US3608515A

US3608515A - Applicator for applying pressure sensitive adhesive and other coating materials to sheet items

Info

Publication number: US3608515A
Application number: US780985A
Authority: US
Inventors: Philip E Tobias
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-12-04
Filing date: 1968-12-04
Publication date: 1971-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 1988-09-28
Also published as: DE1960842A1; JPS498933B1; GB1289723A; DE1960842B2

Abstract

The present device provides a means for applying thin coatings of material to sheet items or webbing material. The invention will be described in connection with the application of a pressure-sensitive adhesive to sheet or webbing material, wherein the adhesive compound employs a solvent to keep it in a fluid state, thus enabling the adhesive to be worked without being heated. In accordance with the design principles of the present device, the adhesive mixture containing solvent is held in a reservoir and is kept from evaporating from said reservoir by employing a cover which seals the applicator member and hence the reservoir from the atmosphere which surrounds the housing, when there is no sheet material being processed. However the sealing cover is movably positioned away from the path along which the sheet or webbing material passes in contact with the applicator when the device is in use. In addition the path for the sheet material is arranged so that the ''''adhesive side'''' of the sheet is facing up as the sheet material leaves the machine, thereby enabling the user to support or carry the sheet by coming in contact with the nonsticky undersurface.

Description

United'States Patent [72] Inventor Philip E. Tobias 1872, Watson Road, Abington, Pa. 19001 [21] Appl. No. 780,985 [22] Filed Dec. 4,1968 [45] Patented Sept. 28, 1971 [54] APPLICATOR FOR APPLYING PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVE AND OTHER COATING MATERIALS TO SHEET ITEMS 10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 118/2,

118/59, 118/245, 118/261 [51] Int. Cl B05c l/02,

B05c 11/16 [50] Field of Search 118/212, 246, 202, 41 1, 1, 2, 641, 642,245, 261,59

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,352,554 6/1944 Malhiot 118/246 X 2,839,025 6/1958 Borke et al. 178/642 X 3,416,491 12/1968 Tumbull et al. 118/41 MOTOR FROM SOLENOID Primary Examiner-John P. McIntosh Attorney-William E. Cleaver ABSTRACT: The present device provides a means for applying thin coatings of material to sheet items or webbing material. The invention will be described in connection with the application of a pressure-sensitive adhesive to sheet or webbing material, wherein the adhesive compound employs a solvent to keep it in a fluid state, thus enabling the adhesive to be worked without being heated. In accordance with the design principles of the present device, the adhesive mixture containing solvent is held in a reservoir and is kept from evaporating from said reservoir by employing a cover which seals the applicator member and hence the reservoir from the atmosphere which surrounds the housing, when there is no sheet material being processed. However the sealing cover is movably positioned away from the path along which the sheet or webbing material passes in contact with the applicator when the device is in use. In addition the path for the sheet material is arranged so that the adhesive side of the-sheet is facing up as the sheet material leaves the machine, thereby enabling the user to support or carry the sheet by coming in contact with the nonsticky undersurface.

HEATEFlaPOWER SWITCH PATENTED SEP28l97l 3,608,515

sum 2 [IF 2 79 [MOTOR FROM 93 SOLENOID 77 Mo T oR I INVENTOR.

