Automatic refresher for adhesive rolls

Abstract

An apparatus (10) for automatically removing a worn layer of adhesive material from an adhesive roll (12) comprises: an adhesive roll (12) including at least one layer of adhesive material (22), the at least one layer of adhesive material having opposing first and second surfaces, the second surface being releasably attached to the adhesive roll and having a first adhesive force between the second surface and the adhesive roll; and an adhesive layer removal mechanism (14) including an outer surface configured to operably engage the at least one layer of adhesive material of the adhesive roll and remove the at least one layer of adhesive material from the adhesive roll, the outer surface having a second adhesive force between the outer surface and the at least one layer of adhesive material, the second adhesive force being greater than the first adhesive force.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically refreshing or replenishing an adhesive roll. The present invention also relates to a method of using the apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a contact cleaning apparatus for automatically refreshing or replenishing an adhesive roll.

Summary of the Invention

[0002] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for automatically removing a layer of consumed adhesive material from an adhesive roll, comprising: an adhesive roll including at least one layer of adhesive material, having a first surface and a second surface facing each other, the second surface being removably attached to the adhesive roll and having a first adhesive force between the second surface and the adhesive roll; an adhesive layer removing mechanism operably engaged with the at least one layer of adhesive material of the adhesive roll and having an outer surface arranged to remove at least one layer of adhesive material from the adhesive roll, the outer surface having a second adhesive force between the outer surface and the at least one layer of adhesive material; and wherein the second adhesive force is greater than the first adhesive force. The apparatus is provided.

[0003] The first adhesive force can exist between the second surface and the mandrel or central core of the adhesive roll. Alternatively or in addition, the first adhesive force can exist between one layer or portion of the adhesive material on the second surface and another layer or portion of the adhesive material on the first surface.

[0004] The second adhesive force can exist between the outer surface of the adhesive layer removing mechanism and the at least one layer of adhesive material (i.e., the operably engaged sheet(s) of adhesive material).

[0005] In this manner, the adhesive layer removal mechanism is positioned to contact the outermost layer of adhesive material on the adhesive roll, remove the outermost layer of adhesive material from the adhesive roll, and expose a clean or unused (i.e., free from debris, etc.) layer of adhesive material on the adhesive roll.

[0006] This offers the advantage of automatically replenishing the adhesive rolls in the contact cleaning device during operation. Consequently, device downtime is reduced, operator intervention is minimized, and the system can operate at its maximum capacity / performance.

[0007] In a particular embodiment, the adhesive roll is used in a contact cleaning device. More specifically, the adhesive roll comprises a roll core that can be attached to the contact cleaning device. Even more specifically, the roll core is a central core or mandrel.

[0008] In a particular embodiment, when the adhesive roll is attached to a contact cleaning device comprising at least one cleaning roller and adhesive roll as described herein, a first surface of at least one layer of adhesive material is in contact with the cleaning roller.

[0009] In a particular embodiment, the adhesive layer removal mechanism includes a pickup device that is operable to engage with the adhesive layer and remove it from the adhesive roll.

[0010] In certain embodiments, the pickup device is a pickup roller. More specifically, the pickup roller can be an elastomer roller.

[0011] In one embodiment, the adhesive layer removal mechanism is configured to be movable between a first configuration in which the adhesive layer removal mechanism is operably engaged with the adhesive roll and a second configuration in which the adhesive layer removal mechanism is disengaged from the adhesive roll.

[0012] In a particular embodiment, the pickup device is movable between a housing position in which the pickup device is not engaged with at least one layer of adhesive on the adhesive roll and an operable position in which the pickup device is engaged with the adhesive layer.

[0013] In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a waste removal mechanism operably engaged with the at least one layer of adhesive material on the adhesive layer removal mechanism and arranged to remove the at least one layer of adhesive material from the adhesive layer removal mechanism.

[0014] In a particular embodiment, the waste removal mechanism includes a tangential blade configured and positioned to remove the adhesive layer from the pickup device of the adhesive layer removal mechanism.

[0015] In a particular embodiment, the waste removal mechanism includes a winding roller. In this way, the removed adhesive layer (e.g., adhesive sheet) can be wound onto the winding roller, and when the winding roller is full, it can be disposed of and replaced.

