Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one embodiment of this invention, a pneumatic cylinder is used to
press a
pressure wheel against the laminated layer, so the hot melt tape is put in
contact with the
laminated layer. The pressure wheel and pneumatic cylinder are small enough so
that
they can be installed at the exit of each guide arm of a Guide Arm System. The
hot melt
tape is positioned at the exit of the guide arm and is hold in place by the
pressure wheel.
Also a piece of double sided pressure sensitive tape is attached to the
leading end of the
hot melt tape, so when the hot melt tape is released by the pneumatic cylinder
and at the
same time the pressure wheel is used to press the hot melt tape against the
laminate, the
double sided pressure sensitive tape will hold the hot melt tape securely to
the laminate
so that the hot melt tape will be permanently fixed to the laminate and
carried inside the
laminating machine. To assure the correct contact between the hot melt tape
and the
laminate and to apply a precise pressure so that the double-sided pressure
sensitive tape is
correctly bonded to the laminate, a back up roll is used on the back face of
the laminate.
The Start Stop system is operated by the laminating machine operator from
outside the
laminating machine, thus providing a safe working environment.
When the hot melt tape has been correctly started in the laminating machine,
the pressure
roll can be retracted to reduce the tension in the delivery of the hot melt
tape. Finally,
when the use of the hot melt tape is complete, the pneumatic cylinder can be
used to cut
the tape and hold it in place at the exit of the guide arm until the Guide Arm
System is
removed from the laminating machine.
This embodiment can be used between two (2) layers of laminate, or on top of a
single
side of a laminate. It can also be used to assure the orientation top or down
of the hot
melt tape for the tape that have different top and bottom sides.
According to still another embodiment of this invention, a deployment system
can be
used at the exit of the guide arms of the Guide Arm System so that a piece of
carboard
can be hold in place and extended toward the nip of the laminating machine. On
this
cardboard, the leading ends of each hot melt tape have been previously bonded
with
double sided pressure sensitive tapes. All this is done prior to inserting the
Guide Arm
System into the laminating machine. Once the Guide Arm System is inserted and
the
laminating machine is ready to accept the hot melt coated tapes, the
deployment system
with the installed cardboard holding the tapes is activated by the operator
from outside
the laminating machine. The deployment system is operated until the leading
edge of the
cardboard is caught by the nip of the two (2) laminate in the laminating
machine, or by
the nip created by the top laminate and the pressure belt carrying the
combined laminate
into the laminating machine. The deployment system is operated by the
laminating
machine operator from outside the laminating machine, thus providing a safe
working
environment. This embodiment can also maintain the orientation top or down of
the hot
melt tape and can be used without stopping the laminating machine or
corrugator.
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2. Description of the Prior Art
Reinforcing tapes or tear tapes are often used in the construction of modern
packaging. To introduce these tapes into the manufacture of cardboard,
different types of
dispensers have been developed over the years. To obtain the necessary
efficiency
dictated by today's industrial equipment, different improvements have been
made, such as
automatic splicing to splice one roll of the hot melt coated tape or an
automatic guide
arms to precisely position the hot melt coated tapes into the laminating
machine.
As in all industrial environment an emphasis has been put into the operator
safety
while operating laminating machines. Access to the moving parts and the moving
web of
the laminating machines is being largely limited. This causes an issue with
the hot melt
coated tapes used in these processes.
Until now to start production of packaging using hot melt coated tape into a
laminating machine, the machine had to be stopped, the Guide Arm System had to
be
inserted inside the laminating machine. The hot melt tapes had been previously
threaded
into the Guide Arm System and tied together into a knot at the exit of the
Guide Arm
System. Then while the laminating machine is being started, the operator uses
the hot
melt tapes tied together into a knot and toss it and them into the laminating
machine.
When the knot of tapes is being caught by the nip of two (2) layers or webs
comprising
the laminated board, the tapes are carried into the laminating machine thus
starting the
process.
Naturally in today's safety conscious world, this is not acceptable anymore.
But
automatically starting the production of hot melt coated tapes in a laminating
machine is
not so simple. Many manufacturers have tried to develop automatic starters
with very
limited success. So much so, that almost all hot melt tapes users are still
using the old
method of throwing a knot of tapes into the laminating machine or corrugating
machine.
If we look at the current Prior Art, we can see Published Application
W0201216458 where a lever is used to position the hot melt tape against one
(1) layer of
the laminate and bonded to the laminate using a piece of double sided pressure
sensitive
adhesive tape. We can also see US Patent #9669588 where the leading end of the
hot
melt tape is put into a ball and inserted in a air cannon. Using air pressure,
the ball of tape
is tossed into the laminating machine hoping that it will be caught by the nip
of two (2)
layers of the laminated board, effectively mimicking the operation done by the
machine
operator in the current Prior Art.
Both examples have many flaws. For example, for the first one, the position of
both laminates can change depending on the operation of the laminating
machine. Then
the exact position needed to establish contact between the tape and the
laminate with not
be possible. Also the use of double sided pressure sensitive tape to bond the
hot melt
tape to the laminate will not be efficient enough to assure a correct start at
all time, a
requisite of the process.
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For US #9669588, the use of an air cannon is not precise. There is no
guarantee
to guide the tape precisely at the right place, so it will be correctly caught
by the nip on
the laminates in the laminating machine. The tape can be toss too much left or
right, top
or bottom so it will not reach the nip. Also, this system cannot be used when
the hot melt
tape has two (2) different sides and the orientation up and down must be
maintained.
Finally, both systems cannot be used when the hot melt tape must be started on
top face of the laminate or web that is in the top position.
