JP7479246B2 - Method for attaching tack labels and bottles with tack labels - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for attaching tack labels, and in particular to a method for attaching tack labels using a tack labeler and to bottles with tack labels attached using this method.

Packaging containers (hereinafter referred to as containers) that are primarily filled with liquids and distributed on the market are known to have a variety of external shapes, and cylindrical containers are commonly used for wine, beer, and other beverages.
These containers generally have labels attached to their surfaces, on which the product name and descriptions of the contents are printed.

The containers are made of glass, plastics such as PET, cans, paper, etc.
The containers targeted by the present invention are generally made of glass (including metal and ceramics), but hard plastic containers are also targeted.
Typically, a label affixed to the surface of a container has a front surface printed with attributes of the container, such as the contents, product name, manufacturer/seller name, and letters, marks, etc., such as so-called designs and trademarks (collectively referred to here as "designs"), and is attached to the surface of the container (such as the outer surface of the body) with an adhesive (or bonding material) applied to the back surface.

Labels are applied to the surfaces of containers manually for small quantities, but an automatic labeling device commonly called a "tack labeler" is used to apply labels to large quantities of containers.
The tack labeler automatically applies labels to unlabeled containers that are continuously transported in by a container transport means, and transports the containers to the next production line, an inspection station, or a shipping station.
This type of tack labeler uses tack labels coated with an adhesive, and as the tack labels are fed out, they are brought into contact with the side of the body of the moving container and affixed to it.

The labels used in the tack labeler are wound in-line on a drum and loaded in this state into the label application station of the tack labeler. Each time a container is transported and arrives at the label application station, a tack label is sent out one by one and applied.

6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a typical tack labeler that uses a rotary table as a container transport means. Note that the straight lines extending radially from the center of the rotary table are imaginary lines to clarify the position of the container, and the dashed lines are imaginary lines showing the rotation trajectory of the center of the container.
A plurality of container receiving tables 10 are provided at equal intervals on a rotating table 1, which is a container transport means. Unlabeled containers 2 brought in by an input conveyor 31 of a container supply mechanism 3 are sequentially placed one by one on the container receiving tables 10 by a loading means (such as a star wheel) 300, which rotates (hereinafter also referred to as revolving) in the direction of the bold white arrow to transport the unlabeled containers 2. The container receiving tables 10 form part of a rotation mechanism that rotates the unlabeled containers 2 themselves when necessary.

At the label application station 100, the label body 83, which is peelably laminated in-line on the backing paper 82, is fed onto the trajectory along which the outer periphery of the unlabeled container 2 is transported, with only the leading edge peeled off by the peeling edge 91 of the backing paper peeling device 9, and is in a standby state.

When an unlabeled container 2 arrives at the liner peeling device 9 of the labeling station 100 as the turntable 1 revolves, the tip of the waiting tack label body 83 sticks (taps) to the surface (application surface: the outer surface of the body of the container) of the unlabeled container 2. After the label body 83 is peeled off from the liner 82, the unlabeled container 2 starts to rotate (counterclockwise rotation as indicated by the thin arrow; hereafter, the rotation of the unlabeled container itself is referred to as rotation), and the tack label 83 wraps around the body of the unlabeled container 2 and is affixed.

Generally, when an unlabeled container 2 arrives at the labeling station 100, it starts to rotate and wraps the tack label 83 around it, and as it passes the outer guide 93, it presses against the outer guide 93 and rotates while sliding, so that the label is smoothed and attached.

After passing through the labeling station 100, the container 2L (with label attached) stops rotating and is transported by the revolution of the rotary table 1 of the rotary transport means 1 to the unloading means (here, a star wheel) 400, where it is handed over to the container discharge mechanism 4, which is composed of a conveyor 41 and the like.

Examples of prior art related to this type of tack labeler include Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3.

