US3889591A - Method and apparatus for printing indicia on products - Google Patents

Method and apparatus for printing indicia on products Download PDF

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Publication number
US3889591A
US3889591A US419200A US41920073A US3889591A US 3889591 A US3889591 A US 3889591A US 419200 A US419200 A US 419200A US 41920073 A US41920073 A US 41920073A US 3889591 A US3889591 A US 3889591A
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Prior art keywords
rotary drum
receptacles
products
rotation
receptacle
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Expired - Lifetime
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US419200A
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English (en)
Inventor
Yukihide Noguchi
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Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd
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Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd
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Publication date
Priority claimed from JP1972137236U external-priority patent/JPS5340855Y2/ja
Priority claimed from JP11951272A external-priority patent/JPS5515303B2/ja
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
    • B41F17/00—Printing apparatus or machines of special types or for particular purposes, not otherwise provided for
    • B41F17/36—Printing apparatus or machines of special types or for particular purposes, not otherwise provided for for printing on tablets, pills, or like small articles

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a branding machine and, more particularly, to a branding machine for automatically printing indicia on tablets, pills, candies, or any other products of any size or shape.
  • Tablets, pills, candies or any other products on which indicia are reproduced by a branding machine are, for the sake of brevity, hereinafter referred to as products and the branding machine in itself is well known as an instrument for reproducing on the product any indicia such as trademark, brand name, and/or quality indication not only to identify the products, but also to ensure customer recognition of the particular products.
  • a variety of branding machines are heretofore employed mostly in pharmaceutical industries.
  • medicinal products for example, tablets or pills
  • a polishing process wherein a suitable wax is applied to the products to give a luster thereto.
  • the lustered products are usually carefully handled but, notwithstanding, when they are subjected to a subsequent branding process, a certain percentage of them tend to lose their luster, reducing the commercial value thereof.
  • This is true of most conventional branding machines wherein relative mechanical rubbing or friction takes place between each product and a corresponding receptacle in which it is held in position during the branding process.
  • an essential object of the present invention is to provide a branding machine of the type referred to above, wherein no relative mechanical rubbing or friction substantially take place, thus eliminating the disadvantages inherent in the conventional branding machinesv
  • Another important object of the present invention is to provide a branding machine wherein, during transportation of each product carried by a rotating drum, the product is first sucked into a corresponding one of the receptacles. then floated within the receptacle for centering purpose, again sucked to hold the floated product in a predetermined position within the receptacle and finally blown onto a suitable container or another rotating drum.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide a branding machine of the type referred to above, which can handle products of similar shape even though they are irregular as to the size, without substantially incurring a displaced reproduction of an indicium or indicia.
  • a still further object of the present invention is to provide a branding machine of the type referred to above, which can be used either for printing one side of each product or for printing both sides of each prodnet.
  • a branding machine herein disclosed basically comprises a hopper unit, a feed unit including at least one rotary drum having the periphery formed with a plurality of radially inwardly recessed receptacles arranged in at least one row in equidistantly spaced relation to each other and from the axis of rotation of the rotary drum, and a printer unit.
  • Each of the receptacles in the rotary drum is, during rotation of said drum, sequentially communicated with a vacuum source to receive a product from the hopper unit, with a source of compressed air to effect centering of the product thus received in the receptacle, i.e., to accurately position the received product within the receptacle, with the vacuum source to hold the product in position within the receptacle after it has been centered with respect to the receptacle, for enabling the product to be printed in a stably held position, and finally with the source of compressed air to blow the printed product off from the receptacle onto a subsequent process.
  • an essential feature of the present invention resides in the employment of the principle of aerodynamics for accurately positioning each of the products within the receptacle thereby avoiding displaced reproduction of indicia on the product during the subsequent printing process. More specifically, during transfer of each product from one position adjacent to the hopper unit to another position adjacent to the printer unit with the rotary drum rotating a predetermined angle on both sides of the vertical line passing through the axis of rotation of said drum, the product received in the receptacle from the hopper unit is, no matter what posture it has assumed within the receptacle, floated in air within the receptacle thereby to center the center of gravity of the product on the stagnation point at which flow of air directed towards the product is divided, imparting an aerodynamic force to the product so as to upwardly lift the latter.
