US-12623468-B2 - Label printing and attaching system

US12623468B2US 12623468 B2US12623468 B2US 12623468B2US-12623468-B2

Abstract

A label printing and attaching system includes a label printing device and a label attaching device. The label printing device has an ink tape supply mechanism for supplying an ink tape with a label pattern. A label tape supply mechanism of the label printing device is adapted to supply a label tape that includes a carrier tape and blank label paper adhered to the carrier tape. The label printing device further includes a heat transfer machine adapted to heat transfer the label pattern on the ink tape onto the blank label paper of the label tape to obtain a desired label. The label attaching device has a label picker adapted to pick up the label with the printed label pattern from the label tape, and a moving device adapted to move the label picker to place the picked label with the printed label pattern onto a product.

Inventors

Zongjie (Jason) Tao
Xuyan Yu
Hongzhou (Andy) Shen
Dandan (Emily) Zhang
Roberto Francisco-Yi Lu
Guoqiang Liu
Ziqiang Xiong
Kai Fu
Xueyun ZHU
Yi Li

Assignees

Tyco Electronics (Dongguan) Ltd.
TE CONNECTIVITY SOLUTIONS GMBH
TYCO ELECTRONICS (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230928
Priority Date: 20220928

Claims (20)

1 . A label printing and attaching system, comprising: a label printing device, including: an ink tape supply mechanism adapted to supply an ink tape with a label pattern; a label tape supply mechanism adapted to supply a label tape, the label tape having a carrier tape and blank label paper adhered to the carrier tape; and a heat transfer machine adapted to heat transfer the label pattern on the ink tape onto the blank label paper of the label tape to obtain a desired label; and a label attaching device, including: a label picker adapted to pick up the label with the printed label pattern from the label tape; and a moving device adapted to move the label picker to place and adhere the picked label with the printed label pattern onto a product.
2 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 1 , wherein the ink tape supply mechanism includes: an ink tape supply reel wound with an unused ink tape with the label pattern and adapted to supply unused ink tape to the heat transfer machine; and an ink tape recycling reel adapted to wind and recycle used ink tape on which the label pattern has been transferred onto the blank label paper.
3 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 2 , wherein the label tape supply mechanism includes: a label tape supply reel wound with a label tape and adapted to supply a label tape with blank label paper to the heat transfer machine; and a label tape recycling reel adapted to wind and recycle the label tape on which the label has been removed by the label picker.
4 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 3 , wherein the label tape supply mechanism further includes a label tape tension roller arranged between the label tape supply reel and the heat transfer machine and adapted to tension the label tape located between the label tape supply reel and the heat transfer machine.
5 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 3 , wherein the heat transfer machine has a heat transfer channel, and the ink tape and the label tape pass through the heat transfer channel of the heat transfer machine to heat transfer the label pattern on the ink tape onto the blank label paper of the label tape.
6 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 1 , wherein the label printing device further includes a visual device adapted to determine whether the quality of the printed label is qualified, wherein when the quality of the printed label is qualified, the label attaching device picks up the qualified label and attaches the picked qualified label to the product.
7 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 6 , further comprises an unqualified label recycling box adapted to recycle unqualified labels, wherein when the quality of the printed label is unqualified, the label attaching device picks up the unqualified label and places the picked unqualified label into the unqualified label recycling box.
8 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 1 , wherein: the label attaching device further includes a product gripper adapted to grab the product and placing the product in a predetermined position on the support platform; and the label picker is adapted to pick up the label and attach the picked label to the product located on the support platform.
9 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 8 , wherein the product gripper and the label picker are detachably installed on the moving device.
10 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 9 , wherein the moving device is at least one of a robotic hand, a robot, or a translation mechanism.
11 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 8 , further comprises a product fixture installed on the support platform and adapted to clamp and fix the product, wherein: the product gripper is adapted to grab the product and place the grabbed product onto the product fixture; and the label picker is adapted to pick up the label and attach the picked label to the product fixed on the product fixture.
12 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 8 , wherein: a positioning groove is formed on the support platform and adapted to position and fix the product; the product gripper is adapted to grab the product and place the product into the positioning groove; and the label picker is adapted to pick up the label and attach the picked label to the product fixed in the positioning groove.
13 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 8 , wherein the product is a cable, and the label is attached to the outer surface of the cable.
14 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 13 , further comprising a cable rotation device arranged on the support platform and adapted to clamp and rotate the cable, wherein after the label picker presses the picked up label against the cable, the cable rotation device drives the cable to rotate around its axis for attaching the label to the outer surface of the cable.
