DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING TILT OF LABELLING PAD ON LABELLING APPARATUS

DISPOSITIF POUR LE REGLAGE DE L'INCLINAISON DU TAMPON DANS UN APPAREIL A ETIQUETER

English Abstract

A B S T R A C T
A labelling apparatus comprises a label applying
means for applying a label to an article, conveyor means,
label magazine, means for transferring a label from the
magazine to the label applying means and applying glue to
such label. The label applying means has a support struc-
ture on which a label carrier means is pivotally mounted
about a horizontal axis and pivot control means for control-
ling the position of the label carrier means. The pivot
control means is timed to pivot the label carrier means
about the horizontal axis in a direction towards and away
from a position at which the label carrier means contacts
and applies a glued label to an article as the article is
conveyed past the label applying means.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A label applying device for use with automatic
labelling apparatus having conveyor means for conveying articles
to be labelled, said device comprising a body portion, a
label carrier means pivotally mounted about a horizontal axis
on said body portion, where said horizontal axis is below
said label carrier means, said body portion being rotated
about a vertical axis, the rotation of said body portion being
synchronized with the movement of conveyed articles so that a
label is applied to each article as it is conveyed past said
device, pivot control means for pivoting said label carrier
means in a controlled manner about said horizontal axis, said
pivot control means gradually pivoting said label carrier
downwardly towards a label applying position as said label
carrier is rotated towards a conveyed article to be labelled
and said pivot control means instantly pivoting said label
carrier to and from the label applying position when such
conveyed article is in position to receive a label, the extent
to which said label carrier means is pivoted to contact such
article being determined by the inclination of an article
surface to which a label is to be applied.
2. A label applying device of claim 1, wherein said pivot
control means comprises a gear member connected to said label
carrier means and rotatable about said horizontal axis, a
pivotally mounted gear segment intermeshed with said gear member,

a cam follower mounted on said gear segment, a circular
stationery cam, said cam follower being spring biased to remain
against said cam as said body portion rotates, the circumfe-
rential shape of said cam determining the location of said
label carrier means during a complete revolution, and the portion
of said cam which causes said label carrier means to be swung
to and from label applying position includes a circumferential
interruption to cause the instant pivoting of said label carrier
to and from label applying position, said interruption follow-
ing the cam portion which causes the gradual pivoting of the
label carrier means.
3. A label applying device of claim 2, wherein said
circumferential interruption is a projecting hump on the surface
of the cam on which said follower travels.
4. A label applying device of claim 2, wherein the cir-
cumferential configuration of a portion of said cam is such that
said label carrier means remains vertical to receive a label
and have glue applied to the label by a glue applying means,
said cam having a two position moveable part which is located
in the area of the cam which determines the label carrier
means' position at the glue applying means, a first position
for said part maintains said label carrier means in a vertical
position and a second position for said part withdraws said
label carrier means, sensing means for sensing when a label is
16

on said label carrier means; in the absence of a label, said
sensing means actuating means which moves said moveable part
to said second position so that said label carrier means is
withdrawn to thereby miss said glue applying means.
5. A label applying device of claim 2, wherein the portion
of the cam which causes said label carrier means to be swung
in contacting an article is interchangeable, the shape of
the interchangeable portions varying so that the position to
which said label carrier means is swung to apply a label can
be varied from approximately mines 15 degrees through to plus
90 degrees.
6. A label applying device of claim 2, wherein said gear
member and said gear segment have helical shaped gear teeth.
7. A label applying device of claim 1, wherein said label
carrier means has a resilient pad portion which is compressed
slightly upon contact with an article to which a label is
being applied.
8. A label applying device of claim 1, wherein a pluraltiy
of label carrier means are mounted on and symmetrically spaced
about said body portion, a separate pivot control means being
provided for each label carrier means, the rotation of said body
portion being synchronized with the movement of the conveyed
articles so that a label is applied to each article conveyed
past said device.
17

