US1538388A - Label-affixing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

May 19, 1925. G. A. DosTAL LABEL AFFIXING APPARATUS Filed March 14, 1921 85% @awww u. ,S

" pose of illustration A'forms a part of a ma- Patented May 19, i925.

i UNiTEosrMEs y Parana orties..

GEORGE A. nOsTAL., OE NEW YORK, n. Y., Assreivon. To Morosini. soar Minturno- TUBING CORPORATION, OE NEW Yoan,

N. Y.; A CORPORATION OF NETW YORK.

LABEL-AEEIXING APPARATUS.

Application filed March` 14,

To all whom t may conce/11a:

Be it knowntliat l, GEORGE A. Dos'iAL, a citizen ofthe Unitec States, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, kcity and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Label-Atlnixng Apparatus, lof which the following is a specification. l

This invention relates to apparatus for altixing labels, and especially to apparatus for aliiiriiig labels to cakesV of soap inconiiection with a process bv which the labels are arlixed to one face of the soap cakes and that face is protected against wearing away by a coating of parailin iii such manner that the labels remain permanently attached to the soap during use.

In accordancewith the said process the soap cake is provided with a coating of paratn upon one face, the paraffin being applied in melted condition. While the pari aflin is still soft and tacky the label is applied to the coated face of the soap cake, the paraliin serving as an adhesive to secure the label. When the'label is applied to the hot paraffin there is a tendency for the label to wrinkle and fory bubbles to be entrapped between the label and the soap thus giving an unsightly appearance to the soap cake. i

The present invention has for van object to provide improved apparatus for smoothing out the wrinkles and vbubbles so that the labels will liey flatand smooth against the soap cake.

The invention will be yfully described hereinafter and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the appended claims.y

ln the accompanying drawings which' illusti'ate airexample of the invention without defining its limits, Fig. l is aiplan View of the apparatus; Fig. 2' isa side elevation tlicreof'and Fig. 3 is a detail sect-ion ou the line of lFig. l. v

The apparatus illustrated. in the drawing and'wliicli will be described for the purchine which automatically applies paraliin to one face of a soap cake, allixes a label to said face and applies more paraffin over the `label to protect the same. Said machine .comprises parallel ways, conveyor meanswfor movingA soap cakes along said ways, tanks of hot paratlin beneath the ways and wicks in said tanlS of hot paraffin be- 1921. Serial No. 452,148.

neatli the ways and wicks iii said tanks arranged to be engaged by the soap cakes to apply parallin thereto as the soap cakes pass along tlieways, together with a label-attiniiig mechanism arranged to apply a label to each soap cake while the parafiin is ysoft and tacky. Another part of such machine is described in my companion application for Letters Patent for apparatus for applying paral'hn to soapcakes tiled concurrently herewith Serial No. 452,- 149. From the label-applying rmechanism the soap cakes pass to thesmoothing mechanism hereinafter described and which is designed vto smooth out the previously applied labels. This mechanism 'comprises a slideway, conveying means for moving soap cakes along the slideway and a smoothing roll which is arranged to press the labels flat against the soap as it is moved along the slideway by the conveying means.

The slideway is formed by two parallel ysupporting angle bars 5 which` areso spaced that-they engage the soap cakes only adj a cent'their side edges, and which, if desired, may be made adjustable toward and from each other to accommodate soap cakes of different widths. i

The smoothing mechanism is shown as comprising a smoothing roll 6 arranged to engage the label faceof each soap cake as it passes along the slideway. Conveniently this roll may be so positioned as to engage the underside ofthe soap cake which is so tui-ned that the vlabel face is presented downward `to the roll'. A weighted pressure roll 7, or its equivalent, is preferably provided to press the soap cakes against the roll 6 to insure satisfactory operation. The' Vpressure roll in the illustrated example is.

rotatably supportedv on arms 8 pivoted to permit' tree movement toward and from thel smoothing ioll'; adjustable stop screws 9 are pi'eterably provided for limiting the-down yward movement oftho'arins 8 and pressure rollf carried thereby and for adjusting the fpositi'oii ofsaid pressure roll 7 relatively to the roll 6.4 The smoothing roll 6 is preferably heated` sothat if the para-Hin between `the label and the soapcake has hardened it willbe sutliciently heated `and softened by the roll 6 to permit the -label to be readily ironed smooth. It is also desirable to provide a coating'of paratlin between the. roll 6 and the label to' serve as a lubricant during the action of the roll will be a the smoothing operation and to provide a protective coat over the label.

The pressure roll 7 may be idle but preferably is driven in a direction and at a speed corresponding to the travel of the soap akes through the machine. The. smoothing roll (i may be driven at any desired speed and in either direction. I prefer to so drivel this roll that it will have substantially the same surface speed as the soap cake so that pressing action rather than a rubbing action. There is thus little or no tendency for the roller to displace the label upon the soap cake.

As shown the smoothing roll shaft- 10 may be positively driven by a sprocket 11 and sprocket chain 12 from a suitable source of power as for example the main power shaft of the machine. The pressure roll shaft 14 may be driven through suitable gearing so arranged as to drive. the roll in the desired direction and so arranged as not to interfere with the vertical movement of the roll as the roll moves to acconnnodate soap cakes of different thicknesses. As shown a sprocket gearing is provided comprising the sprocket chains 15, 1G a pair of intermeshing gears 17, 1S and sprocket wheels connected with the gears and With the shafts 10 and lelrespectively.

