US3724365A

US3724365A - Container marker and inking apparatus therefor

Info

Publication number: US3724365A
Application number: US00140388A
Authority: US
Inventors: S Wilde
Original assignee: HC Industries Inc
Current assignee: HC Industries Inc
Priority date: 1971-05-05
Filing date: 1971-05-05
Publication date: 1973-04-03
Anticipated expiration: 1990-04-03

Abstract

Marking apparatus for printing indicia on the peripheral surface of an advancing procession of containers including a printing element consisting of a shaft having first and second axially spaced portions supported thereon. The first portion supports a friction member while the second portion supports a plurality of circumferentially spaced marking characters. The marking apparatus also includes a driven wheel that has a first friction portion arranged to frictionally drive the printing element or wheel in response to rotation of the drive wheel. The drive wheel further includes a second portion that has ink delivered thereto which is transferred to the marking characters by direct engagement therewith. The printing wheel is positioned adjacent the path of the moving containers so as to simultaneously have the friction member and the printing characters in engagement with the periphery of the container to produce a rotation of the container and simultaneous marking of the peripheral surface.

Description

Apr. 3, 1973 United States Patent [191 Wilde [54] CONTAINER MARKER AND INKING Primary Examiner-Robert E. Pulfrey APPARATUS THEREFOR Assistant Examiner-Clifford D. Crowder 75 Inventor: Sheldon L. Wilde, Crawfordsville,

Ind.

[57] ABSTRACT Marking apparatus for printing indicia on the peripheral surface of an advancing procession of containers including a printing element consisting of a shaft having first and second axially spaced portions supported thereon. The first portion supports a friction member while the second portion supports a plurality of circumferentially spaced marking characters. The marking apparatus also includes a driven wheel that has a first friction portion arranged to frictionally drive the printing element or wheel in response to rotation of the drive wheel. The drive wheel further includes a second portion that has ink delivered [56] References Cited thereto which is transferred to the marking characters by direct engagement therewith. The printing wheel is UNITED STATES PATENTS positioned adjacent the path of the moving containers ee mhhm atte f r h eh P bub m dp mtme HOh ne a Oma .UECO u 62. .W :l n 9 .2. .1 F C m .8 h a n t pm .cn a hmflo D yem 2 It n 9 scum s 8 1 m oou .I. 63 a nh m l 3666 C al h 8 d fn mm: wm Ofien t e p .l s P a a al cum mmpcw X X .X UBBOSUUD 11 6 00 U 8 Ml1/ B4 l m mm2 2 w. Wm m Tm a "hr ..t.. m wmumm. 1S3 fl oa BWBWMHC 817205 1766746 9999999 1111111 ll/l/Il 5660054 11 7041626 682786 ,3 ,5 ,3 7979255 6825378 ,9 ,3 333322 PATENTED APR 3 I975 sum 1 [1E2 PATENTEDAPR 3 ma 3, 724. 365

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CONTAINER MARKER AND INKING APPARATUS THEREFOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to marking apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for applying inked impressions to the peripheral surfaces of an advancing procession of containers.

In recent years, numerous occasions have required the coding of containers with some type of indicia to advise the subsequent purchaser of some aspect of the product contained in the container. For example, various food products that are packaged in containers have a limited shelf life and the date of production or packaging must be indicated on the container.

One type of container which has found extensive use in packaging of food products is the metal can in which food products are packaged and a suitable label is attached to the container to indicate the contents. If the date information regarding packaging is desired on the container, it may be printed into the label as part of the label in some type of code word. While this solution has been partially successful in properly coding the date of packaging of various articles, this arrangement necessitates that the packager carry in stock a supply of labels for each day and also places the additional burden on the packager of making certain that proper labels are used which carry the correct indicia.

In an effort to overcome this problem, various coding apparatus have been proposed for properly coding the containers either along the tops or on the periphery after the contents have been sealed into the container. One example of such a device is a marking mechanism that is driven by the movement of the containers along a path and is shown in Hirsch U.S. Pat. No. 2,375,362. While this arrangement has been partially successful in labeling container tops as they are moving along a path, difficulties are encountered in properly activating the marking apparatus with the containers when the con tainers are moved at a rather rapid rate.