3 Philip E. Tobias ATTOR NEY.

BACKGROUND In the process of preparing or making up pages for newspapers or magazines from reproduction proofs (phototype or cold composition) it is desirable to have the reproduction proofs coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive on one side. A pressure-sensitive adhesive being an adhesive which will enable the material, to which it is applied, to be secured or stuck to some second material in response to simply pressing the adhesive-coated material against said second material. Masking tape which is commonly used by draftsmen is an example of a pressure-sensitive adhesive material. It follows that if the reproduction proofs have pressure-sensitive adhesive material forming their backing, the user is readily able to stick the proofs to the makeup sheet. If the makeup sheet is going to be photographed for future use in an offset printing process the foregoing procedure is very desirable. The pressure-sensitive adhesive also enables the user to arrange the proofs and readily stick them on a makeup sheet for simply showing the printer how the printed sections are to be located in the final makeup. At the same time, if the user decides to shift or move the reproduction proofs to new locations it is a simple matter to lift said proofs from the makeup sheet, relocate them and once again fix them by simply pressing said proofs against the makeup sheet with finger pressure. While the example of reproduction proofs has been given to illustrate the usefulness and desirability of, pressure-sensitive adhesive, it should be understood that there are a number of other sheet or webbing items which can and have successfully employed pressure-sensitive adhesives in their use, for example: phototype in the form of positive or negative film, labels, paper and cardboard signs, hot metal pasteup, i.e., thin sheets of type metal or photoengraved metal pasted down on a plastic sheet, and errata page insertions in printed books and pamphlets.

In keeping with the prior art, pressure-sensitive adhesives have been some form of wax material. Wax material has been satisfactory for some uses but is not satisfactory for other uses. For instance, if the reproduction proofs were to be used in making up a magazine page which ultimately would be photographed for an offset printing operation and the reproduction proofs were relocated, there is usually a mark or blemish left by the wax which remains on the makeup sheet. Of course when the blemish is created, the photograph of that makeup sheet picks up the blemish or the mark and the resulting offset plate likewise bears this infirmity, which results in the need for opaquing or the printing of an unsatisfactory magazine page. In addition, in order to apply wax to sheet means, the applicator must use a heater device of some kind to keep the wax in a molten or fluid state. Since the wax applicator must use a heater, this system must be continually connected to an electrical power source and power must be continually applied. The first requirement of course is a nuisance if the applicator is being used in an ordinary desk mode of operation and the second requirement, of course, is a costly item. Further, in order to get wax to conform to a surface, the wax must be 0.002 to 0.003 inch thick. The paper is only on the order of 0.004 to 0.005 inch thick. Accordingly, the wax surface creates shadows when the makeup sheet is photographed.

Another important factor is that the waxes used are not truly pressure sensitive. That is, adhesion must be obtained by bumishing the surface of the makeup sheet with a tool that applies relatively high local pressure to the material. This actually forces the wax to flow into the fibers of the makeup sheet, Without this flow condition the adhesion of the wax is negligible. lf bumishing is not done over the entire area, pieces may fall off the makeup sheet during handling, and bulges and lifted corners can result.

It the prior art, the wax applications were not designed with a great deal of human engineering consideration. By way of example, when a reproduction proof or any other sheet or webbing material is coated with a glue (wax, etc.) it is desirable from the users standpoint, to be able to handle the sheets without getting the hands sticky. This consideration was not engineered into the prior art systems and when the sheet items left the applicators of the prior art, the user had to gingerly grasp the sheets at the ends thereof and attempt to place them, or locate them, wherever they were to be positioned, without getting more than the thumb and the forefinger of each hand sticky. in addition the wax melts under the heat of illumination thus enabling the proofs (or other placed items) to be shifted. Solvent based, pressure-sensitive adhesives have been applied to plastic and paper tapes in a factory environment. The solvent evaporation rate can be high in a factory but due to the continuous nature of the coating process, makeup solvent may be added during the coating run. In a factory operation, the viscosity of the adhesive is generally monitored frequently during the run. The skills and attention required does not allow this technique as a practical approach for an ofi'rce environment, especially by people unskilled in coating technology, and for time-to-time, batch use.

In dealing with this problem, some use has been made of aerosol sprays of pressure-sensitive adhesives. This approach has the problems of overspray, nonuniform coating, clogging of the nozzle, stringing, clumping and relatively high cost.

