Markem Corporation

Michael F Potter

William E Maxwell

Peter Jenness, Iii

An article printing system is disclosed wherein successive strips of closely-spaced interconnected articles, such as electronic components, are fed in an intermittent manner by an endless conveyor belt to a printing nip located beneath a continuously rotating offset roll which is arranged for synchronized vertical reciprocation. Belt perforations corresponding in location to each individual article to be printed are sensed by a photoelectric detector to stop the article at a ready position located a predetermined distance from the printing nip. When a printed image on the offset roll rotates to a position of predicted registration with the motionless article surface below, the belt is restarted and the offset roll is lowered to its printing position in order to transfer the image to the article as it traverses the printing nip. After the image has been transferred, the offset roll is restored to its upper retracted position to avoid premature frictional contact with the leading edge of the next article to be printed. The belt continues to move until detection of the next perforation stops the belt in preparation for another printing cycle. Additional pairs of perforations, distinguishable by their characteristic spacing from the perforations corresponding to individual articles, are sensed by a second photoelectric detector for stopping the system after an entire strip of articles has been printed in order to allow a new strip to be loaded onto the belt.

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Keene, NH, United States of America

Michael F Potter