Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Background of the Invention
Field oE thc Invention
The presellt invention relates to a label roll core
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i~ holding dev;ce for use in a label printing and applying a~par- .
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Des ~ ~on n-_ he Prior Art
In one conventional holding device oE tllis type~ a
' sa~-toothe~l~ ro~lgh sur-Eacc is formccl on the inncr ~eriphe~
;~ o:E a circular rccoss. The recess is forlllcd in thc inncr sicle
, 30 ~all of El mounting b:racke~ is br~c~et is s~ccd :Erom a
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looseness prevent;ng bTacket for preventing a label strip
roll from -fa~ling or unwinding sideways ofE its core. Within
the circular recess is rotatably fitted a corc holding member,
which has control pawls on its outer periphery that engage
~ith the sa~-tootlled inner periphery o-f ~he circular recess.
At one side of the holding n-elnbor are a set of -fle~ible fingers
which removably engage with the core. Thus, every time the
label strip is unwound from the core, proper tension is con-
tinuously exerted upon the label strip through the e~gagement
of the control pawls of the core holding member with the saw-
toothed inner periphery o-f the recess.
An advantage of the conventional core holding device
having the above construction is that the core for the label
stri.p can be removably held in position. ~lso, because the
label strip can be unwound urlder predetermined tension at all
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times, another advantage is that there is no slackness in thc
. label strip.
~. The conventional core holding device has a compli-
'J~ cated construction and requires excessively prec;se techniques
for the manufacture of its core holding member. This leads to
~; high production cost for the core holding member which, in
; turn, raises the cost of the whole label printing and apply-
~ ing apparatus. ! :
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S~lmmary of the Invention
It is, therefore~ a major object of the invention
to provide an improved core holding dcvice for a label stri~.
Another obj~ct of the present invention is to pro-
~i` vide an improved core holding device of the above type, in
-~ which the core is turned by drawing upon the label strip
;~ 3n against a predetcrmined bra~ing force so that the label strip
~ does not become slack while it is being fed.
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St;ll another object is to provide an improved
core holding device of the abo~-e type, in which attachment
and removal of the core can be accomplished quite s;mply.
A fur-tllcr object is to provide an impro~red core
holding device of the above type, in w}lich the label strip
rolled on the core is prevented during its use from falling
off the side o-f the core.
A further object is to provide an improved core
holding device of the above type, which has a simpli-fied
construction and is producible with ease at low cost.
According to the present invention, there is a
core holding devic~ ~or rotatably holding a core on which a
label strip is wound. The holding device includes a core
holding member equipped with a plurality o-f flexible fingers `
for removably holding the core so that the core and the core
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j holding member rotate together. These -fingers are arranged
around a common circle and are angularly spaced from each
other. There is a mounting bracket having a circular recess
'; for removably receiving and pivotally mounting the core
holding member. The facing surfaces of the core holding
member and the circular recess of the mOLInting bracket act
as two brake surEaces which contact frictionally -for impart-
ing a predetelmined braking force against the rotation of ~ -
the core holding member.
; ~ core and label wi3lding looseness preventing
;'~!' bracket is spaced -from the mounting bracket. ~t least one
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of these two brackets is pi~otable relative to the other - -
between a first position, w~ere it is angularly spaced from
the other to provide easy access into the space between the
brackets for servicing and replacing a core, and a second
~i position, where it is in registration with the other bracket
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to prevent the label strip from coming loose from the core.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 is a side elevational view showing a label
printing and applying apparatus equipped with a core holding
device according to the present invention;
Fig. Z is a perspective view showlng an essential
portion of the core holding device;
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line
III-III of Fig. l; and
Fig. 4 is an exploded view showing a portion of
Fig. 3.
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; Descriptibn of the Preerred Embodiment
` A preEerred embodiment of the present invention
r'~ will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
~, Fig. 1 shows a label printing and applying appar-
atus, which is equipped with a holding device 11 for holding
a rolled label strip. The label strip 1 is in the form of a
roll wound upon a core 12 which is held by the holding
device 11. The label strip is fed, by the alternate gripping
and releasing operations of a hand lever 2, from core 12 to
a labeling member 3 located at the lower left-hand corner of
; the apparatus. An example of such a feeding apparatus can
be found in U.S. Patent Re. 27,889, issued January 15, 1974.
~, In Figs. 2 and 3, the label strip holding device
11 generally includes a label and core looseness preventing
bracket 4, a mounting bracket 5 and a core holding member 16
which is rotatably mounted on the mounting bracket 5. The
two brackets 4 and 5 are supported in spaced apart and
juxtaposed positions and they are preferably shaped 5ym-
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metrically. Brackets 4 and 5 are made of a synthetic resin.
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They are joincd at their common rear connecting portion 15.
The looseness preventing bracket 4 is mounted Oll a pivot 14,
hich extends into a base portion of the mounting bracket S.
