US3928115A

US3928115A - Machine for transferring indicia to cylindrical articles

Info

Publication number: US3928115A
Application number: US404300A
Authority: US
Inventors: Daniel Kerwin
Original assignee: Meyercord Co
Current assignee: GGA Corp A CORP OF DE; United Biscuits UK Ltd
Priority date: 1973-10-09
Filing date: 1973-10-09
Publication date: 1975-12-23
Anticipated expiration: 1992-12-23
Also published as: ATA622874A; AU7175474A; BE818321A; IT1019491B; DE2436324C3; CA1039494A; NL162338B; NL162338C; DE2436324B2; NL7410879A; DE2436324A1; IE39876B1; IE39876L; GB1487615A; AT365996B

Abstract

This disclosure deals with a machine for transferring indicia (such as decalcomanias) from an elongated web or carrier strip to generally cylindrical articles (such as bottles) at a high rate of speed. The articles are moved along a transport path and means is provided to turn the articles as the articles are moved through an indicia transferring portion of the path. The web is moved in the same direction and at substantially the same speed as the articles moving in said transferring portion, and the outer surface of each article is rolled against an indicium by turning the article. Article spacing means is provided at the entrance to said portion to adjust the spacing of the articles. Sensor means is also provided for sensing the indicia and the articles entering said portion, and for actuating said spacing means to adjust the article spacing.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Kerwin Dec. 23, 1975 MACHINE FOR TRANSFERRING INDICIA [73] Assignee: The Meyercord Co., Carol Stream,

Ill.

[22] Filed: Oct. 9, 1973 [21] Appl. N0.: 404,300

[52] US. Cl. 156/363; 156/475; 156/542; 156/DIG. 13; 156/DIG. 26; 156/DIG. 33 [51] Int. Cl. B65C 3/16 58 Field 61 Search.... 156/542, 541, 540, DIG. 13, 156/588, 361-363, 475, 455, 449, 566, 567, 23s, DIG. 12, DIG. 33, DIG. 26, DIG. 46

Schonig 156/542 vonl-lofe l56/D1G. 13

Primary ExaminerDouglas J. Drummond Assistant Examiner-Michael W. Ball Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hibben, Noyes & Bicknell [57] ABSTRACT This disclosure deals with a machine for transferring indicia (such as decalcomanias) from an elongated web or carrier strip to generally cylindrical articles (such as bottles) at a high rate of speed. The articles are moved along a transport path and means is provided to turn the articles as the articles are moved through an indicia transferring portion of the path. The web is moved in the same direction and at substantially the same speed as the articles moving in said transferring portion, and the outer surface of each article is rolled against an indicium by turning the article. Article spacing means is provided at the entrance to said portion to adjust the spacing of the articles. Sensor means is also provided for sensing the indicia and the articles entering said portion, and for actuating said spacing means to adjust the article spacing.

14 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 1 of5 3,928,115

US. atent Dec. 23 1975 Sheet 2 of5 3,928,115

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 4 of5 3,928,115

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1 "'5 $116M 5 of5 MACHINE FOR TRANSFERRING INDICIA TO CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 173,089, filed on Aug. 19, 1971, by Daniel Kerwin and entitled Machine and Method for Applying Indicia to Articles, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,268 discloses a machine for transferring indicia from an elongated web to cylindrical or flat articles. In operation of the machine, each article is momentarily held stationary below a die, and the die is moved to press the indicium onto the surface of the article. While such a machine operates well, it has the disadvantage that it is relatively slow acting because each article must be momentarily stopped while an indicium is being transferred thereto.

Other machines, such as the machine disclosed in the Carter U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,630, are designed to apply labels to articles while the articles are in motion in order to speed up the operation. Such a machine however has the disadvantage that it is relatively complicated because the labels are supplied in cut and stacked form, and a plurality of label applicators are necessary to remove the labels from the stacks and apply the labels simultaneously to a number of the articles. Each of the label applicators is required to move both in the direction of the article and also transversely of this direction in order to pick up a label and apply it to the article.

Still other machines, such as the machine disclosed in the Wolff U.S. Pat. No. 3,553,043, transfer labels to bottles while the bottles are in motion, and the labels are supplied in the form of a continuous string of labels which form a long strip. The'labels are cut from the long strip and sequentially applied to the bottles. Such a machine is practical only where labels are cut from a long strip.

