Method of and device for applying foil to a container and especially to a bottle

A method of and device for applying foil to a container that has a closure over its upper surface, and especially to a bottle with a head that along with its cap is to be wrapped all the way around with a blank, especially of foil, by applying the blank around the head while leaving part of the blank to project beyond it, wrapping the sleeve-shaped extension to one side against the upper surface of the cap to create an outer cap cover, and pressing it down, especially with a resilient pad. To improve the method and device of the aforesaid type to the extent that it becomes possible to press the sleeve-shaped foil extension down over the upper surface of the cap optimally single-layered and wrinkle-free and hence to employ pre-printed foil, a flute that initially extends essentially parallel to the axis of the bottle is shaped into the sleeve-shaped extension while the latter is being wrapped and is tapered out from the lip of the bottle to the peak of the extension with the folded areas of the two sides of the section that has been shaped into the flute coming to rest essentially outside the upper surface of the cap.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a method of applying foil to a container 
that has a closure over its upper surface, and especially to a bottle with 
a head that along with its cap is to be wrapped all the way around with a 
blank, especially of foil, by applying the blank around the head while 
leaving part of the blank to project beyond it, wrapping a sleeve-shaped 
extension to one side against the upper surface of the cap to create an 
outer cap cover, and pressing it down, especially with a resilient pad. 
Containers for foods and beverages, especially bottles, are frequently not 
only labeled but also wrapped around the head with a blank of metal foil 
to make them more attractive. What is especially difficult in this process 
is to smooth the foil over the upper surface of the cap. The smoother and 
flatter the foil over the upper surface, the more attractive the bottle. 
Successful results have been obtained with a method and device for applying 
foil in which the sleeve-shaped extension is not immediately twisted into 
a point and the pressed flat once the head of the bottle has been wrapped, 
but in which the apexes of the triangle are wrapped over the upper surface 
without being twisted and then pressed down by a resilient pad. There is, 
however, a drawback to the method. It has not as yet resulted in 
unwrinkled single-layer coverage of the upper surface by the foil. 
Furthermore, it would often be desirable to be able to print reading matter 
or graphics on the foil covering the upper surface of the cap, a process 
that has been impossible to do successfully up to now because the wrinkles 
in the foil would cause gaps in the printed matter. This problem has 
resulted in the foil being left unprinted. 
Methods of printing the unwrapped upper surface of crown-corked bottles are 
of course known. Enclosing the head and cork of a crown-corked bottle in a 
capsule of plastic or lead already embossed with printed matter is also 
known. Finally, bottles closed with stoppers that have heads embossed with 
printed matter are also known. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the present invention is to improve the method and device of 
the aforesaid type to the extent that it becomes possible to press the 
sleeve-shaped foil extension down over the upper surface of the cap 
optimally single-layered and wrinkle-free and hence to employ pre-printed 
foil. 
This object is attained in the method in accordance with the invention by 
an improvement wherein a flute that initially extends essentially parallel 
to the axis of the bottle is shaped into the sleeve-shaped extension while 
the latter is being wrapped and is tapered out from the lip of the bottle 
to the peak of the extension with the folded areas of the two sides of the 
section that has been shaped into the flute coming to rest essentially 
outside the upper surface of the cap. 
The invention accordingly prevents the random wrinkling of the 
sleeve-shaped extension that is impossible to remove from the vicinity of 
the upper surface of the cap. Since shaping the flute in accordance with 
the invention restricts the extent of the double layer on each side, there 
will be only a single layer of foil in the vicinity of the upper surface 
of the cap when the flute is finally tapered out. The subsequent pressure 
applied by the resilient pad in a known way will therefore entail no 
further problems. The special method of shaping the flute in accordance 
with the invention and its gradual outward tapering also ensure that the 
sleeve-shaped extension can be wrapped at the rate of several tens of 
thousands of bottles an hour that prevails in contemporary labeling 
machines. 
Since the blank comes to rest against the upper surface in a single layer 
and without wrinkles in the method in accordance with the invention, the 
method is especially practical for applications in which the upper surface 
of the cap is wrapped with foil that contains printed matter. In this case 
a blank of foil with printed matter located where it will be properly 
positioned over the upper surface of the cap can be employed. 
At high labeling rates the flute should be shaped within a small area 
half-way up or at the top of the extension. 
The invention also relates to a device for carrying out the method and 
comprising a foil-application station that is positioned alongside the 
path traveled by the bottles and transfers blanks of foil to them, 
components that are positioned alongside the path and apply the 
transferred blanks, at least one wrapping component that can be positioned 
over the head of the bottle and acts on the sleeve-shaped extension, and 
at least one component that can be employed at the upper surface of the 
cap to apply pressure to the blank. 
The object is attained in the device in accordance with the invention by an 
improvement wherein the wrapping component is shaped like a triangular 
saddle with one apex pointing, along with the adjacent, symmetrically 
positioned rear, toward the downstream end of the sleeve-shaped extension. 
