Labeling method

Feb. 21, 1939.

2,148,155

P. GROSSMAN

LABELING METHOD

Filed Feb. 17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1

<img file="US2148155A_D0001.tif" />

<img file="US2148155A_D0002.tif" />

<img file="US2148155A_D0003.tif" />

<img file="US2148155A_D0004.tif" />

<img file="US2148155A_D0005.tif" />

INVENTOR.

J³.

BY

<img file="US2148155A_D0006.tif" />

Feb. 21, 1939.

2,148,155

P. GROSSMAN

LABELING METHOD

Filed Feb. 17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2

<img file="US2148155A_D0007.tif" />

<img file="US2148155A_D0008.tif" />

Z^.

INVENTOR.

<img file="US2148155A_D0009.tif" />

Patented Feb. 21, 1939

2,148,155

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,148,155

LABELING METHOD Philip Grossman, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application February 17, 1938, Serial No. 190,916

Claims.

This invention relates to a method of providing a multitude of articles, such as e. g., letters, postcards, printed matter, magazines and packages with labels of substantially equal size and con5 figuration, but presenting different contents, such as different addresses.

It is an object of the invention to improve the legibility and appearance of labels of the kind referred to, pasted or otherwise fastened to the 10 article. Labels, particularly addresses made in the way heretofore known, by means of multigraphing machines, have been of varying and often poor legibility.

It is another object of the invention to reduce ¹⁵ the cost of labeling the articles, although their legibility and appearance is improved. Heretofore, labels to be pasted or otherwise fastened onto articles have been made mostly by means of plates on which the different addresses had to 20 be impressed and the impression inked, where• from prints have been made which differed as to sharpness and legibility. If the addresses changed, entirely new plates were to be made. The present invention eliminates such plates and 25 other relatively high expenses.

It is a further object of the invention to increase the efficiency of a labeling process. The number of labels, in particular addresses to be made in a time unit, according to known proc30 esses, is relatively small. With the present invention, a multiple of the number of labels being equally legible can be made within the same time unit as it was possible heretofore.

Still a further object of the invention is to 35 increase the efficiency and to reduce the cost of attaching the finished labels to the Individual articles.

These and other objects of the invention will be more clearly understood when this specifica40 tion proceeds with reference to the drawings in which some features of the invention are shown in a more diagrammatical way. Fig. 1 shows, on a smaller scale, an article provided with a label in accordance with the present invention, whereby 45 it is assumed by way of example, that a letter is to be provided with an address. Fig. 2 shows a prepared sheet and Fig. 3 a section therethrough along the lines III—III in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 a print plate, Fig. 5 a sheet according to Fig. 2, but pro60 vided with prints, Fig. 6 a modified sheet, provided with a particular type of weakened lines of perforations, Fig. 7 shows perspectively, e. g., the connection of two cut strips; Fig. 8 shows another sheet to be used with the present invention, 66 and Fig. 9 a side view thereof, Fig. 10 shows per(Cl. 270—1) spectively the connections of a plurality of printed sheets into a longer combined sheet; Fig. :11 shows such combined sheets bent in zigzag to form a stack ready for cutting, and Fig. 12 shows schematically the principle of an apparatus adapt- ⁵ed to detach an individual label from a combined strip and to affix it to an article.

It is to be understood that the invention is by no means limited to· the showings and details of the drawings. ¹⁰

In Fig. 1, an article 10 of any type, in particular the one referred to above, is shown diagrammatically onto which a label 11 of rectangular size has to be fastened, in particular pasted. That label is supposed to contain the residence of the ad- ^⁸dressee, that address being schematically shown by a number of lines 12.

According to the present invention, these labels are prepared in the following way.

A sheet of paper 13, Fig. 2, of rectangular size ²⁰is taken which is provided with a cement or glue 14 on its lower side (Fig. 3). This sheet is weakened, in particular perforated, along equi-distant lines 15, running parallel to one side (6 of the sheet i3. The distances between the lines 15 ²⁵inter se and of the upper line 15 from the edge 16 are equal, whereas the distance between the lower line 15 and the edge 17 of the sheet is shorter. These equal distances correspond to one dimension of the rectangular label to be made, ³⁰viz. to the shorter side thereof.

