US2623655A - Method and arrangement for carrying out the local surface treatment of articles conveyed on a traveling belt - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 30, 1952 V K. J. GLANS 2,623,655

METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR CARRYING OUT THE LOCAL SURFACE TREATMENT OF ARTICLES CONVEYED ON A TRAVELING BELT 2'7, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Dec. 30, 1952 K. J. GuANs 2,623,655

METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR CARRYING OUT THE LOCAL SURFACE TREATMENT OF ARTICLES CONVEYED ON A TRAVELING BELT Filed Dec. 27, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ffcf-Gazzs ATTORNEYS 2,623,655 SURFACE BELT beets-Sheet 3 1952 K. J. GLANS AND ARRANGEMENT FOR CARRYING OUT THE LOCAL REATMENT OF ARTICLES CONVEYED 0N ATRAVELING METHOD Filed Dec 1952 K. J. GLANS 2,623,655

METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR CARRYING OUT THE LOCAL SURFACE TREATMENT OF ARTICLES CONVEYED ON A TRAVELING BELT Filed Dec. 27, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 0 W4 V 130 I I I INVENTOR K Giana ATTORNEYS Dec. 30, 1952 K. J. GLANS 2,623,655

METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR CARRYIN UT E LOCAL. SURFACE TREATMENT OF ARTICLES CONVEZYED A T ELING BELT Filed Dec. 27, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR 523:9 K. G Zap/s,

ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 30, 1952 METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FO CARRY- ING OUT THE LOCAL SURFACETREAT-g MENT F ARTICLES GONVEYED ON A TRAVELING BELT Karl Johan Glans, Stockholm, Sweden Application December 27, 1951, Serial No. 263,674 In Sweden May 25, 1948 27 Claims.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my previous application, Ser. No. 82,132, dated March 18, 1949, now abandoned, relating to a method and arrangement for carrying out the local surface treatment of articles conveyed on a travelling belt.

The present invention relates specifically to apparatus for applying labels to bottles. However, some of the basic principles on which the apparatus is built have a very wide range of application, and therefore the inventive principle advanced is intended to cover the entire field of marking and labelling whether applied to bottles, tins, boxes or other articles. Furthermore, the inventive concept must be regarded as broadly applicable to the entire range of apparatus for local surface treatment of difierent kinds such as coating, engraving and the like.

In apparatus of the kind referred to, Where a large number of uniform articles are to be subjected to a local surface treatment, it is the customary practice to provide a surface treatment station constructed with the necessary means for effecting the surface treatment and in some cases with means for preliminarily conditioning the apparatus for the surface treatment operation, as well as suitable conveying means for moving the articles to and past the surface treatment station.

In such machines, there must of course be a coodination between the supply of articles to the surface treatment station and the operation of the surface treatment means and the preliminary conditioning means, if any, so that there will always be articles present in the prescribed surface treatment positions when the surface treatment means are caused to operate.

This coordination is ordinarily obtained by constructing the conveyor with means to positively hold the articles in definite positions relative thereto, and synchronizing the intermittent operation of the conveyor and that of the surface treatment means so that the conveyor will be stationary in a predetermined position when the surface treatment means operate. However, in many installations where apparatuses of the kind in question are used, there may occur stoppages or irregularities in the supply of articles from preceding work stations to the surface treatment station. It is therefore necessary either to take precautions to secure a continuous flow of articles to the surface treatment station, which is frequently a rather impractical and expensive solution, or to provide means at the surface treatment station for testing whether articles are present in the prescribed positions on the com veyor. Now, if it is desired to construct the apparatus for simultaneously surface treating a plurality of articles, the situation may arise that there are articles present in some of the prescribed positions and not in others, and consequently, it will be necessary to provide individual testing means for each of the positions and means for individually controlling the surface treatment means associated with the various positions from the said individual testing means. This involves complicated and expensive constructions and necessitates a relatively wide spacing of the articles at the surface treatment station, and this again means that an apparatus of given dimensions will have a relatively small capacity.

It is an object of the invention to solve the general problem of coordinating the operation of the surface treatment means of an apparatus of the character referred to and the supply of articles to the surface treatment station along new principles, whereby the diiliculties arising from stoppages and irregularities in the supply of articles are entirely eliminated, and the apparatus can be constructed with relatively small dimensions to handle a relatively large number of articles per hour.

With this object in view, use is made, according to the invention, of a belt conveyor that does not positively hold the articles but is capable of sliding away under the articles when the latter are stopped by an abutment at the discharge end of the apparatus, whereby the articles are accumulated in closely packed formation at the surface treatment station gradually as they arrive on the conveyor. At the surface treatment station, checking means are provided for counting the number of articles thus supplied and to permit simultaneous operation of the surface treatment means on all the articles thus accumulated when these have reached the prescribed number, whereupon the articles that have been surface treated are checked out of the surface treatment station, and a new batch is checked in gradually as they arrive on the conveyor. If preliminary conditioning means are provided at the surface treatment station, these will preferably be permitted to perform their function during the checking in and out of the articles so that the surface treatment means proper may operate without delay as soon as the prescribed number of articles have been supplied to the surface treatment station.

In an apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention, there will never be gaps in the batch of articles present at the surface treatment station at the moment the surface treatment is effected and there is therefore no necessity of providing individual testing means. Accordingly, the mechanical construction of the surface treatment means and their controlling means may be simple. Moreover, since the articles are kept closely pressed against one another at the surface treatment station, the latter will occupy the minimum possible space in the direction of travel of the conveyor. There will never be any parts run ning idle in the apparatus, and there will be no necessity of watching the supply of articles to the apparatus. The apparatus will always be capable of immediately surface treating the articles as fast as they are carried to the surface treatment station by the conveyor, and it will easily be seen that the apparatus may be constructed to operate at very high speed. Moreover, it will be easy to coordinate the apparatus with other treatment stations, because the supply of articles to the apparatus is not critical. as regards uniformity and regularity. Other advantages of the apparatus according to the invention will be apparent as the description proceeds.

In its specific application to article labelling apparatus, it is another object of the invention to devise an apparatus in which the necessary amount of movement of the essential movable parts is reduced to a minimum with a view to increasing the durability and reliability of the machine as well as the permissible speed of operation.

A further object of the invention is to construct a labelling apparatus capable of simultaneously labelling a relatively large number of articles, if desired, at two or more different levels at a time, an example of this being the simultaneous application of neck and body labels to bottles.

A still further object of the invention is to devise an article labelling apparatus capable of reliably and neatly applying labels required to extend around a substantial portion of the circumference of articles to be labelled.

With these and other objects in view, which will be apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction-s, arrangements and combinations of parts which will now .be described in detail with reference to two particular embodiments of the invention and will thereafter be set forth in their general aspect in the appended claims.

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows one form of the novel article labelling apparatus in plan view,

Figure 2 is a sectional view along the line l'.III of Figure 1,

Figure 3 illustrates one end of the apparatus in perspective view,

Figure 4 is a detached view of the checking cans of the apparatus and the means interlock ing same with the main control shaft,

Figure 5 is a view of a label transfer frame with appurtenant adhesive applying means as viewed from one side of the apparatus,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of an article labelling apparatus according to the invention,

Figure '7 is a diagrammatic plan view of same,

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic cross section of same,

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic representation of a slightly modified form of the checking means of an apparatus according to the invention, and

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic partial plan View of a modification of the general arrangement of the surface treatment station where the articles are arranged in zig-zag formation. Y

All the forms of the apparatus according to the invention shown in the drawing are intended for the labelling of bottles. More particularly the apparatus of Figures 1 to 5, to which reference will first be had, is intended for applying labels to both the body and the neck of bottles, but it will be understood that similar apparatus could also be used with advantage for the labelling of other articles whether these are to be provided with one label only, as in the apparatus illustrated, or with two or possibly more than two labels. 1

All the operating parts of the apparatus illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 are efiective at a labelling station occupying a zone of a continuously moving conveyor on which the bottles to be labelled are carried and may be supplied to the labelling station from a preceding work station such as a filling and capping machine. Likewise, the conveyor may carry the labelled bottles from the discharge end of the labelling station to a subsequent work station such as an apparatus for further treatment of the bottles or for packaging the bottles into boxes or the like.