9. A label applying device of claim 1, wherein said label
carrier means has ports on its surface which are overlayed by
a label, vacuum being applied to said ports on receipt of a
label and a blast of pressurized air being applied to said
ports the instant such label is applied to an article.
10. In a labelling apparatus, a label applying means for
applying a label to an article, conveyor means for conveying
an article past said label applying means, means for providing
a label on said label applying means, said label applying
means comprising a hub rotatable about a vertical axis and
having a label carrier means pivotally mounted about a horizon-
tal axis on said hub, said horizontal axis being below said
label carrier means, pivot control means for controlling the
position of said label carrier means, said pivot control means
being timed to pivot gradually said label carrier means about
said horizontal axis in a direction towards a position
at which said label carrier means contacts and applies such
label to an article as such article is conveyed past said
label applying means, said pivot control means instantly
pivoting said label carrier to and from said article contacting
positition when such conveyed article is in position to re-
ceive a label.
11. In a labelling apparatus of claim 10, said pivot
control means being adjustable to vary the position to and
from which it pivots said label carrier means in applying a
18

label to an article, such position being determined by the slope
of an article's surface to which a label is to be applied.
12. In a labelling apparatus of claim 11, said adjustable
pivot control means including means which consists of inter-
changeable portions, each portion determining a particular
position to which said label carrier means is pivoted on label
application.
13. In a labelling apparatus of claim 10, said pivot control
means including a gearing arrangement for pivoting said label
carrier means, said gearing arrangement being mounted on said
hub, a cam follower connected to said gearing arrangement, a
stationary cam over which said cam follower travels, said cam
determining the position of said label carrier means as said
hub rotates, said cam including a circumferential interruption
which determines said instant contact of a label carrier with
such conveyed article.
14. In a labelling apparatus of claim 13 or 16, said
circumferential interruption being a projecting hump on the
controlling surface of said cam.
15. In a labelling apparatus of claim 13, the portion of said
cam which causes said label carrier means to be pivoted to an
article contacting position being interchangeable with other
cam portions, such cam portions being of different shapes to
19

thereby vary such article contacting position, the selection
of the cam portion being determined by the shape of an article
to be labelled.
16. In a labelling apparatus of claim 10, said pivot control
means comprising a gear member mounted on said label carrier
means rotatable about said horizontal axis, a pivotally
mounted gear segment intermeshed with said gear member, a cam
follower mounted in said pivoted gear segment, a circular
stationary cam which is contacted by said cam follower, the
circumferential shape of said cam determing the position of
said label carrier means during its rotation, and spring means
for maintaining said cam follower against said cam, and the
portion of said cam which causes said label carrier
means to be swung to and from label applying position includes
a circumferential interruption to cause the instant pivoting
of said label carrier to and from label applying position, said
interruption following the cam portion which causes the gradual
pivoting of the label carrier means.
17. In a labelling apparatus of claim 16, the circumferential
configuration of said cam for normal operation being such that
said label carrier means remains vertical to receive a label
and have glue applied thereto by a glue applying means, said
cam having a movable portion of two positions, a first position
for said movable portion maintaining said label carrier means
in a vertical position to contact said glue applying means and

a second position which causes said label carrier means to
move inwardly when it passes said glue applying means,
sensing means for sensing when a label is on said label carrier
means; in the absence of a label said sensing means actuating
means to move said movable portion of the cam to said second
position so that said label carrier means misses said glue
applying means.
18. In a labelling apparatus of claim 17, said cam having
interchangeable portions located on the cam in the area
which determines the position of said label carrier means for
contacting an article, said interchangeable portions varying
in configuration so that the position of said label carrier
means in applying a label can be varied from approximately
minus 10 degrees through to plus 90 degrees.
19. In a labelling apparatus of claim 16, said gear member
and said gear segment having helical shaped gear teeth.
20. In a labelling apparatus of claim 10, a plurality of
label carrier means being symmetrically mounted around said
hub, a separate pivot control means for each label carrier
means, the speed of rotation of said hub being synchronized
with the conveyed movement of an article so that a label is
applied to each article conveyed past said label applying means.
21. In a labelling apparatus of claim 13 or 16, adjustment
means being provided on said cam follower to facilitate posi-
tioning of said label carrier means in a vertical position.
21

22. In a labelling apparatus of claim 10, said label
carrier means having a resilient pad portion which is compressed
slightly upon contact with an article to which a label is
being applied.
23. In a labelling apparatus of claim 10, said label
carrier means having parts on its surface which are overlayed
by a label, vacuum being applied to said parts on receipt
of a label and a blast of pressurized air being applied to said
parts the instant such glued lable is applied to an article.
22

