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US 6,387,201 B1Granted
Rotary hot foil stamping machine
AssigneeBest Cutting Die Company
InventorsJohn M. Stuart, Steven P. Cortese
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotary hot foil stamping machine is provided for repeatedly stamping a foil image onto a continuous product web at a consistent interval along the length of the product web. The rotary hot foil stamping machine includes first and second die stations, each die station comprising a servo driven rotary die holder with at least one removable die attached thereto. Counter rolls are mounted adjacent each die holder such that the outer surfaces of the dies engage the counter rolls as the dies are rotated past the counter rolls. The die holders are driven at a constant speed such that said die surfaces engage the counter rolls simultaneously at regular timed intervals.
Claims29
A method of repeatedly stamping a foil image onto an elongated product web, each said stamped image being positioned a fixed longitudinal distance apart along said product web, said fixed distance corresponding to a defined product length, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a rotary die holder having a rotary die thereon, said die extending over less than the full circumference of said die holder and defining a raised surface in the form of the image to be stamped onto said product web;
- providing a rotary counter roll, and positioning said counter roll adjacent to and spaced apart from said die holder such that the surface of the die engages said counter roll when the die holder rotates the die between the die holder and the counter roll;
- rotating said die holder at a constant speed so that the surface of the die is rotated against said counter roll at regular timed intervals;
- feeding a product web and a foil web in a forward direction between said die holder and said counter roll at a first feed rate during the periods when the surface of the die is engaging the counter roll;
- feeding said product web in a forward direction at a second product web feed rate during a period when the surface of the die does not engage said counter roll, wherein the second product web feed rate is different than the first product web feed rate, and wherein the second product web feed rate is greater than the first product web feed rate.
2 more elements
A method of repeatedly stamping a foil image onto an elongated product web, each said stamped image being positioned a fixed longitudinal distance apart along said product web, said fixed distance corresponding to a defined product length, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a rotary die holder having two substantially identical removable rotary dies thereon, each said rotary die defining a raised surface in the form of the image to be stamped onto said product web;
- providing a rotary counter roll, and positioning said counter roll adjacent to and spaced apart from said die holder such that the surface of the die engages said counter roll when the die holder rotates the die between the die holder and the counter roll;
- rotating said die holder at a constant speed so that the surface of the die is rotated against said counter roll at regular timed intervals;
- feeding a product web and a foil web between said die holder and said counter roll at a first feed rate during the periods when the surface of the die is engaging the counter roll;
- feeding said product web at a second product web feed rate during a period when the surface of the die does not engage said counter roll,
- attaching the two substantially identical removable dies to said die holder diametrically opposite one another so that two images are stamped onto said web with each full rotation of said die, wherein the circumferential length of the raised die surfaces defines an image length;
- providing a second die holder and a second counter roll substantially identical to said first die carrier and counter roll;
- rotating said second die holder synchronously with said first die holder such that the surface of the rotary dies on the second die holder engage and disengage the second counter roll simultaneously with the surfaces of the dies on the first die holder engaging and disengaging the first counter roll;
- feeding said foil web at a second foil feed rate during those periods of the die holder rotation when the surfaces of the dies are not engaging said counter rolls, said second foil feed rate being sufficient to feed a length of foil equal to at least one image length prior to the next rotation of die surfaces against said counter rolls;
- and
- wherein said step of feeding said product web at a second feed rate comprises feeding a length of said product web equal to twice the product length minus the image length.
8 more elements
A rotary hot foil stamping machine comprising:
- a rotary die having a raised image surface extending over a portion of the circumferential surface thereof;
- a counter roll having a cylindrical surface rotatably mounted adjacent to and spaced apart from the rotary die, the spacing between the counter roll and die being such that the raised image surface of the die engages the surface of the counter roll when the raised image surface of the die is rotated against the counter roll;
- means for feeding a product web in a forward direction between the rotary die and the counter roll, the product web feeding means operative to feed the product web forward at a first product web feed rate when the image surface engages the counter roll, and forward at a second product web feed rate when said image surface does not engage the counter roll, wherein the second product web feed rate is different than the first product web feed rate;
- and
- means for feeding a foil web between the rotary die and the counter roll and adjacent the product web, the foil web feeding means operative to feed the foil web at a first foil web feed rate when the image surface engages the counter roll, wherein the second product web feed rate is greater than the first product web feed rate.
