Label printing and applying apparatus

Claim 2

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a platen stationarily mounted to the frame, a print head movably mounted to the frame and cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, the print head having at least one row of side-by-side selectively settable printing members, a delaminator disposed downstream of the platen for delaminating printed labels from the web, an applicator disposed downstream of the delaminator for applying labels to an article to be labeled, a manually operable actuator disposed at the handle, means driven by the actuator for driving the print head toward and away from the platen by exerting an unbalanced driving force on one side of the print head, means driven by the actuator for advancing the web to between the print head and the platen and thereafter to the delaminator in label applying position by the applicator, and means including a weight carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label.

Claim 3

Apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a platen, movable print head cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, the print head including a print head frame having a support, a rotatably mounted wheel carried by the print head frame, a printing band having a plurality of different printing elements, the support being in supportive relation to one of the print elements at a printing zone opposite the platen, means for driving the print head toward and away from the platen, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label, wherein the rebound dampening means includes a plunger for acting directly on the underside of the printing element at the printing zone and wherein the support has a pair of spaced apart support members which contact the underside of the printing band only at opposed ends of the printing element at the printing zone.

Claim 4

Apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a platen, movable print head cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, the print head including a print head frame having a support, a rotatably mounted wheel carried by the print head frame, a printing band having a plurality of different printing elements, the support being in supportive relation to one of the print elements at a printing zone opposite the platen, means for driving the print head toward and away from the platen, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label, wherein the rebound dampening means includes a plunger for acting directly on the underside of the printing element at the printing zone and wherein the support has a pair of spaced apart support members which contact the underside of the printing band only at opposed ends of the printing element at the printing zone.

Claim 5

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a platen stationarily mounted to the frame, a print head movably mounted to the frame and cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, the print head having at least one row of side-by-side selectively settable printing members, a delaminator disposed downstream of the platen for delaminating printed labels from the web, an applicator disposed downstream of the delaminator for applying labels to an article to be labeled, a manually operable actuator disposed at the handle, means driven by the actuator for driving the print head toward and away from the platen by exerting an unbalanced driving force on one side of the print head, means driven by the actuator for advancing the web to between the print head and the platen and thereafter to the delaminator in label applying position by the applicator, and means including a plurality of plungers slidably mounted by and relative to the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label.

Claim 6

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a platen stationarily mounted to the frame, a print head movably mounted to the frame and cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, the print head having at least one row of side-by-side selectively settable printing members, a delaminator disposed downstream of the platen for delaminating printed labels from the web, an applicator disposed downstream of the delaminator for applying labels to an article to be labeled, a manually operable actuator disposed at the handle, means driven by the actuator for driving the print head toward and away from the platen by exerting an unbalanced driving force on one side of the print head, means driven by the actuator for advancing the web to between the print head and the platen and thereafter to the delaminator in label applying position by the applicator, and means including a plurality of plungers slidably mounted by and relative to the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label.

Claim 7

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a platen stationarily mounted to the frame, a print head movably mounted to the frame and cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, a delaminator disposed downstream of the platen for delaminating printed labels from the web, an applicator disposed downstream of the delaminator for applying labels to an article to be labeled, a manually operable actuator disposed at the handle, means driven by the actuator for driving the print head toward and away from the platen and for advancing the web to between the print head and the platen and thereafter to the delaminator in label applying position by the applicator, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label, wherein the print head includes a print head frame having a support, a rotatably mounted wheel carried by the print head frame, a printing band trained about the support and the wheel, the printing band having a plurality of different printing elements, the support being in supportive relation to one of the print elements at a printing zone opposite the platen, and wherein the rebound dampening means includes a plunger for acting directly on the underside of the printing element at the printing zone.

Claim 8

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a platen stationarily mounted to the frame, a print head movably mounted to the frame and cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, a delaminator disposed downstream of the platen for delaminating printed labels from the web, an applicator disposed downstream of the delaminator for applying labels to an article to be labeled, a manually operable actuator disposed at the handle, means driven by the actuator for driving the print head toward and away from the platen and for advancing the web to between the print head and the platen and thereafter to the delaminator in label applying position by the applicator, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label, wherein the print head includes a print head frame having a support, a rotatably mounted wheel carried by the print head frame, a printing band trained about the support and the wheel, the printing band having a plurality of different printing elements, the support being in supportive relation to one of the print elements at a printing zone opposite the platen, and wherein the rebound dampening means includes a plunger for acting directly on the underside of the printing element at the printing zone.

Claim 9

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a platen stationarily mounted to the frame, a print head movably mounted to the frame and cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, a delaminator disposed downstream of the platen for delaminating printed labels from the web, an applicator disposed downstream of the delaminator for applying labels to an article to be labeled, a manually operable actuator disposed at the handle, means driven by the actuator for driving the print head toward and away from the platen and for advancing the web to between the print head and the platen and thereafter to the delaminator in label applying position by the applicator, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label, wherein the print head includes a print head frame having a support, a rotatably mounted wheel carried by the print head frame, a printing band trained about the support and the wheel, the printing band having a plurality of different printing elements, the support being in supportive relation to one of the printing elements at a printing zone opposite the platen, wherein the rebound dampening means includes a plunger for acting directly on the underside of the printing element at the printing zone and wherein the support has a pair of spaced apart support members which contact the underside of the printing band only at opposite ends of the printing element at the printing zone.