Description

~)903Q3
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to labelling apparatus and
more particularly to a label applying means for applying
labels to either slanted or verticle surfaces on an article.
Background of the Invention
In the labelling art it has always been considered
a problem to apply in an automatic manner labels to slanted
surfaces on articles. An example of an automatic labelling
apparatus is disclosed in Canadian Patent 745,003. It is
necessary with labelling apparatus disclosed in this Canadian
Patent to tilt the base plate on which the apparatus rests
; so that the pad which applies the label to the container is
coincident with the article slanted surface. Although this
known apparatus is satisfactory for applying labels on
surfaces inclined away from vertical at up to 45 , compli-
cations do arise in the drive for the labelling mechanism
and glue applying problems in view of the tilt at which the
glue roll and glue storage pot operate.
A further difficulty encountered with known labelling
apparatus is that it requires considerable set up time in
adapting the apparatus to label new shapes of articles. This
can result in extended costly shut down times.
The labelling apparatus according to this invention
has a label applying device which overcomes the problems
- 25 associated with the existing labellers in applying a label
to slanted surfaces on an article. The labelling device is
readily adjustable for applying labels to either vertical or
slanted surfaces of a bottle resulting in minimum machine
- 30
1 -- "~

~,
~0903Q3
shut down time. The labelling device has a high degree of
flexibility to accommodate application of labels to surfaces
which may have a negative, vertical or positive inclination. --
As a result, several identical labelling devices according
to this invention may be used on a labelling machine to apply
labels to back, front, neck and shoulder of an article such
as a liqour bottle.
According to an aspect of the invention the label-
ling apparatus includes conveyor means for conveying an
article past the label applying means, a label magazine and
means for transferring a label from the magazine to the
label applying means and applying glue to the label prior
to its application onto an article. The label applying means
comprises a support means or body portion which has mounted
thereon a label carrier means. Such means is pivotally
mounted about a horizontal axis on the support means. Pivot
control means is provided on the support means for control-
ling the pivotal movement of the label carrier means. The
pivot controll means is synchronized to pivot the label
carrier means about the horizontal axis in a direction to-
wards and away from a position at which the label carrier
contacts and applies a glued label to an article as such
article is conveyed past the label applying means. The
extent to which the pivot control means pivots the label
carrier is determined by the slope of the article surface to
which a label is applied.
According to another aspect of this invention,
the pivot control means for the pivotally mounted label
carrier means may be provided with an adjustable means for
- 2 -

1~)90303
varying the extent to which the label carrier means is
tilted. This arrangement therefore permits set-up time for
a new shape of article to be accomplished in a matter of
minutes.
The support means of the label applying device
may according to further aspect of the invention be in the
form of a hub which rotates about a vertical axis. The
speed of rotation of the hub is synchronized with the
conveyed speed of the article so that a label is applied to
each article as it is conveyed past the label applying means.
A further consideration with this label applying
device is that the label carrier means as it is pivoted on
the support member may be readily withdrawn upon a "no label"
condition on the label carrier means. The point of with-
drawal coincides with the point at which glue is normally
applied to a label thereby avoiding application of glue to
the bear label carrier means.
Description of the Drawings
These and other advantages and features of the
invention will become apparent in the following detailed
description of the preferred embodiments of the invention
as shown in the drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a
labelling apparatus including a label applying device
according to preferred embodiment of this invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the label
applying device applying a label to a container;
Figure 3 is another perspective view of the label
- 3 -

`` 1()90303
applying device showing a preferred arrangement for the
pivot control means;
Figure 4 is an elevation of the label carrier
means pivotally mounted on the label applying device
showing the retraction of the label carrier means;
Figure 5 shows a representative cam configuration
for the pivot control means;
Figure 6 is a section through lines A-A of
Figure 1.
Detailed Descriptlon of the Preferred Embodiments
In the particular embodiment shown in Figure 1,
the labelling apparatus has a label applying device 10
which picks up a label from label transfer drum 12. A
label magazine 14 supplies labels to the transfer drum 12.
The label applying device 10 passes the label by the glue
applying device 16 to apply glue to the label prior to its
application to an article. A conveyor 18 conveys articles
or containers 20 in the direction of another container 32
past the label applying device 10 so that a label may be
applied to a slanted surface 22.
The label magazine, label transfer claim and glue
applying means may be of the type disclosed in Canadian
Patent 745003. The conveyor system 18 may be of the conven-
tional type which includes a bottle spotter and bottle
registration mechanism so that the bottles are evenly
spaced apart on the conveyor and the labels are applied to
the same locations in each container. In the operation of
the label applying device 10, it rotates in the direction
- 4 -