SUMMARY The present device is an applicator for applying any solventbased material such as pressure-sensitive adhesive material to sheet items or the like which can be readily used in an ordinary office setting; which can be used by people unskilled in the coating art; which can be repeatedly used on a batch-by-batch basis; which does not require any heating element; and which incorporates the human engineering aspect by providing an excursion path wherein the adhesive is applied on the upper side of the material as referenced to the position of the output of the applicator. Accordingly, the user need only put his hands under the dry side of the material as it leaves the applicator and by the natural function of gravity the material will come to rest on the hands with the stick side up.

inasmuch as the present applicator provides an adhesive material which does not necessitate a heater it does employ a solvent to keep the adhesive in a fluid state. The fluid state is necessary in order that the adhesive can be applied to the sheet material passing through the applicator device. The solvent used in the preferred embodiment must evaporate rapidly to the atmosphere surrounding the output path to give convenient drying times and leave the principal adhesive on the material. Since the solvent must be capable of evaporating rapidly, there is the problem that the solvent may continually and prematurely evaporate while it is in the adhesive mixture. The present device has a sealing cover means which covers and seals (when the machine is not is use) the only portion of the machine which is exposed to the outside" atmosphere. Accordingly, the solvent in the reservoir is kept from evaporating and the machine can stand for a long time, ready for use, without any prior heating, without after-use cleanup, and with the ability to apply a pressure-sensitive adhesive or for that matter any volatile solvent-based coating material, to sheet or webbing material passed therethrough. However, when the machine is in use the sealing cover is automatically positioned out of the path of the sheet material. The features and objects of the present invention will become apparent with the study of the following description made in conjunction with a consideration of the figures wherein:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial exploded schematic of the present device;

H6. 2. is a side view schematic of the present device when no sheet material is being processed;

FlG. 3 is a side view schematic of the present device when sheet material is being processed; and

FIG. 4 is a side view of a second embodiment of the device.

Consider FIG. I which depicts an exploded pictorial of the present device. In FIG. I there is shown a housing means 11 wherein there is mounted an applicator roller 13. The motor to drive the roller I3 is not shown in the pictorial. The reservoir 55 is filled or loaded with adhesive material through which the applicator I3 is passed in order to lift the adhesive material to the aperture 14 for ultimate application to sheet material. The reservoir is also not shown in detail in the pictorial, but will be schematically shown in other drawings. It should be borne in mind that while the system is described with an adhesive material, it can be employed to coat items with lacquers, photosensitive materials and the like. It should also be borne in mind that applicators which are shaped other than in a roller form can be used. The reservoir is fed adhesive material from the container or bottle 15. It should be understood that the dimensions in the pictorial are not necessarily in accordance with the actual device.

The adhesive material from the container 15 is transported to the reservoir through the double tubes 17 and it should be understood that the tubes 17 maintain the reservoir at a constant level. There are many schemes, well known in the art, which act to keep a reservoir at constant level. In the preferred embodiment the level control operation consists of dual tube arrangement feeding into a pair of holes in the side of the reservoir. When the upper hole becomes exposed from the fluid, air is allowed to pass into the bottle I5 and accordingly the air displaces the fluid which is passed into the reservoir. This process continues until the upper hole is covered by the fluid and the system automatically stops. Although as stated above, there are other schemes for keeping the fluid at a constant level. Also shown in the pictorial of FIG. I is a plurality of picker knives 19. The purpose of the picker knives is to separate the sheet material or webbing material from the applicator roller I3 when the material has had the adhesives applied thereto. In other words, when the webbing material is transported through the system, the applicator 13 is rolling from top to bottom, as defined in Flg. 1 and as the sheet material clings to the roller it is separated therefrom by the picker knives 19. The blade edges of the picker knives are disposed tangential to the circumference of the roller 13.

After the sheet material has been coated with the adhesive and is transported to the picker knives and separated from the applicator, the sheet material is then guided by the guide plate 21 to the output ledge 23. As will become more meaningful from the FIGS. 2 and 3 when the sheet material is transported along the guide plate 21 to the output ledge 23, the side with the adhesive thereon will be facing the housing means 11 and accordingly will leave the output ledge 23 with the glue side up.

