FULL WRAP PRESSURE SENSITIVE LABEL

Abstract

The present invention provides a novel adhesive arrangement that allows pressure sensitive labels to be fully wrapped around bottle necks using the center line transfer method. The pressure sensitive label includes an interior face including: an adhesive material; a border provided around the adhesive material where the label does not include the adhesive material; and a first margin at a first side edge of the interior face that does not include the adhesive material, the first margin being wider than the border.

Claims

1. A pressure sensitive label that may be applied to a bottle's neck, the label including: an interior face, the interior face including: an adhesive material; a border provided around the adhesive material where the label does not include the adhesive material; and a first margin at a first side edge of the interior face that does not include the adhesive material, the first margin being wider than the border.

2. The label of claim 1, wherein the interior face further includes a deaden material that at least partially overlaps with the adhesive material, the deaden material provided as a strip adjacent an upper edge of the interior face.

3. The label of claim 2, wherein the interior face further includes a second margin at a second side edge of the interior side that includes the adhesive material but not the deaden material.

4. The label of claim 1, wherein the first margin is between 0.3 and 0.6 inches wide.

5. The label of claim 1, wherein the first side edge is the left side edge.

6. The label of claim 3, wherein the second side edge is the right side edge.

7. The label of claim 1, wherein the pressure sensitive label is applied using the center line technique.

8. The label of claim 1, wherein the border is between 0.03 and 0.1 inches wide.

9. A pressure sensitive label that may be applied to a bottle's neck, the label including: an interior face, the interior face including: an adhesive material covering a first portion of the label; a border provided around first portion of the label; a first margin at a first side edge of the interior face to form a second portion; a deaden material that at least partially overlaps with the first portion and the second portion, the deaden material provided as a strip adjacent an upper edge of the interior face; and a second margin at a second edge of the interior side in the first portion.

10. The label of claim 7, wherein the first margin is between 0.3 and 0.6 inches wide.

11. The label of claim 7, wherein the first side edge is the left side edge.

12. The label of claim 7, wherein the second side edge is the right side edge.

13. The label of claim 7, wherein the pressure sensitive label is applied using the center line technique.

14. The label of claim 7, wherein the border is between 0.03 and 0.1 inches wide.

15. The label of claim 7, wherein the first portion has a greater surface area than the second portion.

16. The label of claim 7, wherein the deaden material makes up a greater surface area than the second portion.

17. A method for applying a pressure sensitive label to a bottle, the method comprising the steps of: introducing a bottle to a labeler assembly; introducing a label to a labeler assembly; spinning the bottle in a first direction; wiping down a first edge on a first side of an interior of the label on the bottle, the first edge including adhesive material; spinning the bottle in a second direction; wiping down a second edge on a second side of the label on the bottle, the second edge overlapping the first edge by the width of a margin formed on the second edge that does not include adhesive material; and forming an upper circumference including deaden material on an upper portion on the interior of the label.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the bottle is introduced to the labeler assembly such that it is rotating at a constant velocity to match a linear velocity at which the label is introduced to the assembly.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the label is introduced to the labeler assembly via a spender plate.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the method comprises the further step of wiping down the label to ensure that the second edge of the label overlaps and is adhered to the first edge of the label.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] For a better understanding of the various embodiments of the present invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a full wrap pressure sensitive label constructed according to the teachings of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a cross-section view taken across line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a cross-section view taken across line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

[0018] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustrating a first step in applying the label of FIG. 1;

[0019] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustrating a second step in applying the label of FIG. 1;

[0020] FIG. 6 is a schematic illustrating a third step in applying the label of FIG. 1;

[0021] FIG. 7 is a schematic illustrating a fourth step in applying the label of FIG. 1;

[0022] FIG. 8 is a schematic illustrating a fifth step in applying the label of FIG. 1;

[0023] FIG. 9 is a schematic illustrating a sixth step in applying the label of FIG. 1;

[0024] FIG. 10 is a schematic illustrating a seventh step in applying the label of FIG. 1;

[0025] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawing and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description presented herein are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures. It will be understood that any dimensions included in the figures are simply provided as examples and dimensions other than those provided therein are also within the scope of the invention.

[0027] The description of the invention references specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The present invention is defined by the appended claims and the description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense and shall not limit the scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

[0028] Turning first to FIG. 1, a full wrap pressure sensitive label 1 is illustrated (hereinafter referred to simply as the “label 1”). More particularly, an interior (or “rear”) side 5 of the label 1 is illustrated. The interior side 5 of the label 1 is the side of the label that would be in contact with a bottle's neck when the label 1 is applied using the method described below with respect to FIGS. 4-10. An exterior, or front side, of the label (illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8) would include the information or features facing a customer that the beverage maker wants the consumer to see (e.g. product name, artwork, nutritional information).