To overcome this problem, various types of power driven coding apparatus have been proposed, such as for example the type disclosed in Dowson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 1,303,042 and Alessi, Jr., et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,829,598. While these two disclosures show mechanisms that can be used for marking the container tops or peripheral surfaces, both mechanisms are extremely complex and require a number of interrelated parts which must be accurately located with respect to the path for the containers in order to adequately insure that proper markings are applied to the containers. In addition, the speed of rotation of the marking wheel must be accurately correlated with the speed of the containers along the path in order to insure that the indicia is applied without smearing.

Thus, there remains a need for a simple and inexpensive device for marking containers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates a marking apparatus that includes a minimum number of parts supported on a single plate that can readily be attached to base structure located adjacent the path for the containers. The marking apparatus includes only two moving parts that cooperate with each otherand with the periphery of the container to insure that the marking is 0 be pivotally supported on a pivot pin carried by a base adjacent the path of movement of the containers. Releasable clamp means between the plate and the base can readily be manipulated to maintain the plate in any one of a plurality of pivoted positions relative to the base to accurately align the periphery of the printing wheel with the peripheral surfaces of the containers moving along the path.

The marking apparatus is in the form of a drive wheel driven by an electric motor of the variable speed type. The drive wheel has a first friction portion and a second ink receiving portion axially spaced on the periphery thereof. The print wheel is in the form of a stub shaft having a wheel rotatable thereon with first and second axially spaced circular portions defined on the wheel, each of which has a recess therein. The first or upper portion receives an elastomeric band or friction member in the recess while the lower or second portion has a printing element received in the recess. The printing element may take the form of an elastomeric band or other type of resilient or stretchable element that has printing characters on the peripheral surface thereof.

The printing element is releasably secured to the support plate by having the shaft received in an elongated slot extending from one edge of the plate and quick release coupling means, attached to the end of the shaft, cooperates with the plate so that the entire unit or printing element may readily be adjusted relative to the plate with a minimum of effort. In its attached position, the exposed surface of the elastomeric band is in frictional engagement with the friction portion of the drive wheel while the exposed surfaces of the marking characters are aligned with the inking portion of the drive wheel.

The marking apparatus further includes ink supply means for constantly maintaining ink or other suitable marking medium on the peripheral surface of the inking portion of the drive wheel. Again, according to the principal desire of the invention, the inking mechanism is a simple device that does not require any expensive elements. The inking device is in the form of an inkwell that has an upwardly opening recess corresponding substantially in cross-sectional configuration to the cross-sectional configuration of the inking portion of the drive wheel. The ink-well is releasably attached to the lower surface of the plate with the inking portion of the drive wheel located in the recess. Ink is supplied to the ink-well from an inverted container that is supported on a bottle rack secured to the plate through a flexible conduit and a bore extending through the wall of the ink-well and in communication with the recess in the well. A wick is located in the recess to transfer ink from the well onto the peripheral surface of the inking portion of the drive wheel.

With the above arrangement rotation of the drive wheel will cause a simultaneous rotation of the printing wheel through the friction drive and the friction member on the print wheel will engage the peripheral surface of the container and cooperate with a friction pad on the opposite side of the path to positively drive or rotate the container as it is moving past the printing wheel to insure positive printing without any smearing or defacing of the printing characters. Furthermore, the arrangement allows for the movement of the containers at a rapid rate along the path, normally defined by an endless driven conveyor that has the containers supported on end on the upper surface thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF DRAWINGS FIG. I is a fragmentary plan view, partially in section, showing the marking apparatus as viewed along line ll-l of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 2 is a section taken generally along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail one specific embodiment, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated.

The two figures of the drawings disclose the marking or printing apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral 10. The marking or coding apparatus is specifically designed for applying indicia to the peripheral surfaces 12 of a plurality of containers 14 supported on one end on a continuously moving conveyor 16 that moves the containers along a generally horizontal path. The advancing procession of containers 14 are supported in a manner that the peripheral surfaces of the containers are located in a common vertical plane that extends generally parallel to the path of movement, indicated by the arrow A. For this purpose, one or more vertically spaced fixed rails 18 may be located above the conveyor with the containers or articles 14 having a surface in engagement with the adjacent surface of the rails.

