CA1073490A - Apparatus for feeding tags - Google Patents

Abstract

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING TAGS

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A method and apparatus adapted for processing tags, cards, or the like are disclosed herein. The apparatus prefera-bly comprises a magazine for storing a predetermined quantity of tags and an associated slotted gate, feed dispensing system for automatically moving tags out of the magazine. In one form of the invention a swinging arm for moving tags outputted from the feed gate to a desired external station is provided. The feed gate preferably comprises a slidable push plate which recipro-cally, slidably moves within an elongated channel provided adja-cent the magazine. Each time the push plate goes through a cycle a single tag (or group or tags) is outputted from the mag-azine through the feed gate dispensing apparatus to a position external of the tag feeder. In one form of the invention a printing device is associated with the feed gate for printing information on tags before delivery to the desired external sta-tion.

Description

~oq3~t~0 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING TAGS

BACKGROUND OF T~E INV$NTION
This invention relates generally to tag handling appa-ratus. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus for deliver~h~g tags, labels or the like to a remote or external bag processing operation.
Grains, seeds, foodstuffs, feeds and other granular materials are commonly packaged in bags which are processed through automated filling and packaging apparatus. The last stage of the filling process involves the sewing shut of the bag, and usually a label indicating the contents of the bag is fas-tened to the bag during the sewing operation. Appropriate labels or-tags may be supplied to the sewing apparatus manually, or a variety of prior art tag handling apparatus may be employed.
Of course, each tag should bear the appropriate indicating indi-cia so that each bag is properly and accurately labeled. Because of the wide variety of products packaged by grain or feed compan-ies, for example, a large quantity of different labels must nor-mally be maintained. The latter problem is further amplified by ~èc~useat products are of course~sold in a wide variety. of con-tainer sizes.
Prior art devices for delivering tags to a sewing sta-tion are illustrated in United States Patents 3,805,716, issued to Cerioni, on April 23, 1974; 3,338,192, issued to M. D. King on August 29, 1967; 2,850,993, issued to G. A. Palm on September 9, 1958; and 2,274,051j issued to H. C. Feltman, on February 24, 1942. The latter devices typically employ a movable mechanism --employed with one or more suction cups to contact and move tags out of the feed magazine. This approach is employed by King and Cerioni. ~he Feltman Tag Dispenser stores cards in a magazine which is provided with a ~anually actuable plunger for selective-ly outputting individual cards.

-1- ,~k '`" ' ' , , , !`,: . .. .
- ~, '` ': - ` `-- , ' ` ` . :

'` 10~3490 As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, the environment in which feed or grain handling apparatus is operated is often quite dirty. As dust and other airborne particles accumulate on critical moving parts, the reliability of such apparatus will be decreased. This is particularly true where pneumatically actuated suction cups are employed for re- -moving cards from the various types of feed magazines. Although -reliability is somewhat enhanced when a manually actuable card discharge magazine is employed, the labor-costs associated with such a system can be prohibitive. ', SUMMARY aF ~E INVENTION -i - ~
:
The present invention comprises tag discharge appara-tus which is adapted for use in'conjunction with bag filling machinery,or the like.
The apparatus preferably comprises a magazine for storing a predeterminëd quantity-of cards, and an associated feed gate dispensing means for automatically and periodically moving a single card (or predetermined number of cards) out of the magazine means to a,position outside of the apparatus. In one form of the invention swinging arm means are provided,for ,'' moving cards to a desired remote location. The feed gate dis-pensing apparatus preferably comprises a reciprocally movable, --' slidable push plate which engages a predetermined number of tags ~ - -and'slidably feeds them out through the~feed gate. The movable '~
push plate is slidably suspended within an elongated channel ~, defined between tag confining planar plates which adjoin the magazine means. In the preferred embodiment the~reciprocal push plate and the swinging arm card moving means are both powered by ca~v,entional pneumatic cylinders. Sensing means are provided for actuating the pneumatic cylinders in response to movement of a bag to be sewed along a predetermined conveyor route.
In the preferred embodiment the feed gate dispensing .:
.
- , ,. ~ ...

