WO2022058054A1

WO2022058054A1 - Labelling assembly of low overall height

Info

Publication number: WO2022058054A1
Application number: PCT/EP2021/060769
Authority: WO
Inventors: Georg Gertlowski; Stefan Richter
Original assignee: Krones Ag
Priority date: 2020-09-18
Filing date: 2021-04-26
Publication date: 2022-03-24
Also published as: DE102020124400A1; EP4214128A1; CN220616509U

Abstract

The present invention provides a labelling assembly (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) comprising a central drive (7), also comprising a label-providing unit (6, 101) for providing labels (120), further comprising a pallet carousel (K, 103), which can be driven about an axis of rotation by the central drive and has at least one pallet (5, 35, 45, 45', 55, 104), which can be pivoted by the central drive (7) and is designed to take over labels (120) provided by the label-providing unit (6, 101), and additionally comprising a gluing unit (3, 124) for gluing the labels (120) taken over by the at least one pallet, wherein the at least one pallet (5, 35, 45, 45', 55, 104) comprises an outwardly curved supporting surface (123), which is intended for supporting the labels and has a radius of curvature of at least 100 mm, in particular at least 120 mm, and also comprises a pivot axis (119), which has in relation to the centre point of curvature of the supporting surface a radial eccentricity of at least 30 mm, in particular at least 40 mm.

Description

Labeling unit with low overall height

field of invention

The present invention relates to a labeling unit and a labeling device for labeling containers and in particular a labeling unit and a labeling device in which labels are glued using an inkjet method.

State of the art

In bottling plants for beverages, containers such as bottles, cans, etc. are treated in several consecutive process steps. In this case, the process steps are generally carried out in separate treatment stations, which can be combined, for example, as modules of a common plant concept. A container treatment plant for glass bottles or plastic bottles, e.g. B. made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PEP), etc., can include, for example, a blow molding device, filling device, carbonization device, sealing device, labeling device, packaging device, cleaning device, pasteurization device, inspection device, etc. as separate, modularly designed treatment stations.

The individual treatment stations, which carry out successive process steps, are generally connected in series one behind the other, with one or more transport devices taking over the transport of the containers from the treatment stations to the respective downstream treatment stations.

In a labeling device, labels are applied continuously with high performance to continuously supplied articles, containers or bundles of containers. The containers can be glass bottles, plastic bottles, in particular PET bottles, cans or can-like containers or the like, which are filled with liquid or solid foods, medical or cosmetic products, hygiene products or the like. The labeling device generally includes a labeling unit that is often of modular design.

Such labeling units for labeling machines, in particular also for labeling machines of rotary design, for labeling bottles or similar containers with labels, in particular those made of paper using cold glue are known in the prior art. Such aggregates basically comprise at least one pallet or glue segment carrier that can be driven around a vertical aggregate axis, also referred to as a pallet carousel, on which several label pallets or glue segments each forming at least one label receiving or bearing surface are provided.

The pallets or glue segments are each designed to be pivotable in a controlled manner about their own pivot axis. During labelling, the pallets or glue segments are first moved past a gluing station to produce a glue application on their label contact surface and then past a label delivery station with each revolution of the carousel, with one label being taken over at a time. The glued labels are transferred to the containers moving past the labeling unit, for example by a gripping cylinder.

In the case of labeling devices known from DE 30 44 879 A, DE 32 16 138 A and US Pat and a roller lever formed with a peripheral arc toothed segment meshing with the pinion. The roller lever can be pivoted on the lower end of the drive shaft, engages with its rollers in the control cam system, which forces it to pivot about the axis of the drive shaft, and meshes with the pinion of the next drive shaft. This design requires a relatively large overall height, relatively large moving masses and a relatively large axial distance between the rotary bearings of each drive shaft in the carousel.

Furthermore, a pallet control with a complex direct drive and a planetary gear is known from EP 2 769 924 B1.

