Methods and machines for placing and heating oriented plastic heat-shrinkable sleeves on containers

A machine for putting heat-shrinkable oriented plastic sleeves on containers, the machine comprising a turret having an upper portion and a lower portion, there being means for transporting containers around the periphery of the upper turret portion including a rope drive so constructed and arranged that the rope contacts the upper portion of the container and holds and rotates each of the containers as the container is transported around the turret periphery, the lower turret portion including means for transporting tubular sleeves of heat-shrinkable plastic around the turret periphery, and means for bringing a sleeve from the bottom of each of the containers up and around the container to form a sleeve thereon, there being means to feed a length of sleeve label material to the lower portion of the turret to form the sleeve, the label length being cut and overlapped slightly to form a seam on the sleeve, there being heating means to heat the seam as it is being formed, and there being pressing means to press the newly formed heated seam, the pressing means being so constructed and arranged that a pressing bar contacts the seam substantially the full length thereof, the pressing action of the bar being timed by camming means.

A machine for placing and heat-shrinking oriented heat-shrinkable plastic sleeves on containers, the machine comprising a turret having an upper portion and a lower portion, means for transporting containers around the upper turret portion periphery, means for feeding containers into the peripheral path of the upper turret portion including a starwheel, means for grasping and controlling a container by capturing the container on a point of a horizontal line tangent to the upper portion periphery, the point also being in a common horizontal line running through the center of the turret, the center of the starwheel, and the center of the container.

A machine for placing and heat-shrinking oriented plastic sleeves on containers, the machine comprising a turret with upper and lower portions, means to rotate the turret including an upper driven disc having an annular outer edge portion with a plurality of plates having outer recesses that define the periphery of the upper turret, holding means for holding containers in place on the turret periphery, the holding means so constructed and arranged that each container that is fed to the turret periphery is held and rotated around the periphery, the container being held securely as it travels to the periphery at a tangent point.

A machine for putting heat-shrinkable oriented plastic sleeves on containers, the machine comprising a turret having an upper portion and a lower portion, there being means for transporting containers around the periphery of the upper turret portion that the means contacts the upper portion of the container and holds and simultaneously rotates each of the containers as the container is transported around the turret periphery, the lower turret portion including means for transporting tubular sleeves of heat-shrinkable plastic around the turret periphery, and means for bringing a sleeve from the bottom of each of the containers up and around the container to form a sleeve thereon, there being means to feed a length of sleeve label material to the lower portion of the turret to form the sleeve, the label length being cut and overlapped slightly to form a seam on the sleeve, there being heating means to heat the seam as it is being formed, and there being pressing means to press the newly formed heated seam, the pressing means being so constructed and arranged that a pressing bar contacts the seam substantially the full length thereof, the pressing action of the bar being timed by camming means.