lOq3490 apparatus includes an elongated tag retaining gate operatively mounted at the tag discharge side of the tag confining planar plates. A plurality of tag discharge slots, defined between the plate and the feed gate, provide a pathway through which the - -tags must travel in response to lateral movement of the push plate. Although a central discharge slot is substantially equal in width to the thickness of the predetermined number of tags passing therethrough, the width of upper and lower slots is sub-stantially greater than the thickness of the central slot so that jamming of the apparatus when cards are bent or somewhat mutilated is prevented. The tag gate is provided with adjust-able mounting means whereby the effective slot widths can be selectively varied to accommodate differing tag thicknesses (or numbers).
In one form of this invention printing apparatus is included for individually printing cards before delivery to the sewing station (or other external position). The printing appa-ratus comprises a conventional printing block and a backing plate normally associated with the tag dispensing apparatus. As cards (or predetermined bunches of cards)-are individually dis-charged from the magazine relevant product information will be~
continuously printed on the cards before they are forwarded elsewhere. In this manner fewer cards need to be inventoried by the packer, who merely needs to reset the print type to indi-cate the appropriate identification data such as bag size, quality or type of contents, etc., relevant to the contents of the bag being filled.
A method provided herein for handling tags or labels comprises the steps of storing tags in a magazine, slidably dis-charging the tags from the magazine with a reciprocally operablepush plate printing ~nformation on the tags, and delivering printed tags to a remote tag receptive operation. In one form of the invention a control method for initiating and synchroni-,. :. : , ~07 ~ 9~D

zing the above mentioned steps is provided.
Thus an object of this invention is to provide a tag dispensing apparatus whiah will function automatically with a high degree of reliability.
Moreover, it is an important object of this invention to provide dispensing apparatus of the character described which will function adequàtely within a hostile environment. It is an important feature of this invention that the tag discharge appa-ratus characterized by a slidable push plate for engaging tags is unlikely to jam or be affected by dust or other airborne de-bris. ~ -Another object of this invention is to-provide a -method and apparatus of-the character described for automati-cally and periodically conveying a-predetermined number of tags to-a predetermined external position.
Yet another object of this invention~is to provide a tag dispenser of the character descr-ibed which will not jam or ~ !
become blocked when cards are bent or are otherwise mutilated.
An important;feature of this invention is a tag retaining gate which-is-operatively mounted on the feed dispensing means, and which defines~a plurality of tag passage slates along its length. Since~the width of the upper and lower tag passage slàtes is substantially greater than the thickness of the card to be discharged, bends or folds within the card will not jam the~apparatus.
A further object of this invention is to provide appa- ;
ratus of the character described which is readily adaptable for use with existing bag sewing machines of the type often employed in feed or grain packaging businesses.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a tag feeding and dispensing machine of the character described which does not require manual manipulation by the operator.
Another important object of this invention is to pro-1073~90 vide a tag dispensing machine of the charaater described which will function whether oriented horizontally or vertically.
Yet another object of this invention is to reduce the ~uantity of tags or cards which must normally be inventoried by the operator, and to simplify the processing and labeling of the various products handled. An important feature of this inven-tion is that printing means are provided for appropriately mark-ing tags with suitable product identification indicia during the tag feeding operation.
A still~further important object of this invention is to provide tag handling apparatus which will function with a high degree of safety in dus-ty environments. A feature of this invention is that no electrical or other potential spark-genera-ting apparatus is included. Instead pneumatic apparatus is pre-ferably employed to actuate the various moving parts.
These and other objects of-this invention, along with features or novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear or become apparent in the course of the following description.

BRIE~ DESCRIP-TION O-F THE ~RAWINGS
In the following drawings which form a part of the specification and are to be construed in conjunction therewith, and in which like reference numerals have been employed to indi-cate like parts in the various views: -Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic tag feed-er constructed in accordance with the teachings of this inven-tion;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged, front elevational view of the apparatus of-Fig. 1, showing the swing arm apparatus in the re-tracted position;
Fig. 3 is a top plan view taken generally along line 3-3 of Fig. 2, with parts thereof broken away or omitted for clarity;

: .: , .:
-. - .

