Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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T.~n~T.TNG M~CHINE FOR BOTT~E8 OR THE LIR~
Background o~ the Invention
The invention disclosed herein relates gen-
erally to a bottle labeling machine and, in particu-
lar, to apparatus ~or applying a blemish concealing
curable liquid coating to the bottles.
Reusable glass or plastic bottles often be-
come unsightly as a result of nicking, ~cratching,
chipping and abrading during repeated recycling in
bottling plants as well as in transport to and from
the user. Most o~ the scratches and so ~orth on the
bottles occur in the upper and lower zones of the cy-
lindrical bottle bodies. To make the bottles more
attractive, some bottling plants apply a thin film of
liquid plastic such as siloxane which coverR the
scratched and abraded zones and imparts a new appear-
ance to the bottles. German patent specification DE-
oS 29 41 105 shows and describes a film application
system.
It has been proposed to moisten reusable
bottles in the bottling plant with a cold liquid
treating agent such as is applied to the bottles in
the glassworks. In the bottling plant, the protective
film applied by the glass bottle manufacturer is
thereby renewed. It is also a known practice to apply
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a colored film to bottles in the form of a liquid,
viscous or pasty plastic substance as a protective
coating. In the ensuing description, any liquid, vis-
cous or pasty agent suitable for application to the
surface of bottles are encompassed in the word "liq-
uid" in the interest of brevity.
There are in use in industry specialized
free-standing machines which are dedicated to applying
curable liquid coatings to bottles. The bottles un-
dergoing treatment are transported in a circular path
by means of a conventional starwheel and while being
translated, are set in rotation by rolling on a curved
surface which has frictional properties in conjunction
with rolls which turn with the transport starwheel or
slide shoes of elastic material which are moistened
continuously with the liquid being applied to the bot-
tles. Generally, these epecialized machines apply the
coating liquid to the bottles before they are labeled
which is satisfactory insofar as the application of
the liquid is concerned. However, use of these spe-
cialized machines is disadvantageous because the ma-
chines muæt necessarily occupy a large amount of space
and they are expensive investments.
Some known labeling machines more desirably
have a liquid coating application arrangement associ-
ated with a turntable and the bottles are acted upon
before arriving at the labeling station. An example
is given in German patent specification DE-OS 30 08
096. The applicator arrangement in this case is fully
integrated into the label~ng machine so that no addi-
tional space is required in the bottling plant for a
specialized machine and the additional investment
costs are more moderate. These machines have fewer
problems in connection with transporting bottles
since, for feeding the bottles into the machine with
3 2040705 60895-1447
unlform spaclng between them, an infeed worm conveyor ls present
already and the bottles can be accurately and gently transported
by the transport starwheels. The starwheels are conventlonally
comprlsed of vertlcally spaced apart generally clrcular ~olntly
rotatlng plates whlch have pockets equally spaced around thelr
clrcumference for recelvlng bottles. Almost lnvarlably, they are
assoclated wlth centerlng bells whlch are lowered to engage the
mouth end of the bottles to stablllze them as they are
transported on a turntable and whlch can be ralsed to release the
bottles for dlscharge at hlgh productlon rates. Unfavourable
characterlstlcs of the known machlnes ls that they can foul up
the labelllng statlon and they to some degree lmpalr adheslon of
the label as a result of the llquld coatlng belng applled to the
bottle shortly before the label ls applled. Moreover, a large
part of the treatment path on the turntable ls used for labelllng
so that only slmple labelllng runs can be made or an unusually
large and correspondlngly expenslve labelllng machlne must be
used.
Summary of the Inventlon
A baslc ob~ectlve of the present lnventlon ls to
accompllsh applylng a llquld coatlng to bottles ln a labelllng
machlne wlthout lnterferrlng wlth the labelllng process ltself
and to preserve the capablllty of the labelllng machlne to apply
a varlety of labels to the neck and front and back of the body of
the bottles whlle at the same tlme, enhanclng the appearance of
the labels on the bottle by reason of the clear brlghtenlng
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coating belng applled to them.
