Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02306549 2000-04-25
CONTINUOUS PUSH-PULL QUICK RELEASE CLAMP AND LABEL APPLICATION
APPARATUS INCORPORATING SAME
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a continuous push-pull quick release clamp. In one of
its aspects, the invention relates to a label printer/applicator having an
adjustable
retainer for a supply reel of label web.
Description of the Related Art
In labeling objects such as packages, envelopes and the like, a label pasting
and cutting apparatus is typically provided with a web of label material on a
continuous backing web or the like. Alternatively, the label web can be
"linerless",
i.e., without backing material. Typically, the label web on the backing is
advanced
from a supply reel, and through a printer, which can provide desired indicia
such as
text and graphics onto the label, in addition to any indicia already pre-
printed onto the
label. The backing web is then advanced over a label separator roller or
"peeler" bar
onto a take-up reel while the label material, separated from the backing web,
is
advanced to a cutter and label applicator. By means of the cutter, the printed
label is
cut from the continuous label web and is transferred to an object, such as
package or
envelope or the like, by the applicator.
The supply label web on the supply reel is mounted for rotation about a fixed
axle. Conventionally, the supply reel is blocked from axial movement on the
axle by
a screw or pin. When rotating, however, the supply reel has a tendency to walk
upon
the axle, moving the screw or pin and, therefore, disrupting the otherwise
smooth
continuous flow of label web from the reel. The consequence of the disruption
is
jamming of the paper, the printer, the roller, and/or cutter. When such
bunching or
jamming of the label web happens, the label printing and cutting apparatus
must be
CA 02306549 2000-04-25
-2-
stopped, whereupon the bunched or jammed material is removed and reversed
rolled
onto the supply reel. Occasionally, the material is so jammed or bunched that
it is
destroyed, and the label web must be cut and refed to the machine to continue
proper
operation. This disruption due to a wobbling supply reel is inconvenient and
causes
material and labor waste.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a continuous push-pull quick release clamp for
resisting axial movement of a body along a shaft. According to the invention,
the
quick release clamp comprises an elongated plate having a wire pivotally
mounted at
one end, the wire having a coil spring at an opposite end. The plate also
includes an
aperture sized to be received on the shaft adjacent to the body. In use, the
coil spring
is slid onto the shaft adjacent to the body and the plate is pivoted with
respect to the
end of the wire opposite the coil spring so that the aperture in the plate is
received
onto the shaft in an axially spaced relationship to the coil spring. As the
body acts
axially on the coil spring, the force imparted by the body is transmitted
through the
coil spring to the opposite end of the wire where the force tends to rotate
the elongated
plate in a direction which causes edges of the aperture to be urged against
the shaft.
In another embodiment, the invention relates to a label application apparatus
comprising a main housing, a printer mounted to the housing, an applicator
mounted
to the main housing adjacent to the printer for applying a label to an object,
a supply
reel rotatably mounted to the main housing and having a continuous label web
thereon, a clamp for adjustably retaining the supply reel, a feed mechanism
for feeding
the continuous label web from the supply reel to the printer and applicator,
and a
cutting mechanism associated with the applicator to cut labels from the
continuous
label web between the printer and the applicator.
Preferably, the adjustable clamp comprises an elongated plate having a wire
pivotally mounted at one end, the wire having a coil spring at an opposite
end. The
plate also includes an aperture sized to be received on the supply reel shaft
adjacent to
the supply reel. In use, the coil spring is slid onto the shaft adjacent to
the supply reel
and the plate is pivoted with respect to the end of the wire opposite the coil
spring so
CA 02306549 2000-04-25
-3-
that the aperture in the plate is received onto the supply reel shaft in an
axially spaced
relationship to the coil spring and the supply reel. As the supply reel acts
axially on
the coil spring, the axial force imparted by the supply reel is transmitted
through the
coil spring to the opposite end of the wire where the force tends to rotate
the elongated
plate in a direction which causes edges of the aperture to be urged against
the shaft.
Thus, the aperture edges tend to strongly frictionally abut the supply reel
shaft and
prevents the supply reel from axial movement along the supply reel shaft.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of label printer/applicator including a
supply
reel clamp according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the supply reel clamp of FIG. 1 on the supply reel
axle;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a first embodiment of the supply reel clamp of FIG.
1;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the supply reel clamp of FIG.
1; and
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the supply reel clamp of FIG. 1 on the supply
reel axle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Refernng now to the drawings and to FIG. 1 in particular, a label
printer/applicator 100 is shown comprising a housing 102 which mounts a
printer 104
and an applicator 106.
The housing 102 rotatably mounts a supply reel 108. The supply reel 108
carnes a wound length of a continuous web of label material 110 which is often
applied to a backing material (not shown). In the description provided herein
the
printer/applicator 100 is shown operating with a "linerless" label web 110,
although it
can be plainly seen that an alternative label web 110 having a backing
material can be
used without departing from the scope of this invention.