[0016] In a particular embodiment, at least one layer of adhesive material includes at least one sheet of adhesive material. In such a case, the adhesive layer removal mechanism is an adhesive sheet removal mechanism.

[0017] In a particular embodiment, the layer of at least one adhesive material includes a continuous adhesive sheet.

[0018] In a particular embodiment, at least one layer of adhesive material comprises a plurality of adhesive sheets that are operably bonded to one another at their adjacent ends.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present invention, the following steps are taken: The steps of providing the adhesive roll described herein, providing an adhesive layer removal mechanism as described herein; operatively engaging the adhesive layer removal mechanism with the at least one layer of adhesive material on the adhesive roll; removing the at least one layer of adhesively engaged material from the adhesive roll by the adhesive layer removal mechanism, thereby exposing a clean layer of adhesive material on the adhesive roll; A method is provided that includes the steps of:

[0020] In one embodiment, the method further includes providing a waste removal mechanism and removing, by the waste removal mechanism, the at least one layer of adhesively engaged material from the adhesive layer removal mechanism.

[0021] In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of: providing a contact cleaning device having one or more contact cleaning rollers; operatively engaging the at least one layer of adhesive material on the adhesive roll with the one or more contact cleaning rollers to remove debris from the one or more contact cleaning rollers; and further including the step of:

[0022] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a contact cleaning device including one or more contact cleaning rollers, one or more adhesive rolls configured and arranged to remove debris from the one or more contact cleaning rollers, and a device as described herein for automatically removing a layer of consumed adhesive material from the adhesive roll(s).

[0023] Exemplary embodiments (s) of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view of a device according to the present invention in one arrangement. [Figure 2] It is a side view of the device of FIG. 1 in another arrangement configuration. [Figure 3] It is a side view of the device of FIG. 1 in a further arrangement configuration. [Figure 4] It is a side view of the device of FIG. 1 in yet another arrangement configuration. [Figure 5] It is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1.

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0025] FIGS. 1 to 5, particularly FIGS. 1 and 5, show a device 10 including an adhesion roll 12, an adhesive sheet removing mechanism 14, and a winding roller 16. Further, contact cleaning rollers 18, 20 arranged to contact a substrate (not shown) to be cleaned during use are shown. The adhesion roll 12 is arranged to contact the contact cleaning rollers 18, 20. The adhesive sheet removing mechanism 14 is movable between a first arrangement configuration shown in FIG. 1 where the adhesive sheet removing mechanism 14 does not contact the adhesion roll 12 and a second arrangement configuration described below shown in FIG. 2 where the adhesive sheet removing mechanism 14 contacts the adhesion roll 12.

[0026] The adhesive roll 12 is generally formed to have a central core, i.e., a mandrel, and one or more sheets 22 of adhesive material (see Figure 2). The adhesive material 22 can take the form of several individual sheets attached at adjacent ends, or a continuous sheet of adhesive material. The individual sheets and / or continuous sheets of adhesive material 22 may include perforations or frangible portions to demarcate areas of the individual sheets or continuous sheets of adhesive material. The adhesive roll 12 can have a diameter of 25 mm (1 inch) to 150 mm (6 inches) and / or a roll length of 10 m to 40 m. The adhesive material 22 may also be formed as a pre-sheeted adhesive roll containing individual sheets wound around a central core or mandrel, typically having 50 to 100 sheets. The adhesive material may also be formed as a continuous roll of adhesive material typically 10 m to 50 m in length.

[0027] One or more adhesive sheets 22 generally include a first surface and a second surface facing each other, one of which, i.e., the first surface, is positioned to contact the contact cleaning rollers 18, 20 to remove debris from the contact cleaning rollers 18, 20, and the other surface, i.e., the second surface, is positioned to peelly attach one or more adhesive sheets to a central core or mandrel. In embodiments providing multiple adhesive sheets 22 or an extended continuous adhesive sheet 22, the second surface can peelly attach a sheet to the first surface of another sheet or to another portion of a continuous sheet. The first and second surfaces may be positioned in any suitable manner to provide the functions outlined above. For example, the first and second surfaces may contain a suitable chemical adhesive.

[0028] The adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14 can be movable between a first configuration (Figure 1) in which the adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14 does not contact the adhesive roll 12, and a second configuration (Figure 2) in which the adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14 contacts the adhesive roll 12, specifically the sheet 22 of adhesive material. This movable mechanism may be any suitable mechanism and may include one or more biasing mechanisms and / or acting mechanisms.

