Article controlled bag printing machine

Claim 1

A printing machine for use in printing on an end portion of a bag or an article and the like comprising: a printing roller having a resilient contacting surface; a back-up wheel segment having a resilient contacting surface; means mounting said wheel segment for adjustable movement toward and away from said printing roller; means for guiding an article to be printed upon between said printing roller and said wheel segment, said guiding means including an elongated stop plate forming a channel positioned beneath of said printing roller and extending in a direction at right angles to the axis of rotation of said printing roller, said stop plate having integral arms for horizontal adjustment toward and away from said printing roller and a guide stop adjustable laterally to position the article to be printed upon; said guiding means further including inclined guide surfaces disposed on the sides of said wheel segment adjacent said channel to guide the article into the stop plate; means actuable upon feeding the article toward said wheel segment and said printing roller to carry said wheel segment into contact with the article and the article into contact with the printing roller; an arm journalling said wheel segment and being pivotally mounted at one end thereof, the other end being connected to said means for carrying said wheel segment into contact with the article, said wheel segment being substantially intermediate of the ends of said arms; said adjustable means including an adjustable stop arranged above the other end of the arm to limit the upward movement and a fixed stop arranged below the other end of the arm to limit the downward movement; and drive means common to said printing roller and said wheel segment for rotating them in unison, said drive means including an endless drive member operably connected to said printing roller and said back-up wheel segment.