~0~3~90 Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the apparatus taken generally along line 4-4 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 i~ an enlarged, sectional view of the push plate showing the offset knife and taken generally along line 5-5 of Fig. 4, with parts thereof broken away or shown in sec-tion for clarity;
Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the feed gate taken generally along line 6-6 of Fig. 3, with parts thereof brokèn-away, omitted, or shown in section for clarity;
Fig. 7 is an exploded, enlarged perspective view show-ing the'slide plate guide bar construction;
Fig. 8 is an enlarged, perspective view showing the tag discharge slot adjustment-apparatus;
Fig. 9 is an enlarged, perspective view of the tag ~ -printèr apparatus; ~ ~ ' Fig. 10 is a sectional view of a portion of the-prin-ter assembly taken along I0-10 of~Fig. 9: and Fig. 11 schematically-depicts the pneumatic actuation apparatus preferably employed'with the--instant invention. -- ~' DETAI~E~ DESGRIPTION OF THE D~A~INGS ~ -~ Referring initialIy to Fig. l, the apparatus 10 there-shown~is~adapted to repeatedly feed a predetermined number of ~ 'tags, cards, or the like-to an external operation station. For ` ' example, machine 10 is ideally suited to deliver paper tag labels to a bag sewing operation during the processing of feeds, grains, seeds'or the like. One bag sewing machine with which the invention may be advantageously employed is the Fischbein Model MTC7 bag closer.
A plurality of stacked cards or tags 12 are stored within a magazine~means 14 and aré delivered externally of appa-ratus 10 by a swing arm assembly 16. Each of the cards or tags is first outputted through a feed'gate dispensing means 18 via a 10~3~190 slidable push plate 20 best seen in Figs. 2 and 4. When cards (or groups of cards) are outputted through the discharge appa-ratus 18 printed information may be provided thereon by print-ing apparatus 22. A pneumatic cylinder 24 is preferably provid-ed for actuation of swing arm apparatus 16 (Figs. 2 and 3).
Likewise a preferably pneumatic cylinder 25 mounted on swing arm means 16 actuates tag gripping apparatus 28. Pneumatic cylind-ers 30 and 31 are preferably provided to operate push plate 20 and printer 22 respectively. Each of the pneumatic cylinders is actuated by apparatus preferably housed within a control box 32, mounted on stanchions 34 and 35 (Fig. 1), which extend verti-cally upwardly from the lower elongated frame member 36. While operation of the pneumatic apparatus will be described in more detail later, passage of an item to be labeled by a tag triggers the apparatus by deflecting remotely located finger 37.
Magazine means 14 preferably includes a vertically oriented (as viewed in Fig. 2) rectangular-side plate 38 which forms a card retaining surface. A preferably rectangular side plate 40 extends rightwardly from plate 38 (as viewed in Fig. 2) -20 and is attached thereto via bolts 41. The opposite side of the magazine is formed by angle brackets 42 and 43, and the magazine bottom is formed by a lower angle bracket 44. Plate 40 and brackets 42-44 thus-define a generally rectangular, card recep-tive volume.~ A rigid, generally rectangular pressure plate 46 is movably mounted generally perpendicular to brackets 42-44 for biasing cards or tags 12 leftwardly (as viewed in Fig. 2).
Plate 46 will thus maintain the cards or tags in abutment with upper and lower transverse, stationary frame plates 48 and 50 in proper operative relationship with the slide plate 20, which is responsible for sliding tags or cards out of the magazine.
A weight 52, which may be varied in mass as desired by the operator, is linked to plate 46 via a right angled linkage 53 and a cooperating, pivotally attached linkage 54 to urge .. . . .

:. ... :: : :: . . :

plate 46 (and thus cards 12) leftwardly (as viewed in Fig. 2).
Linkage 54 is attached to plate 46 via a pivot pin 55, and linkage 53 is pivotally mounted with respect to guide bar 40 through a pivot 56. As noted in Figs. 1 and 2 a plurality of orifices 57 are provided in guide bar 40 for variable placement of pivot 56, to thereby provide adjustable bias of plate 46.
As will be recognized by those skilled in the art plate 46 may alternatively be biased by springs, or hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, or other conventional apparatus.
Lower magazine ~uide bar 44 is slidably, frictionally contacted by back plate 46 and the cards or tags 12. As best seen in Fig. 4, the vertical position of guide bar 44 may be varied to accommodate tags of different sizes or lengths. For example, guide bracket 44 is rigidly attached to a vertically oriented angle bracket 60 (Fig. 4) which is adjustably mounted to lower frame plate 50 by a bolt 61. Slotted aperture 62 pro-vided in bracket 60 enables repositioning of bracket 44 by ver-tical movement of bracket 60 with respect to pla*e 50. Simi-larly, magazine side support bars 42 and 43 are adjustably ~-mounted via horizontally positionable brackets 42a and 43a res-pectively (Fig.- 4).
The reciprocally slidably movable push plate 20 (Figs.

