Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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1 METHOD OF APPLYING PLASTIC LABELS ON GLASS CONTAINERS
2 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
8 For several years, it has been the practice to form
sleeves of thermoplastic material on a series of rotatable
6 mandrels, for example, as shown in the U.S. Patent 3,802,942
6 issued April 9, 1974. This patent discloses the process
7 of forming sleeves from the point where a foamed material
8 is extruded as a tube, then slit into a flat sheet. The
~ sheet has an orientation in the direction of its width
10 due to the fact that the extruded tube has been inflated
11 during the process of its formation to provide the built-in
12 shrinkage characteristics which are desired, so that when
18 the material is formed into a cylinder and applied to a
14 container, the material will have a heat-shrink characteristic
16 to cause it to shrink into contact with the underlying
S surfaces of the glass container. Particular reference to
17 this patent 3,802,942 may be had
1~
19 Figs. l and 2 of this patent show a supply of thermo-
20 plastic material 15a being fed to a sleeve-making mandrel
81 system, the mandrels being carried on a turret underlying
22 the path of travel of the containers about an end section
28 68. This patent further discloses an endless chain, or
24 pair of chains, carrying a series of neck-grasping chucks
26 for holding the necks of the containers through the cycle
~s of operation of preheating the containers, applying a
27 shrinkable sleeve to the container and subse~uently heat-
28 shrinking the sleeve that has been applied to the container.
2~ It will be noted, however, that in this patent the shrinking
80 Of the sleeve takes place in a long t straight line moving
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1 away from the turret where the sleeves have been applied
2 to the container.
8 It is an object of this invention to provide a method
4 of handling the containers where the containers are
6 positioned to receive a preformed sleeve thereon, are
6 rotated and the sleeve is shrunk thereon while the con-
7 tainer is moving about an arc of a circle above the mandrels
8 upon which the sleeves are being made.
9 It is another object to provide a much more compact
sleeve-applying system than heretofore; and a method of
11 handling the bottles and shrinking the sleeves thereon
12 is carried out in a less extensive operation than that of
18 the above-cited patent.
14 Further objects will be apparent from the following
16 description.
16 SU~ARY OF THE INVENTION
17 In the present invention, a succession of cylindrical
18 sleeves are formed on mandrels from lengths cut from a
19 rolled supply of shrinkable predecorated plastic web
20 material. The bottles are carried by chucks in vertical
21 alignment with the mandrels and the sleeves are assembled
22 onto the bottles. The assembled bottles and sleeves are
28 then heat-shrunk within the rotary movement of the mandrel
24 itself by rotating them about their axes while moving
26 them through an area between two opposed heating devices
26 that extend about a portion of the circumference of the
27 handling system. The length of the heaters is sufficient
28 to complete shrinkage of the plastic sleeve about the
29 container. The finished articles are then carried away
80 from the handling turret.
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1 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
2 FI~. l is a schematic, persPective view of an apparatus
8 for carrying out the method of the invention; and,
4 FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Fig. l
6 taken from the level of the mandrels.
6 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWI~JGS
7 From the disclosure of the above-cited patent, it
8 can be seen that the making of sleeves from thermoplastic,
g foamed material supplied in ribbon form is old in the art.
10 It can also be seen from the above-referred-to patent that
11 the moving of the formed sleeves from a series of mandrels
12 onto containers that are positioned thereabove is also
18 known from the prior art. It should also be noted that
14 in the prior art the bottles which are to be provided
16 with a sleeve label, shrunk in place thereon, are preheated
16 in a preheat oven prior to being received in the sleeve-
applying machine. An alternative embodiment, identified
18 in the patent as the on-line embodiment of Fig. 2, receives
19 its supply of hot bottles from the annealing lear of a
20 typical glass bottle forming machine. The preheated
21 bottles are then conveyed to the sleeve-applying machine
2~ where they are grasped by their necks and conveyed in
28 series into and through the sleeve-applying portion of the
24 machine and afterwards transported,still by their necks,
26 through a heat-shrink tunnel for shrinking the applied
26 sleeve onto the sides and bottom of the container. The
27 method and the apparatus disclosed in the above-referred-to
28 U.S. Patent 3,802,942 is intended to provide sleeved
2~ containers at rates up to 500 bottles per minute. In
80 contrast to the operation of the machine of this patent
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1 and the method which it employs, the present invention will
2 receive their glass containers in upright position on a
8 moving belt conveyor generally designated 10. The incoming
4 containers C on the conveyor 10 will be engaged by a side-
6 engaging starwheel 12 that is formed with a plurality of
6 pockets in its periphery, it being understood that these
7 pockets will engage the sides of the containers as they
8 are moved on the conveyor 10 and will move the containers,
~ one at a time, into the position designated 13 on Figs. 1
10 and 2. At this position the container, which is entering
11 the sleeve-applying portion of the machine, will be engaged
12 by and gripped at its neck by a set of tongs 14. The
18 tongs 14 are shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6 of ~.S. Patent
14 3,802,942. The tongs 14 are mounted at the lower end of
16 a chuck mechanism, generally designated 15. The chuck
1~ mechanism 15 is mounted onto two rotating discs 16 and 17.