Also depicted in the pictorial of FIG. I is a spring device 25. The spring device 25 matches the position of the microswitch arm 27, only a portion of which is seen in the pictorial of FIG. I. As will become better understood hereinafter when a sheet item or webbing material is inserted into the machine, the spring 25 forces the sheet against the microswitch arm 27 which thus causes the microswitch arm 27 to close a microswitch (FIGS. 2 and 3) thereby turning on the mechanism to pull the cover (not described as yet) away from the applicator position and simultaneously turn on the motor to cause the applicator to rotate.

While the preferred embodiment is described with an electric motor drive for the applicator it should be understood that the applicator can be rotated by hand and accordingly there is shown in phanthom a manual knob 29 which can be used to rotate the applicator and move the cover if an electric motor drive is not employed.

When the webbing material or sheet material has been inserted into the machine and the microswitch has been closed in response to the microswitch arm 27 being moved, a solenoid in the machine, or the mechanism to move the cover mechanically, pulls the frame consisting of the bars 31. and 33 toward the back end of the housing 35. In so doing the cover means 37 is removed from its sealing position over the applicator. The cover 37 is hollowed out so that it fits over the protruding part of the rollers and the picker knives l9 and effects a tight fit over the aperture 14. The edge of the cover 37 has a rubber gasket 39, or a gasket of some soft sealing material. In the pictorial FIG. 1, the gasket 39 is shown broken at position 41 to give the reader a graphic indication that this is a soft sealing-type gasket.

Consider now FIG. 2 which is a schematic of the device and depicts in more detail the elements of the invention. In FIG. 2 there is shown the housing means 11 and the housing means 35. Also shown in FIG. 2 is the applicator roller 13. It will be noted that the applicator roller 13 or drum is shown rotating in a clockwise manner in FIG. 2. Accordingly, the doctor blade 45 is located with its controlling edge 46 facing the rotation of the applicator roller. The doctor blade can be adjusted by the movement of the eccentric screw 47. When the eccentric screw 47 is rotated the doctor blade assembly 45 pivots around the bolt or shaft 49.

As the applicator roller is rotated by the motor 53 which is mechanically linked through a mechanical linkage 51, the surface of the applicator roller passes through the reservoir 55 wherein there is held a supply of adhesive material 57.

In the preferred embodiment the adhesive material is a pressure-sensitive material composed of rubber (or some elastomer compound), a tackifier (which is normally some resin such as rosin), a solvent (which is preferably volatile, noninflammable and of low toxicity such as methylchloroform, or less desirably hexane, toluene, or trichlorethylene). In the preferred embodiment, I use 25 percent rubber, l2 percent tackifier and 63 percent solvent, although many combinations of the three materials can be employed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the applicator roller is not being rotated because there is no sheet material being transported through the machine. Now it should be understood that because the adhesive is kept in a fluid state by virtue of a solvent and the solvent is readily evaporable, the opening of the housing 11 must be sealed. This is accomplished by the cover means 37 with its gasket 39.

When the cover means 37 with the sealing gasket 39 is located as shown in FIG. 2, the housing and roller containing the adhesive material 57 is completely enclosed and hence the solvent does not evaporate" off. However the open space within the device itself is rich with a solvent vapor and accordingly the picker knives are subjected to a self-cleaning action. In other words, the solvent which is in the atmosphere that is trapped by the cover tends to keep the adhesive on the picker knives liquid and helps to prevent a rapid buildup of adhesive material thereon, by allowing drainage of the liquid adhesive back into the reservoir.