One embodiment of the wrapping component in accordance with the invention 
can be pivoted at the end of a carrier out of an upright position into a 
horizontal position around a pivot that extends perpendicular to the axis 
of symmetry of the rear of the saddle shape and to the axis of the article 
being wrapped. The component can be pivoted in such a way that the saddle 
shape will contact the upper edge of the article during the relative 
motion between the wrapping component and the article. 
Another embodiment of the wrapping component in accordance with the 
invention is coupled to a mechanism that produces the pivoting motion. 
The relative motion that is necessary between the sleeve-shaped extension 
of the blank of foil and the wrapping component in order to wrap the 
extension can be produced in different ways and by different means. Thus, 
the wrapping component can be positioned stationary above the path that 
the articles travel along. It is, however, also conceivable for the 
wrapping component to be capable of being moved along with its carrier 
across the axis of and above the article. The latter embodiment is itself 
susceptible to different variations. Thus, either the carrier can be 
pivoted or the carrier can be mounted in such a way as to rotate around an 
axis that extends perpendicular to the axis of the article being wrapped. 
The first system is, as far as the special design of the wrapping 
component, known. Thus, a pivoting unit that consists of a wrapping 
component and of a resilient pad that can be lowered onto the upper 
surface of the bottle cap is associated with each bottle accommodation in 
the outtake wheel of a labeling machine that is known from German 
Application No. 3 046 615 C3. Another wheel with a shorter diameter and 
with the same number of accommodations and conveyor speed is positioned 
eccentric to the outtake wheel with the accommodations in another labeling 
machine, known from German Application No. 3 345 226 C3, in such a way 
that the peripheral paths of the wheels are tangent. The second and 
smaller wheel has a wrapping component with a resilient pad that can be 
lowered onto the upper surface of the bottle cap at each accommodation. 
The projecting peak of the blank of foil is wrapped where the paths of the 
outtake wheel and of the smaller wheel with the wrapping components 
gradually merge, with the resilient pad descending as the articles 
continue to travel and pressing the blank down. 
Some preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with 
reference to the attached drawings, wherein

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Bottles 1 that are to be labeled and have foil applied to them arrive in 
the accommodations in a turntable 4 from an intake worm 2 and an intake 
wheel 3. The bottles are axially secured in a known way in the 
accommodations between an unillustrated computer-controlled rotating plate 
and unillustrated bells. As the bottles travel along in turntable 4 they 
arrive first in front of a belly labeling station 5 and then in front of a 
foil-application station 6. Each station 5 and 6 has an 
adhesive-application roller 5a or 6a, a stationary magazine 5b or 6b for 
labels or blanks of foil respectively, a rotating carrier 5c or 6c with 
label or blank transfers 5d or 6d respectively, and a gripper cylinder 5f 
or 6f for applying the labels or blanks respectively to the bottles. 
Foil-application station 6 is equipped for applying blanks of foil with 
their peak pointing up and with printed matter in the vicinity of the 
peak. 
The total surface of the labels or blanks applied to bottles 1 by gripper 
cylinders 5f or 6f respectively is, as the bottles continue to travel, 
smoothed down downstream of stations 5 and 6 by unillustrated stroking 
components (brushes), with each bottle rotating around its own axis. A 
triangular sleeve-shaped extension is left projecting above the head of 
the bottle. The bottles, accordingly provided with labels and foil, are 
then transferred with the sleeve-shaped extension downstream to 
accommodations 7 in an outtake wheel 8, in which they are secured in the 
angular position that they arrive in by clamps for example. As the bottles 
continue to travel, the sleeve-shaped extension is wrapped around and 
pressed down wrinkle-free against the upper surface of the bottle cap. 
Next, the bottles arrive on a conveyor belt 9 that removes the bottles. 
Above and eccentrically positioned in relation to outtake wheel 8 is a 
circular plate 10 that carries the components, specified in what follows, 
for wrapping and pressing down the sleeve-shaped extension of the blank of 
foil. The distance between (circumferential distribution of) the sites 11 
on carrier plate 10, which are illustrated only schematically in FIG. 1, 
corresponds to that between the accommodations 7 in outtake wheel 8. At a 
certain point 12, as will be evident from FIG. 1, the path of 
accommodations 7 is tangent to or slightly intersects that of the sites 11 
of the wrapping and pressure-application components. Given the difference 
between the diameters of outtake wheel 8 and carrier plate 10, the orbits 
of accommodations 7 and sites 11, and the eccentric position of plate 10, 
outtake wheel 8 and carrier plate 10 are powered to rotate at essentially 
the same speed at point 12. As will also be evident from FIG. 1, each site 
11 travels over an accommodation 7 as the site enters the latter's path 
and coincides with it at point 12. 
FIG. 2 illustrates the design of the circular carrier plate 10 above 
outtake wheel 8. Carrier plate 10 is mounted on a shaft 13 and secured in 
a bearing box 14 fastened to a base plate 15. Shaft 13 is driven through a 
gear bridge 16 by another shaft 17 deriving from the main drive mechanism. 
