Abstract:
A process is provided to create a strip of selectively pressure-sensitive adhesive material. A first roller unwinds a backing and a roller dispenses a series of separated areas of inhibited adhesive material. A second roller applies a continuous layer of adhesive material over the inhibited adhesive material and backing. A facing is applied over the continuous layer of adhesive material. The machine then winds the finished material. A removable backing is coated with non-sticky material and then covered by a continuous sticky layer of material. A face stock material is then applied over the continuous sticky layer.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 14/601,309 filed Jan. 21, 2015, the disclosures of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Adhesive labels with the use of deadening agents are currently made with a cumbersome and multi-part process. It is desirable to have only certain portions of labels have active adhesive and this is done by applying a deadening agent to a label that is completely coated with adhesive. What is typically done is that labels will be made in sheets and the completely coated adhesive side will have a release paper applied to it. Then, the label or face stock will be rolled with the adhesive paper. In a separate operation, the face stock will be separated from the release paper, then a deadening agent is applied directly to the adhesive in selected areas. Once the deadening agent is applied, the release paper is then bonded back to the adhesive side of the face stock. Currently, label stock that has selective adhesive uses selective application of the adhesive on face stock and leaves the other areas without any adhesive. Selective adhesive that is currently available applies the adhesive directly to the face stock and a releasable backing is applied over it. Improved label stock and process is needed. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present disclosure describes a selective pressure-sensitive label and the process to make the same. A releasable backing is unrolled and a kill material is selectively dispensed onto one side. After the kill material is dispensed, an adhesive is dispensed in a continuous fashion over the kill material areas and the gaps between them. The strip is then cured in an oven and a face stock is then applied over the continuous adhesive surface. The strip is then rolled up, printed, and separated as needed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    A preferred embodiment of this invention has been chosen wherein: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  is a process flow diagram for making the adhesive strip; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a simplified view of the adhesive and deadening agent application; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a partial view of the application process from  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a view of the release paper removal; and 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a view of the product as applied. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0010]    The process flow  10  for making a selective pressure sensitive adhesive label stock  12  strip is shown in  FIG. 1 . A primary release paper  14  is unrolled from a roll  16  and travels through a series of idlers  18  at a linear speed. The primary release paper  14  has two main components. The first component of the release paper is typically a kraft paper substrate  20  that is clay-coated. The second component of the release paper is a silicone coating  22  on at least one side of the substrate  20  to form a release surface  24  as shown in  FIG. 2 . The release paper  14  can be other materials that have similar properties that allow cured adhesive to release and tolerate a curing process. It should be noted that the process flow  10  is from right to left in  FIGS. 2 and 3  as noted with the arrow. The thickness of the parts as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  is not to scale in order to show the detail. The primary release paper  14  as it is unrolled from roll  16  is held in tension through friction or other means. The release paper  14  is dimensionally stable, resists stretching, and provides a structural element to support handling and processing. The silicone coating  22  allows the subsequent removal of the finished product in a clean and simple fashion. The release paper  14  is merely a carrier and intended to be discarded once the label stock  12  is applied and is in use. 
         [0011]    After the release paper  14  has passed through the idlers  18 , it passes through a pattern kill station  26 . The detail of the pattern kill station  26  is shown in  FIG. 3 . The primary release paper  14  enters and is moved between a backing roller  28  and a kill roller  30 . The kill roller  30  has a base diameter  32  and raised portions  34  with an outside surface  36 . The kill roller  30  is partially submerged in a bath  40  of deadening agent  38  to apply the deadening agent  38  to the roller  30 , particularly the outside surface  36 . As cured, the deadening agent  38  does not have adhesive properties and is not a sticky or tacky surface. The bath  40  includes a doctor blade  42  that is separated from the kill roller  30  to set the thickness of the kill islands  44 . The kill islands  44  have a dead surface  43  and a covered surface  45 . The dead surface  43  is in direct contact with the release surface  24 . The covered surface  45  will be covered in a subsequent step. The kill roller  30  has a tangential speed that is based on the radius of the deadening agent  38  or outside surface  36 . This tangential speed matches the linear speed of the release paper  14  for clean coating and application without smearing. As the deadening agent  38  passes the doctor blade  42 , the excess deadening agent  38  is scraped away and returns to the bath  40 . The distance between the doctor blade  42  and the outside surface  36  determines the thickness. The backing roller  28  supports and positions the release paper  14  where the kill islands  44  are moved from the protrusions  34  to the release surface  24 . The kill islands  44  are then transferred to the release surface  24  as the release paper  14  passes directly over the kill roller  30 . The release paper  14  and kill islands  44  form a strip of kill-coated paper  15  after this process. Only one side is coated with the kill islands  44 ; the opposite side is a non-coated surface  66 . At this point, the kill-coated paper  15  has kill islands  44  spaced apart equal to the circumferential distance between adjacent raised portions  34 . Portions of the release surface  24  are still exposed at this point. The deadening agent  38  as shown in the bath  40  is a liquid. The selective application is done this way to prevent any trace amounts of the deadening agent  38  from being placed anywhere outside of the islands. Trace amounts of the deadening agent  38  could inhibit the proper adhesive properties of any subsequent coated layers. The base diameter  32 , between raised portions  34 , may be coated with a non-stick material to allow the deadening agent  38  to fall away as the kill roller  30  rotates past the doctor blade  42 . The deadening agent  38  is a liquid. 
