Labeler and method

Abstract
There is disclosed a hand-held labeler for printing and applying labels and for printing tags. The labeler has a keyboard, a display, a scanner, and a battery-containing handle. The labeler is user-friendly and compact. The labeler can be easily loaded with label and tag webs of different widths. The labeler has a discharge chute for the carrier web which can be slid to a position outside the labeler for easy cleaning.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




This invention relates to the art of printing and applying labels.




2. Brief Description of the Prior Art




The following U.S. patents are made of record: U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,608 of Charles B. Bussard et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,392 of Paul H. Hamisch, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,396 of Donald S. Stewart; U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,434 of John D. Mistyurik; U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,442 of Daniel J. Torbeck; U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,926 of Paul H. Hamisch, Jr. et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,733 of Paul H. Hamisch, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,317 of Frank E. Seestrom; U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,326 of John D. Mistyurik; U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,045 of Brent E. Goodwin et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,100 of Howard M. Shepard et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,617 of Amy S. Christopher et al.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates to an improved labeler for printing and applying labels which is user-friendly by being low cost, has relatively few parts, is easy to assemble, is easy to load and is easy to use.




It is a feature of the invention to provide a labeler which has a housing with a cover or movable housing section, the housing section being movable between a closed or operating position and an open position which facilitates loading of a roll of a composite web of labels on a carrier web. The cover mounts a scanner which can scan data, such as contained in a bar code, and the scanned data can be used to print and apply labels, this being in addition to the keyboard by which data can be entered manually.




It is another feature of the invention to be able to print on webs of labels or tags of different widths, with the web being center-justified so that the longitudinal centerline of the web is on the centerline of the labeler. In accordance with a specific embodiment of the invention, roll mounting members are movable relatively toward and away from each other in unison to different selected positions to mount rolls of different predetermined widths, and the roll mounting members are releasably held in the selected position.




It is another feature of the invention to provide an improved path or guide system for a carrier web in a hand-held labeler. In a specific embodiment, the path for the carrier web includes a chute through which the spent carrier web exits the labeler, and the chute is shiftable to a position outside the labeler housing for cleaning purposes.




It is another feature of the invention to provide a print head assembly for a printer or labeler in which the print head of the assembly is urged into a stop position by a spring or springs within the assembly and by a spring or springs on the outside of the assembly. In a specific embodiment, the labeler has a movable housing section or cover which bears against the spring or springs which are outside of the assembly.




It is another feature of the invention to provide a housing for a labeler, wherein the labeler has a thermal print head and a platen inside the housing in which the housing has a housing section or cover, wherein the cover is movable between closed and open positions, and wherein the cover is used to move the print head to a predetermined stop position, but wherein neither the latch nor the cover has any influence on the predetermined stop position and therefore has no influence on the load or force between the print head and the platen.




It is another feature of the invention to provide a method of cleaning an exit chute of a labeler by sliding the exit chute from an operating position inside the labeler to outside the labeler, cleaning the discharge chute, and returning the exit chute to a position inside the labeler.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the labeler of the invention;





FIG. 2

is a fragmentary sectional elevational view of the labeler;





FIG. 3

is a fragmentary exploded perspective view showing various components of the labeler;





FIG. 4

is a fragmentary exploded view showing latch structure and a scanner which are on a movable housing section of the labeler;





FIG. 5

is a perspective view of the cover;





FIG. 6

is a fragmentary exploded perspective view showing an exit chute and its manner of mounting within the housing;





FIG. 7

is an exploded perspective view showing, among other things, structure for advancing the carrier web;





FIG. 8

is an exploded perspective view showing a device for accommodating label rolls of different widths;





FIG. 9

is an assembled fragmentary top plan view of the device depicted in

FIG. 8

;





FIG. 10

is an exploded perspective view of the print head assembly;





FIG. 11

is a front elevational view, partly in section, of the print head assembly and the platen roll with which the print head cooperates; and





FIG. 12

is a top plan view of the print head assembly shown in FIG.


11


.











DERAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION




With reference to

FIG. 1

, there is depicted a hand-held labeler generally indicated at


10


including a housing


11


, having a detachable battery containing handle


12


, a keyboard


13


and a display


14


at the rear position of the housing


11


, an applicator


15


at a front portion of the housing


11


for applying printed labels, and a trigger switch


16


for operating the labeler


10


.




With reference to

FIG. 2

, the labeler


10


is shown to have a movable housing section or cover


17


which carries a scanner


18


and a lens


19


mounted at the front end of the scanner


18


. The cover


17


is movable between a closed position shown in FIG.


2


and an open position by pivoting the cover


17


about a pivot


20


. A movable housing section


21


mounts the keyboard


13


and the display


14


about the pivot


20


so that the housing section


21


can be moved between its closed position shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

and an open position for servicing the electronic components (not shown) housed in a chamber


22


defined in part by a wall


23


.




The labeler


10


mounts a roll R of a composite web C of record members illustrated to be a series of labels L releasably adhered to a carrier web W. The roll R is mounted within the housing


11


and the composite web C passes from the roll R into guided relationship with a guide roll


24


and from there to between a print head


25


and a platen


26


. The platen


26


is shown to include a platen roll


27


. Adjacent the print head


25


is a delaminator


28


about which the carrier web W passes. A label L is delaminated from the carrier web W as the web W is advanced. The label L is advanced following printing into label applying relationship to and under an applicator


29


which is shown to comprise a roll


30


. The carrier web W passes from the delaminator


28


into contact with the platen roll


27


, about a guide roller


31


into the nip of a feed roll


32


and a back-up roll


33


and through a chute generally indicated at


34


from which the carrier web W exits the housing


11


.




With reference to

FIG. 3

, the housing


11


is shown to include a pair of essentially mirror-image housing sections


35


and


36


connected to the handle


12


by a connector


37


. A grounding conductor


37


′ located adjacent the handle


12


is positioned to contact the user's hand to drain electrostatic charge away from the labeler


10


into the user. Screws


38


extending through housing sections


35


and


36


are threadably received in integrally formed tubular members


39


and


40


which are an integral part of the connector


37


. A mounting block or section generally indicated at


41


mounts the platen roll


27


, the delaminator


28


, the applicator


29


, the feed roll


32


, the back-up roller


33


(FIGS.


2


and


7


), an electric motor and speed reducer


42


(FIG.


7


), and gearing


43


. The applicator roll


30


is mounted on a pin


44


. Screws


45


passing through housing sections


35


and


36


are threadably received in the pin


44


. A headed pin


46


passes through a hole


47


in the housing section


36


, and through spaced connectors


48


of a base member


49


. A screw


50


extends through the housing section


35


and is threadably received in the pin


46


. Projections


53


and


54


straddle exposed guides


55


on the housing sections


35


and


36


. A retainer


78


keeps a print head flexible connector


25


′ spaced from the roll R. The base member


49


slidably mounts identical mounting or slide members


56


and


57


.




The pin


20


passes through holes


58


in the housing section


36


, through holes


59


and


60


(

FIG. 4

) in housing parts


61


and


62


, and through hole


63


in the housing section


35


. The pin


20


also passes through the housing section


21


. The housing parts


61


and


62


when connected to form the housing section


17


. A screw


64


is threadably received in the pin


20


. Housing parts


61


and


62


have respective holes


65


and


66


. A latch generally indicated at


67


includes two spring fingers


68


and a connecting member


69


. Each spring finger


68


has two latch surfaces


70


and


71


and two cam surfaces


72


and


73


. Oppositely extending, manually depressible buttons or projections


74


and


75


extend through respective holes


65


and


66


in respective housing parts


61


and


62


. As shown in

FIG. 3

, the housing sections


35


and


36


have short upper flanges or lips


35


′ and


36


′. Either the two latch surfaces


70


or the two latch surfaces


71


can cooperate with the undersides of the lips


35


′ and


36


′ to latch the cover


17


to the remainder of the housing


11


. In particular when latching the cover


17


, the cover


17


is moved from the open position toward the closed position. The cam surfaces


73


first contact the flanges


35


′ and


36


′ and this causes the spring fingers


68


to deflect inwardly toward each other. Thereupon, the latch surfaces


71


become latched under the flanges


35


′ and


36


′. In this position, the print head


25


is spaced slightly from the platen roll


27


so that in the event it is desired to pull the carrier web W through the labeler manually in this position of the cover


