Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-03
2004-09-21
Aftergut, Jeff H. (Department: 1733)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
C156S297000, C156S458000, C156S468000, C156S475000, C156S567000, C156SDIG002, C156SDIG002, C198S394000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06793755
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
a. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to high speed label placement machines and specifically to high speed label placement machines wherein multiple labels are placed on an object.
b. Description of the Background
Labels on beverage bottles and the like are critical sales tools for differentiating one product from another. The ability to stand out from the crowd of beverages can make a large difference in the sales of the product and an increase in market share.
Labels for beverage bottles and the like are applied by different methods. A common method is the roll wrap label wherein a label is presented in the form of a web that is glued at the edges and wrapped around the circumference of the bottle. A second form is a label that is presented on a web carrier and attached with pressure sensitive adhesive. Other forms of labels and methods of application are widely known and practiced.
It is common from time to time for a beverage manufacturer to have a marketing campaign wherein a premium, game piece, coupon, or other promotional item is to be attached to the packaging in some form. Ideally, the promotional item would be included on the beverage bottle directly. However, the manufacturing complexities have so far limited the promotional items to places such as the bottle cap or applied to a carton or other container in which the bottle comes. It is also common for a manufacturer to place RF identifier tags and bar codes to items at the request of a retailer.
One of the difficulties is that the game piece or promotional item is likely to be manufactured in a different manner than the exterior label. For example, it may be a multi-folded item made of card stock and the exterior label may be a plastic film. The promotional item may also be attached to the bottle with pressure sensitive adhesive or other mechanism other than the glue strip of the exterior label.
The difficulty of labeling two dissimilar labels lies primarily in the registration of the two labels with respect to one another. This is due to the fact that one type of label may optimally be manufactured, presented, and applied using one method, such as thin, plastic roll wrapped labels adhered with a strip of glue, and a second type of label may be optimally manufactured, presented, and applied using a second method that is incompatible with the first, such as a cardstock label presented by peeling off of a disposable web backing and applied with pressure sensitive adhesive. In high speed inline labeling machines used in bottling factories, the only option available is a large rotary labeling machine that holds the bottles from the top and bottom during all of the processing done at the machine. These machines are very expensive to buy and operate compared to high-speed in-line machines.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a high speed in-line machine for applying a first item to a bottle, such as a pressure sensitive label, maintaining control of the orientation of the bottle while adjusting the orientation to a position to receive a second item of the same or different composition, and applying a second item, such as a roll wrapped label. It would further be advantageous to control the registration of the placement of the items to achieve a variety of functions.
c. Definitions
The following definitions are presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the terms to the precise form disclosed, and other modifications and variations may be possible in light of the teachings of this specification.
Bottle: an object that is processed by a high speed in-line or similar machine, such as a beverage bottle. The bottle may be one of several types containers such as plastic bottles, cups, metal cans, glass wine bottles, tubular cardboard containers, aerosol spray cans, pharmaceutical containers, glass jelly jars, plastic jugs, rotationally molded lidded containers for hardware items like screws and such. Further, the bottle may be any object that is typically sold with labels attached, such as highlighter markers, candles, rolls of paper products, and sundry others. The outside shape of the object does not have to be cylindrical, but can be square, elliptical, or can have other cross-sectional shapes.
Label: an item that is applied by a high speed in-line or similar machine to a bottle, such as a pressure sensitive label. The label may be a conventional advertising or descriptive label of various constructions, such as paper, cardstock, plastic film, or other label material. The label may be constructed of a single ply of material, or may be a multiple ply construction. Further, the label may be a booklet construction with multiple pages that are glued or bound on an edge. The conventional label may be applied by many different methods, such as pressure sensitive adhesive, hot glue, cold glue, ultraviolet cure glue, dry peel adhesive, heat transfer, or any other type of adhesive. Further, the label may be applied by static charge or other mechanical method so that it stays on the bottle during assembly until a second label captures and contains the first label. Additionally, the label may be a shrink-wrap label that envelops the bottle and is shrunk to the bottle with a heat source. Alternatively the label may actually be a promotional item such as a premium, game piece, coupon, souvenir, phone card, tickets, or the like. Further, the label may comprise a package for holding a liquid or other items, such as a foil packet. Further, the label may be a passive electrical device, such as an RF identifier tag. Further, the label may be an active electronic device, such as a battery operated light or a device for playing a sound. Alternatively, the promotional item or electrical device may be web converted and presented on a carrier, the carrier being attached directly to the bottle. Further, the label may be a printed mark, logo, set of characters, barcode, or other design that is applied directly by a printing mechanism, such as a sprayed ink printer, transfer printing, pad printing, laser etching, or other printing method. Further, the label may be a brand identifier, logo, or special advertising item. For example, the label may be a holographic image, diffraction grating, reflective media, or other special material. A label may also be a device for tearing or removing a second label. These examples are not meant to limit the types of labels and of course, those skilled in the arts of promotional items, labels, and the general packaging industry would be able to expand these examples and still fall within the scope of this invention.
Game piece: an item specifically adapted for a promotional game. The typical game piece may be of several varieties. These include instant win game pieces where a consumer can redeem the game piece for a prize instantly, may be a collection type game where two or more game pieces must be collected and redeemed together, or other type of game where the consumer compares the game piece code to a code on a website or other advertisement. The game piece typically involves a variable printing process whereby the text or image on the game piece can be varied during the printing process. The game piece may be a simple printed mark on the bottle comprising text, graphics, barcode, or other images. The game piece may be a multipart label where the consumer must peel apart one layer of the label to expose the variable printed image. These examples are not meant to limit the types of game pieces and of course, those skilled in the arts of promotional items, labels, and the general packaging industry would be able to expand these examples and still fall within the scope of this invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages and limitations of the prior art by providing a high speed in-line machine to assemble labels on a bottle. The machine can be used to apply two dissimilar labels to a bottle wherein each label is applied by a different mechanism.
Hickey John P.
Klein Timothy H.
Schaupp Richard
Aftergut Jeff H.
Cochran Freund & Young LLC
Interactive Packaging Group, Ltd.
Rossi Jessica
LandOfFree
Method and machine for placement of multiple labels does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and machine for placement of multiple labels, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and machine for placement of multiple labels will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3265463