All of the known labeling devices are expensive and complex, and are therefore designed to be expensive and require a lot of maintenance

It is the object of the present invention to provide a design for a labeling unit and a labeling device that is simpler and easier to maintain than the prior art and has a smaller overall size. Description of the invention

The above object is achieved by providing a labeling unit according to patent claim 1. The labeling unit provided comprises: a) a central drive (in the form of a motor unit, for example a servo motor); b) a label supply unit for supplying labels; c) a pallet carousel which can be driven about an axis of rotation by the central drive and has at least one pallet which can be pivoted by the central drive and is designed to accept labels provided by the label supply unit; and d) a gluing unit for gluing the labels taken over from the at least one pallet

The at least one pallet comprises: an outwardly curved support surface for supporting the labels with a radius of curvature of at least 100 mm, in particular at least 120 mm, and a pivot axis which has a radial eccentricity of at least 30 mm, in particular at least 40 mm, with respect to the center of curvature of the support surface mm. The radial eccentricity can be set as desired via an eccentric, for example in the form of an actuator. The one or more (for example 2 to 12) pallets do not have their own individual drives, but are moved via the central drive. Furthermore, the pallet carousel and the one or more pallets can be designed in such a way that they transfer the labels directly to the containers to be labeled without an additional gripping cylinder being necessary for labeling.

Compared to the prior art, in which pallet radii of about 55 mm are typical, much larger pallets are used. One or more pallets can be moved via roller levers with rollers (cam rollers), each pallet being assigned a roller lever and the rollers running in a cam. The roller levers are connected to pallet shafts for driving the pallets via the central drive. The cam is designed, for example, as a (guide) cam groove or rail above or below the pallet carousel in or on a corresponding fixed cam plate. Due to the large pallet radius and the eccentricity of the pivot axis, the pivoting movements of the pallets along the control cam around (pallet) shafts to take over the labels, move the labels to the gluing unit and move the labels glued by the gluing unit to the containers to be labeled without Mediation by a gear, in particular without a gear train or planetary gear, take place.

Since, in contrast to the state of the art, it has surprisingly turned out that no complex gearing, for example in the form of a gear or planetary gear, is required to carry out the pivoting movements of the pallets (rather, the individual pallets are deflected directly via the roller lever and the cam in order to to realize the desired pivoting movements), if the large pallet radii are provided, the construction of the unit can be significantly simplified compared to the prior art and the construction dimensions, in particular the height, can be reduced. No oil bath is required and no cumbersome disassembly of many transmission parts when changing pallets is required. A time-consuming and cost-intensive maintenance of such a transmission is therefore also eliminated.

Furthermore, the labeling unit can include a vacuum supply unit, the one or more pallets being designed as vacuum pallets with a large number of suction openings or suction cups on the support surface of the vacuum pallet for holding the labels. The labels are thus held by the vacuum generated by the vacuum supply unit during their movement on the pallet carousel after removal from the label supply unit until they are transferred to the containers to be labeled.

The vacuum supply unit can include a vacuum pump, a side channel blower, a Venturi nozzle or a Coanda nozzle. The negative pressure is generated via corresponding negative pressure lines on the pallets. These vacuum lines can be routed to the pallets from above or below the pallets, or they can be routed through a disc-shaped body of the pallet carousel and the supports of the pallets.

According to a further development of the labeling unit according to the invention, the gluing unit comprises a multiplicity of glue nozzles which can be controlled, in particular individually, by means of which a variable glue pattern can be printed on the glue application surfaces of the labels. assistance With such a gluing unit working according to the inkjet process (gluejet process), the labels can be glued quickly, reliably and variably.

In particular, the labeling unit or the pallet carousel with the multiple pallets can be designed to transfer the labels glued by the gluing unit directly to the containers to be labeled. Such labeling of the containers to be labeled does not require the use of an additional gripping cylinder for transferring the labels to the containers. Since no gripper cylinder is required, the labels can be applied to the containers without play.

The pallets used in the labeling unit can have outwardly curved bearing surfaces for placing the labels, the radius of curvature of which is between 50 mm and at least 300 mm, in particular between 100 mm and 300 mm, and/or the pallets can have swivel axes which are in relation to the centers of curvature the bearing surfaces have a radial eccentricity of 20 mm to at least 150 mm, in particular between 39 mm and 150 mm.

