GB2122570A - Labelling machine for bottles or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

A labelling machine for bottles, with which both the body, front, neck or top labels as well as bottom labels can be applied comprises two rotary tables 5, 26 driven in synchronism jointly with a transfer drum 22 located therebetween. Provided on the outer periphery of the first rotary table is a first labelling station 8 for body labels or the like and provided below the second rotary table is a second labelling station 28 for bottom labels. The bottles gripped in a non-rotary manner in the first rotary table 5 between turntables 6 and heads 7 are received in an aligned manner by clamping means of the transfer drum 22 and are supplied in an aligned manner to the clamps 27 of the second rotary table 26 which suspend them freely above the labelling station 28. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Labelling machine for bottles or the like The invention relates to a labelling machine for bottles or the like, consisting of a first labelling station, which transfers glued body, front, neck or top labels to bottles conveyed passed it and of a second labelling station, which transfers glued labels to the bottom of the bottle, also consisting of a spacer worm, which moves bottles apart to a mutual spacing and transfers the bottles with the correct spacing by way of an inlet drum to a rotary table, which grips the bottles in a non-rotary manner by clamping members between the bottom of the bottle and the top of the bottle and by means of a rotary control device acting on the clamping members conveys the bottles in an aligned manner passed the first labelling station and passed subsequent applicator members acting on the label transferred and transfers the bottles to further conveying means leading to the second labelling station.

Bar codes have been used for a relatively long period of time for distinguishing bottles, which bar codes can be read mechanically.

Codes of this type may contain various information about the product, such as the manufacturer, nature of the product, price of the product etc. In most cases, the bar code was applied to the edge of the body labels. This type of coding interferes with the appearance of the bottle, which should even be improved by the type of labelling. There has therefore been a change towards concealing the code, in that an additional label with this code is applied to the bottom of the bottle.

In a known installation, the glued body labels are transferred by a gripper cylinder to the bottles, which are conveyed in an upright position by a rotary table passed the gripper cylinder. After the transfer of the labels, the bottle is rotated in the rotary table and moved passed applicator members acting on the ends of the label which have not yet been pressed down. The bottles labelled in this way pass by way of an outlet drum to a conveying section, which consists of a second labelling machine with a spacer worm and adjoining belts gripping the bottles laterally. The lateral belts tilt the bottle through 90 , in order to supply it in the correct position to a labelling station located beside the conveying path, with gripper cylinders for the transfer.The constructional expenditure of such a labelling machine is high, because two complete labelling machine units are required for applying the body labels and bottom labels. In addition, the necessary tipping of the bottle about an axis at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the bottle causes problems.

It is the object of the invention to provide a labelling machine for body and bottom labels, which has a compact construction and allows a high output.

This invention is achieved according to the invention due to the fact that the further conveying means consist of a second rotary table, driven in synchronism with the first rotary table, comprising receiving locations for the bottles arranged on its periphery and of a transfer drum directly connecting the two rotary tables and that the second rotary table conveys the bottles received in an upright manner from the first rotary table by way of the transfer drum, in an upright manner and supported in the direction of the axis of the bottle, above the second labelling station located below the rotary table, in which case the rotary table is open adjacent the bottom of the bottle, at least in the region of the second labelling station for its penetration.

In the labelling station according to the invention, the bottles are moved apart only once to the correct spacing. This spacing is then maintained over the entire processing distance. This results not only in careful handling of the bottles, but also produces a compact construction of the labelling machine.

Since the bottles are conveyed in an upright position throughout their entire treatment, the machine can be operated with a high throughput capacity.

A controlled clamp gripping the bottle laterally is preferably associated with each receiving location of the second rotary table.

This clamp absorbs both the lateral forces acting on the bottle as well as the axial forces acting at the time of labelling the base. When a clamp gripping the bottle laterally is used, it is not necessary to provide an additional support for the bottom.

In order to protect the labelling station located below the second rotary table from falling fragments, the rotary table should be open on the bottom side in the region of the conveying path of the bottles in front of the second labelling station. Since the clamps support the bottle, one generally dispenses with any support for the bottles on their bottom, over the entire conveying path.

In order to facilitate reading of the code on the bottom label, the code should be aligned with the other labels on the bottom, or in the case of bottles having a toggle-action closure or lever closure, aligned with these closures.

This aligned transfer of the labels can be achieved easily in the labelling machine according to the invention due to the fact that the receiving locations of the transfer drum comprise clamping means holding the bottles in a non-rotary manner and that the control device for the clamping members of the first rotary table only releases the clamping members in the transfer region from the first rotary table to the transfer drum when the clamping means of the transfer drum become or are operative. In this embodiment of the labelling machine, the bottle is held in an aligned manner over the entire distance of its processing operation. The clamping means of the transfer drum may consist of recesses provided with a non-slip surface and of an outer sliding guide.

Since the bottles are only clamped on the side by the clamps in the second rotary table, so that their top is exposed, it is recommended to provide a further labelling station for rider labels above the second rotary table.

A labelling station of this type is known from German OS 3041057.

The invention is described in detail hereafter with reference to the drawings illustrating one embodiment and in which: Figure 1 shows a labelling machine for bottles to be provided with body, back and bottom labels, diagrammatically in plan view, Figure 2 shows the labelling station for bottom labels looking in the direction I of Fig.

