Note : Les revendications sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
Docket M-489-C
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive
property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A stacker for tacking tags received from a printer,
comprising: a hopper for receiving a stack of tags, means
for conveying tags one at a time to a bottom of the stack in
the hopper and for supporting the bottom of the stack,
wherein the conveying means includes means for providing a
self-clutching arrangement with an incoming tag to prevent
damage to the printer, the stacker or the tag in the event
the speed of advance of the incoming tag is either greater or
lesser than the speed of the conveying means, wherein the
self-clutching arrangement includes a driven conveying member
and a rotatable idler roll between which the incoming tags
are conveyed to the hopper, means for mounting the idler roll
above the conveying member for movement toward and away from
the conveying member, wherein the conveying member includes a
driven roll, wherein another driven roll is in supporting
relationship to the bottom of the stack, wherein the
conveying means includes an electric motor, a toothed wheel
driven by the electric motor, toothed wheels for the driven
rolls, and a toothed belt engaged with the toothed wheels for
driving the driven rolls.
2. A stacker as defined in claim 1, and the mounting
means includes elongate slots for mounting the idler roll for
upward and downward movement.
3. A stacker as defined in claim 2, wherein the idler
roll bears solely gravitationally against an incoming tag.
Docket M-489-C
4. In combination: a stacker for stacking tags and a
printer for providing printed tags one-by-one to the stacker,
the printer including a platen roll, a print head cooperable
with the platen roll for printing on a web of tag stock,
wherein the platen roll is driven for advancing the web of
tag stock, means for severing tags from the web of tag stock,
the stacker including a hopper for accumulating tags in a
stack, the stacker further including means for conveying
severed tags one at a time to the bottom of the stack in the
hopper and for supporting the bottom of the stack, wherein
the conveying means includes means for providing a self-
clutching arrangement with an incoming tag, wherein the
incoming tag is under the control of the self-clutching
arrangement while entering the stack, wherein the self-
clutching arrangement includes a driven conveying member and
a cooperating idler roll in proximity to the severing means
so that feeding cooperation of the conveying member and the
idler roll with the incoming tag is established before the
tag is severed from the web, wherein the driven platen roll
is in proximity to the self-clutching arrangement, and
wherein the driven platen roll is the sole means for
advancing the web directly to the self-clutching arrangement.
5. In combination: a stacker for stacking tags and a
printer for providing printed tags one-by-one to the stacker,
the printer including a platen roll, a print head cooperable
with the platen roll for printing on a web of tag stock,
wherein the platen roll is driven for advancing the web of
tag stock, means for severing tags from the web of tag stock,
the stacker including a hopper for accumulating tags in a
Docket M-489-C
stack, the stacker further including means for conveying
severed tags one at a time to the bottom of the stack in the
hopper and for supporting the bottom of the stack, wherein
the conveying means includes means for providing a self-
clutching arrangement with an incoming tag, wherein the
incoming tag is under the control of the self-clutching
arrangement while entering the stack, wherein the self-
clutching arrangement includes a driven conveying member and
the cooperating idler roll in proximity to the severing means
so that feeding cooperation of the conveying member and the
idler roll with the incoming tag is established before the
tag is severed from the web, wherein the self-clutching
arrangement further includes means for mounting the idler
roll above the conveying member for movement toward and away
from the conveying member, and a driven roll in supporting
relationship to the bottom of the stack, wherein the driven
platen roll is in proximity to the self-clutching
arrangement, and wherein the driven platen roll is the sole
means for advancing the web directly to the self-clutching
arrangement.