JP 2019-505443 A JP 2013-210466 A JP 2005-59902 A

Ordinary tack labels have letters and patterns (marks, designs, etc.) printed on the surface of the label base material, and most are so-called two-dimensional printed labels. However, in recent years, labels have appeared that have designs that could be described as three-dimensional with raised surfaces formed using special printing methods. These labels are called thick raised labels because they are printed thickly to form convex parts on their surface, and are generally three-dimensional labels that have a raised height of 0.1 mm or more from the surface of the label base material. When viewed in a state where this is attached to a container, it has the characteristic of appearing as if the container itself had been engraved. This type of label that is compatible with label attachment using a tack labeler is also called a thick raised tack label.

Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view explaining one example of the configuration of a thick tack label, and reference number 8 indicates the thick tack label product before it is attached to a container. This tack label 8 has an adhesive layer 804 formed on the back of a base sheet 801 made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PP (polypropylene), YUPO (a registered trademark of Yupo Corporation), etc., and a backing 82 is laminated over this adhesive layer 804. The thick tack label 8 with the backing 82 laminated on it is made by placing many label bodies 83 in series (inline) on the long backing 82, forming it into a drum-shaped spiral, and loading it into a tack labeler.

The label body 83 arranged on the mount 82 has a printed layer 803 of a design or the like on the front side of the base sheet 801 via a laminate layer 802. The printed layer 803 of the thick tack label is formed by forming a thick printed layer (three-dimensional printed layer) 803a.
The laminate layer 802 prevents friction and deterioration of the printed surface, and also imparts a glossy appearance, and is used in cases where high design quality is required.

In other words, a thick-laid label has a raised pattern (three-dimensional design) formed on the surface side of the base sheet 801 using a three-dimensional printing method, and when attached to the outside of a container, it creates an appearance as if the pattern had been engraved into the body of the container. Known three-dimensional design printing methods include Bahco raised printing and UV thick-laid printing. In particular, UV thick-laid printing produces printed matter with a realistic unevenness and texture.

When such thick-laid labels are automatically applied using the tack labeler described in Figure 6, the label is unlikely to peel off or float up during the application process, but after application, partial peeling may occur in the thickly laminated three-dimensional design portion of the thick-laid label due to stress distortion caused by uneven adhesion.
In particular, this variation is likely to occur near the boundaries of the three-dimensional printing area. Note that there are cases where problems with pasting occur during the pasting process, and depending on the adjustment accuracy of the pasting mechanism, the label may easily peel off, or wrinkle or tear.

This variation in adhesion is thought to be due to unevenness in the partial stress balance when the adhesive between the printed part of the three-dimensional design and the outer surface of the unlabeled container is smoothed and attached during the label attachment process. The unevenness in the partial stress balance during attachment leaves uneven stress strain in unspecified parts of the adhesive layer, and it is presumed that the release of this strain after attachment induces peeling and wrinkles in the adhesive layer over time.
Such variation in adhesion may occur not only during the above-mentioned application process, but also due to changes over time, resulting in deterioration of the appearance of the container product, hindering the three-dimensional texture effect and aesthetic appearance that are achieved by using a thick label, and ultimately reducing the product value.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of application that avoids deterioration of appearance due to undesirable adhesion problems as described above when applying a thick label to a container, and maximizes the inherent appearance effect of the label.
The present invention relates to a method for attaching tack labels compatible with tack labelers, and the labels used here are sometimes simply called tack labels, or just labels.

A representative configuration of the tack label attaching method according to the present invention is as follows.
In order to facilitate understanding of the invention, each component will be described below with the same reference symbols as those used in the drawings of the embodiments; however, the present invention is not limited to the components indicated by these reference symbols.

(1) A tack labeler to which the tack label application method of the present invention is applied has a rotary conveying means 1 having a plurality of rotatable container receiving tables 10 on which unlabeled containers 2 brought in by a loading means 300 are placed, a label application station 100 installed near the rotary conveying means 1, and an unloading means 400 that transports out containers 2L with labels attached.