  • the posture of the product within the receptacle can be advantageously corrected to enable the product to be accurately printed with indicia during the subsequent branding process.
  • Mere application of the aerodynamic force to the product without the amount thereof being adequately controlled may cause the product to be blown away from the receptacle and, to avoid this, air is applied to one side surface of the product within the receptacle under a pressure so predetermined that the product can be held in a state of equilibrium in the air without being forced to fly away from the receptacle.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic front sectional view of a brand ing machine according to the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a side sectional view taken along the line lI[l in FIG. 1,
  • FIGS. 3(a) to (d) are schematic diagrams showing a sequence of centering a tablet performed by the branding machine of FIG. 1,
  • FIGS. 4(a) and (b) are top plan and side sectional views, respectively, of a portion of a rotary drum, showing an arrangement of the receptacle for use in associa tion with a tablet of of substantially elliptical shape, and
  • FIGS. 5(a) and (b) are similar views to FIGS. 4 (a) and(b), respectively, showing a modification of the arrangement of FIGS. 4(a) and (b).
  • a branding machine embodying the present invention comprises a bench (not shown) and an upright support vertically extending from said bench and having a pair of bearing openings 10a and 10b formed therein in spaced relation with respect to each other.
  • the upright support 10 carries a pair of annular presser plates 11 and 12, which may be of one-piece construction, each presser plate 11 or 12 having a through hole 11a or 120 formed therein and aligned with the bearing opening 10a or 1011.
  • each of the presser plates 11 and 12 is biased in one direction away from the upright support 10 by the action of compression springs 13 or 14.
  • compression springs 13 or 14 are mounted on a corresponding number of connecting rods 15 or 16 each having one end collapsibly received by one of the upright support 10 and presser plate 11 or 12 and the other end rigidly connected to the other of the upright support 10 and presser plate 11 or 12.
  • presser plates 11 and 12 are held in position between the upright support 10 and rotary drums 17 and 18 which are respectively rigidly mounted on shafts l9 and 20 extending through the through holes 110 and 12a and the bearing openings 10a and 10b and termi nating within a gear box 21.
  • a train of gears (not shown) is provided within the gear box 21 for transmitting a motive power from an electrically operated motor 22 to the shafts l9 and 20 thereby rotating said shafts 19 and 20 and, hence. rotating the rotary drums l7 and 18 in opposite directions as indicated by the arrows in synchronism with each other.
  • the rotary drums 17 and 18 are of the same diameter and the space between the shafts l9 and 20 is selected such as to permit the peripheral surface of either of the rotary drum 17 or 18 to be positioned very close to that of the other 18 or 17 without substantially forming an undue clearance therebetween in reference to the smallest possible thickness of articles to be printed by the branding machine of the present invention.
  • a hopper unit which comprises a substantially funnelshaped hopper 23 having a downwardly oriented guide 23a.
  • the hopper 23 includes a floating chamber 24 defined by a pair of side plates 24a, spaced from each other by a distance corresponding to the axial length of the rotary drum l7, and a bottom plate 24b having one end rigidly connected to the hopper 23 and the other end terminating close to the peripheral surface of the rotary drum 17.
  • a lid 25 may be provided at an upper portion of the chamber 24, bridging over the side plates 24a thereby to define the chamber 24 in cooperation with the side plates 24a, the bottom plate 24b, a portion of the peripheral surface of the drum l7 and the hopper 23.
  • the floating chamber 24 is communicated with the downwardly oriented guide 23a whereby a mass of tablets supplied into the hopper 23 can be fed thereto by gravity.
  • Supply of tablets from the hopper 23 to the chamber 24 through the guide 23a can be adequately controlled by a shuttering plate/26 which is manually upwardly and downwardly movable for adjustment of the opening between the guide 23a and the floating chamber 24.
