Apparatus and methods for finishing graphic containers

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6656100
  • Patent Number
    6,656,100
  • Date Filed
    Friday, September 22, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, December 2, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
An integrated apparatus for forming folded containers comprising a film attaching unit, a fold/glue unit, and a common transport system coupling the film attaching unit to the fold/glue unit. The film attaching unit can have a pattern glue applicator for applying a pattern of glue to a blank and a film applicator operatively coupled to the pattern glue applicator to apply a film to the blank. The fold/glue unit is configured to receive the blank directly from the film attaching unit, and the fold/glue unit can have a plurality of fold-members for folding portions of the blank and at least one glue gun for applying glue to portions of the blank. The blank transport system can comprise a synchronized carrier to transport the blank through a portion of the film attaching unit and a plurality of non-synchronized carriers to transport the blank through the film attaching unit and/or the fold/glue unit without removing the blank from the transport system. In one embodiment, the synchronized carrier and the non-synchronized carriers are configurable in at least one of (a) a bypass configuration in which the blank bypasses the pattern glue applicator and the film applicator, (b) a pattern glue configuration in which the transport system is synchronized with the pattern glue applicator to apply the pattern of glue to the blank without applying a film, and/or (c) a film application configuration in which the transport system is synchronized with the pattern glue unit and the film applicator to attach a film to the blank.
Description




TECHNICAL FIELD




The present invention relates to finishing graphic containers. More specifically, several aspects of the invention are directed toward methods and apparatus for forming folded containers with or without thin film coverings.




BACKGROUND




Containers, such as cartons and boxes for a variety of uses, are generally made from paper products or other types of materials. The containers are typically folded and glued so that they can be shipped to a product manufacturer in a flat configuration and then expanded to receive a product. Several types of containers have openings covered by thin transparent films to create windows (e.g., toy containers) or access openings (e.g., tissue boxes), but other types of containers are solid and do not have thin transparent films. In either application, a container “blank” is formed from a sheet with graphics and/or text by stamping the sheet to (a) cut the sheet into a desired pattern and (b) form fold lines on the sheet. The blanks are then subject to a finishing process to attach a thin transparent film to window openings, apply glue to selected areas of the blank, and fold the blank into a finished container.




Conventional processes for finishing graphic containers with transparent films use a window patch machine for attaching the film to the blank and a separate fold/glue machine for folding and gluing flaps or panels of the blank. Conventional window patch machines have a feeder, a timed-chain carrier for transporting blanks from the feeder, a pattern glue applicator synchronized with the timed-chain carrier, and a film applicator synchronized with the pattern glue applicator. Conventional window patch machines are initially configured to accommodate a particular blank, and then all of the blanks for a particular container are processed through the window patch machine to attach the transparent film to the blanks. The blanks to which the transparent film patches have been attached are then stored at a separate location to await processing through the fold/glue machine.




The fold/glue machine typically has another feeder, a plurality of belt drives, a plurality of fold panels, and a plurality of glue guns. The fold/glue machine has a pre-folding section, a back-folding section, and a final-folding section that each have a different configuration of belt-drives, glue guns, and fold plates for folding and gluing the flaps and/or panels of the blanks. The conventional window patch machines and conventional fold/glue machines accordingly operate completely independent from one another because they are separate machines that use separate feeders and separate transport systems to feed and convey blanks through each of the machines.




One concern of finishing graphic containers with transparent films is that conventional processes require two runs to produce a single finished container. It is time-consuming to use two separate runs because the window patch machines and the fold/glue machines must be configured separately before running the blanks through the machines. After processing the blanks through the window patch machine, the blanks are also manually transported and loaded into a separate feeder for processing through the fold/glue machines. Additionally, if both the window patch machines and the fold/glue machines are operated simultaneously, conventional processes generally require two operators to configure and operate the two separate machines. Therefore, conventional processes for finishing graphic containers with separate window patch machines and fold/glue machines are time consuming and inefficient.