1, Figure 3 shows a crown cork bottle at the bottom in side view and at the top in bottom view and Figure 4 shows a toggle-action bottle with a top label (sealing strip) and bottom label, at the bottom in side view and at the top in bottom view.

The bottles 2 conveyed ina compact single row by a platform conveyor belt 1 are moved apart by a spacer worm 3 to produce a mutual correct spacing and transferred to an inlet drum 4, which transfers the bottles 2 to a rotary table 5. On its periphery the rotary table 5 comprises a plurality of receiving locations, which consist of a lower turntable 6 and a head 7 which is free to rotate and can be raised and lowered. By means of cam control devices with stationary cams, the turntable 6 on the conveying path can be brought into certain rotary positions and the heads 7 raised and lowered. In this way it is possible to grip the bottles between the turntable 6 acting as clamping members and the heads 7 and to align their rotary position.If bottles having toggle-action closures or lever closures are to be processed, their alignment takes place immediately after they are received by the rotary table 5, for example by the means described in the former patent application P 3108049.

Located on the outside of the conveying path of the bottles are two similar labelling station 8, 9 for body and back labels. Each labelling station 8, 9 consists of a glueing roller 10, 11 a rotating support 14, 1 5 equipped with oscillating or rotating removal members 12, 1 3 a label box 16, 1 7 and a gripper cylinder 18, 1 9 which transfers the glued labels to the bottles 2. The bottles labelled in this way are rotated by the rotary control device so that their free ends are completely pressed down by applicator members in the form of brushes 20 or rollers 21 located further along the conveying path. During the entire transportation, the bottles are gripped by the turntable 6 and the head 7.

The bottles provided in this way with body and/or back labels reach a transfer drum 22 in the transfer region. On its periphery, this transfer drum comprises semi-circular recesses 23, which have a non-slip surface with respect to the bottle. An outer guide 24 with a low coefficient of friction pushes the bottles 2 into the recesses 23, so that as they are conveyed, the latter are held in a non-rotary manner by the transfer drum 22. A strip 25 adjacent the bottom supports the bottles 2 at their lower end. In order that the bottles are transferred to the recesses 23 in the transfer drum 22 in an aligned manner by the rotary table 5, the control arrangement for the head 7 is such that gripping of the bottles 2 in the transfer region is only released when the bottles have been received in a non-rotary manner by the transfer drum 22.The transfer drum 22 transfers the bottles 2 to a second rotary drum 26, whereof the receiving locations are formed by clamps 27 gripping the bottles on their sides. In this case also, the control device for the clamps is such that the bottles 2 held in a non-rotary manner by the recesses 23 of the transfer drum 22 are only released when the clamps 27 have gripped the bottle. For a smooth transfer of the bottles from the first rotary table 5 to the second rotary table 26, it is naturally necessary that the rotary tables 5, 26 and the transfer drum 22 are driven in synchronism.

In the region of the second rotary table 26, the bottles gripped by the clamps 27 are supplied suspended freely to a labelling station 28 located below the rotary table 26 in the region of the conveying path. This labelling station 28 has substantially the same construction as the labelling stations 8, 9. Its main axia is solely horizontal, i.e. rotated through 90 with respect to the main axes of the labelling stations 8, 9. The labelling station 28 consists of a glueing roller 29, on which glueing segments 30 are glued. The glueing segments 30 remove labels from a label box 31, which they transfer the labels to the bases of the bottles suspended freely and gripped laterally by the clamps 27. Subsequent pressing rollers 33 ensure that the bottom labels transferred are pressed down completely. The finished labelled bottles are deposited on a conveyor 34 after the clamps 27 are released.

Claims (7)

1. Labelling machine for bottles or the like, comprising a first labelling station, which transfers glued body, front, neck or top labels to bottles conveyed past it and a second labelling station which transfers glued labels to the bottom of the bottle, a spacer worm, which moved the bottles apart to a mutual spacing and transfers them with the correct spacing by way of an inlet drum to a rotary table, which grips the bottles in a non-rotary manner by clamping members between the bottom of the bottle and the top of the bottle and by means of a rotary control device acting on the clamping members conveys the bottles in an aligned manner past the first labelling station and past subsequent application members acting on the label transferred and transfers the bottles to further conveying means leading to the second labelling station, wherein the further conveying means are comprised of a second rotary table driven in synchronism with the first rotary table, and the second rotary table comprising receiving locations for the bottles arranged on its periphery and of a transfer drum directly connecting both rotary tables and driven in synchronism and the second rotary table conveys the bottles received in an upright manner from the first rotary table by way of the transfer drum, in an upright manner and supported in the direction of the axis of the bottle above the second labelling station located below the rotary table, in which case the second rotary table is open adjacent to the bottom of the bottle at least in the region of the second labelling station for its penetration.

2. Labelling machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein a controlled clamp gripping the bottle is associated with each receiving location.

3. Labelling machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second rotary table is open to the bottom side in the region of the conveying path of the bottles from the second labelling station.

4. Labelling machine as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the receiving locations of the transfer drum comprise clamping means holding the bottles in a non-rotary manner and the control device for the clamping members of the first rotary table only releases the clamping members in the transfer region from the first rotary table to the transfer drum when the clamping means of the transfer drum become or are operative.

5. Labelling machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the clamping means of the transfer drum are comprised of recesses provided with a non-slip surface and of an outer sliding guide.

6. Labelling machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein a further labelling station for rider labels is provided above the second rotary table.

7. Labelling machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.