For the purposes of description, the apparatus may be divided into different parts, namely, (1) the labelling station as such, (2) the means for checking in and out the bottles, (3) the preliminary conditioning means for bringing labels into position in front of the bottles to be labelled, (4) the labelling means for transferring the labels from the said positions to the surface of the bottles, and (5) the label sweeping means for sweeping the neck labels snugly around part of the circumference of the bottle necks. These various parts of the apparatus will now be separately described in the order mentioned.

1. The labelling station In the drawing, 1 is a continuously moving conveyor on which the bottles to be labelled are carried, and 2 and 3 are star wheels projecting into the path of movement of the bottles carried on the conveyor. The work station as such may be defined as the section of the conveyor between the star wheels 2 and 3. Supposing for the time being that the star wheel 3 is locked against r0 tation, it will be seen that the star wheel 3 forms in effect a stop means at the discharge end of the labelling station causing any bottles admitted by star wheel 2 to accumulate in closely packed formation at the work station gradually as they arrive on the conveyor, it being observed that the latter is constructed without dogs or other projections and with an upper surface smooth enough to be capable of sliding away under the bottles detained by the star wheel 3. Since the bottles are in this manner held closely pressed against one another, it will be seen that the bottles thus accumulated at the work station will assume predetermined position-s either exactly in line with one another or in rig-sag formation depending on the spacing of the lateral guiding means provided on both sides of the conveyor. These lateral guiding means may be constructed in various ways. In the embodiment shown, such lateral guiding means are formed by the lateral transfer frames to be described hereinafter.

2. M cans for checking; and out the bottles The constructional arrangement of these means are best seen from Figure 4,. which again shows the two star wheels 2 and 3. The star wheel 2 is mounted on a vertical spindle 4 carrying a locking disc 5. Similarly, the star wheel 3 is mounted on a vertical spindle 6 carrying a looking disc *I. There is a shaft 8 extending parallel to the path of movement of the conveyor I and serving as the main control shaft of the apparatus. The shaft 8 is coupled to a prime mover such as an electric motor 9 through an electrically operated coupling or clutch I 0.

The shaft 8 is provided with a cam II for cooperating with the locking disc 5 of the star wheel 2 and also with a cam I2 for co-operating with the locking disc I of the star wheel 3. Thus, between the former cam II and the locking disc 5 there is interposed a double-armed lever I3, I4 fulcrumed at I5 and having one arm I3 in engagement with the cam II while being provided at the end of its other arm I4 with a nose I6 engaging with the circumference of the locking disc 5. A spring I! tends to urge the arm I3 and the nose It into engagement with the cam I I and the locking disc 5 respectively at all times. The locking disc 5 is substantially circular, but is provided at one point of its circumference with a notch I8 into which the nose I6 may engage.

Similarly, a double-armed lever Iii, 28 fulcrumed at 2| is interposed between the cam I2 and the locking disc I and is provided with a biasing spring 22, the arm having a nose engageable with the circumference of the locking disc I. The locking disc I might have substantially the same shape as the locking disc 5, but in the embodiment illustrated it is shown as being substantially spirally shaped, thus forming a radial stop edge 24 at one point of its circumference.

An electric control circuit for the coupling or clutch Ill comprises conductors 25 and 26 to which are connected two switches 21 and 28 in parallel. The former switch 21 is controlled by the lever arm I 4 in such a manner as to be opened when that arm moves to the right, while the latter switch 28 is controlled by a cam 29 on the main control shaft 8 so as to be closed by a downward movement over a predetermined part of each revolution of the main control shaft.

The operation of the checking means is as follows:

When the parts are in the positions illustrated, it will be seen that both the star wheels 2 and 3 are locked against rotation, and consequently no checking in or checking out of bottles can take place.

Since the switch ZI is closed, the control circuit of the electric coupling or clutch is energized,

and consequently the main control shaft 8 is driven by the prime mover 9. As will be explained later, the main control shaft serves during the major part of one revolution to operate first the said preliminary conditioning means and then the labelling means.

Now, the cams II, I2 and 29 are so shaped that upon completion of the labelling operation, the cam 29 is effective to close the switch 28, and the cams II and I2 are thereafter effective to lift i the noses I6 and 24 out of engagement with the locking discs and I respectively. The star wheels 2 and 3 are thereby permitted to check in and out the bottles carried by the conveyor I.

Moreover, since the switch 28 was closed prior to the opening of the switch 2! owing to the movement of the lever arm I I, the main control shaft continues to rotate. Now, the cams I I and I2 are so shaped that upon further rotation of the shaft 8 through a certain angle, the cams iii) II and I2 will again permit the double-armed levers I3, I I and I9, 29 to move towards the positions indicated in the drawing. However, at this time the locking discs 5 and I have already been rotated through a certain angle by the engagement of the bottles with th star wheels 2 and 3, and the noses I6 and 23 therefore do not come into engagement with the notch I8 and the stop edge 24 respectively. Consequently, the star wheels are free to continue rotation until they have performed a full revolution. When this has taken place, the noses I6 and 23 will again snap into engagement with the notch I8 and the stop edge 24 respectively, thus stopping further rotation of the star wheels.

At this time it will be seen that the star wheels have checked in and out a predetermined number of bottles, in the embodiment shown six bottles since the star wheels are constructed as G-armed stars.

As mentioned, the main control shaft 8 at the same time continues to rotate, and the cam 29 is so shaped that during this rotation the switch 28 remains closed until the operation of the preliminary conditioning means has been completed. At this time and prior to the commencement of the labelling operation, also controlled by the main control shaft, the switch 28 is opened so that the main control shaft can now only continue to rotate if the switch 2! has been closed at that time.

It will thus be seen that by the means described there has been established an interlocking of the checking means, the preliminary conditioning means and the labelling means, and to further illustrate the nature of this interlocking, two different cases will be briefly considered.

Suppose first that the bottles are supplied to the apparatus at a speed such that, starting from the moment where the star wheels 2 and 3 are released to permit checking in and out of the predetermined number of bottles while the main control shaft 8 continues to rotate, the star wheels have completed their operation to check in and out the prescribed number of bottles before the main control shaft 8 has rotated through the angle required for the preliminary conditioning operation. In that case, the shaft 8 will simply continue to rotate to perform the labelling operation because the switch 21 has been closed before the switch 28 was opened so that there will not be any interruption of the rotation of the shaft 8.

Suppose on the other hand, that for some reason there is a delay in the supply of bottles to the apparatus so that the star wheel 2 has not yet performed a full revolution, when the control shaft 8 has rotated through the angle required for the operation of the preliminary conditioning means, though of course the star wheel 3, which is not in any way coupled to the star wheel 2, may have performed a full revolution by the engagement of the bottles that were present in the apparatus at the latest labelling operation. In this case, the shaft 8 ceases to rotate upon completion of the preliminary conditioning operation, because at that time the switch 28 is opened and the switch 2! has not yet been closed. Consequently, there is not performed any labelling operation until the star wheel 2 has checked in the prescribed number of bottles and the switch 21 has thereby been closed to energize the coupling or clutch I0.

Thus, it will be seen that while the bottles are being checked in and out, the apparatus performs all. the necessary preparatory operations to be immediately'ready for the labelling operation, but the latter operation is not initiated until the apparatus has been filled with bottles as checked by the star wheel 2. It will easily be seen that in this manner there is obtained the minimum possible waste of time resulting from delay in the supply of bottles.