Another manufacturing concern of conventional processes for finishing graphic containers is that they require a significant amount of floor space. Because the window patch machines and the fold/glue machines are separate from one another, the blanks are stored in separate stacks to await processing the separate window patch and fold/glue machines. The window patch and fold/glue machines must also have individual feeders dedicated to each machine. As a result, a significant amount of floor space is occupied by the additional stacks of blanks and the duplicity of feeders for the separate window patch and fold/glue machines.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES





FIG. 1

is a side elevation view of an integrated apparatus for forming folded containers in accordance with an embodiment of the invention,





FIG. 2

is a top elevation view of the integrated apparatus of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 3

is a side elevation view illustrating a portion of an integrated apparatus for forming folded containers in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.





FIG. 4

is an isometric view illustrating a portion of an integrated apparatus for forming folded containers in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.





FIG. 5

is a side elevation view illustrating a portion of an integrated apparatus for forming folded containers in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




The following disclosure describes several embodiments of an integrated apparatus for forming folded containers. Many specific details of certain embodiments of the invention are set forth in the following description and in

FIGS. 1-5

to provide a thorough understanding of these embodiments. A person skilled in the art, however, will understand that the present invention may have additional embodiments, or that the invention may be practiced without several of the details described below.




A. INTEGRATED CONTAINER FINISHING SYSTEMS WITH FILM ATTACHING UNITS AND FOLD/GLUE UNITS





FIG. 1

is a side elevation view and

FIG. 2

is a top plan view of an integrated apparatus


100


for forming folded containers in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the integrated apparatus


100


includes a film attaching unit


102


, a fold/glue unit


104


, and a transport system


106


extending through both the film attaching unit


102


and the fold/glue unit


104


. The film attaching unit


102


can apply a pattern of glue around an opening of a blank and attach a patch of a thin film to the pattern of glue. The fold/glue unit


104


can receive a blank to which the film patch has been attached directly from the film attaching unit


102


to fold and glue the blank into a finished container. The transport system


106


is common to both the film attaching unit


102


and the fold/glue unit


104


to provide a single-pass operation in which a blank is transported directly from the film attaching unit


102


to the fold/glue unit


104


.




Referring to

FIG. 1

, the film attaching unit


102


can include a feeder


110


at a feed end of the transport system


106


, a pattern glue applicator


120


operatively coupled to one section of the transport system


106


for applying glue to a blank, and a film applicator


130


operatively coupled to another section of the transport system


106


downstream from the pattern glue applicator


120


. The pattern glue applicator


120


can have a pattern wheel


122


with a glue surface (not shown in

FIG. 1

) configured in a desired pattern for applying a pattern of glue to a blank. In one embodiment for attaching a film patch to a blank to cover an opening, the pattern wheel


122


is synchronized with the transport system to apply a pattern of glue around the perimeter of the opening in the blank. The pattern glue applicator can alternatively have glue pens or guns that deposit glue in a manner similar to a dot-matrix printer or a jet printer. The embodiment of the film applicator


130


shown in

FIG. 1

cuts and attaches a film patch to the blank. The film applicator


130


can also have several alternate embodiments. The film applicator


130


, for example, can alternatively receive pre-cut film patches that it places on the blanks. In general, the film applicator


130


is synchronized with the pattern glue applicator


120


to accurately press a patch of film onto the pattern of glue. Suitable pattern glue applicators


120


and film applicators


130


are available from P. E. Printech Equipment Inc. of British Columbia, Canada.




The embodiment of the fold/glue unit


104


shown in

FIG. 1

is configured to receive the blank directly from the film attaching unit


102


. The fold/glue unit


104


can have several different sections for folding and gluing together different panels and flaps of the blank to form a container. In one embodiment, for example, the fold/glue unit


104


includes a prefolding section


140




a


that is one part of a backfolding section, a second folding section


140




b


that is another part of the backfolding section, and a final folding section


140




c


. It will be appreciated that the fold/glue unit


104


can have other combinations of sections or a different configuration of sections. Each of these sections can have a plurality of glue-guns


142


(shown schematically) and fold-members


144


(also shown schematically), such as hooks, fold-plates and air nozzles. The glue-guns


142


and fold-members


144


in the sections


140




a-c


of fold/glue unit


104


can be configured according to the particular container to fold, glue and attach flaps or panels of the blank to one another.




