Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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INK ROLLER ASSEMBLY FOR LABEL PRINTING AND APPLYING ~CHINE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention -
The present invention relates to a label printing and
applying machine, and more particularly to an ink roller
assembly for use with such machine.
Description of the Prior Art
- In a conventional ink roller assembly, there is a
handle member which is operable for enabling installation of the
ink roller assembly in the labelling machine and for enabling
subsequent removal. Typically, the handle member has a coil
spring mounted in it and is removably attached through the coil
spring to a rocking level which, in turn, is attached to the
leading end of an ink supply device.
The handle member protrudes from the leading or front
end of the ink roller assembly. This presents no difEiculty if
the ink roller assembly is used in a label printing and
applying machine in which the ink roller protrudes from the ;
front of the machine after the ink roller has rolled forward
over the type surfaces being inked. However, if the protruding
handle member is used in a label printing and applying machine
in which the ink roller is moved back and forth wholly inside
the space defined by the machine frame, the handle member abuts
the platen at the bottom of the machine or other elements inside
the frame, and the iink roller assembly cannot move inside that ,~
space.
SUMMARY_OF THE INVENTION
~; The present invention seeks to provide an ink roller
assembly for use in a label printing and applying machine, which
ink roller assembly can be moved back and forth inside the space
defined by the body of the machine without interference to
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movement of the ink roller assembly from its handle member.
The present invention further seeks to provide such an
ink roller assembly, in which replacement of the ink roller is
easy.
A further aspect of the present invention is to
provide such an ink roller assembly which can be reliably
retained in the support member of the link mechanism of an ink
supply device and which can be smoothly attached thereto or
removed therefrom.
The ink roller assembly of the present invention is
usable with a label printing and applying machine that includes
a printing device having a type surface, at least one ink
roller, an ink supply device for turning the ink roller over the
type surfaces of the printing device for supplying the same with
ink and a stationary platen onto which a label is ~ed. The
printing device is movable toward the platen to bring its type
surface into engagement with the label on the platen to imprint
the label. The label printing and applying machine is of the
type in which the ink roller is made movable back and forth
within the space defined by the machine frame.
Briefly, the ink roller assembly of the present
invention comprises an ink roller frame, handle means and
locking means. An ink roller is rotatably supported to the ink
roller frame. The handle means is shiftably attached to the ink -~
roller frame wall and is shiftable with respect to the ink -~
roller frame wall. The handle means may be shifted in an
upraised position at which the handle means are upraised off the
ink roller frame to enable the handle means to be operated for
attachment to and removal of the ink roller assembly from the
machine. The handle means may be shifted to a lowered position
at which the handle means are lowered toward the ink roller
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frame so that the handle means are not upraised when the ink
roller assembly is moved over a type surface. The locking means
lock the handle means at the lowered position. The handle means
and the wall are respectively shaped where they are connected to
cause the locking of the handle means. The ink roller frame
wall has a recess defined therein and the handle means includes
a portion, near where the handle means are attached to the ink
roller frame, which portion is shaped and positioned for
engaging the frame wall at the recess. ~s the handle means are
being lowered to the lowered position, entry of the portion into
the recess is resisted by the frame wall. The portion overcomes -
the resistance and snaps into the ink roller frame wall recess
when the handle means are at the lowered position.
The handle means may comprise a pair of manually
graspable, openable handle elements which are hingedly connected ;
to the ink roller frame so that they may be pivotally raised and
moved together to effectively form an integral structure when
the ink roller frame is attached to and removed from the support
member, and so that they may be pivoted down and separated while
the type surfaces are being inked. Locking means are provided
for locking the handles in their lowered positions.
In addition, the ink roller assembly may comprise
guide means for guiding the support member when the latter is `~
attached to the leading end of the ink supply device and
retaining means for retaining the ink roller frame in the ;~
support member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DR~WINGS
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Other aspects and features of the present invention
will become apparent from the following description taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
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Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a label
printing and applying machine that is equipped with either
of the preferred embodiments of the ink roller assembly
according to the present invention, with the side frame on
the near side of the machine removed;
Pig. 2 is a perspective ~iew of the first embodiment
of an ink roller assembly accordin~ to the present invention
and of a support member of the link mechanism of the ink
supply device, with these elements shown apart;
Fig. 3 is a partially cut away, top plan view
showing the first embodiment of the ink roller assembly
assembled to the support member;
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the
line IV - IV of Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevational view showing
the operational condition of an ink supply device, to which
an ink roller assembly of either preferred embodiment accord-
ing to the present invention is attached;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the second embodi-
ment of an ink roller assembly according to the present
invention and o a support member of the link mechanism o~ ;
the ink supply device, with these elements shown apart; and
Fi~. 7 is a pa~tially cut away, top plan view
showing the first embodiment of the ink roller assembly
assembled to the support member.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODI~IENTS
The first embodiment of the present invention is
now described. The ink roller assembly A according to the
present invention is attached, when used, to an ink supply
device B of the type that is located inside the machine
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Erame and which is equipped with a link mechanism and is
mounted in the label printing and applying machine, as shown
in Fig. 1.