[0029] The adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14, which is a pickup or replenishment device, is generally formed as a roller including a central core or mandrel and an outer surface. The outer surface may contain an adhesive material such as a chemical adhesive. Alternatively, the outer surface may contain an elastomer material, and / or the roller may be an elastomer roller. As shown in Figure 2, the outer surface generally contacts the adhesive roll 12 in the second arrangement configuration. The adhesive force between the outer surface of the adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14 and the adhesive material sheet 22 of the adhesive roll 12 is generally greater than the adhesive force between the adhesive material sheet 22 of the adhesive roll 12 and the central core or mandrel of the adhesive roll 12, or between the adhesive material sheet 22 and another sheet. As will be described later, this allows the adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14 to automatically remove the consumed adhesive material sheet 22 and expose the clean, i.e., unused adhesive material 22 of the adhesive roll 12, thereby enabling replenishment of the adhesive roll 12.

[0030] The winding roller 16 is provided as a waste removal mechanism (or part thereof) for removing the worn adhesive sheet 22 from the adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14. In this embodiment, the winding roller 16 removes the worn sheet 22 from the adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14 so as to wind the worn sheet 22 onto the winding roller 16. After that, the worn sheet 22 and / or the winding roller 16 can be disposed of. In a particular embodiment (not shown), a tangential blade is provided in the waste removal mechanism or as part thereof to peel the worn sheet 22 from the adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14 and optionally place it in a waste bin or the like.

[0031] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, in the first step, the adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14 comes into contact with the adhesive roll 12. In the second step, the adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14 removes a worn sheet or section from the adhesive sheet(s) 22 of the adhesive roll 12. In the case of a pre-sheeted adhesive roll, a single sheet is removed and provided for disposal (e.g., by a tangential blade and optionally by a waste bin) or stored in the machine (e.g., on the take-up roller 16) for later disposal. In the case of a continuous adhesive roll, a length at least corresponding to the outer diameter of the adhesive roll is removed, and then the adhesive sheet is cut (e.g., by a blade or by the pulling action of the adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14 to break through perforated or weak areas), thereby forming a sheet of worn adhesive which is disposed of as outlined above. In the third step, the outer adhesive layer / sheet 22 is removed to expose a clean, unused adhesive layer, and thus the adhesive roll 12 is replenished. In the fourth step, the device 10 automatically returns to maximum cleaning performance. In a further step, the adhesive sheet removal mechanism 14 is disengaged from the adhesive roll 12.

[0032] As shown in Figure 5, the adhesive sheet removal mechanism (e.g., a pickup roller) 14 engages with the outermost layer of adhesive sheet on the adhesive roll 12, removing the used adhesive sheet 22 from the adhesive roll 12 and exposing a clean adhesive sheet on the adhesive roll 12.