" 10903Q3
of arrow 24 in picking up a label from revolving label
transfer or gripper drum 12 which rotates in the direction
of arrow 26 and it passes the glue roll 28 which rotates in
the direction of arrow 30. It is understood that the prin- ~ -
cipal of pivotally mounting the label carrier means on the
label applying device 10 may be used on other types of
labelling devices which may involve a reciprocal motion in
applying labels to the containers as they pass a label
applying device or other types of systems which may travel
along with the bottle in applying a label to the container
to obtain the intended advantages. It is also understood
that various forms of transfer means and means for applying
glue to labels may be used as is readily appreciated by :~
those skilled in the art.
As mentioned, a particularly difficult labelling
step is applying a label to a slanted surface such as 22 of
a container 20. As shown in figure 2 a container 20 as it
is conveyed past the label applying device 10 has a label
carrier means 34 having positioned thereon a label carrier
pad 36 which may be compressible. The label carrying means
34 is pivotally mounted on support means 38 and it is adapted
to pivot about a horizontal axis defined by shaft 40. A
pivot control means generally designated at 42 is adapted
to and is synchronized to tilt or pivot the pad 36 such that
it coincides with the inclination of surface 22 and contact
such surface to apply a label thereto as the container 20
is conveyed past the label applying device 10.
Although the configuration of label carrier pad
- 5 -
.
, .
,. . .

1090303
36 is horseshoe shaped, it is understood that other confi-
gurations may be used as determined by the label shape. The
label carrier means 34 may be provided with a quick release
- mechanism which allows fast interchange of pad members 36.
Figure 4 shows the components of a preferred
; pivot controlled means. In this embodiment, the label carrier
means 34 has a gear member 44 mounted on shaft 40. Meshed
with gear member 44 is a gear segment 48 which is pivotally
mounted on the support means 38 about shaft 50 so that pivotal
movement of gear segment 48 causes a reverse direction of
movement in the label carrier 34 as indicated by arrow 46.
A cam follower 42 is mounted on the lower leg of gear segment
48. The cam follower engages a stationary cam generally
designated at 54 which is also shown in Figures 2/ 3 and 5.
The circumferential configuration of cam portion 54 determines
the position of the label carrier 34 as the support means 38
revolves in a direction of arrow 24.
Turning to Figure 6, the label applying device 10
has passing therethrough a central drive shaft 56 which is
driven by an arrangement not shown. A stationary collar 58 is
mounted on shaft 56 by bearings 60 which allows the shaft to
rotate freely. Connected to collar 58 is a vacuum line 60
always under vacuum and pressurized air line 62 always under
pressure. A stationary gallery 64 which is secured to collar
58 is in communication with the vacuum and air lines 60 and
62 and has various ports the purpose of which will be discussed
hereinafter. Secured to shaft 56 is the rotatable support
portion or hub 38 which rotates with the shaft 56. With the
6 --

~Q90303
particular embodiment shown there are six evenly spaced-apart
yoke portions 66 on which the label carrier means and the
pivot control means are mounted. The base plate 68 is stationary
and the shaft is bearingly mounted therein at 70. The cam 54
is connected to base plate 68 by Allan screws 72.
As more clearly shown in Figure 3, the yokes 66
have aligned apertures 70 and 72. Shafts 40 and 50 are mounted
respectively in apertures 70 and 72. Two arms 76 which are
integral with the base plate 79 of the label carrier 34 are
mounted on shaft 40. Shaft 40 locates the horizontal axis
about which the label carrier 34 pivots. The view of the
pivot control means 42 in Figure 3 shows that the gear segment
48 and intermeshing gear member 44 have helical shaped teeth.
The purpose of this construction is to reduce the amount of
play in the device so that with the helical shaped teeth
more than one tooth of the intermeshing set are engaged at
all times. This avoids sloppiness in the movement of the label
carrier 34.
As shown in Figure 2, a coiled spring 78 is con- -
nected to and coiled about shaft 40 with its free end 80
secured to a pin 82 on yoke arm 66. This exerts a moment
about shaft 40 which swings label carrier 34 in a direction
inwards towards the hub 38. This causes the gear segment 48
to pivot in a direction about shaft 50 so as to always -
maintain cam follower 52 against cam 54. As can be appre-
ciated with the particular arrangement shown, a relatively
small coiled spring can be used to apply sufficient pressure
on the cam follower to ensure that the cam follower conti-
- ' ' '