17


, the user can do so without the drag that would be exerted in the event the print head


25


were in the operating position. On the other hand, if the user further closes the cover


17


, the cam surfaces


72


will be cammed by the flanges


35


′ and


36


′ and the spring fingers


68


will again be cammed inwardly until the latch surfaces


70


snap into position under the flanges


35


′ and


36


′, whereupon the print head


25


is in its operating position as shown in FIG.


2


. It will be noted hereinafter that the latch


69


does not determine the stop position of the print head


25


relative to the platen


26


.




A transverse member


76


supports the scanner


18


. Headed screws


77


pass through slots


78


in the member


76


and are threadably received by the scanner


18


.




As shown in

FIG. 6

, each guide


52


and its adjacent guide


52


′ provide a track for receiving the slidably mounting chute


34


. The chute


34


has an upper guide or guide plate


79


and a lower guide or guide plate


80


. The guide


79


has a pair of outwardly extending projections


79


′ received between a track provided by and between the guides


52


and


52


′. The upper guide


79


has a pair of C-shaped openings


81


into which projections


82


on the guide


80


are snapped. It is seen that the guide


80


has ridges


83


and side flanges


83


′ which are higher than the ridges. The carrier web W can pass between the guides


79


and


80


and the ridges


83


minimize contact between the carrier W and guide


80


. The chute


34


is held in position by oppositely extending projections


84


which snap into recesses


85


in the housing sections


35


and


36


. When it is desired to clean the chute


34


, e.g. to remove labels or the carrier web adhered therein, or to remove adhesive build-up, or the like, the projections


84


are manually grasped by the user with his/her thumb and index finger and the chute


34


is pulled out of the housing


11


to a stop position determined by opposed stops


86


(only one of which is shown). When the chute


34


has been slid out of the housing


11


, the guide


80


is free to pivot downwardly about projections


82


so that the underside of the guide


79


and the upper side of the guide


80


are open by a wide angle to facilitate cleaning thereof. Thereafter the guide


80


can be pivoted back to its original position, generally parallel to the guide


79


, and the chute


34


can be slid back into the housing to the position shown in FIG.


2


.




With reference to

FIG. 7

, there is shown a subframe or mounting section generally indicated at


87


which includes left and right aligned mirror-image subframe portions


88


and


89


. The platen roll


27


is shown to be mounted on and secured to a shaft


91


. The shaft


91


is mounted on bearings


92


received in opposed recesses


93


(only one of which is shown) in the subframe portions


88


and


89


. The delaminator


28


is mounted in aligned holes


94


(only one of which is shown) in the subframe portions


88


and


89


. The subframe portions


88


and


89


are hollow and the motor and speed reducer


42


are secured to the subframe portion


89


by screws


89


′. The output shaft


95


is secured to a gear


96


which meshes with and drives idler gears


97


and


98


. The gears


97


and


98


are rotatably mounted on posts


99


and are retained thereon by retainers


100


. The gear


97


meshes with a gear


101


secured to the shaft


91


. The gear


98


meshes with a gear


102


which is secured to a shaft


103


of the feed roll


32


. The shaft


103


is mounted in bearings


104


received in opposed recesses


105


(only one of which is shown) in the respective subframe portions


88


and


89


. End portions


115


of the back-up roller


33


are received in spaced cradles


106


. The cradles


106


are positioned so that the carrier web W which passes the roll


32


and the roller


33


is advanced. There is no speed reduction or speed increase due to the gearings


43


because all the gears


96


,


97


,


98


,


101


and


102


are identical in pitch and number of teeth. However, the outside diameter of the feed roll


