CN1374916A - Method and device for applying an imprint or label to an object - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for applying an imprint or label to an object, such as a container, in which: a support belt bearing separated labels is fed to an application head, the labels being attached to the support belt by a support side and being provided with an adhesive on an application side, an object is fed to the application head, and the adhesive of the label is brought into contact with the object with the aid of the application head, in which method the support belt is deformed upstream of the application head in such a manner that the adhesion of the support side of the label to the support belt is reduced.

Description

Method and device for affixing imprints or labels to objects

technical field

The invention relates to a method for applying imprints or labels to objects, such as a container, in which a carrier tape with labels spaced apart from each other is conveyed to an application head, the labels being applied via a carrier surface Adhesive to the carrier tape, with an adhesive on one of the adhesive faces, an object is also conveyed to the application head, and the adhesive of the label comes into contact with the object with the help of the application head.

Background technique

Such methods are known to those skilled in the art. According to this known method, a carrier strip carrying labels spaced apart from one another is conveyed from a stock reel to an application head. Then, by using the application head, the label is applied to an object, such as a container. This makes it possible, for example, to print a pattern on the side of a beer crate.

If nothing else, this method is suitable for so-called "picture transfer" labels. Such hashtags can be reposted with the help of pressure. In this specification, these labels are also referred to as "pressure sensitive". The labels are transferred to an object by pressing the adhesive on the label application side against the object with the aid of the application head. In order to ensure that the label is transferred, the adhesion between the object to be printed and the label must be greater than the adhesion between the label and the carrier tape.

The transfer of pressure sensitive labels is facilitated if the initial adhesion between the label and the case is relatively high. This initial tack is also referred to as "first tack". The first adhesive force is the determining factor of the adhesive force between the label and the object, and this decisive effect will run through the entire service life of the object to be printed. After application, the adhesive on the label will set, resulting in increased adhesion between the label and the object.

In practice, users usually wish to be able to detach a label that has been stuck to an object from the object. Such label removal may be necessary, for example, if the label has been damaged or has expired.

For example, beer crates are suitable for reuse. The appearance of a beer box depends mainly on the quality of the label attached to the box. It is quite possible that the case itself is still perfectly usable, but the imprint has been damaged. It may also happen that a brewer wishes to use the imprint to draw attention to a temporary special or a special promotion. In all of these cases, the brewer wanted to be able to remove the old label from the case and replace it with a new one.

As stated above, when applying pressure sensitive labels, we want the labels to be glued to the box with a high first tack. We will see that in order to satisfy the requirement that the label must be able to be removed, it is actually necessary to set a maximum allowable first sticking force. This is because the greater the first tack, the more difficult it will be to remove the label from the case. With the higher first tack, the label can be firmly adhered to the box, and after the adhesive used has set, removing the label will cause some problems.

Therefore, an important deficiency of the method according to the prior art is that, first of all, a high first adhesive force is required for the successful sticking of the pressure-sensitive layer, whereas in order to enable the label to be removed, the opposite condition is actually required (i.e. the relative less adhesion).

Pattern transfer can also be achieved by affixing the label to the object using a combination of pressure and heat. In this specification, such labels are also referred to as "thermal transfer labels". Thermal transfer labels of this nature are transferred from a carrier tape to an object under the combined influence of heat and pressure. To ensure that the label comes off the carrier tape and is firmly adhered to an object, the label needs to be pressed against the object under relatively high pressure and relatively high temperature for a relatively long period of time . The higher the operating temperature, the higher the associated costs.

The same goes for the amount of time it takes to apply the labels. The longer it takes to apply a label, the higher the cost associated with each label.

As with the comments above for pressure sensitive labels, application of heat transfer labels also requires compromises in handling conditions during label application. On the one hand, the operating pressure and operating temperature must be set to the highest possible levels in order to ensure that the label can be transferred from the carrier tape to an object intact. On the other hand, said temperature and pressure must be kept as low as possible in order to ensure that the label can be removed from the object during its lifetime. In addition, it is also important to minimize the costs involved in the labeling process.

Contents of the invention

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of the above type in which the label can be transferred intact from the carrier tape to an object under the effect of relatively low pressure from the application head. In addition, for thermal transfer labels, we hope that the temperature used should be kept at a relatively low level.