The marking or coding apparatus 10 includes a generally flat rectangular plate 20 that defines the support means for all of the operative elements of the coding apparatus. The support plate 20 is supported for pivotal movement about a vertical axis on a base 22 that is located adjacent the path for the containers. The pivot means is shown as a bolt 23 extending through openings in the base 22 and in the plate 20. A suitable spacer 26 is located between the adjacent surfaces of the base and the plate, for a purpose which will be described later.

As was indicated above, all of the elements of the simplified coding apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention are supported on the single plate 20 and the device includes only two moving elements. The first of the two moving elements consists of a drive wheel 24 supported for rotation about a vertical axis below the lower surface of the plate 20. The axis of rotation for the drive wheel 24 includes a shaft (not shown) extending upwardly through an opening in the plate 20 that has a suitable bearing supported therein.

The upper end of the shaft is connected through a coupling 26 to an output shaft 28 of a gear reducer 30 that is driven by a variable speed motor 32, preferably electrically driven. The speed and direction of rotation of the motor 32 is controlled by suitable control apparatus that is incorporated into a control box 34 supported on an upright 36. Since the control mechanism for the motor is of conventional nature and is connected to the motor in a conventional manner, no detailed description thereof appears to be necessary.

The marking apparatus 10 further includes a print element 40 having attaching means 41 for securing the wheel to the plate 20. The printing element consists of a stub shaft 42 that is secured to the plate 20 by the attaching means 41 with the axis of the shaft extending generally parallel to the axis for the drive wheel 24. The print wheel 44 is rotatably supported on the stub shaft by bearings 45. According to one aspect of the invention, the drive wheel 24 and the print wheel 44 are constructed and arranged to cooperate with each other for performing the dual function of positively driving the' print wheel in response to actuation of the motor 32 and simultaneously applying ink to the print wheel from a source, to be described later. The cooperating means between the drive wheel and the print wheel includes a first or upper peripheral portion 46 on the drive wheel that cooperates with a first or upper portion 48 on the print wheel (see FIG. 2) to frictionally drive or rotate the print wheel in response to rotation of the drive wheehPreferably the first portion of the print wheel has a recess 50 defined therein with an elastomeric band or other suitable friction member 52 received in the recess and having an exposed surface in frictional engagement with the first portion of the drive wheel. The first portion or friction portion 46 of the drive wheel may take any one of a number of forms. For example, the upper portion 46 of the wheel 40 could be knurled or otherwise roughened along the peripheral or circumferential surface thereof to provide the proper amount of frictional gripping between this peripheral surface and the elastomeric band. Alternatively, the upper portion could be constructed in a manner similar to the upper portion 48 of the printing wheel 40 or could be constructed of a friction material, such as rubber.

As more clearly shown in FIG. 2, the printing wheel 44 further includes a second or lower portion 54 that again has a recess 56 defined on the peripheral surface thereof. The recess 56 in the second portion 54 receives a suitable band 58 having a plurality of marking characters 59 supported thereon or integral therewith. The marking characters 59 are in contact with the lower or second portion 57 of the drive wheel. in addition, the marking characters are closely spaced about the periphery of the band 58 so that only a limited amount of peripheral contact need be made between the printing characters and the periphery of the container to properly transfer indicia or ink from the characters to the container surface. To avoid the necessity of close synchronization between the print wheel 44 and the containers 14 to be marked, the marking characters 59 are located in repeated patterns along the periphery of the wheel.

In its preferred embodiment, as will be explained later, the ink utilized is preferably of the normally transparent and invisible type which is not visible under normal lighting conditions but which may readily be observed by simply subjecting the surface to which the markings have been applied to a reproduction environment, such as a special form of light which renders the marking visible for inspection.