In the example shown, the shaft a of the star wheel 2 is provided with a further disc 3!] engaged by a spring biased roller SI and having its circumference so shaped, that in the illustrated position of the star wheel 2 the roller 3| is located at the peak of a relatively steeply inclined edge portion 32 of the circumference. The result of this is that the moment the star wheel 2 is released by disengagement of the nose Hi from the notch 18, the roller 3! in cooperation with the edge portion 32 will tend to rotate the star wheel 2 through a small angle. This is intended to take care of the situation where the star wheel 2 is not caused to rotate by the engagement of bottles, for example, if there is a shortage in the supply of bottles or because the conveyor l is stopped for some reason. In that case, if the disc 3!] and roller 3! were not provided, the nose it might conceivably snap back into the notch l3 before the star wheel 2 had had any opportunity of commencing rotation, and this would result in complete stoppage of the apparatus and some disorder in the operation when the apparatus would be restarted again, for example, by manually disengaging the nose it from the notch I8. However, owing to the disc 30 and the roller 3| at the occurrence of such a situation is positively prevented, because the nose It is prevented from reengaging the notch l8 until the star wheel 2 has made a full revolution by the engagement of bottles supplied to the apparatus.

A similar arragement may also be made with respect to the star wheel 3, though in the case of this star wheel the arrangement would be less important, because there will never be a shortage of bottles at the star wheel 3 at the moment when the nose 23 is disengaged from the stop edge 24 so that the only reason for failure of the star wheel 3 to initiate rotation would be stoppage of the conveyor exactly at the critical time.

3. Preliminary conditioning means These are the means serving to bring labels in position immediately in front of the bottles to be labelled preparatory to the actual labelling operation. 1. 3 and 5, the preliminary conditioning means comprise a pair of label transfer frames 33 and 33 extending parallel to and at opposite sides of the path of movement of the conveyor I. The two label transfer frames are exactly similar, and the same holds good of the parts immediately co-operating therewith, and consequently only one of the label transfer frames and the parts immediately co-operating therewith will be described in detail, it being observed that also the reference characters in the drawing are the same except for the addition of a prime to the reference characters having to do with the label transfer frame 33'.

The label transfer frame 33 is best seen in. Figure 5, and it will be seen that it is provided with two horizontal rows of so-called labelling openings, namely, an upper row of labelling openings 34 provided at the top edge of the label transfer frame 33, and a lower row of labellin In the embodiment shown, Figures openings 35. The openings 34 of the upper row are upwardly open which is convenient with a view to the operation of the label sweeping elements to be mentioned later, but is not essential in all cases. The labelling openings 35 of the lower row are respectively situated vertically below the upper labelling openings 34. The horizontal spacing of the sets of labelling openings 34, 35 is equal to the spacing of alternate bottles in labelling positions at the labelling station. In the example shown there are three sets of labelling openings in each label transfer frame corresponding to a number of siX bottles to be checked in and out in each operating cycle and to be simultaneously labelled in each full operation of the apparatus.

Each labelling opening 34 is provided at its vertical edges with raised edge portions 35, and similarly, each labelling opening 35 is provided at its vertical edges with raised edge portions 31. The raised edge portions 36 and 31 are intended to serve as temporary label seats in a manner to be described hereinafter.

The two label transfer frames are mounted for sliding movement longitudinally of the conveyor and each is connected by means of a con nection rod 38, 38 respectively to levers 39, 39 fulcrumed at 4d, 4%) and each carrying a roller 4|, 4 l engaging a cam 42, 42 on respective shafts 43, 8, the latter being the same as the main control shaft hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 4, while the shaft 43 is coupled to the shaft 8 for rotation synchronously therewith by means of bevel gear sets 44, 45 and 46, 41 and a transmission shaft t8. Each lever 39, 39 is biased by means of a spring 49, 49' serving to keep the rollers 4!, 4| constantly in engagement with the cams 42, 42.

By means of the arrangement described, each label transfer frame is displaceable longitudinally of the conveyor between two positions which will in the following be referred to as the first and the second position respectively.

The first position is that in which the final labelling operation is to be performed. In this position the label transfer frame 33 is located with its labelling openings laterally opposite every second out of a batch of bottles in the previously mentioned predetermined positions at the labelling station, while the label transfer frame 33' is located with its labelling openings laterally opposite the remaining ones of the same batch of articles. From this first position the label transfer frame is movable to the right, as viewed in Figure l, to its second position, while the label. transfer frame 33' is movable to the left, as viewed in Figure l, to its second osition. When the label transfer frames are in their second positions an adhesive is first applied to the raised edge portions 36, 3? by means of rollers 50, which are caused to run up and down along said raised edge portions 31, 36. The rollers 50 receive adhesive from adhesive tanks 5|, provided at the bottom of the apparatus. The said movement of the rollers 56 is caused by means of a rack 52 provided at its top with a cross bar 53 carrying the rollers 55?, said rack engaging with a gear wheel 55 on a shaft 55 also carrying a gear wheel 5'? arranged for engagement with a toothed sector 55 on the shaft 53, or 8, during a small fraction of one revolution of the latter. If desired, the shaft 55 may be common to all the sets of adhesive rollers at each side of the apparatus.

While the label transfer frames remain in their second positions, labels are now applied across the labelling openings from upper label hoppers 59 containing a supply of neck labels and lower label hoppers 6!) containing a supply of body labels. For each set of labelling openings 34 and 35 there is provided one upper and one lower label hopper, and these are combined to form a unit movable towards the label transfer frame in question under the control of a cam 6| on the shaft 43, or 8, by means of a double-armed lever 62. The cams 6| are so constructed that all hoppers are simultaneously moved towards the label transfer frames immediately upon completion of the up and down travel of the rollers 59, and then back again, whereby a label is applied across each of the labelling openings 34 and 35, the labels being seated in this position on the raised edge portions 36 and 3'! by means of the adhesive previously applied thereto.

When labels have thus been applied across the labelling openings 34, 35, the label transfer frames are returned to their respective first positions by the engagement of the rollers 4|, 4| with the cams 42, 42, and the preliminary conditioning operation is over. The various cams are so constructed that this preliminary conditioning operation is completed in somewhat more than one half of the revolution of the main control shaft 8.

4. Labelling means The labelling means comprise for each of the bottles to be simultaneously labelled an upper rain 6d and a lower ram 65 both mounted for sliding movement in a horizontal direction, transversely of the conveyor and operable to perform a movement in a direction towards the bottles and back again under the control of a cam 66 on the shaft 43 at one side of the apparatus or shaft 8 at the other side of the apparatus, by means of a double-armed lever 67 and a connection rod 68. The rams t and 85 are located directly in front of the labelling openings 34 and 35 in the first positions of the label transferframes 33, 33, and the cams 56 are so constructed that the described movement of the rams are performed during the part of the revolution of the main control shaft 8 where the label transfer frames 33 and 33' are in their respective first positions. By the described movement of the rams, the labels are transferred in known manner from across the labelling openings 34 and 35 to the surfaces of the bottles located directly behind the labelling openings. In thismanner three out of the presupposed batch of six bottles are labelled from one side of the apparatus, while the remaining three bottles are labelled from the other side of the apparatus, the bottles being thus alternately labelled from one side and the other.

The lower rams 65 may beconstructed in known manner so that the body labels are finally applied to the bodies of the bottles by the described'horizontal movementbf therams. The same might be the case with the upper rams 64, but it has been found convenient .to construct the apparatus with special label sweeping elements for sweeping the neck labels snugly around a relatively large part of the bottle necks. Of course a similar arrangement might also be adopted for the body labels, and likewise it is to be understood that in the case of articles other than botties the labelling means may be suitably rearranged to suit the needs in each particular case.

The label sweeping elements used in the particular form of the apparatus shown will nowbe described in further detail.

- extending neck by the ram 5. The label sweeping elements For each labelling position there is provided a label sweeping element serving to sweep the neck label snugly around relatively large part; of the circumference of the neck of the bottle considered. All the label sweeping elements are mounted for rctation about horizontal axis 69 longitudinally of the apparatus and 10- ca ed vertically above the batch of bottles to be simultaneously labelled.