The label printing and applying machine comprises
a grip 1 which is integral with a pair of side frames 8 of
the label printing machine. A hand lever 2 is made swingable,
when manually squee~ed~ abou* a pivot shaft 3 toward the
grip 1, and the hand lever 2 is biased apart from the grip 1
by the action of a return spring 7.
The hand lever 2 has a front portion which is
bifurcated to form a pair of yokes 4. A printing device 5
is attached to the leading or front (left) ends of the
yokes. The bottom of the printing device carries one or
more imprinting type surfaces 6 which have to be inked. The
link mechanism for the ink supply device B is a paired
arrangement, with the s~me lin~ mechanism on each s,ide.
! Each side of the link mechanism is multi-articulated,
and has three fixed support points, i.e. two pivot shats 30
and 31 which are pivotally supported on the yokes 4 and a
pivot shaft 32 which is mounted in the side frames 8 of the
machine . ,~
At the leading or forward ends of the link mechanism~
a support member 20 is attached. ~n ink rollqr frame 10 of
the ink roller assembly A is removably attached to the
support member.
As shown in Figs. 2 - 4, the ink roller frame 10
has a U-shaped cross-section. There is a main ink roller 16
o a larger diameter and an auxiliary ink roller 18 of a
smaller diameter. Both ink rollers are impregnated with
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ink,~ They are rotatably mounted such that their respec*ive
'roller shafts 17 and 19 are supported at the side walls lld
of the ink roller frame 10. The side walls lld have engage-
ment grooves 12, which extend longitudinally along the walls.
There are corresponding engagement projections 21 formed
inside both side walls of the U-shaped support member 20.
The projections are received in the engagement grooves 12
- when the frame 10 is slid into the support member 2~.
As seen in Fig. 3, there is a pair of openable
handle elements 13 that are attached to the bridge wall lla of
the ink roller frame 10. The centrally located bases of the
handle elements 13 are formed with eccentric portions 13a
which are shaped to have their greater effective diameter
when the handle elements are at their downwardly folded
orientation. The eccentric portions 13a are pivotally sup-
ported by a pair of pivot pins 14. These pillS are spaced
apart and` are mounted to a pair of attachment portions 15
that protrude rom the bridge wall lla o the ink roller frame
10. ~loreover, the eccentric portions 13d engage the bottom
wall of a recess llb, which is formed in the bridge wall lla of
the in~ roller frame 10. The side ends of recess llb are
defined with retaining ends llc.
To attach the ink rolleT assembly A to or to
remove lt from the link mechanism of the ink supply device B,
the paired handle elements 13 are raised up and together, as
shown in Fig. 2, so that they may be manually,grasped and
pinched for the desired handling. A~ter the attachment of
the ink roller assembly, the paired handle elements 13 are
pivoted down in the directions of the arrows shown in Fig.
3. During the descent of the handle elements, the eccentric
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portions 13a of the knob elements 13 are turned about their
respective pivot pins 14 over the retaining ends llc of the
frame 10 mtil they snap into engagement in the recess llb.
This locks the handle elements 13 in their loweTed flat positions.
At the exteriors of both side walls o~ the support
member 20, there is a respective pivot pin 22, which is
pivotally supported in the connecting links 26 of the link
mechanism o Fig. 1. A pair o~ guide members 23 are attached
to the exteriors of and extend longitudinally along the side
walls of the support member 20. The guide members 23
are brought into abutment engagement with rollers (not ; !
shown) that are located at the inside of the guide links 43.
Located centrally along both side walls of member 20, there
is a respective depending lug having a respective retainin~
hole 25 for a spring 24 which is mounted on the respective
pivot pin 22.
The operation o the ink supply device E and of
its link mechanism is now described. Starting when the ink
roller assembly A is oriented substantially upright and in a
stationary condition at the front of the la~el printing and
applying machine, as shown in Pig. 1, the hand lever 2 is
then gripped or squeezed through its full stTokeO This
moves the ink roller assembly A rearwardly past the platen
33, and such motion applies ink to the type surfaces 6 of
the printing device 5. The ink roller assembly travels
rearwardly until it is inverted and accommodated wholly
inside the frame of the label printing and applying machine,
and is in the condition shown in Fig. 2. Once the assembly
A has moved inside the machine rame, the type surfaces 6 of
the printing device 5 abuttingly engage the platen 33 to
print a label 27 with the desired information.
