Machine and method for applying heat shrink labels

A method of applying heat shrinkable film to articles each of said articles having a vertical body and an inwardly sloping end portion at at least one end of the body, such method comprising:

• (a) cutting segments of such film from a continuously moving length of film, each segment having a leading end and a trailing end
• (b) continuously transporting each severed segment to an applicator station
• (c) continuously transporting such articles to said applicator station
• (d) continuously applying the leading end of each segment at such applicator station to the body of an article, wrapping it tightly around the article with the trailing end of the segment overlapping the leading end and forming a side seam which is held together by means of an adhesive and in so doing allowing one edge or both edges of the applied segment to project beyond the body portion and overlie, but to be spaced from, the adjacent inwardly sloping portion or portions of the article
• (e) said side seam being a laminar structure comprising an outer strip formed by the trailing end of the segment, an inner strip formed by the leading end of the segment and an intermediate strip formed by said adhesive, said intermediate strip presenting an exposed area at the outer extremity of said trailing end, said exposed area being susceptible to melting when a current of hot air impinges directly upon it thereby resulting in damage to the side seam
• (f) continuing the transport of such articles so wrapped with segments of heat shrinkable film (and meanwhile spinning the articles) through a heating station
• (g) blowing hot air onto the projecting edge or edges of the articles during transport through the heating station to shrink such edge or edges onto the article and
• (h) minimizing damage to said side seams by (1) spinning said articles in a direction in relation to the transport of said articles in step (f), so that the outer strip of each side seam intervenes between the hot air and the intermediate strip except while the side seam is receding from the source of hot air, and (2) packing the articles sufficiently closely together and maintaining the direction of rotation and the direction of transport of said articles such that when the intermediate strip of each article is not shielded by said outer strip, it is shielded by a preceding article.