As is further depicted in FIG. 2, the input to the reservoir 55 (through the tube 17 of FIG. I) is the aperture 59. The control aperture 61 is shown in phanthom behind the applicator roller 13. In addition in FIG. 2 there is depicted a roller 43 located below the picker knives I9. The roller 43 has sharp, deep threads cut thereinto, so that if the delivered sheet is pulled too vigorously by the machine user (as may often happen) it would come in contact with the small ridges or roller 43, Le, without contacting or sticking to the lower part of the housing 55.

Also shown in FIG. 2 is the guide plate 21 which is mounted by the

brackets

63 and 65 onto the side of the housing 35. The side of the housing is obviously not shown. Further depicted in FIG. 2 is the spring 25. When the sheet material is fed into the machine and the microswitch arm 27 is rotated slightly to close the microswitch 67, there is electrical current passed from the electrical current source 69 (shown as a battery but which obviously could be another source of electrical current) through the microswitch 67, initially through the capacitor 71, and under the steady state conditions through the resistor 73, through the solenoid 75, to the motor via the line 77, through the motor 53, to ground potential 79 and back to the other side of the battery 69. While the circuit depicted herein is shown as a series circuit obviously it could be a parallel circuit. It becomes apparent with this electrical arrangement that when the microswitch 67 is closed the solenoid 75 is energized and the motor 53 is turned on.

When the solenoid 75 becomes energized the movable core 31 is attracted or moved in a right-hand direction (as considered in the figure) thereby pulling the bracket 31 therewith, When the bracket 31 is pulled, the cover plate 37 circumscribes a somewhat arcuate path to a position away from the transport path of sheet material passing through the machine. It will be noted in the circuitry that there is second resistor 83. The purpose of the second resistor 83 is to provide a discharge path for the electrical charge built up on capacitor 71 during the time that the system has been turned on and when the microswitch 27 opens, i.e., at the end of a sheet passing therethrough, the charge which has been built up on the capacitor 71 will commence to discharge through resistor 73, through the solenoid 75 and motor 53 to resistor 83 and the other side of capacitor 71. The discharge action will continue to hold the solenoid 75 energized and to keep the motor 53 in operation in accordance with the RC time developed by the capacitor 71 and the

resistors

73 and 83. This will enable the sheet material which is in the system to be transported out of the system before the cover 37 is relocated in its sealing" position. The hold circuit shown in FIG. 4 might be equally as well employed.

Consider now FIG. 3 which is almost identical to FIG. 2 excepting that there is shown two pieces of webbing material, in particular the sheet 85 and the sheet 87, being transported through the system. All of the identification numbers found in FIG. 2 are also found in FIG. 3 and are applied to the identical components.

It will be noted in FIG. 3 that when the sheet 85 is transrotated, thereby closing the microswitch 67. Accordingly, the sealing cover 73 is rotated slightly to the right defining the arcuate path shown by the dashed line 89. Now, as explained above, when the sheet 85 has passed by the microswitch staported through the system the microswitch arm 27 is slightly 335 tion and the arm 27 moves to the left thereby opening the 1 microswitch 67, the charge capacitor 71 will provide energy to the circuit thereby keeping the motor 53 energized and the solenoid 75 energized, so that the sheet 85 can be fully transported and have the adhesive applied thereto before the motor stops and the sealing cover returns. It will be noted that the 4 sheet 87 has already had the adhesive applied thereto and is now leaving the output edge 23. Depicted in FIG. 3 is a human hand 91 which is lifting the sheet from the device and is not being subjected to the sticky side, since the adhesive is located on the surface 93. Further shown in FIG. 3 is one of the picker knives 19. The picker knives 19 cause the sheets to be separated from the roller 13, as is shown. Also in FIG. 3 there is depicted two

guides

24 and 26. These guides are located approximately 10 thicknesses of paper from roller 13 and act to keep the sheet against the roller 13. It also should be understood that the housing 11 can be readily lifted from the machine so that the picker knives and other'parts of the device can be serviced and cleaned. When the housing 11 is removed from the device it is lifted at the separation position better depicted in FIG. 1 by the line 101. The housing element 11, along the edge depicted by the line 101, has a gasket means so that there is a good seal effected when the housing 11 is jointed with the reservoir 55.

FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment wherein two rollers are used, instead of one roller and a doctor blade..The identification numerals in FIG. 4 are the same as the identification numerals in FIGS. 2 and 3 wherever possible. The operation of the device of FIG. 4 is similar to that of the device of FIGS. 2 and 3 excepting in three aspects.

In FIG. 4 the roller 14 is mechanically linked to the motor 53. The roller 14 is rotated as shown by the arrow and accordinglypasses through the reservoir 55 of adhesive material 57. The adhesive material 57 is lifted by the roller 14 and is squeezed by the roller 13 to become deposited on the roller 13. It will be noted that roller 13 is mechanically linked to the roller 14 so that the motor 53 drives both. The clearance between the

rollers

14 and 13 determines the thickness of the adhesive layer on roller 13, just as did the doctor blade 45 in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In addition in FIG. 4 there is shown a hold switch circuit 68 which can be a light beam, a fluidic device using air to build back pressure or a mechanical device. When a sheet is moved past the switch 68 the switch is closed so that when switch 69 opens, the motor 53 and solenoid 75 remain energized until the sheet has moved beyond the hold station.

Also shown in FIG. 4 is a heating element 78 which is supplied power from a power source in the heater power and switch device 80. Actually in block 80 there is a relay which is energized by the circuit which energizes the solenoid 75 and the motor 53. The relay points of said relay close a circuit for the power which is transmitted on the lines 82 to furnish power to the heater 78. When the heater 78 is energized it furnishes heat to drive off the solvent of the adhesive material as the adhesive-coated sheet passes by. The foregoing action renders the adhesive less tacky to the touch when the sheet leaves the machine (but nonetheless tacky in response to pressure).

By employing an adhesive which is composed primarily of a rubber base, a tackifier and a solvent (which was described earlier), the sheet material can be coated and the solvent will readily evaporate (even without heater 78) as it passes along the guide plate 21 so that by the time it is in a position shown by the sheet element 87 the adhesive is no longer in a fluid condition but is in a tacky condition. Thereafter the adhesive stays in this tacky state and enables the items to which it is applied to be arranged on a makeup sheet. In addition if the galley proof (or whatever the sheet material might be) needs to be relocated, it can simply be removed and positioned into a new location and pressed into position by the pressure of a human thumb or forefinger.

The present device has the advantage of being readily available at all times since there is no heating necessary to heat up wax. In a preferred embodiment the device is shown as being electrically motor driven and having the sealing cover electrically activated. Of course such an arrangement would necessitate having it wire connected to an electrical outlet. On the other hand, as was explained with respect to FIG. I, there can be a mechanical operation of both the applicator roll and the sealing cover by having the sealing cover linked through a series of connecting bars and gears to the manual knob 24.

Since the present device does not rely upon a heater to keep wax in a moltent stage but instead on a solvent to keep the adhesive in a liquid state and therefore applicable to sheet material, the sealing cover 37 with the sealing gasket 39. is quite necessary to keep the solvent from evaporating out of the reservoir.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for applying coating material, which is held as a soft material, to items such as webbing material comprising in combination:

a. reservoir means;

b. coating material disposed in said reservoir means;

c. application means mounted to move in contact with said coating material and formed to lift a thin layer of said coating material on its surface from said reservoir and move said thin layer of coating material into contact with said items such as webbing material which are to be coated;

. housing means covering said reservoir with said adhesive material therein and said applicator means whereby said reservoir with said coating material therein and said applicator means are held substantially free from contact with the atmosphere;

. aperture means formed in said housing means to permit said applicator means to protrude therefrom to come in contact wit said items such as webbing material upon which said coating material is to be coated; and

f. sealing cover means movably mounted in proximity to said aperture so that when said sealing cover means is in a first position said aperture is sealed from the surrounding atmosphere whereby said reservoir and said applicator are sealed from the surrounding atmosphere, said sealing means in said first position preventing said webbing material from coming in contact with said applicator means and whereby when said sealing cover means is in said second position said aperture is exposed to said surrounding atmosphere, and said sealing means does not prevent said webbing material from coming in contact with said applicator means. 2. A device for applying coating material according to claim 1 wherein said coating material is an adhesive material including an evaporable solvent.