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Bracket 4 has an angle o rotati.on o~ at least about 90 degrees
about the pivot 14, as shown in Fig. 2. This pivotal construc-
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tion is necessary to provide easy access into the space between
the two brackets 4 and 5 when the holding device 11 has the
;~ core 12 loaded on it or when the core holding member 16 is ..
.~ removed from the holding device. A locking projection 6, ;~:
. 10 extending from the side surface of the one portion of con-
necting portion 15 to which bracket 5 is connected, snaps
into a cooperating recess (not shown) in the portion o~
. connecting portion 15 to which bracket ~ is connected. This
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:/ retains the looseness preventing bracket 4 in registration.
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with the mounting bracket S when the former is pulled down
so that both have the relative position shown in Fig. 1.
The purpose of the looseness preventing bracket 4 is to
. prevent the rolled label strip 1 from coming loose or falling
or sliding or unwinding o-f the side o-f the core 12 when the
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: 20 label printing and applying apparatus is turned or tilted
sideways during its use.
,'. The mounting bracket 5 is integral wi.th and is
stationary relative to the body of the label printing and
applying apparatus. In an inner side wall o-E the mounting
bracket 5, at the vicinity oE its open end, there is formed
a circular recess 17 in which a disc shaped core holding
. member 16 is rotatably fitted. .One side of thc core holdlng
member 16 is Eormed into a retained section _, by ~hich the
-~ member 16 is pivotally retained in the mounting bracket S.
The retained section _ comprises a short shat 18 which is
Eormed with an annular groove 22 on its circumEereJIce, as
;i~ seen in ~igs. 3 and 4. Thc shaEt 18 is inserted through a
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mounting bore 20, whicll is formed in an outer wal]. 19 at the ,;,
back of the ci.rcular recess 17. The sha~t 1~ ,and its groove :
22 extends through the bore 20 to the outside of the mounting
bracket 5 and the sha-ft is retained at its annular groove 22
by a retaining snap ring 21. The annular groove 22 is ..
located as near to the base of the shaft 18 as the thickness
of bracket 5 would permit such that an exterior brake surface . .
23 of the core holding member 16 is in rictional contact
with a corresponding brake surface 24 on the bottom wall of
the circular recess 17. A proper braking force due to the
frictional contact bet~een the two surfaces 23 and 24 is
exerted upon the core holding member 16. The core holding , '
member 16 .is prevented from freely rotating as a result o ',
any external rotational Eorce in either direction tllat may
be imparted thereto during the operation o-f the label print~
ing and applying apparatus. ' "' ~ :
The other side of the core holding member ~6 i5
formed into a holding section a, which removably holds the '
core 12. This holding section a may be integrally made of a '.
Elexible synthetic resin. It is composed o a plurality of '
Elexible, resilient fingers 25. The fingers 25 extend from
a disc shaped section c radially imYardly from the edge of .,
section a. The fingers are arranged on,.a common circle and : ':
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'.. - are angularly spaced around the section a. The e:Efective ,:
: - outside diameter of the flexible ~ingers 25, which is also
,........... the diameter of the com~on circle which the -ingers are in,
~, is made slightly larger than the internal diameter of the
. bore 13 of the core 12. The Ele~ible fingers 25 all have
~,i at their respective outer open ends, radially outwardly '~
` 30 e~telldillg pl'Oj ections 26 which can be removably snap-fittecl
.," past the entry pelipheral wall (Fig. 3) in the hore 13 of ,:
.'~ core 12, thereby to hold the core 12 in position. The core '
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12 for the label strip 1 can be turnecl around the short
shaft 18 against a braking frictional force. The core is
rotated by mot.ion of the label. s~rip 1 ~.rhich is established
.~. in accordance ~ith the grippiilg and rcleasing opera~ion of
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. the hand lever 2 Thus, the la.bel strip 1 can be fed under
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such a proper tension that it m~y be ree from any slackness.
In the embodiment describecl, moreover, ~he core
holding member 16 is mounted on the stationary mounting
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~ bracket 5. Alternatively, the holding member 16 may also be
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~ 10 mounted on the pivotable bracket 4 in a similar manner.
~s As is apparent from the -Eoregoing description,
' attachment and removal of the core 1 for the labe:l.strip 1
can be accomplished in a simpli-fied fashion. It should also
. be appreciated that the label strip 1 can ~c prevented from
becoming slack or loose. Since the holding device according
to the present invention can have a remarkably simplified
.: construction and can be produced with ease, it is possible ~.:
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.. to materially reduce the production cost of the label printing :~
~ and applying apparatus as a wllole, as compared with prior
:~ 20 apparatus.
' As many widely different embocl;.ments of the present
invention can be made l~ithout depart;ng front the spirit and
. scope thereof, it is to be understood that the invention .
.~ should not be limited to thc specific embodiments thereo-f
. except as defined in the appended claims.
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