Package making – With cover-adjunct application or formation – Adjunct comprising nonencircling strip – e.g. – stamp – label...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-28
2001-08-21
Lazarus, Ira S. (Department: 3721)
Package making
With cover-adjunct application or formation
Adjunct comprising nonencircling strip, e.g., stamp, label...
C053S136400, C053S412000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276112
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a carton sealer for joining folded-in flaps of a carton made of cardboard using adhesive tape, in order to package such carton.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventionally, in order to package cardboard cartons, two flaps of the cartons are folded over into a condition in which the outer edges of these two flaps are mutually in contact or a condition in which they are mutually parallel, and these flaps are joined by sticking a single piece of adhesive tape on their joining region. Carton sealers are known that perform this task automatically. With a conventional carton sealer, the entire sticky surface of the adhesive tape is stuck onto the surface of the carton.
When a cardboard carton that has been sealed in this way is unsealed by hand, it is necessary, using one's nails for example, to start peeling off the end of the adhesive tape that has been stuck down, then to grip this part using the fingertips and pull it off. However, since the adhesion of the adhesive tape is fairly strong, such an operation is not easy.
Consequently, in fact, it is usual to perform the unsealing operation by using a cutting knife to cut the adhesive tape along the outside edge of the flaps. However, with such an unsealing operation, there is a risk of the cutting knife damaging the contents. Also, since the adhesive tape that has been cut is left behind, there is the problem that, when the cardboard is recycled, considerable time is required to peel off this adhesive tape that has been left behind.
In view of the above circumstances, it is extremely convenient if an end having non-sticky outside surfaces can be formed, so that for example the adhesive tape can be pulled off using the fingertips without using a cutting knife; further, recycling is facilitated if the entire adhesive tape can easily be completely removed, and this is very beneficial from the point of view of environmental protection.
In view of the above, previously, the means has been considered of sticking a non-adhesive sheet onto the adhesive surface at the tip of the adhesive tape; however, in this case, there are the problems that non-adhesive sheet materials must be separately prepared and furthermore this is lacking in practicality because the operation is not very reliable. A carton sealer has been developed in which a width-constricting guide member for bending back the side portions in the longitudinal direction on the adhesive tape is provided at some point along the running path of the adhesive tape, having the function of forming a non-adhesive bent-back portion by making the sticky faces adhere to each other. However, since the bent-back portions produced by this carton sealer extend along the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the adhesive tape that has been made to adhere, there is the drawback that it becomes impossible to use the entire sticky surface of the adhesive tape in the joining region, resulting in the reduced strength of the seal.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above. An object thereof is to provide a carton sealer constituted so as to join by adhesive tape flaps that are folded in on a carton being conveyed, in which a bent-back portion having non-sticky outer surfaces can be formed easily and reliably at one end of the adhesive tape that is applied to the carton.
A carton sealer according to the present invention for joining bent-over flaps of a carton being conveyed with adhesive tape, comprises: an adhesive tape supply unit; a tape sticking mechanism that applies adhesive tape fed from the adhesive tape supply unit onto a sticking-on region which extends from lead region on the front face of an advancing carton, through a joining region extending in the conveying direction, to a tail region on the rear face of the carton; a cutter for cutting the rear end of the adhesive tape that has been applied; and a suction head for forming a bent-back portion at the head of the following tape formed by being cut by the cutter, wherein the adhesive tape is sucked in the suction head by the reduced pressure applied in the suction head on the non-sticky surface of the adhesive tape, whereby the adhesive tape is bent back to form a bent-back portion having non-sticky outer surfaces.
Preferably the tape sticking mechanism comprises: a front pressing roller that presses the sticky surface of a lead portion of the adhesive tape onto a lead region on the front face of the advancing carton, and then presses the sticky surface of the adhesive tape onto the joining region, as the carton advances, wherein the cutter is arranged at the downstream-side position of the front pressing roller in the direction of advance of the carton; and a rear pressing roller arranged further on the downstream-side position of the cutter in the direction of advance of the carton, that presses the sticky surface of the tail portion of the adhesive tape that has been cut by the cutter onto a tail region on the rear face of the carton; the cutter being provided on a swing plate that is swung when its tip is detached from the joining region of the carton, and the suction head is provided at the upstream-side position of the cutter in the direction of advance of the carton.
It is further preferable that the suction head has a suction port arranged in the vicinity of the cutter on the upstream side of the cutter in the direction of advance of the carton and faces the non-sticky surface of the running adhesive tape, and a slit formed continuously with the suction port and extending in the direction away from the non-sticky surface of the running adhesive tape wherein a reduced pressure acts on the slit.
It is further preferable that an induction portion is formed in the suction head continuously with an aperture constituting the suction port such that its width gradually decreases and the slit is formed continuously with the induction portion, and a reduced pressure chamber is formed continuously with the slit.
With a carton sealer according to the present invention, while sealing of a carton by adhesive tape can be automatically achieved, a bent-back portion having non-sticky outer surfaces is formed at the tip of the part of the adhesive tape that is applied onto the lead region on the front face of the carton to be sealed. Consequently, by gripping the bent-back portion with the fingers, the stuck adhesive tape can easily be peeled off and furthermore, as a practically inevitable result, the entire adhesive tape is removed.
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patent: 4759819 (1988-07-01), Ingram
patent: 4821487 (1989-04-01), James et al.
patent: 4889581 (1989-12-01), Ulrich et al.
patent: 5184997 (1993-02-01), James et al.
patent: 54-98899 (1979-08-01), None
patent: 4-68806 (1992-06-01), None
patent: 9-58636 (1997-03-01), None
Mori Kimihito
Ohguri Hironobu
Chukwurah Nathaniel C.
Frishauf, Holtz Goodman, Langer & Chick, P.C.
Lazarus Ira S.
Ushio-U-Tech Inc.
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