Patent Abstract:
A device for removing a thin outer layer from the surface of a cartridge or tubular container such as a caulk cartridge for removal of ink, contaminant, adhesive, or printed or stamped label from the outside of the cartridge. The apparatus includes cartridge hopper and a cartridge handling mandrel or plunger which automatically removes a cartridge from the hopper aligning same for insertion of the cartridge axially through the throat of a spinning ring which contains at least one and preferably a plurality of inwardly extending knifes. The spinning knife distal end trims or peels off the label, adhesive, ink, imperfections, or even a thin film from an outer layer of a selected thickness effectively reconditioning the cartridge for reuse to be filled with virgin material or to be used as uncontaminated re-ground material to be sold as scrap.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/687,211 filed on Apr. 20, 2012 which is incorporated herein. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of devices used to remove contaminating material from an outer surface of a cylindrical cartridge, container or tubular member such as a manufacturer&#39;s adhesive or inked label to enabling a user to reuse the tubular member for insertion of virgin material an re-application of a new label or to provide means for removing contaminants from the exterior surface of the tubular member providing a clean cartridge for reuse, regrind, or recycling. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Caulk and adhesive manufacturers and packaging companies such as General Electric, Corporation, Suncoco, Inc., or Dow Corning Corporation of Midland, Mich. often package caulk, adhesive or sealants for use in a cylindrical cartridge which are selected standard sizes and can be used in a mechanical or pressurized caulk guns. A standard size cartridge for consumer use holds one tenth of a gallon and measures about eight and one half inches long with a diameter of a little under two inches. During manufacture, an identification label is applied to the outside of cartridges typically using a silk screen or off-set printing process. In the silk screening process, a fine mesh screen covered by a stencil is held against the outside surface of the cartridge. The stencil is a sheet of material which is impenetrable with respect to the ink used. An image of the design to be printed onto the cartridge is removed from a sheet of material to create the stencil. As the screen and stencil come into contact with the cartridge, ink is applied by a roller, brush, squeegee or the like to the surface of the stencil and the exposed screen. The stencil allows only the ink passing through the open areas to contact and adhere to the cartridge. 
         [0004]    Companies produce many thousands of cartridges per day so that even a small percentage of rejects due to label application problems, incorrect label information, or mislabeling amount to thousands of cartridges which must be either recycled, destroyed or reworked. Moreover, residual ink or paper left on the cartridge must be separated from scarp even in regrind to avoid contamination of new cartridges. It can be seen that the resulting loss translates into thousands of dollars of expense per day. Additionally, there is a limit to the amount of waste cartridges that can be recycled into new cartridges as regrind due to the different heat characteristics and chemical and physical properties of the regrind as compared with virgin feed material. Therefore, the unused and un-recyclable cartridges add to landfill volumes which costs manufacturers and society in a variety of ways. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
       [0005]    The applicant is unaware of any patents or devices in existence which include all of the elements and limitations included in the present invention. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    A device for removing a thin outer layer of a cartridge or tubular container such as a caulk cartridge to remove a manufacturers&#39;s ink or adhesive and label, whether the label is a separate piece of printed paper with adhesive or a label which has been printed directly onto the outside of the cartridge by silk screening or offset printing. The device includes cartridge hopper and a cartridge handling mandrel or plunger which automatically removes a cartridge from the hopper aligning same for insertion of the cartridge axially through the throat of a spinning ring which contains an inwardly extending knife edge. The spinning knife edge trims or peels off the label, adhesive, ink, imperfections, or even a thin film from an outer layer of a selected thickness effectively reconditioning the cartridge for reuse to be filled with virgin material or to be used as uncontaminated re-ground material to be sold as scrap or blended into the feed for extrusion of new cartridges. the cartridge is ejected from the mandrel of the machine for packaging and the contaminated scrap is removed via a vacuum system. 
