Claims
- 1. In a label application apparatus comprising:
a main housing having a roller thereon; a supply reel mounted to the main housing and having an indefinite length web of label material thereon; a printer mounted to the main housing adjacent to the roller; an applicator mounted to the main housing adjacent to the printer for applying a label to an object; a feed mechanism for feeding the continuous web of label material from the supply reel to the printer and applicator; a cutting mechanism associated with the applicator to cut the labels between the printer and the applicator, the cutting mechanism comprises a pivotally-mounted blade and a stationary blade; the improvement comprising:
the pivotally-mounted blade is connected to an air cylinder and the air cylinder is connected to the source of pressurized air.
- 2. The label application apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising a cylinder valve fluidly interconnected between the air cylinder and the source of pressurized air for selectively controlling a supply of pressurized air to the air cylinder.
- 3. The label application apparatus of claim 2 and further comprising a controller programmed to that selectively actuate the cylinder valve to deliver a burst of pressurized air to the air cylinder to pivot the pivotally-mounted blade to a cutting position adjacent to the stationary blade.
- 4. The label application apparatus of claim 3 and further comprising a controller which is programmed to selectively actuate the atomizer valve to project a mist of adhesive-activating liquid beneath the applicator head before or substantially simultaneously with the application of a label onto an object by the applicator.
- 5. The label application apparatus of claim 4 and further comprising an air jet nozzle disposed adjacent to the printer and directed at the applicator head, the air jet nozzle being fluidly interconnected to the pressurized air source, a nozzle valve fluidly interconnected between the air jet nozzle and the pressurized air source for selectively controlling a supply of pressurized air to the air jet nozzle.
- 6. The label application apparatus of claim 1 wherein the stationary cutting blade includes a base and the base has at least one air jet fluidly interconnected to a source of pressurized air.
- 7. The label application apparatus of claim 6 wherein the air jet is in register with a feed path of the web and aligned to direct a burst of pressurized air toward the web.
- 8. The label application apparatus of claim 7 wherein the at least one air jet comprises a pair of air jets directed generally transversely on opposing sides of the base.
- 9. The label application apparatus of claim 8 wherein one end of the stationary blade is pivotally mounted to one end the pivotally-mounted blade.
- 10. The label application apparatus of claim 9 wherein an opposite end of the pivotally-mounted blade is mounted to an actuator, wherein the actuator is selectively movable between a raised position whereby the pivotally-mounted blade is located in a non-cutting position and a lowered position whereby the pivotally-mounted blade is moved to a cutting position.
- 11. The label application apparatus of claim 10 wherein the actuator comprises a selectively-actuated pneumatic cylinder.
- 12. The label application apparatus of claim 10 wherein at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade comprises a curved cutting surface.
- 13. The label application apparatus of claim 12 wherein the curved cutting surface has a predetermined tangential angle which thereby configures the curved cutting surface to apply a generally constant cutting pressure to the web.
- 14. The label application apparatus of claim 13 wherein at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade comprises a longitudinally-extending adhesive accumulation recess in register with the other of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade whereby excess adhesive encountered during cutting operations is accumulated in the adhesive accumulation recess and not on cutting surfaces of the at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade.
- 15. The label application apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising a pair of air jets directed generally transversely on opposing sides of the stationary blade.
- 16. The label application apparatus of claim 1 wherein one end of the stationary blade is pivotally mounted to one end the pivotally-mounted blade.
- 17. The label application apparatus of claim 16 wherein an opposite end of the pivotally-mounted blade is mounted to an actuator, wherein the actuator is selectively movable between a raised position whereby the pivotally-mounted blade is located in a non-cutting position and a lowered position whereby the pivotally-mounted blade is moved to a cutting position.
- 18. The label application apparatus of claim 17 wherein the actuator comprises a selectively-actuated pneumatic cylinder.
- 19. The label application apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade comprises a curved cutting surface.
- 20. The label application apparatus of claim 19 wherein the curved cutting surface has a predetermined tangential angle which thereby configures the curved cutting surface to apply a generally constant cutting pressure to the web.
- 21. The label application apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade comprises a longitudinally-extending adhesive accumulation recess in register with the other of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade whereby excess adhesive encountered during cutting operations is accumulated in the adhesive accumulation recess and not on cutting surfaces of the at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade.
- 22. A cutting mechanism for a label application apparatus to cut labels passing between a printer and an applicator in the label application apparatus, the cutting mechanism comprising:
a base; a stationary blade mounted to the base; a pivotally-mounted blade pivotally mounted to one end of the stationary blade and at an opposite end to an air cylinder and the air cylinder is connected to a source of pressurized air.
- 23. The cutting mechanism of claim 22 and further comprising a cylinder valve fluidly interconnected between the air cylinder and the source of pressurized air for selectively controlling a supply of pressurized air to the air cylinder.
- 24. The cutting mechanism of claim 23 and further comprising a controller programmed to that selectively actuate the cylinder valve to deliver a burst of pressurized air to the air cylinder to pivot the pivotally-mounted blade to a cutting position adjacent to the stationary blade.
- 25. The cutting mechanism of claim 24 and further comprising a controller which is programmed to selectively actuate the atomizer valve to project a mist of adhesive-activating liquid adjacent to the cutting mechanism.
- 26. The cutting mechanism of claim 22 wherein the base has at least one air jet fluidly interconnected to a source of pressurized air.
- 27. The cutting mechanism of claim 26 wherein the air jet is in register with a feed path of the web and aligned to direct a burst of pressurized air toward the web.
- 28. The cutting mechanism of claim 27 wherein the at least one air jet comprises a pair of air jets directed generally transversely on opposing sides of the base.
- 29. The cutting mechanism of claim 28 wherein the actuator comprises a selectively-actuated pneumatic cylinder.
- 30. The cutting mechanism of claim 28 wherein at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade comprises a curved cutting surface.
- 31. The cutting mechanism of claim 30 wherein the curved cutting surface has a predetermined tangential angle which thereby configures the curved cutting surface to apply a generally constant cutting pressure to the web.
- 32. The cutting mechanism of claim 31 wherein at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade comprises a longitudinally-extending adhesive accumulation recess in register with the other of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade whereby excess adhesive encountered during cutting operations is accumulated in the adhesive accumulation recess and not on cutting surfaces of the at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade.
- 33. The cutting mechanism of claim 22 and further comprising a pair of air jets directed generally transversely on opposing sides of the stationary blade.
- 34. The cutting mechanism of claim 22 wherein at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade comprises a curved cutting surface.
- 35. The cutting mechanism of claim 34 wherein the curved cutting surface has a predetermined tangential angle which thereby configures the curved cutting surface to apply a generally constant cutting pressure to the web.
- 36. The cutting mechanism of claim 22 wherein at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade comprises a longitudinally-extending adhesive accumulation recess in register with the other of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade whereby excess adhesive encountered during cutting operations is accumulated in the adhesive accumulation recess and not on cutting surfaces of the at least one of the pivotally-mounted blade and the stationary blade.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/543,481, filed Apr. 6, 2000, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/128,823 filed Apr. 12, 1999.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60128823 |
Apr 1999 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09543481 |
Apr 2000 |
US |
Child |
09681215 |
Feb 2001 |
US |