2, 4, 7) is adapted to selectively output single cards or tags (or a given number of cards or tags) from the feed gate dispen-sing means 18. Pressure plate 46 will bias the stack of cards 12 toward abutting engagement with the front surface 28 (Fig. 4) of slide plate 20 and face surfaces 48a and 50a of plates 48 and 50 respectively. Slide plate 20 is preferably positioned within an elongated channel 51 defined between the vertically spaced apart plates 48 and 50, An offset knife 64 (Figs. 3-5) is fas-tened within a slotted portion 66 provided in plate 20 by a pair of screws 67. As best seen in Fig. 5 a set screw 68 is provided at an opposite face of plate 20 to variably offset knife 64 :- ;:

07349~
whereby the oblique leading edge thereof 69 will engage single or multiple cards. Thus, for example, screw 68 should normally be set such that leading edge 69 is offset from plate surface 28 a distance corresponding to the thickness of a card (or group of cards or tags) to be displaced thereby.
Plate 20 is preferably slidably suspended within channel 51 by the apparatus most clearly shown in Fig. 7. Plate 20 is provided with a pair of generally C shaped, apertured, spaced apart bearing brackets 72 and 73 which are flushly mounted on surface 20b thereof by screws 74 and 75 respectively.
Aligned bearing apertures 78a and 78b located generally at the top of brackets 72 and 73 respectively slidably receive an upper guide rod 80 which extends generally longitudinally pæallel in offset spaced apart reLationship with plate 20. A similarly con-structed lower guide bar 82 extends through bottom bearing aper- -;
tures 78c and 78d-. The forward ends (as viewed in Fig.-7) of the guide-rods 80 and 82 are anchored within a generally rec- ;~ ~
; tangular, vertically oriented, slide rod support bracket 84. ~ -Bracket 84 is mounted to a pair of parallel, spaced apart, gen- -erally rectangular-frame bars 86 and 88 via nuts 90 and 91 res-pectively. The rearwardly extending frame bars 86 and 88 are mounted to an upright vertically~oriented frame stanchion member 94, which provides rigid support for a somewhat læ ger pair of upper and lower transverse frame bars 96 and 98. Bars 96 and 98 are of generally rectangular cross section, and are fastened to stanchion 94 via a pair of mounting bolts 100 and 101 respec-tively. Upper frame b æ 96 is rigidly fastened to upper frame plate 48 (Fig. 6) by a pair of mounting bolts 103 and 104 which æe located at opposite ends thereof, and lower frame bar 98 is similarly fastened to lower frame plate 50 by a pair of mounting bolts 105 and 106. The rearward ends (Fig. 4) of upper and lower frame b æs 86 and 88 receive a rear slide rod support bracket 107, which is identical to bracket 84 and which rear-_g_ 10'73~90 wardly anchors slide rods 80 and 82. Bracket 107 i8 fastened to frame bars 86 and 88 by bolts 108 and 109 respectively, and it is rigidly fastened to frame member 36.
In this manner the generally rectangular slide plate 20 is confined for movement within elongated channel 51 defined between the spaced apart frame plates 48 and 50. When plate 20 is moved forwardly (as viewed in Fig. 6) the front surface 20c thereof will be generally flush with the forward surface 84a of bracket 84. As will be discussed in more detail later, frame -stanchion 94 includes a plurality of vertically spaced apart holes 110 for mounting of the swing arm apparatus 16. Elongated, generally-rectangular, rearwardly ex~tending frame member 36 is~
also fastened to stanchion 94 by a pair of mounting bolts 112 and 113. ~ -Actuation means 30, preferably comprising a convention-al pneumatic cylinder, is mounted at the rearward end of frame portion 36 (Fig. 4) and is mechanically linked to plate 20 via a - piston rod 116 which is attached to a clevis 118 via a bolt 120. -Clevis 118 is pivotally~attached to plate 20 via pivot 122. In ~20 response to pneumatic pressure rod 116 will be displàced left- -wardly (as viewed in Fig.-4) thereby slidably moving plate 20 so that knife 64 thereof will engage a tag or card (or alternative-ly a predetermined number of tags or cards) -and move them out of the dispensing apparatus, into a position to be picked up by swing arm assembly 16.
Referring again to Fig. 6, cards are discharged from the feed gate dispensing means 18 through an elongated tag passage slot 124 defined between plates 20, 48, 50 and a gener-ally rectangular gate 126. In the preferred embodiment tag passage 124-actually comprises a plurality of tag passage slots - 128 through 130.- Gate 126 is provided with offset portions 132a through 132b which maintain gate 126 in generally parallel, spaced apart relationship with respect to plate 48 and 50. The .~

