摘要 |
A label applicator has a rotating head assembly for carrying labels from a hopper for application to articles to be labelled. The labels are held on the head assembly by suction. To load labels from the hopper, the hopper is reciprocated towards a spring loaded suction head of the head assembly, depressing the head thereby connecting suction to it, and then away again. A latch locks the head in a depressed state so that a label is withdrawn from the hopper. The head assembly is driven stepwise to stop temporarily for loading a label on each head. The latch is released allowing the loaded head to spring forward when it has rotated to a desired orientation on the head assembly. The released head presses the label onto the article to be labelled simultaneously disconnecting the suction. For heat activated adhesive labels, a radiant heater, preferably a quartz infra-red tube, is arranged to irradiate labels when loaded on the suction heads. |