The coding apparatus further includes ink supply means, generally designated at 60, carried by the plate for supplying ink to the second portion 57 of the drive wheel so that rotation of the drive wheel will transfer ink to the printing characters 59 and subsequeritly to the peripheral surfaces of the containers 14. The ink supply means is designed with a minimum number of parts that can easily be manufactured without the necessity of machining elements to close tolerences. The ink supply means consists of an inkwell or trough 62 that may have any desired peripheral configuration. In the illustrated embodiment, the trough or ink-well 62 is a substantially rectangular block that has a circular recess or bore 64 extending from one surface and has an upper surface engaging plate when the block is secured in an operative position to the plate 20. The cross-sectional configuration of the recess 64 corresponds substantially to the configuration of the periphery of the second portion of the drive wheel. The drive wheel is supported below the lower surface of the plate and the ink-well is secured to the lower surface of the support plate 20 by releasable latch means 66. The releasable latch means include rotatable bolts 68 having arms 70 secured to the lower end thereof with the upper ends of the bolts extending through openings in the plate 20. Springs 72 are interposed between the upper end of the bolts and the upper surface of the support plate. Any number of such latch means may be provided, and in the illustrated embodiment, two have been shown. The releasable latch means allow for the removal of the ink-well in a matter of seconds merely by holding the ink-well against the lower surface of the support plate 20 and forcing the bolts 68 downwardly with a subsequent rotational movement to move the latch arms beyond the periphery of the block.

The remainder of the ink supply means 60 consists of an inverted ink bottle 74 that is supported on the upper surface of the plate 20 by a bottle rack and consists of a plurality of support arms 76 extending above the plate 20. The arms cooperate to define an upwardly opening recess for receiving the neck end of the inverted ink bottle 74. The open inverted end of the ink bottle 74 is in direct communication with the ink-well 62 through a flexible conduit 78 and a bore 80 communicating at its inner end with the recess 64 adjacent its lower edge thereof. The ink from the bottom of the recess 64 is supplied to the second portion 57 of wheel 24 through wick 82 which extends below the ink level in recess 64 and has its upper portion engaging the second portion 57. The particular arrangement allows for gravity feeding of the ink supply from the bottle 74 into the inkwell through what is commonly referred to as a chicken feeder type principle. The chicken feeder principle may briefly be described as relying upon pressure equalization between two liquids in two separate containers. Thus, after an equalibrium condition has been reached between the ink in the well or recess 64 and the ink in the bottle 74, the pressure in the head space in the bottle 74 above the liquid level plus the pressure head of the liquid in the bottle will be equal to the atmospheric pressure acting on the upper surface of the liquid in the recess 64. This condition will remain until the opening in the bottle 74 is exposed to atmosphere whereupon air will rush into the container, increasing the pressure in the head space above the liquid level and allowing the liquid or ink to drain from the container to the recess 64. The ink or liquid will then drain from the bottle 74 until the communication from the bottle to the atmosphere, through bore and conduit 78, is blocked. At this point, a vacuum will begin to be drawn in the open space in the container and, when the combined pressure of the pressure head of the liquid and the pressure in the head space above the liquid equals the atmospheric pressure, the flow of ink will discontinue.

As was indicated above, the support plate 20 of the marking apparatus 10 is attached to the base 22 in a manner that the position of the peripheral surface of the friction band 52 and the characters 59 can readily be moved toward and away from the path for the containers. For this purpose, the support plate 20 is releasably coupled to the base 22 in any one of a plurality of pivoted positions through releasable clamp means 83. The releasable clamp means 83 includes a sleeve 84 having a threaded bore 84a with a bolt 85 extending through an opening in the plate and threaded into the bore 84a. A second threaded rod 86 extends through an elongated slot 87 in the base 22 and has a lever 88 pivoted on the free end thereof. A washer 90 is interposed between the lower surface of the base 22 and a camming surface 92, defined on the pivoted portion of the lever, and cooperates with the plate and washer to maintain the adjusted positions for the plate. The elongated slot 87, extending from one edge of the base plate 22 allows the support plate 20 to be pivoted about the pivot pin 23 and the releasable clamp means 83 will allow the plate to be attached to the base in any one of a plurality of pivoted positions.

