System and method for applying a label for the automated production of e-vapor devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10858137-B2
Application number	US-201514972791-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 17, 2015
Priority date	Dec 19, 2014
Publication date	Dec 8, 2020
Grant date	Dec 8, 2020

Abstract

A system for use in manufacturing vapor-generating articles may include a rotatable drum that is configured to hold a plurality of the vapor-generating articles. The system may also include a tagging drum that is configured to tag a respective label to a housing of each of the vapor-generating articles. The system may also include a pressing roller that is configured to press a leading edge of the label against the housing after the tagging. The system may further include a rolling drum that is configured to roll the label around the housing after the pressing.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for applying a label to a vapor-generating article, comprising:
a rotatable drum configured to hold a vapor-generating article;
a tagging drum configured to tag a label to a housing of the vapor-generating article;
a pressing roller arranged downstream from the tagging drum, the pressing roller configured to press a leading edge of the label against the housing while the vapor-generating article is in a seat of the rotatable drum; and
a rolling drum arranged downstream from the pressing roller, the rolling drum configured to roll the label around the housing.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable drum includes a drum body, a plurality of grooves in an outer face of the drum body, and a seat in each of the plurality of grooves, the seat including a seat groove that is configured to receive and hold the housing.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the vapor-generating article is an electronic vapor device, the seat is composed of a plastic, and the housing is composed of a metal or metal alloy.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the seat is moveable relative to the drum body along a radial direction of the drum body, the rotatable drum further including a resilient element configured to bias the seat outward along the radial direction.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the pressing roller is configured to push the seat along the radial direction of the drum body when the leading edge of the label is pressed against the housing.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the tagging drum is configured to push the seat along the radial direction of the drum body when the label is tagged to the housing.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the tagging drum is configured to engage the housing through an included angle of rotation of the rotatable drum.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tagging drum is configured to adhere the label to the housing at an intermediate location of the label that is between the leading edge of the label and a trailing edge of the label.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the intermediate location is closer to the leading edge of the label than the trailing edge of the label.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the intermediate location is 1-2 mm from the leading edge of the label.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the tagging drum is configured to adhere the label such that the leading edge of the label does not contact the housing.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pressing roller includes a roller body and a plurality of flutes in an outer face of the roller body.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the pressing roller is configured to be driven relative to the rotatable drum such that one of the plurality of flutes contacts the leading edge of the label that is tagged to the housing and presses the leading edge of the label against the housing.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the pressing roller is configured to rotate in a first direction, and the rotatable drum is configured to rotate in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the pressing roller is configured to rotate at a first speed, and the rotatable drum is configured to rotate at a second speed that is different than the first speed.

16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the pressing roller is rotationally spring loaded.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pressing roller is smaller than the rotatable drum.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pressing roller includes alternately arranged fluted surfaces and planar surfaces.

19. A method of applying a label to a vapor-generating article, comprising:
arranging the vapor-generating article in a seat on an outer surface of a rotatable drum configured to hold the vapor-generating article;
tagging a label to a housing of the vapor-generating article with a tagging drum;
pressing a leading edge of the label against the housing after the tagging with a pressing roller while the vapor-generating article is in the seat of the rotating drum, the pressing roller arranged downstream from the tagging drum; and
rolling the label around the housing with a rolling drum after the pressing, the rolling drum arranged downstream from the pressing roller.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the vapor-generating article is an electronic vapor device, the tagging is performed such that the leading edge of the label does not contact the housing, the pressing roller includes a roller body and a plurality of flutes in an outer face of the roller body, and the pressing roller is driven relative to the rotating drum such that one of the plurality of flutes contacts the leading edge of the label that is tagged to the housing and presses the leading edge of the label against the housing.

Assignees

• Altria Client Services Llc

Inventors

• Garthaffner Martin

Classifications

• A24F40/70

  Manufacture · CPC title

• A24F40/40

  Constructional details, e.g. connection of cartridges and battery parts · CPC title

• A24F40/10

  Devices using liquid inhalable precursors · CPC title

• B65C7/00

  Affixing tags (in combination with filling of tea bags B65B29/04 {; multi-step processes for making labels or tags B31D1/02}) · CPC title

• B65C9/1807

  and transferred directly from the cutting means to an article · CPC title