Unlabeled containers 2 are carried in by the loading means 300, placed on the container receiving platform 10 of the rotary conveying means 1, and conveyed in sequence. Then, the backing 82 is peeled off from the tack label 8, which is a laminate of a label body 83 and a backing 82 peelably attached to its back surface, and the label body 83 is successively affixed to each label attachment surface of the unlabeled containers 2.

The label application station 100 of the tack labeler includes a label tucking section 250 installed near the rotating end of the rotary conveying means 1, and a label application section 260 installed downstream of the label tucking section 250 near the rotary conveying means 1.

In the label tacking section 250, the leading end 84 of the label body 83 peeled off from the backing 82 is advanced to the arrival position of the label application surface of the unlabeled container 2 and waits for the arrival of the unlabeled container 2. (Step (1))

Then, when the unlabeled container 2 reaches the label tacking section 250 due to the rotational transport of the rotary transport means 1, the tip 84 of the label body 83 is tacked to the label application surface and the label body 83 is peeled off from the backing paper 82 (step (2)), and the unlabeled container 2 with the tacked label body 83 is rotated in the direction opposite to the rotational direction of the rotary transport means 1. (step (3))

The rotation of the unlabeled container 2 is stopped at a position where the label body 83 is retracted inside the outermost rotation trajectory of the label application surface of the unlabeled container 2 (step (4)), and the unlabeled container 2 is removed from the label tacking section 250 by the rotational transport of the rotary transport means 1.

When the unlabeled container 2 reaches the label application section 260 by the rotational conveyance of the rotary conveying means 1, the unlabeled container 2 to which the label body 83 is tacked is rotated in the same direction as the rotational conveyance direction of the rotary conveying means 1 and at a speed synchronized with the rotational conveyance speed of the rotary conveying means 1. (Step (5))
The entire label body 83 is affixed to the label application surface of the unlabeled container 2 while rotating the unlabeled container 2 at a speed synchronized with the rotational conveying speed of the rotary conveying means 1 (step (6)), and then the label application section 260 is detached by the rotary conveying of the rotary conveying means 1, and the rotation of the container 2L to which the entire label body 83 has been affixed is stopped (step (7)).

With this rotation stopped, the container 2L to which the label body 83 has been affixed by the rotary conveying means 1 is conveyed by the unloading means 400 out of the labeling station 100. The conveyed container 2L is sent to a subsequent process such as an inspection station or a shipping station.

(2) The reason for retracting the label body 83 to the inside of the outermost rotation trajectory of the label attachment surface of the unlabeled container 2 is to avoid contact between the tacked label body 83 and the components of the label tacking section 250 (components used for tacking).

The label body 83 in the label application section 260 applies pressure to the label application surface evenly over the entire area of the label body 83, including the printing area, as the unlabeled container 2 rotates.

The means (label attachment means) that applies the pressure applied to the label attachment surface by the rotation of the unlabeled container 2 evenly to the printing area of the label body 83 has the function of, for example, sinking to a depth according to the size of the three-dimensional unevenness (protrusion) of the thick printing area, and returning to its original state after passing the unevenness.

The means (label attachment means) for applying pressure evenly to the printing area of the label body 83 uses a material that has the function of returning to its original state after passing over the unevenness. The material is a sponge made of a synthetic resin-based flexible material such as urethane or silicone, and a highly resilient sponge is particularly suitable.
Furthermore, the tack label applied by the above-described method for applying a tack label may be a thick tack label that is printed thickly to form convex portions on its surface.
When the label applied by the application method of the present invention is a thick-thickness label 8 having a thick-thickness printing area, the adhesive layer 804 laminated on the back surface of the base sheet 801 may be an adhesive layer formed so that the entire surface is adhesive, or a label in which a part of the adhesive layer 804 is subjected to an adhesive-resistant treatment to form a non-adhesive portion.