The one or more pallets may include or be made of an aluminum material and/or plastic material. The one or more pallets can be produced in particular by an additive or generative manufacturing process or 3D printing process.

The labeling unit according to the invention, which is of very compact design, can be mounted so that it can be tilted about a horizontal axis (on a correspondingly provided stand) and can be designed so that it can be locked in a tilted state. In this way, a processing position that is inclined relative to the containers to be labeled that are guided past can be assumed.

Furthermore, the central drive for driving the labeling unit can be arranged above or below the pallet carousel, in particular above or below the center of the pallet carousel, on a carrier plate of the pallet carousel or in the center of the pallet carousel.

According to one development, the one or more pallets of the labeling unit are connected to the pallet carousel via pallet shaft bearings and pallet shafts mounted therein, with the pallet shaft bearings each being designed such that they can be lubricated with a grease nipple, so that lubrication is easy to carry out during operation or during a maintenance period. Furthermore, a labeling device is provided which comprises a transport device for transporting containers to be labeled and at least one labeling unit according to one of the developments described above. For example, the labeling device can comprise two labeling units according to one of the developments described above, one of the two labeling units being aligned essentially horizontally and the other of the two labeling units being oriented obliquely (at a finite angle to the horizontal).

In order to label non-vertical areas of containers, it can be advantageous for the labeling unit to work in an orientation that is inclined relative to the horizontal. The labeling device can thus comprise a stand device which is designed to hold the labeling unit in such a way that the longitudinal axis thereof is inclined relative to the horizontal during labeling operation. A movement device can also be provided in order to move the stand device with the labeling unit, for example horizontally.

The labeling devices described can be provided as part of a machine block together with other components such as a stretch blow molding machine for producing containers and/or a filling machine for filling the containers and/or a sealing machine for sealing the filled containers. It goes without saying that at least the filling, sealing and labeling machines included in a machine block are attached to a common machine frame and/or that their machine frames can be connected to one another in a mechanically stationary manner for production operations, for example by screwing, clamping or the like. The machine frames can be composed of several modules, assembly platforms or the like that can be firmly connected to one another for individual machines, treatment units and/or transfer stars of the machine block. A container transfer between the individual machines of the machine block is possible in a space-saving and precise manner by means of transfer stars, such as infeed stars and outfeed stars, screw conveyors or the like.

Further features and exemplary embodiments as well as advantages of the present invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. It is understood that the embodiments do not exhaust the scope of the present invention. It is also understood that some or all of the features described below can also be combined with one another in other ways. FIGS. 1a and 1b show a side view and a top view, respectively, of a labeling unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows the embodiment of a labeling unit according to the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b on a displaceable stand device.

FIG. 3 illustrates a labeling unit with a control cam arranged below the pallets and vacuum supplied above the pallets.

FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate more or less compact labeling units with control cams arranged above the pallets and vacuum supplied from below the pallets.

FIG. 5 illustrates a labeling unit with a control cam arranged below the pallets and vacuum supplied inside the carousel body.

FIG. 6 shows a labeling device according to an embodiment of the present invention, which can include a labeling unit as shown in FIGS. 1a to 5. FIG.

The present invention provides a labeling unit and a labeling device for labeling containers, for example bottles (approximately with a capacity of 0.2 to 1 liter) or cans, which has a simplified structure and smaller dimensions compared to the prior art. In particular, the pivoting movements of the labeling pallets required for labeling can be carried out without gears or planetary gears, as is required in the prior art. For this purpose, the pallets are driven by a central drive and deflected directly via roller levers and a cam without the need for a gearbox. In particular, no oil bath is required for such a transmission for shaft control. Furthermore, the labeling unit according to the invention or the labeling device according to the invention is characterized by very smooth running and lower operating noise compared to the prior art.

An example of a labeling unit according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 1a (side view) and 1b (top view). The labeling unit 10 shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b serves to label containers 2 delivered on a transport device 1. The containers 2 can in principle be cans, glass bottles, plastic bottles or the like. The labels to be applied can be wrap-around labels or front and back labels. In addition, breast and body labels can be used for bottles will. The labels can be made of paper, plastic film or the like. The label length can be 10 mm to 300 mm, for example. The labeling unit 10 can be designed for an output of 5 to 100,000 (in high-performance operation) applied labels per hour.

