Labeling method employing radiation curable adhesive
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A continuous method of applying individual, stacked, plastic labels to containers including the sequential steps of:
- maintaining a stack of individual, stacked, plastic labels in a dispensing magazine;
applying a UV curable adhesive having a viscosity in the range of about 500 to about 10,000 centipoise to a transfer member;
causing said transfer member with the adhesive thereon to engage an exposed, lower surface of a lowermost label in the stack to apply said UV curable adhesive to said lower surface and to remove the lowermost label from the stack and releasably secure said lowermost label to said transfer member for subsequent transport of the lowermost label through a radiation cure station;
directing the label with the UV curable adhesive thereon through a UV cure station for radiating the adhesive with UV radiation to increase the tackiness of the adhesive, and thereafter;
applying the label through the tacky adhesive component thereof to the outer surface of a container.
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Abstract
This invention relates to a labeling system for continuously applying a layer of a UV curable adhesive to plastic, sheet fed, cut and stack, labels, irradiating the adhesive on the labels to render the adhesive sufficiently tacky to effectively adhere the labels to containers in a commercial labeling machine and thereafter applying the labels to discrete containers through the sufficiently tacky adhesive layer. The plastic labels can be clear, opaque (including metallized) plastic films and can be retained in a dispensing magazine prior to the application of the UV curable adhesive to the labels.
61 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A continuous method of applying individual, stacked, plastic labels to containers including the sequential steps of:
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maintaining a stack of individual, stacked, plastic labels in a dispensing magazine;
applying a UV curable adhesive having a viscosity in the range of about 500 to about 10,000 centipoise to a transfer member;
causing said transfer member with the adhesive thereon to engage an exposed, lower surface of a lowermost label in the stack to apply said UV curable adhesive to said lower surface and to remove the lowermost label from the stack and releasably secure said lowermost label to said transfer member for subsequent transport of the lowermost label through a radiation cure station;
directing the label with the UV curable adhesive thereon through a UV cure station for radiating the adhesive with UV radiation to increase the tackiness of the adhesive, and thereafter;
applying the label through the tacky adhesive component thereof to the outer surface of a container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A continuous method of applying individual, stacked, plastic labels to containers including the sequential steps of:
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maintaining a stack of individual, stacked, plastic labels in a dispensing magazine;
applying a UV curable adhesive to a transfer member;
causing said transfer member with the adhesive thereon to engage an exposed, lower surface of a lowermost label in the stack to apply said UV curable adhesive to said lower surface and to remove the lowermost label from the stack and releasably secure said lowermost label to said transfer member for subsequent transport of the lowermost label through a radiation cure station;
removing said lowermost label from the transfer member by a rotary transfer assembly disposed adjacent a source of UV radiation;
rotating the transfer assembly to direct said lowermost label with the UV curable adhesive thereon past the source of UV radiation for radiating the adhesive with UV radiation to increase the tackiness of the adhesive, and thereafter;
applying the label through the tacky adhesive component thereof to the outer surface of a container. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification