Apparatus for preparing inventory tickets and labels for use by applying thereto sections of double-faced, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape

Claim 2

Apparatus for preparing articles to adhere to a surface, said apparatus including structure providing a pathway including first and second stations and dimensioned to slidably receive an article, the first station having an entrance to admit articles one at a time into the pathway, reciprocable means attached to said structure and operable to advance an admitted article to the second station and then return into a position rearwardly of said entrance, at least one surface portion of an article at the second station being exposed, said apparatus also including a support for at least one roll of tape provided on both surfaces with a layer of a double-faced, pressure-sensitive adhesive, and means to draw such tape from a roll on said support and sever and apply a predetermined section thereof to the exposed portion of an article at the second station, said applying means including at least one head reciprocable between a retracted first position and a second position, the second position of the head being below the second pathway station with the severed tape length positioned to contact the undersurface of an article at the second station.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1 in which there is a third station, and the article on delivery from the first station to the second station pushes any article at the second station to the third station, said third station exposing a portion of a thus processed article for removal therefrom, and including a backing surface and a spring finger attached to the structure and extending into the third station in a position to seat an article advanced thereto against the backing surface.

Claim 4

The apparatus of claim 1 in which the second station of the pathway includes a backing portion with which the article at the second station comes into engagement when a tape section is applied thereto by said tape-applying means, and a resiliently yieldable connection between said backing portion and said structure, and a resilient snubber so positioned in the pathway relative to the second station as to yieldably hold an article advanced thereto.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 1 in which the structure also has a slideway in alignment with and in communication with the pathway, said slideway being of greater depth than the pathway, and the article-advancing means includes a slide in said slideway provided with a forwardly extending pusher plate dimensioned to slidably fit said pathway, and means mounted on said structure and connected to said slide and operable to reciprocate it.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 4 in which the means severing a predetermined length from the tape and applying it to the ticket includes a rotatable feed block with the tape trained part way about it, and yieldable pusher means to seat the tape against the downwardly disposed face of the feed block in the first position of the head.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 5 in which the feed block includes means on each face to secure the tape thereto, the downwardly disposed face is the face first engaged by the tape and the pusher means is operable to urge the tape against the face.

Claim 8

The apparatus of claim 4 and means operable in response to the removal of an article from the apparatus first to actuate said article advancing means to advance an article and the tape severing and section applying means to retain the head in its first position and then to retract said article advancing means and to advance the head into its second position when an article has advanced from the second to the third station.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 7 in which the reciprocable ticket advancing means and the tape section applying means each includes a double-acting piston-cylinder unit and the means operable in response to the removal of the article from the apparatus includes an air conduit provided with first, second, and third branch conduits, the first branch conduit Including a first valve that is normally closed, the second branch conduit including a second valve that is normally closed, and the cylinders of said units and in communication therewith when the second valve is open then to effect the retraction of said article advancing means and to advance the head of the section applying means into its second position, the third branch conduit including a third valve that is normally open and the cylinders of said units and normally in connection therewith to effect the retraction of said head and the advance of said article advancing means, and means triggered by the absence or presence of an article at the third station to open and close said first valve, said first conduit then being in communication with and operable to open said second valve and close said third valve.

Claim 10

The apparatus of claim 8 in which the means triggered by the advance of an article from the second station is a second air conduit including a sensor through which air is deflected by an article to close said first valve.

Claim 11

The apparatus of claim 8 in which there are two heads and each includes a double-acting, piston-cylinder unit to effect the reciprocation of the head between said two positions and the second branch conduit includes branches in communication with both of said units, each including a manually operated valve operable to isolate a unit so as to prevent it from advancing the appropriate one of the heads.

Claim 12

The apparatus of claim 4 in which the structure includes a cover plate having said entrance and a guide plate below the cover plate including a narrow portion extending forwardly centrally through the second station exposing two surface portions of an article, and there are two reciprocable heads, one on each side of the forwardly extending portion.

Claim 13

The apparatus of claim 11 in which the cover plate has a pair of laterally spaced and transversely aligned ports, each in vertical alignment with an appropriate one of the units and yieldable backing means closing each port.

Claim 14

The apparatus of claim 11 in which the guide plate has a groove extending from under the second station forwardly through its central portion and the reciprocable means includes a slide in the groove rearwardly of the first station and the slide includes a forwardly extending pusher plate dimensioned to slidably fit said pathway and of a width such that a substantial portion of the edge of an article is engaged thereby.

Claim 15

The apparatus of claim 13 in which a snubber is secured in the groove in a position to yieldably hold a ticket at the second station when advanced thereto.

Claim 16

The apparatus of claim 11 in which the cover plate has a central recess extending from the second station and the housing has a vertical, outwardly opening channel.

Claim 17

The apparatus of claim 15 and a spring finger secured to the cover plate and extending through its central recess in a position to seat the central portion of an article against the upper end of the channel.

Claim 18

Apparatus for applying to the undersurface of a member a section of double-faced, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, said apparatus including an axially supported, rotatable feed member part way about which such tape is to be trained and which has a plurality of angularly disposed faced, said feed member having a section applying position in which a face is disposed upwardly and below said undersurface, means operable to so turn said feed member as to bring the next adjacent face into said position, means operable to cut the tape at the trailing corner of a tape covered face to provide a section during such turnings, one tape covered face being downwardly disposed in said position, yieldable means operable to push the tape against said downwardly disposed face, and means operable to effect relative movement between said members to bring them into tape section transferring contact.

Claim 19

Apparatus for applying to the undersurface of a member a section of double-faced, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, said apparatus including an axially supported, rotatable feed member part way about which such tape is to be trained and which has a plurality of angularly disposed faced, said feed member having a section applying position in which a face is disposed upwardly and below said undersurface, means operable to so turn said feed member as to bring the next adjacent face into said position, means operable to cut the tape at the trailing corner of a tape covered face to provide a section during such turnings, one tape covered face being downwardly disposed in said position, yieldable means operable to push the tape against said downwardly disposed face, and means operable to effect relative movement between said members to bring them into tape section transferring contact.

Claim 20

The device of claim 17 in which the feed member has means on each face operable to hold the tape except wheN that face comes in contact with the undersurface of the member.

Claim 21

The device of claim 19 in which the means operable to cut the tape is an anvil engageable by a corner of the block as it turns into a section applying position and means are provided to deliver a release liquid to the surface of said anvil thereby to prevent adhesion of the tape thereto.

Claim 22

The device of claim 17 in which the feed member is reciprocated between first and second positions, in the second position the severed tape section on its upwardly disposed face coming into contact with said undersurface and the means yieldably pushing the tape against the downwardly disposed face include a spring-backed pusher in engagement with the tape in the first position thereof.

Claim 23

The device of claim 20 in which the feed member turning means is operable on the return of the feed member to its first position first to cut the tape section and then to effect the operative relationship of the pusher means relative to the feed member.