Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~LO~
\ This applic~tion i.s ~ ~1ivi~i.oncl]. of ~ clian S~r. No. 276,857,
Filed, April 25, 1977.
Backgroul1(1 Or tl1e_l11vclltio
l icl~l o:C the 'Invcnt:ioll ,
1his invelltion relates to a 1)rint l~e.1d ty~e acc
inking device ~or ~1se in a label pr.in~ 1g an(1 ap1~lyil1n7
machine, or the like maclline. Tlle inking dcvice al~plies ink
evenly so as to attain precise printi1lg oE labels.
I)cscri~t.ion o.E thc l'r;.or ~rt
In conventional label printing an(1 ap1)lying~ mac}1i1les
and tag printing and attaching machines, deviccs for a~1)lyillg
ink to t]lC type accs oE thc I~r:illting hc~1s ~ISII.Illy C(lllll~l'iSC
inking rollers that are attaclled to the Eree en(ls oE sprin(-
ackuated rock-lng arms. The inking rollers are ~ressed to
and rolled over the type faces so as to app~ly tl~c ink.
A typical inking dcvice of tllis typc com~riscs a
pair oE spring-actuatcd rocking arms attacl~cd to the rront
end.portioll o the printing machine bo(1y. A su~ ort:ing
frame carry:ing an inking rollcr is attachc~1 to tl)c rock:i7l~
arms thro~lg~ springs. ~hen the l1and lcvcr o:F the printing
machine lS squeezed, the rocking arms are turned simultancously,
and this mo~es the inking roller supporting :Fr~ e. Tl~us,
thc inking roller is rolled over the -type aces o~ tllc
printing head. lhis conventional inking dcvice l1as a null1ber
of disadvantages:
-(a) Since thc inking roller is brought into contact
with thc type -~aces by spring action, ink application is
liable to deteriorate 1~hen the force of the spring becomes
weakencd after long use of tl~e machlne. Tl-erc~ore, t]le
printing o~ labels bccoilles indistillct~ 1~hicll is Eatal to
optical character rea~1i.ng systems re~1ui.ri.ng h:lgllly prccise
printing.
'~ ' ' ' .
: . ~4~?
1 --
.....
9~6
(b~ l~hen the inkinçl, l ollcr spr:in~ :rorcc bccollles
wcak, only thc~ itlk contai.necl :in tlle portion near thc s~lrl~acc
of the ink:in~r rollcr is used, because the type aces no
longer dig deeply into the inkillg rol.lcr alld thc ink t.l-,lt is
impregnated in thc micldle portion o the inking roller is
not pumped Ollt. T]-erc-~ore, the printing of numerous labels
is impossible, ll~hich is uneconolllic~
~ c) ~hen the halld lcver oE the ~rint:illg m.lcllille is
squeezed cl~lickly, the inking roller sometimes r,l.l};es slight
10 contact or no CO~ ct `lith typc -Faces dlle to thc rcbo~ cling
action caused by the squeeze. Illus, rel.;.ablc prillti
cannot be e~{pected.
(cl) ~trong force îs necess,lry to ol)or~ c sllcll
label printing machille9 so that solne operators, likc the
~eaker ones, are ti.red by loncc terrll handling o:E a macllinc.
(c) In the conventiollal labcl printilll mae]lillc,
t]le rocking alms~ sllpportin~, :CIallle ~llcl :illl;i.n~ ol:lc~r ~rc
moved Forw~rdly tllrough the :Eront part o:E thc printing
machine l~hen the hand lever is fully squeezcd Ull til they
20 protrude in front o-F the machille frame. l`llc prc)trllcli.llg
parts obstruct the operator' s view as the just pri.ntc(l label
is bein,g applied to. the surface o:E an article, nncl accur~tc
appllcation o F the label becomes di Ff icul t .
Summary o f the Invention
I t is one ob ject o-F the prescnt in~ention -to
provide an improvecl inking dcvice Eor use in a labcl printin~
and app].ying Inaclli.ne, or the likc, in ~hicll l:hc [orcc rc~luired
for squeezlng thc halld lcver ls eEEectivcly rcclucccl.