The present invention also relates to a bottle with a tack label attached thereto by the above-described tack label attachment method.
The present invention is not limited to the above configurations or the configurations described in the embodiments below, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention.

As mentioned above, when automatically applying tack labels with a tack labeler, in the process of sending the tacked label body to the label application station, the free part of the label body (the part not affixed to the container) may come into contact with the outer guide that constitutes the tacking mechanism, resulting in partial incorrect application. In other words, when the tack label with only its tip adhering to the label application surface of an unlabeled container comes into contact with the outer guide during rotational transport on the turntable of the rotary transport means, part of the label may accidentally adhere to the unlabeled container. This can cause application problems such as misalignment of the application position and wrinkles in the label due to the application pressure in the subsequent application process (cause in the tacking process).

In addition, during the label attachment process, for example, unevenness in the three-dimensional print on the adhesive between the printed portion of a thickly printed three-dimensional design and the outer surface of the container, and unevenness in the partial stress balance during smooth attachment, causes uneven stress distortion to remain in unspecified parts of the adhesive layer, and when this distortion is released after attachment, peeling or wrinkling occurs in the adhesive layer, resulting in deterioration of the quality of the label (cause during the attachment process).

When a difference occurs between the rotational transport speed and the rotation speed of the container, the outer guide, which is the label attachment means for applying a pressing force (attaching force) to the surface of the tack label, rubs against the tack label, exerting a tensile or compressive force on the surface of the tack label. In addition, in the case of a thick label, the pressing force applied when attaching the label body causes localized variation in the thickly printed portion (three-dimensionally printed portion). As a result, distortion (deformation) remains in the adhesive (adhesive layer) in the area containing the thickly printed tack label, causing partial peeling or deformation of the label or adhesive layer.

In response to these problems, in the present invention, the unlabeled container to which the label body is tacked is rotated in the same direction as the rotational conveying direction of the rotary conveying means and at a speed synchronized with the rotational conveying speed of the rotary conveying means, thereby avoiding the application of tensile or compressive forces to the surface of the above-mentioned tack label and enabling good label attachment.
Furthermore, in the case of thick tack labels, by using a material with good shape recovery performance for the guide (inner guide) that applies pressure (adhesive force) to the surface, the pressure applied to the thick tack label and adhesive layer can be evenly distributed, avoiding the occurrence of stress distortion caused by the three-dimensional printed shape (protrusion), making it possible to apply a high-quality thick tack label without wrinkles or breakage.

Furthermore, bottles with tack labels attached using the tack label attachment method of the present invention have thick, three-dimensionally printed tack labels that are attached without wrinkling or breaking and are difficult to peel off, resulting in highly decorative bottles that look as if they are engraved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a tack labeler according to the present invention. 2 is a process diagram illustrating the tacking behavior in the label tacking section of the tack labeler shown in FIG. 1 . 2 is a process diagram illustrating the behavior of label application in the thick label application section of the tack labeler shown in FIG. 1 . 1 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the appearance of a bottle to which a label has been affixed by the tack label affixing method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the configuration of a thick tack label. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a typical tack labeler that uses a rotary table as a container transport means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In this embodiment, the tack label will be described as a thick tack label as an example, but the tack label applied by the tack label application method of the present invention is not limited to a thick tack label, and can be applied to tack labels of various other shapes and materials.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a tack labeler according to the present invention, where (a) is a plan view illustrating the overall configuration and container movement, and (b) is an enlarged view of the label tucking section in (a). This tack labeler is equipped with a label application station 100 having a rotating table of a rotary conveying means 1 with multiple container receiving tables 10 arranged along the periphery. A thick tack label is applied to an unlabeled container 2 that is placed on the container receiving table 10 of this label application station 100 and conveyed while being rotated.

That is, at this label application station 100, the thick tack label body 83 is peeled off from the backing 82 of the thick tack label 8 (an integrated member of the tack label body 83 and the backing 82 on its back surface) and applied to the label application surface (usually the body surface of the container) of the unlabeled container 2.