Each label sweeping element comprises two legs it extendin substantially perpendicular to the said common axis 69 and located in positions such that upon rotation of the label sweeping element in question about the said common axis 69, the lower ends of the legs 70 will engage the neck of a bottle in labelling position and run across opposite surface portions of the bottle neck to sweep the neck label snugly around the latter, after the label has been provisionally applied to theneck and pressed against the latter along a middle zone by the action of the upper ram 64 effective in the label position in question,

At their lower ends serving to perform the described sweeping operation the legs 70 are provided withfreely rotatable sleeves H. The legs 20 are connected with one another by meansof a biasing spring 12, and moreover the legs ar engaged on their outer sides by leaf springs 13. In thismannenwhen the label sweeping element is arranged to follow immediately after the ram 64,

the roller II will e gage the label immediately adjacent the ram fi l on both sides thereof, while the label is still kept pressed against the bottle 64, and upon further rotation of the label sweeping element the rollers II will exert on the label a pressure travelling gradually from themiddle zone of the label, where the latter is acted upon by the ram 64, in both directions along the surface of the bottle neck whereby the label is rolled or swept snugly around thebottle neck. Owing to the biasing of the legs 70 towards one another the rollers ll will be kept pressed against the bottle neck over a very large portion or the circumference of the latter so that in this manner labels may be securely fitted around a large portion of this circumference.

To perform its sweeping operation, each sweeping'element may perform a rotation from a position M, 7 4, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2. where the sweeping element is located behind the ram 64 with which it cooperates, to a position 175, 15', beyond the vertical longitudinal middle plane of the apparatus, the position 15 performed by continued rotation of the sweeping elements in opposite directions, but it has been found more convenient to arrange for the sweeping elements to perform an oscillating movement about the axis 69. Moreover, it has been found convenient, though not necessary, to make such arrangements that the sweeping elements do not have to perform an idle return movement but are efiective during both of their rotary strokes, whereby obviously the necessary amount of and the cam 9| is so constructed that at the 11 movement of the sweeping elements is very considerably reduced.

The means for moving the sweeping elements in this manner and for co-ordinating their movements with the movements of the other parts of the apparatus will now be described in further detail.

As will be seen from the drawing, every second of the sweeping elements comprises a hub 16 rigidly secured to a shaft 11 extending longitudinally of the apparatus and having its axis coincident with the common axis of the rotation 69 referred to above. The remaining label sweeping elements are similarly provided with hubs 18, but the latter are mounted for free rotation on the shaft 11 and are constructed as gear wheels respectively meshing with gear wheels 19 on a shaft 88 extending parallel to and vertically above the shaft 11. At one end of the shafts 11 and 89 there are provided gear wheels 8| and 82 respectively, both meshing with a gear wheel 83 on a shaft 84. Ihe shafts 11, 80 and 84 are mounted in a carriage 85 slidable in the longitudinal direction of the apparatus. Slidably, but non-rotatably mounted on the shaft 84 is a sleeve 88 provided with an extending arm 81, 88, which consists of two parts 81 and 88 rigidly but adjustably secured to one another by means of a bolt 89 passed through holes of the parts 81 and 88, at least one of which holes is elongated. The part 88 of the arm 81, 88 carries a roller 98 engaging with a cam 9| on a shaft 92 which is coupled to the main control shaft 8 (Or the shaft 43) by transmission means such as a chain drive 93 so as to rotate synchronously with the main control shaft, but at half of the speed of the latter. The shaft 92 further carries a cam 94 engaged by a roller 95 on an arm 96 pivoted at 91 and carrying at its free end a roller 98 engaged between transverse guides 99 mounted on the carriage 85.

The operation is as follows: During one half revolution of the shaft 92, corresponding to a full revolution of the main control shaft 8, the carriage 85 is in the position shown in the drawin appropriate time a rotary motion is imparted to the shaft 84 by the cooperation of the roller 90 and the cam 9|. By the engagement of the gear wheels 8| and 82 with the gear wheel 83, the shafts 11 and 88 are now simultaneously rotated through a suitable angle. The sweeping elements rigidly secured to the shaft 11 are thereby rotated in the same direction as the latter to perform their sweeping operation, while the label sweeping elements loosely mounted on the shaft 11 are similarly caused by their engagement with the gear wheels 19 on the shaft 89 to perform a rotary movement through the same angle in the opposite direction.

The cam 9| may suitably be so constructed that the sweeping elements are thereby caused to perform a first movement from the position 14 to the position 15, or inversely, starting from the other side from a starting position 14' symmetrical to the position 14 to a position symmetrical to the position 15, and then to remain stationary for some time. Of course, since a sweeping element which has thus arrived at the position 15 is supposed in the next sweeping operation to start from the position 14, it must sooner or later proceed to the last named position, and it might. if desired, do that at once, if the label transfer frames are constructed to admit such further movement of the label sweeping elements at this time, but the label transfer frames would then have to await the completion of this final phase of the movement of the label sweeping elements before starting their travel to their second positions, and it is therefore preferred to defer the final phase of the movement of the label sweeping elements from the position 15, 15 to the position 14, 14 until a time where the label transfer frames have to be stationary for other reasons and there is ample time for completing the movement of the label sweeping elements. The cam 9| is therefore constructed, in the embodiment shown, to keep the label sweeping elements stationary in the position 15, 15 until the label transfer frames have been moved to their second positions. At this time, there will be a labelling opening 34 directly in front of each of the label sweeping elements, and the label sweeping elements may, therefore, now proceed through these labelling openings, the cam 9| being so constructed that the label sweeping elements have passed well outside said openings before the arrival of the adhesive rollers 99 onto the raised edge portions 38 of the labelling openings 34.

At this time, the shaft 92 has made approximately one half revolution. On continued rotation of this shaft, the carriage is longitudinally displaced through a distance corresponding to the spacing of the articles in the labelling positions by the engagement of the roller 98 with the cam 94, and each of the label sweeping elements is thereafter ready to perform a label sweeping operation from the opposite side of the apparatus in a labelling position where also the other parts of the labelling means are effective from that side of the apparatus. This reversed label sweeping operation takes place during the other half of the revolution of the shaft 92 in a manner exactly similar to that described.

It will be understood that in order to make the label sweeping elements effective during both of their rotary strokes as described, the label sweeping elements must be provided in a number one higher than the number of bottles to be labelled, e. g. in the example shown, there must be provided seven label sweeping elements, and of these each of th two outermost label sweeping elements will be idle during its movement in one direction.

The adjustable connection between the parts 81 and 88 of the arm 81, 88 permits an adjustment to be made both of the amplitude and of the phase of the movement of the label sweeping elements.

Cooperation of the difierent parts of the apparatus The cooperation of the different parts of the machine will easily be understood from the analysis of the individual parts given above, but will for the sake of clarity be briefly summarized in the following, starting from the point of the operating cycle, where the rams 64 and 65 have been moved forth and back to apply the labels to the bottles, and the label sweeping elements have performed the first phase of their moverln5en ;;5fr0m the positions 14, 14' to the positions 1. The cam 29 closes the switch 28.

2. The cams II and I2 release the star wheels 2 and 3, so that the latter become effective to check in and out the predetermined number of the bottles supplied by the continuously moving conveyor At the same time, the switch 21 is 13 opened but :the. main. control: shaft: continues to rotatebecause the: switch 28. remains closed.

3: The labelv transfer frames 33 and 3.3 are displaced from their first. to their second posi tions.

4. The. label. sweeping elements are movedifrom the positions. I5, 75' to the positions I4, 14,. and the: adhesive. rollers. 50 are moved. up and down along the. raised edge. portions 30, 31. of. the labelling. openings 34', 3.5.

5. The label. hoppers 59 and 6% are moved forth. and. back to apply labels across the label openings 34 and 35..

6.. The label transfer frames 33', 33 are returned. to' their first. positions, and. the carriage 85.1 is. displaced through distance equal. to the spacing of the articles. in. the labelling; positions, though of course this movement of the. carriage 85.. might have been initiated. at. a somewhat earliertime", if. desired.

7.. The cam 29 opens the switch 20.

8. The. maincontrol shaft 8 is thereby stopped unless the star wheels 2 and 0 have. alread checked in and out the prescribed number of bottles; It that, is not the case, the main control'shaft remains stationary until the prescribed number of bottles have been checked. in and out, and is then started again by closure of the switch 21.

9;. 9n continued rotation of the main control shaft. I;, the rams 64 and 65 are moved back: and forth to apply the labels from across the labelling openings to the surfaces of the bottles, and the label sweeping elements are moved from. the positions l4, 14 to the positions Z5, '15.

L0; The same cycle is repeated with the only diiferencethat the movement of the label sweeping elements and of the carriage 0-5 are in the reverse. directions.

Reference will now be had to the apparatus illustrated in Figures 6 to 8. As far as the coordination of the supply of bottles and the o'peration of the various mechanisms at the surface treatment station is concerned, this apparatus is substantially identical with that of Figures. 1 to 5, and the. checking and interlocking system of Figure 4 might be used withthe apparatusof; Figures; 6 to 8 without modification. Since, how:- ever, a slightly modified form of that system is diagrammatically indicated in Figure 9-, referonce-will behad to that figure in explaining the construction and operation of the; apparatus of Figures 6 toll.v

In Figures 6 to 9,. IN is a continuously'moving belt conveyor on which the article I02 to be labelled, such as bottles, cans, and the like, are moved forward, I03a and I03b are two vertical spindles.- each carrying a star wheel I04 and I05 respectively, a locking disc I00, and a, disc I01 with. a. ratchet device to be mentioned hereinafter. Ratchet arms. I08 are held pressed against the locking discs I06 by means of springs I09. Each of. the arms I00 actuates. an electric contact I.I.0. An electricmotor III, by means of a worm. gear H2 and a magnetic coupling H3,

1.4 ingr description, reference. will therefore be made to. one. shaft- II 4 only as corresponding to the diagrammatic illustration of Figure 7.

This. shaft H4 carries. two cams H5 and. II! which. by means of levers H8, Figure 9, can actuate the contacts H0 and. are constructed and adjusted relative to the shaft. I I4 in such a manner that the contact H0 will always be in closed position with the exception of a short. interval covering the. time. from. immediately before to immediately after the time at which the final step of applying the labels is effected. The contacts H0 are interposed in. series in an operating. circuit. of the magnetic. coupling H3, and both contacts I I0 must be closed, in order to permit the transmission. of drive to the shaft H4 and I I5;

It. will be remembered that operation of the contacts H0 may be caused not only by the levers H8 controlled from the cams H0 and III on the shaft H4, but also from the levers I08.

The shaft H4 also carries two other'cams I20 and I2I which operate two levers I22 which in turn actuate the ratchet arms I08 and are so constructed that. the ratchet arms I08 are raised from their locking position very shortly after completion of the label applying step.

Moreover, the shaft I 4' carries cams I23a, I23b whichby means otlevers I24, Fig. 3, and ratchet teeth of the discs I01 turn the spindles I03a, I03b through a small angle so that the ratchet arms I08 cannot fall back into the locking position.

The shaft H4 and the shaft H5 carry cams I25 and I20 which in a. suitable position produce a horizontal reciprocating movement of rams I21 and I28 serving to apply the. labels to the bottles, and also cams I29, I30 serving to produce a corresponding movement of label magazines I3I, I32. Finally, the shaft H4 carries a cam I33 serving to move a label transfer frame I34 up and down.. In this embodiment, the label transfer frame or label holder is constructed. as a U-shaped member provided at both sides of the path of the articles with label seats I35, I36 which by the vertical movement of the label holder I34 are first covered with. adhesive bymeans of adhesive rollers I31, I38. and are" then moved up to the level of the label magazines I3 I, I32 to receive labels by the forward movement ofthe latter, whereafter the label transfer frame stops for a moment with the label. seats directly in front of the rams I21, I28, which then. apply the labels to the bottles.

The operation is as follows:

The; belt. I01 moves. continuously and carries the articles forward so that the latter'constantly press against the star'wheels I04, I05. After the rams I21, I28 have applied the labels, the lever I22 raises the ratchet arms I03 and then the levers 24 are actuated by the cams23a and 23b to turn the toothed discs I0'l and thereby the spindles I03a, I031) of the star Wheels. I04, I05 through a small angle such that the ratchet arms I08 cannot move into locking. position on the discs I06. The star wheels I04, I05 are now free to rotate and are caused by the bottles to perform one full revolution whereby six bottles are checked in and out by the star wheel I04 and the star wheel I05 respectively. Upon completion of this checking in and checking out movement of the star wheels the latter are again stopped by the ratchet arms I08.

While the star wheels are rotating as described, the ratchet arm I00 cannot hold the contact H0 in closed position, but this is done by the arms II8, so that the magnetic coupling I I3 is engaged and drive is therefore transmitted to the shafts I I4, I I5. The label holder I34 controlled by the cam E33 will consequently first move down by its own weight so that the label seats I35, I36 reach the level of the adhesive rollers I37, I 38 which apply adhesive to the seats I35, I36. The frame I 34 then moves up until the seats I35, I35 are aligned with the label magazines I3I, I32 and momentarily stops in that position whereupon a label is applied to each label seat by horizontal movement of the label magazines. The holder I34 now moves down so that the seats I 35, I36 are aligned with the rams I27, I28 and are stopped in this'position, and at the same time the levers l I B are lowered so that they can no longer hold the contacts I Ill closed. Consequently, if at this time the star wheels have not performed a full revolution to permit the ratchet arms I08 to move back to the position shown in Figure 9, the coupling II3 will be disengaged and the shafts I I4 and I I5 will stop rotating. However, as soon as the star wheels have performed a full revolution and have thereby checked in and out the prescribed number of articles, the ratchet arms I08 will close the contacts I H! to restart the shaft I I4.

During continued rotation of the shaft I Hi the rams I21 and I28 transfer the labels from the label seats I35, I36 to the articles and the operating cycle of the whole machine is thereby completed.

It will be noted that as far as the star wheel arrangement is concerned, the alternative operation of the contacts I I!) from the star wheels and from the shaft I I4 is the exact equivalent of alternative operation of the two parallel connected contacts 21, 28 from the star wheel 4 and the main control shaft 3 in Figure 4, and likewise the lever I24 of Figure 9 is the exact equivalent of the spring biased roller Isl of Figure 4.

Figure 10 illustrates a modified form of the surfac treatment station in which the walls between which the bottles are accumulated are spaced apart at a distance greater than the diameter of the bottles so that the latter, when pressed together owing to the continuous movement of the'conveyor, will assume a zig-zag configuration whereby the total length of the labelling station is reduced and each bottle will present a larger free surface to the labelling means.

It will thus be seen that there has been pro vided, according to the invention, a novel apparatus adapted to carry out the labelling of bottles or other articles at a very high speed and with a very high efficiency as compared with existing apparatus for the same purpose, and it has been found possible according to the invention to construct an apparatus of a certain capacity with so small overall dimensions that it takes up only about one half, or even less than one half of the space occupied by an apparatus of known type for the same capacity.

Some of the factors accounting for these advantages can be briefly summarized as follows:

Since the bottles are kept pressed against one another during the labelling operation, the mechanism necessary for the labelling operation has obviously been compacted to the minimum possible extension in the direction of travel of the bottles. Nevertheless, there has been reserved ample space for the various parts of the mechanism by the fact that every second bottle is labelled from one side and the remaining bottles from the other side of the apparatus.

There are no parts of the machine running idle in the case of absence of bottles to be labelled because the apparatus remains stationary awaiting a complete filling with bottles.

