WO1988007971A1

WO1988007971A1 - A label feeding device

Info

Publication number: WO1988007971A1
Application number: PCT/AU1988/000103
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul Charles Wong
Original assignee: Apparel Robotics Limited
Priority date: 1987-04-08
Filing date: 1988-04-08
Publication date: 1988-10-20

Abstract

An apparatus for the automatic separation and gating of rigid or semi-flexible labels or tickets comprising a gating mechanism which provides a flexible gating means (6) that facilitates the passage of a single label or ticket (9) through an aperture (8) of the apparatus.

Description

A LABEL FEEDING DEVICE

This invention relates to an apparatus for the separation and gating of rigid or semi-flexible labels or tickets, when feeding in some automatic form, one at a time from a stack. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention is applicable to an apparatus for the feeding of cardboard labels one at a time from a stack magazine, for attachment by stapling, riveting, sewing, or similar, onto an article such as a garment or a product. Such an apparatus may be found in use for the automatic feeding and attachment of brand labels to garments in an apparel factory. BACKGROUND ART

In the industry such devices exist, but they perform reliably only when dispensing labels that are relatively stiff or are perfectly flat. Unreliable operation results firstly, when labels are relatively thin so that the variations in label thickness become significant_* relative to the average thickness, and . secondly,-'when the labels are not perfectly flat but are

^lightly -curved due to both differential shrinkage and

"**^* ', poor storage methods. The current method for gating a .1 ^{• •'} « single label from the rest of the stack involves the . engagement of the single label, usually on the underside of a confined stack, and sliding the engaged label through a .slit gate located in one of the confining walls at the base of the stack. The height of this slit is gated to allow only a single label to pass through.

* -When the labels are thin, the accuracy of this slit height becomes critical and variations in label thickness can cause both multiple feeding of two thin labels or the jamming of a thick label. When the labels are curved or bent, jamming will also occur due to the failure of the high points of the curved label to pass through-the .slit..

It^ris the object of the invention to overcome the known problems of feeding imperfect labels, and to make the setting of the slit gate less critical for use with thin labels. It is a further object of the invention to allow /a single slit gate setting to handle a limited range of label thicknesses so that near similar thickness labels can be fed without the slit gate having to be reset.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides means for the flexible gating of the fed label rather than to employ the conventional rigid gating means. The use of a flexible gating means allows slightly curved labels to be fed, in that, as the engaged label is driven by a feeding means, it will pass under the flexible gating with a greater force causing both the label and the gate to deform slightly and pass through the gate, whereas the non-engaged labels above the one being fed will have insufficient drive to push through the flexible gate. Similar mechanics apply to the effective feeding of very thin labels.

In one aspect the present invention provides an improved gating mechanism for a label or ticket feeding apparatus wherein the gating mechanism comprises an aperture through which a label or ticket can pass, a means of driving said label or ticket through said aperture and a flexible gating means which allows a single label or ticket to pass through the aperture.

Preferably, the flexible gating means comprises a flexible barrier positioned across the aperture such that it provides resistance to the movement of more than one label or ticket through the aperture.

One of the preferred forms of implementation of the flexible gate is the use of a set of stiff brushes to form the gating slit. The brushes are selected to flex to allow the driven label to pass and yet hold back the other labels above it. Other possible gating means include thin flexible -strips or sheets .made of materials such as rubber or flexible plastics.

Another aspect of the invention employs a similar flexible brush gate, but in addition, the brush is ganged with a non-flexible gate- In this implementation, the function of the brush is to flatten out the curvature, if any, in the label prior to its passage under the non-flexible gate. This second aspect is applicable to feeding labels that are not perfectly Xla±_* rather than- a range of label thicknesses. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Some preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagram of one preferred form of the inven ion.

Figure 2 is a diagram of another preferred form of the invention which will feed imperfect labels of a consistent thickness.

As a result of problems encountered with the feeding of single labels from a stack, when the labels are of an inconsistent thickness and when they have been roughly stored so that they become bent, improved solutions were sought. .BEST. MODES OF PERFORMING THE INVENTION

As a result of experimentation and consequent development, the concepts involved have been embodied into a number of preferred but not exclusive forms which are described in the following.

One preferred form is shown in Fig 1. This comprises a label stack (1), closely confined within surrounding walls (2, 3), means of label engagement (4) and means of actuation and guiding (5), which can be any known means, but for the purposes of illustration have been chosen as a vacuum cup and guided air cylinder, respectively. A set of optimised stiffness brushes (6) are mounted from a vertically adjustable plate (7) which is positioned over the aperture (8) in the front wall (2). When the engaged label (9) is driven forward it will force past the brush gate (6), while the label above it (10) will be retained.

Another preferred form which will be effective for bent or curved labels is depicted in Fig 2. The elements are the same as those described in Fig 1, except that the brush gate (6) is replaced by a brush (11) mounted in conjunction with a rigid gate (12) which has been set to the thickness of the labels being dispensed. When a curved label is driven into this "label conditioning gate" (combination of (11) and (12)), the label will be flattened out before it passes to the gating stage.

Claims

\ . - & -

CLAIMS : - . c

1_^ An improved gating mechanism for a label or ticket feeding apparatus wherein the gating mechanism comprises an aperture^through which a label or ticket can pass, a means of driving said label or ticket through said aperture and a .flexible gating means which allows a single label or ticket to pass through the aperture.

2. An improved gating mechanism according to Claim 1 wherein the flexible gating means comprises a flexible barrier positioned across the aperture such that it provides resistance to the movement of more than one label through the aperture.

3. An improved gating mechanism according to Claim 2 wherein the flexible gating means comprises a set of brushes.

4. An improved gating mechanism according to any one of the preceding .claims wherein there is also provided a non-flexible barrier exterior to the flexible gating means, said non-flexible barrier positioned such that

•^Jthe passage of a single label or ticket through the aperture is not impeded.