CA 02306549 2000-04-25
-4-
The supply reel 108 is rotatably mounted on a support axle 112 which, in turn,
is mounted to the housing 102. One or more slack rollers 114 can be rotatably
mounted to the housing 102 for guiding a tensioned length of the continuous
label
web 110 toward the printer 104.
The housing 102 has a printer platform 116 adapted to receive the label web
110 from the supply reel 108 located adjacent a lower portion of the housing
102
which has a recess 118. A print roller 120 is rotatably mounted to the housing
102
within the recess 118. The print roller 120 is preferably imparted with
rotational
motion by a conventional motor (not shown) which is mounted to the housing
102.
The print roller 120 preferably has an outer diameter sized with the recess
118 so that
an outer surface of the print roller 120 is generally flush with an outer
surface of the
printer platform 116. It has also been found that the print roller 120 can
extend
beyond the recess 118 a small amount for abutment of the label web 110 passing
over
the recess 118.
The printer 104 comprises a printer housing 122 which has a lower portion
124 provided with a conventional print head 126. The print head 126 can be any
conventional print head from the many known in the art such as a dot matrix,
thermal
transfer, ink jet, etc. It will be understood that the print head 126 is
interconnected to
an information store (not shown) which provides proper instructions to the
print head
126. The printer housing 122 is mounted to the housing 102.
The applicator 106 is mounted to the housing 102 downstream of the printer
104 and generally comprises a head 128 which is adapted to receive a length of
printed label web 110 from the printer 104, retain the length of printed label
web 110
while it is severed from the remaining continuous length of label web 110 and
apply
the severed label to an object adjacent to the printer/applicator 100.
The printer/applicator 100 operates generally by providing the supply reel 108
with a length of label web 110. The label web 110 is fed over the slack
rollers 114,
onto the printer platform 116 and between the print roller 120 and the print
head 126
where the label web 110 is printed with any desired indicia such as text and
graphics.
Rotation of the print roller 120 drives the label web 110 between the print
head 126
and the print roller 120.
CA 02306549 2000-04-25
-5-
After the label web 110 is printed, the label web 110 is fed to the applicator
106 where a discrete length of the label web 110 is severed from the
continuous web
and applied to an object. If a label web 110 having backing web is used, the
backing
web (not shown in FIG. 1) is collected on a secondary accumulator such as a
take-up
reel as is well known in the art.
The support axle 112 for rotatably mounting supply reel 108 is typically non-
rotatably mounted to the housing 102. The supply reel 108 includes a
cylindrical
aperture therethrough for sliding reception onto the supply reel axle 112.
Once
properly mounted thereon, the supply reel 108 is free to rotate about the
support axle
112 as the continuous label web 110 is pulled therefrom to feed the printer
104 and
the applicator 106.
The support axle 112 for the supply reel 108 includes a distal axle end 240
which receives a supply reel clamp 230. The supply reel clamp 230 functions to
retain
the supply reel 108 on the support axle 112 for rotation thereabout. More
specifically,
the supply reel clamp 230 blocks the supply reel 108 against axial motion
along the
support axle 112. That is, with the supply reel clamp 230 properly in place,
the supply
reel 108 is free to rotate about the supply reel support axle 112 but cannot
move
laterally or axially along the support axle 112 because it is blocked by the
clamp 230.
The supply reel clamp 230 includes an elongated plate 232 having a flange 250
at one end which pivotally mounts a wire 234. The plate 230 has a keyed
aperture 238
at an intermediate portion 252 of the plate 232 for receiving the distal axle
end 240 of
the support axle 112. As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 3, the keyed aperture
238
is shown as being circular in shape to receive the distal axle end 240 with a
corresponding circular geometric shape. Other geometric shapes of the keyed
aperture
238 are possible, such as the generally rectangular keyed aperture 238a shown
in plate
232a of the second embodiment of the supply reel clamp 230a of FIG. 4. Other
geometric configurations for the aperture 238 of the clamp 230 can be employed
without departing from the scope of this invention.
The wire 234 is pivotally mounted to the flange 250 of the plate 232 by an
upper loop 244 which is received in a mounting aperture 246 of the flange 250
on a
connecting end 248 of the flange 250. The pivotal connection of the wire 234
and the
CA 02306549 2000-04-25
-6-
plate 232 is facilitated by the reception of the loop 244 within the mounting
aperture
246.
The wire 234 includes an integral coil spring 236 located at an end of the
wire
234 opposite the loop 244. The coil spring 236 has an inner diameter d;~ which
preferably generally corresponds to the outer diameter of the supply reel
support axle
112. The aperture 238 has an inner diameter d~, which preferably generally
corresponds to the outer diameter of the supply reel support axle 112,
although it has
been found that the inner diameters of the coil spring 236 and the aperture
238 are
preferably related in the following manner:
d;Z _> d,~.