  • the bottom plate 24b is formed therein with a plurality of blow holes 240, arranged side by side over the width thereof, which are in turn communicated with a source 26 of compressed air through a connecting tube 27 so that some of the tablets fed onto the floating chamber 24 can be held in a fluidized state within the floating chamber 24.
  • This roller 28 may be omitted and the hopper unit functions satisfactorily.
  • the rotary drums 17 and 18 are of the same construction and, therefore, for the sake of brevity, only one of them, that is, therotary drum 17, will be now described in detail. Elements of the rotary drum 18, not mentioned in the subsequent description, which correspond to the elements of the rotary drum 17, are designated by like alphabetic characters in combination with the reference numeral 18".
  • the rotary drum 17 has the outer peripheral surface formed with a plurality of radially inwardly recessed receptacles 17a which are circumferentially arranged in at least one row in the rotary drum and equidistantly spaced from each other.
  • the rotary drum 17 is formed therein with a corresponding number of Lshaped passages 1712 each having a first end 17c open at the bottom of the receptacle 17a and a second end 17d open at one end face of the drum 17 which faces the corresponding presser plate 11. It should be noted that the second ends 17d of the individual passages 17b in the rotary drum 17 are, therefore, arranged in a circular configuration equally spaced from the outer peripheral surface of said drum 17 or from the axis of rotation of the drum 17.
  • passages 17b or 18b are, during rotaion of the rotary drum 17 or 18, selectively communicated with a source 26 of compressed air and a vacuum source 29 in a manner as will be described later.
  • the presser plate 11 is formed on one surface facing the rotary drum 17 with first, second, third and fourth grooves 11b, 11c, 11d and 11e in alignment with the path of travel of the second open ends 17d of the individual passages 17b.
  • the first and third grooves 11b and 11d are communicated with the vacuum source 29 respectivly through passages formed in the presser plate 11, only one of these passages for communication between the third groove 11d and the vacuum source 29 being designated by 11f in FIG. 2.
  • the second and fourth grooves 11c and lle are communicated with the compressed air source 26 respectively through passages formed in the presser plate 11, only one of these passages for communication between the fourth groove 1 1e and the compressed air source 26 being designated by Hg in FIG. 2.
  • the presser plate 12 is formed on one surface facing the rotary drum 18 with first, second, third and fourth grooves 12b, 12c, 12d and 1212 in alignment with the path of travel of the second open ends 180' of the individual passages 18b.
  • the first and third grooves 12b and 12d are communicated with the vacuum source 29 respectively through passages formed in the presser plate 12, only one of these passages for communication between the first groove 12b and the vacuum source 29 being designated by 12f in FIG. 2.
  • the second and fourth grooves 12c and 12a are communicated with the compressed air source 26 respectively through passages formed in the presser plate 12, only one of these passages for communication between the fourth groove 12c and the compressed air source 26 being designated by 12g in FIG. 2.
  • Printer units 30 and 30' of the same construction are provided, one for each rotary drum 17 and 18.
  • Each of these printer units 30 and 30' comprises a rotogravure cylinder 31 or 31', supported rigidly on a shaft 32 or 32', which rotatably extends through the upright structure and is coupled to the motor 22 through the gear box 21 for rotation thereabout at the same peripheral velocity as that of the rotary drum ]7 or 18, respec tively, and a rubber-lined printing cylinder 33 or 33' rotatably mounted on a shaft 34 or 34' which is supported by the upright structure 10 and yieldably biased in any known manner so as to permit the printing cylinder 33 or 33' to pressure-contact both the rotogravure cylinder 3] or 31' and the rotary drum 17 or 18.
  • each of the rotogravure cylinders 31 and 31 is immersed in a printing ink contained in an ink con tainer 35 or 35' supported in position by a suitable framework (not shown) forming a part of the bench.