The labeling unit 10 includes a gluing unit 3 for applying glue to the labels. The gluing unit 3 can work in particular according to the inkjet method. The glue can be applied directly to the back of the label at the gluing unit 3 and without an intermediate step. Thin liquid glues, glues with a viscosity between 600 and 80000 mPa s and casein or dispersion glues with an optimal processing temperature between 18 °C and 34 °C can be used as glue. In addition to an application of cold glue, in principle hot glue can also be applied to partial areas of the glue application surface of the label if the gluing unit is designed accordingly.

The gluing unit 3 can have a large number of controllable glue nozzles which are arranged in relation to the orbit of the reverse side of the label transported by the pallet such that the glue to be applied is sprayed onto the glue application surface of the label as it passes by. This can be done, for example, by applying glue point by point or line by line. When the label is pressed onto the container, the applied dots or lines widen into areas of glue that allow the label to adhere securely to the container surface. The glue nozzles can work according to the ink jet principle in particular, with one or more rows of glue nozzles aligned perpendicular to the direction of movement of the glue application surface being activated in a targeted manner in order to create a desired glue pattern, i. H. to achieve a desired dosage and distribution of the applied glue on the glue application surface.

A pallet carousel K is rotatably mounted on a carrier plate 4 about an axis of rotation. The pallet carousel K has pallets 5 that can be driven in rotation (e.g. 2 to 12 pallets 5), which pick up labels from a label supply unit 6 in pivoting movements and transport them to the gluing unit 3 and spend the labels glued by the gluing unit 3 for labeling the containers 2.

The pallets 5 are each designed to be pivotable and/or rotatable about their own pivot axis, which is offset radially with respect to the axis of rotation of the pallet carousel K. By controlled pivoting or rotating the pallets 5, their respective curved support surface is brought into contact with the label to be taken over. The pallets 5 can be mounted eccentrically on their pivot axes in such a way that the curved bearing surface of the pallet 5 is optimal, ie without slipping, rolling on a flat surface. By suitably increasing the eccentricity of the bearing, optimal rolling on a curved surface can be achieved, as is the case, for example, when the containers 2 are transported by means of a container table 1 . The eccentricity of the mounting of the pallet 5 on the pivot axis can also be changed if required, for example via a controllable linear actuator. With regard to the centers of curvature of the contact surfaces, a radial eccentricity of between 30 mm and 60 mm can be selected, for example. The radii of curvature of the pallets 5 with outwardly curved bearing surfaces can be in the range from 100 mm to 300 mm. For example, pallets 5 with a radius of curvature of 124 mm and an eccentricity of 44 mm or more can be used. The size of the pallets 5 will be adapted to the size of the labels used. For example, a radius of curvature of 150 mm would be suitable for a label length of 220 mm and a radius of curvature of 200 mm for a label length of 300 mm. Due to the relatively large radii of curvature of the pallets and the eccentricity of the pivot axes, a complete unwinding of the pallets on the containers is possible despite simple control of the pallet by means of roller levers and cam rollers without the need for a complex gear.

The pallets 5 can be designed as vacuum pallets with suction openings or suction cups. Aluminum and plastic are suitable as the material for the pallets 5 . For example, the pallets 5 can be manufactured simply and inexpensively using an additive or generative manufacturing process or 3D printing process.

A label can be taken over by a pallet 5 from the label supply unit 6 by means of a large number of suction openings in the pallet 5 by vacuum. For this purpose, the pallet 5 is supplied with negative pressure via a vacuum system. The vacuum system may include a vacuum pump, a side channel blower, a venturi nozzle, or a Coanda nozzle. The vacuum system can be designed to be controllable in such a way that a vacuum can be applied to the pallet 5 by means of a control and/or regulating unit depending on the position of the pallet 5 in circulation around the pallet carousel K. Control valves, for example piezoelectric control valves, can be provided for the suction openings 446, which can be opened and closed individually or in groups by means of the control and/or regulating unit. As a result, the suction openings can be supplied with a vacuum that is adapted to the format of the label to be transported.

