Manufacturing container or tube from paper; or other manufacturi – Container making – Rigid container
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-08
2004-02-10
Rada, Rinaldi I. (Department: 3721)
Manufacturing container or tube from paper; or other manufacturi
Container making
Rigid container
C053S377300, C053S377400, C053S376500, C493S128000, C493S130000, C493S131000, C493S151000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06689034
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed towards the field of packaging equipment and packaging construction.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Once, primarily used to package the aggressive surfactants of concentrated detergents, laminate film packaging is now used for numerous applications including: soap boxes, cereal boxes, bottle carriers, can boxes, etc. The components of laminate film packaging include a layer of printed film and paperboard. The paperboard serves as a substrate to which the film layer is laminated. The laminate film may be surface printed or reverse printed film to allow for superb graphics while adding extra strength to the paperboard. An optional metalization layer deposited on the laminate film often replaces hard-to-recycle foil without losing the eye-catching brilliance of foils.
The advantages of laminate film packaging include adaptability to package detergents, chemicals, food or products. Laminate film packaging may be used for liquids, solids, or powders. The laminate film provides strength to the composition, therefore allowing for thinner, recycled, or otherwise lower strength paperboard to be used. Laminate film packaging is environmentally sound because in many situations it is made from post-consumer recycled fibers and is itself recyclable. Products packaged in laminate film packaging may have lower contamination levels due to the barrier properties of the film, resulting in products staying fresher longer and reaching the end-user in better condition. The graphic quality of the laminate film packaging may be high in comparison to conventional packaging technologies; in a retail-age when the packaging ‘sells’ the product, the quality of the graphics is of the utmost importance.
Typically, laminate film packaging is made from recycled materials. Most often, the paperboard is a Double-Kraft Lined (DLK) product. DLK paperboard consists of mixed fibers in the inner plies with one ply of Kraft on either side for strength.
Typically, the film used for laminate film packaging is polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The film may be provided with a unique characteristic such as a holographic or mearl pattern.
The optional metalization layer may be included to provide a barrier layer for improved graphics. The improved graphics is a result of the reflectivity of the metalization layer. The metalization layer is provided on a surface of the film by vapor deposition and is commonly an aluminum layer.
Adhesive is used to assemble laminate film packaging. Two types of adhesive are conventionally used. The first type of adhesive is a cold glue and the second type is a hot glue.
The cold glue is an adhesive dissolved in a volatile carrier. The cold glue is applied to the laminate film packaging in a wet condition. Upon assembling the packaging, the volatile carrier is wicked from the adhesive into the paperboard or evaporated. The resulting dry adhesive provides tack to attach one section of the packaging to another. Since the volatile carrier needs to be removed from the cold glue, cold glue typically works better on plain paperboard without laminate film. The cold glue works sufficiently well on attaching laminate film packaging where a paperboard-to-paperboard attachment is required. Additionally, the packaging may be assembled with cold glue having a film-to-paperboard attachment. However, it is extremely difficult to obtain a satisfactory film-to-film attachment using cold glue. Cold glue may be dispensed from a nozzle or a cold glue pot. The nozzle for cold glue is often controlled by a solenoid that is actuated by a control system. The cold glue pot is a pad-printing device wherein a rotating pad has a raised area. The raised area picks-up glue from the glue pot and transfers it to the packaging.
Hot glue is an adhesive that is semi-fluid when hot and solid when cold. The hot glue is applied hot to packaging. Before the hot glue cools, the packaging is assembled. The hot glue is then cooled to provide an attachment between the two parts of the package. The hot glue provides a sufficient bond on film-to-film applications as well as paperboard-to-film and paperboard-to-paperboard attachment. Hot glue is most commonly dispensed from a nozzle. The nozzle is typically actuated by a solenoid that is controlled by a control system. As shown in
FIG. 1
, hot glue
20
is dispensed on a package
40
from a nozzle
50
during a glue dispensing condition. The package
40
moves in a forward direction
60
resulting in the hot glue
20
being dispensed in a line. The package
40
may be provided with a laminate film
30
on one side of the package
40
. The hot glue
20
is dispensed until the nozzle
50
is turned off. The period following the dispensing condition is a post glue dispensing condition. Because the hot glue
20
is semi-fluid with a high viscosity, it stretches from the nozzle
50
after the nozzle
50
is turned off. During the post gluing dispensing condition as the package passes under the nozzle
50
, a trailing end
70
(
FIG. 2
) of the hot glue
20
dispenses onto the package
40
in a non-exact manner.
Referring now to
FIG. 2
, it is difficult if not nearly impossible to control the actual location of the trailing end
70
of the hot glue
20
. As a result of the difficulty of controlling the trailing end
70
, the trailing end
70
may pass into a zone
80
where hot glue
20
is not desired. The zone
80
may be a fold area, an edge
44
of the package
40
or a location of two non-joined panels.
Packaging may be printed on one or both sides. Often paperboard is precut into a blank. The blank is inserted into a separate machine or in-line section of a continuous machine for gluing and folding. Gluing and folding is often completed while the package is moving at a speed in a progressive, continuous manner. The end result is a package ready to receive product for distribution and sale.
FIG. 3
shows a schematic representation of a conventional right angle gluing machine
100
. The conventional gluing machine
100
is provided with an x-axis subsystem
102
, a conventional transfer system
104
and a y-axis subsystem
106
. The conventional right angle gluing machine
100
is provided to receive a blank
200
and process it into a completed package
202
. The blank
200
travels in an x-axis direction
108
down the length of the x-axis subsystem
102
into the conventional transfer system
104
. The conventional transfer system
104
receives the blank in the x-axis direction
108
and transfers it to a y-axis direction
110
. The blank
200
is then ejected from the conventional transfer system
104
to the y-axis subsystem
106
traveling in the y-axis direction
110
. After traveling the length of the y-axis subsystem
106
, the blank
200
is converted to the completed package
202
.
Having provided a brief overview of the conventional gluing machine
100
, the individual subsystems will now be discussed in detail.
The x-axis subsystem
102
may be provided with a first folding station
122
, an x-axis glue station
124
, an x-axis progressive folding station
126
and an acceleration roll
128
.
The conventional transfer system
104
may be provided with a conventional top cover
130
, a pair of drive chains
140
, a plurality of drive chain lugs such as a pair of chain lugs
142
, and a V-stop
152
.
The y-axis subsystem
106
may be provided with a y-axis glue station
144
and a y-axis progressive folding station
146
. The specific tasks performed by the aforementioned components will be described by-way-of example herein.
Although countless packages are manufactured on the conventional right angle gluing machine
100
, the package illustrated in the drawings and discussed in the specifications is a bottle carrier. It should be noted that the description of the bottle carrier is intended to provide an exemplary application for the conventional right angle gluing machine
100
, but is not the only article manufactured by the machine.
As shown best in
FIG. 4
, a laminate film s
Hawkins Kenneth E.
Walsh Joseph C.
Goodwin, Esq. Michael A.
Graphic Packaging International, Inc.
Ho Tara M.
Katsaros Stephen B.
Klaas, Law, O'Meara & Malkin, P.C.
LandOfFree
Transfer glue system and method for a right angle gluing... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Transfer glue system and method for a right angle gluing..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Transfer glue system and method for a right angle gluing... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3293297