EP2583576A2

EP2583576A2 - Machine for forming and feeding segments of double-sided adhesive material.

Info

Publication number: EP2583576A2
Application number: EP12188913.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gianluca Passoni
Original assignee: ALC Flenco Group Srl
Current assignee: ALC TECNOLOGIE ADESIVE S.R.L.
Priority date: 2011-10-17
Filing date: 2012-10-17
Publication date: 2013-04-24
Also published as: EP2583576A3; ITTO20110928A1; BR102012026575A2

Abstract

In a machine (1) for forming and feeding, a succession of segments (2) of double-sided adhesive material is formed from a reel (A) of a tape (13) comprising a portion (18) of double-sided adhesive material having opposite adhesive surfaces at equal or different adhesiveness, and a support tape (19) of the portion (18) of adhesive material; the only portion (18) of double-sided adhesive material is transversely cut to form the succession of segments (2), and the support tape (19) stepwise feed together with the segments (2) in contact with a fixed transfer head (27), wherein each segment (2) is partially detached from the support tape (19) before being adhered upon an outer body (4) forced against the fixed head (27).

Description

The present invention relates to a machine for forming and feeding segments of double-sided adhesive material.
In particular, the present invention finds advantageous, but not exclusive, application in the field of forming footwear, to which the following description will make explicit reference without thereby losing generality.
In the field of forming footwear, in general, it is known to use a forming shaped body around which the footwear itself is progressively constructed. The construction of the footwear provides the use of an assembly insole, which must be connected in a releasable manner and in a determined position to the shaped body.
In the known solutions, the connection of the assembly insole to the shaped body is carried out by nailing or, preferably, by way of the interposition of segments of double-sided adhesive material between the assembly insole and the forming body.
Conveniently, the segments are distributed on the forming body and glued thereto prior to applying the assembly insole which is subsequently pressed against the assembly body so that it adheres thereto.
The segments are manually coupled to the forming body by an operator, which receives the segments from a segments feeding machine, which, by way of a rotary suction head draws the segments from a gripping station and rotatingly transfers the segments themselves in a drawing area or station by the assigned operator.
Though used, known machines of the type described above appear to be relatively complex, costly and in some cases poorly efficient and unreliable.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a machine for forming and feeding segments of double-sided adhesive material, which allows to solve the problems outlined above in a simple and economic way.
According to the present invention, a machine for forming and feeding segments of double-sided adhesive material is provided; the machine comprising a frame; a support head of a double-sided adhesive tape comprising an elongated double-sided adhesive portion having two opposite adhesive surfaces and a support tape for said double-sided adhesive portion coupled to one of said double-sided adhesive surfaces; unwinding and guide means for unwinding said double-sided adhesive tape and feeding it along a determined path; cutting means to transversally cut only said double-sided adhesive portion to form a sequence of tape segments; winding means for winding said support tape; and a fixed transfer head of said segments arranged along said path upstream of said winding means.
Preferably, in the machine defined above, said fixed transfer head comprises a resting track for said support tape and means for partially detaching said segments from the support tape arranged downstream of said resting track.
The present invention also relates to a method for forming and feeding double-sided adhesive segments.
According to the present invention a method for forming and feeding double-sided adhesive segments is provided, as claimed in claim 9.
The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which schematically show, a nonlimiting embodiment, wherein:

Figures 1 and 2 shows, in elevation, two different side views of a preferred embodiment of the forming and feeding machine according to the present invention;
Figure 3 shows, in greatly enlarged scale, a detail of Figures 1 and 2;
Figure 4 shows, on an enlarged scale, a detail of figure 3 in an operating condition; and
Figure 5 shows, in side view and in greatly enlarged scale, a segment of a tape used in the machine of Figures 1 and 2.