As described above, in this tack labeler, a label tacking section 250 is installed on a part of the outer periphery of the rotating table of the rotary conveying means 1. This label tacking section 250 peels off the backing paper 82 from the thick tack label 8 and tacks the adhesive layer exposed on the back surface of the tip 84 of the thick tack label main body 83 to the thick tack label attachment surface of the unlabeled container 2.

And downstream of the label tacking section 250 in the direction of rotation of the rotary table of the rotary conveying means 1 (counterclockwise in the drawing in FIG. 1), there is a label application section 260 that applies the entire thick tack label body 83 to the unlabeled container 2.

The label application station 100 is made up of a rotary conveying means 1 (rotary table), a label tacking section 250 and a label application section 260 .
A thick tack label application device (thick tack labeler) equipped with this label application station 100 is used to apply a thick tack label body 83 having a printing layer 803 including a three-dimensional design printed area (803a in Figure 5) and a two-dimensional design printed area (803b in Figure 5) to an unlabeled container 2.

Unlabeled containers 2 are carried into this labeling station 100 by the carry-in conveyor 31 of the container supply mechanism 3. The unlabeled containers 2 are sequentially placed at the end position of the carry-in conveyor 31 onto the container receiving platform 10 of the rotary table of the rotary transport means 1 by a loading means 300 preferably comprising a star wheel.
Unlabeled containers 2 placed in order on the container receiving platform 10 reach the label tacking section 250 by the rotation of the rotary table of the rotary conveying means 1 (indicated by the outlined thick arrow in FIG. 1).

The label tacking section 250 is provided with a liner peeling device 9. The liner peeling device 9 has a peeling edge 91 that peels off the liner 82 from the tack label 8 (see FIG. 1B), and is configured to wind up the liner 82 peeled off from the tack label body 83 onto a recovery drum (not shown).
The liner peeling device 9 peels off the liner 82 from the leading edge 84 of the label body 83 of the tack label in accordance with the arrival of the unlabeled container 2, and feeds out the leading edge 84 onto the rotating surface of the rotary table of the rotary conveying means 1, and waits for the arrival of the unlabeled container 2 (Step (1)).

In the label tacking section 250, the leading end 84 of the label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 is tacked to the label affixed surface of the unlabeled container 2 at the contact portion between the outer guide 93, which is a tacking member, and the thick tack label affixed surface of the unlabeled container 2, and the label body 83 is peeled off from the backing paper 82. (Step (2))

When the leading end 84 of the label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 is tacked to the thick tack label application surface ("A" in Fig. 1(a)), the unlabeled container 2 is rotated in the direction opposite to the rotation of the turntable of the rotary conveying means 1 (clockwise with respect to the paper surface of Fig. 1) so that the entire label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 is in a predetermined position to avoid contact with the outer guide 93 (the member for tacking) ("B" in Fig. 1(a)) (Step (3)).
The entire label body 83 is rotated clockwise to a predetermined position where it avoids contact with the outer guide 93, and the rotation is stopped at the predetermined position ("C" in FIG. 1(a)). (Step (4))

The leading end 84 of the thick tack label body 83 tacks onto the thick tack label application surface of the unlabeled container 2, and with the rotation stopped, the unlabeled container 2 leaves the label tacking section 250 as the rotating table of the rotary conveying means 1 rotates, and is conveyed to the label application section 260 for application of the entire label.