Mounted on a lever-like carrier 18 (FIG. 3) at each site 11 along the 
circumference of carrier plate 10 are a wrapping component 19 that can be 
pivoted around a horizontal axis and a pressure-application component 20 
that can be raised and lowered. Wrapping component 19 and 
pressure-application component 20 are spatially associated in such a way 
that component 19 arrives in the vicinity of the head of each bottle 
upstream of component 20. Each pressure-application component 20 is raised 
and lowered in a housing 22 by means of a positioning rod 21. Positioning 
rod 21 is engaged by an unillustrated compression spring that forces 
pressure-application component 20 into its upper position, illustrated at 
the left in FIG. 2. Positioning rod 21 is also engaged by a follower 23 
that operates in conjunction with a stationary cylindrical cam 24 on 
bearing box 14. Thus, each pressure-application component 20 is raised and 
lowered in conformity with cylindrical cam 24 as carrier plate 10 rotates. 
The design of a plate 10 for carrying pressure-application components and 
its position relative to an outtake wheel is in itself known from the 
aforesaid German Application No. 3 345 226 C3. What is novel in relation 
to that state of the art in this context is the design of the wrapping 
component 19, which will be specified later herein. 
Instead of a carrier plate 10 for wrapping components 19 and 
pressure-application components 20 and positioned eccentric to outtake 
wheel 8, a pivoting unit consisting of a pressure-application component 
that can be raised and lowered and of an upstream wrapping component in 
the shape of a roller can be associated with each accommodation 7 in 
outtake wheel 8. In this case, once the unit has been pivoted over the 
head of the bottle, it is lowered, and the sleeve-shaped extension is 
pressed down with the pressure-application component. This method of 
wrapping and pressing down the extension is also in itself known from the 
other aforesaid German Application No. 3 046 615 C3. 
The design of wrapping component 19 and of pressure-application component 
20 will be most evident from FIG. 3, step III in conjunction with FIG. 4. 
Pressure-application component 20 consists of a pad 26 positioned in a 
flowerpot-shaped housing 25 that can be raised and lowered. The back of 
pad 26 rests against a resilient structure 27. Due to the specific 
conformation of flowerpot-shaped housing 25, pad 26, and resilient 
structure 27, the face of pad 26 will roll over and around the head of the 
bottle, smoothing and pressing down the foil as illustrated in step IV. 
The specific design of pressure-application component 20 is known. 
Wrapping component 19 is positioned upstream of pressure-application 
component 20 and is mounted in such a way as to rotate around a pivot 28 
on carrier 18 against the force of an unillustrated spring. Pivot 28 is 
perpendicular to the axis of the bottle. Wrapping component 19 is, as will 
be evident from FIG. 4, in the shape of a triangular saddle with one apex 
29 facing the downstream side of the sleeve-shaped extension 31 of the 
blank of foil and with a symmetrically positioned rear 30. 
The various stages of wrapping and pressing down sleeve-shaped extension 31 
are illustrated in FIG. 3. 
In stage I the curved apex 29 of wrapping component 19 comes into contact 
with the sleeve-shaped extension 31 on the blank, initiating the process 
of shaping a flute 32 in the extension. A flute of this type can also be 
produced with an upright wrapping component 19. Component begins to pivot 
as soon as the relative motion between it and bottle 1 brings the 
component into contact with the downstream edge 33 of the head of the 
bottle. 
In step II wrapping component 19 has attained its maximum pivoting motion, 
and the sides 34 of the wrapped portion of the blank still project. 
In stage III, on the other hand, wrapping component 19 has, due to its 
greater width with respect to edge 35, spread sides 34 out and brought 
them into the same plane as the rest of the blank. 
In the final stage, stage IV, resilient pad 26 is above the upper surface 
of the bottle cap and is being forced axially against it. The foil is 
being pressed down not only at the upper surface but also around the upper 
edge of the head of the bottle. 
Since foil-application station 6 can position the blank precisely on bottle 
1 and since the blank can accordingly not be displaced in relation to the 
bottle, a prescribed position for applying printed matter to the blank 
ahead of time can be determined, and the printed matter will finally be 
located where desired. The method of wrapping in accordance with the 
invention ensures that the blank will lie against the upper surface of the 
cap unwrinkled, a prerequisite for perfect printing. 
Instead of a separate wrapping component associated with each 
pressure-application component as specified in the foregoing, it is also 
possible to employ a common wrapping mechanism with several saddle-shaped 
components of the type illustrated in FIG. 4 in conjunction with 
pressure-application components of the specified type. A wrapping 
mechanism of this type can be positioned in a section of the path traveled 
by the bottles that is just downstream of turntable 4 and that is not 
covered by a round carrier plate 10. FIG. 5 illustrates a wrapping 
mechanism of this type. It consists of a rotating carrier 36 in the shape 
of a wheel with several saddle-shaped wrapping components 38 distributed 
around its circumference and guided radially by a cam 37. 
It will be appreciated that the instant specification and claims are set 
forth by way of illustration and not limitation, and that various 
modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit 
and scope of the present invention.