The lnvention provldes a machlne for applylng labels
and a coatlng llquld to bottles, comprlslng: a rotatlonally
drlven turntable for transportlng bottles ln a clrcular course, a
rotatlonally drlven lnfeed starwheel arranged ad~acent the
turntable for transferrlng bottles onto the turntable, a flrst
rotatlonal drlven outfeed starwheel havlng clrcumferentlally
spaced apart pockets, sald outfeed starwheel arranged ad~acent
the turntable and spaced from the lnfeed starwheel ln the
dlrectlon of rotatlon of the turntable for recelvlng ln the
outfeed starwheel pockets bottles transferred successlvely from
the turntable, at least one bottle labeller arranged along sald
clrcular course for applylng a label to the bottles before the
bottles are transferred to the pockets of the outfeed starwheel,
an element havlng an lnslde arcuate surface arranged concen-
trlcally to the perlphery of sald outfeed starwheel for bottles
belng transported ln the pockets of the starwheel to contact salfd
arcuate surface for frlctlonally lmpartlng rotatlonal force to
the bottles, means on sald outfeed starwheel ad~acent each pocket
thereln for guldlng a bottle to rotate ln the pocket, and means
for applylng llquld to sald arcuate surface for sald bottles to
acqulre a coatlng of sald llquld whlle belng transported by sald
outfeed starwheel and concurrently rolllng on sald arcuate
surface.
The lnventlon also provldes a machlne for coatlng
bottles wlth a llquld, comprlslng: a rotatlonally drlven
3~ 608~5-1447
starwheel havlng a plurallty of clrcumferentlally arranged
pockets ln the perlphery of the starwheel, apparatus for
transferrlng bottles successlvely lnto the pockets at an lnfeed
statlon for the bottles to be transported by sald starwheel and
dlscharged after havlng been transported ln a clrcular path
through a predetermlned angle to an outfeed statlon, a llquld
appllcator element havlng an arcuate surface arranged concen-
trlcally to the clrcular path of the bottles for sald bottles to
frlctlonally engage sald element as they are transported to cause
sald bottles to roll on sald arcuate surface, and means for
applylng llquld to sald arcuate surface for sald bottles to
acqulre a coatlng of sald llquld as they roll on sald surface.
The entlre turntable structure and the lnfeed starwheel
are avallable for labelllng, allgnlng and translatlng bottles.
Thus, there ls no restrlctlon wlth respect to a dedlcated
20407~5
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labeling machine without a liquid applicator device.
Since in the new arrangement, the liquid is applied
only after the label or labels are applied, the label-
ing process can be carried out without regard to the
5 liquid coating process. The new arrangement provides
for problem and interference free application of the
liquid since the bottles are transported in the
outfeed starwheel of a labeling machine with uniform
spacing, and enclosed linkage and with virtually all
10 sides of the bottles being accessible. Mounting of
suitable liquid applicator devices, therefore, is not
problematical.
The new arrangement makes available a long
liquid treatment path extending along as much as 270-
15 of the outfeed starwheel.
Another feature of the new labeling and liq-
uid applicator machine iB that the bottles are set in
rotation in the outfeed starwheel so that it is possi-
ble to have an especially simple applicator device
20 construction and an especially uniform application of
the liquid. It also allows for triple and even qua-
druple rotation of the bottles in the outfeed star
which suffices for application of virtually all liq-
uids one would want to apply to bottles.
According to the invention, the liquid is
sprayed onto a curved friction surface concentric to
the outfeed starwheel and the liquid is transferred to
the bottles as they roll along this surface. Consump-
tion of the coating liquid is kept low by this kind of
30 application device. In one arrangement, there are
double duty upper and lower friction and liquid hold-
ing surfaces which have a space between the surfaces
and can provide for limiting application of the coat-
ing liquid to the upper and lower extremities of the
cylindrical part of the bottles. The nozzles which
20407~5
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spray the liquid onto the curved friction and liquid
transfer or applicator surfaces orbit with the outfeed
starwheel so it becomes possible to spray the liquid
onto the spongy friction surface without spraying di-
rectly on the bottle which might result in an uneven
surface and in liquid runs on the bottle.