In Figures 1 and 2, number 1 indicates as a whole a machine for forming and feeding segments 2 (Figure 4) of double-sided adhesive material in a station 3 for the transfer and application of segments 2 themselves on a forming body 4 (figure 4) for the manufacturing of footwear (not shown).
Again with reference to Figures 1 and 2, the machine 1 comprises a hollow base 6, a box-like body 7 above the base 6, an upright 8 for supporting the box-like body 7 in a position above the transfer station 3, and a fitting plate 9 integrally connected to the upright 8, to one part, and coupled to base 6 in a releasable manner, to the other. The base 6 delimits a cavity 12 of geometry and dimensions such as to completely house the box-like body 7 and the respective upright 8 when the plate 9 is rotated by 180° with respect to an operating condition, shown with continuous line in Figures 1 and 2.
In the machine 1, the segments 2 are obtained starting from a reel A of multilayer tape 13 completely housed inside the box-like body 7 and coupled, by way of a splined joint 14, to a support head 15, in turn, connected to the box-like body 7 to idly rotate about a horizontal axis 16.
With reference to Figure 5, the multilayer tape 13 comprises an elongated double-sided adhesive portion 18 having two opposite adhesive surfaces 18a and 18b with the same or different adhesiveness to a same adhesion body, and a support tape 19 of the double-sided adhesive portion 18 coupled to the double-sided adhesive surface 18b. Preferably, the adhesive surface 18b coupled to the support tape 19 has an adhesiveness value lower than the adhesiveness value of the adhesive surface 18a.
In the machine 1, the multilayer tape 13 is unwound and guided along a determined feeding path P by way of an unwinding and guiding assembly 20, which is also fully housed in the box-like body 7 and comprising an unwinding motorized head 21 of the reel A and for rewinding the support tape 19.
The head 21 is coupled to the box-like body 7 in the vicinity of the transfer station 3 and in a raised position with respect to the station 3 itself in rotary manner about an axis 22 parallel to the axis 16. The head 21 is stepwise rotated by an actuator controlled by a unit 23 (schematically shown) for driving and controlling the entire machine 1.
Along the path P, between the heads 15 and 21 a tensioning assembly 25 is arranged, known per se and not described in detail, for maintaining constant the tension of the tape 19, and a cutting assembly 26, conveniently of the knife type, also known per se and not described in detail, to transversally cut only the double-sided adhesive portion 18 of the tape 13 obtaining the above mentioned segments 2.
Again with reference to Figure 3, the transfer station 3 is arranged between the cutting assembly 26 and the head 21 and houses a fixed transfer head 27, which projects cantilevered from the box-like body 7 towards the base 6, and on which the support tape 19 is wound along a V-shaped portion P1 of the path P so as to leave the segments 2 facing outwards, i.e. towards the base 6 itself, as can be seen from Figure 4.
In particular, always with reference to Figure 4, the fixed transfer head 27 comprises an attachment arm 28 integrally connected to the box-like body 7 and projecting inside the station 3, and a foot 30 integrally connected to the lower end of the arm 28. The foot 30 is delimited, on the side facing the base 6, by a resting convex curved surface 32, against which, in use, the tape 19 slides and by a surface 33 virtually orthogonal to an end portion of the surface 32 itself.
The surface 33 extends towards the winding head 21 in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of the tape 19 being wound on the winding head 21 itself and is connected to the end portion of the surface 32 forming an edge 34 perpendicular to a feeding direction of the support tape 19.
The presence of a segment 2 arranged in the station 3, waiting to be drawn, as shown in Figure 4, is detected by an optical sensor 35 or other equivalent presence sensor means coupled to the fixed head 27 downstream of the surface 33 and connected to the drive and control unit 23.
In use, the segments 2 formed as a result of the passage through the cutting device 26 are stepwise advanced towards the transfer head 27 and taken in succession in a transfer position. Considering for simplicity of exposition only a segment 2 arranged upstream of the fixed head 27, this is progressively advanced by the support tape 19 along the curved surface 32. During the feeding of the tape 19 in contact with the curved surface 32, the tape 19 itself is progressively curved until it reaches the edge 34. At the edge 34, the support tape 19 is sharply deviated, as can be seen from Figures 3 and 4, conveniently by an angle of substantially 90°, towards the head 21 causing the progressive detachment of the segment 2 which remains therefore only partially connected to the tape 19 at the end portion of the surface 32 waiting to be drawn. At this point, the forming body 4 is approached to the foot 30 by the operator assigned to the machine 1 and the segment 2 compressed between the forming body 4 and the surface 32 causing the adhesion to the forming body 4 itself. Following a clockwise rotation of the forming body 4 by the operator, the segment 2 progressively adheres to the forming body 4 and progressively detaches from the tape 19.
As a result of the detachment, the sensor 35 detects the absence of the segment 2 in the transfer zone and a subsequent segment 2 is then feed into the transfer position itself advancing the tape 19 by one step by way of the head 21.
From the foregoing it is clear that, with respect to the known pneumatic rotary head solutions, the machine 1 described is extremely simple from a constructional point of view and of undoubted efficiency and functional reliability. In fact, the sharp deviation imparted to the support tape 19 assures always the partial detaching of the double-sided adhesive segment 2 from the tape 19 itself, while the presence of the curved surface 32 provides the operator with the necessary support to force the segment 2 against the forming body 4.
Moreover, only in the absence of a segment 2 in the transfer position and, therefore, only after the adhesion of the segment 2 to the forming body 4, the machine 1 provides for positioning a successive segment 2 in the drawing area.
Finally, the constructive characteristics of the base 6 and the box-like body 7, allow to house the entire box-like body 7, the supporting arm 8 and the fixed transfer head 27 completely inside the base 6 by making easy and secure any displacement of the machine 1.
From the foregoing it appears obvious that the machine 1 described can be subject to modifications and variants. In particular, the abutment surface 32 may be of the type with rolling elements to reduce the friction components with the tape 19 and facilitate the tensioning control of the support tape 19 itself.