The label supply unit 6 can be one or more of the label boxes/containers known in the prior art, each of which has a large number of record cut labels and provide them on their front side for removal by a pallet 5. The labels are arranged in the label supply unit 6 in such a way that the image side of the labels, on which the information to be displayed is reproduced, is provided on the front side of the label box. The label is taken over with a pallet 5, which for this purpose is guided past the front of the label box with its label contact surface, in this case takes place in such a way that the image side of the label taken over points to the contact surface of the pallet 5, i.e. to the pallet 5, while the one on the back the label's intended glue application area of the label faces away from the pallet 5 . As a result, the glue application surface is exposed during transport of the label through the pallet 5 so that it can be provided with glue on the gluing unit 3 . The pallet 5 loaded with the glued label is then moved to the transport device 1 by the rotation of the pallet carousel K for the direct transfer of the glued label to a container 2 to be labeled (without using an additional gripping cylinder).

The labeling unit 10 also includes a (servo) motor 7 as a central drive for driving the pallet carousel K and by appropriate deflections via roller lever 9 with (running) cam rollers 11 and a cam 8, in which the (running) cam rollers 11 of the roller lever 9 are guided, driving the pallets 5 via corresponding pallet shafts to carry out the (oscillating) pivoting movements of the pallets 5. The motor 7 can have a rotary encoder or sensors in order to clearly determine the relative position of the motor to the positions of the pallets 5 and to control the to ensure that the engine is Alternatively, a timing disk with initiators could be used. The roller levers 9 can be made of fiber-reinforced plastic or carbon fibers.

The cam 8 is designed in the form of a (guide) cam groove or guide rail above or below the pallet carousel K (or the disc-shaped body of the same) in or on a corresponding cam plate. With regard to the fact that an oil bath for a gear can be omitted, the cam 8 and the rollers 11 of the roller lever 9 can be matched to dry running by a mutual selection of material combinations, so that no oil bath or gear housing is required here either. This is possible, for example, by using double rollers with plastic casings and hardened or unhardened cam tracks of the cam, optionally covered with wearing layers.

The pallets 5 carry out their pivoting movements along the curved path of the cam 8, which is formed by the (guide) cam groove or guide rail. The movement provided by the motor 7 is thus deflected via the roller lever 9 in such a way that without Using a further (gear or planetary) gear, the pivoting movements of the pallets 5 can be realized via appropriately provided pallet shafts for receiving the labels, for transporting them to the gluing unit 3 and from there to the containers 2 to be labeled. Since no gear is required, the rotations provided by the motor 7 can be transmitted to the pallet shafts without play. Deflections/pivoting of the pallets 5 by less than 90°, for example 83°, are sufficient due to the relatively large radii of curvature and eccentricity of the pivot axes, so that no undesired self-locking of the rollers 11 in the cam 8 can occur. As shown in FIG. 1a, the motor 7 can be fitted underneath the support plate 4. According to further alternatives, the motor 7 is arranged above the pallet carousel K or in the center thereof. It is understood that generally positions in space "above'7"above" are farther away from the center of gravity than position "belowTbelow".

The labeling unit 10 is relatively compact and can be used with its longitudinal axis inclined relative to the horizontal. FIG. 2 shows the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b of a labeling unit 10 according to the invention on a stand device 12, which can be displaced, for example horizontally, via a movement device 13. The labeling unit 10 can be inclined on the stand device 12 at a finite angle a to the horizontal in order to label a non-vertical area of a container 2 to be labeled, for example an area between the neck and the belly of a bottle.

The control curve for guiding the roller levers over the rollers (cam rollers) running in the control curve and connected to the roller levers can be arranged above or below the pallets. The vacuum is applied to the pallets via corresponding vacuum lines, which can be routed at least partially from above or below the pallets or also at least partially through the disk-shaped body of the pallet carousel to these. Various variants are described below by way of example with reference to FIGS.

