Dewatering apparatus for drop marking bottles and cans
AssigneeVideojet Systems International, Inc.
InventorsChandrakant R. Bhatia, Robert E. Petterec
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An air knife assembly is disclosed for removing water and soapy lubricants from an area of a bottle or can which is to be labeled or coded using drop marking equipment. The air knife is positioned at the correct pitch, roll and yaw angles to remove water from a desired area only, avoiding damage to labels which have been applied but not yet bonded to the bottle or can. The dewatering ensures accurate marking of the product.
Claims9
An apparatus for removing liquid from a selected area of containers traveling on a moving conveyor which are to be marked by drop marking equipment, said apparatus comprising:
- a. at least one nozzle assembly comprising a housing defining a linear array of small openings communicating with a common manifold;
- b. means for supplying air at above atmospheric pressure to said manifold to force air through said openings to create a line of high pressure air;
- c. means for positioning each of said nozzle assemblies along said conveyor, upstream of said drop marking equipment, said positioning means permitting adjustment of the angular orientation at which said line of high pressure air strikes the containers to optimize water removal in the selected area to be marked while minimizing air striking other areas of said containers.
In a drop marking system for printing information on containers carried past a marking station on a moving conveyor, said system including means for removing liquids from the containers prior to marking the improvement comprising:
- a. at least one nozzle assembly comprising a housing defining a linear array of small openings communicating with a common manifold;
- b. means for supplying air at above atmospheric pressure to said manifold to force air through said openings to create a line of high pressure air;
- c. means for positioning each of said nozzle assemblies along said conveyor, upstream of said drop marking equipment, said positioning means permitting adjustment of the angular orientation at which said line of high pressure air strikes the containers to optimize water removal in the selected area to be marked while minimizing air striking other areas of said containers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.