Still referring to

FIG. 1

, the transport system


106


couples the film attaching unit


102


to the fold/glue unit


104


so that the integrated apparatus


100


can (a) attach a film to the blank and/or (b) fold the blank into a finished container in a single-run operation. The transport system


106


can include a plurality of non-synchronized carriers


160


and a synchronized carrier


180


. The non-synchronized carriers


160


and the synchronized carrier


180


can be configured to either pass a blank through the film attaching unit


102


without synchronizing the blank with either the pattern glue application


120


or the film applicator


130


for situations in which a film patch is not applied to the blank. The non-synchronized carriers


160


and the synchronized carrier


180


can also be configured to synchronize the blanks with the pattern glue applicator


120


for applying a pattern of glue to the blank and for attaching a film patch to the pattern of glue. In one embodiment, the synchronized carrier


180


is only in the film attaching unit


102


and the non-synchronized carriers


160


are in both the film attaching unit


102


and the fold/glue unit


104


. The glue-guns


142


, fold-members


144


, non-synchronized carriers


160


and the synchronized carrier


180


can be raised/lowered and moved side-to-side (

FIG. 2

) to configure the film attaching unit


102


and the fold/glue unit


104


for forming different types of blanks into containers. The non-synchronized carriers


160


can be belt-drives known in the art, and the synchronized carrier


180


can be a timed-chain carrier also known in the art. Several embodiments of the non-synchronized carriers


160


, the synchronized carrier


180


, the pattern glue applicator


120


, and the film applicator


130


are described in more detail below with respect to

FIGS. 3-5

.




The integrated apparatus


100


can form containers having a film patch over an opening by placing a plurality of blanks in the feeder


110


and transporting the blanks through the film attaching unit


102


and the fold/glue unit


104


without removing the blanks from the transport system


106


. In one application, for example, a feed carrier defined by the non-synchronized carrier


160


adjacent to the feeder


110


transports a blank to the synchronized carrier


180


. The synchronized carrier


180


delivers the blank to the pattern glue applicator


120


in synchronization with the pattern wheel


122


to precisely apply a pattern of glue to the blank (e.g, around the perimeter of an opening). Another non-synchronized carrier


160


at the pattern glue applicator


120


transports the blank with the pattern of glue to the film applicator


130


, which applies a film patch to the glue around the opening. Still another non-synchronized carrier


160


immediately downstream from the film applicator


130


engages the blank and initiates the transport of the blank through the fold/glue unit


104


. The remaining downstream non-synchronized carriers


160


accordingly transport the blank through the glue guns


142


and the fold-members


144


of the sections


140




a-c


of the fold/glue unit


104


to fold and glue the panels and flaps of the blank together. As set forth in more detail below, the non-synchronized carriers


160


and the synchronized carrier


180


in the film attaching unit


102


of an embodiment of the integrated apparatus


100


can be configured with respect to the pattern glue applicator


120


and the film applicator


130


to: (a) bypass the pattern glue applicator


120


and film applicator


130


for delivering a blank directly from the feeder


110


to the fold/glue unit


104


in applications that do not apply a film patch to the blanks; (b) apply only a pattern of glue to the blank without applying a film patch to the blank; and/or (c) apply both a pattern of glue to the blank and a film patch to the patterned glue on the blank.




One advantage of several embodiments of the integrated apparatus


100


is that it is expected to reduce labor costs and overhead for producing containers with film coverings. Unlike conventional processes that use separate window patch machines and separate fold/glue machines, several embodiments of the integrated apparatus


100


combine the film attaching unit


102


and the fold/glue unit


104


with a single transport system


106


. A single operator can accordingly simultaneously run the integrated apparatus


100


to perform both the window attaching and the folding/gluing operations for forming a container with a film patch over an opening in the container. Several embodiments of the integrated apparatus


100


are also expected to reduce the floor space required for producing containers with a thin film patch because a single feeder can provide blanks to both the film attaching unit


102


and the fold/glue unit


104


. Additionally, several embodiments of the integrated apparatus


100


provide an efficient use of floor space because they eliminate the need for storing stacks of blanks for processing through a separate fold/glue machine. Therefore, several embodiments of the integrated apparatus


100


are expected to reduce the labor costs and overhead for forming containers with thin film patches over openings.