         [0007]    In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a cartridge and tubular container refinishing apparatus for ink and label removal comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of a device for removal of a silk screen or offset printed label or a paper or film label from the outside of the cartridge comprising, consisting of, or consisting essentially of a base plate with a label removing unit and a cartridge handling unit. The label removing unit includes a frame comprising two vertical end walls with a bushing type bearing rigidly attached horizontally therebetween. The bushing has a cylinder rotatably held therewithin. The cylinder is open at both ends and is caused to spin by a motor driven belt driving engaged at a rear end thereof. The cylinder has a knife-holding ring rigidly connected to the rear end face thereof. The cylinder and ring combination is configured to allow the cartridge to pass axially therethrough. The ring has at least one slot allowing at least one knife to be adjustably held therein. The ring has at least one threaded aperture formed therein and at least one screw threaded into the at least one threaded aperture for engaging and rigidly securing the knife blade. The knife has a label shaving edge extending inward toward an axial center of the knife-holding ring. The frame has a first cartridge hopper on one side adjacent to the horizontal cylinder and a second cartridge hopper on an opposite side. The cartridge hoppers are configured so that a first axis of a cartridge at the bottom of the first hopper is parallel to a second axis of a cartridge at the bottom of the second hopper and a third axis of the horizontal cylinder is level with, parallel to and centered between the first axis and the second axis. The label removing unit includes a cartridge infeed chute rollingly feeding cartridges to the first hopper and the second hopper. The frame includes a shavings suction chute comprising a housing extending forward from a rear face of the frame. The housing has an aperture which is coaxial with and slightly larger than the open end of the knife ring. The housing extends downward to a passage leading to a suction system and then to a shavings collection system. A cartridge handling unit is also rigidly attached to the base plate. The cartridge handling unit includes two longitudinal linear actuators which are rigidly fixed to the base plate. The two longitudinal linear actuators are capable of carrying a longitudinal carriage plate forward towards the label removing unit or rearwards away from the label removing unit. The longitudinal carriage plate has a lateral linear actuator rigidly fixed to a top surface thereof. The lateral linear actuator is capable of carrying a lateral carriage plate to an extreme left or an extreme right position. The lateral carriage plate has a mandrel support block rigidly mounted on the top surface. The block rigidly and removably holds two cartridge grasping mandrels. The mandrels are cylindrical, open ended at each end, and capable of sliding axially inside and forming a friction fit with the cartridges. The first mandrel has a fourth axis. The second mandrel has a fifth axis. The fourth and the fifth axes are parallel and level with one another and are spaced apart by the same distance as are the above mentioned first axis and the third axis. The free open ends of the first and the second mandrels are spaced at the same distance from the center of the mandrel support block. The lateral carriage plate also has two cartridge eject cylinders mounted thereon at a position rearward of the mandrel holding block. The first eject cylinder is coaxial with the first mandrel and the second eject cylinder is coaxial with the second mandrel. The pistons of the eject cylinders each have a cartridge pushing plunger attached at the free end thereof. The first of the pistons extends through the first mandrel and the second of the pistons extends through the second mandrel. The free ends of the plungers are flush with the free open ends of the mandrels. The cartridge handling unit is positioned on the base plate so that when the lateral carriage plate is in an extreme left position, the axis of the first mandrel is coaxial with the axis of the cartridge at the bottom of the first hopper and the axis of the second mandrel is coaxial with the axis of the horizontal cylinder. The cartridge handling unit is positioned on the base plate so that when the lateral carriage plate is in an extreme right position, the axis of the first mandrel is coaxial with the axis of the horizontal cylinder and the axis of the second mandrel is coaxial with the axis of the cartridge at the bottom of the second hopper. The cartridge handling unit is positioned so that when the longitudinal carriage plate is in an extreme rearward position, the free open ends of the mandrels are located rearward enough from a rear face of the knife ring so that a cartridge being held on a mandrel moves freely past the knife ring as the lateral carriage plate moves left to right. Also included in the cartridge label remover is a belt motor starter controlling the motor driving the belt which spins the horizontal cylinder and pneumatic solenoids and servo controls controlling the longitudinal linear actuator, the lateral linear actuator, the first eject cylinder and the second eject actuation. Sensors for the fully forward and fully rearward positions of the longitudinal linear actuator and for extreme left and right positions of the lateral linear actuator are also included. An operator&#39;s panel includes a start switch and a stop switch. A programmable controller controls the four pneumatic solenoids or servo controller and the belt motor starter. The programmable controller receives input signals from the fully forward and fully rearward sensors, the extreme left and extreme right position sensors, the start switch and the stop switch. The programmable controller contains a program with adjustable time delays and re-programmable logic for reacting to sensor signals and switches and energizing and de-energizing outputs controlling the solenoids and the motor starter. 
