초록
An activatable adhesive that is formulated to readily absorb energy from a given radiation source, an activatable adhesive label that incorporates such an activatable adhesive, a system for activating such labels, and related methods and uses are described. The activatable adhesive includes a plasticizer, a tackifier, and an adhesive base polymer that includes butyl acrylate, styrene, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, and acrylic acid.
An activatable adhesive that is formulated to readily absorb energy from a given radiation source, an activatable adhesive label that incorporates such an activatable adhesive, a system for activating such labels, and related methods and uses are described. The activatable adhesive includes a plasticizer, a tackifier, and an adhesive base polymer that includes butyl acrylate, styrene, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, and acrylic acid.
대표
청구항
▼
1. A system configured to facilitate the application of an activatable label to an item, the system comprising: The activatable label having a first surface that is coated with an activatable, polymerized adhesive, the activatable, polymerized adhesive including i. an adhesive base polymer including butyl acrylate, styrene, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, at least one multifunctional monomer, and at least one chain transfer agent;ii. a plasticizer; andiii. a tackifier,wherein the adhesive base polymer has a weight average molecular w...
1. A system configured to facilitate the application of an activatable label to an item, the system comprising: The activatable label having a first surface that is coated with an activatable, polymerized adhesive, the activatable, polymerized adhesive including i. an adhesive base polymer including butyl acrylate, styrene, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, at least one multifunctional monomer, and at least one chain transfer agent;ii. a plasticizer; andiii. a tackifier,wherein the adhesive base polymer has a weight average molecular weight within a range of from 10,000 Daltons to 150,000 Daltons;an energy source that is configured to emit energy; andone or more actuators that are configured to: receive the activatable label,transport the activatable label through the emitted energy thereby melting the plasticizer and lowering the glass transition temperature Tag of the base polymer so the first surface of the label becomes tacky, andtransport the activatable label to a position where the activatable label is applied to the item. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more actuators is selected from the group consisting of a blower system, a conveyor belt, a paddle, a carrier sheet, a plunger, a vacuum drum, a roller, a vacuum belt, and a vacuum head. 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the item is selected from the group consisting of a bottle, a can, a container, a vessel, a bag, a pouch, an envelope, a parcel, and a box. 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the activatable label is one of a stack of precut activatable labels. 5. The system of claim 1 wherein the adhesive base polymer has a weight average molecular weight within a range of from 15,000 Daltons to 100,000 Daltons. 6. The system of claim 1 wherein the adhesive base polymer has a weight average molecular weight within a range of from 20,000 Daltons to 40,000 Daltons. 7. A prints and apply system configured to facilitate the application of an activatable label to an item, the system comprising: the activatable label having a first surface that is coated with an activatable, polymerized adhesive, the activatable, polymerized adhesive including i. an adhesive base polymer including butyl acrylate, styrene, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, at least one multifunctional monomer, and at least one chain transfer agent;ii. a plasticizer; andiii. a tackifier,wherein the adhesive base polymer has a weight average molecular weight within a range of from 10,000 Daltons to 150,000 Daltons;a printer configured to print indicia on the activatable label;a cutter configured to cut the activatable label to a specified length;an energy source configured to emit energy;one or more actuators that are configured to: receive the activatable label,transport the activatable label past the printer that then prints indicia on the activatable label;transport the activatable label past the cutter that then cuts the activatable label;transport the printed and cut activatable label through the emitted energy thereby melting the plasticizer and lowering the glass transition temperature Tg of the base polymer so the first surface of the label becomes tacky; andtransport the activatable label to a position where the activatable label is applied to the item. 8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the item is selected from the group consisting of a bottle, a can, a container, a vessel, a bag, a pouch, an envelope, a parcel, and a box. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the item is a box and the box is a cardboard box. 10. The system according to claim 7, wherein the activatable label is presented to the system in roll form. 11. The system according to claim 7, wherein the one or more actuators is selected from the group consisting of a blower system, a conveyor belt, a paddle, a carrier sheet, a plunger, a vacuum drum, a roller, a vacuum belt, and a vacuum head. 12. The system according to claim 7, wherein the activatable label is a printed and cut label from a roll of the same activatable labels. 