Another advantage of several embodiments of the integrated apparatus


100


is that they are expected to reduce the processing time for fabricating containers with thin film coverings compared to conventional two-step finishing processes. By transporting the blanks along a single transport system


106


through both the film attaching unit


102


and the fold/glue unit


104


, several embodiments of the integrated apparatus


100


eliminate the process of manually transporting the blanks from one machine to another and loading the blanks into a feeder for a separate fold-glue machine. As a result, several embodiments of the integrated apparatus


100


are expected to significantly reduce the processing time for fabricating containers with film patches over openings.




B. SELECTIVELY CONFIGURABLE FILM ATTACHING UNITS




The integrated apparatus


100


is preferably configurable so that it can process blanks with or without film patches.

FIG. 3

is a side elevation view and

FIG. 4

is an isometric view partially illustrating an embodiment of the film attaching unit


102


for use in connection with the fold/glue unit


104


in an embodiment of the integrated apparatus


100


. Referring to

FIG. 3

, the non-synchronized carriers


160


in the film attaching unit


102


can comprise a feed carrier


160




a


that receives blanks from the feeder


110


(FIG.


1


); a first configurable non-synchronized adjustable carrier


160




b


generally aligned with the synchronized carrier


180


; a second configurable non-synchronized carrier


160




c


downstream from the synchronized carrier


180


; and a third configurable non-synchronized carrier


160




d


at the beginning of the fold/glue unit


104


immediately downstream from the film applicator


130


. The non-synchronized carriers


160


can include a belt


162


wrapped around a plurality of guide rollers


164


with a belt tension roller


166


. The non-synchronized carriers


160


can also include a plurality of surface rollers


168


to press the belt


162


against the blanks in the transport system


106


. Additionally, the configurable non-synchronized carriers


160




b-d


can have lift assemblies


169


to selectively raise and lowered the carriers


160




b-d


for configuring the operation of the film attaching unit


102


.




In operation, the first configurable non-synchronized carrier


160




b


can be positioned in a lowered position (not shown) in which the belt


162


engages a blank in a manner to cause the blank to bypass the synchronized carrier


180


. The first configurable non-synchronized carrier


160




b


can also be positioned in a raised position in which the feeder carrier


160




a


delivers a blank to the synchronized carrier


180


for synchronizing the blank with respect to the pattern glue applicator


120


and the film applicator


130


. The belts


162


, the rollers


164


-


168


, and the lift assemblies


169


are known in the art of non-synchronized belt-type carriers.




The synchronized carrier


180


can have a timed-chain


182


wrapped around a plurality of guide sprockets


184


. The timed-chain


182


has a plurality of individual stops (not shown) that are configured to engage a blank and move the blank along the transport system


106


at known intervals. The synchronized carrier


180


can alternatively be a belt feed system similar to feed systems for automatic-feed copiers. As such, the synchronized carrier


180


can be any suitable carrier capable of receiving a blank and advancing the blank along the transport system at selected intervals.




Referring to

FIGS. 3 and 4

together, the pattern wheel


122


of the pattern glue unit has a pattern surface


124


. The pattern glue unit


120


of this embodiment also has a glue reservoir


126


and a pick-up wheel


128


in contact with glue in the glue reservoir


126


. In operation, the reservoir


126


deposits a layer of glue on the pick-up wheel


128


, which applies a layer of the glue to the pattern surface


124


on the pattern wheel


122


. The pattern surface


124


on the pattern wheel


122


is synchronized with the timed-chain


182


of the synchronized carrier


180


(

FIG. 3

) so that the pattern surface


124


applies a pattern of glue


195


(

FIG. 4

) around an opening


196


on a blank


197


(FIG.


4


).