In the present invention, this object has been achieved by the fact that the carrier tape is caused to deform upstream of the application head in such a way that the adhesive force between the label-carrying surface and the carrier tape is reduced. It is possible to deform the carrier strip by moving it past the upper side of an edge or strip. Furthermore, it is also possible to deform the carrier strip by passing it over an angle between 45° and 90°.

According to the invention, the carrier strip is deformed, for example by being guided over an edge or strip. The material of the carrier strip is bent at the location of the strips so that the carrier strip forms a bend with a relatively small radius. The curvature is determined by the shape of the contact surface between the strip and the carrier strip. If this shape is chosen properly, it is impossible for the material of the label to completely follow the set deformation. This means that the holding force between the label and the carrier tape is thereby reduced.

Due to static electricity, the label will remain in place on the carrier tape. However, the adhesion between the label and the carrier tape will be significantly reduced. Thus, the application of the graphic transfer label can take place under certain conditions which on the one hand facilitate the application of the label and on the other hand allow the label to be removed.

For pressure-sensitive labels, if the first adhesive force remains constant, the adhesive force between the object to be applied and the label will increase relative to the adhesive force between the label and the carrier tape. This makes it possible to ensure that the label is successfully reapplied with a low first tack. For thermal transfer labels, the result is faster application of labels (reduced application time) and requires lower pressure and lower temperatures.

According to the invention, a label may generally comprise ink and adhesive. Additionally, the label can be heated while being attached to an object.

As mentioned above, the method according to the invention is mainly suitable for image transfer using pressure sensitive labels and thermal transfer labels. Wherein the pasting of the latter needs to adopt heating. By using inks and adhesives to form labels, it is possible to process relatively thin labels.

From a positioning point of view, it would be disadvantageous if the label "floats" on the carrier tape. Ideally, the label should remain at least partially on the carrier tape with sufficient adhesion at the start of the application operation. This can be achieved if only the upstream portion of each label is bent. Another option is to have the carrier strip be bent in the vicinity of the application head and at least the upstream end of the label be clamped between the object to be printed and the application head before the carrier strip at the downstream end of the label is bent.

The effect of this measure is that the upstream part of the label is firmly clamped between the object to be applied and the application head, while at least the downstream part of the label remains in the correct position and is glued to the carrier tape.

According to the invention, it is possible to have the label and the carrier tape conveyed past the application head while the adhesive on the label comes into contact with the object due to the action of the application head on the carrier tape.

This means that the carrier belt moves together with the label to be applied between the object to be printed and the application head.

As an alternative, the carrier strip can be removed upstream of the application head. This means that the carrier tape is redirected before reaching the application head. Only the labels are fed into the application head. This means that the application head can be in the form of a brush, with the help of which the label is rubbed onto the object.

It should be noted that in the prior art there is such a method that the carrier tape with labels is conveyed towards the application head, the carrier tape itself is diverted before reaching the application head and only the labels are fed into the application head. The label is separated from the carrier tape by turning the carrier tape through an acute angle that the label cannot follow or does not follow sufficiently. It should be noted, however, that there is an important difference between this known method and the method according to the invention. According to the prior art, the labels are glued to the carrier tape via a carrier surface. The label is separated from the carrier tape and pressed against an object via the carrier surface. According to the invention, the labels are glued to the carrier tape via a carrier surface. After the label is separated from the carrier tape, the label is pasted on the object through the pasting surface on the reverse side.

Another possibility according to the invention is that the carrier strip is moved downstream of the application head past a removal strip in such a way that the labels still remaining on the carrier strip are removed from the carrier strip by means of the removal strip. Down.

The effect of this measure is that any labels that escape, ie labels that have not been pressed against the object by the application head, are removed from the carrier tape. This ensures that these unused tags do not contaminate the equipment. After the carrier tape has moved past the application head, it is moved forward, usually with the help of pressure rollers. These pressure rollers, like the application head, will apply a pressure to the label. The presence of this pressure causes the label to be pressed more firmly against one of the conveyor rollers. This will contaminate the drive belt rollers. This contamination can be avoided by removing the strips.

In addition to the method described above, the invention also relates to a device specifically intended to carry out this method. This device according to the invention comprises a frame, an application head connected to the frame and movable relative to the frame, a mechanism for conveying the carrier strip to the application head, mutually separated labels arranged on the carrier strip, and a mechanism for transferring the carrier tape from the applicator head to a removal roller.