         [0008]    It is also contemplated that the mandrel can be inserted into a tube and the mandrel rotated or spun wherein the mandrel and tube can be inserted into a ring or annulus containing at least one knife, tooth or other projecting member in cooperative relationship with the external surface of the tube thereby shaving the ink or label from the tube. 
         [0009]    It is also contemplated that the mandrel can comprise a telescoping portion of different sizes for cooperative engagement with annular cutting ring knives of corresponding diameters permitting processing of multi-diameter tubular members. 
         [0010]    It is also contemplated that a computer controlled knife extended toward and away from the external surface of the tubular member mounted onto a mandrel in order that a tubular member of different size diameter portions or nontubular members having tubular portions can be processed using a sharp projecting member such as a tooth or knife to shave the a selected surface thereof. 
         [0011]    It is contemplated that an expanding mandrel can be utilized with the present invention. 
         [0012]    It is an object of this invention to provide a caulk cartridge label remover which includes a cartridge hopper, a cartridge handling unit, a label removing knife, and a shavings collection system. 
         [0013]    It is an object of this invention to provide a caulk cartridge label remover which can remove paper labels and adhesives, printer&#39;s ink, or other imperfections from the outer surface of a the tubular container providing a smooth surface for re-application of new labels while maintaining the structural integrity of the original tubular member. 
         [0014]    It is another object of the present invention to utilize a sharp blade, tooth, or other projection extending axially inwardly from a ring a selected distance to shave a selected thickness of material from the external surface of the tube. 
         [0015]    It is an object of this invention to provide a caulk cartridge label remover which removes a silk screen printed label or a film or paper label from a cartridge. When removing a film or paper label, the label adhesive and small amount of the cartridge cylinder are also removed to leave a clean surface to which a new label may be reapplied. 
         [0016]    It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus sized to remove ink, adhesive, paint, coatings, contamination, bumps, scratches, or other imperfections from the exterior surface of any cylindrical shaped product including bottles, cans, paste tubes, fiberglass, paper, or corrugated tubing or any size depending upon selection of the appropriate sized mandrel and knife assembly. 
         [0017]    It is another object of the present invention to utilize a mandrel or plunger having a slight taper on the free distal end for facilitating insertion of the mandrel into the tubular member to hold the tubular member immobile during the shaving processes limiting movement to the axial direction only. 
         [0018]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for shaving removal of up to 1 millimeter of material from the exterior surface of the tubular member 
         [0019]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for shaving removal from 0.001 to 1 millimeter of material from the exterior surface of the tubular member. 
         [0020]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for shaving removal from 0.01 to 1 millimeter of material from the exterior surface of the tubular member. 
         [0021]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for shaving removal from 0.1 to 1 millimeter of material from the exterior surface of the tubular member. 
         [0022]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for shaving removal of up to 10 millimeter of material from the exterior surface of the tubular member. 
         [0023]    It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus to remove contaminants from the external surface of a tubular container composed of plastic, cardboard, paper, aluminum, fiberglass, wood, carbon fiber, copper, or combinations thereof. 
         [0024]    Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent with the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0025]    A better understanding of the present invention will be had upon reference to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the views wherein: 
           [0026]      FIG. 1  is a left rear perspective view of the cartridge label remover. 