32


is just slightly greater than the outside diameter of the platen roll


27


. Thus, the gearing


43


causes the peripheral speed of the feed roll


32


to be slightly greater than the peripheral speed of the platen roll


27


. Thus there is a slight amount of slippage between the feed roll


32


and the carrier web W. The contact force between the platen roll


27


and the carrier web W is greater than the contact force between the grooved feed roll


32


and the back-up roller


34


, so that the slippage is designed to occur at the feed roll


32


instead of at the platen roll


27


. Both the platen roll


27


and the feed roll are composed of the same resilient material, namely, urethane. As the carrier web W passes beyond the nip of the feed roll


32


and the back-up roller


33


, the carrier web W is confined to move into the chute


34


by a stripper and guide device generally indicated at


107


. The device


107


includes a U-shaped upper guide


108


with stripper fingers


108


′ and a lower guide


109


with stripper fingers


109


′. The stripper fingers


108


′ cooperate with grooves


32


′ in the feed roll


32


and the stripper fingers


109


′ cooperate with grooves


33


′ in the back-up roller


33


. The device


107


is clipped to the subframe


87


by superimposed arms


111


and


112


with hooked ends


111


′ and


112


′. The arms


111


and


112


fit between projections


113


and


114


and end


111


′ and


112


′ hook onto respective projections


113


and


114


.




As shown, ends


115


of the roll


33


are mounted in the cradles


106


(only one of which is shown).




Also shown in

FIG. 7

is a sensor


117


received in complementary notches


117


′ for sensing the carrier web for registration purposes. The sensor


117


is on a guide surface


117


′ which projects into the path between the roller


24


and the platen roll


27


so that the web W which has sense marks on its underside bears against the surface


117


′ at a fixed distance away from the sensor


117


. Another sensor


118


received in a label support


119


senses the absence or presence of a label at the label applying position, that is, when a label L is in underlying position with respect to the applicator roll


30


.




The label support


119


has arms


119




a


. Pivot pins


119




b


on arms


119




a


are received in holes


87


″ and


88


″ to enable the label support


119


to be pivoted counterclockwise (

FIG. 2

) away from the platen roll


27


. The label support


119


has detents


119




c


which can snap into recesses


87


′ and


88


′ in members


87


and


88


to releasably hold the label support


119


in its operating position.




With reference to

FIGS. 8 and 9

, the roll mounting members


56


and


57


are identical and have upright portions


130


and projections


131


and


132


extending perpendicular thereto. The projection


131


includes a flexible resilient finger


133


having a detent


134


and a rack


135


with gear teeth


136


. The projections


131


and


132


help to slidably mount the mounting members


56


and


57


on the base member


49


. The detents


134


selectively cooperate with notches or recesses


137


,


138


or


139


. In the position shown in

FIG. 9

, the spring fingers


133


cooperate with the recesses


137


. The upright portions


130


have tubular members


140


into which studs


141


of identical hubs or rolls


142


are snapped. The rolls


142


have annular portions or hubs


142


′ which fit into the annular hole or core R′ on the inside of the roll R. A gear


143


has a central projection


144


with a coin slot


145


. The gear


143


meshes with the racks


135


. A retainer


146


is received over the racks


135


and the gear


143


. The retainer


146


has a central hole


147


which receives the projection


144


and keeps the gear


143


centered. The retainer


146


has channels


148


which receive and guide the flanges


149


on the projections


131


. The retainer


146


has a pair of holes


150


which receive studs


151


. When assembled, the upper ends of the studs


151


extend into holes


150


and precisely locate the retainer


146


. By inserting a coin or a screw driver (not shown) in the slot


145


, the gear


143


can be rotated counterclockwise (

FIG. 9

) to cause members


56


and


57


to move toward each other in unison and to cause the detents


134


to move out of the recesses


137


and into the recesses


138


. Even further rotation of gear


143


would cause the detents


134


to enter the recesses


139


. It is apparent that when the detents


134


are in the recesses


137


, the mounting members


56


and


57


will accept the widest roll R. When the detents


134


are in the recesses


139


, the mounting members will mount the narrowest roll R. When the detents


134


are in the recesses


138


, the mounting members


56


and


57


will mount a roll R which is wider than the narrowest roll and narrower than the widest roll. By the disclosed arrangement, the mounting members


56


and


57


move toward or away from each other in unison upon rotation of the gear


143


, and the mounting member


56


and


57


move equal distances from a centerline CL, which is also the longitudinal centerline of the labeler and in particular the centerline of the print head


25


and guide rollers


24


and


31


.




