Patent Application
20060249240
The present invention relates to a device and system for controlling the motion of backing paper in a labeling application device, and in particular to a device allowing for controlled mounting of backing paper and rejecting of faulty labels.
In labeling application devices labels are situated on a backing paper which in turn is mounted on for instance a storage roll or reel at one end and on a collecting roll at the other end. There between one or several dancing arms keep the backing paper stretched. A problem with this type of construction is that when mounting the backing paper, it has to be mounted along a long path formed by all the dancing arms and other components controlling the path of the backing paper thereby leading to a waste of backing paper and labels, since the dancing arms are fixed in position. The physical length is determined by the complexity of the travel distance and number of dancing arms and their positions.
RFID (radio frequency identification) tags are more and more used in a widespread area of applications. They are used for uniquely identifying an object and wherein the identification can be read non-contacting using a radio transmitter. The RFID tag contains an antenna and a chip containing a unique code which can either be preprogrammed or inserted during an initiation process. Power is supplied wirelessly into the antenna and the chip responds to a query by submitting the programmed code or number.
In automated production processes it is an interest to mount such an RFID tag to every product and preferably in an inline process in order to obtain a quick and reliable production rate. However, the RFID tags may have a mixed quality meaning that some tags are not initiated or erroneous in some other way. Therefore it is of interest to during the inline production process or any other inline process test each RFID tag for quality assurance.
Many objects obtain a label for visible identification and/or specification or the product or box containing a product. It would be advantageously to provide a combined label and RFID tag.
Using such combined label and RFID tag product, it is of interest to have an inline testing and verification phase during labeling of products or boxes.
The invention provides a simple and reliable solution for making the mounting of backing paper with labels attached to it easier and more cost effective, reducing the amount of backing paper that go to waste in the mounting process.
The invention also provides a simple and reliable solution for removing erroneous RFID tags located in or on labels. The solution test each label/RFID tag and controls transferring of labels in such a way that labels can be withheld from an applicator head and thus will not be applied to objects to be labeled.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a dancing arm is displaced in such a way as to reduce tension on a transport or backing paper whereupon labels are located. If the dancing arm is displaced at the correct moment, the label will not be transferred onto the applicator head and thus will be kept on the backing paper and later collected on a collecting roll.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a label applicator system with means for hindering a faulty RFID tagged label to be applied to an object to be labeled is provided, comprising:
The means for reducing tension comprise a second dancing arm applying a tension force on the backing paper and the second dancing arm arranged to be displaced to a tension reducing position when tension reduction is desired.
The second dancing arm may be located adjacent to a collecting roll collecting the backing paper downstream of the label applicator head.
The means for reducing tension comprise a backing roll arranged to apply a tension reducing force to the backing paper by applying a counteracting direction of travel on the backing paper.
The means for reducing tension further comprise means for applying a displacement stop of a dancing arm, wherein the dancing arm is hindered from increasing the tension when the backing roll apply the tension reducing force.
The means for reducing tension comprise a collecting unit, pulling the backing paper, being arranged to invert a direction of travel of the backing paper in order to reduce tension on the backing paper.
The means for reducing tension further comprise means for applying a displacement stop of a second dancing arm, wherein the second dancing arm is hindered from increasing the tension when the collecting roll inverts the direction of travel in order to reduce tension on the backing paper.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method of hindering a faulty RFID tagged label from being applied to an object by a label applicator system is provided, comprising the steps of:
The method may further comprise the step of displacing a second dancing arm to a tension reducing position from a tension applying position when tension reduction is desired, the second dancing arm is located downstream of the label applicator head.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a computer program for controlling a label applicator system applying RFID tagged labels to objects is provided, comprising:
Still another embodiment of the present invention, a label applicator system with means for facilitating mounting of label backing paper is provided, comprising:
The first dancing arm is displaceable to a non stretching position when no backing paper is mounted.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.
In the following the invention will be described in a non-limiting way and in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the enclosed drawings, in which:
Guiding rods or rolling elements 12 and 13 provides spacing between the part of the backing paper on the way towards the label applicator head 10 and the part on the way towards a backing paper collecting roll 8. A second dancing arm 6, located downstream of the applicator head, comprise a roll or wheel 16 mounted on an arm 7 and provides a stable movement of the backing paper 1 and makes sure the backing paper 1 is stretched in a correct way during normal operation. The backing paper 1 is pressed downwards (as seen in
In one embodiment of the present invention the second dancing arm 6 located close to the collecting roll 8 is displaceable by a displacement device or actuator. The movement may be controlled with a control device (203 in
In another embodiment of the present invention, the first dancing arm 23 close to the storage roll 2 is displaceable by a displacement device in order to facilitate the mounting of backing paper 1 in the label applicator apparatus 100. In yet another embodiment of the present invention both dancing arms 16 and 23 are displaceable as described above.