The embodiment of the film applicator


130


shown in

FIGS. 3 and 4

has a plurality of rollers


132


including a supply roller


132


a carrying a roll of film


134


, a plurality of idler rollers


132




b


to guide the film


134


, and a plurality of drive rollers


132


c to advance the film


134


. The film applicator


130


can also include a film cutter


135


having a blade


136


and a film applicator assembly


150


. As best shown in

FIG. 3

, the film applicator assembly


150


includes a perforated cylinder


152


that rotates about a shaft


153


having a blow-off section


154


and a vacuum section


155


. In operation, the vacuum section


155


of the shaft


153


draws a vacuum around a majority of the circumference of the perforated cylinder


152


to hold the film


134


against the perforated cylinder


152


. The cutting blade


136


of the film cutter


135


cuts a film patch


198


(

FIG. 4

) from the section of the film


134


held on the perforated cylinder


152


by the vacuum section


155


. As a leading edge of the film patch


198


moves under the shaft


153


, a blank


197


with a pattern glue


195


around an opening


196


is accordingly positioned under the perforated cylinder


152


in a synchronized manner so that the leading edge of the film patch


198


presses against the leading edge of the patterned glue


195


. The blow-off portion


154


of the shaft


153


drives the film patch


198


from the perforated cylinder


152


in synchronization with pressing the film patch


198


against the pattern glue


195


on the blank


197


. A blank


199


to which a film patch


198


has been attached accordingly exits the film applicator


130


and is transported by the third configurable non-synchronized carrier


160




d


(

FIG. 3

) to the pre-fold section


140




a


(FIG.


1


).





FIG. 5

is a side elevation view of the film attaching unit


102


shown in

FIGS. 3 and 4

from an opposite side such that the processing path P goes from left-to-right. In this configuration, the first configurable non-synchronized carrier


160




b


is in the lowered or bypass position in which it carries a blank past the synchronized carrier


180


. Additionally, the pattern glue applicator


120


and the film applicator


130


are in raised positions in which they cannot apply a pattern of glue or a film patch to a blank. In one embodiment of the bypass configuration or the pattern glue only configuration, the transport system


106


can also include a non-synchronized bearing unit


170


between


160




c


and


160




d


. The non-synchronized bearing unit


170


has a plurality of bearing


172


. In operation the non-synchronized bearing unit


170


is lowered and the film applicator


130


is raised when the film application unit


120


does not attach a film patch to the blank. The non-synchronized bearing unit


170


is raised and the film applicator


130


is lowered to apply a film patch to the blank.

FIG. 5

accordingly illustrates a configuration of the film attaching unit


102


in which the non-synchronized carriers


160




a-c


pass a blank through the film attaching unit


102


without either applying a glue pattern to the blank or attaching a film patch to the blank.




Referring to

FIGS. 3 and 5

, the film attaching unit


102


can accordingly be configured into (a) a bypass configuration, (b) a pattern glue configuration, and/or (c) a film application configuration.

FIG. 5

illustrates the transport system


106


with the non-synchronized carriers


160




a-c


, the synchronized carrier


180


, the pattern glue applicator


120


, and the film applicator


130


positioned to allow the blank to bypass the pattern glue applicator


120


and the film applicator


130


. This configuration is typically used in applications that do not apply a pattern of glue or a film patch to a container, such as containers that do not include windows. Referring to

FIG. 3

, the first configurable non-synchronized carrier


160




b


is raised so that a blank is controlled by the synchronized carrier


180


to synchronize the blank with the pattern glue applicator


120


. In this configuration, the pattern glue applicator


120


can apply a pattern of glue to the blank and the film applicator


130


can apply a film patch to the pattern of glue, or the pattern glue applicator


120


can apply a pattern of glue to the blank and the film applicator


130


can be in a raised position (not shown in

FIG. 3

) so that a film patch is not applied to the pattern of glue.




One advantage of the embodiment of the film attaching unit


102


shown in

FIGS. 3-5

is that the transport system


106


can be configured to allow the integrated apparatus


100


to form either (a) a container with a film patch, (b) a container with a particular glue pattern that cannot be achieved with glue guns in the fold/glue unit


104


, or (c) a container without a film patch. The integrated apparatus


100


, therefore, is not limited to producing only containers that have transparent films, but it can also be used to produce other types of containers without transparent film patches. As a result, the integrated apparatus


100


provides a flexible machine that can be selectively configured to produce virtually any type of container, with or without film patches, in single-run processing.




