Activator means for pre-applied adhesives

An activator apparatus for activating a pre-applied adhesive on a substrate said apparatus comprising a workstation for receiving a substrate having applied to a surface thereof a pre-applied adhesive composition and an activator means associated with the work station for acting upon said pre-applied adhesive as the substrate resides in or passes through the workstation, said activator means comprising an activator body and at least one activator face attached to, integrated into or forming a part of a surface of the activator body, said activator face characterized as having a centerline axis and, perpendicular thereto, a transverse axis, said centerline axis being defined by and parallel to and aligned with the direction of the movement of the activator means to the substrate upon which it acts during activation of the pre-applied adhesive, said activator face further characterized by a plurality of projections extending from the surface thereof, which projections are adapted to engage the pre-applied adhesive on the substrate as the activator means moves along the centerline axis relative to the substrate, thereby mobilizing the pre-applied adhesive on the substrate surface and then depositing or leaving the adhesive in an activated state in a predetermined pattern or configuration on the substrate surface;

• provided that:
• (a) when at least one of the projections is a linear projection which is perpendicular to the centerline axis, the length of that projection is substantially less than the width of the pre-applied adhesive to be acted upon or the apparatus further includes a means for imparting reciprocating motion to the activator face along the transverse axis sufficient to allow preapplied adhesive buildup in front of the projection(s) to pass one or both ends of the linear projections or both and
• (b) when at least one of the projections is a linear projection which is parallel to the centerline axis, the apparatus further includes a means for imparting reciprocating motion to the activator face along the transverse axis, the extent of such movement being sufficient to activate enough preapplied adhesive to achieve the desired bond width;
• said activator face further characterized as having a generally planar surface or contoured surface, provided that when the activator face has a contoured surface
• (i) the change in contour occurs only along the transverse axis whereby a cross-section of the activator face along the transverse axis will provide a non-linear edge but a cross-section along the centerline axis will provide a linear edge and)
• (ii) the contour of the activator face matches the contour of the surface of the substrate, or at least that portion thereof, upon which the pre-applied adhesive is applied whereby the relative movement of the activator means across the surface of the substrate to which the pre-applied adhesive is applied is not impeded while still maintaining contact between the activator face and the preapplied adhesive on the substrate.