           [0027]      FIG. 2  is a right perspective view of the cartridge label remover. 
           [0028]      FIG. 3  is a view from the rear end looking into the throat  20  of the label removal unit. 
           [0029]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the label removal unit showing the drive cylinder  23  and the cartridge hoppers  22  and  24 . 
           [0030]      FIG. 5  is a rear, close in view of the throat  20  and hoppers  24  and  22 . 
           [0031]      FIG. 6  is a rear perspective view of the knife ring  21  and knife  19 . 
           [0032]      FIG. 7  is a rear view of the knife ring  21 . 
           [0033]      FIG. 8  is a front view of the actuator  33  extended in a cartridge ejecting position. 
           [0034]      FIG. 9  is a partial left front view of the cartridge handler  8  particularly showing the linear actuator  40  and associated elements. 
           [0035]      FIG. 10  is a right front view of the label removal unit  6 . 
           [0036]      FIG. 11  is a right perspective view of the label removal unit  6 . 
           [0037]      FIG. 12  is a right rear view of the shavings suction housing  80 . 
           [0038]      FIG. 13  is a front view of the controller  100 , motor starter  101  and solenoids  102 - 108 . 
           [0039]      FIG. 14  shows is a front view of the cartridge label remover including the programmable controller. 
           [0040]      FIG. 15  is a front view of the shavings collection system  132 . 
           [0041]      FIG. 16  is a rear view of a preferred knife ring  21  with knives  19 . 
           [0042]      FIG. 17  is a vertical cross-sectional view of the label removal unit  6  taken along the axis of the horizontal cylinder  23 . 
           [0043]      FIG. 18  is a rear view of the scoring ring  200 . 
           [0044]      FIG. 19  is a flow chart showing tube feed and accumulation as an example of the conditions that may exist as the tubes are entering the machine and the tube present device is a component or assembly, used to determine if the tube receiving area has an adequate number of tubes. 
           [0045]      FIG. 20  is a flow chart showing tube type detection as an example of the conditions that may exist during detection of the tube type with an inspection carmera or other device to ensure that the tubes being loaded match the machine set up and that there are various tube types that have the same visual appearance, but differ in wall thickness, material type and color. 
           [0046]      FIG. 21  is a flow chart showing foil seal detection as an example of the process conditions that may exist to detect and remove foil form a tube, where upon detecting foil, that particular tube is tracked as it moves through the process into the foil seal removal apparatus to remove the foil from the tube for tube or plastic reuse. 
           [0047]      FIG. 22  is a flow chart showing surface removal ink removal as an example of the ink removal process wherein a single mandrel is used or if multiple mandrels are used, for example two mandrels, one mandrel will pick up a tube as the second mandrel removes the ink, and if ink is detected after the ink removal process, the tube can be processed again. 
           [0048]      FIG. 23  is a continuation flow chart of  FIG. 22  showing surface removal ink removal. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0049]    In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a caulk cartridge label remover  10  which peels a thin layer of the outer surface of the cartridge away to remove the label. Whether the label is printed on by silk screening or is a film or paper label which has been applied to the outside of the cartridge with adhesive, the label material and a thin layer of the cartridge is removed from the cartridge by a knife  19  which is held within a spinning ring  21  as the cartridge  16  is moved axially through the throat  20  of the ring  21 . 
         [0050]    A typical caulk cartridge  16  comprises a hollow cylinder which is open on one end and includes a tapered applicator tip on the other end. The cylinder has a length of about 8.5 inches, an outer diameter of about 1.937 to 1.969 inches and an inner diameter of about 1.875 to 1.953 inches. The actual diameters vary with the particular brand of ingredient to be manufactured. 