From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the pattern glue unit


102


can be a different type of mechanism that is capable of being synchronized with the blanks and depositing a pattern of glue. The synchronized carrier


180


can also be a different mechanism, or it can even be eliminated by substituting an optical timing system to activate and synchronize the pattern glue applicator


120


with the blank. Other embodiments can also have different types of fold/glue units with different configurations of sections. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. An integrated apparatus for forming folded containers, comprising:a film attaching unit having a pattern glue applicator for applying a pattern of glue to a blank and a film applicator operatively coupled to the pattern glue applicator to apply a film to the blank; a fold/glue unit configured to receive the blank directly from the film attaching unit, the fold/glue unit having a plurality of fold-members for folding portions of the blank and at least one glue gun for applying glue to portions of the blank; a blank transport system having a synchronized carrier to transport the blank through a portion of the film attaching unit and a plurality of non-synchronized carriers to transport the blank through the film attaching unit and/or the fold/glue unit without removing the blank from the transport system; wherein the pattern glue applicator comprises a glue reservoir, a pick-up wheel positioned in a portion of the glue reservoir to pick up a layer of glue, and a pattern wheel having a pattern surface corresponding to a desired glue pattern, the pattern surface contacting the pick-up wheel to coat the pattern surface with glue; wherein the film applicator comprises a film carrier, a film applicator assembly having a vacuum section and a blow-off section, and a film cutter, wherein the film cutter cuts a section of the film on the film applicator assembly, the vacuum section of the film applicator assembly holds the cut section of the film until a leading edge of the film is pressed against the pattern glue on the blank, and the blow-off section detaches the cut section of film from the film applicator assembly; and wherein the transport system further comprises at least a first non-synchronized carrier in the film attaching unit aligned with the synchronized carrier, a second non-synchronized carrier downstream from the synchronized carrier and in the region of the pattern glue applicator, and a plurality of non-synchronized carriers downstream from the film applicator in the fold/glue unit, the first non-synchronized carrier and the synchronized carrier moving between a non-timed configuration in which the non-synchronized carrier moves the blank and a timed configuration in which the synchronized carrier moves the blank to the pattern glue machine.
  • 2. An integrated apparatus for forming folded containers, comprising:a film attaching unit having a pattern glue applicator for applying a pattern of glue to a blank and a film applicator operatively coupled to the pattern glue applicator to apply a film to the blank; a fold/glue unit configured to receive the blank directly from the film attaching unit, the fold/glue unit having a plurality of fold-members for folding portions of the blank and at least one glue gun for applying glue to portions of the blank; a blank transport system having a synchronized carrier to transport the blank through a portion of the film attaching unit and a plurality of non-synchronized carriers to transport the blank through the film attaching unit and/or the fold/glue unit without removing the blank from the transport system; at least a first non-synchronized carrier in the film attaching unit generally aligned with the synchronized carrier, the first non-synchronized carrier being a belt-carrier movable between a bypass position in which the first non-synchronized carrier transports the blank past the synchronized carrier without synchronizing the blank with the pattern glue applicator; a second non-synchronized carrier downstream from the synchronized carrier and in the region of the pattern glue applicator, the second non-synchronized carrier receiving the blank from either (a) the synchronized carrier for applying a pattern glue onto the blank or (b) the first non-synchronized carrier for passing the blank through the pattern glue applicator without applying a pattern of glue to the blank; and a plurality of non-synchronized carriers downstream from the film applicator in the fold/glue unit.
  • 3. An integrated apparatus for forming folded containers, comprising:a film attaching unit having a pattern glue applicator for applying a pattern of glue to a blank and a film applicator operatively coupled to the pattern glue applicator to apply a film to the blank; a fold/glue unit configured to receive the blank directly from the film attaching unit, the fold/glue unit having a plurality of fold-members for folding portions of the blank and at least one glue gun for applying glue to portions of the blank; a blank transport system having a synchronized carrier to transport the blank through a portion of the film attaching unit and a plurality of non-synchronized carriers to transport the blank through the film attaching unit and/or the fold/glue unit without removing the blank from the transport system; a single feeder upstream from the film attaching unit, the single feeder providing blanks to the film attaching unit that are subsequently transported by the transport system to the fold/glue unit; and a first set of belt carriers including a feed belt carrier immediately downstream from the feeder and a first configurable belt carrier, the feed belt carrier and the first configurable belt carrier being over the synchronized carrier, and the first configurable belt carrier being moveable into (a) a bypass position to carry a blank past the synchronized carrier for bypassing the pattern glue applicator and the film applicator and (b) a synchronized position to feed the blank to the synchronized carrier for processing the blank through the pattern glue applicator and/or the film applicator.
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