System for applying heat shrink film to containers and other articles and heat shrinking the same
AssigneeB & H Manufacturing Company, Inc.
InventorWolfgang Hoffman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus and method for applying heat shrinkable film to containers and other articles having a vertical body position, e.g., the cylindrical body of a container, and one or two re-entrant portions, e.g., a shoulder on a bottle. A segment of film is applied to the vertical surface without heat shrinking and with one or two end portions overlapping the re-entrant part of the article. Heat is applied to the overlap or overlaps to shrink them onto the article.
Claims15
An article to which a heat shrinkable film has been applied,
- said article having a top extremity, a bottom extremity, a longitudinal axis between such extremities and a body portion between such extremities which has an outer surface which is parallel to such axis, said article also having at least one end portion between such body portion and an extremity of the article, such portion or portions sloping inwardly from the body portion towards the longitudinal axis,
- said film being in the form of a segment of heat shrinkable but unshrunken material, said segment having a body portion constituting the major portion of the segment and having a leading end, a trailing end, an upper edge portion and a lower edge portion, said edge portions extending between the leading and trailing ends of the segment but not extending beyond the extremities of the article, said segment being wrapped around the article with its leading end secured to the body portion of the article by adhesive material confined to a narrow region of the film adjacent the leading end and with its trailing end overlapping and secured to the leading end by a narrow region of adhesive material,
- at least one edge portion of the segment overlapping an end portion of the article but being unattached thereto, such edge portion or portions being free of adhesive at their leading ends
- said segment being in unshrunken condition and being secured to the article entirely or substantially entirely by the adhesive material at its leading and trailing ends.
In combination with a non-preheated container defined by first and second extremities and a main body and at least one re-entrant portion between said extremities, an improved wrap shrink label in the form of a non-preheated sheet-like segment of severed film having a main body portion, initially non-heat shrinkably fitted onto said main body, a heat shrinkable edge portion initially freely projecting over said re-entrant portion but not an extremity of said container and leading and trailing end portions juxtaposed permanently adheringly to each other and at least initially to said main body but not said re-entrant portion along a narrow strip of said main body, said narrow strip being narrower than the perimeter of said main body but sufficiently wide to attach the label to said container at least until said edge portion is heat shrunk onto said re-entrant portion, whereby said label is thereafter attached to said container by the heat shrunk edge portion without said edge portion permanently adhering to said re-entrant portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.