CASSETTE UNIT FOR USE IN APPLICATION SYSTEMS FOR THE APPLICATION OF ADHESIVE ELEMENTS

Description

This application claims foreign priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of the German Patent Application No. DE 10 2024 207 806.9, filed Aug. 15, 2024, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a cassette unit for use in application systems for the application of adhesive elements, to a corresponding application system for the application of adhesive elements, and to a method for operating such an application system.

The use of adhesive elements is nowadays an important integral part of many modern production processes. These adhesive elements are not only used to fasten components to a substrate, but in particular also serve to close openings in a substrate. Such openings are usually created during production and constitute potential weak points in the final product through which, for example, moisture or dirt could pass. The use of suitable adhesive elements, usually adhesive on one side, to close such openings in substrates is a simple, time-efficient and cost-efficient solution for closing such openings and preventing the unwanted ingress of dirt, with such adhesive elements, which are also referred to as die-cuts due to their manufacturing process, now being already regularly used for this purpose in the prior art.

It is in principle conceivable for such adhesive elements to be placed manually on a substrate. However, in the course of increasing automation and a continued interest in a workflow that is as fault-free and efficient as possible, automated application devices have been developed that are used to apply adhesive elements to a substrate to be bonded. Such application devices thus have to fulfil a wide range of requirements. In particular, such application devices must enable adhesive elements to be applied to the substrates in a reliable and reproducible manner, while also ideally achieving a high throughput.

One group of application devices known from the prior art relies on adhesive elements, provided in a separate dispenser arrangement at a distance from the application device, being picked up by the application device and placed on the substrate. However, this design is usually perceived as disadvantageous, as it usually requires a lot of installation space and normally requires a relatively space-consuming movement of the application elements when these are being moved back and forth between the dispenser unit and the substrate to be bonded, this being perceived as inefficient in many cases. Correspondingly long guide paths increase the risk of misplacement, for example due to slipping on the application element, and of dirt on the adhesive element, which may result in undesirable degradation of the achievable bond strength.

Against this background, application devices having an integrated dispenser arrangement for adhesive elements have been designed, in which the distances between the provision of the adhesive element and the application device are very short, such that both may be designed, for example, as part of an end effector of a robot head. Among these application devices having an integrated dispensing device for the adhesive elements, in particular those designs in which the supplying of corresponding application devices is affected by means of refill cassettes, enabling rapid filling of the application device with new adhesive elements, have proven to be advantageous.

A particularly efficient and advantageous application device having a refill cassette is disclosed in DE 102022125422 A1.

With this application device known from the prior art, it is possible to replace the reservoir for the die-cuts in a time-efficient and cost-efficient manner, such that the operating times of the application device are maximised. At the same time, the installation space required for the application device can thus be minimised, while the previously emptied refill cassettes can also be refilled in an advantageous manner, such that the resulting process is particularly sustainable, and in particular the quantity of separation liner produced, which would have to be disposed of, can be minimised.

Despite the considerable advantages that may be achieved with the application device of DE 102022125422 A1, the inventors of the present invention have identified specific areas of development in which further improvements would be desirable. A decisive aspect here is the design of the refill cassette. This is because the greatest challenge here is to reliably guide the strip-type dispenser material strip, provided on the supply roller and on which the adhesive elements are arranged, through the dispensing region of the cassette unit, in which the adhesive elements can be separated, and then to wind the strip-type separation material, thus freed of adhesive elements, onto the receiving roller. It is necessary in this case to ensure particularly robust guiding of the dispenser material tape inside the cassette unit, allowing the dispenser material tape to be guided reliably and faultlessly through the refill cassette, even under the mechanical loads that occur during use.