[0033] The apparatus and method described above have several advantages, as follows: a. Reducing downtime improves the effectiveness of the equipment. In conventional systems, the machine and the entire production line are stopped to manually refresh the adhesive. b. Operator intervention decreases. c. Ensuring that there is always a sufficient amount of adhesive ensures the reliability of the cleaning process. If the adhesive roll is not refreshed frequently enough, the system's cleaning performance will deteriorate. Some aspects of the present invention are described below. [Aspect 1] In a device (10) that automatically removes the worn layer of adhesive material from an adhesive roll (12), An adhesive roll (12) comprising at least one layer (22) of adhesive material, wherein the at least one adhesive layer has a first surface and a second surface facing each other, the second surface is peelably attached to the adhesive roll, and a first adhesive force is present between the second surface and the adhesive roll. An adhesive layer removal mechanism (14) comprising an outer surface operably engaged with the at least one layer of adhesive material of the adhesive roll and arranged to remove the at least one layer of adhesive material from the adhesive roll, wherein the outer surface has a second adhesive force between the outer surface and the at least one layer of adhesive material, A device in which the second adhesive force is greater than the first adhesive force. [Aspect 2] The apparatus according to embodiment 1, wherein the adhesive layer removal mechanism (14) is movable between a first arrangement configuration in which the adhesive layer removal mechanism is operably engaged with the adhesive roll and a second arrangement configuration in which the adhesive layer removal mechanism is disengaged from the adhesive roll. [Aspect 3] The apparatus according to embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the adhesive layer removal mechanism (14) comprises a pickup device. [Aspect 4] The apparatus according to embodiment 3, wherein the pickup device is a roller. [Aspect 5] The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 4, further comprising a waste removal mechanism operably engaged with the at least one layer of adhesive material on the adhesive layer removal mechanism and disposed to remove the at least one layer of adhesive material from the adhesive sheet removal mechanism. [Aspect 6] The apparatus according to embodiment 5, wherein the waste removal mechanism comprises one or more of the winding roller (16) and tangential blades. [Aspect 7] The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 6, comprising an adhesive sheet having a continuous layer of at least one adhesive material. [Aspect 8] The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 6, comprising a plurality of adhesive sheets, each having at least one layer of adhesive material operably bonded to one another at its adjacent ends. [Aspect 9] The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein the first surface of at least one layer (22) of adhesive material of the adhesive roll (12) is in contact with at least one cleaning roller (18, 20) to remove debris from the first surface. [Aspect 10] A contact cleaning apparatus comprising one or more contact cleaning rollers, one or more adhesive rolls configured and positioned to remove debris from the one or more contact cleaning rollers, and an apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 9 for automatically removing a layer of worn adhesive material from the adhesive rolls (there may be more than one). [Aspect 11] In a method for automatically removing a worn layer (22) of adhesive material from an adhesive roll, The steps include providing an adhesive roll (12) and The steps include providing an adhesive layer removal mechanism (14), The steps include: operably engaging the adhesive layer removal mechanism with the at least one layer of adhesive material on the adhesive roll; A method comprising the step of removing the movably engaged layer of at least one adhesive material from the adhesive roll using the adhesive layer removal mechanism, thereby exposing a clean layer of adhesive material on the adhesive roll. [Aspect 12] The method according to embodiment 11, further comprising the steps of providing a waste removal mechanism and removing the layer of at least one operably engaged adhesive material from the adhesive layer removal mechanism by the waste removal mechanism. [Aspect 13] The method described above is The steps include providing a contact cleaning device equipped with one or more contact cleaning rollers (18, 20), The method according to embodiment 11 or 12, further comprising the step of operably engaging the at least one layer of adhesive material of the adhesive roll with the one or more contact cleaning rollers to remove debris from the one or more contact cleaning rollers. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0034] 10 equipment 12 Adhesive Rolls 14. Adhesive sheet removal mechanism 16. Winding roller 18 Contact Cleaning Roller 20 Contact Cleaning Rollers 22 Adhesive Sheets

Claims

1. In a device (10) that automatically removes the worn layer of adhesive material from an adhesive roll (12), An adhesive roll (12) comprising at least one layer (22) of adhesive material, wherein the at least one layer of adhesive material has a first surface and a second surface facing each other, the second surface is peelably attached to the adhesive roll, and a first adhesive force is present between the second surface and the adhesive roll. An adhesive layer removal mechanism (14) equipped with a pickup device, It is equipped with a winding roller (16), The pickup device is a roller including an outer surface operably engaged with the at least one layer of adhesive material of the adhesive roll and arranged to remove the at least one layer of adhesive material from the adhesive roll, wherein the outer surface has a second adhesive force between the outer surface and the at least one layer of adhesive material, and the second adhesive force is greater than the first adhesive force. An apparatus in which the winding roller is operably engaged with the at least one layer of adhesive material on the roller of the pickup device and is positioned away from the adhesive roll to remove the at least one layer of adhesive material from the roller of the pickup device.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer removal mechanism (14) is movable between a first configuration in which the adhesive layer removal mechanism is operably engaged with the adhesive roll and a second configuration in which the adhesive layer removal mechanism is disengaged from the adhesive roll.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, comprising an adhesive sheet having a continuous layer of at least one adhesive material.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of adhesive sheets, each having at least one layer of adhesive material operably bonded to one another at its adjacent ends.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first surface of at least one (22) of the adhesive roll (12) contacts at least one cleaning roller (18, 20) to remove debris from the first surface.

6. A contact cleaning apparatus comprising one or more contact cleaning rollers, one or more adhesive rolls configured and positioned to remove debris from the one or more contact cleaning rollers, and the apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 for automatically removing a layer of worn adhesive material from the adhesive rolls (there may be more than one).

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