ARATUS FOR IMPRINTING ON MOVING ARTICLES WITHOUT SMEARING THE IMPRINT

摘要

A modification of a stamping machine originally used for imprinting a distinctive mark or indicia on each of a series of similar articles sequentially delivered to and momentarily dwelling at or moving slowly through a selected location for application of an imprint thereto, apparatus for modifying the machine to imprint a desired distinctive mark or indicia on each of a series of similar and relatively small articles sequentially transported by a conveyor rapidly and continuously moving in a selected direction through a path of travel, the modified apparatus being located at an imprinting station in the path of travel of the articles to be imprinted and including a printing platen supporting a printing type and reciprocatively moveable in alignment with the path of travel of the articles, means, responsive to the passage of each of the articles through the imprinting station, for rapidly starting the printing platen from an initial position and accelerating the platen to substantially equal the speed of each respective article while actuating the platen to contact each article with the printing type to imprint the desired distinctive indicia on the article, and means operating, following each imprinting actuation of the printing platen, for rapidly returning the printing platen to its initial position in preparation for imprinting of the indicia on each next article of the series of articles sequentially transported through the imprinting station by the conveyor.