The printing device may comprise a controller controlling the operation of the different components of the label applicator system 100. For instance the controller may control the position of the two dancing arms 6 and 23, the rotation of the collecting roll 8, printing of the label, and detect errors in the system or breakage of the backing paper. A software program may be resident in the controller, wherein the software is arranged to acquire signals from the system, analyze and act in response to acquired signals, and control printing action. The controller may further comprise communication interface for communicating with other devices or with external computing devices, for instance for obtaining data to be printed, communicate error signals to other control devices, and so on as understood by the person skilled in the art.
The present invention comprises a cost effective and simple solution for removing erroneous RFID (radio frequency identification) tags from an inline label printing and application process.
RFID tags may be provided on or in the labels and as seen in
If the RFID tagged label is not working properly it should be removed before being applied to an object to the labeled preferably in an automatic inline process, since this is the most cost effective way of dealing with faulty RFID tags. Removing labels (with RFID tags) from labeled objects often require manual operation which is time consuming and involve high costs. The automatic inline removal may be accomplished with several different techniques.
The collecting roll 8 together with the second dancing arm 6 provide a downward acting force on the backing paper when it is at the top most location adjacent to the edge 5. Therefore, the backing paper 1 will be pressed on to the edge 5 and the label is eased off from the backing paper 1. By reducing the downward pressing force, the backing paper 1 will take a return path with an increased radius and will therefore not be pressed on to the edge 5. This will cause the label 20 to stay on the backing paper 1 instead of being peeled off to the applicator head 10. Since the label 20 remains on the backing paper 1 it will be collected on the collecting roll 8 and thus not applied to the object.
In an embodiment the reduction of downward acting force may be accomplished by moving the second dancing arm 6 to a position so as to reduce the stretching function momentarily. The second dancing arm 6 is mounted on an arm 7 which is movable in a direction around an axis providing a movement 302 (see
The actuator controlling the second dancing arm 6 may comprise a stepper motor connected to the second dancing arm 6 via a gear box or directly; however, it may of course comprise other actuating devices acting directly or via a transmission system. Other actuating devices may for instance be linear displacement devices, pneumatic device, or electrical motors. The second dancing arm 6 is attached to the actuating device (directly or indirectly) at a pivotal point. It may also be attached to the actuating device in any other suitable position as understood by the person skilled in the art.
An extra benefit using such an actuating device is that the dancing arm may be mechanically controlled in case of a backing paper 1 breakage. In such a case the dancing arm would normally (due to the spring load) very rapidly travel in one direction and possible injure anyone present in the travel direction or the second dancing arm 6 may itself be damaged due to rapid and strong forces present. It is another advantage of the present invention using the actuating device, that it is possible when no backing paper 1 is present, to have the dancing arm 6 move to a position facilitating loading/mounting of the backing paper 1 onto the collecting roll 8.
Any type of applicator head or label applicator principle may be used according to the present invention, such as pressing label applicator principles (wherein the applicator head 10 presses the label onto the object with a force) or blow applicator principles (wherein the label is urged to travel a distance in the air over to the object by a pressure “impulse” pressing on the non sticky side of the label).
In another embodiment of the present invention, the backing paper 1 is temporarily slacked by running the collecting roll 8 backwards and at the same time stopping the dancing arm 6 from tensioning the backing paper 1. This will provide the same effect so as to slacken the backing paper 1 enough for the label to partly pass by the edge 5 and therefore stopped from being transferred to the applicator head 10.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention illustrated in
It should be understood by the person skilled in the art that other processes in the labeling process may need to be controlled, paused, or in any other suitable way handled during the removal of the faulty label depending on the actual delay of the labeling process due to the removal of the fault RFID tagged label. For instance, for objects arriving in front of the label applicator head 10 on a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt should be stopped or reduced in speed so as to allow for the removal of the label and the arrival of a new label to be attached to the object, before the conveyor belt may be started again or have the speed increased again.
A second test may be utilized, wherein RFID labels labeled onto objects are tested again in order to deduce the RFID functionality. This is a separate process not part of the label application system 100; however, the same control system may be utilized for this “after” control and for providing alarm signals or action signals in order to deal with faulty RFID tags at this stage of the labeling process. These alarm signals may be provided to an operator or an automatic surveillance system (not shown) for appropriate action. The action signal or signals may be provided to an automatic handling system, removing the object from the conveyor belt or otherwise removing it from the normal handling system and/or process.
It should be noted that the word “comprising” does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed and the words “a” or “an” preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. It should further be noted that any reference signs do not limit the scope of the claims, that the invention may be implemented by means of both hardware and software, and that several “means” may be represented by the same item of hardware. Any direction wording such as front, down, up, downwards, or upwards are only for illustrative purposes with reference to figures and is depending on how devices are mounted and used in a real world application.
The above mentioned and described embodiments are only given as examples and should not be limiting to the present invention. Other solutions, uses, objectives, and functions within the scope of the invention as claimed in the below described patent claims should be apparent for the person skilled in the art.
This application claims priority to Provisional Application No. 60/684,555, filed May 9, 2005, the contents of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60684555 | May 2005 | US | |
| 60678797 | May 2005 | US |