The discs 16 and 17 are mounted coaxially on a vertical
18 axle 18. The axle 18 in turn is connected to a gear 19.
19 The gear 19 is driven by a spur gear 20 extending from a
20 transmission 21. The transmission 21 is driven by a
81 vertical shaft 21a connected by suitable gearing to an
22 electric motor 22. The motor 22, as shown in Fig. 1,
28 also drives a lower bull gear 23. The bull gear 23 also
24 rotates about the central axis of the machine which is
26 coincidental with the axle 18. This bull gear supports
26 a turret (not shown) that provides the transporting
27 mechanism for a plurality of sleeve-forming mandrels 24.
28 The mandrels 24 are individually rotatable about their
29 vertical axes by a mechanism not here shown, but shown
o in detail in the referenced patent 3,802,942.
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1 As can be seen when viewing Fig. 2, the mechanism
2 has eighteen mandrels in a circular array about the axis
8 of the axle 18. The mandrels 24 sequentially receive foam
4 sleeve-forming material in discreet length from a transfer
~ drum 25. The sleeve-forming material comes in the form
6 of a continuous endless strip 26, moving in the direction
7 of the arrow shown thereon in Fig. 1. The strip is fed
8 between a pair of roll stands 27 into engagement with the
g periphery of the drum 25. The drum 25 is provided with
10 vacuum ports therein to engage and grip and carry the
11 strip 26 therealong. While the strip of material is
12 engaged by the drum, it will be cut by a rotary cutter 28
18 operated in timed sequence with the feeding of the strip
14 material 26. Thus, there will be provided on the surface
15 of the drum 25 a discreet length of the strip material 26.
16 This strip of material is then transferred from the drum 25
17 to a mandrel 24 that is brought into tangential relationship
18 to the drum 25. This mandrel, to which the discreet
19 strip is to be transferred, is an empty or bare mandrel
20 at the time that it arrives opposite the drum 25. The
21 mandrel also has a row of vacuum ports spaced vertically
22 along the wall thereof, which will take the leading edge of
2~ the strip material from the drum 25. The mandrel at this
24 time is rotating in a counterclockwise direction as viewed
26 in the drawings. The mandrel will then rotate an amount
26 sufficiently to complete the rolling or wrapping of the
27 strip about the mandrel into a cylindrical sleeve surround-
28 ing the mandrel. The complete wrapping occurs at approximately
29 the 65 point on the layout in Fig. 2. At about 67 of the
80 rotation of the mandrels, a cam 29 will move a cam follower 30
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1 radially outward to push a heat-sealing bar 31 into the
2 overlapped portion of the sleeve surrounding the mandrel 24.
8 It should be understood and, as explained in detail in
4 patent 3,802,942, that the mandrel winding and the position
6 of the vacuum holes in the mandrel are such that the
6 trailing edge of the strip of material will be overlying
7 the leading edge at the point in the cycle of operation
8 where the heat-sealing bar 31 is moved into engagement
9 with the overlapped portion. At this time, the mandrels
10 are disengaged from any individual rotational drive and
11 the heating or sealing bar will remain in sealing contact
12 with the overlapped portion until the seam welding is
18 completed at the 217 point in the overall rotation of
14 the mandrel-carrying turret. Shortly after this, in the
16 cycle of the turret movement the incoming bottle from the
~ conveyor 10 will be picked up by a chuck 15 and the chuck 15
7 will position and hold the bottle in coaxial alignment
18 with an underlying mandrel containing a completed sleeve.
9 While only a single chuck 15 is shown in Fig. 1, it should
20 be kept in mind that there is a chuck for each of the
81 mandrels, therefore there are eighteen chucks which are
22 coaxially positioned above the mandrels 24.
28 The jaws of the chuck 14 are opened and closed by
24 the manipulation of a cam follower 35 carried thereby.
26 The cam follower 35, throughout most of the cycle of
26 operation of the machine shown in Fig. 1, is not operated.
