Fixing wrap-around labels with led-curable adhesives

Abstract

Provided herewith are methods of preparing a labeled article comprising curing an LED-curable adhesive on a film label such as a shrink film label, wherein at least portions of the LED-curable adhesive are disposed in the overlap formed between a leading edge and trailing edge of the film label. The curing can be conducted at a temperature below 70° C. and is suitable for labeling 500-720 articles per minute in a sequential manner. Also provided herewith are apparatus for labeling articles with film labels, such as shrink film labels comprising an LED station. Further, a method of retrofitting an existing hot-melt labeling system for use in labeling articles with film labels such as shrink film labels is also provided.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for labeling a bottle with a film label, the apparatus comprising:
 an infeed unit configured to feed bottles to be labeled;   a label feeder configured to feed the film label;   an LED adhesive applicator configured to apply an LED-curable adhesive on the film label;   a mechanism to deliver label strips of the film label to wrap the bottles, wherein each label strip has a leading edge and a trailing edge, wherein upon wrapping a bottle the leading and trailing edges of the label strips of the film label overlap, and wherein at least portions of the LED-curable adhesive are disposed in the overlap between the leading and trailing edges;   an LED station comprising at least one LED lamp configured to cure the LED-curable adhesive disposed in the overlap between the leading and trailing edges; and   an output unit configured to deliver the labeled articles.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a shrink tunnel configured to shrink the film label over the bottle. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one LED lamp emits light at a wavelength of between 385 nm to 405 nm. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the LED lamp is configured to cure the LED-curable adhesive by exposing the LED-curable adhesive to LED light for 10 milliseconds or less. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the apparatus is configured to label bottles sequentially at a rate of at least 500 bottles per minute. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the LED lamp is configured to cure the LED-curable adhesive at a temperature below 70° C. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the LED adhesive applicator is configured to apply the LED-curable adhesive proximate to only one of the leading edge or the trailing edge. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the LED station comprises only one LED lamp. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the LED lamp is configured to cure the LED-curable adhesive by exposing the LED-curable adhesive to LED light for 2 milliseconds to 6 milliseconds. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus for labeling a bottle with a film label, the apparatus comprising:
 a bottle feed unit configured to feed bottles;   a label feed unit configured to feed film labels;   an LED applicator configured to apply an LED-curable adhesive to film labels received from the label feed unit;   a label wrapping unit configured to wrap the film labels around bottles received from the bottle feed unit;   an LED station configured to cure the LED-curable adhesive by exposing the LED-curable adhesive to LED light for 10 milliseconds or less at a temperature below 70° C.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the apparatus is configured to apply an LED-curable adhesive to film labels and wrap the film labels around the bottles at a rate of at least 500 bottles per minute. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the apparatus is configured to apply an LED-curable adhesive to film labels and wrap the film labels around the bottles at a rate of 500 bottles per minute to 720 bottles per minute. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the LED adhesive applicator is configured to apply the LED-curable adhesive proximate to only one of a leading edge of the film label or a trailing edge of the film label. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein, when the label wrapping unit wraps the film label around the bottles, the adhesive is disposed in an overlap between the leading edge and the trailing edge. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the LED station comprises at least one LED lamp configured to deliver the LED light. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the LED station comprises only one LED lamp. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the LED station is configured to cure the LED-curable adhesive by exposing the LED-curable adhesive to LED light for 2 milliseconds to 6 milliseconds. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , further comprising a shrink tunnel configured to shrink the film label over the bottle. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the LED applicator is further configured to apply the LED-curable adhesive to the bottles. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the LED station is configured to simultaneously cure the LED-curable adhesive on the bottles and the LED-curable adhesive on the film label.