Abstract: A compensated web transport for decorators, in which the motion of the web is matched with that of a container being decorated. Controlled motion of the web is used to reduce distortion in the transfer of labels to irregularly shaped containers.

Abstract: Apparatus for stabilizing bottles and like articles after transfer to an underlying conveyor. A bottle ejected from a turret or other transport device is trapped under an inclined belt, and steadied thereby to travel in an upright orientation at the speed of the underlying conveyor. The inclined belt is depressed by a downwardly biased plate, which is pivotally mounted at its upstream end to a vertically adjustable spring retainer block.

Abstract: Apparatus for convectively cooling bottles and the like in a heat transfer decorator. Bottles travel on an underlying conveyor where they are subjected to descending air streams issuing from a plenum chamber. Refrigerated or room temperature air is directed from the plenum chamber by a series of fans, and routed through a honeycomb flow straightener which reduces the helical turbulence of the air streams. The air streams pass between nozzle plates which further enhance the flow uniformity.

Abstract: Apparatus for controlling the tension of a web during transport, such as a label-carrying web in a heat transfer labelling machine. The web travels from a supply reel, around a dancer roll and metering roll, through various other web handling devices to another dancer roll, and is collected at a rewind reel. Each dancer roll is linked to a clutch for the corresponding supply or takeup reel, so that each clutch exerts a braking torque determined by the web tension at its dancer roll. Each dancer roll is further linked to an air cylinder to provide a user-determined tension level. The carrier web includes pin holes which are engaged by a pin wheel rotatably mounted to the metering roll, so that the pin wheel swivels when subjected to web tension differentials. Swivelling of the pin wheel opens and closes a valve within the metering roll, thereby providing a variable vent for high pressure air supplied to the supply air cylinder.

Abstract: Apparatus for turning bottles and the like during exposure to a jet of hot gas or other heat source. Bottles are individually passed by an air cylinder gate and travel to a drive wheel and a spring loaded idler, where they are trapped by a second air cylinder gate. The drive wheel turns the bottle over a predetermined revolution while the bottle face is exposed to heat. The bottle is then permitted to exit by retraction of the second air cylinder gate. A pneumatic assembly controls gate operation, along with mechanical actuation to prevent bottle entrapment in the heating area.

Abstract: An article-holding turret which is particularly suitable for rotatably conveying large objects. A friction brake is fixed to a pawl plate, and these axially mounted structures are oscillated by a rack and pinion assembly driven from a turret index shuttle. A ratchet and spindle assembly is coaxially mounted on the turret's central shaft, and caused to periodically index through desired angular intervals by a pawl carried on the pawl plate. The forward rotation of the ratchet and spindle assembly is accompanied by a commensurate rotation of the friction brake, thereby minimizing rotational drive forces required during this segment. An auxiliary pawl and bracket assembly prevents retrogression of the ratchet and spindle during the reverse oscillation of the friction brake assembly.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for the decoration of bottles and the like at high speeds. Bottles are delivered by an input conveyor to a star wheel, which deposits them sequentially into a continuously rotating turret. The turret carries the bottles past a labelling site, where a label carrier strip is pressed into contact with a bottle surface and a label thereby transferred. The shape of the bottle is maintained during labelling by means of inflation of the bottles through an inserted nozzle. The raising and lowering of the inflating nozzle and the flow of inflating air is controlled by special valving apparatus. The motion of the label carrier strip past the labelling site is regulated by the use of rolls on a shuttle slide, which in turn is reciprocated by a second slide driven by a conjugate cam. This results in an increase of the local velocity of the carrier strip during most of the cycle, and a slowing of the strip during the balance.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for the decoration of bottles and the like at high speeds. Bottles are delivered by an input conveyor to a star wheel, which deposits them sequentially into a continuously rotating turret. The turret carries the bottles past a labelling site, where a label carrier strip is pressed into contact with a bottle surface and a label thereby transferred. The shape of the bottle is maintained during labelling by means of inflation of the bottles through an inserted nozzle. The raising and lowering of the inflating nozzle and the flow of inflating air is controlled by special valving apparatus. The motion of the label carrier strip past the labelling site is regulated by the use of rolls on a shuttle slide, which in turn is reciprocated by a second slide driven by a conjugate cam. This results in an increase of the local velocity of the carrier strip during most of the cycle, and a slowing of the strip during the balance.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for handling bottles and the like in heat transfer labelling and similar applications with increased processing rates. Bottles are delivered on a single lane conveyor, through a preheating station, and then routed through various bottle handling stations which separate the bottles into two groups to be handled by separate labelling modules. The two groups of bottles are then recombined in a single lane for further processing. The bottle handling apparatus consists of a dividing station, a crossover station, and a combining station. A bottle loading gate may be included to control the rate of feed of bottles into the single lane input conveyor. The handling stations include gates, for controlling the spacing of bottles, and diverters, for guiding bottles into selected lanes. The user may activate the bottle handling stations to double the labelling rate, or deactivate the stations to label each bottle twice.