It is a general object'of the present invention to provide a machine which does not have the foregoing disadvantages and which is capable of high-speed operation for sequentially transferring indicia from a long continuous strip or web to a succession of generally cylindrical articles. A machine in accordance with the present invention comprises a mechanism forming a conveyor path for the articles, the articles being moved on the path in a first direction, another mechanism for transporting a long web along a web transport path, the web having indicia attached thereto at sequentially spaced intervals, the web moving in a path parallel to said one direction, the articles and the indicia being oriented such that the web is substantially parallel to and closely adjacent the outer cylindrical surfaces of the articles, an indicia applying mechanism for moving the articles at substantially the speed of the web and for rolling the articles against the indicia to cause the indicia to adhere to the articles, means for spacing the articles at the entrance to said indicia applying mechanism, first sensor means for detecting the entrance of each article to said indicia applying mechanism, second sensor means for sensing the entrance of each indicium to said indicia applying mechanism, and means responsive to said first and second sensor means for adjusting said spacing means to change the spacing between articles and thereby coordinate the article spacing with that of the indicia.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction a differ- FIG. 7 is a fragmentary enlarged view of a portion of a web with indicia thereon, of the character used with the machine; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the machine.

With particular reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, a machine is illustrated including a frame l0'which supports the operative parts of the machine, an article transfer path 11, a spacer 12 which spaces the articles moving along the path 11, a mechanism 13 for transferring indicia to articles moving on the transfer path 11, and a web transport path 14 for moving a web 15 along the transport path. Articles moving along the path 11 are indicated by the reference numeral 17, and indicia on the web 15 are indicated by the reference numeral '18 (FIG. 7).

While various types of indicia may be used, heat release decals are illustrated and described herein.

Further, while various types of generally cylindrical articles may be processed by the machine, bottles are illustrated and described herein.

The frame 10 of the machine is conventional in construction and may be built of structural steel members which form legs 21 and a substantially flat horizontally disposed upper framework 22. The article transfer path 11 consists, in the present instance, of a flexible continuous belt 23 which extends lengthwise of the machine and is trained around rollers 24 and 25 (FIG. 3) mounted at opposite ends of the machine. Vertically extending guides 36 (FIG. 1) are preferably provided at the sides of the belt 23 to hold the article 17 on the upper surfaceof the belt 23 and form a line of the bottles 17 at the inlet end of the machine. The roller 24 is driven in such manner as to turn the belt 23 in the counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 3, so that articles positioned on the inlet end of the belt, which is adjacent the roller 25, are moved toward the roller 24. The drive mechanism for turning the roller 24 comprises a gear box 28 (FIG. 3), a second gear box 29, both gear boxes being mounted on the frame 10 of the machine, a coupling 31 between the

boxes

28 and 29, a sprocket 32 which is secured to the shaft which supports the roller 24, and a chain 33 connecting the sprocket 32 and another sprocket 34 which is fastened to an output shaft of the gear box 29.

As previously mentioned, the bottles 17 are introduced onto the end of the belt 23 which is adjacent the roller 25. The articles are received from any suitable supply (not shown), and the articles are preferably received sufficiently fast to form a continuous lineup of bottles adjacent the roller 25 as shown in FIG. 1. 1n the present example, as previously mentioned, the indicia on the web 15 are heat-release decals, and consequcntly the bottle supply should include means for heating the bottles 17 prior to the time they are placed on the belt 23.

The function of the spacer 12 is to space the bottles 17 on the belt 23 prior to the time that the articles enter the transferring mechanism 13 at a certain spacing relative to the decals 18 on the web 15, and to time the entrance of thebottles relative to the entrance of the decals. In the present example, the decals are spaced 4.92 inches between centers and the bottles are spaced approximately 4.36 inches between centers. The spacer 12 comprises, in the present instance, a timing screw 41 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 6) which is secured to a shaft 42. The pitch of the timing screw 41 varies as shown in FIG. 3, the pitch being relatively short at the entrance end of the screw and gradually lengthening toward the outlet end of the screw. At the entrance end of the screw 41, the pitch is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the bottles being handled (FIG. 4), and at the outlet end of the screw 41, the pitch is substantially equal to the spacing between the decals 18 on the web 15 (FIG. 6). The screw 41 is positioned at one side of the belt 23 and the bottles travel between the screw 41 and one of the guides 36. The bottles 17 enter the screw closely spaced as shown in FIG. 4 and, due to the increasing pitch of the screw 41, the spacing and the speed of the bottles are gradually increased as the bottles are moved toward the outlet end of the screw.