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When the hand lever 2 is gripped slightly (e.g. by
an angle of 3 degrees), the yokes 4 are correspondingly
turned slightly counterclockwise (or down~Yard), as viewed in
Fig. 1~ about the pivot shaft 3. This causes the multi- .
articulated link mechanism o the ink supply device B attached .
to those yokes 4 to shift such that the lifting portions 37
of the rocking links 36 are brought into abutment engagement
with the abutment pins 35 of the opening links 34. Since
the pivot sha~ts 30 and 31 which are pivotally supported on
the yokes 4 are moved downward with the yokes, a pair of
operating links 38 which are supported pivotally on the side
frames 8 of *he machine are moved rearwardly or to the right
at their movable pins 39 and substantially upwardly at their
movable pins 40. At the same time, the rocking links 36 are
turned counterclockwise about the pivot shafts 31.
The rocking links 36 are made to slide rightwardly
by guiding the pivot pins 22 for the support member 20 and
~he ink roller frame 10 in the horizo:~tal slots 44 of the
guide links 43 while keeping the pivot pins 22 pushed to the
upper ends of the vertical slots 41 of the rocking links 36
by the action of the springs 24 During this sliding operation,
the main ink roller 16 rolls over the type suraces 6 of the , :
printing device 5, while being elastically held there, thus
efecting the desired ink application.
Simultaneously with the first stage ink application~
the rocking links 36 are turned counterclockwise about the
pivot shafts 31. As a result, the.lifting portions 37 at
the ends of the rocking links 36 are brought into abutment
against the abutment pins 35 o the opening links 34 ~Yhich
are in engagement with the other opening links 45. The
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abutment impact of the li:Eting portions 37 upon the abut~ent
pins 35 overcomes the actions of springs 46, thus further
rocking the opening links 34 in the clockwise direction. As
a result, the retaining projections of the opening links 34
are disengaged from the other opening links 45 so that both
links 34 and 45 are brought into their released ~or lifted)
conditions. Meanwhile, the opening links 34 are rocked . .
clockwise about the pivot shafts 30 while the other opening
links 45 are moved counterclockwise about the movable pins
47. In accordance with these sequential operations, the
auxiliary ink roller 18 applies ink to the type surfaces 6.
Meanwhile, the ink roller assembly A with the ink rollers l~ -
and 18 passes over the platen 33 which is located below the -
printing device 5.
Upon completion of the second stage ink application, :
the pivot pins 22 of the ink rollers are in abutment engagement ,
with the rearmost ends of the horizontal slots 44 of the ~ ,
guide links 43. ~hen the hand lever 2 is further gripped,
the guide links 43 and the,rocking links 36 are rocked
counterclockwise and the respective movable pins are moved
until the in~ rollers are accommodated or housed in a center
portion o the space defined by the side walls 8. The ink
roller frame 10 with the two ink rollers 16 and 18 is stored .
in its inverted position inside of the label printing and
applying machine at the back of ~he printing device 5.
Then, the regulating projections 48 formed on the opening
links 34 abut against the dislocated connecting links 49 to
stop further motion of the respective links. The link
mechanism thus dislocated returns to its stationary condition
of Fig. 1 upon release of the hand lever 2 after the printing
device 5 has accomplished its printing operation upon the
label 27 that has been delivered onto the platen 33.
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In the second embQdiment of ink roller assembly,
shown in Figs. 6 and 7, elements that correspond to those in
the first embodiment are correspondingly numbered with
reference numerals that are raised by 100.
The ink roller frame 110 has a U-shaped cross-
section. There is a main ink roller 11~ of a larger diameter
and an auxiliary ink roller 118 of a smaller diamcter. Both
of these ink rollers are impregnated with ink. They are
rotatably mounted such that their respective roller shafts
117 and 119 are supported at the side walls llld of the ink
roller frame 110. The side walls llld have engagement
grooves 112, which extend longitudinally along the walls.
There are corresponding engagement projections 121 formed
inside both side walls of the U-shaped support member 120.
The projections 121 are received in the engagement grooves
112 when the frame 110 is slide into the support member 120.
Outside both side walls of support member 120, there are
respective longitudinally extending guide members 123 which
project toward and past the open end of the U-shaped member
~0 120.