27 However, manipulation of the cam follower 35 by a cam 34
28 will open the tongs and effect the release of a completed
29 bottle and then pick up a bare container in order to carry
80 it through the cycle.
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1 Vertical movement of the chuck 15 is not necessary
2 for the releasing of a bottle which has received a sleeve
8 and the picking up of a bare bottle to begin the sleeving
4 cycle. However, steadying of the chuck 15 during this phase
6 of the operation may be carried out by a cam 33 engaging
6 a roller 32 at the upper end of the chucks 15. As shown in
7 Fig. 1, the cam 33 is a box cam within which the roller 32
8 will pass, while the cam 34 is a generally flat bar that will
~ dip down at the release point for the bottles and remain down
10 until a bottle is ready to be grasped at the point 13, where
11 cam 34 will release the follower 3~ resulting in the grasping
12 of the bottle neck. At this time, the cam 33 may release
18 the follower 32 and let the chuck remain in the proper posi-
14 tion.
As previously stated, the bottle at position 13 is
16 held by its neck by a chuck 15 and, as it moves in synchronism
and in vertical alignment with an underlying mandrel, a stripper
18 mechanism will strip the formed sleeve from the underlying
19 mandrel and telescope it vertically upward around the
circumference of the container. This movement is illustrated
21 by the arrow 36.
22 As shown in Fig. 2, the stripper starts up at the
88 260 mark and completes its action by the 300 mark, just
24 in advance of entry of the container into a sleeve-shrinking
26 heater. The heat-shrinking mechanism comprises a pair of
26 semi-circular heaters 37 and 38. The heaters 37 and 38 are
27 spaced apart sufficiently to permit passage of a container
28 with applied sleeve therebetween and, in effect, as a unit
29 constitutes a heat-shrinking oven. During the movement of
80 the containers carried by the chucks 15 through the gap
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1 between the two heaters 37 and 38, the tong portion of
2 the chuc~s are rotated about the vertical axis of the
8 chucks. This rotation is accomplished by an annular
surface 39 of the chuck engaging a stationary cam plate
6 or bar 40. The bar 40 may be faced with a friction material
B in the manner taught in ~.S. Patent 3,802,942 and shown at
7 250a of Fig. 6 of this patent.
8 Thus, it can be seen that rotation of the chucks
and the containers carried thereby during their transport
10 through the gap provided between the heaters 37 and 38
11 will provide even heating of the sleeve material so that
12 it will be shrunk in a uniform manner about the circum-
18 ference and sidewalls of the containers. The chucks continue
14 in their counterclockwise movement about the axle 18, and
16 at a point or position 180 removed from the 0 position,
~ will release the containers with their sleeves applied so
that a side-engaging starwheel 41 will move the completed
18 and assembled containers from the assembly and shrinking
1~ machine onto an outfeed conveyor 42.
The heaters 37 and 38, which in a sense constitute a
21 significant portion of the invention, may be formed of
22 sheet metal with a plurality of radiant, Calrod type
28 heating elements extending along the length thereof in
24 facing relationship with respect to the container and the
26 sleeve carried thereby. Alternatively, the heaters may
26 be of any selected type, such as blown hot air which directs
27 air against the sleeved container.
28 Having described a schematic representation of the
2~ apparatus that could be used in the method of the invention,
80 the process which is performed by the apparatus will be
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1 described in the sequence of its operation to receive
2 bare bottles and a strip of plastic wrap material and produce
8 a container having a heat-shrunk sleeve applied thereto.
4 In the prior art,as exemplified by the above-referred-
8 to U.S. Patent 3,802,942, the containers to which shrunken
6 sleeves are to be applied were moved along through a
q preheater oven to heat the bottles,or were provided from
8 the forming machine or the annealing lehr at a somewhat
g elevated temperature. The bottles were picked up by
individual sets of tongs and chucks and moved along a
11 straight path. The chucks travel on an endless driven
12 carriage to transport the bottles through a preheated and
18 past the sleeve-forming turret where the fabricated sleeves
14 are assembled telescopically onto the containers. Then
16 the chucks will carry the containers into and through an
lB elongated, linear tunnel oven wherein the sleeves shrink
17 to conform to the article shape. With shrinkage complete,
18 they are transported to an unloading station.