According to another aspect of the invention, the attaching means 41 for the print element 40, more particularly the stub shaft 42, is also in the form of a quick release coupling consisting of a lever 88 pivoted on the end of the stub shaft 42 with a washer 90 interposed between the camming surface 92 on the lever and the upper surface of the support plate 20. A spacer 93 is located between the bearing 45 and adjacent surface of the plate 20. Again, the intermediate portion of the stub shaft 42 is received in an elongated slot 96 that extends from one edge 98 that is located adjacent the path for the containers 14.

A brief summary of the present invention will highlight the numerous advantages gained by the construction and arrangement of the various moving parts that cooperate to provide a clear marking on the periphery of the containers. The motor 32, reduction gear box 30 and the drive wheel 24 are substantially permanently connected to the support plate. A print wheel 40 of the desired diameter with the desired marking character band 58 and elastomeric band 52 is releasably attached to the plate 20 by the attaching means 42 so as to provide frictional engagement between the upper portion 46 of the drive wheel and the upper portion 48 of the print wheel, through the peripheral surface of the elastomeric band 52. At the same time, the lower portion 54 of the print wheel 44 is located in a recess 99 communicating with the recess 64 and has the characters 59 in engagement with the peripheral surface of the lower portion 57 of the drive wheel 24. The plate 20 is then pivoted about its pivot pin 23 so as to locate the peripheral surface of the elastomeric band and the characters of the print wheel 44 in alignment with the vertical plane defined by the periphery of the containers 14. The drive means for the conveyor 16 (not shown) and the motor 32 are then actuated and the coding apparatus or mechanism 10 will automatically provide an invisible code onto the periphery of the container. In order to insure that the marking plate on the periphery of the container is applied without smearing, the exposed surface of the elastomeric band 52 is in frictional engagement with the peripheral surface of the container 14 and a backing member 100, preferably of a resilient friction material, such as rubber, engages the periphery of the container on the side opposite the point of contact for the printing roll. This arrangement will cause a counterclockwise rotation of the container 10 as the printing of the characters is being performed. This arrangement requires that the theoretic surface velocity of the print wheel be twice the linear velocity of the containers, assuming that they are cylindrical in nature. This necessarily is required because the container is rotated about its own axis while the printing is being accomplished, which'means that the peripheral velocity of the surface of the container is twice its linear velocity.

As can be seen from the above description, the apparatus for applying normally invisible indicia representative of various desired information to the peripheral surface of the container without distracting from the overall appearance, is accomplished with a very inexpensive coding apparatus that can readily be manufactured with a minimum number of parts, none of which require any close machining tolerances. The various elements forming the coding apparatus are operatively interconnected in a manner that the entire unit can be completely disassembled in a matter of minutes for maintenance or repair. Furthermore, the printing element per se, can readily be removed and replaced with a different size or different type of printing unit merely by the manipulation of a single lever and its replacement with a unit of the preferred type.

While the marking apparatus or coder has been described in connection with circular containers, the coder can be used to print indicia on rectangular or odd shaped objects by matching the circumferential velocity of the print wheel with the linear velocity of the object.

What is claimed is:

1. Marking apparatus for applying indicia to the peripheral surfaces of containers supported on end for movement along a generally horizontal path with the peripheral surfaces of respective containers located in a common vertical plane parallel to said path, comprising: a fixed support plate located on one side of said path; a drive wheel supported for rotation about a vertical axis on said plate; motor means supported on said plate for rotating said drive wheel; a print wheel having a shaft; attaching means for securing said shaft to said plate with its axis extending parallel to the axis for said drive wheel; said wheels having first portions in frictional engagement to rotate said print wheel in response to rotation of said drive wheel; said print wheel having a plurality of closely spaced marking characters disposed about the periphery thereof on a second portion spaced from said first portion, said drive wheel having a second portion in engagement with said characters; and ink supply means carried by said plate for supplying ink to said second portion of said drive wheel so that rotation of said drive wheel will rotate said print wheel and transfer ink from said supply means to the peripheral surfaces of said containers.