Like the labeling units shown in the following figures, the labeling unit 30 illustrated in FIG. 3 can comprise a gluing unit and a label supply unit, as was described with reference to FIGS. 1a and 1b. The labeling unit 30 includes vacuum pallets 35 on a pallet carousel for removing labels from a label supply unit and transporting the removed labels to a gluing unit and transferring the glued labels to containers to be labeled. A motor 37 for driving the labeling unit 30 is arranged below a cam 38 (or a cam plate having a cam).

The vacuum pallets 35 are connected to roller levers 33 whose rollers (cam rollers) 34 are guided in the cam 38 . The connections to the roller levers 33 are via shafts that are mounted in pallet shaft bearings 32 that extend through a disc-shaped body 36 of the pallet carousel of the labeling unit 30. These co-rotating pallet shaft bearings 32 have grease nipples so that lubrication can be easily carried out during operation or during a maintenance period.

The vacuum pallets 35 are subjected to negative pressure via negative pressure lines 31 of a negative pressure device. In the example shown in FIG. 3, these vacuum lines 31 are supplied to the vacuum pallets 35 from above.

The labeling units 40 and 40' shown in Figures 4a and 4b include vacuum pallets 45 and 45', each on a pallet carousel for removing labels from a label supply unit and transporting the removed labels to a gluing unit and transferring the glued labels to containers to be labeled. A motor 47 or 47' is arranged below a disc-shaped body 46, 46' of the pallet carousel to drive the labeling unit 40 or 40'.

The vacuum pallets 45, 45' are connected to roller levers 43, 43', the rollers 44, 44' of which are guided in a cam 48, 48' (a cam plate) which is arranged above the vacuum pallets 45 and 45'. The connections with the roller levers 43, 43' take place via shafts which are mounted in pallet shaft bearings 42, 42', which extend through the disk-shaped body 46, 46' of the pallet carousel of the labeling unit 40, 40'. These pallet shaft bearings 42, 42' have lubricating nipples so that lubrication can be carried out easily during operation or during a maintenance period. Since the cam 48, 48' is spatially fixed, a torque arm 49, 49' can be provided. A torque arm can also be provided for absorbing a differential torque that is applied to the vacuum device.

The vacuum pallets 45, 45' are subjected to negative pressure via negative pressure lines 41, 4T. In the examples shown in Figures 4a and 4b, these vacuum lines 41, 4T are fed to the vacuum pallets 45, 45' from below. Compared to the example shown in Figure 4b, the example shown in Figure 4a represents a more compact design. The labeling unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 5 comprises vacuum pallets 35 on a pallet carousel for removing labels from a label supply unit and transporting the removed labels to a gluing unit and transferring the glued labels to containers to be labeled. A motor 57 for driving the labeling unit 50 is arranged below a cam 58 (or a cam plate having a cam). The motor 57 is shown as an angle version.

The vacuum pallets 55 are connected to roller levers 53 whose rollers 54 are guided in the cam 58 . The connections to the roller levers 53 are via shafts that are mounted in pallet shaft bearings 52 that extend through a disc-shaped body 56 of the pallet carousel of the labeling unit 30. These pallet shaft bearings 52 have lubricating nipples so that lubrication can be easily carried out during operation or during a maintenance period.

The vacuum pallets 55 are subjected to vacuum via vacuum lines 51. In the example shown in FIG.

All of the above-described embodiments of the labeling unit 10 according to the invention can be used in a labeling device according to the invention. An example of such a labeling device according to the invention is shown in FIG. 6 in plan view.

The labeling device 100 shown in FIG. 6 comprises a transport device designed as a container table 114, along which the containers 113 or bundles to be labeled circulate on a curved path on a plurality of holders (not shown) that can rotate about themselves. A pretreatment unit 112 can be provided, which prepares the containers 113 to be labeled for labeling by cleaning the container surfaces to be labeled, pre-moistening them or subjecting them to a blow-off, a heating and/or radiation and/or plasma and/or subject to corona treatment. Furthermore, sensors 109 and 110 can be provided which monitor the condition of the surface to be labeled, e.g. B. smooth, rough, etc., and / or environmental conditions such. B. an ambient temperature or humidity, and pass it on to a control and/or regulating unit 140 for controlling the labeling device. Furthermore, a rolling unit 115 and/or a brushing unit 116 can be provided downstream of the labeling position 118 in order to completely apply and press on the label 120 placed on the container. The containers 117 provided with the labels are then sent to a subsequent treatment station, in for example a filling station for filling the containers 117 with a liquid foodstuff.