- 1090303
nually engages the cam 54.
The speed of rotation of the hub 38 is synchronized
with the conveyed movement of containers 20 so that the label
carrier 34 is in the tilted position as shown in Figure 1
when the container 20 is aligned with label carrier 34 fo~
receipt of a label. As the hub 38 rotates, the relationship
between the cam follower 52 and the cam 54 is such to
~ position the label carrier 34 in a vertical position as shown
,~ in Figure 6 for pick-up of a label from label transfer
device 12 and application of glue by the glue roll 28.
From this point it is necessary to tilt or pivot
the pad to be coincident with the inclination of the surface
22 of the container. This is accomplished by the cam
- configuration such as shown in Figure 5. The rear portion
circumference of the cam 83 is essentially circular and of
a diameter such that the label carrier 34 is maintained in
- a vertical position. In the front part of cam 54 is an
interchangeable portion 84 having portion 86 which slightly
increases in a gradual manner the radius of the cam and
includes a raised or hump portion 88. The interchangeable
portion 84 is secured to the base plate 68 by way of Allan
screws which pass through elongate apertures 90 which allow
for adjustment. The portion 86 of the cam begins the
pivoting or tilting of label carrier 34 in an outward and
downward direction. As the cam follower 52 moves up onto
hump 88 the pad is tilted further and when it is at the
radial extent of hump 88, the label carrier 34 is then at
the desired inclination and is in contact with surface 22
.
-- 8
, , - .

1(~903Q3
of the container to apply a label thereto.
The purpose of hump 88 is to kick the label carrier
34 outwardly to the desired inclination for contacting the
slanted surface of a container and then withdraw the label
carrier as the cam follower rides down hump 88. The kicking
action is desirable because of the difference in directions
of motions of the label carrier and the conveyed container. -
In order to avoid smudging or misalignment of a label as it
is applied to a container, the label carrier 34 can only
contact the container for an instant because the label carrier
is moving towards the container and away from the container
at an angle relative to the direction of travel of the
container. If the label carrier were to contact the container
for an extended length of time this would result in smudging
or mislocation of the label because the label carrier would
- tend to drag the label down the container surface 22 as it
is moved away from the container. However, this outward
; kicking action of the label carrier brings about an instanta-
neous contact between the label carrier pad 36 and the
container slanted surface 22. During this instant the label
contacts the container. In using a compressible pad 36,
the pad may be compressed slightly on contacting the container
surface so that a band portion of the label is pressed
against the container. By virtue of the glue and other assists
to be discussed, the label adheres to the container after
, .
which the label carrier is immediately retracted.
The label applying device may be used to apply
labels to vertical surfaces. For this arrangement, it
., . - .
.
, ~ -. , :. : -
:

1090303
would not be necessary to provide a kick-out for the label
carrier because the pad would be in its vertical position
and in rotating past container 20 it would roll the label
on to the container. It would therefore only be necessary
to arrange the shape of cam portion 86 and position of the
label applying device to ensure that the pad is vertical
and is coincident with the container's sidewall.
- The pivot control means 42 swings the label
carrier 34 downwardly to apply a label to a slanted surface
on a container. It can be appreciated in applying a label
to a container having a surface slope the reverse of that
- shown in Figure 2, the label applying device can be inverted
so that the axis of pivot for the label carrier 34 is above
the label carrier. The gear segment 48 would be arranged
so as to swing the label carrier in an upward and outward
direction to contact a negative slope surface on a container.
It is also understood that the pivotal axis of label carrier
34 may be through the label carrier 34 where the pad is tilted
to the correct position and then if necessary an arrangement
be provided on the device to kick the entire assembly outwardly
to contact a bottled surface as is conveyed past the device.
The interchangeable portion 84 of the cam provides
in this embodiment of the invention the adjustable aspect
of the pivot control means. As explained the portion 86
and when present hump 88 cause the label pad to be tilted
the correct amount to properly contact an article surface.
; Several interchangeable portions 84 may be made where each
portion 84 is shaped to provide for labelling a particular
-- 10 --

1090303
article surface. In a line change over for a different
article, the appropriate portions 84 are selected for that
article and interchanged with those already in the cam 54
so that the labelling apparatus is now ready to label to
new article. This ready adjustability of the pivot control
means greatly reduces shut down time in label applying
device change over for new product lines.
It is, therefore, understood that several different
arrangements may be employed to take advantage of the -
principle of this invention in applying labels to containers.
In view of the flexibility of this device, several of the -
same may be used for all label applying stations on an auto-
matic labelling apparatus. This cuts down on parts inventory
and permits the automatic labelling apparatus to be readily
changed over for labelling different container shapes.
As shown in Figure 6, the cam follower 52 has a
rounded convex shape. To reduce and to maintain proper
contact between follower and cam as the follower is moved -
inwardly and outwardly about pivot point 50, the follower
52 is mounted on member 92 of gear segment by nut 94 threaded
about spindle 96 of follower 52. An eccentric sleeve may
surround spindle 96 to allow adjustment of follower 52
with respect to member 92 to provide a fine adjustment in
exactly positioning label carrier 34.
With reference to Figure 6 the valve determines
when a vacuum or a blast of air is applied to the carrier
pad 34. As shown in Figure 2 flexible hose 98 extends from
the hub 38 up to the carrier pad 34. In the surface of
.