It is seen that the guide roller


31


is stepped to provide pairs of annular guide edges


152


,


153


and


154


. Likewise the guide roller


24


(

FIG. 10

) has pairs of annular guide edges


155


,


156


and


157


. The pairs of guide edges


152


and


155


correspond to a wide carrier web W of a wide roll R as would be mounted on the mounting members


56


and


57


in the position illustrated in FIG.


9


. The pairs of guide edges


154


and


157


correspond to a narrow carrier web W of a narrow roll R as would be mounted on the mounting members


56


and


57


in the position in which detents


134


cooperate with recesses


139


. The pairs of guide edges


153


and


156


correspond to a carrier web W narrower than the wide carrier web W of a wide roll R and wider than the narrow carrier web W of a narrow roll R. The guide edges


153


and


156


, therefore, correspond to the position in which the detents


134


cooperate with recesses


138


.




With reference to

FIG. 10

, there is shown a print head assembly generally indicated at


158


which includes a mounting member


159


, a heat sink


160


to the underside of which the print head


25


is secured, an adjusting device


161


, and compression springs


162


.




The springs


162


bear against the inside of inverted cup-shaped portions


163


of the mounting member


159


and against the upper surface of the heat sink


160


. Thus, the springs


162


urge the mounting member


159


, and the heat sink


160


and its print head


25


, relatively apart. The mounting member


159


has a pair of depending arm portions


164


having laterally aligned generally horizontal elongate slots


165


. The adjusting device


161


is generally inverted U-shaped with a pair of depending arms


166


and a bridge or connector


167


. The arms


166


have opposed pivots


168


which pass through slots


165


and are received in aligned holes


169


with a minimum of clearance. It is apparent that the position of the adjusting device controls the position of the heat sink


160


and the print head


25


.




The mounting member


159


is stationary against rotation in the horizontal plane, however, the adjusting device


161


can cause the heat sink


160


and the print head


25


to rotate in the horizontal plane to bring the straight line of printing elements of the print head


25


into alignment with the axis of the platen roll


27


. The adjusting device


161


includes adjusting screws


170


which pass through oversize holes


171


in the mounting member


159


. The screws


170


have annular grooves


172


which receive spring clips


173


. The screws


170


are free to rotate in the holes


171


and in the spring clips


173


. The spring clips


173


grip portion


170


′ so that the clips


173


do not rotate. The screws


170


are threadably received in threaded metal inserts (not shown) in tubular members


174


which are an integral part of the bridge


167


. Selective rotation of the screws


170


causes the heat sink


160


and the print head


25


to rotate in essentially the horizontal plane (FIG.


2


).




The arms


164


have opposed projections


175


received in overly wide elongate slots


176


in the heat sink


160


. This helps hold the mounting member


159


and the heat sink


160


in assembled relationship. The arms


164


have holes


180


which receive and rotatably mount end portions


181


of the roller


24


.




The mounting member


159


also has rearwardly and upwardly extending projections


182


which are straddled by respective pairs of projections


67


′ and


68


′ on the latch


67


to hold the mounting member


159


in assembled relationship on the cover


17


.




There are two springs


185


adhesively mounted on the cup-shaped portions


163


. The springs


185


are comprised of a foam rubber type of material


186


but which have a slick cover


187


which aids in assembly. The springs


185


bear against inclined surfaces


188


on the cover


17


. As shown in

FIG. 2

, when the cover


17


is in its operating position, the springs


185


are compressed and urge the print head assembly


158


toward the platen


26


. However, the mounting member


159


has two identical stop surfaces


189


(

FIGS. 10 and 11

) on each arm


164


which bear against the tubular members


93


′ (

FIG. 7

) beyond the ends of the platen roll


27


, to define the amount of pressure between the print head


25


and the platen roll


27


. Accordingly, it is seen that irrespective of the forces exerted by the springs


185


, the pressure of the print head


25


against the platen roll


27


is controlled solely by the springs


162


.