3. A device for applying coating material according to claim 2 wherein there is included heater means disposed in proximity to said sheet transport means to drive off an evaporable material in said coating material.

4. A device for applying coating material according to claim 3 wherein there is further included electrical switching means which operates in response to sheet material passing through said transport means so as to automatically move said sealing cover to said second position.

5. A device for applying coating material according to claim 4 wherein said electrical circuitry means includes means to provide electrical energy so that said sealing cover is held in said second position until after said sheet means which initiated said action has been transported through said device.

6. A device for applying coating material, according to claim 1 wherein there is further included picker knife means mounted within said housing means and disposed to protrude from said aperture whereby when said applicator means is in contact with webbing material said picker knife means serves to separate said webbing material from said applicator means.

7. A device for applying coating material in accordance with claim 1 wherein there is further included a doctor blade means disposed in close proximity to said applicator means whereby said doctor blade means determined the thickness of the layer of adhesive means which said applicator means is lifting on its surface.

8. A device for applying coating material in accordance with claim 1 wherein there is further included a sheet transport means formed to pass sheet material in close proximity to said applicator means when said sealing means is in said second position so that said sheet material comes in contact with said applicator means and further formed so that the side of said sheet material which does not come in contact with said applicator means leaves said transport means facing away from the base of said housing means whereby said sheet material can be handled without having the handler become sticky.

9. A device for applying coating material according to claim 1 wherein said applicator means is a roller which is mounted on a rotatably shaft an wherein there is included means to rotate said shaft.

10. A device for applying coating material in accordance with claim 9 wherein there is further included mechanical means to move said sealing cover simultaneously with the rotation of said shaft upon which said roller is mounted.

Claims

2. A device for applying coating material according to claim 1 wherein said coating material is an adhesive material including an evaporable solvent.
3. A device for applying coating material according to claim 2 wherein there is included heater means disposed in proximity to said sheet transport means to drive off an evaporaBle material in said coating material.
4. A device for applying coating material according to claim 3 wherein there is further included electrical switching means which operates in response to sheet material passing through said transport means so as to automatically move said sealing cover to said second position.
5. A device for applying coating material according to claim 4 wherein said electrical circuitry means includes means to provide electrical energy so that said sealing cover is held in said second position until after said sheet means which initiated said action has been transported through said device.
6. A device for applying coating material, according to claim 1 wherein there is further included picker knife means mounted within said housing means and disposed to protrude from said aperture whereby when said applicator means is in contact with webbing material said picker knife means serves to separate said webbing material from said applicator means.
7. A device for applying coating material in accordance with claim 1 wherein there is further included a doctor blade means disposed in close proximity to said applicator means whereby said doctor blade means determines the thickness of the layer of adhesive means which said applicator means is lifting on its surface.
8. A device for applying coating material in accordance with claim 1 wherein there is further included a sheet transport means formed to pass sheet material in close proximity to said applicator means when said sealing means is in said second position so that said sheet material comes in contact with said applicator means and further formed so that the side of said sheet material which does not come in contact with said applicator means leaves said transport means facing away from the base of said housing means whereby said sheet material can be handled without having the handler become sticky.
9. A device for applying coating material according to claim 1 wherein said applicator means is a roller which is mounted on a rotatable shaft and wherein there is included means to rotate said shaft.
10. A device for applying coating material in accordance with claim 9 wherein there is further included mechanical means to move said sealing cover simultaneously with the rotation of said shaft upon which said roller is mounted.