Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Reexamination Certificate
1995-10-23
2001-06-12
Mayes, Curtis (Department: 1734)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
C156S229000, C156S291000, C156SDIG009, C156SDIG001, C156SDIG001, C156S256000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06245181
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As described in my copending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/495,982 referred to above now abandoned, it is known to apply elastic labels to containers in the form of sleeves which are stretched to fit over the container, e.g. over the cylindrical body of the container, and are then allowed to relax and provide a tight fit onto the cylindrical part of the container. If there are indented or what are commonly known as “contoured” parts of the container, such as the shoulder of a container above its cylindrical body, the label applied in this manner will shrink onto such indented or contoured portion or portions.
Herein below for convenience the term “label” or “labels” and the term “container” or “containers” will be used, but it is to be understood that other segments of sheet material may be applied for example for decorative purposes and that other articles than containers may have labels or other segments of sheet material applied to them.
Such sleeve application requires forming sleeves, then removing them from the sleeve forming mechanism and stretching them and applying them to the container. This is an expensive procedure.
Whether the label is applied only to the cylindrical body of a container or whether it is applied also to contoured portions of the container, elastic, stretched label material is advantageous, for example, in the case of containers filled with carbonated beverages. If a container contains a carbonated beverage and it is opened and part of the contents are consumed and then the container is stoppered for further use at a later time, the internal pressure of the carbonation is diminished or ceases altogether. If the label is, for example, a paper label or an unstretched non-elastic plastic label the diameter of the container will diminish and the label will be loose. It is therefore an advantage to have a label which is elastic and which as originally applied to the container forms a tight fit with the container but which when the container diminishes in diameter will nevertheless shrink so as to fit the container tightly. Even if the container is rigid and does not expand or contract due to changes in internal pressure it is advantageous to use an elastic label which is applied in stretched condition to accommodate irregularities on the surface of the container.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to apply stretchable labels in stretched condition to containers without the need to preform the labels into sleeves.
The above and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description and the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention stretched elastic label material, e.g., stretchable polyethylene is supplied continuously to a cutting instrumentality such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,555 and each label, after it passes through the cutter and before it is cut into individual labels, is supplied to a rotating vacuum drum and its leading end is placed on the rotating vacuum drum, which grips the label by vacuum. Alternatively, but less desirably, precut labels are fed from a stack of the same to a vacuum drum, as for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,416, likewise being gripped by the vacuum of the vacuum drum. In either case the peripheral speed of the drum exceeds the linear speed of the label. In the absence of a sufficiently high vacuum this would lead to slippage of the label on the drum. However, by using a sufficiently high vacuum this is avoided. Hence the label is held firmly on the drum by vacuum and by reason of the fact that the peripheral speed of the drum is greater than that of the label feed through the cutting instrumentality, the label is stretched. Alternatively the leading end of the label may be clamped onto the vacuum drum, e.g., as described in Eder U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,452. The combined use of a clamp and a vacuum strong enough to hold the label against slippage may also be employed.
The label thus held in stretched condition on the drum is then contacted, e.g., at the leading end and at the tailing end by a glue applicator which applies glue to the leading end and to the trailing end so that when the label is wrapped around the container it is adhered thereto. Also the use of a solvent applied to the label and absorbed by the label to form an adhesive in situ may be employed. Alternatively also heat sealing of the ends of the label together may be accomplished as for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,596.
The problem of relaxation of the label from its stretched condition when it is released from the vacuum drum may be dealt with as follows:
The adhesive applied to the leading end of the label to adhere it to the container may be an adhesive which bonds very quickly and strongly to the label and to the container, such that it prevents or minimizes relaxation of the label as it leaves the vacuum drum and bonds to the container. Examples of such adhesives are provided below. Alternatively, or in conjunction with the use of such an adhesive, the adhesive may be applied as a series of dots spaced lengthwise along the label or around the periphery of a container. Thus the first dot or array of dots of adhesive near the leading end of the label will be followed by a dot or array of dots spaced a short distance from the first dot or array, etc. Therefore the label will be held firmly on the container as each label comes off of the vacuum drum and it is prevented from relaxing or the relaxation of the label is not significant.
Adhesive may be applied to the container rather than the label or it may be applied to both the container and the label. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,963 adhesive application to the container is shown. The adhesive application to the container may be (as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,963) applied to both the container and the label, and the pattern of adhesive applied to the container may vary. For example, a line of adhesive may be applied to the container for adhesion to the leading end of the label, or it may be applied both to the leading end and to the trailing ends of the label, or it may be applied to the entire circumference of the container as a succession of dots.
Hereinabove “dots” of adhesive have been referred to, but adhesive may be applied as bands or strips to the container and/or to the label.
The labeled container is then removed from the label applying equipment.
Instead of employing a greater peripheral speed of the vacuum drum to stretch the label, the container may be caused to spin at a peripheral speed which is greater tand that of the vacuum drum, thereby stretching the label. The peripheral speed of the container is the composite of the speed at which it is caused to spin, its diameter and the speed at which it travels after first making contact with the label. The difference in speed of the label while on the drum and this composite speed can be governed quite precisely by gears or by computer controlled motors as described below. To prevent the label from slipping on the container due to its greater peripheral speed, an adhesive which bonds strongly and quickly may be used. Alternatively (and/or in addition to such procedure), adhesive may be applied as a succession of dots so that the label is adhered to the container, not at one point but at several points.
The label may also be stretched by both procedures, that is by operating the vacuum drum at a peripheral speed greater than the label feed and by also causing the container to spin more at a composite speed greater than the peripheral speed of the vacuum drum.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3235433 (1966-02-01), Cvacho et al.
patent: 4216044 (1980-08-01), Herdzina et al.
patent: 4416714 (1983-11-01), Hoffmann
patent: 4923557 (1990-05-01), Dickey
patent: WO 94/14611 (1994-07-01), None
B & H Manufacturing Company Inc.
LaRiviere Grubman & Payne, LLP
Mayes Curtis
LandOfFree
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