In-mold label dispenser of blow molding machine

摘要

An in-mold label dispenser (20) for a plastic blow molding machine of the rotary wheel type is disclosed as including a base (50) on which a carrier arm (52) is pivotally mounted by a support (58) to swing a dispensing head (60) on the carrier arm along a curved path between withdrawn and inserted positions with respect to mold sections (32) of an adjacent open mold (28) on the machine wheel (24). At least one label carrier (62) is mounted on the dispensing head for movement between retracted and extended positions, and at least one label magazine (64) is located adjacent the dispensing head with the carrier arm in the withdrawn position. A drive mechanism (66) of the label dispenser (20) includes a first drive (68) that pivotally moves the carrier arm and also includes a second drive (70) that moves each label carrier between the retracted and extended positions during cyclical operation that transfers labels from the label magazine to the molds on the machine wheel. Any number of label carriers can be utilized depending upon the number of labels supplied to each mold and the number of cavities in each mold. First and second drive units (86 and 92) of the first and second drives (68 and 70) are driven by a common input 72 of the drive mechanism 66 and have solid mechanical drives that provide the coordinated carrier arm pivoting and label carrier movement without the need of any location sensor to control the movements.