It is the object of this invention to fulfill these and other needs.
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The preceding embodiments and the advantages of the present invention will be
more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with
reference to
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying
drawing
wherein:
FIG. 1 shows the Guide Arm Assembly with the Start Stop Mechanism positioned
inside the laminating machine, between two (2) webs before the formation of
the
laminate
FIG. 2 shows the operation of the Start Stop Mechanism on the Guide Arm
Assembly.
FIG. 3 shows the front view of the Start Stop Mechanism on the Guide Arm
Assembly.
FIG. 4 shows the back view of the Start Stop Mechanism on the Guide Arm
Assembly.
FIG. 5 shows the Guide Arm Assembly with the deployment system positioned
inside the laminating machine, between two (2) webs before the formation of
the
laminate
FIG. 6 shows the deployment system by itself in the collapsed position.
FIG. 7 shows the deployment system by itself in the extended position.
FIG. 8 shows the deployment system installed under the Guide Arm Assembly in
the collapsed position.
FIG. 9 shows the deployment system installed under the Guide Arm Assembly in
the extended position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
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Looking first at FIG. 1, we see the laminating machine with frames #1 and two
(2)
webs #2A and 2B that will be joined together to form the laminate. The Guide
Arm
Assembly #3 is positioned between the top web #2A and the bottom web #2B so
that the
tape can be inserted into the laminate. The Guide Arm Assembly 43 can also be
positioned on top of the top web #2A if the need to position the tape on top
of the
laminated is required.
A backup roll #9 is present under the bottom web #2B so that the tape can be
applied to
the web #2B with the adequate pressure.
In FIG. 2 we can see the actual operation of the Start Stop Mechanism. In FIG.
2A we
see the tape #4 being run on the pulleys #10A, 10B & 10C to guide the tape #4
at the
right position inside the laminate. In Fig #5A, the tape is hold into standby
position by
the lever #11 of the Start Stop Mechanism against the pulley #10C. A small
length of the
tape #4 is extending after the pulley #10C and a piece of double sided
pressure sensitive
adhesive tape #19 is attached under the tape #4 and both are hold in place the
pulley #10.
In FIG. 2B, we see the Start Stop Mechanism being activated. The pulley #10C
is being
moved against the bottom web #2B and the pulley #10C is applying pressure
against the
tape #4 the double sided pressure sensitive tape #19 and the bottom web #2B,
thus
bonding the tape #4 to the web #2B.
In FIG. 2C, we see the tape #4 being carried forward from the pulley #10C just
as the
lever #11 is releasing the tape #4 against the pulley #10C. From that moment
on, the tape
#4 is started and being continuously feed into the laminating machine.
In FIG. 2D, we see that once the application of the tape #4 into the
laminating machine is
done, it can be stopped by moving back the pulley #10C in the top position,
the lever #11
is again holding the tape #4 against the pulley #10C and the tape #4 exiting
the pulley
#10C in a higher position is coming into contact with knife #8, thus cutting
the tape #4
stopping the continuous supply of the tape #4 into the laminating machine.
In FIG. 3, we can see a detailed from view of the Start Stop Mechanism on the
Guide
Arm Assembly with the Pulleys #10A, #10B and 10C, the Knife #8 and the bottom
web
#2B.
In FIG. 4, we see a detailed view of the back of the Start Stop Mechanism on
the Guide
Arm Assembly with the Pulleys #10A, #10B and #10C and the lever #11 and the
Pneumatic Cylinder #6.
We can see our second preferred embodiments the following figures.
In FIG. 5 we see the Laminating machine with frames #1 and two (2) webs #2A
and 2B
that will be joined together to form the laminate. The Guide Arm Assembly with
the
Deployment System #12 is positioned between the top web #2A and the bottom web
#2B
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so that the tape can be inserted into the laminate. The Guide Arm Assembly
with the
Deployment System #12 can also be positioned on top of the top web #2A if the
need to
position the tape on top of the laminated is required.
In FIG. 6 we can see the details of the Deployment System #12A in the
collapsed
position without the Guide Arm Assembly. To hold the tapes #4 into position, a
piece of
cardboard #13 of the adequate dimensions is positioned at the exist of the
Deployment
System and is hold in place by the Support Clips #8. The tapes #4 are attached
on top of
the Cardboard Piece #13 by pressure sensitive tapes or other means. The tapes
#4 have
previously been run into the pulleys of the Guide Arm Assembly # 10A, 10B and
10C.
When the tapes #4 are ready to be put into operation on the laminating
machine, the
motor #14 is activated which turns the screw #15 that pushed the accordeons
#17 thus
extending the slides #16 until the Deployment System #12A is in the extended
position.
In FIG. 7 and 9, we can see the Deployment System #12A in the extended
position. At
which point the Cardboard #13 has reached the nip point between web #2A and
web #2B
and is being caught by the nip point thus carrying the cardboard #14 and the
tapes #4 into
the laminating machine. Once the tapes #4 have been introduced into the
laminating
machine with the cardboard #13, the Deployment System #12A is no longer
necessary
and can be retracted to the collapsed position as shown in Fig #6.
Having described and illustrated the principles of our invention with
reference to a
preferred embodiment, it will be apparent to those having skill in the art
that the
invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from
such
principles.
In view of theses and the wide range of other embodiments to which the
concepts
of the present invention can be applied, it should be recognized that the
foregoing
description is illustrative only and is not to be construed as limiting the
scope of the
invention. Instead, we claim as our invention all such modifications as may
come within
the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalents thereof.
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