Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Patent
1992-09-04
1994-02-15
Simmons, David A.
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
83209, 83370, 156248, 156268, 156270, 156353, 156387, B32B 3100
Patent
active
052863174
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The disclosure of a patent of the inventors, Limp Label Application Process, U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,865, relates to the present invention in as much as the micro-processor and control mechanism used in the process of the patent and the present process are similar.
BACKGROUND
Rotary die cutters are used commonly on high speed rotary printing presses such as the Mark Andy or Webtron presses to manufacture labels The diameter of the die roll is critical It must match the spacing dictated by the labels to be cut. The gear driving the roll must have a pitch matched to the web speed and this is usually accomplished by a direct mechanical gear drive Each size of label must have its own roll and bringing the machine into register is a somewhat complicated operation requiring usually the services of a skilled--thus expensive--setup person and operator.
A conventional rotary die cutter geared to the speed of the web cannot be timed to correct printing inaccuracies, for example, to die cut on a web that has been printed off-line It cannot be timed to intercept the moving web at a precise point. It is designed for high speed operation and change-over can require considerable effort.
Another method of die cutting labels is to use an intermittent flat bed steel rule die which reciprocates in an up and down motion to cut the labels The web must be stopped while cutting is occurring. Again, to secure uniform cutting across the width and depth of the die requires a skilled setup.
A flat bed die must contact the pressure sensitive material over its entire surface simultaneously and therefore requires considerable pressure. Much time is required to adjust the die head or cutting table to obtain an even cut over the entire die cutting surface Because of the materials used, the die cutter has a limited work life and must be sharpened and/or replaced frequently.
THIS INVENTION
The present invention is addressed to these and other problems associated with the die cutting of pressure sensitive labels and like laminates, especially those where the combination of the label and its carrier web are relatively flexible; i.e., not stiff or rigid. The present invention is a process for rotary die cutting such labels while the web is continuously or intermittently moving. In accordance with the teaching of this invention, the web has a series of eye marks each of which is associated with a particular label. The web carrying the pressure sensitive label is passed sequentially through a rotary die cutting station and then through driven pinch rolls that pull the web continuously through the die cutting station.
As the moving web passes through the two steps, the position of an eye or sensor mark is observed either before or after the die cutting station. Also, the speed of the web is controlled, as for example, by signals taken from the drive roll. These are transmitted to an electronic processor which determines the adjustment, if any, to be required to place the die on the die cutting roll in an exact registration, usually within 0.01 inches or less, with the labels to be cut. This can be done by adjusting the angular position of the die roll relative to the web while the sides of the die are in cutting contact with the label surface and while the ends of the die are still essentially free of the label surface so as to avoid wrinkling of the label or of the waste. Stated differently, the length of the labels can be varied slightly to effect the requisite adjustment. It is preferred, however, to keep the length of the labels the same and to effect the adjustment between labels; i.e., by varying the width of the waste. When running a continuous web, the web may have some stretch or give to it and its length may vary slightly making it desirable to have fine adjustments made to keep in register. This invention permits such adjustments readily to be made.
After the cutting operation is complete, the roll is turned around to a "home position" to be ready for the next cut. The speed of the die roll can be increased to accomplish this as qui
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Jorgenson Raymond
Treat Douglas
Computyre Inc.
Matney, Jr. William J.
Simmons David A.
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