Control stretch laminating device
AssigneeAdolph Coors Company
InventorsJames W. Jensen, Joseph R. Haake
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A laminating apparatus for laminating plastic film material to a paper backing material to form a laminated composite. The apparatus comprises mechanical stretch control means for controlling the stretch or relaxation of the film material prior to lamination with the paper material. The apparatus also comprises means for monitoring the amount of film stretch in the laminated composite and providing data therefrom to a data processing unit which provides control signals to operate the mechanical stretch controlling means. Speed control means are additionally provided for each of the paper supply means, film supply means and composite web take up means.
Claims22
A high speed laminating apparatus for laminating plastic film material to a paper material to form a laminating composite the film material passing through the apparatus in continuous longitudinally extending web having an upstream portion entering the apparatus and a downstream portion exiting the apparatus;
- the film material normally being extensibly deformable such that the longitudinal distance between any two reference points on the film web may vary during lamination;
- the apparatus comprising:
- paper supply unwind roll means for providing a continuous supply of paper to be laminated;
- film supply unwind roll means for providing a continuous supply of film to be laminated;
- laminating nip means, for drawingly engaging said film web and said paper web in parallel touching contact whereby each said web is moved at the same web speed, and for bondingly compressing said film web to said paper web to form a laminated composite;
- film web stretch control means positioned between said laminating nip means and said film supply unwind roll means for frictionally engaging said film web and for varying the web velocity of the portion of the film web passing therethrough relative to the velocity of the laminating nip for selectively stretching or shrinking the film web portion passing between the film web stretch control means and the laminating nip means during continuous movement of the film web through the laminating nip means;
- film length monitoring means for measuring the length of predetermined portions of said film web at a position downstream said laminating nip means and for providing a monitor signal to a data processing means;
- data processing means for comparing said monitor signal to a predetermined length value and providing command signals responsive there to said film web stretch control means for imparting a predetermined amount of stretch or relaxation to said film web whereby predetermined portions of said film web are continuously extensibly adjusted to a predetermined length;
- paper supply speed control means for controlling the rate at which paper is supplied from said paper unwind roll means for providing relatively constant tension in a length of paper web positioned between said paper unwind roll means and said laminating nip means;
- film supply speed control means for controlling the rate at which film is supplied from said film unwind means wherein said film supply speed control means is actuated to provide a film web speed at said film supply means substantially equal to the film web speed at said film web stretch control means whereby a first substantially constant film tension zone is provided in said film web between said film supply means and said film web stretch control means and a second variable tension zone is provided in said film web between said film web stretch control means and said laminating nip means;
- composite web speed control means for controlling the speed of said composite web for providing relatively constant tension in said composite web immediately downstream of said laminating nip means.
A method of laminating paper sheet material in roll form to plastic film sheet material in roll form by use of an adhesive material comprising the steps of:
- mounting a roll of the paper sheet material on a first feed roll;
- mounting a roll of the film sheet material on a second feed roll;
- simultaneously, continuously unwinding the roll of paper sheet material and the roll of film sheet material to provide a length of paper sheet material and a length of film sheet material;
- simultaneously continuously advancing the length of paper sheet material and the length of the film sheet material to a laminating station comprising a main roll means and a compression roll means defining a nip area therebetween and an adhesive applying means located adjacent the nip area for laminating the film sheet material to be paper sheet material;
- continuously applying adhesive material between the paper sheet material and the film material in the nip area;
- applying pressure to the paper sheet material and the film sheet material and the adhesive material during passage through the nip area to form a fixed lamination;
- passing the length of film sheet material past adjustable tensioning means located between the lamination station and the feed roll means to stretch or relax the length of film material passing therethrough;
- continuously adjusting the unwind speed of the film sheet material from the second feed roll to provide a relatively constant tension in the film material between the second feed roll and the adjustable tensioning means;
- continuously adjusting the unwind speed of the paper sheet material from the first feed roll to provide a relatively constant tension in the paper material between the first feed roll and the laminating station;
- continuously adjusting the rate of lamination web takeup from the laminating station to provide a relatively constant tension in the lamination web immediately downstream of the lamination station;
- sampling the distance between fixed indicia on the lamination downstream of the laminating station and generating a control signal representative of that distance;
- and
- adjusting the tensioning means in accordance with the control signal, so as to maintain the distance between indicia on the film sheet material within a predetermined tolerance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.