  • Each of these rotogravure cylinders 31 and 31 has around the circumference thereof a plurality of engravings (not shown) indicative of indicia to be printed on each tablet through a corresponding one of the printing cylinders 33 and 33'.
  • the first groove 11b in the presser plate 11 extends for a distance sufficiently covered within the floating chamber 24 for enabling some of the tablets within th floating chamber 24 to be sucked into corresponding receptacles 17a which are then communicated to the vacuum source 29;
  • the second groove 11c extends immediately above the shaft 19 in such a way that both ends thereof are situated on both sides of the vertical line passing through the axis of the shaft 19;
  • the third groove 11d extends between the second and fourth grooves 11c and lle for transference of tablets, received in the corresponding receptacles 17a after having been centered, to the rotary drum 18 past the printing unit 30;
  • the fourth groove He must be positioned such that each tablet in the receptacle 17a brought in position in alignment with the imaginary line connecting the axes of the shafts l9 and 20 can be blown off onto and sucked in one of the receptacles 18a of the rotary drum 18 then aligned with the receptacle 17a
  • the first groove 12b in the presser plate 12 is positioned in the manner as hereinabove described; the second groove 12c extends immediately above the shaft 20 in such a way that both ends thereof are situated on both sides of the vertical line passing through the axis of the shaft 20; and the third groove 12d extends between the second and fourth grooves 12c and 12e for transference of tablets, received in the corresponding receptacles 18a after having been centered, towards a chute 36 onto which the tablets are ejected from the respective receptacles 18a when the latter is communicated with the fourth groove 12c.
  • the chute 36 may be interposed between the rotary drum 18 and a suitable container or belt conveyor (not shown) for subsequent processing of the printed tablets.
  • each of receptacles 17a carrying the tablets therein approaches the top position immediately above the shaft 19, the receptacles 17a are successively communicated to the compressed air source 26 through the second groove by means of the corresponding passages 17b while communication thereof with the vacuum source 29 is immediately interrupted.
  • the tablet that has been received in the associated receptacle 17a in an arbitrary posture is floated in air for correction of the posture as will be discussed later.
  • This correction of posture of each of the tablets is effected by the aid of air in such a way as to render the center of gravity of each tablet to be aligned with the first open end 170 of the passage 1717 opened towards the associated receptacle 170.
  • the associated receptacle 17 becomes discommunicated from the compressed air source 26 and substantially simultaneously communicated again with the vacuum source 29 through the third groove lld whereby the tablet floated in the air within the associated receptacle 17a is immediately seated in a correct posture at the bottom of the associated receptacle 170.
  • each tablet received in the associated receptacle 17a in a corrected posture is transferred towards the rotary drum 18.
  • one side face of the tablet exposed outside the associated receptacle 17a, i.e., not in contact with the bottom of the receptacle i7, is printed by the printing cylinder 33 in the known manner.
  • each receptacle 17a and the compressed air source 26 through the fourth groove lle permits the corresponding tablet having one side face bearing a printed indicium to be fed into the corresponding receptacle 18a of the rotary drum 18. which is at this time communicated to the vacuum source 29, with the printed side face of said tablet seated at the bottom of said receptacle 180 while the other side face thereof that has been seated at the bottom of the receptacle 17a becomes exposed outside said receptacle 18a.
  • FIGS. 3(a) to (d) wherein only one of the receptacles 17a in the rotary drum 17 is taken into consideration for facilitating a better understanding thereof, though the same is true of the other receptacles in the rotary drum 1? as well as the receptacles 18a in the rotary drum 18.
  • FIG. 3(a) illustrates the receptacle 17a receiving therein a tablet T in a wrong or incorrect posture while the air within the passage 17b then communicated to the vacuum source 29 is drawn.
  • This posture of the tablet T shown in FIG. 3(a) is unfavourable because of possibility of displaced and/or unclear reproduction of the indicium or indicia when such tablet is subjected to the printing process.
  • the tablet T in the wrong or incorrect posture is first floated in air in such a manner as shown in FIG.