- . : ;.: -- , - ~ . ~

1073'~90 upper and lower vertical boundaries of slot 128 are formed by portions 132a and 132b. Similarly, the upper and lower vertical dimensions of passage slot 130 are defined between offset por-tions 132c and 132d. It will be appreciated that the width of tag passage slots 128 and 130 is appreciably greater than the width of tag passage slot portion 129, which is immediately opposite the face 20a of card push plate 20. This construction enables plate 20 (via knife 64) to push a single card (or prede-termined number of cards) through the tag passage slot 124, the narrow width of tag passage slot portion 129 facilitating this.
However, the wider width of upper and lower tag passage slot portions 128 and 130 enables cards which have been somewhat bent or mutilated to be transmitted through the apparatus without jamming or blocking. Where cards of different widths are to be accommodated, or where it is desired to output two or more cards at a given time, the spacing of gate 126 with respect to plate 48 and 50 must be varied. Of course, as described earlier in conjunction with Fig. 5, the knife 64 must be correspondingly readjusted via screw 68.
Gate 126 is selectively positioned in offset relation-ship with plates 48 and 50 with apparatus shown in Figs. 2 and ~-8. Plate 48 is maintained in rigid, perpendicular spaced apart relationship with respect to plate 38 via a generally L-shaped mounting bracket 134 which is attached thereto via conventional ~olts 136. Bolts 138 and 139 similarly fasten bracket 134 to plate 38. An L-shaped bracket 135 similarly fastens plate 50 to the bottom of plate 38 (Fig. 2). A generally C-shaped mounting clamp 142 of somewhat smaller cross sectional area is rigidly attached to plate 48 via a screw 144, and an identical clamp 143 is similarly attached to plate 50. An opposite end 142a of clamp 142 overlies the upper end surface 38a of plate 38 and is spaced apart from lower bracket 134. The upper end of gate 126, and more particularly region 132a thereof is interiorly disposed -1073~90 between clamp portion 142a and plate 48, being maintained in correct positional alignment via a set screw 146. When it is desired to accommodate cards of differing widths, or different numbers or quantities of cards or tags, screw 146, for example, should be adjusted in cooperation with similar adjustment of lower clamp 143 and screw 147 to offset gate 126 the appropriate - :
distance from`plate 48. Of course knife 64 must similarly be adjusted as previously described.
The swing arm assembly 16 is operable to grab a card -~
or tag outputted through tag passage slot 124, and to move the tag or card to an external position. Assembly.16 preferably comprises a stationary, rigid transom 150 which consists of a pair of parallel, vertically spaced apart elongated arms 152 and . 153, of generally flat, rectangular cross section (Figs. 2 and - ~.
: 3). As best.seen.in Fig. 1 the inner ends of arms 152 and 153~ :
are integral:with a mounting plate web 155 which is.rigidly secured to stanchion 94 by a pair of bolts 156. The outer ends of arms 152.and 153`terminate in bearing aperture structures 158 and~-159 respectively, betwèen which an axially aligned, rotata~
2.0 : ble sleeve member 160 is sandwiched. An axle assembly 162 pene-trates:members 158, 159 and 160 to facilitate revolvable mount~
ing:of sleeve 160. Axle assembly 162 preferably comprises.an elongated bolt 163 and a lower.nut 164. A generally L-shaped,. -rigid~swing arm 166 is rigidly fastèned to sleeve 160 by a bolt 168 which extends through:the lower foot portion 169 in arm 166 into threaded engagement-with a rigid plate 170 which is prefer- -ably welded to sleeve 160.
The movable swing arm 166 is pivotally deflected by a preferably pneumatic cylinder 24, the piston rod 172 thereof positioned between upper and lower arms 152 and 153 and being pivotally attached to swing arm 166 intermediate the ends there-of by a clevis 174 and pin 175. As best seen in Figs. 2 and 3, *
the pneumatic cylinder 24 is pivotally mounted to a rearwardly - , ,: . : .. .

