Automatic labelling apparatus

Claim 1

IN AUTOMATIC LABELLING APPARATUS, AN ELONGATED BASE STRUCTURE, ENDLESS CONVEYOR MEANS MOUNTED UPON SAID BASE STRUCTURE TO EXTEND LINGITUDINALLY THEREOF, THE UPPER REACH OF SAID ENDLESS CONVEYOR MEANS PRESENTING A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL SUPPORT SURFACE EXTENDING IN A STRAIGHT LINE PATH FOR TRANSPORTING CONTAINERS TO BE LABELLED TO A LABELLING STATION AND TO A LABEL-CONFORMING STATION CONTINUOUSLY AND AT SPACED INTERVALS, MEANS FOR REMOVING SAID CONVEYOR AT A CONSTANT VELOCITY, A SUPPORT FORMATION MOUNTED ON SAID BASE STRUCTURE TO OVERLIE SAID CONVEYOR MEANS AND VERTICALLY SPACED THEREFROM, MEANS CARRIED BY SAID SUPPORT FORMATION FOR DEPOSTING AN ADHESIVE-CARRYING LABEL ON A CONTAINER BEING TRANSPORTED ON SAID CONVEYER MEANS, AN ENDLESS BELT FORMATION MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT FORMATION BEYOND SAID LABEL-DEPOSITING MEANS WITH REFERENCE TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF SAID CONVEYOR MEANS, MEANS SUPPORTING SAID ENDLESS BELT FORMATION FOR MOVEMENT IN A VERTICAL PLANE, THE LOWER REACH OF SAID ENDLESS BELT FORMATION BEING ARRANGED TO OVERLIE SAID ENDLESS CONVEYOR MEANS AND TO EXTEND IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL REACTION THERETO, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID ENDLESS BELT FORMATION AT THE SAME VELOCITY AS SAID ENDLESS CONVEYOR MEANS, SUPPORT MEANS CARRIED BY SAID ENDLESS BELT FORMATION FOR TRAVEL THEREWITH IN ITS ENDLESS PATH, RECIPROCABLE MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS TO EXTEND BEYOND SAME IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID ENDLESS BELT FORMATION, SAID RECIPROCABLE MEANS HAVING A SOCKET FORMATION AT THE END THEREOF FURTHEST AWAY FROM SAID ENDLESS BELT FORMATION AND HAVING A CONFIGURATION TO REGISTER WITH A SELECTED SURFACE OF A CONTAINER TRANSPORTED ON SAID ENDLESS CONVEYOR MEANS UPON WHICH A LABEL HAS BEEN DEPOSITED, PRESSURE PAD MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID RECIPROCABLE MEANS AND MEANS OPERABLE UPON DISPLACEMENT OF SAID RECIPROCABLE MEANS IN A DIRECTION TO MOVE SAID SOCKET FORMATION TOWARDS SAID SUPPORT MEANS UNDER REGISTRATION OF SAID SOCKET FORMATION WITH SUCH SELECTED SURFACE OF A CONTAINER TO MOVE SAID PRESSURE PAD MEANS INTO SUBSTANTIAL PARALLELISM ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID RECIPROCABLE MEANS AND DEPENDING BELOW A SPACING FORMATION, SAID PRESSURE PAD MEANS HAVING A SPACING THEREBETWEEN WHEN IN SUBSTANTIAL PARALLELISM TO APPLY CONFORMING PRESSURE TO A LABEL TO BE APOLIED AGAINST OPPOSED SELECTED SURFACES OF A CONTAINER IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE APPLICATION OF CONFORMING PRESSURE BY SAID SOCKET FORMATION TO THE FIRST-MENTIONED SELECTED SURFACE OF A CONTAINER AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE POSITION OF A CONTAINER TRANSPORTED ON SAID CONVEYOR MEANS TO PRESENT THE AFOREMENTIONED SELECTED SURFACES THEREOF TO BE LABELLED TO SAID LABEL-DEPOSITING MEANS AND TO SAID SOCKET FORMATION AND PRESSURE PAD MEANS.