15 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 14 , wherein the label picker includes a plate-shaped body on which a plurality of vacuum suction holes are formed and arranged in an array, and the plurality of vacuum suction holes are adapted to pick up the label.
16 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 14 , wherein the cable rotation device comprises: a base installed on the support platform; a pair of cable rotating rollers rotatably installed on the base; and a cable retention clamp adapted to hold the cable between the pair of cable rotating rollers, wherein when the pair of cable rotating rollers rotate, the pair of cable rotating rollers drive the cable to rotate together through frictional bonding force.
17 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 16 , wherein the cable rotation device further includes a driver installed on the base to drive the pair of cable rotating rollers to rotate.
18 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 8 , wherein a scale is arranged on the support platform and adapted to measure dimensions of the product placed on the support platform.
19 . The label printing and attaching system according to claim 1 , wherein a wheel and a support leg are installed on the bottom of the support platform and are adapted such that the support platform is moveable freely by the wheel or fixedly supported in a predetermined position by the support leg.
20 . A label printing and attaching system, comprising: a label printing device, including: an ink tape supply mechanism adapted to supply an ink tape with a label pattern; a label tape supply mechanism adapted to supply a label tape, the label tape having a carrier tape and blank label paper adhered to the carrier tape; and a heat transfer machine adapted to heat transfer the label pattern on the ink tape onto the blank label paper of the label tape to obtain a desired label; and a label attaching device, including: a label picker adapted to pick up the label with the printed label pattern from the label tape; and a moving device adapted to move the label picker to place and adhere the picked label with the printed label pattern onto a product.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. CN202211192833.3 filed on Sep. 28, 2022, in the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the whole disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a label printing and attaching system for printing a label and attaching the printed label onto a product. BACKGROUND Currently, there is no label printing and attaching system that can efficiently achieve automated labeling. In the prior art, the label is usually printed by a printer and then manually attached to the product. The efficiency of the existing labeling scheme is very low, which reduces the efficiency of the entire product production line. SUMMARY According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a label printing and attaching system includes a label printing device and a label attaching device. The label printing device has an ink tape supply mechanism for supplying an ink tape with a label pattern. A label tape supply mechanism of the label printing device is adapted to supply a label tape that includes a carrier tape and blank label paper adhered to the carrier tape. The label printing device further includes a heat transfer machine adapted to heat transfer the label pattern on the ink tape onto the blank label paper of the label tape to obtain a desired label. The label attaching device includes a label picker adapted to pick up the label with the printed label pattern from the label tape, and a moving device moving the label picker to place the picked label with the printed label pattern onto a product. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which: FIG. 1 is an illustrative view of a label printing and attaching system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 2 illustrates a cable rotation device of a label printing and attaching system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein the like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing. A label printing and attaching system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a label printing device and a label attaching device. The label printing device has: 1) an ink tape supply mechanism for supplying an ink tape with a label pattern; 2) a label tape supply mechanism for supplying a label tape, wherein the label tape comprises a carrier tape and blank label paper adhered to the carrier tape; and 3) a heat transfer machine which is used to heat transfer the label pattern on the ink tape onto the blank label paper of the label tape to obtain a desired label. The label attaching device includes a label picker suitable for picking up the label with the printed label pattern from the label tape, and a moving device for moving the label picker to stick the picked label with the printed label pattern onto a product. FIG. 1 is an illustrative view of a label printing and attaching system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an illustrative view of the cable rotation device 23 and label picker 22 of a label printing and attaching system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a label printing and attaching system is disclosed. The label printing and attaching system includes a label printing device 1 and a label attaching device 2, 21, 22. The label printing device 1 includes an ink tape supply mechanism 11, 12, a label tape supply mechanism 13, 14, 15, and a heat transfer machine 10. The ink tape supply mechanism 11, 12 is used to supply an ink tape 1a with a label pattern. The label tape supply mechanism 13, 14, 15 is adapted to supply a label tape 1b, which includes a carrier tape and a blank label paper adhered to the carrier tape. The heat transfer machine 10 is adapted to heat transfer the label pattern on the ink tape 1a onto the b