~nothcr object of thc prcscnt i.nventic)ll ;s l:o
30 prov.ide all inkinlr devi.cc for a l~be]. pr inti-lg .In.cl ~-ppl.y ing
machille, in ~hicll in};inE~ roll.crs are brought illtO colltact
-- 2
: ~9g~L41E~
t~ith the type ~aces oE tlle printillg llcad at a const~n~
pressurc so ns to ~venly al~pl~ a suitl~Lc ~mollnt o~ ink to
the type fclccs, thercl)y attainin~ prccise a~ n;ft-l-m ~rin~i
of labels over lon~ pcr;ods of t,ime of opelclT,iotl.
A furtller objcct o thc prese]lt invcntion is to
provide such an inking device in l~hic}l the inkina, rollers
caTried by a multi-link mechanism are stol~ed inside the
machine body follo-~;ng the s~ueezing of the hand levcr.
Thus, therc is no obstacle to tlle operator's ~iet~ as labels
are applicd to the surfaces oE articles.
Still a further objcct of the prcscllt illV~lltiOII iS
to provide such an inking device in which the ;nking devicc
is simple in structure, durable in usc and produced easily
at low cost.
In accordallce Wit]l thc prescnt invcntioll, there is
a multi-link mec]l-anism for the inking cLevice l~llicll com~riscs
yoke arms t11at are operate~l by the s(l~leezill~, O~ ancl
lever, a supporting member for suppor-ting the inki]l~ rollers,
and a plurality oE links operatively connecting the yokc
arms and tlle supporting member. A guiding mcans Eor guiding
~' the inking roll,ers is ~ormed in the link mechclTlism. ~hen
the hand lever is fully squeezed~ the link mechanism moves
the inkin~ rollers to a location inside the l~ody o thc
label printing an~l applying macl~ c so as to l-e s~:o~e~l
therein~
The link mechanism is further provided ~ith a pair
of fixcd Eulcrums a-ttached to tl~e m~clline fralncs, t-~o othcr
pairs oE fixed f-llcr-lms a-ttached to thc yokc arms aTlcl a
plurality o~ pairs oE movable f~llcrums, ~11 con~lecting the
links. F~lrtllermorc, the l;nk mecllallism is provi(lc~ ith a
pair of sprin~-act~atcd opel~ation lin~s t~hicll .II~C attilC]lC~I
9~L4~i
to one pair of the fixed fulcr~s, and a pair of rocking links
which are attached to the o-ther pair of fixed fulcrums on the
yoke arms. The guiding means for -the inking rollers comprise
supporting shaft that are secured to -the suppor-ting member of
the inking rollers and slots formed in the links to guide the
supporting shaf-ts.
Thus broadly, the invention contemplates a prin-t
head for a label printing machine frame having a front end
which comprises a platen suppor-ted by -the machine frame and a
yoke movably supported by the machine frame for motion in a
print direction toward the platen and in -the opposi-te direction
with the yoke being pivotally supported at a first pivot on
the machine frame Eor pivotal motion with respect to the maclline
frame and extending from the first pivot toward the machine frame
front end. The print head is suppor-ted by and movable with the
yoke, and includes types opposable -to and movable to -the platen,
and an inking means for inking the types which comprises an
inking roller, a support for the inKing roller, and link means
connecting the yoke and the inking roller support with the
support holding the inking roller at one side, measured across
the print direction of the print head types before the yoke
moves in the print direction. The link means moves -the support
to move the inking roller past the types in an inking direction
which crosses the print direction as the yoke moves in the
print direction, andthat inking direction is directed into the
machine frame such that when the types move to -the platen the
inking roller is s-towed inside the machine frame. The link means
comprises a first link including guide means for the support
such that the support moves along and with respect to the guide
means in the inking direction, a second linkage connected with
the support for moving the support in the inking direction along
the guide means, and a third linkage connected with the first link
for moving the first link generally in -the inking direction and
into the machine frame, with the support remaining in engagemen-t
with -the first link fo~ bciny ~noved :Lnto -the machine frame
rearwardly Erom the m~chine f:rame fron-t encl with -the :Eirs-t
link. The second.and -the third linkages are connec~-ted wi-th -the
yoke for moving as described as the yoke moves in the prin-t
direction whereby the ink roller and support~ as a result of the
recited interconnection of the first link, the second and third
linkages with the support, is given a motion in the inking
direction ~aster than the motion of the first link in the
inking direc-tion.