The screw 41 is rotatably driven by an electric drive motor 46 (FIG. 3) which is supported on the frame of the machine by supports 47. The output shaft 48 of the motor 46 is connected by a chain or belt 49 (FIGS. 3 and 5) which drives a pulley 51. The pulley 51 is secured to a main drive shaft 52, which is rotatably mounted on the machine and is connected to the power input shaft of the previously described gear box 28. Further, two sprockets 53 and 54 (FIG. 3) are attached to the shaft 52, the

sprockets

53 and 54 being respectively connected by chains to sprockets 56 and 57 which are mounted on another shaft 58 located above and to one side of the main drive shaft 52. The sprocket 56 is releasably coupled to the shaft 58 by an electric clutch 59, and the sprocket 57 is coupled to the shaft 58 by an overrunning clutch 61. The gear tooth ratio between the

sprockets

53 and 56, as compared with the tooth ratio between the

sprockets

54 and 57, is such that the sprocket 56 is always turned faster than the sprocket 57. When the electric clutch 59 is energized, the sprocket 56 is connected to drive the shaft 58, and the other sprocket 57 at this time idles on the shaft 58 because of the overrunning clutch 61. On the other hand, when the electric clutch 59 is deenergized, the sprocket 56 is disconnected from the shaft 58 and the shaft 58 is driven at a slower speed by the other sprocket 57.

With reference to FIG. 5, the shaft 58 is connected to turn the screw 41 by another chain drive including a chain 61 connecting sprockets fastened to the shaft 58 and to another shaft 62. Still another chain 63 connects sprockets on the shaft 62 and on the screw shaft 42. Thus, the shaft 42 and the screw 41 fastened thereto will be driven at one of two speeds, depending upon whether or not the electric clutch 59 is energized. The purpose of the foregoing arrangement will be described hereinafter.

The mechanism 13 for transferring the decals 18 from the web to the bottles 17 comprises a belt 71 which rotates in the counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 4, around four posts 72 through 75. The posts 72 through 75 are mounted on the frame 10 of the machine for rotation about vertical axes, and the posts are spaced to hold the belt 71 in a generally rectangular configuration. An adjustably mounted idler roller 76 bears against the belt 71 in order to tension the belt 71. The two posts 74 and have toothed outer surfaces indicated by the reference numeral 77 in FIG. 4 and a link chain 78 is trained around the two posts 74 and 75. The chain 78 consists of a plurality of vertically elongated links 79 which are connected together by clips. Both the belt 71 and the links 79 are vertically elongated and are approximately equal to the vertical height of the cylindrical portion of the bottles 17. The other two

posts

72 and 73 have, in the present instance, smooth exterior surfaces. In the present instance, the belt 71 is made ofa relatively thick compressible material preferably having an exterior coating of silicone rubber to withstand the temperature of the heated bottles 17.

Both the belt 71 and the chain 78 are rotatably driven from the main drive shaft 52. The gear box 28 includes a second power output shaft and a sprocket 81 which is connected by a chain 82 to another sprocket 83 (FIG. 3) connected to the lower end of the post 75. The chain 82 (FIG. 4) is also connected to drive a sprocket connected to the lower end of another post 84 to be described hereinafter, and the chain 82 is further looped around an idler roller 86 (FIG. 4) Further, still another chain is connected between sprockets fastened to the

posts

75 and 72 in order to drive the post 72 when the post 75 is turned. Thus, energization of the motor 46 and turning of the main drive shaft 52 causes turning movement of the chain 82 in the counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 4, and rotation of the

posts

75, 72 and 84.