         [0051]    As best shown in  FIG. 2 , the cartridge handling unit  8  contains a lateral carriage plate  12 , wherein the word ‘lateral’ refers to the direction of movement of the plate, with two cartridge holding mandrels  14  and  18 , two cartridge eject cylinders  32  and  34 , one linear actuator  40  to cause lateral movement of lateral carriage plate  12 , a longitudinal carriage plate  41 , wherein the word ‘longitudinal’ refers to the direction of movement of that plate, two linear actuators  46  and  48  which carry the longitudinal carriage plate  41  forward and back, and a base plate  43  onto which are mounted the two linear actuators  46  and  48 . Linear actuators  46  and  48  are preferably rodless pneumatic cylinders. 
         [0052]    Carriage plate  12  includes a block  70  rigidly mounted on a top surface thereof. Two mandrels  14  and  18  which are hollow horizontal parallel cartridge holding cylinders are slightly tapered with the smaller diameter at the free open end. The mandrels are rigidly and removably attached to and extend forward from the front side of block  70 . The free ends of mandrels  14  and  18  are open and have an outer diameter of about 0.060 inch less than the diameter of a selected cartridge  16  to be processed. The outer diameters of the mandrels  14  and  18  increase slightly along their length so that when a cartridge is pushed onto them, a friction fit is obtained between the cartridge  16  and the mandrels  14  or  18 . Two pneumatic cylinders  32  and  34  are coaxial with mandrels  14  and  18  respectively and have pistons with plungers  33  and  35  mounted onto and extending from the ends of the pistons. The plungers  33  and  35  extend forwardly into both mandrels  14  and  18  and are flush with the front openings of mandrels  14  and  18  when cylinders  32  and  34  are retracted. Both pneumatic cylinders  32  and  34  are mounted on plate  12  to the rear of block  70 . When a cartridge  16  is pushed fully onto one of mandrels  14  or  18  and the corresponding pneumatic cylinder  32  or  34  is actuated, the corresponding plunger  33  or  35  pushes or ejects cartridge  16  fully off of mandrel  14  or  18 . 
         [0053]    Lateral carriage plate  12  is rigidly attached to the linear actuator  40 , which is preferably a rodless pneumatic cylinder. Linear actuator  40  carries carriage plate  12  laterally from a left extreme position to a right extreme position and back again to obtain, process and eject cartridges. A rail  42  and a rail follower  142  serve as a guide for carriage plate  12  to ensure wobble free linear motion of carriage plate  12 , along with the attached block  70 , cartridge holding mandrels  14  and  18 , pneumatic cylinders  32  and  34  and plungers  33  and  35 . Rail  42  is rigidly attached to longitudinal carriage plate  41  parallel to the lateral or left to right direction of movement and rail follower  142  is rigidly attached to lateral carriage plate  12 . At each end of linear actuator  40  are end of stroke sensors  72  at the left extreme position and  73  at the right extreme position. (Sensor  73  is not shown.) These sensors provide positional feedback and cause the next step in the label removal process to occur, as will be more clearly explained later. 
         [0054]    Linear actuator  40  is rigidly connected to and carried by carriage plate  41 . Carriage plate  41  is, in turn, mounted on and carried longitudinally (that is in a forward and backward direction) by linear actuators  46  and  48 . Linear actuators  46  and  48  are rigidly attached to the top surface of base plate  43 . End of stroke sensors  50  and  52  give positional feedback for linear actuators  46  and  48 . To ensure wobble free forward and backward movement, a rail  44  is rigidly connected to base plate  43  parallel to the direction of forward and backward movement, referred to herein as longitudinal, and a rail follower  144  is connected to the bottom surface of longitudinal carriage plate  41 . 
         [0055]    End of stroke sensors  50 ,  52 ,  72  and  73  are preferably magnetic switches which sense the position of the internal piston within the linear actuators. Alternate embodiments of the present invention include end of stroke sensors which are electronic proximity probes or simple limit switches. 
         [0056]    It can be seen that the cartridge holding mandrels  14  and  18  are caused to move laterally by linear actuator  40  and longitudinally by linear actuators  46  and  48  in a horizontal two dimensional space. 