When the unlabeled container 2 reaches the labeling section 260, the unlabeled container 2 starts to rotate counterclockwise. That is, the unlabeled container 2 starts to rotate in the same direction as the rotation direction of the turntable of the rotary conveying means 1 ("D" in FIG. 1(a)). (Step (5))
At this time, both (the above-mentioned orbital speed of the rotating table of the rotary conveying means 1 and the above-mentioned rotational speed of the container 2) are adjusted so that the rotation speed (the tangential speed of the rotational locus of the outermost peripheral wall of the container) is synchronized (identical) with the rotational speed of the rotating table of the rotary conveying means 1 (the tangential speed of the orbital locus of the outermost peripheral wall of the container 2).
The unlabeled container 2 moves along the inner guide 94 while rolling ("E" in FIG. 1(a)). (Step (6))

If there is a misalignment in this synchronization, a pulling or pushing force is applied to the label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 in the rolling direction, causing the label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 to be partially stretched or wrinkled, making it difficult to achieve good application.

The unlabeled container 2 rolls while being pressed by the inner guide 94 until the entire label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 is affixed to the thick tack label attachment surface of the unlabeled container 2 .
The inner guide 94 has a size that guides the unlabeled container 2 over a rolling length (at least the length in the rotation direction of the thick tack label body 83) over which the thick tack label body 83 is completely affixed to the label application surface of the unlabeled container 2. It goes without saying that the width of the inner guide 94 is a size that sufficiently covers the width of the thick tack label body 83.

Then, the container 2L (labeled container) with the entire thick tack label body 83 attached to the thick tack label attachment surface rolls away from the inner guide 94. When the container 2L leaves the inner guide 94, the counterclockwise rotation of the container 2L stops. (Step (7))

The container 2L with the thick tack label body 83 attached thereto is rotated and conveyed by the rotary table of the rotary conveying means 1 while stopping its rotation, and is then conveyed by the star wheel from the rotary table 1 to the conveying conveyor 41.

Furthermore, by constructing the inner guide 94 from a soft and elastically resilient material or a low-elasticity resilient material, when an unlabeled container 2 is pressed and rolled on this inner guide 94, the thick tack label affixed to its surface has the same effect as if the container were being rolled by hand to affix the label.
In other words, even for labels with three-dimensional design printing areas, the presence of the unevenness reduces the unexpected and unnecessary force applied to the adhesive layer. This prevents adhesion problems such as the adhesive label lifting caused by residual stress distortion in the adhesive layer, and does not impair the appearance of the thick tack label.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the behavior of the container and the tack label at the start point of thick label application in the tack labeler shown in FIG.
2 is a diagram for explaining the label tacking portion 250 of FIG 1. The label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 is peeled off from the mount 82 by a peeling edge 91 of the mount peeling device 9.

Figure 2(a) shows the state immediately before an unlabeled container 2 is transported to the label tacking section 250 by the rotational transport of the rotary table of the rotary transport means 1, and the unwound tip 84 of the thick tack label body 83 is momentarily clamped between the thick tack label application surface of the unlabeled container 2 and the outer guide 93, thereby tacking the unlabeled container 2. At this point, the unlabeled container 2 is not rotating.

In FIG. 2B, the unlabeled container 2 is not rotating until the leading end 84 of the label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 tacks onto the thick tack label affixed surface of the unlabeled container 2, and starts rotating immediately after tacking. In FIG. 2B, this state is symbolically indicated by a short arrow.

In (c) of Figure 2, immediately after the tip 84 of the label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 is tacked to the unlabeled container 2, following the state in (b) of Figure 2, the unlabeled container 2 is rotated clockwise, counter to the rotation of the rotating table of the rotary conveying means 1, to a predetermined position (which can be changed depending on the size of the container and the size of the label) where the label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 avoids contact with the outer guide 93, and then the rotation is stopped at the predetermined position.
In Fig. 2(c), the time from the rotating state to the stop of rotation is indicated by "t". This time "t" is an instant, and is approximately the time delay from the application of a rotation stop command signal to the container receiving table (not shown) to the time when the rotation mechanism stops rotating. The same applies to the time from tucking to the start of rotation.

When the rotation is stopped, even if the unlabeled container 2 is transported in the direction of the bold white arrow by the rotation of the rotating table of the rotary transport means 1 in a counterclockwise direction, the label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 passes through the outer guide 93 at a position that does not contact the outer guide 93.

