Multi-purpose glue applicator for sheet products

• US 20020114889A1
• Filed: 03/22/2002
• Published: 08/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vermehren Engineering Corporation
• Original Assignee: Vermehren Engineering Corporation
• Inventors: VerMehren, H. Richard
• Granted Patent: US 6,579,364 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/348
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 25/1407 with identification means identification in general G09F
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/626 Arrangements for permitting the glue to set
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 70/626 Arrangements for permitting the glue to set
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1798 with liquid adhesive or adhesive activator applying means

Abstract

Sheet products, such as card stock, envelopes and other paper products (10) are advanced on a vacuum surface conveyor belt (30) beneath a glue applicator drum (35). The glue transfer strips (37 and 38) of the glue applicator drum apply stripes of glue (42 and 43) at the ends of the sheet product, leaving a belt engaging space (41) without glue between the glue stripes. The sheet product is grasped by overlying conveyor belts (46 and 47) at the belt engaging space (41), thereby exposing the wet glue stripes on opposite sides of the belts. Hot air is applied on opposite sides of the conveyor belts (46 and 47), drying the glue. The glue transfer strips (37 and 38) of the glue applicator drum can be adjusted in size, shape and position so as to apply glue to one end, the other end, or both ends of the sheet product, and if glue is applied to only one end, one of the dryers (50 or 51) can be deactivated, saving energy.

Claims

1. Apparatus for applying glue to sheet products comprising:

a conveyor for advancing a plurality of sheet products in a horizontal attitude in series along a processing path with the sheet products having opposed ends and a central portion between the opposed ends, with the opposed ends of the sheet products extending across the direction of advancement of the sheet products and with the opposed ends of the sheet products exposed for the application thereto of glue,

a rotary glue applicator positioned over said conveyor and including a surface movable adjacent and in the same direction as the sheet products,

said surface of said rotary glue applicator including glue applicators for registering with and simultaneously applying glue stripes to opposed ends of the sheet products and leaving the central portions of the sheet products without glue as the sheet products advance along the processing path, and

a forced air dryer positioned along the processing path configured to direct streams of heated air toward the opposed ends of the sheet products that bear the glue as the sheet products are advanced along the processing path.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said conveyor includes:

a pin conveyor for advancing sheet products toward said rotary glue applicator,

a vacuum surface conveyor configured for receiving the sheet products from said pin conveyor and advancing the sheet products adjacent said rotary glue applicator, and

a dryer conveyor for receiving the sheet products from said vacuum surface conveyor with glue applied to opposed ends of the sheet products, said dryer conveyor having overlying conveyor belts movable in unison for engaging opposite surfaces of the central portion of the sheet products and advancing the sheet products with the opposed ends of the sheet products adjacent said forced air dryer.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein:

said pin conveyor and said vacuum surface conveyor advance the sheet products in a first direction and said dryer conveyor includes a guide roller for reversing the direction of advancement of the sheet products.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said forced air dryer includes a pair of dryers positioned in straddling relationship with respect to said dryer conveyor.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein:

each of said dryers of said pair of dryers has an air heater.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein:

said forced air dryer has ducts extending about said guide roller for moving air toward the path of the sheet products as the sheet products move about said guide roller.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:

said forced air dryer includes an air heater

8. The apparatus of claim 1, and further including:

a feeder positioned adjacent said conveyor configured for feeding sheet products from a stack of sheet products in sequence to said conveyor.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

the sheet product is a hangar tag with first and second body portions connected together by spaced straps, and said glue applicators are spaced from each other for simultaneously applying glue to the first and second body portions of said hangar tag without applying glue to the spaced straps of the hangar tag.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the glue applied by said glue applicators to a sheet product is selected from a group consisting of:

latex, remoistenable glue, and pressure sensitive glue with release liner.

11. Apparatus for applying glue to a series of sheet products advancing along a processing path with the sheet products having opposed ends and a central portion between the end portions, and the end portions extending laterally across the processing path, comprising:

a rotary glue applicator drum configured to apply glue to opposed ends of the sheet products without applying glue to the central portion of the sheet product, and

a forced air dryer having parallel ducts extending along the processing path for directing air toward the end portions of the sheet products for drying the glue.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, and further including:

a conveyor configured for grasping the sheet products in the central portion of the sheet products without engaging the end portions of the sheet products and advancing the sheet products adjacent said forced air dryer.

13. Apparatus for applying glue to sheet products as the sheet products are advanced along a processing path, comprising:

a surface conveyor belt having a surface movable along a processing path,

a sheet product delivery apparatus arranged to deposit duplicate sheet products in series in equally spaced arrangement on said surface conveyor belt, with said sheet products each having ends aligned across the direction of movement of said surface conveyor belt, so that the sheet products are advanced along the processing path with the ends of the sheet product aligned across the direction of advancement,

a rotary glue applicator drum positioned over said surface conveyor belt and having a cylindrical surface movable adjacent and in the same direction as said surface conveyor belt and arranged to apply stripes of glue to the ends of said sheet products as the sheet products are advanced by said surface conveyor belt,

a drying conveyor including a pair of conveyor belts movable together in overlying relationship to grasp the sheet products intermediate the ends of the sheet products as the sheet products move away from said glue applicator drum and to advance the sheet products along a drying path with the glue applied to the ends of the sheet products extending from said conveyor belts and free to dry,

said drying conveyor further including dryer ducts on opposed sides of said pair of conveyor belts, said dryer ducts each having an air inlet and a plurality of air outlets positioned along said drying path, a blower adapted to move air through each dryer duct, and a heater arranged to heat the air moving through said dryer ducts, said plurality of said air outlets directed toward the drying path for drying the glue applied to the ends of said sheet products.