Claim 10

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a platen stationarily mounted to the frame, a print head movably mounted to the frame and cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, a delaminator disposed downstream of the platen for delaminating printed labels from the web, an applicator disposed downstream of the delaminator for applying labels to an article to be labeled, a manually operable actuator disposed at the handle, means driven by the actuator for driving the print head toward and away from the platen and for advancing the web to between the print head and the platen and thereafter to the delaminator in label applying position by the applicator, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label, wherein the print head includes a print head frame having a support, a rotatably mounted wheel carried by the print head frame, a printing band trained about the support and the wheel, the printing band having a plurality of different printing elements, the support being in supportive relation to one of the printing elements at a printing zone opposite the platen, wherein the rebound dampening means includes a plunger for acting directly on the underside of the printing element at the printing zone and wherein the support has a pair of spaced apart support members which contact the underside of the printing band only at opposite ends of the printing element at the printing zone.

Claim 11

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a plate stationarily mounted to the frame, a print head movably mounted to the frame and cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, a delaminator disposed downstream of the platen for delaminating printed labels from the web, and applicator disposed downstream of the delaminator for applying labels to an article to be labeled, a manually operable actuator disposed at the handle, means driven by the actuator for driving the print head toward and away from the platen and for advancing the web to between the print head and the platen and thereafter to the delaminator in label applying position by the applicator, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression of the label, wherein the print head includes a print head having a support, a plurality of rotatably mounted wheels carried by the print head frame, and a plurality of printing bands each having a plurality of different printing elements, the printing bands being trained about the support and respective wheels, the support being in supportive relation to one of the printing elements of each band at a printing zone opposite the platen, wherein the rebound dampening means includes plunger means for acting directly on the undersides of printing elements at the printing zone.

Claim 12

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a plate stationarily mounted to the frame, a print head movably mounted to the frame and cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, a delaminator disposed downstream of the platen for delaminating printed labels from the web, and applicator disposed downstream of the delaminator for applying labels to an article to be labeled, a manually operable actuator disposed at the handle, means driven by the actuator for driving the print head toward and away from the platen and for advancing the web to between the print head and the platen and thereafter to the delaminator in label applying position by the applicator, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression of the label, wherein the print head includes a print head having a support, a plurality of rotatably mounted wheels carried by the print head frame, and a plurality of printing bands each having a plurality of different printing elements, the printing bands being trained about the support and respective wheels, the support being in supportive relation to one of the printing elements of each band at a printing zone opposite the platen, wherein the rebound dampening means includes plunger means for acting directly on the undersides of printing elements at the printing zone.

Claim 13

Apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the plunger means includes a separate slidably mounted plunger individual to each printing band.

Claim 14

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a platen stationarily mounted to the frame, a movable print head cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, the print head including a print head frame having a support, a rotatably mounted wheel carried by the print head frame, a printing band trained about the support and the wheel, the printing band having a plurality of different printing elements, the support being in supportive relation to one of the printing elements at a printing zone opposite the platen, a delaminator disposed downstream of the platen for delaminating printed labels from the web, an applicator disposed downstream of the delaminator for applying printed labels to an article to be labeled, means for driving the print head toward and away from the platen, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label, wherein the rebound dampening means includes a plunger for acting directly on the underside of the printing element at the printing zone.

Claim 15

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a platen stationarily mounted to the frame, a movable print head cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, the print head including a print head frame having a support, a rotatably mounted wheel carried by the print head frame, a printing band trained about the support and the wheel, the printing band having a plurality of different printing elements, the support being in supportive relation to one of the printing elements at a printing zone opposite the platen, a delaminator disposed downstream of the platen for delaminating printed labels from the web, an applicator disposed downstream of the delaminator for applying printed labels to an article to be labeled, means for driving the print head toward and away from the platen, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label, wherein the rebound dampening means includes a plunger for acting directly on the underside of the printing element at the printing zone.

Claim 16

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a platen stationarily mounted to the frame, a movable print head cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, the print head including a print head having a support, a plurality of rotatably mounted wheels carried by the print head frame, and a plurality of printing bands each having a plurality of different printing elements, the printing bands being trained about the support and the respective wheels, the support being in supportive relation to one of the printing elements of each band at a printing zone opposite the platen, means for driving the print head toward and away from the platen, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label, wherein the rebound dampening means includes plunger means for acting directly on the undersides of printing elements at the printing zone.

Claim 17

Hand-held apparatus for printing and applying pressure sensitive labels carried on a web of supporting material, comprising: a frame having a handle, a platen stationarily mounted to the frame, a movable print head cooperable with the platen to make a printing impression on a label, the print head including a print head having a support, a plurality of rotatably mounted wheels carried by the print head frame, and a plurality of printing bands each having a plurality of different printing elements, the printing bands being trained about the support and the respective wheels, the support being in supportive relation to one of the printing elements of each band at a printing zone opposite the platen, means for driving the print head toward and away from the platen, and means carried by the print head and effective when the print head and the platen are in cooperation for dampening the rebound of the print head to prevent the print head from making a second printing impression on the label, wherein the rebound dampening means includes plunger means for acting directly on the undersides of printing elements at the printing zone.

Claim 18

Apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein the plunger means includes a separate slidably mounted plunger individual to each printing band.