In this manner, the aperture 238 has greater clearance with respect to the
outer surface
of the support axle 112 than the coil spring 236. The wire 234 also preferably
has a
length l of wire between the loop 244 and the coil spring 236 which is
sufficient to
cant the plate 232 at an acute angle with respect to the support axle 112 when
the
clamp 230 is mounted to the support axle 230 as will be further described
below.
The coil spring 236 is slid co-axially onto the support axle 112. The plate
232
is then pivoted with respect to the loop 244 on the wire 234 so that the
aperture 238
can also be slidably mounted onto the support axle 112. The coil spring 236 is
can
then be urged along the support axle 112 and against the supply reel 114. When
properly mounted, the supply reel clamp 230 prevents the supply reel 114 from
axially
moving along the support axle 112.
Due to the pivotal connection of the wire 234 and the relative dimensions d;l,
d;z and 1 of the wire 234 and plate 232, the plate 232 is set at an acute
angle relative to
a transverse axis of the support axle 112. Thus, the edges of the plate 232
defining the
keyed aperture 238 frictionally abut the support axle 112 as the length 1 of
the wire
234 causes the plate 232 to abut the support axle 112 at an acute angle. This
frictional
abutment resists movement of the supply reel clamp 230 axially along the
support axle
106. However , coil spring 236 provides a very limited degree of axial
movement by
the supply reel 108 as it abuts the coil spring 236 during rotation of the
supply reel
108 during operation of the printer/applicator 100.
CA 02306549 2000-04-25
_'J_
This limited axial movement of the supply reel 108 allowed by the coil spring
236 of the supply reel clamp 230 does not interrupt normal operation of the
machine,
nor allow bunching or jamming of the continuous web of label material 110 in
the
printer/applicator 100. The coil spring 236 acts as a "shock absorber" during
these
S limited axial movements of the supply reel 108 against the coil spring 236.
However,
to the extent that the supply reel 108 acts against the coil spring 236 in a
more forceful
manner, this axial force is redirected along the wire 234 which, in turn,
applies a
tangential force at the connecting end 248 of the plate 232 through the loop
244.
This tangential force creates a moment arm, as illustrated by the arrow "A" in
FIG. 2, causing the plate 232 to attempt to rotate counterclockwise in the
orientation
of FIG. 2. The edges of the aperture 238, due to the slightly larger diameter
of the
aperture 238 relative to the support axle 112, are thereby forced into further
abutment
against the support axle 112. Thus, the increased axial force exerted by the
supply
reel 108 is actually used to increase the abutment of the clamp 230 on the
support axle
1 S 112 and prevent axial movement of the supply reel 108 along the support
axle 112.
Retaining the supply reel 114 on the support axle 106 with limited axial
movement allows normal operation of the label printing and apply apparatus 100
without any interruptions due to jamming or bunching of the continuous web of
label
material 110. While some axial movement must be allowed, the movement must be
resisted and prevented from disrupting the normal operation. Accordingly, the
combination of the coil spring 236 of the wire 234 when the fractionally
engaging
edges of the aperture 238 of the plate 232 allow the supply reel clamp 230 to
adjustably retain the supply reel 114 on the support axle 106 for proper
operation of
the label printing and applying apparatus 100.
Further, the simple friction in spring mechanism facilitates easy removal and
replacement of the supply reel clamp 230 as rolls of label material 110 are
removed
and replaced on the support axle 112. The clamp 230 is easily removed from the
support axle 112 by rotating the plate 232 of the clamp 230 clockwise (in the
orientation shown in FIG. 2) so that the larger diameter of the aperture 238
is axially
aligned with the support axle 112. The clamp 230 is then merely slid without
restriction along the support axle 112 and thereby removed.
CA 02306549 2000-04-25
_g_
It will be understood that, although the clamp 230 has been described with
specific application to a label apparatus 100, the inventive features of the
clamp 230
are broadly applicable to a wide spectrum of uses. Without reference to the
label
apparatus 100, the invention relates to a continuous push-pull quick release
clamp 230
for resisting axial movement of a body 114 along a shaft 106. It is
contemplated that
the clamp 230 disclosed herein has many uses in the construction and building
industries, camping applications such as a tent stake clamp, and many other
uses not
disclosed herein but would be apparent to one skilled in the art who requires
that a
body be prevented from axial movement along a shaft in a particular direction.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown, it will be
understood, of course, that the invention is not limited thereto since
modifications
may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of the
foregoing
teachings. Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope
of the
foregoing disclosure of the invention without departing from the spirit of the
1 S invention.
