This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. ยง119(a)-(d) or (f) to Chinese Patent Application No. 201410185965.2, filed on Apr. 29, 2014.
The invention is generally related to a label sticking device and apparatus, and, more specifically, to a label sticking device and apparatus for sticking a label around an electrical cable.
Conventionally, sticking a label around a cable is generally performed manually. An operator needs to manually wrap a long label around the cable by a number of concentric circles, which requires a large amount of manual labor by the operator. Furthermore, during the process of wrapping of the label around the cable, it is very difficult for the operator to consistently provide an equal operational force on the label, and the label is often not uniformly wrapped on the cable.
The present invention has been made to overcome or alleviate at least one aspect of the above mentioned disadvantages.
A label sticking device has a shaft, a cable holder, a drive, a press, and an actuator. The shaft has a rotational axis, and a cable receiving passageway extending along a longitudinal axis aligned with the rotational axis. The cable holder is positioned along the longitudinal axis and the rotational axis. The drive rotates the shaft about the rotational axis. The press has a body rotatably connected to the shaft, and a foot positioned on the body. The foot is movable between a pressing position proximate to the rotational axis, and a non-pressing position distal to the rotational axis. The actuator moves the press between the pressing position and the non-pressing position.
The invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein the like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concepts of the invention to those skilled in the art.
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.
In the embodiments shown in
The shaft 100 has a cable receiving passageway 110, where a rotational axis of the shaft 100 is in conformity with a longitudinal axis of a cable (not shown) positioned in the cable receiving passageway 110.
The cable holder 200 holds the cable, so that the longitudinal axis of the cable is in conformity with the rotational axis of the shaft 100.
The drive 300 drives the shaft 100 to rotate about the rotational axis.
The press 400 is connected to the shaft 100 to rotate with the shaft 100. The press 400 has a body 410 connected to the shaft 100 and a foot 420 positioned on the body 410. The foot 420 is movable between a pressing position (a position as shown in
The actuator 500 moves the foot 420 between the pressing position and the non-pressing position.
In the embodiments shown in
In an embodiment shown in
While the embodiment of
In an embodiment shown in
In an embodiment, an approximate middle portion of the cable between two ends of the cable is positioned in the cable receiving passageway 110, with the two ends of the cable extending outside the cable receiving passageway 110. However, the invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, in another embodiment, only one end of the cable is positioned in the cable receiving passageway 110, and the cable receiving passageway 110 may not pass through the whole shaft 100 in the rotational axis. In another embodiment, the cable receiving slot 130 has been omitted. In yet another embodiment, the driven gear 120 may be not have the cable receiving gear slot 122. In embodiments where the longitudinal slot is not provided in the cylindrical body of the shaft 100, the cylindrical body may be driven to rotate by a strap or a toothed belt (not shown).
In an embodiment shown in
When the cable receiving gear slot 122 is positioned in the driven gear 120, the driving gear 310 cannot engage with the driven gear 120 at the region of the cable receiving gear slot 122. In order to overcome this problem, as shown in the embodiments of
Those of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the driving gear 310 may be directly driven by the driving motor 320 (see
In an embodiment shown in
In an embodiment shown in
With the angle detection member 700 and the control member, it is possible to set the number of rotational circles of the press 400 about the cable. Also, the shaft 100 can be controlled to return to a desired position, for example, the cable receiving position shown in
In an embodiment, the sensor 720 may be a photoelectric sensor, and the strip member 710 is configured to block the light path. In other embodiments, the sensor 720 may be any suitable sensor adapted to detect a current angle position and/or a number of rotational circles of the driven gear 120.
Hereafter, the press 400 and the actuator 500 will be discussed with reference to
In an embodiment shown in
In an embodiment (not shown), the actuator 500 has an elastic body that exerts an elastic force to drive the press 400 toward the pressing position; and an electromagnetic coil and an iron core positioned on the press 400. Once the electromagnetic coil is energized, the press 400 is moved from the pressing position to the non-pressing position in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis by overcoming the elastic force of the elastic body.
In the embodiments shown in
During or before the shaft 100 is rotated, the holding force is released and the press 400 is in the pressing position.
In an embodiment shown in
In the embodiments shown in
In an embodiment shown in
In an embodiment, the elastic body 530 is a compressible spring or a rubber body.
In an embodiment shown in
As shown in
The transition driving member 930 includes a gas cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, or a motor 932 to drive the third bracket 940 to move along a rail on the second bracket 920.
Though it is not shown, the label sticking apparatus may further comprise a mechanical arm configured to place the label on the cable.
Hereafter, a process of sticking the label on the cable by the label sticking device will be described.
Firstly, the cable 10 is held by the cable holder 200, so that the longitudinal axis of the cable is in conformity with the rotational axis of the shaft 100 in use.
Secondly, a first end of the label 20 is placed in contact with the cable 10 (for example, as shown in
Thirdly, the third bracket 940 is driven by the transition driving member 930, to move along the rail 922 on the second bracket 920 toward the cable 10, until the longitudinal axis of the cable 10 is in conformity with the rotational axis of the shaft 100. At the same time, the foot 420 of the press 400 is positioned above the first end of the label 20 positioned on the cable 10, and the holding member 540 of the actuator 500 presses the engaging block 514 on the second end of the link rod 510. The elastic body 530 is therefore pressed, and exerts a holding force to hold the press 422 in the non-pressing position, where the press 422 is separated from the label 20 by a distance in a direction B (as shown in
Fourthly, the holding member 540 of the actuator 500 is driven by the gas cylinder, the hydraulic cylinder, or the motor 550, to move in the direction B, so as to release the engaging block 514 on the second of the link rod 510. In this way, the second end of the link rod 510 is pushed upward under the elastic force of the elastic body 530, the link rod 510 is rotated about the pivot shaft 520, and the foot 420 on the first end of the link rod 510 is moved to the pressing position for pressing the label 20 (as shown in
Fifth, the shaft 100 is rotated by the drive 300, so as to drive the foot 420 to rotate about the rotational axis. During rotation, the foot 420 presses and wraps the label 20 on the cable. Those skilled in the art would appreciate that the foot 420 is rotated in a direction to wrap the label around the cable. Through the angle detection member 700 and the control member, the number of rotational circles of the press 400 about the cable can be controlled and preset. Further, the angle detection member 700 and the control member can control the shaft 100 to return to a position, for example, a position shown in
Finally, the cable 10 wrapped with the label 20 is removed from the label sticking device.
Those skilled in the art would appreciate that the above embodiments are intended to be exemplary, and not restrictive. For example, many modifications may be made to the above embodiments by those skilled in the art, and various features described in different embodiments may be freely combined with each other without departing in configuration or principle.
Though several exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2014 1 0185965 | Apr 2014 | CN | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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20040211522 | Fries | Oct 2004 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20150307221 A1 | Oct 2015 | US |