The transferring mechanism 13 includes the post 84 and it further includes three additional posts 87 through 89, the four

posts

84, 87, 88 and 89 being located on the opposite side of the belt 23 from the posts 72 through 75. The two

posts

84 and 87 are toothed as shown in FIG. 4 and they drive a chain 91 having a construction the same as the chain 78. Two relatively narrow, vertically spaced belts 92 (FIGS. 2 and 4) are mounted around the

posts

84 and 87 to 89 and around the outside of the chain 91, the vertical spacing of the two belts 92 being slightly greater than the vertical height of the decals, so that the belts are maintained out of contact with the decals being transferred to the bottles.

While both of the

posts

84 and 75 are driven by the same chain 82, the tooth ratios of the respective sprockets are different so that the belt 71 moves at a slightly faster linear speed than the two belts 92. Further, the distance from the part of the belt 71 between the posts 74 and 75, to the adjacent parts of the belts 92 on the opposite side of the belt 23 is slightly less than the outer diameter of the bottles 17. Consequently, the bottles are squeezed slightly by the

belts

71 and 92 as the bottlesmove between the

belts

71 and 92. Since the belts 92 are moving slightly slower than the belt 71, the bottles roll or turn in the clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4, as they move from right to left. The amount of the turning movement of each bottle is of course determined by the difference in the speeds of the

belts

71 and 92, and in the present example, the speeds are adjusted to cause a bottle to turn on its vertical axis through an angle of approximately 270 as it passes between the

belts

71 and 92. Further, the linear speeds of the

belts

71 and 92 are substantially equal to the speed of the belt 23.

As previously mentioned, the web 15 is moved along a transport path by the web transport mechanism 14. With reference to FIG. 7, the web 15 comprises an elongated strip of a paper backing material which has decals 18 fastened to one side thereof at fixed intervals. On the reverse side of the web 15, in back of each decal 18 is a dark mark 100, the function of which will be described hereinafter. The web 15 is unreeled from a supply roll 102, mounted on a spindle 101 and threaded around an idler roller 103, past a photoelectric sensor 104, past another idler roller 106, across the belt 71 on the side facing the belts 92, around another idler roller 107, and to a takeup roll 108 mounted on another spindle 109. The spindle 109 is turned as by an air motor (not shown) which exerts an almost constant tension on the web 15. If desired, a friction brake may be connected to the supply reel 102 to prevent it from turning too fast and introducing slack in the web 15. A large disk 1 may be provided under each

roll

102 and 108 to support them.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 8, the photoelectric sensor 104 detects the presence of each of the dark marks 100 and generates a signal with the passage of each of the dark marks. In addition to the photocell sensor 104, a second photoelectric sensor 112 is provided adjacent the belt 23. The sensor 1 12 is located on one side of the belt 23 and a light source 113 is mounted on the opposite side of the belt. Bottles being moved by the belt 23 cut the light path between the source 113 and the sensor 112, and the leading edge of each bottle 17 being moved by the belt 23 causes a signal to be generated by the sensor 112.

With reference to FIG. 8, the two

photoelectric sensors

104 and 112 are connected through an off-delay logic module 114 to a relay 115, and the relay 115 in turn is connected to control energization of the electric clutch 59 previously described. As will be described later, operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 8 is such that if either one or both of the

sensors

104 and 112 sees light, the relay 115 is not operated. If both of the photocell sensors do not see light, they operate the relay 115 and deenergize the electric clutch 59. In the case of the sensor 104, the sensor sees light when a dark mark 100 is not present. A lamp (not shown) is mounted closely adjacent and on the same side of the web as the sensor 104. When the web 15 is adjacent the sensor 104, light from the lamp is reflected to the sensor 104 and the sensor sees light. When a dark mark 100 is adjacent the sensor 104, no light is reflected and the sensor sees dark. Since a dark mark 100 is associated with each decal 18, it can be said that the sensor 104 responds to the decal 18 even though it actually responds to the dark marks 100.