As seen in Figs. 6 and 7, there is a ~air of
openable handleelements 113 which are attached to the center
of the bridge wall llla of the ink roller frame 110 at pivot
Pins 114. The handle elements 113 are made o~ a flexible
material, such 2S a synthetic resin. Their feet have eccentric
portions 113a formed on them, which are shaped to have a
greater effective diameter when the handle elements are at
their folded orientation. The handles 113 have retaiJlin~
projections 113b at their leading ends. These are bent in
shape and reduced in thickness,
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The eccentric foot portions 113a are made openable
or foldable down around the pivot pins 114, and these pins
are mounted to a pair of attachment portions 115 protrudi
from the bridge wall llla of thc ink roller frame 110.
Moreover, the eccentric foot portions 113d are made engageable
with a recess lllb, which is formed in the bridge wall llla
of the ink roller frame 110, Recess lllb has retaining ends
lllc,
The retaining projections 113b are sized and
shaped to be snap fitted into the retaining notches 123a,
which are formed in the pair of guide members 123 mounted to
the support member 120.
When it is intended to attacll the ink roller
assembly ~ of the second embodimellt to the support member
120 at the link mechanism of the ink supply device B, the
paired handle elements 113 are raised inwardly to each other
and into their upright positions, as shown in Fig. 6 and in
broken lines in Fig. 7. Then, the upright handles 113 thus
integrated are manually pinched together so that the engagement
grooves 112 of the ink roller frame 110 may receive the ~
engagement projections 121 of the support member 120, thus ;
finishîng the attachment of the ink roller frame 110 to the
support member 120 in smooth fashion. After that, the
paired handles 113 are brought down and outwardly into their
lowered positions, as shown in Fig. 7, so that their retaining
projections 113b may be snapped again into the retaining
notches 123a at the guide members 123 of tlle support memher
1~0. This snap action is aided by the flexibility of the
handle elements 113.
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While the handle elements 113 are pivoting downwardly,
their eccentric foot portions 113a are $urned about their
respective pivot pins 114 and in doing so, they pass over
the retaining ends lllc of the frame 110 until they are
snapped into engagement with the rece~s lllb. This locks
the handle elemen*s 113 in their lowered, flat positions~
In case the ink supply in the ink rollers 116 or-
llB is exhausted, or in case the lnk rollers themselves
become unsuitable for further use due to wear, the ink
roller assembly A as a whole is removed from the support
member 120 of the link mechanism of the ink supply device B
and is replaced by another such assembly equipped with new
ink rollers. During the removal of assembly A, the opposite ;
procedure to the attaching operation is followed. The
paired handles 113 at the ink roller frame 110 are released
from the retaining notches 123a of the guide members 123 and
then are rotated to their raised positions so that they may
permit and do not block extraction of the ink roller frame
110 .
As with the first embodiment of ink roller assembly~
the attachment and removal of the ink roller assembly A is
accomplished with the labeling machine stationary in the
condition of Fig. 1~ in which the support member of the link
mechanism of the ink supply device B is in its protruding
position at the ront end of the label printing and applying
machine.
- At the outside of both side walls of the support
member 120, a respective pivot pin 122 is formed. These are
pivotally supported in connecting links 26 of the link
mechanism of Fig. l. The paired guide members 123 are
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broùght into abutment engagement w;th rollers (not shown)
that are located at the inside of guide links 43. Depending
beneath the side walls of support member 120 are depending
lugs each having a respective retaining hole 125 therein for
receiving a spring 124. The other end of each spring is
mounted on the respective pivot pin 122.
The use and function of the installed second
- embodiment of ink roller assembly are the same as for the
first embodiment.
As has been described above, the ink roller assembly
according to the present invention is equipped with an ink
roller frame which is removably attached to a support member
that is attached to the leading or forward end of the link
mechanism of an ink supply device. A pair of openable handles
that are formed with a locking device are hinged to the ink
roller frame such that they can be manually raised to unlock
the ink roller assembly when that assembly is to be attached
to or removed from the link mechanism.
When it is intende~ to ink the type surfaces, the
; 20 handles are locked in their lowered positions even during the
turning motions of the ink supply rollers. Thus, ink supply -~
can be attained without inviting abutment of the ink roller
frame against the platen which is disposed below the printing
device. ,
Another advantage of the present invention is that ; -
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the ink roller assembly can be reliably retained in the
support member of the link mechanism of the support member.
Furthermore, replacement of the ink roller assembly can be
accomplished remarkably smoothly and without requiring that
unnecessary pushing and extracting forces be applied. The
invention also prevents the fingers of an operator from
being stained Wit}l ink.
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Although there have been described several pre~erred
embodiments of this invention, many variations and modifications -
will now be apparent to those skilled in the art. Thereore,
this invention is to be limit-ed, not by the specific disclosure ~ ~;
herein, but only by the appended claims.
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