  • the condition of FIG 3(0) is that the tablet T has been aerodynamically equilibrated with compressed air uniformly flowing outwards of the receptacle 17a through a substantially uniform clearance C formed between the side face of the tablet T adjacent to the bottom of the receptacle 17a and an inwardly curved wall defining the receptacle 17a.
  • the dynamic pressure is generated on the side face of the tablet T facing the open end 17c of the passage 17b, thereby upwardly lifting said tablet T with the clearance formed as at C between said side face of said tablet T and the inwardly curved wall defining the receptacle 17a.
  • transition point As compressed air in the clearance C flows towards the circumference of the tablet T, which may be possibly referred to as transition point" relative to such flow of the compressed if, this dynamic pressure can be balanced by the known pressure recovery process occurring on the other side face of the tab let T since the flow loses its stability. subsequently breaks up into small vortices and finally detaches outwardly from the tablet T under the influence of reduced static pressure, substantially forming a reverse flow around the center of the other side face of the tablet.
  • the tablet T can be immediately sucked into the receptacle as shown in FIG. 3(d) and firmly held in position with the center of gravity thereof substantially exactly aligned with the axis of the passage l7b, thus completing the process of posture correction which is required to provide non-displaced and clear reproduction of the indicium or indicia on each side face of the tablet T during the subsequent branding process.
  • the tablet T is steadily seated within the receptacle 17a at the bottom thereof centered about the open end 176 of the passage 17b in the rotary drum 17 without being arbitrarily moved during the branding process at which time the printing cylinder contacts the tablet T.
  • a tablet used in this experiment was 8.3 mm. in diameter, 4.7 mm. in maximum thickness and 240 mg. in weight and had the radius of curvature of 6.0 mm. in one side face.
  • the pro cedure was to place the tablet in the receptacle in a wrong and then to communicate the receptacle to the compressed air source.
  • each of the receptacles 17a and 18a respectively formed in the rotary drums l7 and 18 are preferably selected to cope with a mass of similar tablets intended to be printed, but may be appreciably greater than the diameter and radius of curvature of each of the tablets to be printed.
  • each receptacle may have the configuration shown in either FIGS. 4(a) and (b) or FIGS. 5(a) and (b) since the ellipsoidal tablet has a directional prop erty.
  • the bottom surface of the receptacle 17a must have a pair of spaced openings 176' both connected to the open end 174 (FIG. 2), said openings 17c lying in alignment with the maximum axis of the elliptical contour of the opening of the receptacle 170'.
  • the ellipsoidal tablet can be held in position within the receptacle 170' with the center of gravity thereof aligned with the actually intermediate point between the openings 17b.
  • the receptacle shown in FIGS. 5(a) and (b) has a pair of lobes l7e inwardly protruding towards the axis of the passage 17b. These protruding lobes l7ecooperate with each other to cause, when the tablet is floated, the tablet to assume the correct posture in such a way that the maximum axis of the ellipsoidal tablet is aligned with that of the epitrochoidally-shaped opening of the receptacle I70
  • the opening of the passage 17b on the bottom surface of the receptacle 17a" is preferably enlarged as indicated by 176' to ensure a firm and exact suction of the tablet within the receptacle 170".
  • the rotary drums l7 and 18 are interchangeably mounted on the shafts l9 and 20, respectively, for replacement of the rotary drums of one type by that of other types thereby to provide the branding machine which accommodates different types of tablets. pills or like materials to be printed.
