Abstract: A manual label applicator is provided for use in a commodity weighing and labeling station. As a preprinted label is advanced from a printing station in a cantilever fashion, a label applicator having a roll with knife edges thereon causes said label to be creased in the direction of travel. Creasing of the label tends to keep it rigid and reliably hold it in a orientation suitable for manual application either through impact or by physically removing the label by hand. The knife edges or ridges on the roll further cooperate with fluting provided in a sliding surface for facilitating the partial creasing of the label as it advances through the label applicator.

Abstract: A label applicator is provided for applying pre-printed adhesive-backed labels from a printer to a corresponding commodity in a single stroke. A vacuum-assisted pick-up head receives the preprinted label and in one stroke delivers it and adheres it to a commodity. A new applicator head includes an integrated sponge-like, conformable portion which evenly applies the label, even across the face of an irregularly contoured commodity. The applicator head further includes a slidable pick-up and applicator tube, initially for retaining and then for spot sticking of the label to the commodity. A vacuum is applied to the applicator tube through a pick-up head having a hollow internal portion communicating, regardless of slide position, with the hollow applicator tube and, also, with the applicator head shaft, also having a hollow section for receiving the vacuum source. A downward stroke of the label applicator first causes the applicator tube to spot the label upon the commodity positioned below.

Abstract: A controller is described which interfaces with a scale and a label printer for computing prices of weighed commodities, for displaying a human readable description of the commodity being weighed and other characteristics of the commodity, and for activating the label printer to print the displayed information on a label. The controller includes a keyboard for selecting and changing the information to be displayed and printed, and a cathode ray tube for displaying the information.

Abstract: A label applicator is described for seizing a printed, adhesive backed label and for applying the label to a commodity. The applicator includes a pick-up head for vacuum-seizing a portion of the label by its non-adhesive side and for swinging the label to a label transfer station. At the latter station, the pick-up head releases its grip on the label and an applicator head vacuum-seizes another portion of the non-adhesive side of the label and then applies the label to the commodity.

Abstract: A label printer is described herein for printing on a tape information indicative of the cost of an item. The tape has a top print-receptive layer and a supporting layer and is disposed to be advanced between a printing head and a platen. The printing head is disposed near the tape egress end of the platen, which platen is pivotable at its tape ingress end about an axis perpendicular to the path of tape feed. Platen adjusting means are included at the tape egress end for adjusting the print head working distance. A delaminating bar and a tape advancement wheel are disposed in spaced apart sequence in the path of tape feed and downstream of the tape egress end of said platen so that, as the tape is advanced through the printer, the tape is pulled over the delaminating edge and separates the print-receptive layer from the supporting layer of tape.

Abstract: An apparatus for printing and delivering a label-receipt type tape member which displays the results of a variable number of operations of a computing scale including the value of items weighed on the scale, the value of fixed price items not weighed on the scale, and the total value of a group of items including fixed price items and items required to be weighed, the apparatus comprising a supply reel of continuous laminate tape coated on one side and protected with a cover web, a printing including a printing head responsive to the operations of the computing scale to print the information supplied on successive lines of the tape, a stripper bar, a take-up reel for pulling the cover web over the stripper bar under tension and to separate the cover web from the printed tape, and a tear surface adapted to permit the separation of the presented portion of printed tape from the continuous tape as a label-receipt.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a weighing and computing system for determining and displaying the total net price of a series of commodity items including items to be weighed for determining individual net prices from unit weight prices and items of fixed net prices which are not to be weighed. The system includes a weighing mechanism comprising a platform upon which a commodity item to be weighed is placed for providing reference and gross weight signals corresponding to the load on the platform with the reference weight signals corresponding to the total load of all previous commodities in the series which have been weighed and the gross weight signals corresponding to the total load of all said previous commodities weighed and the load of the next commodity in the series to be weighed and a selectively operable unit price means for providing a rate signal corresponding to a unit weight price for a commodity to be weighed or an item net price signal for a commodity of fixed net price.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a balancing means for a weighing scale which compensates for non-linearities in the weighing mechanism to thereby render the scale platform displacement load weight relation linear. The balancing means includes a rotatable wheel which is coupled to the scale platform for rotating with platform displacement. A shaft having an axis of rotation concentric with the rotatable wheel axis of rotation and a plurality of radially extending and arcuately spaced balance weights rotates with the rotatable wheel. As the platform is displaced and the rotatable wheel rotates, the balance weights act upon the weighing mechanism to render the relation between load weight and platform displacement linear.