~073~90 extending mounting bar 176 by a pin 177 which extends downward-ly from piston cylinder frame member 178 through an appropriate bearing aperture provided at the rear of member 176. Mounting member 176 is preferably rigidly attached to transit arm 153 through welding or the like (Fig. 3).
Tag gripping apparatus 28 is provided in association with swing arm 162 to grasp tags or cards (or bunches of tags or cards) outputted through the feed gate dispensing apparatus, already described. The swing arm tag gripping end 166a is pro-vided with a gripping arm hèad 180, and a cooperating gripping clamp 182, which is preferably actuated by a pneumatic cylinder 25. As best seen in Fig. 2, gripping head 180 is of generally L-shaped construction and is fastened rigidly to swing arm 166 by a pair of bolts 183. Gripping-clamp 182 is operatively asso-ciated with cylinder 25 via piston rod 184 which extends there-between. As cards or tags are outputted through the tag passage slot 124 they wi-ll be positioned immediately between tag grip-ping clamp 182 and the lower`portion of arm head 180, so that they will be compressively sandwiched between members 180 and 20- 182 when cylinder 25 is actuated. Before actuation of cylinder 25, however, cards outputted from the feed dispensing means will be prevented from dropping by a curved spring member 186 (Figs.
2 and 3) which yieldably biases outputted tags or cards against a printing backplate 188 to be later described. Spring 186 is preferably securely mounted by a bolt 90 discussed earlier in conjunction with Fig. 7. After a tag 12b (Fig. 3) has been securely grasped by the apparatus 28, it will be moved to an ex-ternal position, such as the deflected position illustrated gen-erally in dotted lines in Fig. 3.
Before cards are conveyed to the appropriate external station they may be printed if desired by actuation of apparatus 22. Referring now to Figs. 2, 9 and 10, the printing apparatus preferably comprises a conventional pneumatic cylinder 31, and a ; ~ ~~ --; -13-: . . ..

1073~0 permanently inked printing block 190 having conventional print-ing indicia or characters 191 rising from the card engaging side thereof. Cylinder 31 is preferably rigidly coupled to a stationary mounting bracket 193 which is rigidly attached to an adjustable positioning bracket 195 via an L-bracket 196 and a mounting bolt 197. Piston rod 200 extends through bracket 193 and is threadably received within a push plate 202, being anchored thereto by a b~lt 203. An upper slide rod 204 extends throùgh an aperture in mounting bracket 193 and is similarly threadably received within push plate 202 and anchored thereto -~
by a bolt 205. As best illustrated in Fig. 2, mounting bracket 193, and thus cylinder 31, can be varied in positioni-by adjust-ment of nuts 207 and 208 which determine the position of a mounting bracket 210 relative to plate 195. Bolt 208 extends through a tab portion of a rearwardly extending rod 212 and is received within a similar-tab portion in rod 214 which is jour- -naled within an''orifice provided in offset positioning bracket -195.
The printing block 190 (Fig. 9 and 10) is preferably remo~ably attached to push plate 202 by a pair of side mounting -br~ckets''216 and 217 and an upper bracket 218 which engages the top of push plate 202 to prevent printing block 190 from drop-ping. A plurality of adjustable screws 220a through 220d are provided to prevent printing indicia 191 from being squashed when contacting the tag or'-card to be printed. An internal key 201 received within~slot 201a in plate 202 aligns plate 190 with respect to plate 202. Screws 220a-through 220b are threadably received through plate 190 and secured in position by a plura-lity of corresponding bolts 221a through 221d. Thus the shank tip portion of each of the screws 220a through 220b will contact the card to prevent smudging or smearing of the printing indicia 191 from over-compression thereof against the card. As best il-~' lustrated in Fig. 2, during the printing operation cards or tags ,:

- ,, -~ , - -: .. - ;.
: . . . . : :
, : -.
,. , iO73't90 to be printed will be sandwiched between the deflected printing plate 190 and the stationary printing back plate 188, which will prevent rearward movement of the cards during the printing oper-ation. Plate 188 is secured to plate 38 via a pair of angle brackets 189 and 189a.
The pneumatic apparatus 224 (Fig. 11) provides coor-dinated actuation of each of the pneumatic cylinders discussed previously. As mentioned earlier, apparatus 224 is preferably housed within enclosure 32 at the rear of the apparatus 10. - -While a pneumatic system is disclosed it will be understood by those skilled in the art that alternative systems employing electromechanical transducers or hydraulic apparatus, fo~ exam-ple, would be of equal utility. -The apparatus 224 i9- adapted to be connected to a con-ventional pneumatic pressure source on an input hose 225, which leads to a conventional filter 226 and through a conventional pressure regulator 227 to a T-manifold 228 via hose 229. An in-put line 230 connects to each of the plurality of conventional relay valves 232 through 234. The relay valves 232 through 234 share common air exhaust vents 236 and 237. A second output from T manifold 228 is delivered to a conventional four-way -limit valve 238 via a line 239. Valve 238, f~r example, is available from Numatics-Inc., Highland, Michigan, Model LR3-0201. Valves 232 through 234 are preferably Numatics type PA7, Model llDPA 4110.
Mechanical operation of the apparatus 10 is i~h-~-ated~d when a bar or other item to be labeled with the tags 12 passes by on a conveyor route and actuates a mechanical finger 37 to initiate actuation of apparatus 10 by triggering limit valve 238. Valve 238 and finger 37 are adapted to be remotely located in a desired trigger position. Valve 238 outputs a pressure pulse on a line 242 thereby actuating relay valve 232 on an in-put terminal 244 thereof. When relay valve 232 is thus actuated, - .