How the foregoing features and objective~ of
the invention and other ob~ectives of the invention
are achieved will be evident in the ensuing more de-
tailed description of a pre~erred embodiment of the
invention which will now be set forth in reference to
the drawings.
Description of th~ Drawings
FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a machine for
applying a plurality of labels to a bottle and subse-
quently applying a self curing liquid coating to the
bottles;
FIGURE 2 is a vertical section taken on the
irregular line 2-2 in FIGURE l;
FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic view of an alter-
native embodiment of the invention; and
FIGURE 4 is a vertical section taken on tfie
line 4-4 in FIGURE 3.
Description of a Preferre~ Embodiment
The machine depicted in FIGURES 1 and 2 is
arranged for applying labels to upright reusable glass
bottles 1 and subsequently applying an instantly cur-
ing liquid plastic to areas of the bottles which are
no longer shiny because of having blemishes. The ma-
chine comprises a housing 21 which contains a motor
and driving mechanism, neither of which is shown. On
housing 21 there is a turntable 2 which turns about a
vertical axis. At the left of FIGURE 1, bottles are
supplied to the machine by way of a conveyor belt 12
which has a pair of side wall guides 26 for directing
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the bottles into a helically grooved infeed conveyor
screw 22. The continuously rotating conveyor screw 22
presents bottles successively into the pockets 9 of an
infeed starwheel 6 which rotates next to turntable 2
about a vertical axis. The pockets 9 on infeed
starwheel 6 are equiangularly spaced apart around the
periphery of the starwheel for presenting bottles to
the rotary table 2 at regular and uniform intervals.
The bottles are supported in an upright position on
turntable 2 by conventional means which are not shown
and the bottles are rotated as they are carried around
the turntable 2 as indicated by the arrow on the turn-
table.
Immediately after the bottles are trans-
ferred from the infeed starwheel 6 to the turntable 2,
the bottles encounter a first labeling device which is
generally designated by the numeral 3. The labeling
device has a turret wheel 40 rotating about a vertical
axis. A plurality of oscillating pallets 41 are car-
ried on the wheel. The oscillating curved surfaces of
the pallets acquire a coating of glue when they pass
a glue roller 43 and the pallets use the glue to pick
up a label from a label magazine 42 as they pass the
magazine. The labels are then carried on the pallets
to a transfer wheel 27 which deposits the glued side
of the label on the bottles 1 which are rotating by
conventional means, not shown. The bottles are then
carried on turntable 2 to a second labeling station
which is like the first one and is generally designat-
ed by the refexence numeral 4. Since the two labeling
devices are similar, the second one need not be de-
scribed. In actual machines there are brushes or a
sponge roll, not shown, about where the arrowheads of
the lead lines from the numerals 28 occur, for press-
ing the labels securely to the rotating bottles.
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After the second labeling device acts on the
bottles, they are carried along the turntable 2 until
they meet an outfeed starwheel 7. The outfeed
starwheel also has pockets in its periphery into which
the bottles are inserted from turntable 2. A circular
support plate 30 is arranged concentrically to the
outfeed starwheel 7 as is evident in FIGURE 2 most
permanently and as is evident in FIGURE 1, there is a
layer of porous spongy material 13 applied to the in-
10 side of the curved support plate 30 which is fixedly
mounted on an element 24. The surface of the spongy
material 13 has the coating liquid sprayed onto it as
will be explained as the bottles receive the coating
liquid as they roll along the curved spongy surface.
15 The bottles, after being treated with liquid while
they are being transported by the first outfeed
starwheel 7, are then transferred to the pockets 9 of
the second outfeed starwheel 10. The labeled and
coated bottles are then discharged by the second
20 starwheel 10 to an output conveyor belt 11 which has
side guides 26 for keeping the bottles in line as they
are rapidly being transported by the conveyor belt li.
As will be evident in FIGURE 2, particularly, the bot-
tles are supported on transfer plates 29 as they prog-
25 ress with the starwheels 6, 7 and 10. The bottle con-
veying devices 2, 6, 7, 10 and 22 and the conveyor
belts 11 and 12 are driven in synchronism with each
other by conventional means, not shown, so the bottles
can be transported gently in accurate positions even
at very high production rates.