         [0057]    Also attached to base plate  43  is the label removing unit  6  which includes a frame  77  comprising two vertical end walls  78  and  80  and a bushing type bearing  76  rigidly attached therebetween, as seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  3 ,  4 ,  10  and  11 . Shown in  FIGS. 3-5  and  10 , a cylinder  23  is caused to spin within the bushing  76  by a motor driven belt  54  which is drivingly connected at the rear end of drive cylinder  23 . Drive belt  54  is driven by pulley and motor combination  55 . Drive cylinder  23  is hollow and has an inner diameter of about 0.100 inches greater than the outside diameter of a caulk cartridge  16 . Knife ring  21  is rigidly attached to the rear end face of drive cylinder  23  by four screws  25 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . As best shown in  FIGS. 6 and 16 , the knife  19  extends inward from knife ring  21  and is removably locked within the slot  60  by screw  63 . Two knife slots  60  are available so that, optionally, one or two knives  19  may by used. The central opening of knife ring  21  provides a throat  20  through which a cartridge is coaxially thrust during the label removal process. The preferred knife ring  21  in  FIG. 16  includes a cutaway  164 , rather than a slot  60 , for easier attachment and adjustment of knives  19 . 
         [0058]    As can be seen in  FIGS. 3-5 , cartridge hoppers  22  and  24  are mounted on either side of frame  77 .  FIG. 1  shows an infeed chute  26  which provides a ramp down which cartridges  16  roll to the enter hoppers  22  and  24 . Cartridges at the bottom of hoppers  22  and  24  are at the same elevation as the infeed throat  20  of label removal unit  6 . The label removal unit  6  is rigidly fixed to base plate  43  in a position which is adjacent to the mandrels  14  and  18  such that, when carriage plat  12  is at the extreme left position, mandrel  18  is in coaxial alignment with the cartridge at the bottom of hopper  24  and mandrel  14  is in coaxial alignment with the center of throat  20 . Further, when carriage plat  12  is at the extreme right position, mandrel  18  is in coaxial alignment with the center throat  20  and mandrel  14  is in coaxial alignment with a cartridge at the bottom of hopper  22 . 
         [0059]    With belt  54  driving cylinder  23 , knife ring  21  and knife  19 , mandrels  14  and  18  alternately carry cartridges  16  axially through throat  20  so that knife  19  peels a thin outer layer off of cartridge  16 . 
         [0060]    A shavings suction chute  82  surrounds the knife ring  21  and extends downward to the base plate  43 . A passage  84  extends through the base plate  43  to a suction hose  120  which leads to the shavings collection system for collecting shavings which are produced in the label removal process. Knife ring  21  includes a milled out crescent shaped opening  64  to enhance the expulsion of shavings produced by knife edge  66 . Three knife edged pins  83  are mounted on the marginal edge of throat  20  of suction chute  82 . The sharp edges of pins  83  point inward toward the center of throat  20  and are located equidistant from one another with the sharp edges located so that as a mandrel pushes a cartridge  16  through throat  20 , the sharp edges score three lines along the length of cartridge  16 . The score lines cause the shavings to break into pieces no longer than ⅓ of the circumference of cartridge  16 . Longer shavings cause jams in the throat  20  and suction chute  82 . The spinning knife  19  peels a thin layer from the cartridge  16  moving axially through throat  20  and the shavings are sucked down through suction chute  82  to a shavings collection container. 
         [0061]    A preferred embodiment of the label remover includes a scoring ring  200  as shown in  FIG. 18  which contains a plurality of inward pointing knife edges  202  which score the cartridge  16  as it passes through the label remover unit  6 . This embodiment doesn&#39;t include knife edged pins  83 . The scoring ring  200  is attached to the rear face of suction chute  82  with screws inserted into apertures  204 . Scoring ring  200  is coaxial with horizontal cylinder  23 . 