'~
~0903Q3
carrier pad 36 are a plurality of ports 100 which are in
communication with line 98. The gallery 64 acts as a valve
and determines when either vacuum or blast of air is applied
to the system and in turn at ports 100. As shown in Figure
6 the hub 38 has internally thereof a plurality of bores
102 which communicate with tubes 98. The bores 102, as
they rotate, are in communication with various ports (not
shown) in valve 64 to either have applied thereto a vacuum
or air blast. The ports in valve 64 are arranged so that
vacuum is applied to ports 100 as a label is about to be
picked from label transfer drum 12 to hold the label on the
pad and maintain vacuum on the ports 100 as glue is applied
to the label. As the label carrier 34 is kicked outwardly
to contact a bottle surface, the bore 102 moves into commu~
nication with a port under pressure in valve 64 so that at
the instant the label contacts a bottle, a blast of air is
applied to ports 100 to blow the label away from the pad 36
; and ensure a positive transfer of the label to the container.
In some instances there may be a container absent
in a series of spaced apart containers on the conveyor.
Sensing apparatus may be provided to sense when a container
is absent and prevent the label transfer device 12 from
picking a label from magazine 14 and transferring it to
label carrier pad 36. Also due to a faulty label transfer
mechanism, the absence of labels or failure to pick a label
from the label magazine can result in a "no label" condition
on the label carrier pad 36. Provision therefore has to be
made to withdraw the label carrier pad 36 so that the bear

~090303
pad 36 does not contact the glue applying device 16.
With the particular embodiment shown this provision
can be readily incorporated into the device by providing in
the cam configuration 54 a moveable part 104 which has two
positions. A first position which is normal, is that shown ~-~
in Figure 3 which continues at 87 the circumferential
configuration of the cam portion 83. A second position
as shown in shadow in Figure 4 reduces the radial dimension
at 89 of the cam thereby withdrawing the label carrier 34
back to the position 34a as shown in shadow. The location
of moveable part 104 is in the area which determines the - -
position of the pad as it passes the glue applying device
16.
As shown in Figure 1 an electronic eye device 106 -
is provided.At the top of the label applying device 10
is a plate 108 having projections 110. The plate revolves
with the hub where the projections activate a switch to turn
the electronic eye 106 on to determine if a label is on pad
36. In a "no label" condition the electronic eye actuates
a valve mechanism to apply compressed air to cylinder 112
which is fed through line 114. This withdraws piston rod -
118 and causes a roller 120 as shown in Figure 4 to move along
moveable part 104 wherein a slanted slot is provided. The --
upward slope of such slot causes part 104 to move downwardly
so that as the cam follower approaches moveable part 104
in its second position, the label carrier 34 is withdrawn
to position 34A. After the electronic eye 106 is shut off -
the label carrier 34 is passed glue roll 28. The moveable
- 13 -
: . - ~ -:
- . ~

10g03Q3
part 104 is moved back to its first position by applying
compressed air to line 116 to extend piston rod 118. It
is therefore apparent with this device that the aspect of
withdrawing the pad away from the glue roll 28 is readily
accomplished in an efficient reliable manner.
In applying labels to containers having a slight
taper from top to bottom, the aspect in withdrawing the pad
for a "no label" condition may be used in applying a label
to this type of bottle. As shown in Figure 4, the pad 36
may be withdrawn several degrees and approximately up to
15 degrees. Assuming the taper of the bottle is approxi~
mately 7 degrees the label as applied to the carrier may
be in the vertical position for receipt of glue. The cam
segment 86 is provided with a negative portion with a slight
hump in area 88 to kick the pad outwardly to a 7 degree
negative inclination for contacting the bottle side to
apply a label thereto.
The label applying device according to this
invention therefore provides a flexible labelling app~ratus.
Although various embodiments of this apparatus have been
described herein in detail, it is understood by those
skilled in the art, that variations may be made thereto
without departing from the spirit of the invention or the
scope of the appended claims.
- 14 -