Considering the operation of the machine, bottles 17 are fed onto the entrance end of the belt 23, this being the end adjacent the roller 25 and the bottles 17 are moved by the belt 23 to the entrance of the screw 41. The electric motor 46 of course drives the screw 41, the belt 23 and the

belts

71 and 92, and the air motor connected to the spindle 109 pulls the web 15. The air motor serves mainly to wind the web on the spindle 109, and it is the frictional engagement of the web 15 with the belt 71, particularly when bottles 17 are moving between the

belts

71 and 92, which moves the web 15, and the web moves at essentially the speed of the belt 71. The bottles 17 on the belt 23 are advanced toward the indicia transferring mechanism 13 by the spacer 12 and the decals 18 on the web 50 are also moved into the space between the

belts

71 and 92. This space between the

belts

71 and 92 may be referred to as the indicia transferring portions of the bottle transport path 11 and the web transport path 14. As shown in FIG. 6, each bottle 17 is located on the belt 23 to enter the space between the

belts

71 and 92 just ahead of the entrance of a decal 18, and the spacing between adjacent bottles 17 should be approximately equal to the spacing between adjacent decals on the web 15. As shown in FIG. 6, one of the bottles, indicated by the numeral 17a, is rolling backwardly or clockwise onto the leading edge of an associated decal 18a, and as the bottle 17a advances through the indicia transferring portion of the path, the bottle 17a slowly rotates through an angle of approximately 270 about its vertical axis and it rolls rearwardly across the associated decal 18a, causing the decal 18a to adhere to its outer surface. By the time the bottle 17a has reached the outlet end of the transferring portion of the path, the decal 18a has been completely peeled off from the web 15 and transferred to the bottle 17a.

As previously mentioned, the bottle 17a should enter the transferring portion of the path just ahead of the leading edge of the decal 18a so that the bottle can roll over the leading edge of the decal, and this timed relation must be maintained for successful operation of the machine. The spacing between adjacent decals 18 is fixed for a given decal size, and the speeds of the web 15 and the belt 23 are, in the present example, also held at fixed speeds. To obtain the'proper timed relationship between the decals and the bottles, it is necessary in this example to adjust the spacing between the bottles, and this is accomplished by adjusting the rate of rotation of the screw 41. It should be understood that it would instead be possible to hold the bottle spacing constant and adjust the speed of the web 15, but the present arrangement is preferred.

The

sensors

104 and 112 are located such that a bottle 17 will cross the path of the sensor 112 and a dark mark will pass the sensor 104 at approximately the same time if the timed relation is proper. If the sensor 104 sees a dark mark 100 and, simulatenously the sensor 112 sees a bottle 17 instead of the light 113, the relay will be operated, the clutch 59 will be deenergized, the shaft 58 will be driven by the slow-speed sprocket 57, and the screw 41 will be driven at the slower of its two speeds. The spacing between the bottles 17 will then increase because of the decrease in the screw 41 speed while the belt 23 speed remains constant. After a few bottles 17 pass the sensor 112 at the end of the module 114 timing period, the increased spacing of the bottles results in the sensor 112 seeing the light 113 at the time the sensor 104 sees a dark mark 100, and consequently the relay 115 will not be operated, the clutch 59 will be energized, the screw 41 will be driven at the higher of its two speeds, and the spacing between the bottles will decrease. The screw 41 speed constantly hunts between its two speeds, but since the two speeds are very close together, the change is not a significant factor in the operation of the machine other than in maintaining proper registry as described. For example, in its fast rate of rotation, the scew 41 may rotate at a speed of 577.5 RPM, whereas in its slow speed, it may rotate at 573.9 RPM.

The angular position of the screw 41 must be related to the locations of the decals 18 on the web 15 at the start of operation so that the bottles and the decals will enter the mechanism 13 at the proper times. To attain the proper relation, the screw 41 may be disconnected from its drive to permit angular adjustment of it, or the position of the web may be adjusted. The construction of the screw 41 is governed by the size of the articles to be processed and by the spacing between decals on the web. The positions of the

rollers

84 and 87 to 89 should also be made adjustable relative to the belt 71 to accommodate different diameter articles. The use of a relatively thick, such as onefourth inch, material for the belt 71 makes the machine capable of accommodating minor variations in the diameters of the articles, but the belt material should be firm enough to apply sufficient pressure on the decals and the bottles to make them adhere.