Figure 2(d) shows the state in which the unlabeled container 2, with the leading end (84) of the thick tack label tacked to the thick tack label application surface, is being transported along the outer guide of the label tacking section 250 by the rotation of the rotary table of the rotary transport means 1. As described above, the unlabeled container 2 is not rotating.

Figure 2 (e) shows the state immediately before the unlabeled container 2 reaches the downstream end of the outer guide 93 and leaves the outer guide 93 of the label tacking section 250. Even at this point, the unlabeled container 2 is not rotating. After this, the unlabeled container 2 is moved to the label attachment section 260 by the rotation and transport of the rotating table of the rotary transport means 1.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the behavior of the container, the label, and the inner guide during the thick label application process in the tack labeler shown in FIG.
As explained above, the unlabeled container 2 that has been released from the label tacking unit 250 in Fig. 1 from the state shown in Fig. 2(e) arrives at the label application unit 260 by the rotation and transport of the turntable of the rotary transport means 1 as shown in Fig. 3(a). The label application unit 260 is fixed to the label application station 100, regardless of the rotation of the turntable of the rotary transport means 1.

The unlabeled container 2 stops rotating and starts rotating counterclockwise immediately before coming into contact with the inner guide 94 .
The unlabeled container 2 that has started to rotate counterclockwise moves on the inner guide 94 due to the rotation (revolution) of the turntable of the rotary conveying means 1 and its own rotation. This state is shown in Figure 3(b).
As the unlabeled container 2 rolls while being pressed against the inner guide 94, the thick tack label body 83 in the state shown in Figure 3 (a) (with the tip tucked) is adhered in its entirety to the label application surface of the unlabeled container 2.

The inner guide 94 in this embodiment is made of a relatively soft and resilient material such as silicone rubber, and is compressed (depressed) when pressed against the surface of the unlabeled container 2. The reaction force exerts a uniform application force on the label application surface of the unlabeled container 2 against the thick tack label body 83, suppressing the residual localized stress distortion (ununiform force). In other words, even in an uneven three-dimensional design printed area, the inner guide 94's ability to accept the pressure force and its dispersive resilience prevent excessive stress distortion from being applied to the adhesive layer.

At this time, the rotational conveying speed of the rotating table of the rotary conveying means 1 (the speed at which the container 1 is moved counterclockwise) and the speed at which the surface (labeled surface) of the unlabeled container 2 rolls on the internal guide 94 are synchronized.
That is, there is no misalignment due to rotational movement between the label attachment surface of the unlabeled container 2 and the inner guide 94. This allows the thick tack label body 83 to be smoothly attached to the surface of the unlabeled container 2, and makes it possible to prevent the label from being improperly attached, torn, or wrinkled.

After the container 2L to which the label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 is affixed (the container to which the label is affixed will be referred to as 2L), it leaves the inner guide 94, stops rotating, and is transported to the unloading means 400 in Figure 1 (Figure 3 (c)).
Other highly resilient materials may also be used for the material of the inner guide 94. In short, it is sufficient if the material has the function of preventing the pressure applied when attaching the label to the container surface (attachment surface) from being applied unevenly to the adhesive layer (and ultimately to the base material and printing layer of the label body).

By going through the above process, the thick tack label body 83 can be correctly attached to the container, providing various containers with the aesthetic appearance unique to thick tack labels.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the appearance of a bottle to which a label has been affixed by the tack label attachment method of the present invention, in which FIG. 4(a) is a perspective view, and FIG. 4(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of FIG. 4(a).
A label body 83 of a thick tack label 8 is attached to this bottle by the tack label attachment method of the present invention. Although the label body 83 is attached, it has an appearance as if the design was carved into the surface of the bottle itself. Such a thick tack label has the effect of giving a sense of luxury to the bottle as a product or to the contents of the bottle.