19 Timed with the bottle-handling apparatus is the
20 sleeve-making apparatus which receives a thermoplastic
21 web material from a supply. This is guided in oriented
22 fashion onto a feed drum where lengths are cut and trans-
28 ferred to mandrels. The lengths are each wound onto the
24 cylinder-like mandrels and seamed at an end-to-end overlap
26 region to form a complete cylindrical sleeve. The mandrels
26 move in time with the bottles about the common axis of the
27 mandrel-supporting turret. The sleeves, after being heat-
88 sealed, are stripped from the mandrels and placed over the
29 body of the bottles. It should be noted in this patent
80 that the bottles which are picked up are carried for a
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1 considerable distance before they reach the assembly area,
2 and after the sleeves are assembled thereto, they move again
8 through a relatively long heat-shrinking tunnel and the
4 completed bottles are released onto an exit conveyor. With
6 this system, a relatively large area of a manufacturing
6 plant must be set aside and devoted exclusively to the
q elongated handling mechanism and heating systems disclosed.
8 In contrast to the foregoing description of the prior
g art, the present invention provides a compact handling
10 system in which the sleeves are made on a turret machine in
11 essentially the identical form as that disclosed in the
12 above-referred-to patent. However, the bottles are picked
18 up by chucks which move in alignment with the mandrels
without having them carry the bottles away from the mandrel-
16 supporting turret. The process of the invention is such
lB that newly formed containers C, or containers brought from
17 storage, are placed on an incoming conveyor where they are
18 met by an indexing pocketed starwheel which moves about a
19 vertical axis to index the containers, one at a time, into
alignment with the mandrels as they are moving past the
21 end of the incoming conveyor. At this time, the chuck will
22 be opened so that its tongs may grasp the neck of the con-
28 tainer, yet maintaining the bottle in coaxial alignment
24 with the underlying mandrel. From this point forward, the
26 specific chuck, bottle and mandrel stay in coaxial alignment.
26 The mandrel at this point will have a sealed sleeve surround-
27 ing it and the sleeve will be moved upwardly around the
28 bottle positioned thereabove. The sleeve is actually pushed
2~ upward by a stripper during the interval of 26n~ and 300,
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1 as indicated in Fig. 2, when the stripper will be beginning
2 to retract from its uppermost position. ~t 310, the
8 bottle-holding chuck will be rotated about its vertical axis
4 and the bottle and sleeve carried thereby moves through
6 the area between two heaters to effect the shrinking of the
ff foamed plastic sleeve about the container while it is
7 moving within the circumference of the mandrel turret. The
8 shrinking will continue until the bottle has been moved
~ through approximately 115 of the circumference of the
10 mandrel-supporting and chuck-supporting turret. Continued
11 movement of the bottles by the chucks will take place;
12 however, rotation is stopped once the container and sleeve
18 has cleared the end of the heaters. At approximately 1~0,
14 indicated in Fig. 2, the chuck will release the
15 container with the sleeve attached and the container will
ff be engaged by a starwheel 41 which will move the container
in an arcuate path onto the outfeed conveyor 42.
18 The significant thing which is being carried out by
9 the invention is the fact that the shrinking of the sleeve
20 IS accomplished within the movement of the bottle in the
21 turret itself without having an external large heating
22 system. This is partly because of the fact that the system
28 runs at a somewhat slower speed than that which is described
4 in the above-referred-to patent 3,802,942. Also, the weight
26 of the bottles is becoming less and, for that reason, it is
26 not as critical that the bottles be heated to such a degree
2q prior to the shrinking of the sleeve thereon. The sleeves,
28 as previously explained, are made from a web of material
29 fed to the mandrels from a transfer drum and in essence the
80 process of for~ing the sleeves and transferring the sleeves
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1 is generally the same as that described in the above-
2 referred-to patent.
8 In view of the foregoing, it can be seen that a process
4 is provided which will handle glass containers and apply
6 sleeves of thermoplastic, shrinkable material tnereto
6 which involves the use of less expensive equipment in con-
7 struction and in space-saving in that it is relatively small
8 compared to the commercial predecessor. While the present
g invention has been described with regard to a specific
lo piece of equipment for forming the product of the process,
11 it should be kept in mind that some of the steps could be
12 performed by other apparatus, although that which has been
18 described is the apparatus for performing the preferred
14 process of the invention.
16 While the foregoing description talked in terms of
16 the sleeve being a foam material, such as that disclosed and
tq described in U.S. Patent 3,802,942, it should be kept in
18 mind that there are other shrinkable thermoplastic materials
19 which may be provided with a shrink memory that would be
20 suitable in the present invention, and it is not intended
21 to limit the scope of the appended claims by reason of the
22 recitation of a specific shrinkable thermoplastic material
28 being utilized in the process.
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