Although a composite label web C is illustrated, the labeler


10


can print on a web of tags because the platen roll


27


is a driven roll.




The labeler


10


is comprised essentially entirely of molded plastics material and is lightweight in construction.




Other embodiments and modifications of this invention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and all such of these as come within its scope as best defined by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. Hand-held apparatus for scanning a bar code and printing on a printable web, comprising: a housing including a battery-containing handle, the housing having a space for receiving a web roll of a printable web, the housing having housing sections movable relative to each other to enable a web roll to be loaded into the web roll space, a bar code scanner at the front portion of the apparatus, a print head, a platen roll cooperable with the print head to print on the web, the print head being mounted on one of the housing sections, the platen roll being mounted on the other of the housing sections, and the print head and platen roll being movable into and out of printing cooperation upon movement of the housing sections relative to each other.
  • 2. Hand-held apparatus as defined in claim 1, including a trigger switch disposed at or adjacent the handle.
  • 3. Hand-held apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the handle and the platen roll are both on the same housing section.
  • 4. Hand-held apparatus as defined in claim 1, including a keyboard on the housing.
  • 5. Hand-held apparatus as defined in claim 1, including a keyboard disposed rearward of the scanner, and the platen roll cooperates with the print head forward of the web roll space.
  • 6. Hand-held apparatus as defined in claim 1, including a third housing section movable relative to the other housing sections, and a keyboard on the third housing section.
  • 7. Hand-held apparatus as defined in claim 1, including an electric motor, and gearing drivingly connecting the electric motor and the platen roll.
  • 8. Hand-held apparatus for scanning a bar code and printing on a printable web, comprising: a housing including a battery-containing handle, the housing having a space for receiving a web roll of a printable web, a pair of racks, a pair of hubs receivable in opposite ends of the web roll, the hubs being on the racks, a pinion meshing with the racks for enabling movement of the hubs in unison toward and away from each other, the housing having housing sections movable relative to each other to enable a web roll to be loaded into the web roll space, a bar code scanner at the front portion of the apparatus, a print head, a platen roil cooperable with the print head to print on the web, the print head being mounted on one of the housing sections, the platen roll being mounted on the other of the housing sections, and the print head and platen roll being movable into and out of printing cooperation upon movement of the housing sections relative to each other.
  • 9. Hand-held apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the hubs are rotatable.
  • 10. Hand-held apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the handle and the platen roll are both on the same housing section.
  • 11. Hand-held apparatus for scanning a bar code and printing on a printable web, comprising: a housing including a battery-containing handle, the housing having a space for receiving a web roll of a printable web, a pair of racks, and a pinion meshing with the racks for enabling movement of the racks in unison to center-justify the web roll, the housing having housing sections movable relative to each other to enable a web roll to be loaded into the web roll space, a bar code scanner at the front portion of the apparatus, a print head, a platen roll cooperable with the print head to print on the web, the print head being mounted on one of the housing sections, the platen roll being mounted on the other of the housing sections, and the print head and platen roll being movable into and out of printing cooperation upon movement of the housing sections relative to each other.
  • 12. Hand-held apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein the handle and the platen roll are both on the same housing section.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 08/881,935, filed Jun. 25, 1997 U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,638, which is a division of application Ser. No. 08/438,333 filed May 10, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,545 which is a division of application Ser. No. 08/177,887 filed Jan. 5, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,259. Other applications based directly or indirectly on Ser. No. 08/177,887 are application Ser. No. 08/880,757, filed Jun. 23, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,800, application Ser. No. 08/881,924 filed Jun. 25, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,669, application Ser. No. 08/893,923 filed Jul. 15, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,110, and application Ser. No. 08/881,992 filed Jul. 25, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,443.

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Continuations (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 08/881935 Jun 1997 US
Child 09/917037 US