Patent Application
20240253841
Aspects of this disclosure relate to relates to a tape applicator apparatus.
Adhesive-backed tape is commonly applied to body surfaces, interior and exterior claddings and panels (e.g. trim, moldings, covers, trays, panels, doors and hatches) of a vehicle (e.g., an automobile, aircraft, or watercraft), or structures (e.g. buildings, HVAC units). For example, an adhesive-backed tape mounted around the periphery of a cladding on a vehicle component provides a seal which helps to control water intrusion, and reduce cabin noise due to wind when the vehicle is in motion, as well as control dust intrusion into the cabin and engine parts. Such tapes may be manually installed, however such a process is not only slow, but labour intensive, and prone to human error. In addition, the application process may not be uniform, predictable or reproducible.
Several methods have been proposed to apply adhesive-backed tape on substrates, such as those employing robotic end effectors or fixed applicators. However, these methods suffer from several challenges, such as, inaccurate placement of the adhesive tape, constant cycle interruptions due to jams within the equipment, tape breakages due to lack of adequate tension control, and the inevitable downtime due to spool changes during a production cycle. Furthermore, industry adoption of automated applicator equipment has been slow for numerous reasons such as: application geometry constraints (i.e. having a large roll mounted on the applicator head), speed and volume of application, as the roll size is limited, cell design constraints. In addition, existing equipment is typically only capable of holding/dispensing rolls of tape that are less than 32a meters in length, and therefore this equipment is incapable of keeping up with the production demands.
Level wound spools are normally required to continuously feed the high volume tape application equipment, however, level wound spools are not overly common, most double sided tape is provided in a single cut ‘pancake roll’ which is very limited in length. Level wound spools involve the joining of a number of pancake rolls into one continuous spool. Commercially available double sided tape, such as acrylic foam tapes, VHB, typically include a liner overhang of liner on each side of the tape material. One type commercially available level wound spool uses a standard 25 mm cover liner regardless of tape size which varies between 5 mm and 16 mm in width. Accordingly, the liner overhang may range from 4.5 mm to 10 mm per side. The liner overhang is generally included by the manufacturers to prevent ‘knitting’ or the gluing together of edges of the tape material on the roll, and to add stability to the roll when winding as the rolls generally do not have end caps but rather a tapered design. In the event that the edges do knit back together, the tape can be rendered unusable as it will not peel off in strip format or feed through the tape applicator equipment, such as robotic end effectors, fixed applicators or other tools. However, the liner overhang may cause problems with the operation of the tape dispensing or feeding equipment and application equipment, such as jamming of the tape within the applicator equipment. These problems have forced some end users of the commercially available level wound spool to painstakingly reduce the size of the liner overhang before use in their equipment in order to avoid the aforementioned jamming problems. However, this process is inefficient, laborious, costly, and often leads to inconsistent results.
In one of its aspects, a liner folding apparatus for a liner associated with a tape material, wherein the liner comprises a first overhang portion, a central portion carrying the tape material, and a second overhang portion, the apparatus comprising:
In another of its aspects, a liner folder apparatus for a liner associated with a tape material, the apparatus comprising:
In another of its aspects, a method of folding a liner associated with a tape material, wherein the liner comprises a first overhang portion, a central portion carrying the tape material, and a second overhang portion, the method comprising:
Advantageously, the liner folder apparatus may be installed on a plurality of commercially available tape applicator equipment, such as robotic end effectors, fixed applicators or other tools, and allows tape applicator equipment to maintain the original design specifications which further enhances the equipment's agility by facilitating access to narrow or hard to reach areas. The liner folder apparatus allows standard, commercially available rolls or spools to be used with the tape applicator equipment, such as robotic end effectors, fixed applicators or other tools, thereby eliminating the need to customize the tape material by removing excess liner. Accordingly, the liner folder apparatus allows for faster application rates of the tape material, increased efficiency, reduced labor costs and substantial cost savings. In addition, the extended liner left on the liner folder apparatus, when folded over the tape material, creates a convenient tab to pull and remove the liner, thereby eliminating a separate process that adds a tab to the tape product for liner removal.
Several exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the appended drawings in which:
Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Like reference numerals are used to designate like parts in the accompanying drawings.
The detailed description provided below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the present examples and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present example may be constructed or used. However, the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different examples.
Referring to
Examples of adhesive lined tape 30, include, but are not limited to, crushed ethylene propylene diene monomers (EPDM); neoprene closed cell; expanded polyvinyl chloride (PVC); polyethylene; acrylic foam tapes (e.g. very high bond (VHB) tape)). In one example, tape liner 32 comprises a unitary body with central liner portion 32a with adhesive tape material 30 and first liner overhang portion 32b and second liner overhang portion 32c on either side of tape material 30, as can be seen in
As can be seen in
Liner folder apparatus 20 comprises liner overhang deflector portion 58, folding portion 59 and tapered portion 60. As can be seen in
Folding portion 59 comprises intermediary channel 74 in which curved walls 76, 78 gradually curve towards each other to eventually substantially face each into a substantially C-shape configuration as channel 51 progresses towards tapered portion 60. Accordingly, folding portion 59 transforms first liner overhang portion 32b and second liner overhang portion 32c from the intermediary position into a folding position in which edge 32c of first liner overhang portion 32b and edge 40 of second liner overhang portion 32c are angled towards each other.
C-shaped channel 74 is gradually transformed into D-shaped channel 81 and ultimately into rectangular channel 82 as channel 51 progress towards exit port 56. Accordingly, tapered portion 60 transforms first liner overhang portion 32b and second liner overhang portion 32c from folding position into a folded position, in which edges 40, 42 of first liner overhang portion 32b and second liner overhang portion 32c, respectively, converge towards each other, such that upon exit edges 40, 42 of first liner overhang portion 32b and second liner overhang portion 32c, respectively, substantially face each other.
As can be seen from the cross sectional views of
Subsequently, sandwiched tape material 30 may be severed as need by a severing mechanism associated with a tape applicator head, or the like. For example, sandwiched tape material 30 may be severed by a blade.
In another implementation, other configurations of channel 51 may be implemented for other desired folds.
In another implementation, liner folder apparatus 20 may include a plurality of components capable of being assembled together, such that each of the components may comprise different channel 51 configurations and dimensions to facilitate a variety of folding configurations of first liner overhang portion 32b and second liner overhang portion 32c with respect to tape material 30.
In another implementation, liner folder apparatus 20 may include a plurality of components capable of being assembled together, or capable of being disassembled to facilitate cleaning or service, or for loading new material 30.
In another implementation, liner folder apparatus 20 may include a device within channel 51 and/or channel configurations for substantially eliminating jamming of tape material 30 within channel 51 and/or other channel configurations.
In another implementation, liner folder apparatus 20 may be manufactured from different materials, such as metals, plastics, paper or composites.
In another implementation, liner folder apparatus 20 may comprise other means of folding, such as air assistance, forcing air into channel 51, or mechanical moving components.
In another implementation, liner folder apparatus 20 comprises a spiral channel which steadily decreases in flow direction with increasing length of the spiral channel.
The benefits and advantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments. The embodiments are not limited to those that solve any or all of the stated problems or those that have any or all of the stated benefits and advantages. The operations of the methods described herein may be carried out in any suitable order, or simultaneously where appropriate. Additionally, individual blocks may be added or deleted from any of the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Aspects of any of the examples described above may be combined with aspects of any of the other examples described to form further examples without losing the effect sought.
The above description is given by way of example only and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art. The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments. Although various embodiments have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this specification.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CA2022/050744 | 5/11/2022 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63187721 | May 2021 | US |