At the first labeling station 3, the bottles
have a body label and a breast label applied. At the
second labeling station 4, the bottles have a back
label applied and the ensuing brush or sponge rolls at
position 28 press the labels on the rotating bottles.
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The fully labeled bottles then run into the pockets of
the first outfeed starwheel 7.
As can be seen most readily in FIGURE 2, the
first outfeed starwheel 7 comprises a circular upper
plate 7a superimposed over a similar lower plate 7b.
The plates 7a and 7b are fixed in parallel spaced re-
lationship with each other on a common hub 7c. The
upper and lower starwheel plates 7a and 7b have pock-
ets 9 in their peripheries for accepting bottles 1.
10 On the upper side of the upper plate 7a and on the
underside of the lower plate 7b, pairs of freely
turnable guide rollers 14 are arranged ad~acent each
pocket 9. The axes of the rollers are parallel to the
axis of rotation of the outfeed starwheel 7. The
lS rollers 14 engage the cylindrical part of the bottle
body in its uppermost and lowermost zones and thus
make possible transportation of the bottles in the
first outfeed starwheel at exact positions and the
rollers contribute to uninhibited rotation of the bot-
20 tles 1 in the first outfeed starwheel 7.
As was alluded to briefly earlier, there is
a device 8 used for applying the liquid to the ful;y
labeled bottles 1 as they are moved in pockets 9 on an
arcuate path by means of outfeed starwheel 7. Device
25 8 is comprised of the dual purpose friction driving
and liquid application element 13 which is arranged
concentrically to the outfeed starwheel 7. The curved
friction-applicator element 13 and its curved support
plate 30 extend at least over 180- of the starwheel
30 and preferably up to about 270, in accordance with
the invention, to allow for an opening through which
the bottles 1 can be discharged from the first outfeed
starwheel pockets to the pockets of the second outfeed
starwheel 10 which puts the bottles on the outfeed
conveyor belt 11. In an actual embodiment, the fric-
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tion drive and liquid applicator element 13 consists
of a closed-pore Neoprene foam which is cemented to
the circular supporting plate 30. As is evident in
FIGURE 2, the support plate 30 iB fastened to a fixed
member 24. The parts of device 8 are so arranged that
the bottles present in the pockets 9 of the first
outfeed starwheel 7 are pressed into the resilient
foam element 13 and, therefore, the bottles come under
the frictional influence of element 13. Because the
bottles are moving orbitally under the influence of
the first outfeed starwheel 7 and are pressed into the
frictional surface of the porous resilient applicator
element 13, the bottles are compelled to rotate con-
tinuously while rolling on the face of element 13.
lS In the FIGURE 1 embodiment, the outfeed
starwheel 7 has the same diameter as the infeed
starwheel 6. These starwheels have relatively large
diameters. The resulting relatively large circumfer-
ence of the outfeed starwheel 7, in particular, pro-
vides for a long circular path along which the bottles
are continuously rotated for 270 of the path. The
arrangement allows for at least a quadruple rotation
of the bottles which is even maximized by the second
outfeed starwheel 10 rotating in a direction opposite
of the first outfeed starwheel 7. This also shortens
the path through which the bottles 1 must be carried
in the second starwheel before they are discharged to
a conveyor belt 11.
FIGURE 3 is a diagram of an alternative ar-
rangement of the invention wherein the outfeed
starwheel 7 has a larger diameter than the infeed
starwheel 6. The second outfeed starwheel 10 of the
FIGURES 1 and 2 embodiment has been eliminated. In
the FIGURE 3 arrangement, the outfeed conveyor belt 11
runs tangentially to the outfeed starwheel 7 and,
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therefore, the outfeed conveyor belt 11 i8 at an acute
angle in respect to the infeed conveyor belt 12. With
this arrangement, the desirable feature of having a
long friction drive applicator 13 surface is pre-
served.