2 more elements
A rotary hot foil stamping machine comprising:
- a rotary die having a raised image surface extending over a portion of the circumferential surface thereof;
- a counter roll having a cylindrical surface rotatably mounted adjacent to and spaced apart from the rotary die, the spacing between the counter roll and die being such that the raised image surface of the die engages the surface of the counter roll when the raised image surface of the die is rotated against the counter roll;
- means for feeding a product web between the rotary die and the counter roll, the product web feeding means operative to feed the product web at a first product web feed rate when the image surface engages the counter roll, and at a second product web feed rate when said image surface does not engage the counter roll, said product web feeding means comprising a servo driven product web feed roll located on an input side of said rotary die and counter roll, and a servo driven product web pull-through roll located on an output side of the die holder and counter roll;
- and
- means for feeding a foil web between the rotary die and the counter roll and adjacent the product web, the foil web feeding means operative to feed the foil web at a first foil web feed rate when the image surface engages the counter roll, and at a second foil web feed rate when the image surface does not engage the counter roll, said foil web feeding means comprising a servo driven foil web feed roll located on an input side of said rotary die and counter roll, and a servo driven foil web pull-through roll located on an output side of the rotary die and counter roll.
2 more elements
A rotary hot foil stamping machine comprising:
- a rotary die having a raised image surface extending over a portion of the circumferential surface thereof, said rotary die comprising a cylindrical die holder and a first detachable die mounted to said die holder;
- a counter roll having a cylindrical surface rotatably mounted adjacent to and spaced apart from the rotary die, the spacing between the counter roll and die being such that the raised image surface of the die engages the surface of the counter roll when the raised image surface of the die is rotated against the counter roll;
- means for feeding a product web between the rotary die and the counter roll, the product web feeding means operative to feed the product web at a first product web feed rate when the image surface engages the counter roll, and at a second product web feed rate when said image surface does not engage the counter roll, wherein said second product web feed rate is greater than the first product web feed rate;
- and
- means for feeding a foil web between the die holder and the counter roll and adjacent the product web, the foil web feeding means operative to feed the foil web at a first foil web feed rate when the image surface engages the counter roll, and at a second foil web feed rate when the image surface does not engage the counter roll,
- wherein said die holder is servo driven such that the rotary die holder rotates the raised image surface of the die at a known linear velocity, and the rotation of the rotary die is synchronized with product web feeding means and the foil web feeding means so that said first product web feed rate and the first foil web feed rate are equal to the linear velocity of the raised image surface of the die.
3 more elements
A rotary hot foil stamping machine for repeatedly stamping a foil image onto a continuous product web at a consistent interval along the length of said product web, said interval corresponding to a predefined product length, said hot foil stamping machine comprising:
- first and second die stations, each die station comprising a servo driven rotary die holder having a first die removably attached thereto, and a counter roll mounted adjacent each said die holder such that an outer surface of the dies engage the counter rolls as said dies are rotated past the counter rolls, said die holders being driven together at a constant speed such that said die surfaces engage said counter rolls simultaneously and at regular timed intervals;
- a product web feed roll and a product web pull-through roll, the product web feed and pull-through rolls being driven synchronously with said die holders to transport said product web through the first and second die stations at a first product web feed rate during the portion of the die holder's rotation when said dies are rotated against the counter rolls, and at a second product web feed rate when the dies are rotated away from the counter rolls;
- and
- a foil web feed roll and a foil web pull-through roll, the foil web feed and pull-through rolls being driven synchronously with said die holders to feed said foil web through the first and second die stations adjacent the product web at a first foil web feed rate during the portion of the die holder's rotation when said dies are rotated against the counter rolls, and at a second foil web feed rate when the dies are rotated away from the counter rolls.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.