Patent Application
20230242302
Many businesses still require print media for a variety of situations. For example, pharmacies must print custom labels for each customer that identifies the customer, the medicine, the warnings for the medicine, the interactions between the medicine and other medicines, etc. A product manufacturer or shipper requires labels that identify the delivery address, identifies the contents of what is being shipped, and provides a return address to businesses and customers that are receiving shipped products. A fast-food restaurant prints labels with a specific order of each customer on it so that staff preparing the order can verify a fulfilled order correctly.
For industries that require large label applications, such as pharmacies and manufacturers/shippers, labels are purchased in large printer stacks or webs. The stack of labels are situated under a printer on the floor and fed through a media infeed of the printer. These stacks can be large weighing as much as 40 to 50 pounds. Unfortunately, the labels cannot be fed to the infeed directly from the carton that the labels were shipped in because the labels rub against the sides of the box causing resistance, which causes the printer to be unable to feed the stack through the printer or causes misalignment and media jams within the printer.
Thus, businesses have a specific process that is required before a stack of labels are fed to the printer. First, the carton is opened, and the flaps are folded flat, the carton is then flipped over (no easy task when the label stacks typically weigh over 40 pounds), the carton is removed from the stack, any liner bag associated with the labels is separated from the label stack, the stack is moved and positioned under the printer on the floor in alignment with the label infeed mechanism, and the labels are feed through the printer infeed mechanism. Often when moving the stack to the floor in front of the printer or when flipping the carton upside down to separate the box and the stack, the stack gets broken or out of alignment, which will cause printer misalignments and printer jams during printing of the labels. Unfortunately, there is no present technique by which the labels can remain in the original shipping container and fed through the printer infeed for application by the business.
In various embodiments, an apparatus, a system, and a method for container content alignment are provided.
Specifically, and in an embodiment, a container content alignment apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises two container inserts. Each insert comprises a top portion, a bottom portion and two side flaps. The two container inserts are adapted to fit inside a container adjacent to an inside surface of the container defined by front, back, and side walls. An area between the two container inserts is adapted to receive a stack of labels. When the two inserts are removed from the container, a gap or space exists between outer edges of the stack of labels and the inside surface defined by the front, the back, and the side walls ensuring that the stack of labels is centered within the container for directly feeding the stack of labels to an infeed of a printer from the container.
As used herein the terms “media, “content,” “label stack,” may be used synonymously and interchangeably along with the phrase “print media.” Print media comprises a substrate for which at least one side includes a deposited print coating or image coating (thermal coating). The substrate of the media may comprise a paper-based material and/or a synthetic-based material. The print/image coating enables dot matrix, laser-based, or thermal-based printing of custom indicia. For example, a thermal sensitive (image) coating enables thermal imaging either through direct thermal heat or through terminal transfer heat selectively applied on the surface of the media having the image coating by thermal print heads of a thermal printer. The media also may include preprinted branding or designs that is Ultra-Violet (UV) flexo printed during the manufacturing process. The print media or label stack comprises a plurality of fanfold label sheets with liner.
The print media/content is a stack or web of unimaged labels or partially unimaged labels. The labels comprise a liner a liner substrate. The labels are precoated with image coatings, adhesive coatings, and/or release coatings for application by a business through custom printing/imaging of indicia on the labels and/or liners. The labels are stacked in a container/carton and shipped to the business for application (via custom printing/imaging of indicia).
The conventional manner in which the labels are stacked in the carton and the conventional manner by which the labels are fed to a printer are changed herein by the container content alignment apparatus, system, and method discussed herein and below.
Conventionally, fanfold labels are packaged in a container/box and wrapped in a plastic bag, this is necessary to prevent moisture from seeping into the box and damaging the labels. The plastic bag is removed from the packing process of the fanfold labels for purposes of the embodiments presented herein and below. The inside surfaces of the container along with the inside surfaces of the container alignment apparatus are coated with moisture resistant coating that shields the fanfold label stack from retaining moisture while in transit to a destination.
Referring now to the container content alignment apparatus 100 (“combination 100”) of
Container inserts 100A and 100B may be manufactured of a same material and the container/carton in which the labels (content) are shipped in. Moreover, the thickness of the material for inserts 100A and 100B may correspond to the thickness of the container.
In an embodiment inserts 100A and 100B are manufactured or a different material from that which is associated with the carton.
In an embodiment, the thickness of the material for the inserts 100A and 100B is different from the thickness of the material used with the container (inserts 100A and 100B can have a greater thickness than the container thickness or less thickness than the container thickness).
A height of the combined top portion 101A/101B and bottom portion 103A/103B is substantially equal to a height of the container from its bottom to its top portion when opened (see
Inside surfaces of portions 101A and 101B are coated with a moisture resistant 104A-1 coating and inside surfaces of container 200 are also coated with a moisture resistant coating 200-1 (as illustrated in
Each insert 100A and 100B are oriented to oppose one another, such that 100A is inserted into container 200 along the back or rear side of the container 200 and 100B is inserted into container 200 along a front side of the container 200. Flaps 104A/104B are folded along creases 105A/105B and tucked into container 200 along the side walls of the container 200 such that an end of 104A touches or aligns with a corresponding end of 104B.
System 300 comprises a container 200 and apparatus 100. The inserts 100A and 100B are inserted along and inside surface perimeter of container 200 such that flaps 104A meet flaps 104B on the inside of side walls of container 200. The front and rear walls of container 200 are covered by first portions 101A/101B and bottom portions 103A/103B. This alignment creates a perimeter around the inside of container 200 having a width that corresponds to a width of the material used for inserts 100A and 100B.
Inserts 100A and 100B create a barrier between the side, front, and rear walls of container 200, such that when a label stack 400 is inserted into the container 200, the stack is automatically aligned and centered within the container 200.
The label stack/content is loaded into container 200 once inserts 100A and 100B are inserted into the container 200 in the manner discussed above with
Once the container 200 with the label stack 400 is loaded inside the inside perimeter of the inserts 100A and 100B, the container 200 can be placed directly under the media infeed of printer 500 on the floor and inserts 100A and 100B are removed by pulling up on handles 102A and 102B.
Inserts 100A and 100B can be customized for the size and dimensions of the container 200, such that many different sizes of label stacks 400 can be used with apparatus 100 for automatic alignment of the labels/content within the container 200.
At 810, inside surfaces of two container inserts and a container are coated with a moisture resistant coating.
At 820, the two container inserts are aligned and inserted into the container for covering an inside surface area of the container along the front, rear, and side surfaces of the container.
At 830, a label stack is loaded into the container between and along an inside surface area of the two container inserts.
At 840, the container is sealed shut and shipped to a business.
At 850, the container is received at the business, opened along a top of the container, carried via side handles die cut into the container, and the container is aligned on a floor or other flat and hard surface of the business directly under and centered under an infeed for a printer.
At 860, the two container inserts are removed using insert handles die cut into each of the two container inserts leaving the label stack centered within the container with a gap between outer edges of label stack and inside side walls of the container,
At 870, any flaps associated with the side handles are oriented away from the label stack towards an outside of the container.
At 880, a top of the label stack is fed into the printer infeed.
At 890, the printer is started for custom printing or imaging of indicia on labels defined in the stack by the printer.
Although the present invention has been described with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, variations and modifications of the present invention can be affected within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