The device according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises a curved part arranged upstream of the application head in or near the path of the carrier strip, the curved part comprising a contact surface opposite to the The direction of movement of the carrier strip extends generally transversely in such a way that the carrier strip passes over the contact surface of the bending member during use. In the device, the bender can be arranged in the vicinity of the application head.

As mentioned above, it would be advantageous if the position of the label relative to the carrier tape could be maintained without monitoring. Thus, if the strip or guide is arranged in the vicinity of the application head, when the upstream part of the label has been clamped in place, the downstream part can still pass over the guide or strip. This ensures group positioning of the tags on the carrier tape.

In addition, it is also possible to make the distance between the bending part and the application head adjustable. This measure allows the device to be adapted to labels of any length.

According to the invention, the application head can be designed as a roller. In use, a carrier strip may be sandwiched between the object to be applied and the roller. At the same time, the carrier tape can be conveyed through the rollers.

Alternatively, the application head can be designed as a brush. In some applications we do not want the carrier tape to be guided between the object to be printed and the application head. In this case, it is possible to just have the label be brushed on the object.

In order to ensure the firm sticking of the label, a generally arc-shaped groove can also be processed on the side of the sticking head facing the object to be stuck.

Furthermore, the device may also comprise a removal strip located in the path of the carrier tape and placed downstream of the application head.

The removal strip can be used to remove any label residue on the carrier tape, thereby preventing label contamination of the unit.

Description of drawings

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show a possible embodiment of the present invention. The attached drawings include:

Figure 1 shows an overview of the application of a label to the side of a beer carton with the aid of an application head.

Figure 2 shows a schematic overview of the sticking device shown in Figure 1 with a removal bar added.

Figure 3 shows a schematic overview of the application of a label to the side of a box, wherein the carrier tape is diverted before reaching the application head, and the application head is designed as a brush.

Figure 4 shows an overview of the application of labels to the sides of bottles with the aid of an application head, where the bottles are located in a carousel.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic overview of the application of the label to the side of the bottle with the aid of an application head, wherein the carrier strip is reversed before reaching the application head and which is designed as a brush.

Description of the preferred embodiment

Figure 1 shows a conveyor, such as a conveyor belt, on which boxes 2 are placed. As shown, these boxes 2 are moving from left to right. With the help of a conveyor belt 1 , the case 2 is moved past an application head 3 . The application head 3 is movable and, when the application head is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 4 , can exert a force effect on the side walls of the box 2 .

A carrier tape 5 originating from a stock reel (not shown) is conveyed towards the application head 3 . An imprint or label 6 is arranged on one side of the carrier strip 5 . These labels are, for example, pressure sensitive labels. In this specification, labels with such properties are referred to as pressure-sensitive labels. The label is applied to an object with a pressure-applied application head. Label 6 may also be a heat sensitive label. In this specification, such labels are referred to as heat transfer labels.

The label 6 is pressed against the side wall of the box 2 with the aid of the application head 3 . In order to obtain a successful application operation, the side of the label 6 facing the box 2 must be able to be glued to the side wall of the box with sufficient adhesion. The side of the label 6 facing the box is called the "adhesive side" of the label. The adhesion between the case 2 and the adhesive side of the label 6 must be strong enough to allow the label to be pulled off the carrier strip 5 .

For pressure-sensitive labels, the initial adhesion between the box 2 and the adhesive side of the label 6 is also referred to as "first adhesion". This first adhesive force is the determinant of the final adhesive force between box 2 and label 6, and this decisive effect will last throughout the entire service life of the box and label.

After the label 6 is pasted on the box 2, the adhesive used will start to solidify, so that the adhesive force between the label 6 and the box 2 will increase. If the user wishes to replace the label 6 on the side wall of the box 2 from time to time, for example because the label is damaged, it must be possible to tear the label 6 off the box 2 relatively easily. That is to say, a maximum value must be defined for the adhesive force between box 2 and label 6 . For this reason, we hope that the label 6 can be successfully separated from the carrier tape 5 under the situation that the adhesive force between the label 6 and the box 2 does not become too large.