In a printing machine of any desired type, e. g. in a printing press, a type of printing is prepared as shown in Fig. 4. The different contents shown are arranged in juxtaposed rows running ³³vertically in parallel to the longer side of the rectangularly shaped plate, such rows being represented in Fig. 4 at f 8, 19, 20 and 2f respectively. The number of label contents 18 etc. arranged in juxtaposition in each vertical row correspond ⁴⁰to the spaces of equal breadth left between the edge 16 and the weakened line 15, and between the latter lines respectively. It is understood that the label contents 18 will be different inter ₄₅se and so will be the label contents 19 etc. Taking fifteen horizontal columns given between the edge 16 and the weakened lines 15, furthermore the four vertical rows 18 to 21, it appears that in this exemplification sixty different label con- 50 tents or addresses are set in one plate. However, there can be set a large multiple of such label contents in a press, and the invention is in no way limited to any such definite number, larger or smaller, of label contents or addresses to be 55

2,148,155 printed on a single sheet in one stroke or cycle of operation of the printing machine.

The horizontal columns formed by the label contents 18, 19, etc. are of a height corresponding to the one of the horizontal columns formed on the sheet 13 by the weakened lines 15. Consequently, when printing the sheet 13 by means of the plate 24 of Fig. 4, the former will obtain the appearance of Fig. 5 in which the sheet 13 with weakened lines 15 etc. is unchanged but shows, between those lines, the printed contents 18 to 2 f in four vertical rows and fifteen horizontal columns, the juxtaposed columns being separated from each other by the weakened lines 15. Obviously, in this example, a longer side of the rectangular label runs parallel to the horizontal edge IS of the sheet 13, whereas the smaller side of the rectangular label runs parallel to the vertical edge of the sheet. It is obvious that the labels could be arranged turned by 90°, so that their smaller sides lie parallel to the horizontal edge of the sheet and their longer sides parallel to the vertical side of the sheet. There could also be used square-shaped labels, and those confined by undulating lines 25 as shown in Fig. 6, these lines being readily obtainable by perforating the sheet 13 along such undulating lines.

As is to be seen from Figures 2 and 5, there remains a small portion 26 on the lower side of the sheet 13 which is not printed.

The sheet 13 is now cut into strips parallel to the longer or vertical side of the sheet !3 between the juxtaposed rows 18, 19, etc. of label contents along the lines 27 in a direction vertical to that of the weakened lines 15, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Thereby strips are obtained, each strip comprising a number of printed contents 18 or 19, or 20, etc., in juxtaposition, the different contents 18 on the upper strip being separated from each other by a portion of the perforated lines 15, and so the different juxtaposed contents 19 of the next strip are separated from each other by other portions of the weakened lines 15, etc. Each such strip retained a part of the portion 26, Fig. 2, the portion forming a protruding end xx not showing any print.

The strips thus cut from sheet 13 are now connected together in series, as is shown for two strips in Fig. 7. There the strip 29 showing the different contents 18 is, e. g., connected with the next strip 30 presenting the different contents 19 by attaching, in particular pasting, the protruding end 28 of the strip 29 to the lower side on the left end of the strip 30. This can easily be done, because the lower side of the strip 30 is provided with cement, in particular glue. Nevertheless, the left end of the strip 30 can be completely pasted onto an article, because the lower side of the protruding end 28 is also provided with glue. In the same way, the strip 30 can be connected with a following one at the right side by means of the protruding end 28 to be pasted again to the lower side of the following strip. Thus any desired number of strips cut from the same or different sheets can be connected together into one single longer combined strip. Instead of taking a sheet as shown in Fig. 2, provided with weakened lines 15, and then printing the label contents upon the sheet into the columns formed by these lines, one may take a sheet 31 without perforations as shown in Fig. 8, and print upon that sheet the label contents 18, 19, etc. by means of a type plate as shown, e. g., in Fig. 4, and thereafter the sheet may be provided with weakening lines so as to give a printed sheet with weakened lines be tween the label contents, identical with that shown in Fig. 5. The sheet thus prepared will then be cut in vertical direction 27, as explained with reference to Fig. 5, to give strips which are then connected in the way described above with _greference to Fig. 7. .

Instead of taking a sheet which is provided with cement, such as glue or another adhesive, on the lower side, as is shown above with reference to Fig. 3, the sheet 31, Fig. 8, may be blank on its jq lower side as it is shown in the cross-section of Fig. 9, and the adhesive applied later on when the combined strip is subdivided into the individual labels. Then, the adhesive may be applied to the lower side of the combined strip when it 15 is fed to the separating and labeling apparatus, or the labels may even be provided with the adhesive after they are individually detached from that strip in a way to be described later on.