On the other hand, the apparatus makes all the necessary preparations for the labellingoporation while the bottles are being checked in and out, so that it is immediately ready to perform the labelling operation as soon as the apparatus has been filled with bottles. Thus, if the bottles are continuously supplied, they do not have to wait in the labelling apparatus but are disposed of practically instantaneously.

There are a minimum of movable parts in th apparatus because many of the movable parts are common to a plurality of labelling positions.

The various mechanisms have been carefully so selected that the movements of the parts are so small as possible, thus permitting the operating cycle to be carried out in the shortest possible time. From this point of view it has been found that the horizontal movable label transfer frames of Figures 1 to 5 advantageous over the vertically movable label holder of Figures 6 to 8 because the latter requires a total amount of movement considerably in excess of that necessary when using the horizontally slidable label transfer frames according to Figures 1 to 5.

The apparatus of Figures 1 to 5 is capable of applying labels to the bottles or articles in two or more positions vertically above one another, which would at least be considerably more difficult when using vertically movable label transfer frames as in Figures 6 to 8.

The additional application of the upper labels, such as neck labels, and the careful sweeping of the latter around the articles do not in any way slow down the operation of the apparatus of Figures 1 to 5, because these operations are carried out at times where other necessary operations are going on.

Still further advantages of the invention will be easily apparent to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for effecting local surface treatment of articles comprising a surface treatment station, a continuously moving conveyor traversing said station and upon which articles to be treated are conveyed through and past said station, said station including spaced walls respectively on opposite sides of the conveyor, surface treating means at said station including means operable to preliminarily condition said surface treating means, means adjacent the work station and independent of said conveyor and engageablc by the articles carried thereon and 0perable to stop movement of a predetermined number of articles relative to the conveyor so that the predetermined number of articles remain stationary at the work station while the conveyor continues to move, said surface treatment means being operable upon the predetermined number of articles simultaneously, means for actuating said surface treating means, means for actuating said preliminary conditioning means, drive means for both said actuating means, control means for the drive means for both said actuating means including means responsive to the means engageable by the articles controlling the drive of said actuating means so that the preliminary conditioning means are operable while the articles are moving and the surface treatment means are actuated when the predetermined number ,of articles is stationary at the work station.

2. Apparatus as defined in and by claim 1 in which the conveyor is wider than the diameter of the articles, longitudinally extending guide means disposed at the work station adjacent opposite edges of the conveyor, said articles stopping between the said guide means, said guide means being spaced apart a distance in excess of the diameter of the articles to be treated an amount sufficient to accommodate a predetermined number of articles in zig-zag formation so that the distance encompassed by the sum of the diameter of the articles stopped adjacent the guide means is greater than the longitudinal extent of said means.

3. An apparatus as defined in and by claim 1 in which the means independent of said conveyor and engageable by the articles comprise star wheels respectively disposed adjacent the feed and discharge end of said surface treatment station, a locking disc movable with each star wheel, the star wheels being engageable with the articles moving on the conveyor, said control means including means cooperable with said locking disc to stop the same and thereby the star wheels whereby a predetermined number of articles are stopped between the star wheels, means responsive to the rotation of the star wheels for preventing operation of the means for actuating said surface treatment means until the predetermined number of articles have passed the wheel adjacent the feed end of the station, and thereafter permitting, such operation so that said surface treatment means are actuated during the interval at which the predetermined number of articles are stationary on the conveyor between the star wheels and further feeding of additional articles is prevented by the star wheel adjacent the feed end of the conveyor being stationary, and said preliminary conditioning means being operable when the said additional articles are being fed into the station.

4. An apparatus as defined in and by claim 3 in which the means cooperable with each locking disc for stopping the same comprise a ratchet arm and spring means normally urging the arm in contact with the disc, said locking disc having a locking surface engageable by said ratchet arm to prevent rotation of the wheel.

5. An apparatus for effecting local surface treatment of articles comprising a local surface treatment station, a continuously moving conveyor traversing said station and upon which articles to be treated are conveyed through and past the station, said station including spaced walls disposed respectively on opposite sides of the conveyor and extending longitudinally thereof, surface treating means at said station including means operable to premiliminarily condition said surface treating means, star wheels disposed respectively adjacent the feed and discharge ends of said walls, said star wheels being engageable by the articles carried thereon and rotated thereby, a locking disc rotatable with each star wheel, a ratchet arm cooperable with each locking disc, spring means normally holding each ratchet arm pressed against each disc, each disc having a locking surface engageable with said arm after a predetermined arc of travel to effect stoppage of the star wheels, so that the star wheels determine the positioning of a predetermined number of articles between the opposite ends of the said walls and upon cessation of movement of the star wheels said predetermined number of articles are stopped between the walls while the conveyor continues to move so that the articles are pressed against one another, means for actuating said surface treating means and means for actuating the preliminary conditioning means, drive means for both said actuating means including an electric motor and a shaft driven thereby, an electrically controlled coupling interposed between the motor and shaft, at least one switch controlling said coupling, said switch in the closed position transmitting drive to the actuating means for said surface treating means, at least one of said ratchet arms controlling said switch and operable upon engagement with the locking surface on the locking disc to close said switch whereby the surface treating means operate during the interval at which the articles are stationary on the conveyor, means controlled by said shaft for removing said ratchet arm from locking engagement upon completion of the operation of said surface treatment means, and also for conconditioning means so that the same are operable during the feeding in movement of a predetermined number articles.

6. An apparatus as defined in and by claim 5 in which the actuating means for the preliminary conditioning means and the surface treatment means comprise levers and cams driven by said shaft and in which additional cam and lever means constitute the means for actuating said ratchet arms.

7. An apparatus for the local surface treatment of articles comprising a surface treatment station, a continuously moving conveyor traversing said station and upon which articles to be surface treated are conveyed through and past said station, means adjacent the surface treatment station and independent of said conveyor and engageable by the articles thereon to perform a checking movement as a result of the of articles therefrom and then to stop further passage of the articles through the surface treatment station awaiting a further control so that a number of articles equal to said predetermined number remain stationary at the surface treatment station and are kept pressed closely against one another owing to the continued movement of the conveyor so as to assume predetermined positions in the surface treatment station, surface treatment means at said surface treatment station engageable simultaneously with the surface of a number of articles equal to said predetermined number to effect treatment thereof, drive means for said surface treatment means independent of the supply of articles to said station, and means for so interlocking operation of said checking means and said surface treatment means, that each becomes operable only upon completion of operation of the other.

8. An apparatus as in claim 7 and further comprising preliminary conditioning means to prepare for operation of said surface treatment means, said preliminary conditioning means being drivable independent of the supply of articles to said surface treatment station and bein included in said interlockin control in such a manner that said preliminary conditioning means is free to operate while articles are being checked in and out, and said surface treatment means are operable only upon completion both of the operation of said preliminary conditioning means and of the operation of said article. engageable,

meansto check in and out the prescribed nume ber of articles.

9. -An apparatus as in claim '7 in which said surface treatment means are operative from opposite sides on alternate articles.

10. Apparatus for the local surface treatment of articles comprising a surface treatment station, a continuously moving conveyor traversing saidstation and upon which articles to be treatedareconveyed through andpast said station, supply and discharge checking means adjacent the supply and discharge end respectively of the surface treatment station and independent of said conveyor and engageable by the articles carried thereon to perform a checking movement as a result of the forward movement of such articles, stop means for blocking movement of said checkin means upon completion of a checkin cycle to check in and out a predetermined number of articles respectively and momentaril disengageable to permit initiation of -a new checking cycle, surface treatment means at said station constructed to act simultaneously on a number of articles equal to said predetermined number, preliminary conditioning means to prepare for operation of said surface treatment means, cyclical- 1y operable control means for said preliminary conditioning means, said surface treatment means, and said stop means drive means-forsaid control means, said control means having means associated therewith for causing operation of said preliminary conditioning means over a first intervalof its cycle, for causing interruption of its own drive at a point of its cycle following said first interval, for causing operation of said surface treatment means over a second interval of its cycle following said point, for momentarily causing disengagement of said stop means at a point of its cycle following said second interval, and for re-establishingits own drive'at a point of itscycle between thetwo points alreadyreferred to, and means associated with said supply checking means and operative in the blocked po-' sition of such means to establish the drive of said control means bypassing the interruption caused by the control means itself.