According to the invention, detachment of the label 6 from the carrier strip is facilitated by guiding the carrier strip over a strip 7 which, as can be seen in FIG. 1 , is placed upstream of the application head 3 . The top side of the strip 7 forms a relatively sharp acute angle. The presence of this acute angle will cause a local deformation of the carrier strip 5 . As a result, the adhesive force between the label 6 and the carrier tape 5 is reduced. The portion of the label 6 that has moved past the upper side of the strip 7 is, so to speak, detached from the carrier strip 5 and thus rests loosely on the strip 5 . Since the adhesive force between the label 6 and the carrier tape 5 is small, it becomes easier to detach the label 6 from the carrier tape 5 . Thereby, the initial adhesive force, or primary adhesive force, required to ensure that the label 6 is detached from the carrier strip 5 and remains in place on the box 2 is also reduced.

The entire extended length of the label 6 can be moved over the sharp corner of the strip 7 . This means that the entire area of the label 6 is detached from the underlying carrier strip 5 . This degree of separation between the label and the carrier strip 5 may be so great that the label 6 starts to drift relative to the underlying carrier strip 5 . This offset represents a disadvantage, since it makes the position of the label 6 on the carrier strip 5 uncertain. As a result, the sticking quality of the label 6 on the box 2 will be reduced. For example, a label might be affixed to one corner of a box.

In order to prevent the label 6 from starting to move relative to the carrier strip 5, only certain parts of the label 6 can be passed over the strip 7. This means that, for example, only the downstream part of the label 6 passes over the strip 7 . At this time, the upstream part of the label 6 can ensure a good positioning of the label 6 on the carrier belt 5 .

The strip 7 can also be arranged in the vicinity of the application head 3 . In this case, the distance between the strip 7 and the application head 3 can be controlled in such a way that when the upstream part of the label 6 has not moved over the strip 7, the downstream part of the label 6 has already been glued. Box 2 on. This means that a good positioning of the label 6 relative to the carrier strip 5 is ensured throughout the application operation. The strip 7 can be arranged in the vicinity of the application head 3 in a movable manner. In this way, the distance between the application head 3 and the strip 7 can be adjusted, so that it is possible, for example, to apply labels of different sizes.

As mentioned above, the method and device according to the invention can be used for applying pressure sensitive labels as well as heat sensitive labels. For the application of heat-sensitive labels or thermal transfer labels, the label is pressed against the object to be printed by an application head while being heated.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic overview of the device shown in FIG. 1 , where the application head 3 has been detached from the case 2 .

If the supply of cases on the conveyor belt 2 is temporarily interrupted, several labels 6 will move with the carrier belt 5 past the application head 3 without being transferred onto the case 2 . This means that these tags are lost. These unused labels 6 may contaminate devices downstream of the application head 3 .

Generally, a so-called distributor 10 will be arranged downstream of the application head 3 . The dispenser 10 comprises two or more pressure rollers for conveying the carrier strip 5 . Since the dispenser 10 is arranged downstream of the application head, it generally does not cause problems if these rollers are pressed against the surface of the carrier strip 5 . However, if unused labels 6 remain on the carrier tape 5 , the pressure sensitive labels 6 may wind up on one of the rollers of the dispenser 10 . This means that unused labels will remain stuck to the dispenser 10 roll during this time. Hence, the dispenser 10 will need to be replaced or cleaned from time to time. In order to prevent unused labels 6 from coming into contact with the dispenser 10 , a removal strip 11 is preferably arranged between the application head 3 and the dispenser 10 . For example, the removal strip 11 can be a metal strip on which a relatively sharp point touches the surface of the carrier strip 5 . Where the strip 11 is removed, the unused labels 6 will be separated from the carrier strip 5 and collected, for example, into a collection container below the strip. This avoids contamination of the distributor 10 downstream.

1 and 2 show the label 6 being pressed onto a case 2 by an application head 3 which exerts pressure on the label 6 via the carrier strip 5 . Figure 3 shows another pasting method. The carrier strip 5 is diverted before reaching the application head. This means that the label is completely peeled off the carrier strip 5 and the application head acts on the carrier surface of the label 6 while the label is being applied. FIG. 3 also shows the situation that the sticking head is designed as a brush 15 . The brush 15 is used to wipe the label onto the case 2 .

The method and device according to the invention can also be used for labeling bottles, such as beer bottles. FIG. 4 shows the application of a print on a bottle 20 with the aid of an application head 30 . This application head 30 has a groove in it which is shaped to allow the application head to partially wrap around the bottle 20 . During the sticking process, the bottles move in groups in direction A in the carousel. Furthermore, the individual bottles 20 are each rotated in direction B again. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the application head 30 acts on the label 6 via the carrier strip 5 .

