 is actuated. Driving means 12 may be actuated by a manual switch or by electrical means which would trigger the driving means when the label and container are in place. When driving means 12 is actuatedthen piston rod 24 starts to move toward its extended position and in doing so disc 22 comes in contact with the end of container 36A. Disc 22 then pushes container 36A toward and axially through ring 38. Trough 14 is located at a height so that the trough and the bottom of ring 38 correspond. This allows container 36A to move smoothly from trough 14 through ring 38. As container 36A moves through ring 38 and out the other side it will come in contact with the six resilient fingers 40. Container 36A is rigid enough to push fingers 40 outward so that fingers 40 are approximately parallel to the sides of container 36A.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown container 36A pushing on fingers 40 as described above. When fingers 40 are pushed outward from each other by container 36A then label 44 is stretched so that the circumference of the label is slightly larger than that of the container. Container 36A then continues to move through ring 38 and through label 44 until the piston rod 24 has extended itself fully. When piston rod 24 has reached its point of full extension then container 36A will have moved through label 44 so that the container 36A is in the correct relationship with label 44 as shown in FIG. 5. When container 36A is in the correct position with respect to label 44 a pressure is applied to label 44. The pressure will be exerted perpendicular to label 44 and will be in a direction toward the axis of container 36A. The pressure may be exerted by an operator placing his fingers on the label and pushing inward or the pressure may be exerted by any mechanical means suited for such purpose such as mechanical clamping jaws. When the pressure has been applied then container 36A and label 44 are moved off of fingers 40 in the same direction the container has previously been moving. The operation of removing the container and label from the fingers may either be done by an operator or by mechanical means depending upon which means is consistent with the means used to apply the above-described inward pressure. Upon removal of container and label 44, fingers 40 will spring back into their original position as shown in FIG. 2 wherein the ends of the fingers which are not attached to ring 38 will be closer together than those ends which are attached to ring 38.

Upon the removal of container 36A and label 44 the label will return to approximately its unstretched size. Since the circumference of label 44 is slightly smaller in its unstretched size than container 36A then when the label returns to this unstretched size it will fit snugly around the container to prevent the label from slipping off during processing and handling. It may also be desirable to form the containers with a slight indentation around the middle of the container. When the label is applied it is positioned in the indentation to further prevent the label from sliding off the ends of the container.

During the time container 36A is being moved into label 44, container 36B will be moving into the position occupied by container 36A in FIG. 1. Guard plate 26 will prevent container 36B from rolling into trough .14 while container 36A is being pushed through label 44. When piston rod 24 returns to its retracted position then container 36B will roll into trough 14 and the abovedziacribed labeling process will be repeated on container 3 While the label stretcher and position 16 is disclosed as ring 38 and resilient fingers 40, it is understood that an expandable solid cone can be used. Such a cone can be made up of a series of continuous strips of material attached to a ring so that the ends not attached to the ring are closer together and form a smaller opening than the ends attached to the ring. It is also understood that the cone can be made up of a single piece of material formed in the shape of a cone but constructed in such a way that the small end of the cone can be expanded to the size of a container.

Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope of the foregoing disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims to the invention.

I claim:

1. Label applying apparatus comprising:

a stationary ring having a plurality of resilient fingers secured thereto and extending from the ring in a first direction, the ends of said fingers remote from said ring normally being closer together than the ends of the fingers that are secured to the ring, said fingers being adapted to have a label mounted thereon; conveyor positioned adjacent said ring, said conveyor comprising a first trough along which generally cylindrical articles can be moved, said first trough having an opening adjacent the end thereof through which the articles are removed;

a second trough positioned adjacent said ring and said conveyor to receive articles removed from said first trough through said opening; and

article driving means comprising a disk mounted on a rod, means to move said rod so that said disk is moved through said second trough toward said ring and is then returned, whereby a generally cylindrical article positioned in said second trough is moved by said disk through said ring and into said resilient Refer-a es Cited means so as to be positioned between said first and 1,955,949 4/1934 Colton 53 291X second troughs when said disk is displaced toward 5 21 :55: ISG 4Z3X said ring to prevent articles from moving into said $3323 gig g the 118k dlsplaced BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising guide I. J. DEVI'IT, Assistant Examiner pins mounted on at least part of said resilient fingers ad- 10 jacent said ring, said guide pins extending outwardly from said fingers to position labels mounted on said fingers. 156-423

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