The manner in which the bottle coating liq-
uid is sprayed onto the friction-applicator element 13
for transfer therefrom to the bottle as the bottle
rolls on the surface of the element 13 will now be
described in greater detail in reference to FIGURE 2
primarily. The liquid is stored in a tank 18 shown in
FIGURE 1 and is conducted to a plurality of nozzles
such as the one marked 16 in FIGURE 2. The nozzle's
orifice is a vertical slit which accounts for the fan-
shaped beam of liquid which is represented by the fan-
shaped collection of dashed lines in FIGURE 2. In
FIGURE 1, it is pos~ible to see that in this particu-
lar embodiment three spray nozzles 16 are used and
that they are arranged angularly from each other to
spray liquid onto the spongy foam element 13 concur-
rently through a path between any pair of bottles so
that the liquid is never sprayed directly onto the
bottles.
Considering FIGURE 2 again, the nozzles 16
are mounted to bracket members 45 extending between
upper and lower plates 7a and 7b which comprise the
first outfeed starwheel 7. All of the spray nozzles
16, therefore, orbit together with the first outfeed
starwheel 7 and they are turned on to spray for a mo-
ment when the spaces between bottles are aligned with
the nozzles. FIGURE 1 shows the nozzles angularly
spaced apart to coincide with every other or alternate
space between bottles. In some arrangements, it may
be desirable to have a nozzle for each space between
two consecutive bottles. Generally, more nozzles will
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be used where higher consumption of liquid is tolera-
ble or a thicker coating of the liquid is needed in
which case it is desirable to have a generous amount
of liquid on the surface of the friction-applicator
S element 13. On the other hand, when a lower liquid
consumption or a lesser liquid coating thickness i8
acceptable, only one spray nozzle might be used or
there might be only one for every third or fourth
space between consecutive bottles in the pockets 9 of
the first outfeed starwheel 7.
In the FIGURE 2 embodiment, it will be evi-
dent that the fan-shaped spray from nozzle 16 lands
substantially entirely over the entire height and over
essentially all of the length of the element 13. In
the actual embodiment, the spray ~et ends at a slight
distance from the upper and lower edges of the fric-
tion-applicator 13 surface so the spray jet is pre-
vented from going beyond the element 13. Note that
the plane of the fan-shaped jet lies on a plane which
. passes through the center of rotation of the outfeed
starwheel 7.
Referring to FIGURE 2, outfeed starwheel 7
is fixed to a driven shaft 46 which rotates the
starwheel. A hub 7c is keyed to shaft 46 and upper
and lower plates 7a and 7b which comprise the outfeed
starwheel 7 are fastened to hub 7c. A cylindrical
distributor member 35 is mounted to the top plate 7a
of the first outfeed starwheel 7. Distributor member
35 rotates coaxial with the starwheel 7 and has liquid
fed into it from a stationary cylindrical member 36
which interfaces with cylindrical member 35 in a leak
proof fashion. Hose 33 runs from the storage tank 18
in FIGURE 1 to the stationary cylindrical member 36 in
FIGURE 2 to keep liquid pressure applied to the inlet
of a fast acting valve 19 through a short radially
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extending hose section 34. Each nozzle 16 has its own
valve 19. The outlets of the valves 19 are connected
to the inlets of the spray nozzles 16 by means of
short hoses 47. The liquid in storage tank 18 is
pressurized under the influence of compressed air
which, as shown in FIGURE 1, is delivered to tan~ 18
by way of a hose 48 which leads from an air pressure
regulator 31. The source of compressed air is not
shown. The stationary cylindrical member 36 of liquid
distributor 17 is fastened to a stationary horizontal
arm 25 which is mounted to a column 5 that is fixed on
the top of machine housing 21. There may be an arm 25
provided for each of the fast acting valve 19 and
spray nozzle 16 combinations. The arms 25 support
circumferentially extending cam surfaces 20. As the
fast acting valves 19 and their associated spray noz-
zles 16 arrive at angular positions corresponding with
spaces between bottles being carried in outfeed
starwheel 7, the operating pins 49 of the valves 19
slide onto the control cam 20 surface which depresses
the pins 49 and opens the valves 19 for an instant
during which the fan-shaped jet of liquid is sprayed
from nozzles 16. Of course, if there are a plurality
of nozzles, there will be pressurized liquid supplied,
not only through hoses 34 to the illustrated quick
acting valve 19 but also to other quick acting valves
through hoses such as the one marked 34' on the rotat-
able distributor member 35 in FIGURE 2. Note in FIG-
URE 1 that the control cam 20 begins shortly after the
beginning of the friction-applicator element 13 and
ends at about 2/3 of its length. When the valves 19
orbit past the control cam 20,the valves are able to
close automatically under the influence of internal
operating springs, not shown. This assures that there
will be no spraying from the nozzles 16 when they have
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orbited past the trailing end of the friction-applica-
tor element 13 adjacent the second outfeed starwheel
10 .