         [0062]      FIG. 15  shows the shavings collection system  132  which includes a suction pump and cannister  122 , a hose  120 , a waste bin  134 , and a trap door system for automatically emptying the cannister  122 . Cannister  122  is an upright cylinder which is open at the bottom. Sliding door  124  slides in channel frame  126 . Piston  130  is connected to sliding door  124 . Pneumatic cylinder  128  extends piston  130  to close door  124  while the system is running and retracts piston  130  to open door  124  to empty the contents of cannister  122  into bin  134 . Suction produced by suction pump and cannister  122  pulls door  124  up tightly to seal the opening of cannister  122  against leakage. 
         [0063]    A programmable controller  100 , shown in  FIGS. 13 and 14 , controls pneumatic solenoids  102 - 108  which activate the linear actuators  40 ,  46  and  48  and eject cylinders  32  and  34 .  FIGS. 1 and 13  show that solenoid  106  controls pneumatic lines  27  and  28  to extend and retract eject cylinder  32 . Also, solenoid  108  controls pneumatic lines  29  and  30  to extend and retract eject cylinder  34 .  FIGS. 9 and 13  show solenoid  102  controlling lines  92  and  94  to cause linear actuator  41  to move carriage plate  12  to the left or right.  FIGS. 2 and 13  show solenoid  104  controlling pneumatic lines  86  and  88  to cause linear actuators  46  and  48  to move longitudinal carriage plate  41 , along with linear actuator  40 , carriage plate  12  and mandrels  14  and  18 , in a forward and rearward direction. Controller  100  also controls motor starter  101  to cause belt motor  55  to drive cylinder  23  and thus to spin knife  19 . Inputs to the controller include the end of stroke sensors  50 ,  52 ,  72  and  73  for the linear actuators and the start switch  114  and stop  112  switch on operator panel  110 . Various time delays for linear actuators and eject cylinders are adjustable and cartridge processing speed can also be adjusted. The logic program in the programmable controller can be adjusted and changed as desired. 
         [0064]    One embodiment of the present invention uses hydraulic cylinders instead of rodless pneumatic cylinders or standard pneumatic cylinders to provide linear motion of the mandrels  14  and  18 , of the carriage plate  12  and of the eject plungers  33 . Another embodiment employs servo motors with appropriate linkage and lever arms to provide linear motion of the mandrels  14  and  18 , of the carriage plate  12  and of the eject plungers  33 . Still another embodiment contains mechanical plungers driven by a cam instead of rodless pneumatic cylinders or standard pneumatic cylinders to provide linear motion of the mandrels  14  and  18 , of the carriage plate  12  and of the eject plungers  33 . A combination of hydraulic cylinders, servo motors with appropriate linkage and lever arms, and mechanical plungers driven by a cam are used to provide linear motion of the mandrels  14  and  18 , of the carriage plate  12  and of the eject plungers  33  in yet another embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0065]    As shown in  FIG. 17 , still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, includes a label remover unit  6  wherein horizontal cylinder  23  is rotatably held within roller bearings  210  and  220  which, in turn are housed within cylindrical housing  276 . The two vertical end walls  78  and  80  are attached to base plate  43  and rigidly support housing  276 . Two seals  212  and  222  prevent the leakage of bearing lubricant from each end of housing  276 . Further, horizontal cylinder  23  includes an integral pulley member  240 , at the front end, to be driven by belt  54 . Knives  19  are adjustably attached to knife ring  21 . 