11. Apparatus for the local surface trea mentof articles comprising a surface treatment station, a continuously moving conveyor traversing said station and upon which articles to be treated areconveyed through and past said station,

a first star wheel adjacent the supply end of the surface treatment station, a secondstar wheel adjacent the discharge end of the surface treatment station, eachstar wheel being mounted on a vertical spindle rotatably mounted at one side of said conveyor in a position such that said star wheels are engageable by articles carriedon the conveyor to be thereby rotated in synchronism with the forward movement of the articles, a looking disc on the spindle of each star wheel, stop means engageable with each locking disc atone point of the circumference thereof to block the respective star. wheel against rotation, surface treatment means at said station constructed to act on a plurality of articles simultaneously, preliminary conditioningmeans to prepare for operation of said surface treatment means, a main control shaft, drive means for said main control shaft, meansassociated with said main control shaft for causing operation of said preliminary conditioning means over a first angular zone of one full revolution thereof, for causing its own drive to be interrupted ata point of the revolu tion following said first angular zone, for: causing operation of said surface'treatment means over a second angular zone following said point, for momentarily causing disengagement of said stop means from both of said locking discs at a point of the revolution following said second angular zone, and for reestablishing its own drive-at a point between th to, and means associated with the stop means of said first star wheel and operative in the engaged position of such stop means to establish the drivev of said main control shaft by-passing the interruption caused by the main control shaft-itself. 12. An apparatus as in claim 11. and further comprising means for rotatingsaid star wheel,

through a small angle upon disengagementof said stop means from said locking discs.

13. An apparatus for the labelling ofv articles comprising a labelling station, a continuously moving conveyor traversing said station and upon Which articles to be labelled are conveyed through and past said station, means adjacent the labelling station and independent of said conveyor and engageable by the articles carried thereon and controllable to permit checking in of and are kept pressed closely against one another.

owing to the continued movement of the con-v veyor so as to assume predetermined positions,

in the labelling station, a label transfer frame arranged at said labelling station and extending parallel to and at one. side of the path of movement of said conveyor, said label transfer frame being provided with labelling openings at a hori- 1 zontal spacing corresponding to that of articles in said predetermined positions, preliminary conditioning means for first horizontally moving said label transfer frame parallel to the direction of movement of said conveyor from a first position with said labelling openings laterally opposite articles in said predetermined positions to a second position horizontally spaced from said first position, then applying labels across said labelling openings, and then returning said label transfer frame to said first position, labelling means for transferring the labels thus applied from across said labelling openingsutothe surfaces of articles to be labelled, drive means for said preliminary conditioning means and said labelling means independent of the supply of articies to said labelling station, and means for so interlocking operation of said articleengageable means, said labelling means and said preliminary conditioning means that said article engageable means are controllable to permit checking in and out of the predetermined number of articles, and

said preliminary conditioning means are operable only upon completion of the operation of said labelling means, and said labelling means are operable only upon completion both of the operation of said preliminary conditioning means and of the operation of said article engageable means to check in and out the predetermined number of articles. a

14. An apparatus for the labelling of articles comprising a labelling station, means for moving a succession of articles along a horizontal path through said labelling station and for temporarily stopping a batch of articles'in predeteiz-i two points already referred.

mined positions at said labelling station, a label transfer frame arranged at said labelling station and extending parallel to and at one side of the path of movement of the articles, said label transfer frame being provided with labelling openings at a horizontal spacing corresponding to that of articles in said predetermined positions, means for horizontally moving said label transfer frame parallel to the direction of movement of the articles between a first position with said labelling openings laterally opposite articles in said predetermined positions, and a second position horizontally spaced from said first position, means for applying labels across said labelling openings, while said label transfer frame is in its said second position, and means for transferring the labels thus applied from across said labelling openings to the surfaces of articles to be labelled while said label transfer frame is in its said first position.

15. An apparatus for the labelling of articles comprising a labelling station, means for moving asuccession of articles along a horizontal path through said labelling station and for temporarily stopping a batch of articles in predetermined positions at said labelling station, a label transfer frame arranged at said labelling station and extending parallel to and at one side of the path of movement of the articles, said label transfer frame being provided with labelling openings at a horizontal spacing corresponding to that of articles in said predetermined positions, means for horizontally moving said label transfer frame parallel to the direction of movement of the articles between a first position with said labelling openings laterally opposite articles in said predetermined positions, and a second position horizontally spaced from said first po sitlon, vertically movable means for applying adhesive to the edges of said labelling openings, means movable in a horizontal direction per pendicular to the path of movement of the articles for subsequently pressing labels against the thus prepared edges of the labelling openings to cause the labels to be temporarily seated thereacross, said vertically movable means and said horizontally movable means being operable while the label transfer frame is in its said second position, and means movable transversely of the path of movement of the articles for transferring the labels from across said labelling openings to the surfaces of articles to be labelled while saidlabelling frame is in its said first position.

16. An apparatus as in claim 15 in which said labelling openings are constructed with vertically extending raised edge portions to receive the adhesive, and said means for applying adhesive to the edges of the labelling openings comprise adhesive transfer rollers operable to run vertically along said raised edge portions.

17. An apparatus for the labelling of articles comprising a, labelling station, means for moving a succession of articles along a horizontal path through said labelling station and for temporarily stopping a batch of articles in predetermined positions at said labelling station, a label transfer frame arranged at said labelling station and extending parallel to and at one side of the path of movement of the articles, said label transfer frame being provided adjacent its top with labelling openings at a horizontal spacing corresponding to that of articles in said predetermined positions, means for horizontally moving said label transfer frame parallel to the direction of movement of the articles between a first position with said labelling openings laterally opposite articles in said predetermined positions, and a second position horizontally spaced from said first position, means for applying labels across said labelling openings, while said label transfer frame is in its said second position, means movable in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the articles for provisionally transferring the labels from across said labelling openings to the articles and :or pressing the labels against the articles along a middle zone, and, for each of said labelling openings a label sweeping element mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis parallel to the direction of movement of the articles and located vertically above an article in one of said predetermined positions, each label sweeping element having two legs in positions to sweep opposite surface portions of an article in such predetermined position upon rotation of the label sweeping element, said legs being spring biased in a direction towards one another and being provided with freely rotatable sleeves at the portions of same serving to sweep the article.

18. An apparatus as defined in and by claim 17 in which said label transfer frame is provided with a second row of labelling openings respectively located vertically below said labelling openings djacent the top of the label transfer frame, the apparatus further comprising means for applying labels across said labelling openings of the second row while said label transfer frame is in its said second position, and means for transferring the labels thus applied from across said labelling openings of the second row to the surfaces of articles to be labelled while said label transfer frame is in its said first position.

19. An apparatus for the labelling of articles comprising a labelling station, a continuously moving conveyor traversing said station and upon which articles to be labelled are conveyed through and past said station, stop means at the discharge end of the labelling station for barring movement of the articles carried by the conveyor, thereby causing the articles to be accumulated in closely packed formation and in predetermined positions at said labelling station gradually as they arrive on the conveyor, checking means for checking in and out a predetermined number of articles to and from the labelling station respectively, a pair of label transfer frames arranged at said labelling station and extending parallel to and at opposite sides of the path of movement of said conveyor, each of said label transfer frames being provided with labelling openings at a horizontal spacing corresponding to that of alternate articles in said predetermined positions, preliminary conditioning means for first synchronously moving both of said label transfer frames in a horizontal direction parallel to the direction of movement of said conveyor from respective first positions in which the labelling openings of one label transfer frame are located laterally opposite every second out of a batch of articles in said predetermined positions, while the labelling openings of the other label transfer frame are located laterally opposite the remaining ones of the same batch of articles, to respective second positions respectively horizontally spaced from said first positions, then applying labels across said labelling openings, and then synchronously returning both of said label transfer frames to their respective first positions, labelling means operative from opposite sides of the path of movement of the conveyor of the operation of "sai'dpreliminary conditioning meansand of-i theeoperation of said checking means I to- -checlcin and out the redetermined i number -ofarticlesi'.