Instead of cutting the printed sheet prepared 20 in either of the ways described above into strips and to connect the strips with one another, it is preferable for mass production to proceed in such a way that printed sheets provided with weakened lines between the juxtaposed printed label con- 25 tents are connected to form a long combined sheet before the vertical rows of label contents are cut. To this end a plurality of sheets 13 (or 31) provided with the printed-on label contents 18 etc. and preferably provided with glue on their lower ₃₀side, are connected by means of the protruding ends 26, as is shown in Fig. 10, each such end of a foregoing sheet being attached to the lower side of the next following sheet, in the same way as described with reference to Fig. 7 for the single ₃₅strips. The long combined sheet thus obtained may then be cut along the lines 32 in a direction vertical to the weakened lines 15 and parallel to the long side of the combined sheet thus formed, so that a number of coherent strips are obtained corresponding to the number of horizontal rows of label contents, and these combined strips are now connected in a still longer strip in the way as described above for the connection of single strips with reference to Fig. 7. It is ₄₅obvious that by the method just described the manipulation for forming the desired long combined strip is simplified. Taking ten sheets and each comprising four vertical rows of label contents, with the method first described there are _G0connected forty strips, and thirty-nine manipulations are necessary, whereas according to the last described method ten sheets are to be connected and thereafter four strips which necessitates only twelve manipulations. _5g

Reverting to the cutting of the sheets, either single or combined, this can be done by hand, or by means of well-known cutting machines using either rocking or rotating knife blades. The latter cutting mechanism is preferably used if a go long combined sheet according to Fig. 10 is to be cut. All the cuts can be made simultaneously. One may also proceed in such a manner that the combined sheet 34 is folded in zigzag into a stack, Fig. 11, pressed together and then inserted in a ₆₅cutting machine of a well known type, whereby in one stroke of the blades of the machine the individual combined strips are obtained.

The long combined strip thus prepared is now inserted in an apparatus which is capable of de- 70 taching successively the individual labels from the long strip along the weakened, in particular perforated lines. For this purpose conveniently well known apparatuses may be used which are developed for detaching postal stamps from rolls 75

2,148,155 and affixing them, e. g., to letters. The long strip provided in any of the ways described above is coiled and then inserted· in such an apparatus which has to be adapted only to the dimensions 5 of the labels and the coil. One may also adjust the size of the labels and the distance of the weakened lines from each other so that standard stamp affixers can be used.

Mg. 12 shows schematically such an apparatus. 10 A combined strip 35 is positioned on an axis 36 and the first label 37 positioned by hand under the affixing head 38. The glue 14 on the lower side of the strip 37 is passed along a moistening pad 39, whereby the label is prepared for being 15 pasted onto an article 10 positioned under the affixer. Now the head 38 is moved down in the direction of the arrow 40 by means of a handle 41; the coil 35 and the strip to which the label 37 still adheres are simultaneously moved in the 20 direction of the arrow 42, but only for a distance shorter than that to be passed by the head 38 before depositing the label 37 on the article 10, so that ultimately the label 37 is detached along the weakened, preferably perforated line 25 from the strip of the coil 35 and then pressed upon the article 10. The glue on the lower side of the label 37 has been moistened just before by the pad 39, so that the label 37.is firmly affixed to the article 10. If the lower side of the 30 combined strip 35 is not provided with glue, it could be applied by the pad 39 which in such case is fed with a suitable fluid glue. It is understood that there may be provided , cutting means and other details of an affixer, such as a tank 35 with water for continuously moistening the pad 39, which are not shown, in order to simplify this description. Reference may be made to U. S. Patent 1,216,363, where a stamp affixer is described which can be conveniently used for the 40 purposes of the invention.

It is to be understood that the invention is by no means restricted to any of the particular features described above by way of example only, and is to be derived in its broadest aspect from 45 the appended claims.

It will be appreciated from the above that, according to this invention, a very efficient method of labeling articles is presented. The type plates or equivalent parts of a printing machine 50 can be set to print a single sheet as well as a large number of them. If the labels are intended for weekly magazines, there will be printed at least fifty-two or more sheets from a type plate. If the labels are intended for a daily paper, there 55 will be printed three-hundred-and-seventy or more sheets from the same plate. Nevertheless, one label will equal the other as to clearness of its content and appearance, which could never be obtained by the usual multiplying methods. 60 Also in case of small numbers of sheets, or even single sheets to be prepared in the way described above, the printing process will be preferable to any other, because it is a fast process which delivers clearly legible contents of attractive apes pearance. Thus, e. g., each content, such as address, can be conveniently provided with a surrounding border or other decoration, viz., each address may be enclosed in a rectangle. Furthermore, it will be appreciated from the above 70 that the formation of strips and coils to be inserted in a stamp affixer is easy and simple and can efficiently be performed. Finally, detaching and affixing of the labels, in particular to the articles to be labeled, affords a known apparatus 75 available on the market at relatively low price, and the handling thereof does not require any -particular skill. Thus, the individual labels can be quickly and safely detached from the strip and affixed to the article, and mistakes, e. g„ in the postal delivery, are excluded by the clearness, _rpermanence and extraordinary legibility of the ° addresses.