The labeling device 100 comprises further components as components of one of the labeling units 10 described above. The labeling device 100 or the labeling unit 10 thereof comprises a transfer device 103 designed as a pallet carousel with at least one pallet 104 - 106. The pallet carousel 103 has a large number of Pallet carousels 103 circulating pallets 104 - 106, which in turn are pivotable about their own eccentrically mounted pivot axes 119 are formed. On their outward-facing side, the pallets have a support surface 123, which can be designed large enough to accommodate a large number of different label formats.

During its rotation about the axis of rotation of the pallet carousel 103, the initially unloaded pallet 104 is guided past a label supply unit 101 in the form of a label box, which is arranged on the periphery of the pallet carousel 103, and is pivoted in the process, so that the bearing surface 123 of the pallet covers the foremost label 102 presented with the image side from the label boxes 101 takes over. Since the pallets 104 - 106 are designed as vacuum pallets, as described in more detail below, this transfer is also reliably possible without prior gluing of the support surface 123 . In order to be able to adjust the distance between the foremost label 102 and the pallet carousel 103, the label boxes 101 can be designed to be switchable via a pneumatic cylinder 130.

Since the labels 102 are provided with their image side forward, they also come to lie on the support surface 123 of the pallet 105 with the image side. Thus, the glue application surface 122 of the labels 107 transported by the pallets 105 and 106 points away from the supporting surface of the respective pallet. The thus outwardly facing glue application surface of the label 107 can therefore by means of a 104 - 106, i. H. on the periphery of the pallet carousel 103, arranged gluing unit 124 are glued directly on the pallet. The gluing unit 124 works according to the inkjet method. Alternatively, the gluing unit 124 could be provided for gluing the surface of the glue application surface 122 of the label 107 using a gluing roller.

If a glue printer 108 is used, the cold glue is sprayed directly onto the glue application surface 122 from a large number of glue nozzles in the form of a glue jet 121 . For this purpose, the glue application surface 122 is guided past the openings of the glue nozzles at a constant distance by rotating and pivoting the pallet 106 . Through targeted control of the glue nozzles, for example according to the DoD principle (drop-on-demand), almost any desired glue pattern can be printed onto the glue application surface 122 in superimposition with the pallet movement. In particular, the exact amount of cold glue required can be printed on, so that there is no need for a glue return. Glue is supplied in a controlled manner via a glue supply line 128 in the required quantity from a deformable supply device 129.

Since the cold glue is applied to the outwardly facing glue application surface 122, no gripper cylinder is required to place the now glued labels 107 on the containers 113 to be labeled. Instead, the labels are placed directly from the pallets 104-106 onto the containers 113, which are guided past the labeling position 118, and are wound onto them by rotating the holders of the container table 114. For this purpose, the pallets are guided past the container surfaces and pivoted in such a way that the labels carried along are rolled onto the container surfaces in combination with the rotary movement of the containers and their circulation around the container table.

As already mentioned, a slip-free unrolling of the labels onto the container surfaces can be achieved by suitably eccentric mounting of the curved pallets 104 - 106 on their respective pivot axes 119, so that the applied labels do not slip unintentionally. The combination of the large pallets 104 - 106 and the lack of a gripping cylinder also provides the advantage that a relatively large distance can be maintained between the container table 114 and the labeling unit 10, so that the risk of the container table 114 colliding with the labeling unit 10 is reliably ruled out can be.