         [0012]    The kill-coated paper  15  then proceeds to an adhesive station  46 . The details of the adhesive station  46  are shown in  FIG. 3 . The kill-coated paper  15  is moved between a backing roller  48  and a gravure roller  50 . The gravure roller  50  has a primary diameter  52  and impressions  54 . The impressions  54  are to improve the transfer capabilities of the gravure roller  50 . The gravure roller  50  is partially submerged in a bath  60  of adhesive  58 . The bath  60  includes a doctor blade  62  that is separated from the gravure roller  50  to set the thickness of the adhesive  58 . The gravure roller  50  has a tangential speed based on the radius of the adhesive or primary diameter  52 . This tangential speed matches the linear speed of the kill-coated paper  15  to have consistent coverage without disturbing the now-buried kill islands  44 . The adhesive  58  proceeds around the gravure roller  50  in a continuous layer  56 . The continuous layer  56  has a covering surface  55  which is applied over the covered surface  45  of the kill islands  44 . The covering surface  55  also contacts the exposed release surface  24  between the kill islands  44  to form an adhesive surface  90 . Opposite the adhesive surface  90  is a stock adhesive surface  68 . After the gravure roller  50 , the fully coated paper  64  with adhesive  58  proceeds through more idlers  18  as is shown in  FIG. 1 . The idlers  18  only contact the non-coated surface  66  of the fully coated paper  64 . The adhesive  58  as shown in the bath  60  is a liquid. 
         [0013]    The fully coated paper  64  then proceeds through a curing oven  70  where the continuous layer  56  and kill islands  44  are cured. The curing process can either be by heat, time, forced air, or a combination. The cured coated paper  72  leaves the oven  70 . After the curing oven  70 , the stock adhesive surface  68  becomes a continuous adhesive surface. 
         [0014]    A roll  74  of face stock  76  unrolls and travels over idlers  18  before joining the cured coated paper  72  at a set of pinch rollers  78 ,  80 . The face stock  76  has a printing side  82  and a back  84 . The back  84  is pressed to the stock adhesive surface  68  to form a continuous strip of adhesive label stock  12 . The printing side  82  is adapted to receive printing or is pre-printed before it is wound around the take-up roll  86 . It is also contemplated that the face stock  76  is printed before it is placed on the roll  74 . A simplified view of the process steps are shown in  FIG. 2 . Because the face stock  76  never travels through a curing oven  70  or process, a significant amount of options are available. For example, the face stock  76  can be thermally activated or contain materials that would not have survived a curing process. 
         [0015]    Registration marks, either by printing, backing, or other indicators may be added to alert the user of the adhesive label stock  12  where to locate the printing in relation to the adhesive surface  90  and killed surface  92 . One key difference between the process flow  10  and other adhesive processes is that the release paper  14  receives the adhesive  58  and then face stock  76  is applied to the fully coated paper  64 . 
         [0016]    As cured, an adhesive surface  90  is a pressure-sensitive adhesive, while a killed surface  92  is not. The adhesive surface  90  forms a boundary layer between the release surface  24  and the continuous layer  56 . The label stock  12  is then cut to create a cut edge  98 . The cut is located to align the killed surface  92  and adhesive surface  90  for the particular application. The printed and cut labels  100  are separated from the release paper  14  as shown in  FIG. 4 . During separation, the adhesive surface  90  is exposed. This is because the adhesive  58  preferentially adheres to the face stock  76  and is much more weakly bonded to the release surface  24 . The continuous layer  56  and the kill islands  44  remain attached to each other when the release paper  14  is removed from the label stock strip as is shown in  FIG. 4 . In use, the label stock  12  is separated into individual labels  100  where the printing side  82  is facing outward, the adhesive surface  90  is affixed to a shelf  94  or other object. The killed surface  92  is exposed, and because it is a non-stick surface, the label  100  does not stick to itself or other nearby objects. 
         [0017]    The thickness of the label stock  12  can be uniform as applied, because the adhesive layer  56  is thinner where it covers the kill islands  44 . This creates a uniform thickness and therefore creates a uniform take-up roll  86 . 
         [0018]    It is understood that while certain aspects of the disclosed subject matter have been shown and described, the disclosed subject matter is not limited thereto and encompasses various other embodiments and aspects. No specific limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred. Modifications may be made to the disclosed subject matter as set forth in the following claims.