Alternatively, the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 may also be used. According to the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the carrier tape 5 is redirected before reaching the application head. Furthermore, the application head is designed as a brush 31 . Otherwise, this embodiment is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 .

Using the method and device according to the invention, an angle of 45° to 90° can be applied to the adhesive tape. Tests have shown that by employing such an angular displacement it is possible to deform the carrier tape as it is driven through the device, with substantially no movement of the label relative to the carrier tape. If smaller angles are used, the deformation of the carrier tape may not be sufficient to ensure reduced adhesion between the label and the carrier tape.

In addition, tests have confirmed that, for a carrier belt with a height of 200 mm, a tension of about 5 kg can be exerted on the carrier belt. It should be noted that these drawings are only some examples, and they do not limit the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (16)

1. be used for the marking or label (6) are sticked on a method on the object, this object can be a container (2,20), wherein:

-one carrying band (5) that is stained with label spaced apart from each other (6) is transmitted to an application head (3), and label (6) is bonded on the carrying band (5) by a carrying surface, then has a kind of adhesive agent on the stickup face,

-one object (2,20) be transmitted to application head (3) and

The adhesive agent of-label (6) contacts with object (2,20) under the help of application head (3), it is characterized in that

-carrying band (5) is caused distortion in the upstream of application head (3), thereby the binding force between label (6) carrying surface and the carrying band (5) is reduced.

2. the method for claim 1 is characterized in that, makes carrying band (5) produce distortion by the upside that makes carrying band (5) move through a rib or bar (7).

3. method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that, carrying band (5) passes through and is deformed from an angle between 45 ° and 90 °.

4. as claim 1,2 or 3 described methods, it is characterized in that label mainly comprises red ink paste used for seals and adhesive agent.

5. as one of above-mentioned claim described method, it is characterized in that label (6) is heated in the process that is secured on the object (2,20).

6. as one of above-mentioned claim described method, it is characterized in that, carrying band (5) is bent near application head (3), and before the carrying band (5) that is positioned at label (6) downstream end is bent, at least the upstream extremity of label (6) is clamped at and waits to paste between seal object (2,20) and the application head (3).

7. as one of above-mentioned claim described method, it is characterized in that label (6) and carrying band (5) are transmitted through application head (3), simultaneously owing to the effect of application head (3) to carrying band (5), adhesive agent and object (2,20) on the label (6) are contacted.

8. as one of above-mentioned claim described method, it is characterized in that carrying band (5) is removed at the upstream end of application head (3).

9. as one of above-mentioned claim described method, it is characterized in that, carrying band (5) is moved through one by certain mode in the downstream of application head (3) and removes bar (11), is moved down from carrying band (5) thereby make the label (6) that still is retained on the carrying band (5) remove bar (11) by this.

10. device that is used to implement as the described method of one of above-mentioned claim, this device comprises:

-one framework,

-one application head (3) that is connected with this framework and can moves relative to this framework,

-be used for will carrying band (5) transmitting mechanism to application head, be arranged on the carrying band (5) the label that is separated from each other and

-be used for carrying band (5) is shifted to a mechanism (10) that shifts out roller bearing from application head (3), it is characterized in that, this device comprises a bool (7), this bool (7) is disposed in the upstream of application head (3), be positioned near the path or path of carrying band (5), this bool (7) comprises a mating surfaces, and this mating surfaces is with respect to the sense of motion horizontal expansion substantially of carrying band (5), and promptly carrying band (5) is in use from the top process of the mating surfaces of bool (7).

11. device as claimed in claim 10 is characterized in that, bool (7) be placed in application head (3) near.

12. as claim 9,10 or 11 described devices, it is characterized in that, between bool (7) and the application head (3) apart from scalable.

13., it is characterized in that application head (3) is designed to a roller bearing (3) as the described device of one of claim 10-12.

14., it is characterized in that application head (3) is designed to a brush (15,31) as the described device of one of claim 10-12.

15., it is characterized in that application head (30) is processed with a groove that cardinal principle is curved towards waiting to paste on the one side of printing object (2,20) as the described device of one of claim 10-12.

16., it is characterized in that this device can also comprise that removes a bar (11) as the described device of one of claim 10-15, this removes the path that bar (11) is arranged in carrying band (5), and is placed in the downstream of application head (3).

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