The

sensors

104 and 112, the module 114 and the relay 115 are standard modular components which, in the present instance, are manufactured by the Honeywell Corporation. The off-delay logic module includes a built-in time delay which may be adjusted between approximately 2 and 10 seconds. This module also is manually switchable between a dark operate position and a light operate position. In the present instance, the dark operate position is used and the time delay is set at approximately two seconds. Consequently, if both

sensors

104 and 1 12 simultaneously see dark, the relay 115 is operated by the module 114 for the time delay period of two seconds. The module 114 and the relay 115 then do not respond to the output signals of the

sensors

104 and 112 until the end of the two second timing period. During the timing period a number of bottles pass the sensor 112 at the increased bottle spacing due to deenergization of the clutch. At the end of the timing period, if the two sensors still see dark simultaneously, a new timing period begins, but more than likely the increased bottle spacing results in the sensor 112 seeing light while the sensor 104 sees dark. In this case the relay 115 is not operated, the clutch 59 is energized, and the screw 41 is turned faster in order to decrease the bottle spacing.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a novel and useful machine for applying decals to cylindrical objects at a high rate of speed has been provided. The machine is advantageous in that it is capable of transferring the decals from a long web to the articles at high speed without stopping the articles in their movement. Further, the machine contains a novel and useful registration or timing mechanism for moving the bottles and the decals into the transferring portion of the machine and in the properly timed relationship.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for applying indicia to a succession of generally cylindrical articles while the articles are in movement, the indicia being removably attached to an elongated web and being sequentially spaced on said web at fixed intervals, comprising conveyor means for moving a series of articles sequentially along an article transport path, means for moving an indicia carrying web along a web transport path, a portion of said web transport path extending parallel to and adjacent said article transport path, means for turning articles while the articles are moving on said article transport path to cause said articles to roll along said web and against said indicia to peel said indicia from said web, means for spacing said articles on said article transport path,

and sensor means responsive to the relative positions of said indicia and said articles for automatically actuating said spacing means during operation of said apparatus to adjust the spacing of said articles while maintaining substantially constant the speed of movement of said web.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said conveyor means runs at a substantially constant speed, and said spacing means is operative to release articles at different time intervals for movement on said conveyor path.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein said spacing means comprises a timing screw and drive means for turning said screw at different speeds.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3, wherein said sensor means is connected to control said drive means in order to vary the speed of said timing screw.

5. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said article turning means comprises first belt means, second belt means spaced from said first belt means, said article transport path extending through said space between said first and second belt means, and said web transport path also extending through said space between said belt means and said web being in contact with said first belt means.

6. Apparatus as in claim 5, wherein one of said first and second belt means moves at a different speed than the other of said belt means, thereby causing said articles to turn.

7. Apparatus as in claim 5, wherein said second belt means comprises two spaced apart belts.

8. A machine comprising an indicia transferring mechanism, means for moving a web through the mechanism, the web having indicia thereon at fixed intervals, means for moving cylindrical articles through said mechanism at spaced intervals, said mechanism including means for rolling each article along said web and across an indicium to peel an indicium from said web and thereby attach the indicia to the articles, and automatic means for adjusting the spacing between adjacent articles during operation of said machine and while maintaining substantially constant the speed of movement of said web in order to properly time the entrance of said articles and said indicia into said mechanism.

9. A machine as in claim 8, wherein said spacing adjusting means is operable to adjust said spacing to either a relatively long distance or a relatively short distance.

10. A machine as in claim 8, wherein said spacing adjusting means comprises a first sensor for sensing each article moving to said mechanism, and a second sensor for sensing each indicium moving to said mechanism.

11. Apparatus for applying indicia to a succession of articles while the articles are in movement, the indicia being removably attached to an elongated web and being sequentially spaced on said web at fixed intervals, comprising conveyor means for moving a series of arti cles sequentially along an article transport path, means for moving an indicia carrying web along a web transport path, an indicia transferring mechanism including means for turning articles to cause said articles to roll along said web and against indicia to peel said indicia from said web, said article transport path and said web transport path extending through said mechanism, spacing means adjacent said article transport path at a location which is upstream from said mechanism for spacing articles on said path, first sensor means on said article transport path between said mechanism and said spacing means, second sensor means on said web transport path and responsive to the entrance of indicia to said mechanism, and automatic control means conrespond to said first and second seconsors, said time delay means being actuated into a timing interval when said first and second sensors simultaneously respond to an article and to an indicium, said time delay means actuating said drive to one of its two speeds during said timing interval and at other times actuating said drive to the other of said two speeds 14. Apparatus as in claim 12, wherein said one speed is slower than said other speed.