[0029] A novel adhesive arrangement on the interior side 5 of the label 1 allows pressure sensitive labels to be fully wrapped around bottle necks using the center line transfer method. The adhesive arrangement includes two separate materials that are applied to paper 10 (or other foreseeable material) from which the label 1 is constructed: an adhesive material 15 and a “deaden” material 20. The adhesive material 15 is preferably pre-applied directly to the paper 10 on the interior side 5 of the label 1. The adhesive material 15 preferably starts near a second edge 25 (on the right side of the label 1) of the interior side 5 and covers nearly the entire interior side 5. Preferably, however, a small border 30 is provided around the adhesive material 15 where the paper 10 does not include the adhesive material 15. Further, a margin 35 may be provided near a first edge 40 (on the left side) on the interior side 5 of the label 1.

[0030] The deaden material 20 is also provided on the interior side 5 of the label 1. The deaden material 20 preferably partially overlaps with the adhesive material 15 at an overlap area 45. Deaden material 20 may cover up certain portions of the label 1 and its adhesive material 15. As such, when the label 1 is applied to a bottle in the manner described below, bubbles and other imperfections created by the adhesive material 15 are covered by the deaden material 20 and are not visible from within the bottle. The deaden material 20 in the novel adhesive arrangement is preferably provided along an upper or top edge 50 of the interior side 5 of the label 1. The deaden material 20 is located almost entirely along the upper edge 50 of the label, but a margin 55 near the second or right edge 25 of the label 1 (where adhesive material 15 is present) is preferably provided without the deaden material 20.

[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates the label 1 and its various layers when a cross-section is taken across line 2-2 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 illustrates the same when a cross-section is taken across line 3-3. As provided in FIGS. 2 and 3, at the margin 35 and the portion of the border 30 at the top edge 50, respectively, the deaden material 20 preferably directly applied to the paper 10.

[0032] To apply the improved label 1 a bottle labeler or manufacturer may use the center line transfer method. FIGS. 4-10 illustrate an exemplary assembly 60 that may be used to apply a label to a bottle using the center line transfer method. As provided in FIG. 4, a bottle 65 is represented as traveling along a bottle path 70 in the assembly 60 when a label such as the label 1 is applied to a bottle such as the bottle 65. A spender plate 75 like those known and understood in the art may introduce a label such as the label 1 (not illustrated in FIG. 4) to the assembly 60 so that it may be applied to the bottle 65. A first outer brush 80, inner brush 85, and final brush 90 are preferably provided along the bottle path 70 to carry out the below-described processes.

[0033] When the bottle 65 is introduced to the assembly 1, it is preferably provided such that it is rotating at a constant velocity to match the linear velocity at which the label is introduced to the assembly 1. When this happens, as provide in FIG. 5, the interior side 5 of the label 1 may be applied to the bottle 65, and more particularly, a neck 95 of the bottle 65, at a center line 100 of the label 1 (center tack application).

[0034] The described method process uses an assembly 60 including a labeling machine that can spin individual bottles such as the bottle 65, in either of a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, at nearly any speed. Individual servo motors (not illustrated) preferably drive the plate (not illustrated) upon which each bottle sits. The top (crown) of each bottle such as the bottle 1 is held directly above the servo plate so that the bottle may be spun about its axis.

[0035] As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the bottle 65 and the label 1 are spun in a first direction (preferably counterclockwise) such that a left side 105 of an exterior side 107 (and thus the second or right edge 25 of the interior side 5 of the label 1) of the label 1 is wiped down by the outer brush 80 (outside the diameter of the bottle path 70). In this way, right side of the interior side 5 of the label 1 is first pasted to the bottle 65. This is because, as described above substantially all of the right side of the interior side 5 of the label 1 (except at the border 30) includes adhesive material 15, including at the margin 55. Such adhesive material 15 helps initially secure the label 1 to the bottle 65. In alternative embodiments, multiple first brushes like the brush 80 may be provided.

[0036] Turning to FIGS. 8 and 9, once the entire left side 105 of the exterior side 107 of the label 1 is pasted to the bottle 65, the bottle 65 may begin spinning in an opposite direction (in the described embodiment, clockwise). A right side 110 of the exterior side 107 (the left side of the interior side 5) of the label 1 may be wiped against the inner brush 85 located inside the diameter of the bottle path 70 so that the right side 110 is pasted to the bottle 65. When this takes place, the left edge 40 preferably overlaps the right edge 25 by approximately the width of the margin 35, and the deaden layer 20 substantially forms an upper circumference of the label 1.

[0037] As provided in FIG. 10, once the entire right side 110 is wiped down, the final brush 90 may ensure the overlapping edge of the label 65 overlaps and is adhered to the left edge 105 of the label 1. The bottle 65 should be positioned along the such that the final brush effectively wipes down this final edge.

[0038] It should be noted that the above described process could be carried out in an opposite manner. In other words, for example, the bottle 65 may first turn clockwise, and then counterclockwise.

[0039] From the foregoing, it will be seen that the various embodiments of the present invention are well adapted to attain all the objectives and advantages hereinabove set forth together with still other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the present structures. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations of the present embodiments are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Since many possible embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, it is also to be understood that all disclosures herein set forth or illustrated in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. The various constructions described above and illustrated in the drawings are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the concepts, principles and scope of the present invention.

[0040] Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.