In addition, in the above embodiment 1, the explanation was given on the assumption that the rotating table of the rotary conveying means 1 rotates (revolves) counterclockwise, but the rotation direction may be clockwise, in which case the rotation direction of the unlabeled container 2 is interpreted as counterclockwise in FIG. 2(b) and clockwise in FIG. 3(a) and (b). The effect of the invention is the same.

In the second embodiment, the present invention is applied to a rotary conveyor system as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-233999, instead of the rotary table of the first embodiment, as a container transport means.
Except for the mechanism for transporting containers to the labeling station using a rotating conveyor, the labeling station, sticking station, inspection station and associated equipment are basically the same as those used in the rotary table system described above.
Furthermore, there is no fundamental difference in the structure and application method of the tack label affixed to the tack-label-affixed container, and therefore a repeated explanation will not be given.

In the second embodiment, a conveyor similar to the carry-in/carry-out conveyor shown in FIG. 1 is used instead of the turntable, and a label application station consisting of a label tacking unit and a label application unit similar to those in the first embodiment is installed near the conveyor.
The carry-in/carry-out conveyors of the second embodiment are known, and the label application station has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, so a description using drawings will be omitted. Although a container rotation mechanism needs to be installed in the label application station, the gist of the present invention is not the specific configuration, and the configurations of the label tucking unit and the label application unit in the first embodiment can be applied as is.

Also according to the second embodiment, the label body 83 of the thick tack label 8 can be correctly attached to the unlabeled container 2, and various containers having the aesthetic appearance characteristic of the thick tack label can be provided.

1: Rotary conveying means 2: Unlabeled container 2L: Container (labeled)
Description of the symbols 3: container supply mechanism 4: container discharge mechanism 8: thick tack label 82: mount 83: label body 84: tip of label body 9: mount peeling device 91: peeling edge 93: outer guide 94: inner guide 10: container receiving platform 31: carry-in conveyor 41: carry-out conveyor 100: label application station 250: label tacking section 260: label application section 300: loading means 400: unloading means

Claims (6)

A tack label application method for successively applying tack labels each consisting of a label body and a backing paper peelably attached to the back surface of the label body to the label application surface of each of a plurality of unlabeled containers placed on a container receiving table and transported in sequence, comprising:
(1) a step of allowing the leading end of the label body peeled off from the backing paper to wait at a position on the label application surface of an unlabeled container;
(2) When the unlabeled container reaches the waiting label body, the leading end of the label body is tacked to the label application surface and the label body is peeled off from the backing paper.
(3) rotating the unlabeled container to which the label body has been tacked in a direction opposite to the conveying direction;
(4) stopping the rotation of the unlabeled container at a position where the label main body is retracted to the inside of the outermost rotation trajectory of the label application surface of the unlabeled container;
(5) rotating the unlabeled container to which the label body has been tacked in the same direction as the conveying direction and at a speed synchronized with the conveying speed;
(6) a step of pressing the unlabeled container against a labeling means and rotating the container while attaching the entire label body to the labeling surface of the unlabeled container;
(7) stopping the rotation of the labeled container;
It consists of:
A method for applying a tack label, in which the label body is retracted to the inside of the outermost rotation trajectory of the label application surface of the unlabeled container, to a position that avoids contact between the tacked label body and a tacking member. 2. The method for attaching a tack label according to claim 1, wherein in the attaching step, a pressing force against the label attachment surface is applied evenly to the entire area including the printing area of the label body by rotating the unlabeled container. 3. A tack label application method according to claim 2, wherein the label application means has a function of sinking to a depth corresponding to the size of the unevenness of the printing area and returning to its original state after passing over the unevenness. 4. A method for attaching a tack label according to claim 1, wherein said label attaching means is a highly resilient sponge. A method for applying a tack label according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the tack label applied by the method for applying a tack label is a thick tack label that is printed thickly to form a convex portion on the surface of the tack label. A bottle with a tack label, characterized in that the tack label is affixed by the tack label affixing method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.