The heating of the smoothing roll G and the provision of a coat of paraffin may be. accomplished as shown by arranging` a tank 19 of hot paraffin in contact with Which the roll 6 rotates. The heat of the paraffin is transmitted to the roll and a coat of paraiiin sufficient for1 the intended purpose is picked up by the roll during its rotation.

The soap cakes are moved along the slide- Way by conveyor belts 2O mounted on suitable pulleys 21, 22 and arranged in co-operating pairs and spaced from each other in the direction of feed as shown in Fig. 1. These belts are arranged to engage only the side edges of the cakes and therefore do not rub against the labels, and because of the spaced arrangement do not engage a soap cake at the time it is beine operated upon by the smoothing means.

This provision facilitates the arrangement of the rolls G and by providing a free space where the rolls may be located without interference with the belts. Guides 23. 24 are provided along the slideivay to bridge the gaps between contiguous conveyor belts 20. These guides and the ways are recessed to avoid interference with the smoothing and pressure rolls 6 and 7 as indicated at 25 and 26 in Fig. 2.

The conveyor belts 20 are driven by any suitable means as for example by means of horizontal shafts 27 extending above and parallel to the slideway and operatively connected with vertical shafts 2S by means of bevel gears 29. the vertical shafts 28 carrying the pulleys 21 ove' which the conveyor belts 20 travel.

The horizontal shafts 27 may be operatively connected with a cross shaft 3() by bevel gears 31 to be driven in unison from a suitable source as for example from a main power shaft of the machine.

In the operation of the apparatus the cakes of soap are carried forward by the conveyor belts 20 and pass over and rnb against a Wick 32 standing in a tank 33 of melted paratlin, cach cake being pushed beyond the gaps between contiguous pairs of conveyor belts 2O by successive cakes which remain in contact with the last previous pair of belts. In order to prevent deviation of the cakes from the intended path guides 3i', similar to the guides 23 and 2t, may be provided betivcen the belts 2O at the point Where the ivick 32 is lacated. It will be noted that the arrangement is such that during the time a soap cake is in engagement ivith the wick 32 it. is not engaged by the belts 20. As many coats of paraffin as desired may be applied by passing the soap cakes over successive Wicks. In the appa- 'atus illustrated the paraiiin in the tanks is heated as for example by electric resistance coils 34, 35, it being understood that any other suitable type of heating device may be substituted if desired. An overflov.v connection 36 may be provided from the tank 33 to the tank 19 which is on a loiver level, and at the same time suitable provision may be made for constantly introducing a fresh supply of hot paraffin to the upper tank. After passing over the Wick 32 the cakes of soap are picked up by the belts 2O located beyond said Wick in the direction of feed, and are carried along thereby and finally are caused to pass between the rolls G and 7. The latter roll serves to maintain the soap cakes in proper contact with the sn'ioothing roll (l which flattens out the label and by its action eradicates any bubbles, Wrinkles or other defects which may have developed during or after the application of said label. At the same time at least a portion of the paraffin carried by the roll G is transferred to the label in the form of a protecting` coatcovering the same. 'lhe result of this is a perfectly smooth label covered with paratlin and free from any blemishes resulting from the application of said label to the cake. V.Mter the soap cakes leave the smoothing device an additional coating of paraffin may be applied to still further cover and protect the face of the label.

It is to be understood that the embodiment shown is illustrative only and that variations in the construction illustrated may be made Within the scope of the claims Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

yconveying means for moving forward sncf cessively soap cakes having labels applied to the center portions of one face thereof,

wa 7s su ortino said soa cakes ad'acent their side edges without contacting with the center face portions to which the labels are applied, and a smoothing device arranged f to press against the labeled face of each cake as it travels past said device substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In an apparatus of the character die! scribed, in combination, feeding means forV moving forward successively soap cakes having labels applied to one face thereof, a rotatable smoothing roll arranged to bear against the labeled face of each soap cake as it passes Vsaid roll and press the label smooth against the soap cake, a weighted roll yieldably mounted above the smoothing roll, ymeans for limiting the downward movement of the weighted roll, means for driving the two rolls while permitting vertical movement of ther weighted roll and means for heating and lubricating said smoothing roll substantially as and for the purpose described. v

3. In apparatus f the character described in combination, spaced parallel ways arranged to support, adjacent their side edges soap cakes bearing centrally positioned labels free of contact with the ways,

conveyor means for moving the soap cakes along said ways, an ironing roll over which said soap cakes pass, a weighted roll mounted for vertical movement above the ironing roll and arranged to yieldably hold the soap cake down against the ironing roll, a tank arranged to hold paraiiin in contact with said ironing roll, means for heating the paraliin to maintain it and the roll in heated condition whereby the labels are ironed smooth against the soap cakes and a coating of yparaffin is applied by said ironing roll.

4. The method of smoothing labels afliXed to soap cakes by parafiin which consists in ironing the labels by means of a` heated lubricated rotating rollv substantially as described. l

5. The method of aiiixing labels to soap cakes which comprises applying thin coats of hot par aifin successively to the soap cake whilerthe soap calze is in relatively cold condition, subjecting such successive coats to radiant heat during the interval of time between the application lof a coat and the next -succeeding coat whereby each coat is cooled from the interior While having its outer face maintained relatively soft, applying a label after the last coat while still in tacky condition and applying a further coat of paraffin thereover. f

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE A. nosTAL.

Images