  • a branding machine for successively reproducing indicia on a mass of products of similar shape and/or size which comprises in combination:
  • At least one rotary drum rotatably carried by said support structure and having the peripheral surface formed with a plurality of radially inwardly recessed receptacles, some of which successively receive therein a corresponding number of the products during each rotation of said rotary drum for transference of said products from a take-in position to a take-out position, said receptacles being arranged in at least one circumferentially extending row in equally spaced relation with respect to each other;
  • third means for permitting a third group of said some of said receptacles to be communicated with said vacuum source for enabling a corresponding number of said products to be printed with said indicia thereon;
  • fourth means for permitting the rest of said some of said receptacles to be communicated with said compressed air source for successively ejecting a corresponding number of said products onto a subsequent processing station
  • said first to fourth means being operatively coupled and operated simultaneously during each rotation of said rotary drum;
  • a branding machine for successively reproducing indicia on a mass of products of similar shape and/or size which comprises in combination:
  • At least one rotary drum rotatably carried by said support structure and having the peripheral surface formed with a plurality of radially inwardly recessed receptacles, said receptacles being arranged in at least one circumferentially extending row in equally spaced relation with respect to each other;
  • passages formed in said rotary drum and corresponding in number to said receptacles, each of said passages having one end open towards the associated receptacle and the other end open at one end face of said rotary drum, said other ends of said pas sages being arranged in a circular configuration equidistantly spaced from the axis of rotation of said rotary drum",
  • a back-up plate supported by said support structure and elastically urged to permit one surface thereof to relatively slidably contact said one end face of said rotary drum, said back-up plate being formed on said one surface thereof with a first groove communicating with said vacuum source, a second groove communicating with said compressed air source, a third groove communicating with said vacuum source and a fourth groove communicating with said compressed air source, said first to fourth grooves being arranged in the order given above in the direction of rotation of said rotary drum and in a circular configuration in alignment with the path of travel of said other open end of each of said passages;
  • said receptacles in said rotary drum operating in sequence during each rotation of said rotary drum in such a way that, when said receptacles are successively brought to the delivery position, said receptacles are communicated with the vacuum source through said first groove to receive said products each in one receptacle from the accommodating means and hold them in an arbitrary posture within the associated receptacles under suction, said receptacles with said products therein being subsequently communicated with the compressed air source through said second groove for successively effecting a posture correction by floating the product in air within the associated receptacle to enable said product to assume a predetermined posture within the associated receptacle, each of the products in the associated receptacles in the predetermined posture being then printed on one surface thereof with the indicia by said printing means when said products are transferred past said printing means while received in said associated receptacles then communicated with the vacuum source through said third groove, and, when said receptacles with the printed products there
  • said accommodating means comprises a hopper having a downwardly extending guide and a chamber interposed between the lowermost opening of said guide and a portion of the peripheral surface of said rotary drum, said chamber being provided with at least one air opening communicated with a source of compressed air for fluidizing a mass of the products within said chamber for avoiding a possible blockage.
  • each of said receptacles has a substantially epitrochoidally opening and wherein said one open end of the associated passage which is open at the bottom of said receptacle is enlarged towards the receptacle.
  • each of said receptacles has a substantially ovalshaped opening and wherein said one open end of the associated passage is branched to open at two positions on the bottom of said receptacle.
  • a tnethod for reproducing indicia on at least one side surface of each of products of similar shape and/or size which comprises:

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US419200A 1972-11-28 1973-11-26 Method and apparatus for printing indicia on products Expired - Lifetime US3889591A (en)

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Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP1972137236U JPS5340855Y2 (pt) 1972-11-28 1972-11-28
JP11951272A JPS5515303B2 (pt) 1972-11-28 1972-11-28

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CH (1) CH567934A5 (pt)
DE (1) DE2358824C2 (pt)
FR (1) FR2213168B1 (pt)
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NL (1) NL171785C (pt)

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US20100223975A1 (en) * 2008-03-03 2010-09-09 Keith Lueck Calibration and Accuracy Check System for a Breath Tester
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
NL171785B (nl) 1982-12-16
GB1426900A (en) 1976-03-03
CH567934A5 (pt) 1975-10-15
DE2358824A1 (de) 1974-06-06
FR2213168A1 (pt) 1974-08-02
NL171785C (nl) 1983-05-16
FR2213168B1 (pt) 1977-06-17
NL7316299A (pt) 1974-05-30
DE2358824C2 (de) 1983-07-14

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