2. Marking apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which said ink supply means includes a trough secured to a lower surface of said plate, said trough defining an upwardly opening recess with said second portion of said drive wheel located in said recess, ink delivery means communicating with said recess for delivering ink to the lower portion of said recess, and wick means for transferring said ink from said lower portion of said recess to said second portion of said drive wheel.

3. Marking apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which said attaching means includes a quick release coupling cooperating with said shaft and said plate for releasably securing said shaft to said plate.

4. Marking apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including a base adjacent said path; pivot means pivotally supporting said plate on said base; and releasable clamp means between said plate and base for maintaining said plate in any one of a plurality of pivoted positions.

5. Marking apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which said plate is flat with an edge located adjacent said path; means defining a slot in said plate extending from .said edge; said shaft being received in said slot; and

quick release coupling means connected to said shaft and cooperating with said plate for maintaining said shaft in adjusted position in said slot, said coupling means including a lever pivoted on said shaft and a camming surface on said lever cooperating with said plate.

6. Marking apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which said first portion of said print wheel includes an elastomeric band received in a circumferential recess on said print wheel, said band having an exposed surface in frictional engagement with said first portion of said drive wheel, said print wheel being positioned to locate said exposed surface tangentially of said vertical plane; and means on the opposite side of said path for engaging the peripheral surface of said container, said last means cooperating with said print wheel and elastomeric band to cause frictional engagement with said band and containers to rotate said containers as they move past said printing wheel.

7. Marking apparatus as defined in claim 6, in which said ink supply means includes an ink-well receiving said second portion of said drive wheel; releasable latch means securing said ink-well to a surface of said plate; a bottle rack secured to said plate for receiving an inverted ink bottle; conduit means connecting said bottle to said ink-well; and a wick in said ink-well engaging said second portion of said drive wheel.

8. Marking apparatus for printing in'dicia on the peripheral surface of an advancing procession of containers comprising a printing element including a shaft supporting a wheel with axially spaced first and second portions, each having a circumferential recess extending from the peripheral surface thereof; a friction member received in the recess of said first portion and extending beyond the peripheral surface thereof; a marking member received in the recess of said second portion and having marking characters extending beyond the peripheral surface thereof, the exposed portions of said characters and said friction member being spaced substantially a common distance from the axis of said shaft; a wheel having axially spaced friction and ink transferring portions; support means supporting said wheels for rotation about spaced parallel axes extending parallel to the peripheral surface of said containers with said friction portion of said drive wheel being in engagement with said exposed portion of said friction member and said ink transfer portion being in engagement with at least some of said characters; and means for rotating said drive wheel to frictionally drive said printing element so that engagement of said exposed portions of said characters and said friction member with the peripheral surface of respective containers will cause rotation of the containers as printing indicia is applied thereto.

9* a: a: a:

Claims

5. Marking apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which said plate is flat with an edge located adjacent said path; means defining a slot in said plate extending from said edge; said shaft being received in said slot; and quick release coupling means connected to said shaft and cooperating with said plate for maintaining said shaft in adjusted position in said slot, said coupling means including a lever pivoted on said shaft and a camming surface on said lever cooperating with said plate.

8. Marking apparatus for printing indicia on the peripheral surface of an advancing procession of containers comprising a printing element including a shaft supporting a wheel with axially spaced first and second portions, each having a circumferential recess extending from the peripheral surface thereof; a friction member received in the recess of said first portion and extending beyond the peripheral surface thereof; a marking member received in the recess of said second portion and having marking characters extending beyond the peripheral surface thereof, the exposed portions of said characters and said friction member being spaced substantially a common distance from the axis of said shaft; a wheel having axially spaced friction and ink transferring portions; support means supporting said wheels for rotation about spaced parallel axes extending parallel to the peripheral surface of said containers with said friction portion of said drive wheel being in engagement with said exposed portion of said friction member and said ink transfer portion being in engagement with at least some of said characters; and means for rotating said drive wheel to frictionally drive said printing element so that engagement of said exposed portions of said characters and said friction member with the peripheral surface of respective containers will cause rotation of the containers as printing indicia is applied thereto.