         [0066]    The sequence of operation of the cartridge label remover  10  is as follows: Initial conditions: The carriage  12  is in the full reverse and left location ready to move mandrels  14  and  18  forward:
       a. Load cartridges onto cartridge chute  26  and into hoppers  22  and  24 .   b. Press the Start switch  114 . This causes pulley and motor combination  55  to run which causes the knife ring  21  to spin.   c. Solenoid  104  energizes to cause linear actuators  46  and  48  to move carriage  12  and thus mandrels  14  and  18 , forward.    Mandrel  18  enters the cartridge at the bottom of hopper  24 .    Mandrel  14  moves axially though throat  20 .   d. Solenoid  104  de-energizes to cause linear actuator  46  and  48  to move carriage  12 , mandrel  14 , mandrel  18  and the cartridge at the bottom of hopper  24  to the extreme rear position. (Mandrel  18  forms a friction fit with and thus holds the cartridge.)   e. Solenoid  102  energizes to cause linear actuator  40  to move carriage  12  to the extreme right position. (Now, mandrel  18  is axially aligned with throat  20  and mandrel  14  is axially aligned with the cartridge at the bottom of hopper  22 .)   f. Solenoid  104  energizes to cause linear actuators  46  and  48  to move carriage  12  forward. As mandrel  18  moves forward, the cartridge on mandrel  18  is moving through the thread knife edges  83  and spinning knife ring  21 . Knife  19  shaves off and removes the outer skin with the label from the cartridge. The shavings are sucked down through the shavings chute  82  and through passage  84  to the shavings collection system. At the end of the forward stroke, eject solenoid  108  energizes to extend cylinder  34  which pushes the de-labeled cartridge off of mandrel  18  to eject the cartridge into a bin. Simultaneously, mandrel  14  has entered the cartridge at the bottom of hopper  22 . After a time delay, solenoid  108  de-energizes to retract the eject piston and plunger.   g. Solenoid  104  de-energizes to cause linear actuators  46  and  48  to move carriage  12  to the extreme rear position. Mandrel  18  is now empty and mandrel  14  has the cartridge which was picked up at the bottom of hopper  22 .   h. Solenoid  102  de-energizes, causing carriage  12  to move to the extreme left hand position.   i. Solenoid  104  energizes to cause linear actuators  46  and  48  to move carriage  12  forward. As mandrel  14  moves forward, the cartridge on mandrel  14  is moving through knife edges  83  and spinning knife ring  21 . Knife  19  shaves off and removes the outer skin with the label from the cartridge. The shavings are sucked down through the shavings chute  82  and through passage  84  to the shavings collection system. At the end of the forward stroke, eject solenoid  106  energizes to extend cylinder  32  which pushes the de-labeled cartridge off of mandrel  14  to eject the cartridge into a bin. Simultaneously, mandrel  18  has entered the cartridge at the bottom of hopper  24 . After a time delay, solenoid  108  de-energizes to retract the eject piston and plunger.   j. Return to step 4.       
 
         [0077]    Pushing the Stop button at any time during the process causes the carriage  12  to return to the extreme rear position and stop after processing the cartridge which is in process. Pushing an Emergency Stop button causes the process to stop immediately and removes all air from all pneumatic actuators. 
         [0078]    In another embodiment of the present invention, an additional sensor such as a camera would inspect all incoming cartridges to ensure that a cartridge of the wrong type or color is kicked out rather than passing through the process. Further, a quality control sensor such as a second camera inspects the finished cartridge to ensure that the entire label has been removed. If part of the label remains, that cartridge is automatically reprocessed. 
         [0079]    It is anticipated that another embodiment of the present invention has multiple label removal units  6 , each with two hoppers, and multiple cartridge handling units  8 , and multiple cartridge handling units all connected in tandem to increase throughput. 
         [0080]    It is further anticipated that still another embodiment contains one label removal unit with only one hopper and that the cartridge handling unit  8  has only one mandrel. While this embodiment processes, at most, one half of the cartridges which can be processed by a unit with two hoppers and two mandrels in the same amount of time, this label remover is less complicated, has fewer moving parts and is less expensive. A flowchart follows, on the next five pages, for such a unit which also includes more quality detection sensors such as cameras and a device which checks for the undesirable presence of a foil seal which is normally adhered into place inside the cartridge at the closed end before filling the cartridge with caulk or adhesive. In the event that a cartridge includes such a piece of foil, that cartridge will be removed from the process. 
         [0081]    The foregoing detailed description is given primarily for clearness of understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom, for modification will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and may be made upon departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, this invention is not intended to be limited by the specific exemplification presented herein above. Rather, what is intended to be covered is within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8