Claims

1. APPARATUS FOR APPLYING INDICIA TO A SUCCESSION OF GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES WHILE THE ARTICLES ARE IN MOVEMENT, THE INDICIA BEING REMOVABLY ATTACHED TO AN ELONGATED WEB AND BEING SEQUENTIALLY SPACED ON SAID WEB AT FIXED INTERVALS, COMPRISING CONVEYOR MEANS FOR MOVING A SERIES OF ARTICLES SEQUENTIALLY ALONG AN ARTICLE TRANSPORT PATH, MEANS FOR MOVING AN INDICIA CARRYING WEB ALONG TRANSPORT PATH, A PORTION OF SAID WEB TRANSPORT PATH EXTENDING PARALLEL TO AND ADJACENT SAID ARTICLE TRANSPORT PATH, MEANS FOR TURNING ARTICLES WHILE THE ARTICLES ARE MOVING ON SAID ARTICLES TRANSPORT PATH TO CAUSE SAID ARTICLES TO ROLL ALONG SAID WEB AND AGAINST SAID INDICIA TO PEEL SAID INDICIA FRON SAID WEB, MEANS FOR SPACING SAID ARTICLES ON SAID ARTICLE TRANSPORT PATH, AND SENSOR MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF SAID INDICIA AND SAID ARTICLES FOR AUTOMATICALLY ACTUATING SAID SPACING MEANS DURING OPERATION OF SAID APPARATUS TO ADJUST THE SPACING OF SAID ARTICLES WHILE MAINTAINING SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT THE SPEED OF MOVEMENT OF SAID WEB.

8. A MACHINE COMPRISING AN INDICIA TRANSFERRING MECHANISM, MEANS FOR MOVING A WEB THROUGH THE MECHANISM THE WEB HAVING INDICIA THEREON AT FIXED INTERVALS, MEANS FOR MOVING CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES THROUGH SAID MECHANISM AT SPACED INTERVALS, SAID MECHANISM INCLUDING MEANS FOR ROLLING EACH ARTICLE ALONG SAID WEB AND ACROSS AN INDICIUM TO PEEL AN INDICIUM FROM SAID WEB AND THEREBY ATTACH THE INDICIA TO THE ARTICLES, AND AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE SPACING BETWEEN ADJACENT ARTICLES DURING OPERATION OF SAID MACHINE AND WHILE MAINTAINING SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT THE SPEED OF MOVEMENT OF SAID WEB IN ORDER TO PROPERLY TIME THE ENTRANCE OF SAID ARTICLES AND SAID INDICIA INTO SAID MECHANISM.

11. Apparatus for applying indicia to a succession of articles while the articles are in movement, the indicia being removably attached to an elongated web and being sequentially spaced on said web at fixed intervals, comprising conveyor means for moving a series of articles sequentially along an article transport path, means for moving an indicia carrying web along a web transport path, an indicia transferring mechanism including means for turning articles to cause said articles to roll along said web and against indicia to peel said indicia from said web, said article transport path and said web transport path extending through said mechanism, spacing means adjacent said article transport path at a location which is upstream from said mechanism for spacing articles on said path, first sensor means on said article transport path between said mechanism and said spacing means, second sensor means on said web transport path and responsive to the entrance of indicia to said mechanism, and automatic control means connecting said first and second sensors with said spacing means for controlling the spacing of the articles entering said mechanism during operation of said apparatus and while maintaining substantially constant the speed of movement of said web.

12. Apparatus as in claim 11, wherein said spacing means comprises a rotatable timing screw and a two-speed drive for said screw.

13. Apparatus as in claim 12, wherein said control means comprises a time delay means connected to respond to said first and second seconsors, said time delay means being actuated into a timing interval when said first and second sensors simultaneously respond to an article and to an indicium, said time delay means actuating said drive to one of its two speeds during said timing interval and at other times actuating said drive to the other of said two speeds.

14. Apparatus as in claim 12, wherein said one speed is slower than said other speed.