13. A system for applying printed labels to an article, the system comprising: an IR activatable label having a first surface that is coated with a layer of selectively activatable, polymerized adhesive that exhibits an activation time of less than 1 second, the selectively activatable, polymerized adhesive includingi. an adhesive base polymer including butyl acrylate, styrene, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, at least one multifunctional monomer, and at least one chain transfer agent;ii. a plasticizer; andiii. a tackifier,wherein the adhesive base polymer has a weight average molecular weight within a range of From 10,000 Daltons to 150,000 Daltons;an apparatus configured to apply the label to an article, the apparatus including an energy source that is configured to emit energy, and one or more actuators that are configured to (i) receive the activatable label, (ii) transport the activatable label through the emitted energy thereby melting the plasticizer and lowering the glass transition temperature Tg of the base polymer so the first surface of the label becomes tacky, and (iii) transport the activatable label to a position at which the activatable label is applied to the article. 14. The system of claim 13 wherein the adhesive exhibits an activation time of less than 0.5 seconds. 15. The system of claim 14 wherein the adhesive exhibits an activation time of about 0.3 seconds. 16. The system of claim 14 wherein the adhesive upon activation, is clear. 17. The system of claim 13 wherein the adhesive exhibits an open time of from 0.1 second to 10 minutes. 18. The system of claim 17 wherein the adhesive exhibits an open time of from 10 seconds to 60 seconds. 19. The system of claim 13 wherein the adhesive, upon activation, exhibits an initial tack to a substrate of at least 1.0 Newton. 20. The system of claim 13 wherein the adhesive base polymer comprises from 12% to 48% by weight of the at least one lower alkyl acrylate, from 23% to 78% by weight of the styrene, from 3% to 30% by weight of the methyl methacrylate, from 1% to 3% by weight of the methacrylic acid, from 1% to 3% by weight of the acrylic acid, from 0.5% to 2.5% by weight of a multifunctional monomer, and from 1.0% to 4.0% by weight of a chain transfer agent. 21. A system for printing and applying labels to an article, the system comprising: a roll of IR activatable labels having a first surface that is coated with a layer of selectively activatable, polymerized adhesive that upon activation, exhibits an open time of at least 72 hours, the selectively activatable, polymerized adhesive includingi. an adhesive base polymer including butyl acrylate, styrene, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, at least one multifunctional monomer, and at least one chain transfer agent;ii. a plasticizer; andiii. a tackifier,wherein the adhesive base polymer has a weight average molecular weight within a range of from 10,000 Daltons to 150,000 Daltons;an apparatus to move the roll of IR activatable labels to subsequent stages;a printer configured to print indicia on the labels;a cutter disposed downstream of the printer to cut the heat activatable printed label to a specified length;a transport system to transport individual labels past the apparatus including an IR energy source that is configured to emit energy, and one or more actuators that are configured to (i) move the activatable label, (ii) transport the activatable label through the emitted energy thereby melting the plasticizer and lowering the glass transition temperature Tg of the base polymer so the first surface of the label becomes tacky, and (iii) transport the activatable label to a position at which the activatable label is applied to the article. 22. The system of claim 21 wherein the adhesive exhibits an activation time of less than 1 second. 23. The system of claim 22 wherein the adhesive exhibits an activation time of less than 0.5 seconds. 24. The system of claim 23 wherein the adhesive exhibits an activation time of about 0.3 seconds. 25. The system of claim 21 wherein the adhesive, upon activation, exhibits an initial tack to a substrate of at least 1.0 Newton. 26. The system of claim 21 wherein the adhesive comprises an adhesive base polymer formed from at least one lower alkyl acrylate, styrene, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, at least one multifunctional monomer, and at least one chain transfer agent. 27. The system of claim 21 wherein the adhesive upon activation, is clear. 28. A system for printing and applying labels to an article, the system comprising: a printer unit;a thermal activation unit downstream of the printer unit;an applicator unit downstream of the thermal activation unit;one or more heat activatable labels having a first surface that is coated with a layer of selectively activatable, polymerized adhesive, the selectively activatable, polymerized adhesive including i. an adhesive base polymer including butyl acrylate, styrene, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, at least one multifunctional monomer, and at least one chain transfer agent;ii. a plasticizer; andiii. a tackifier,wherein the adhesive base polymer has a weight average molecular weight within a range of from 10,000 Daltons to 150.000 Daltons;a cutter downstream of the printer unit and upstream of the thermal activation unit;wherein the thermal activation unit includes (i) a label transport assembly and (ii) one or more emitters that are configured to emit radiation to labels thereby melting the plasticizer and lowering the glass transition temperature Tg of the base polymer so the first surface of the label becomes tacky. 29. The system of claim 28 wherein the thermal activation unit further includes a first sensor proximate an entrance to the thermal activation unit and a second sensor proximate an exit to the thermal activation unit, the first and second sensors providing outputs to a comparator to thereby indicate existence of a label degradation condition. 30. The system of claim 28 wherein the thermal activation unit further includes (iii) at least one quartz glass member positioned between the one or more emitters and a label undergoing activation. 31. The system of claim 28 wherein the printer unit includes a print head and a print ribbon. 32. The system of claim 28 wherein the printer unit includes a digital printer. 33. The system of claim 28 wherein the cutter is a laser cutter. 34. The system of claim 28 wherein the selectively activatable adhesive exhibits an activation time of less than 1 second.