20.'=Anapparatusfor the labelling of articles comprising -a labellingstation; means for moving a succession of articles-along a horizontal path through-said labelling stationand for temporarily'stopping a batch of articlesin predetermined positions at said labelling station, a pair of-label transfer frames arranges-1' atsaid labelling station' and extending parallel toand at opposite sides'of the -path of-movement of the articles, each of saidlabel transfer frames being provided with labelling openings-at a horizontalspacing corresponding to that of alternate articles in said predeterminedpositions, means for synchronously'moving both of said label transfer frames ina horizontal direction-parallel to the direction of movement of thearticles between respective first positions in which the labelling openings ofone'la-bel transfer" frame are located laterally opposite-everysecond out'of a batch of articles-'in saidpredetermined positions while the labelling openings of the "other labehtransfer frame are located laterallyopposite the remaining ones 'of the same batch of articles, and respective" second positions respectively horizontallyspaced'from said first positions, 'means for applying labels across said' labelling openings while said label transfer frames are in their respectivesecond positions, and means operative" from'opposite sides'of the path ofmovement of the articles for transferring the labels thus applied from across said labelling openings to the surfaces of the articles to'be labelled while said label transfer frames are in'their respective first positions.

21. 'An" apparatus as in claim 2%) inwhich said label transfer frames are movable in opposite directions from their respective first positions to their respective second positions.

22; An apparatus for the labelling of articles comprising a labelling-station, means for moving a successiion of articles along a horizontal path through said labelling station and for temporarily stopping a batch'cf articles in predetermined positions at said labelling station, a pair of label transfer frames arranged at said labelling station and extending parallel to and at opposite sides ofthe path of movement of the articles, each of said'label transfer frames being provided adjacent its top with labelling openings at a horizontal spacing corresponding tothat of alternate articles in said predetermined positions, means for synchronously moving both of said label transfer frames in a horizontal direction parallel to the direction of 'movement'of the articles between respective first-positions in which the labelling openings ofone-label transfer frame are located laterallyopposite severy second but of a 24 batch of articles in said predeterminedpositions while the labelling'openings of'the other-"label transfer frame are located laterallyopposite the l remaining ones of the same batch of articles, and

respective second positions respectively -ho-rizon-' tally spaced from said first positions, means for applying labels across said labelling openings while'said label transfer frames are in their respecti-ve secondpositions, and means operative from'opposite. sides of the path of movement-of"- the articles for transferring thelabels thus ap plied from across said labelling openings to-'--the'- surfaces of the articles to be labelled while said. label transfer frames are in their respective first positions, said last-named means includinga series I of label sweeping elements spaced along and rotatable about a common horizontal axisextending longitudinally of thexpathiof .move-"-- ment of the articles and located vertically'above a batch of articles in said predetermined posi tions, said label sweeping elements being arranged at-a spacing along said horizontalaxis equalto that of successive articles in said predetermined positions, each of said elements having two legs spring biased towards one another and carrying freely rotatable sleeves in positions'to sweep opposite surface portions of an article upon rotation of the respective'element; the apparatus further comprising means for simultaneously rotating every second of said label sweeping elementsin one direction and the remaining lae bel sweeping elements-in-the opposite direction to perform a label sweeping-operations 23. An apparatus as in claim 22 in whichsaid label sweeping elementsare provided in-Yanumber one-higher than the-number; of articles-to be simultaneously labelled and are combined toform a unit. displaceable longitudinally of the path of movement of the articles, the apparatus comprising means for thusidisplacing:saidcunitalternately one way and the Mother throughcai. distanceequalto the spacingofoarticles in said i. predetermined positions in the intervals between. successive sweeping operations.

2 An apparatus as in claim 22 iniwhich each of said label transfervframes is. provided "with a second row of labelling openings respectively lo.- cated vertically below said labelling openingsad-ljacent the top'ofthe label. transfervframes, the apparatus further comprising means for. applying labels across said labelling nopeningsiiofisthe sect-1: ond rows while said label transfer framesiare'in. their respective second positions; and means for; transferring the labels thus applied from across said labelling openings of the'second' rows tolthen surfaces of articles to be. labelled.whileisaidlae: bel transfer. frames are in'their respective-first positions.

25. Amachinefor labelling articles comprisev ing in combination a continuously moving con-.v. veyor movable in a predetermined'path and upo-n which articles toibe labelled are transported, a: labelling stationtraversed by: said conveyor-ineluding a vertically reciprocable labelholderfhav ing spacedside walls respectively adjacent opposits edges of the conveyor and between which the articles pass, star wheels each respectively disposed adjacentthe feed and-discharge ends. of said label holder, the-teeth on said wheels projecting into the pathof movement of the articles I andengageable thereby so that the wheels are rotated-as the articlespass, said starwheels de-i termining the number of articles positionable between the opposite ends-of said label holder, said glabelholder having notches in 1th'e= upper mar ginal edges thereof alignable with articles positioned on the conveyor between the opposite ends of the label holder, means for stopping the star wheels from rotation whereby a predetermined number of articles are pressed into contact with one another by the continued movement of the conveyor and stopped in the positions alignable with the notches, said walls having means thereon adapted to receive adhesive adjacent the marginal edges of the notches, adhesive applying means contactable by said last mentioned means in the reciprocatory movement of the label holder, a label magazine disposed in vertical alignment with the path of movement of each of the notches and reciprocatory in a path transverse to the movement of the label holder, label applying rams reciprocatory in a path of movement transverse with respect to the path of movement of the label holder and across the path of movement of the notches, actuating means for reciprocating the label holder, the label magazines and the rams, and control means responsive to the movement of the star wheels including cams contro11ing all said actuating means whereby the label holder moves past the adhesive applying means to receive adhesive, then past the label magazines while the latter are moving toward the label holder in timed relation to impress labels on the adhesive on the label holder while the articles are moving between the walls of the label holder, and upon cessation of the rotation of the star wheel and stoppage of the articles said label holder being in position with the notches transversely aligned with the respective articles, said rams move towards the notches and displace the labels with the adhesive thereon from the label holder onto the articles.

26. An apparatus as defined in and by claim '25 and including a drive shaft rotating all said cams, an electric motor operating said shaft, an electrically controlled coupling interposed between said motor and shaft, switch means controlling said coupling, the means for stopping rotation of the star wheels comprising locking discs, each having a locking surface thereon, ratchet arms spring pressed against the discs and engageable by the locking surface, said ratchet arms in looking position actuating said switch means to complete the drive to the shaft for driving said earns, a cam rotated by said shaft for mo inentarily disengaging said additional means including a cam rotated by said drive shaft for actuating said switch to close the same and complete the drive during the whole of the revolution of said drive shaft with the exception of an interval beginning shortly before operation of said rams and ending before disengagement of said ratchet arms.

27. An apparatus as defined in and by claim 25 wherein the walls of said label holder are spaced apart a distance in excess of the diameter of the articles to be treated an amount suffioient to accommodate articles in zig-zag formation between the respective ends of the label holder and wherein the notches and label magazines and label applying means are disposed in alternate relation on opposite sides of the label holder so that the labels are applied on alternate articles on opposite sides of the label holder.

KARL JOHAN GLANS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record. in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 628,151 Weiss et a1. July 4, 1899 663,048 Sleeper Dec. 4, 1900 1,875,301 Fredsell Aug. 30, 1932 2,052,840 Nussbaum Sept. 1, 1936 2,174,210 Ginns et al. Sept. 26, 1939 2,286,523 Whitehead June 16, 1942 2,497,586 Coons Feb. 14, 1950 ratchet arms, and,

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