T3rie Description oE tl-e Dral~;ngs
Tlle foregoing alld o-ther objects allcl Eeaturos oE
the present invention will become more apparent Erom the
following description taken in connectioll wit}l thc accompany-
ing drawings, in ~hich:
I-ig. 1 is a sicle elcvational vic~ of a labcL
printing ancl applying machine, l~hich is proviclecl with an
embodiment of the inking device oE tlle presellt iJlVc,~lltiOn;
T'ig. 2 is a plan vie~ oE tlle machinc;
- Fig. 3 is a side vie~ of the machil-e, in l~hicll the
maclline Erame on the viewing sidc is rcmoveci and the hand
lever is in the releasecl position;
E:ig. 4 is a perspective vie~ oE tlle main portion
o-f the cmbodiment o~ the inking device of the ;nvention;
I;ig. 5 is a side view of tlle inking clcvicc in a
rest pOSitiOIl;
~ig. 6 is a side vic~ oE -tlle inkillg dcvicc in
~}liC}l an llprtlising portion is broug]lt ;ntO con(:;lct w;tll l]le
contac-t pin oE the multi-link mcchallism;
Tig. 7 is a side viel~ of the inking devicc, sho~ing
ink being applie(l to the type faces of a prilltillF, hc.lcl b~r
inking rollcrs;
~ ;ig. 8 is a sicle vic~ oE the inkinF, clcvicc, sllowillg
the multi-link mecllallisln ancl the inki]lg rollcrs bCi.llg l~eCeiVec
witllin thc macll;lle bocly; ancl
-- 5
~ 6
Fig 9 is a partially cut-away, side view of a
label printing and applying machine, which is provided with
an inking device that is in the conventional art.
Description of a Prior Art Embodiment
A conventional inking device is described wi-th
reference to ~ig. 9. The device comprises a pair of rocking
arms 103 that are pivotally secured to the end portion of a
machine frame 101 and that are urged to move counterclockwise
by a spring 102. To the -Eree ends of the rocking arms 103
is pivotally attached a supporting frame 105, which is also
urged counterclockwise by a spring 104. An inking roller
106 is rotatably fitted to the free ends of the supporting
frame lOS.
IYhen a stationary hand grip 107 secured to the
machine -frame and a pivotable hand lever 108 are squeezed
together, yoke arms 109 attached to lever 108 are turned
down or counterclockwise and the cams 113 formed on the
rocking arms 103 are depressed by the projections 110 that
are provided at the free ends of the yoke arms 109. Thus,
the rocking arms 103 are turned clockwise, which shifts the
supporting frame 105 clockwise to the le-ft. The inking
roller 106 is thereby moved and rotated in contact with the
type faces 112 o a printing head 111 and applies ink to the
type faces.
The above described conventional inking device has
several disadvantages:
(a) Since the inking roller 106 is pressed against
the type faces 112 by means of the springs 102 and 104, the
contact pressure of the inking roller 106 against the type
faces 112 is liable to become weakened when the forces o~
the springs are weakened owing to sprlng fatigue after a
. .
--6--
4~
long time and repeated uses. Ink application cannot be done
properly in such state, and the impression printed Oll the
label becomes indistinct. When a label printing machine is
used for printing labels for opt;cal character readers that
utilize laser beams, for example, the indistinctness of the
printing is a fatal defect, since high precision printing is
required for optical character readers.
~ b) When the spring force becomes weak, the printing
type faces are not pressed into the inking roller, so that
the ink impregnated in the inner portion of the inking
roller does not ooze out and only the ink near the surface
o the inking roller is used.
(c) When the hand lever 108 is quickly squeezed,
the inking roller sometimes does not contact with the type
faces 112 due to the reaction to such quick motion. In some
cases, the inking roller 106 only makes ~ery weak contact.
(d~ Large force is necessary to squeeze the hand
grip 107 and the hand lever 108 together because it is
necessary to overcome the force of drive spring 114, that is
stretched inside the grip 107 and that urges the hand lever
108 and yoke arms 109 always clockwise, and the forces of
springs 102 and 104.