: ~ , , : , , -~073~0 a pneumatic output therefrom appearing on a line 246 i8 deliv-ered to slide cylindar 30 for actuation of the card ejecting push plate 20. Another output line 248 extending between relay valve 232 and slide cylinder 30 normally maintains cylinder 30 in the retracted or inoperative position. When slide cylinder 30 reaches maximum displacement thereby outputting a card or tag from the discharge apparatus, a return pressure pulse derived from a stroke signal valve 249 provides a pulse on a line 250 which resets relay valve 232 on a line 252 and triggers relay 10valve 233 via a line 253 connected to relay input 254. Cylinder 30 (including the associated stroke signal valve) is available from ~bsi~rs$~du$t~e ~iLaç-.~n~rookville, Ohio, denominated Model ETF.
Relay valve 233 normally maintains the printer cylin- -der 31 in a retracted position via a line 256 which is connected to the forward end of the cylinder 31 in the conventional manner.
When a pulse appears on line 253, however, an output from relay valve 233 appearing on output line 258 actuates the printer cylinder to initiate the previously discussed printing function.
When the printing function is completed, a trigger pulse out-putted by a stroke signal valve 260 appears on a line 261, - - -thereby resetting relay valve 233 via a vent valve 262 and a reset line 263 connected to a reset input of relay valve 233.
The pulse outputted from stroke signal valve 260 also triggers relay valve 234 on line 264 which is fastened to an input 265.
When the printing operation is not desired, valve 233 and cylin-der 31 can of course be omitted. Cylidner 231 is preferably a Mosier Model ETFR.
Output pressure from relay valve 234 on line 267 main-tains the tag clamping cylinder 25 and the swing arm cylinder 24in a normally retracted position. Cylinders 24 and 25 are also available from Mosier, designated Model ETF. Pressure on line 267 reaches the forward end of swing arm cylinder 24 through a i0~3~90 line 268 and a needle valve 270, which may be adjusted to con-trol the speed of the spring arm rate. A line 272 delivers a pneumatic pulse output from relay valve 234 to the tag clamp cylinder 25 so that the tag gripping apparatus 28 will be actuated, and simultaneously the swing arm cylinder 24 will be actuated via a line 274 to convey tags or groups of cards grasped by apparatus 28 to a predetermined external position by de1ecting swing arm apparatus 16. When piston 172 is fully deflected from the swing arm cylinder 24, a reset signal derived 10 from stroke signal valve 275 will be transmitted on a return -line 276 to thereby reset relay valve 234. When another bag or package to be labeled by tags 12 passes by a conveyor route and again actuates finger sensor 37 (on limit valve 238) the process will be repeated in the manner previously described, and the cycle may repeat indefinitely.
OPERATION
The apparatus 10 is thus adapted to be employed in conjunction with an automated bag or package conveyor system where the bags or packages are to be labeled or provided with the cards or tags 12. ~Actuation finger 37 must first be posi- -tioned so that it will contact items being conveyed to actuate -apparatus l0. Of course pneumatic hose 225 must be connected to ~n appropriate conventional air source as previously mentioned.
The cards or tags (or groups of tags or cards) to be fastened (by external apparatus, not shown) to the items to be labeled are first placed within the magazine 14 by retracting pressure plate 46 and manually inserting the cards within the card receptive space provided. Of course, as mentioned earlier, the card engaging knife 64 on pusher plate 20 must be adjusted to engage the desired quantity or number of cards to be outputted each cycle, and the spacing of tag discharge gate 126 must be set up as mentioned in conjunction with the discussion of Fig. 8.
- Additionally, where it is desired to print information on the , . ~ . - . .. . ... . .

loq3ltgo cards or tags before being attached to the product, the printer block 190 can be set up as desired by selection of the printing indicia 191. Usually only one card or tag at a time will be outputted from tag discharge apparatus 12.
Cards or tags will be slidably outputted by pusher plate 20 and will be retained by spring clamp 186 at the mouth of ~he feed gauge dispensing means 18 until they may be printed - r as desired. Immediately afterwards the tag gripper jaws on swing arm 166 will grasp the card or tag (or groups of tags or cards), and arm 166 will be conveyed outwardly (as shown in Fig.