In the FIGURE 2 embodiment, as has been ex-
plained, the surface of the spongy applicator 13 is
covered over its height with liquid sprayed from the
nozzle 16. In the FIGURE 2 arrangement, most of the
height of the cylindrical body of the bottle has the
coating liquid applied to it and to the labels there-
on. There is another arrangement in FIGURE 4 adapted
for limiting application of the coating liquid to
those upper and lower regions of the bottle body which
are most likely to need treatment with the liquid to
obscure their blemishes. In FIGURE 4, the applicator
surface 13 is divided into two portions and there is
a space between them which will avoid application of
the coating liquid to the label if that is desired.
Moreover, there can be some saving in coating liquid
if the treatment area is limited to those zones on the
bottle which need it most. In the FIGURE 4 embodiment
it is necessary to have two nozzles 16 working togeth-
er but they can have their inlets connected to a com-
mon outlet from their associated quick acting valve
19. When production of labeled bottles in the machine
is started, the manual or automatic opening of pres-
sure regulating valve occurs and compressed air is
supplied to tank 18 to make liquid under pressure
available to the valves 19 and, hence, to the spray
nozzles 16. If the labeling machine is Ctill at a
standstill when the pressure is turned on and if the
operating pins 49 of the valves 19 happen to be posi-
tioned with respect to operating cams 20 at startup,
only partial areas of the friction-applicator 13 sur-
face will receive sprayed on liquid. Since there is
substantially no storage in the closed-pore spongy
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friction element 13, the liquid runs off of the ele-
ment downward and is collected in a gutter 32 which
covers the entire length of the curved element 13. If
the labeling machine is running already, but there are
no bottles present, there might still be application
of the liquid to element 13 over much of its
circumferential length since the valves 19 would be
operated open as they pass under the cam surfaces 20.
No harm is done by this since the liquid will still
drain off of the surface of element 13 for being col-
lected in trough 32 for recycling. Therefore, it is
desirable that the regulating valve 31 be opened only
shortly before the first labeled bottles reach the
outfeed star 7. Automation of this process can be
carried out in a simple fashion since labeling ma-
chines usually have at least one bottle position sen-
sor by which the label delivery is controlled. With
automatic control, even the gutter 32 can be eliminat-
ed.
The labeled bottles entering the first
outfeed starwheel 7 are received against rollers 14
adjacent the pockets and by rolling along the fixed
friction applicator element 13, the bottles are caused
to rotate continuously. While rotating along the sur-
face of element 13, the bottles receive a uniform
coating of the liquid applied by the spray nozzles 16
between the turning bottles. In the exit zone of the
friction-applicator 13 where the bottles arrive suc-
cessively, there occurs a repeated intensive rolling
of the bottles and possibly squeezing out excess liq-
uid. Layers of a few microns in thickness or a few
milligrams of liquid in total can be achieved easily.
The machine can be adapted for most bottle coating
processes due to the flexibility that attends varying
the pressure on the liquid supply container 18 and
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selecting different numbers and forms of spray nozzles
as well as by selection of different friction-applica-
tor element configurations.
There is also an intensive rolling on of the
body and back labels which are wetted with liquid
plastic or the like and this leads to an extremely
nice appearing bottle.
Although a preferred embodiment of the in-
vention has been described in considerable detail,
such description is intended to be illustrative rather
than limiting, for the invention may be variously em-
bodied and is to be limited only by interpretation of
the claims which follow.