(e) Further, when the hand lever 108 is fully
squeezed~ the rocking arms 103, supporting frame 105 and
inXing roller 106 protrude in front of the label printing
machine. Therefore, when the printed label 116 that is
under the applicator 115 is to be applied to the surface of
an article, it is hard to see the label 116, and it becomes
difficult to apply the printed label 116 accurately.
4~
Description of a Preferred Embodiment
Figs. 1-8 show a hand operated label printing and
applying machine which is provided with an in~ing device A
of the present invention. I'he label printing machine is now
described with reference to Figs. 1-3. An opposed pair of
machine frames 44 extend rearwardly to de:Eine an integral
hand grip 1. On the underside of the hand grip 1, a hand
lever 2 is pivotally colmected on a shaft 3. The front side
of the hand lever 2 extends into bifurcated yoke arms 40,
which carry a printing head 45 having stamp belts that are
arrayed side by side. On the un,derside o-f the printing head
45, types 46 on the stamp belts are arranged so as to print
labels. '
A return spring 47 is stretched between a pin 48
formed on the hand grip l and a fixing hole 49 formed near
the pivoted,portion of the hand lever 2. Thus, when the
hand lever 2 is released, it is spring returned to its rest
position.
The inking device A of the present invention
comprises a multi-link mechanism having inking rollers,
which apply ink to the type faces of the printing head 45 in
intèrlocked movement with ~he squeezing of the hand lever 2.
As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, this multi-link mechanism comprises
a first pair of fixed fulcrums 4 which are each pivotally
secured to one of the pair o~ machine frames 44, and a
second and a third pair of fulcrums 5 and 6, respectively,
which are each pivotally secured to one of the pair of yoke
arms 40.
Since the mluti-link mechanism is symmetrical at
both sides of the pair of yoke arms 40, this multi-link
mechanism will only be described from one side.
--8--
4~
An operation link 7, having an S-shape, and a
connecting link 15 are pivotally connected at the second
fixed fulcrum 5 on the yoke arm 40. The operakion link 7
has a contact pin 8 -formed on its outside near its middle, a
stopper projection 9 also formed on its outside at its rea~
end, an engaging projection 10 formed by bending the link 7
inward and located at its front end, and a spring pin 11
formed on its inside at its rear end. The operation link 7
is urged counterclockwise (in the depressing directi~ about
.
the second fulcrum 5 by a spring 12. The spring 12 is
supported by a supporting pin 13 on the yoke arm 40. One
end o the spring 12 is fitted to the spring pin 11 of the
operation link 7 and the other end of the spring is fitted
to another spring pin 14 on the yoke arm 40~ -
To the third fulcrum 6 on the yoke arm 40 are
pivGtally connected the leg end of an F-shaped guide link 27
and the leg of an L-shaped rocking link 21.
The guide link 27 is provided at the cross arm
opposite its end with a horizontally extending ~in Fig. 4)
slot 28 which guides the inking roller frame 41. There is a
projection 29 at the oukside o-f the end of the central cross
arm of the link 27. An I-shaped operation link 30 is pivotally
attached by a movable fulcrum to projection 29. The operation
link 30 is connected to the operation link 7 by a movable
fulcrum 31, and the link 30 can be pivoted into engagement
with the engaging projection 10 of the operation link 7~
Thus, the operation link 30 is held in the depressed position
through the projection 10 by the -force exerted by the spring
12 in its rest position. In the rest pasition, the mo~able
fulcrum 31 between the operation links 7 and 30, the seco~
46
~ulcrum 5 of the operation link 7, and the movable ~ulcrum
29 of the guide link 27 are positioned generally along a
straight line.
In order to move the inking roller ~rame 41, a
vertical slot 23 is formed at the lower end of the vertical
leg of the rocking link 21. The outer end of the o~her leg
of the rocking link 21 is provided with an upraising extension
portion 22, which engages the contact pin 8 on the operation
link 7. Near the upraising portion 22, the connecting link
19 for a driving link 16 is attached at a movable ulcrum
2~. .