3) by cylinder 24. While it is contemplated that the cards or tags will be delivered to an external bag sewing station for ~ --attachment to bags of seeds or grain,- the apparatus 10 is of course ideally adapted for use in a variety of other product labeling or conveying systems. As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, where the mouth of feed gate dispensing ;~
means 18 can be positioned immediately adjacent a card input end of another-machine or apparatus, the swing arm cylinder ~nd the swing arm assembly may be omitted. Since cards are forcibly en-gaged by the push plate, the apparatus is substantially unaffec-ted by dust or other airborne particles.
- From the foregoing, it will be seen that this inven-tion is one well adapted to obtain all the ends and objects herein set forth, together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.
It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.
As many possible embodiments may be made of the inven-tion without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be under-stood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompany-- ying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a ., , ~ .. ,. - .

10~3~gO - , limiting sense.

'

Claims (11)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. Apparatus for outputting tags or the like com-prising: magazine means for storing a predetermined quantity of tags; dispensing means for automatically and periodically moving a predetermined number of tags out of said magazine means, said dispensing means comprising: movable pusher means guided for movement back and forth in a predetermined path and adapted to selectively contact said predetermined number of tags; and first power means operable to move said pusher means to selectively contact said predetermined number of tags and move same out of said dispensing means to a freely disposed tag pickup position;
a pivotal arm swingable from a tag receptive position adjacent said dispensing means to a predetermined remote position, said pivotal arm having tag gripping means mounted thereon, comprising first and second clamping members movable relative to each other for clamping a tag therebetween whereby said pivotal arm may grip said predetermined number of tags outputted by said dispensing means and deliver same to said predetermined, remote position;
second power means for selectively swinging said pivotal arm between said tag receptive position and said remote position;
first sensing means for actuating said apparatus in response to movement of a conveyed object past a predetermined position; and control means operative to actuate said second power means for delivering a tag by movement of said pivotal arm to said remote position in response to movement of said pusher means to said tag pickup position.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said apparatus comprises: movable printing block means adjacent said feed gate dispensing means for engaging and printing information on said tags; and power means operable to move said printing block means to a tag engaging position.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said apparatus comprises: second sensing means operative to actuate said second power means to return said pivotal arm to said tag receptive position in response to movement of said piv-otal arm to said remote position.

4. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein:
said gripping means comprises first and second clamping members movable relative to each other for clamping a tag therebetween.

5. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said movable pusher means comprises an elongated channel portion adjacent said magazine means; and push plate means slidably mov-able within said channel portion, said push plate means being adapted to selectively contact said predetermined number of tags for moving same to said tag pickup position.

6. The combination as defined in claim 5 wherein said elongated channel portion is defined between spaced apart, upper and lower planar plates adjacent said magazine means, and said dispensing means comprises tag retaining gate means in spaced apart parallel relationship with said upper and lower plates for defining at least one tag passage slot between said gate means and said planar plates.

7. The combination as defined in claim 6 wherein said apparatus comprises slide bar suspension means for slidably mounting said push plate means for reciprocal movement within said elongated channel in aligned relationship with respect to said upper and lower planar plates.

8. The combination as defined in claim 7 wherein said push plate means comprises tag engaging knife means for pushing said tags through said tag passage slot.

9. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said apparatus comprises tag retaining gate means defining an upper tag passage slot portion, a lower tag passage slot portion, and a central tag passage slot portion, said central tag passage slot portion having a width substantially equal to the thickness of said predetermined number of tags to be moved, and said upper and lower tag passage slots having a width substantially greater than the width of predetermined number of tags to be moved, thereby preventing jamming of said dispensing means due to irreg-ularities in said tags.

10. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said apparatus comprises: first relay valve means for actuating said first power means; initiating valve means responsive to movement of a conveyed item to be tagged for actuating said first relay valve means; second relay valve means for actuating said second power means; and first signal stroke valve means for actuating said second relay valve means in response to displace-ment of said first power means.

11. The combination as defined in claim 2 wherein said movable printing block means is positioned adjacent to the output side of said dispensing means for selectively engaging tags at said tag pickup position, and further including means for actuating said power means for said printing block means in response to movement of said push plate means to said tag pickup position.