6. In combination, a stacker for stacking tags and a
printer for providing printed tags one-by-one to the stocker,
the printer including a platen roll, a print head cooperable
with the platen roll for printing on a web of tag stock,
wherein the platen roll is driven for advancing the web of
tag stock, means for severing tags from the web of tag stock,
the stacker including a hopper for accumulating tags in a
stack, the stacker further including means for conveying
severed tags one at a time to the bottom of the stack in the
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Docket M-489-C
hopper and for supporting the bottom of the stack, wherein
the conveying means includes means for providing a self-
clutching arrangement with an incoming tag, wherein the
incoming tag is under the control of the self-clutching
arrangement while entering the stack, wherein the self-
clutching arrangement includes a driven conveying roll and
the cooperating idler roll in proximity to the severing means
so that feeding cooperation of the conveying roll and the
idler roll with the incoming tag is established before the
tag is severed from the web, wherein the self-clutching
arrangement includes means for mounting the idler roll above
the conveying roll for movement toward and away from the
conveying roll, wherein the driven platen roll is in
proximity to the self-clutching arrangement, and wherein the
driven platen roll is the sole means for advancing the web
directly to the self-clutching arrangement.
7. A stacker for stacking tags, comprising: a frame, a
hopper mounted on the frame for receiving a stack of tags,
means for feeding tags one at a time into the hopper, means
for releasably attaching the stacker to a source device of
tags, a first electrical connector on the attaching means
adapted to be electrically coupled to a second electrical
connector on the source device, wherein the attaching means
includes a holder, a gripper mounted on the holder and
adapted to grip the source device, the first electrical
connector being mounted on the holder, means for movably
mounting the holder, and means on the source device for
drawing on the gripper to pull the first and second
electrical connectors into electrically coupled relationship.
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Docket M-489-C
8. A stacker as defined in claim 7, wherein the drawing
means includes a cam engageable with the gripper.
9. A stacker as defined in claim 7, wherein the gripper
is spring-loaded.
10. A stacker as defined in claim 7, including a pair
of said grippers.
11. A stacker, comprising: a hopper adapted to receive
a stack of tags, means for feeding tags into the bottom of
the hopper, a weight for resting on the top of the stack, a
guide for the weight, a switch at the top of the guide for
disabling the feeding means, wherein the guide has means for
allowing the weight to be shifted and held at the top of the
guide in cooperation with the switch to keep the feeding
means disabled.
12. In combination, a stacker for stacking tags, the
stacker including an electrically driven conveyor, and a
first electrical connector, a source device for delivering
tags to the stacker including a second electrical connector,
and means partly on the stacker and partly on the source
device for drawing the first and second electrical connectors
into electrically coupled relationship.
13. The combination defined in claim 12, wherein the
drawing means includes a gripper and a cam cooperable with
the gripper for drawing on the gripper.
14. The combination defined in claim 12, wherein the
drawing means includes a pair of grippers on the stacker and
a cam shaft on the source device and cooperable with the
grippers.
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Docket M-489-C
15. The combination defined in claim 14, including
means for detenting the cam shaft in selected positions.
16. In combination, a stacker for stacking tags, a
source device for delivering tags to the stacker, means for
releasably attaching the stacker and the source device,
wherein the attaching means includes means for drawing the
stacker and the source device toward each other into aligned
coupled relationship, and wherein the drawing means includes
a cam.
17. In combination, a stacker for stacking tags, a
source device for delivering tags to the stacker, means for
releasably attaching the stacker and the source device,
wherein the attaching means includes means for drawing the
stacker and the source device toward each other into aligned
coupled relationship, and wherein the drawing means includes
a gripper, a cam engageable by the gripper, a cam face on the
gripper, and the cam face being cooperable with the cam while
the stacker and the source device are being attached to cam
the gripper and the cam into cooperable relationship in which
the stacker and the source device can be drawn relatively
toward each other.
18. In combination, a stacker for stacking tags, a
source device for delivering tags to the stacker, means for
releasably attaching the stacker and the source device,
wherein the attaching means includes means for drawing the
stacker and the source device toward each other into aligned
coupled relationship, and wherein the attaching means
includes a holder, means for movably mounting the holder on
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Docket M-489-C
the stacker for movement toward and away from the source
device, means for biasing the holder away from the source
device, a pair of grippers mounted on the holder, a cam shaft
on the source device engageable by the grippers, and means
for rotating the cam shaft to cause the stacker and the
source device to be held in attached relationship.