The driving link 16 is pivotally attached to the
machine frame 44 at -first fixed fulcrum 4. The upper end of
the vertical leg of the link 16 is connected to the connecting
link 15 at a movable fulcrum 17. The opposite, lower end of
the other leg of the link 16 is connected to another connecting
link 19 at a movable fulcrum 18. Accoraingly, the lower end
of the driving link 16 pi~ots the rocking link 21 back and
forth around fulcrum 6 through the connecting link 19.
The supporting member 36 for supporting the inking
roller frame 41 has an outwardly projecting supporting shaft
34 ha~ing a roller, which is slidably fitted into both the
vertical slot 23 o~ the rocking link 21 and the horizontal
slot 28 of the guide link 27. A spring 25 is attached
around the supporting shaft 3~. To the outside of the
supporting shaft 34 is ~ixed a receiving piece 32 having a
stop pin 3~. The guide link 27 and the rocking link 21 are
interposed between the inside surface o-f the receiving piece
32 and the outside surface of the supporting member 36.
One end of the spring 25 is fitted into the spring
hole 37 ormed in the supporting member 36 and the other end
of the spring 25 is pressed against the spring pin 2~ formed
-10-
... . ~ .. ...
~ ~ 9 ~ 6
on the rocking link 21, thereby urging the supporting member
36 clockwise about the supporting sha-ft 34. The receiving
piece 32 is prevented from rotation since the stop pin 33 is
brought into contact w;th the rocking link 21.
The supporting members 36 are attached to the
front end portions of multi-link mechanisms provided symmetri-
cally on both sides of the longitudinal and vertical center
plane. Each of the supporting members 36 is provided on its
inside with an attaching portion 38 havina front and rear
engaging grooves 39. Both outer side surfaces o-f the inking
roller frame 41 are provided with attaching lugs 35, by
which the inking roller frame 41 is attachable to the engaging
grooves 39 of the attaching portions 38. Frame 41 carries a
larger and a smaller inking roller 42 and 43, respectively.
In Figs. 1-3, the rolled label strip 50 is detach-
ably fitted to a supporting device 51. A tape-like label
strip 52 is drawn out from the rolled label strip 50 and is
fed over a feeding roller 53 and the labels are delivered to
a platen 54 on which printing of each label is effected.
The operation of the inking device is now described,
with particular reference to Figs. 3 and 5-8.
In Figs. 3 and 5, which show the rest position,
when the hand lever 2 is slightly squeezed (at a squeezing
angle of 3), the yoke arms 40 are turned counterclockwise
about the pivot shaft 3 to a small extent in the depressing
direction, as shown in Fig. 6.
The multi-link mechanism connected to the yoke arm
40 is operated. The second and third fulcrums 5 and 6 on
the yoke arm 40 are moved down, so that the movable ~ulcrum
17 on one side of the drivin~ link 16, which link is attached
to the machlne ~ame 44, is moved to the right, while the
other movable fulcrum 18 Oll the other side of the link 16 is
correspondingly moved almost upward. At the same tlme, the
rocking link 21 is turned counterclockwise about the third
fulcrum 6. The contact pin 8 of the operation link 7 is
con-tacted by the upraising portion 22 of the rocking link
21.
The supporting member 36 and the supporting shaEt
34 for inking roller -frame ~1, which are pressed to the
upper end o-f the vertical slot 23 by the spring 25, are
guided to the right end portion of the horizontal slot 28 o-f
the guide link 27 by the pivoting rocking link 21. During
this motion, the first ink.ing roller ~2, under the guidance
of slot 28, provides a -first inking to the type faces 46 of
the printing head ~5, as shown in Fig. 6.
Simultaneously with this irst inking, since the
rocking link 21 has turned counterclockwlse about the third
fulcrum 6, the upraising portion 22 of the link 21 i.s pressed
against the contact pin 8 of the operation link 7 which is
in engagement at 31 with the other operation link 30. Thus~
the mechanism mo~es into the state shown in ~ig. 7
When the force exerted by the upraising link
portion 22 against the contact pin 8 o~ercomes the force o-f
spring 12, the operation link 7 is turned further clockwise.
As a result, the engagement between the operation link 30
and the engaging p~ojection 10 of the operation link 7 ~see
Fig. 5~ is released. Thereafter, both operation links 7 and
30 become released. In other words, one operation link 7 is
turned clockwise about the second fulcrum 5, while the other
operation link 30 is turned counterclockwise about the
movable fulcru~ 29 and they move together around fulcrum 31.