The revolving movements of the pallets 104-106 and the holders of the container table 114 can be controlled by means of controllable drives (not shown in FIG. 6) via a control and/or regulating unit 140 of the labeling device 100. The pivoting movements of the pallets 104 - 106 can be controlled and/or regulated by means of the control and/or regulating unit 140 via corresponding cams and roller levers, as described above. The vacuum supply and the operation of the glue nozzles can also be controlled/regulated via the control and/or regulation unit 140 . The control and/or regulating unit 140 can in particular be a programmable logic controller which has a memory unit, for example in the form of a flash memory, in which the memory parameters required for the control, e.g. B. are stored in relation to the desired glue pattern. It should also be mentioned that the labeling device 100 shown in FIG. 6 can have more than one labeling unit 10 . For example, it can have a labeling unit 10, which is aligned essentially horizontally, and a further labeling unit 10, which is designed inclined relative to the horizontal, for the simultaneous or sequential labeling of different areas of one and the same container.

Claims

patent claims

1. Labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50), which comprises: a) a central drive (7); b) a label supply unit (6, 101) for supplying labels (120); c) a pallet carousel (K, 103) which can be driven about an axis of rotation by the central drive (7) and has at least one pallet (5, 35, 45, 45', 55, 104) which can be pivoted by the central drive (7) and is designed for this purpose, to accept labels (120) provided by the label supply unit (6, 101); d) a gluing unit (3, 124) for gluing the labels (120) taken from the at least one pallet (5, 35, 45, 45', 55, 104); wherein the at least one pallet (5, 35, 45, 45', 55, 104) comprises: an outwardly curved supporting surface (123) for supporting the labels (120) with a radius of curvature of at least 100 mm, in particular at least 120 mm, and a pivot axis (119) which has a radial eccentricity of at least 30 mm, in particular at least 40 mm, with respect to the center of curvature of the bearing surface.

2. The labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) according to patent claim 1, wherein each pallet (5, 35, 45, 45', 55, 104) can be driven via a pallet shaft which is connected to a roller lever (9th , 33, 43, 43 ', 53) with a roller (11, 34, 44, 44', 54) is connected, and further with a cam (8, 38, 48, 48 ', 58), in which the roller (11, 34, 44, 44', 54).

3. The labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) according to patent claim 2, designed so that the central drive (7) can pivot the pallet without an interposed gear.

4. The labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a vacuum supply unit, wherein each pallet (5, 35, 45, 45', 55, 104) is each designed as a vacuum pallet with a large number of suction openings on the support surface of the vacuum pallet for holding the labels (120). The labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) according to claim 4, in which the vacuum supply unit comprises a vacuum pump, a side channel blower, a Venturi nozzle or a Coanda nozzle. The labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the gluing unit (3, 124) comprises a multiplicity of, in particular individually, controllable glue nozzles, by means of which a variable glue pattern is applied to glue application surfaces of the labels (120) can be printed. The labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the pallet carousel (K, 103) and the at least one pallet (5, 35, 45, 45', 55, 104) are designed for it are to transfer the labels (120) glued by the gluing unit (3,124) directly, in particular without the intermediary of a gripping cylinder, to the containers to be labeled. The labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the at least one pallet (5, 35, 45, 45', 55, 104) comprises or is made of an aluminum material and/or plastic material is manufactured, or the at least one pallet (5, 35, 45, 45', 55, 104) is manufactured by an additive or generative manufacturing process or 3D printing process. The labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) is mounted such that it can be tilted about a horizontal axis and can be locked in a tilted state (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the central drive (7) above or below the pallet carousel (K, 103), in particular above or below the center of the pallet carousel (K, 103). a carrier plate of the pallet carousel (K, 103) or in the center of the pallet carousel (K, 103). The labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the at least one pallet (5, 35, 45, 45', 55, 104) via pallet shaft bearing (32) and a pallet shaft mounted therein with the pallet carousel (K, 19

103) is connected, the pallet shaft bearing being designed so that it can be lubricated with a lubricating nipple. Labeling device (100), which comprises a transport device for transporting containers to be labeled and at least one labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) according to one of the preceding claims. The labeling device (100) according to claim 11, further comprising a stand device (12) which is designed to hold the labeling unit (10, 30, 40, 40', 50) in such a way that the longitudinal axis thereof is inclined with respect to the horizontal.