19. In combination, a stacker for stacking tags, a
source device for delivering tags to the stacker, means for
releasably attaching the stacker and the source device,
wherein the attaching means includes means for drawing the
stacker and the source device toward each other into aligned
coupled relationship, an electrical connector on the source
device and a cooperable electrical connector on the stacker,
and wherein the drawing means draws the electrical connectors
into coupled relationship.
20. A tag stacker, comprising: a hopper having an elon-
gate bottom member an an end wall member, means for conveying
tags one at a time against the end wall member, wherein the
bottom member has means for providing an upper tag supporting
surface including longitudinally extending ridges and
grooves, a pair of longitudinally extending outwardly
projecting flanges at side portions of the bottom member,
wherein the end wall member has a pair of opposed channels
for loosely receiving the outwardly projecting flanges to
Docket M-489-C
enable the end wall member to rock slightly on the bottom
member, a series of longitudinally spaced teeth on the bottom
member and at least one tooth of the end wall member, wherein
the end wall member is held in any selected position on the
bottom member with the tooth on the end wall member in
engagement with a respective tooth on the bottom member but
wherein the end wall member is rockable relative to the
bottom member to disengage the teeth and to enable the end
wall member to be repositioned longitudinally on and relative
to the bottom member.
21. A hopper as defined in claim 20, wherein the
conveying means includes a roll for supporting the bottom tag
in the hopper while the leading edge of the bottom tag is
against the end wall member.
22. A hopper as defined in claim 20, wherein the
conveying means conveys one tag at a time at an acute angle
with respect to and toward the bottom tag in the hopper.
23. A hopper as defined in claim 21, wherein the
conveying means conveys one tag at a time at an acute angle
with respect to the bottom tag in the hopper.
24. A hopper as defined in claim 20, wherein the bottom
member is inclined with respect to the horizontal, and
wherein the end wall member is inclined with respect to the
vertical and gravitationally holds the tooth on the end wall
member in engagement with the tooth on the bottom member.
25. A tag stacker, comprising: a hopper including a
bottom member for supporting a stack of tags and an end wall
member against which the ends of the tags in the stack abut,
means for conveying tags into the hopper, a series of teeth
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Docket M-489-C
on the bottom member, a tooth on the end wall member and
engageable with a selected tooth on the bottom member to hold
the end wall member at a selected position along the length
of the bottom member, and means for enabling the end wall
member to tilt relative to the bottom member to disengage the
tooth on the end wall member from a tooth on the bottom
member to provide fox repositioning of the end wall member at
a different selected position along the length of the bottom
member at which the tooth on the end wall member engages a
different selected tooth on the bottom member to accommodate
tags of a different length.
26. A tag stacker, comprising: a hopper including a
bottom member for supporting a stack of tags and an end wall
member against which the ends of the tags in the stack abut,
means for conveying tags into the hopper, means for
connecting the end wall member to the bottom member at a
selected position along the length of the bottom member, and
wherein the connecting means includes means for enabling
tilting of the end wall member in one direction relative to
the bottom member to hold the end wall member connected to
the bottom member and for enabling tilting of the end wall
member in the opposite direction relative to the bottom
member to enable the end wall member to be repositioned to a
different selected position along the length of the bottom
member to accommodate tags of a different length.
27. A tag stacker, comprising: a hopper having a
bottom member and an end wall member positionable along the
length of the bottom member to accommodate tags of different
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Docket M-489-C
lengths, wherein the bottom wall member is inclined with
respect to the horizontal, wherein the end wall member is
inclined with respect to the vertical, means for conveying
tags one at a time against the end wall member, means for
mounting the end wall member to the bottom member at a
selected position along the length of the bottom member,
wherein the mounting means includes first teeth on the bottom
member and a second tooth on the end wall member cooperable
for holding the end wall member gravitationally in the
selected position relative to the bottom member.
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