. This further lifts the portion ~2 of link 21 and the link 21
-12-
4~i
moves further counterclockwise~ whereby the second inking
roller 43 is moved to gi~e a second ink application to the
type aces 46.
Following the second ink application, the supporting
shaft 34 of the inking rollers is at the right end o~ the
horizbntal slot 28 o-E the guide link 27.
When the hand lever 2 is further squeezed, as
shown in Fig. 8, both the guide link 27 and the rocking link
21 are tuTned counterclockwise with the simultaneous movement
of each movable fulcrum. The inking rollers are pivoted
into the middle area between the machine frames 44. More
particularly, the inking roller frame 41, carrying two
inking rollers assumes a ~ertical orientation, and the end
portion (at the side of the supporting shaft) of the support-
ing member 36 holding the frame 41 is received within the
stowing recesses 55 (see Figs. 4 and 5, especially) that are
formed in the undersides of the yoke arms 40. The first
inking roller 42 is now held between the yoke arms 4~ and
the second inking roller 43 is held below the first inklng
roller 42 and at the rear side of the printing head 45. The
inking rollers are stowed to ~ill otherwise useless space,
and the whole body of the label printing machine is made
compact.
In Pig. 8, the stopper projection 9 o the operation
link 7 comes into contact with the connecting link 15 which
stops further clockwise turning of the link 7. At this
stage, the type faces 46 oE the printing head 45 are contact-
ing the surface of a label on the platen 54, thereby accom-
plishing label printing.
When the hand lever 2 is released~ the multi-link
mechanism returns to the rçst position shown in Fig. 5. At
-13-
~ 6
the same time, the printed label unit 56 is passed under the
applicator 57 to be applied to the surface of an article.
In operation of the inking roller 42 and 43, the
first inking roller 42 is rolled over the faces of the types
46 with a predetermined pressure by the guiding means because
the supporting shaft 34 at the end portion oE the supporting
member 36 is guided by and slid through the horizontal slot
28 of the guide link 27. Accordingly, when the inking
roller 42 is rolled o~er the type faces 46, the outer surface
of the roller 42 is depressed such that, when the depressed
portion of the inking roller 42 recovers its original shape,
the ink stored at the center of the inking roller 42 is
pumped to the outer sur-face of the inking roller. Therefore,
the application oE ink to the type faces 46 can always be
uniform and sufficient.
After the inking by the first inking roller 42,
the second inking roller 43 is brought into contact with the
type faces 46 under the urging oE the spring 25. However,
the bearing plates 58 on both sides of roller 43 are rolled
on the undersurface of the printing head 45. There-Eore, the
second inking roller 43 can be rolled on the type faces 46
without being unnecessarily depressed so as to neatly finish
off the inking. Accordingly, evenly distributed ink applica-
tion can be easily attained.
The inking device of the invention has the follow-
ing ad~antages:
~ a) The ink-impregnated inking rollers are brought
into contact with the t~pe faces under certain pressures by
means of a movable guiding mechanism. Therefore, the quantity
of ink that is applied to the type $ace is always constant,
and precise PTintin~ o-f labels can be attained~
-14-
~ b) For pressing the inking rollcrs against the
type faces at constant pressures, a particular link mechanism
is employed. This mechanism differs from conventional
devices that use spring action. Therefore, the force required
to manually squeeze the hand lever can be minimized, and
operator fatigue can be reduced.
(c) The inking rollers and their operating links
do not protrude in front of the machine body when the hand
lever is squeezed, and they can be stowed with;n the machine
body because of the link mechanism. Therefore, they do not
obstruct the view in front of the label printing machine and
accurate applying o-f labels to the surfaces of artlcles can
be easily acco~plished.
In view of the above, the inking device o-f the
present invention is quite suitable Eor label printing
machines to print optical character reader readable characters
and bar codes on labels, or the like, where highly precise
printing is required.
Although the present invention has been described
in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, many
variations and modifications will now become apparent to
those skilled in the art It is preferred, kherefore~ thak
the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure
herein, but only by the appended claims.