Claims

A machine for forming and feeding segments of double-sided adhesive material; the machine comprising a frame; a support head of a double-sided adhesive tape comprising an elongated double-sided adhesive portion having two opposite adhesive surfaces and a support tape for said double-sided adhesive portion coupled to one of said adhesive surfaces; unwinding and guide means for unwinding said double-sided adhesive tape and feeding it along a determined path; cutting means to transversally cut only said double-sided adhesive portion to form a sequence of segments of tape; winding means to wind said support tape; and a fixed transfer head of said segments arranged along said path upstream of said winding means.
The machine according to claim 1, characterised in that said fixed head comprises a resting track for said support tape and means for partially detaching said segments from the support tape arranged downstream of said resting track.
The machine according to claim 2, characterised in that said means for partially detaching said segments from said support tape comprise an edge orthogonal to a feeding direction of said support tape and defining said resting track.
The machine according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that said unwinding means cooperate with said edge to deviate said tape along a segment of said path forming an angle of substantially 90° with said resting track.
The machine according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that said resting track is a convex curved track facing downwards.
The machine according to any of claims 2 to 5, characterised by further comprising means for sensing the presence of segments associated to said fixed segment transfer head.
The machine according to claim 6, characterised in that said sensing means are optical means coupled to said fixed transfer head downstream of said means for partially detaching said segments.
The machine according to any of the preceding claims, characterised by further comprising a hollow base, and in that said frame comprises an upright and a box-like body housing said support head, said unwinding and guide means, said cutting means, and said winding means; said hollow base having a cavity adapted to completely house said upright and said box-like body.
A method for forming and feeding a sequence of segments of double-sided adhesive material from a tape reel comprising a portion of double-sided adhesive material and a support tape for the adhesive material; the method comprising the step of transversally cutting only the portion of double-sided adhesive material to form the sequence of segments supported by the support tape, stepwise feeding the support tape together with the segments in contact with the fixed transfer head, and partially detaching each segment from the support tape before being adhered on an external body forced against the fixed transfer head.
The method according to claim 9, characterised in that said segments are partially detached from said support tape by sharply deviating the support tape downstream of said fixed transfer head.
A double-sided adhesive tape to be used in a machine for forming and feeding segments of adhesive material according to claim 1; the double-sided adhesive tape comprising an elongated double-sided adhesive portion having two opposite adhesive surfaces and a support tape for said double sided adhesive portion coupled to one of said adhesive surfaces; said double sided adhesive surfaces having a different adhesiveness to a same adhesion body.
The tape according to claim 11, characterised in that the adhesive surface coupled to said support tape has a adhesiveness value lower than the adhesiveness value of the other adhesive surface.