Package making – With cover-adjunct application or formation – By printing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-07
2001-01-16
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Package making
With cover-adjunct application or formation
By printing
C053S064000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06173551
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to ink jet printing of information on cigarette packaging, and more particular to apparatus and methods for applying pre-selected information on cigarette soft pack packaging utilizing ink jet technology.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In cigarette production, bundles of cigarettes of a predetermined number (usually 20) are wrapped in a paper and aluminum laminate which is referred to in the art as “foil”. Thereafter, the foil wrapped bundle (“foil-bundle”) is enwrapped in either a soft pack label comprising a paper or paper laminate, or in the alternative is enwrapped within a cardboard hinge lid blank.
In the past, information concerning the product (such as its time and/or place of manufacture or other information at the election of the manufacturer) was embossed or otherwise applied to the foil portion of the packaging. A consequence of such arrangement was that the outer portion of the packaging, such as the soft pack label or the cardboard blank, together with any cellophane overwrap, would have to be removed in order to access the encoded information. Accordingly, prior practices necessitated the opening and or destruction of the cigarette pack in order to ascertain date of manufacture or the like.
Printing the desired encoded information upon the outer portion of the cigarette packaging has presented manifold difficulties. Cigarette manufacturing and packing operations are conducted at extreme speeds such that any on-line printing operation at the cigarette packer tends to cause ink smearing both upon the cigarette product and upon portions of the packing machinery. Ink smears on the product compromises its quality and may lead to additional rejection of product and other manufacturing inefficiencies. Ink smears on the manufacturing machinery necessitates clean-up, taking the machine out of production and so creating additional costs.
Another particular problem associated with soft pack cigarette product is that the body of the completed package is pliable and does not present a consistent surface for precise printing operations. Accordingly, the finished soft pack packaging itself is not conducive to printing operations once the package has been fully formed.
Another difficulty in attempting to execute on-line printing operations within a cigarette packing machine is that placement of printing apparatus may interfere with smooth and consistent feeding of the packaging material.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for applying printed indicia upon an outer portion of the cigarette packaging on an on-line basis at a cigarette packing machine.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for repetitively and accurately placing printed indicia upon an outer portion of cigarette packaging at extreme machine speeds.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for applying printed indicia upon exterior portions of a cigarette packaging such that ink smears upon the packaging and/or upon packing machinery is avoided.
Still another object of the present invention is to execute an on-line printing operation without disturbing the smooth and consistent feeding of the packaging material, with particular concern of avoiding circumstances which would tend to skew packaging material from its intended pathway.
These and other objects are achieved by the present invention which provides a cigarette packing apparatus comprising means for repetitively progressing packaging material (preferably a soft pack label) through a print location, a signal generator configured to generate a signal indicative of presence of the packaging material as it passes adjacent said print location, a second signal generator configured to generate a signal indicative of a speed at the print location; a fluid jet printer head adjacent the print location and a controller configured to operate the printer head responsively to the first and second signal generators, with an additional arrangement within the packing apparatus defining a contact-free path portion sufficient for ink to dry at the indicia-bearing portion of the packaging as the packaging material is progressed beyond the print location. Another aspect of the present invention is provision for an air jet blower adjacent the print location to accelerate drying of the printed indicia.
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Bowman, Jr. Richard E.
Brown Stephen D.
Kucera, Jr. Robert C.
McElhinney Patrick S.
Scaife Sylvia L.
Burns Doane , Swecker, Mathis LLP
Johnson Brian L.
Luby Matthew
Philip Morris Incorporated
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