In the case of the cassette units known from DE 102022125422 A1, apart from the specific arrangement of the two rollers, this was implemented by means of stationary deflection elements around which the strip-type dispenser material strip can be guided in front of the dispensing edge before it is wound onto the receiving roller behind the dispensing edge. The use of such stationary deflection elements, which are also referred to as deflection rails, is in principle preferred to the use of rotating elements, such as deflection rollers. On the one hand, such deflection rails are less susceptible to mechanical loads and additionally have a longer service life in most cases. In addition, it is important that the guiding of the dispenser material strip in the cassette unit is affected with a sufficiently large radius of curvature so that the adhesive elements arranged on the separation material are not detached before the dispensing edge. Corresponding gentle deflection angles can be realised with appropriate deflection rails in a much more space-saving and component-saving manner than with rotatable guide rollers.

Despite the advantages associated with the use of such a guide rail, its implementation is also associated with disadvantages. The need to provide such a guide rail increases the manufacturing work and material costs associated with the production of such cassette units. In addition, guiding the dispenser material strip past the stationary deflection rail generates frictional resistance that counteracts the wanted guiding of the strip in the cassette unit, and there is additionally the risk that material defects on the surface of the deflection rail, which may remain as injection moulding defects in the form of projections or edges, for example, may damage the separation material guided over the deflection rail.

The primary object of the present invention was to eliminate or at least reduce the disadvantages of the prior art described above.

In particular, it was an object of the present invention to present an advantageous cassette unit, for use in application systems for the application of adhesive elements, that can be produced in a more time-efficient and cost-efficient manner, in particular with material savings compared to the prior art.

In this context, one object of the present invention was that the robustness of the cassette unit to be specified should not deteriorate during subsequent operation and, ideally, should even be improved.

It was a further object of the present invention that the cassette unit to be specified should be such that it can be realized in such a way that the durability of the cassette unit should be improved, whereby in particular the probability of damage to the strip-type separation material guided in the cassette unit should be further reduced, such that, in particular, a greater number of recycling cycles for the emptied cassette unit should be made possible, and thus the advantageous economic and ecological effects of the use of the cassette unit should be further improved.

In addition, it was a desirable aim that the cassette unit to be specified should make it possible to reduce the force required for guiding the material dispensing strip in the cassette unit, and thus the energy input required.

In addition, it was an object of the present invention to provide an advantageous application system that utilises the cassette unit to be specified, as well as a corresponding method for the application of adhesive elements.

The inventors of the present invention have now found that the objects described above, based on the cassette units known from DE 102022125422 A1, can be achieved if the use of deflecting elements, in particular deflection rails, is largely dispensed with and instead the dispenser material strip is guided directly over the receiving roller, which thereby acts as a deflecting element, as it were, as described in the claims.

Due to this advantageous design, it is possible to significantly simplify the structure of such cassette units and to considerably reduce the variety of parts required for production, as well as the complexity of the production process. As a result, it is possible for the cassette units according to the invention to be produced in a significantly more time-efficient and cost-efficient manner. The advantageous guiding of the dispenser material strip, still provided with adhesive elements, over the strip-type separation material, already wound onto the receiving roller, for the purpose of deflection also makes it possible, advantageously, to reliably reduce the risk of damage to the strip-type separation material that would result from production defects of any deflection elements. In particularly preferred designs, it is additionally possible to select the direction of rotation of the receiving roller in such a way that the vector of the tangential velocity coincides with the strip guiding direction of the dispenser material strip. Instead of a braking effect due to the friction of the strip-type separation material on any deflection rail, this results synergistically in an additional conveying effect and reduced friction, as the dispenser material strip is deflected on a component that is already rotating at the appropriate speed in the wanted direction, without the need to install an additional complex rotating guide element, such that less installation space is needed and the energy required for operation can be reduced.

The aforementioned objects are thus achieved by the subject-matter of the invention as defined in the claims. Preferred embodiments according to the invention are evident from the dependent claims and the following explanations.

Such embodiments, which are referred to below as preferred, are combined in particularly preferred embodiments with features of other embodiments referred to as preferred. Combinations of two or more of the embodiments referred to below as particularly preferred are thus very particularly preferred. Also preferred are embodiments in which a feature of an embodiment referred to as preferred to any extent is combined with one or more of further features of other embodiments referred to as preferred to any extent. Features of preferred application systems and methods are evident from the features of preferred cartridge units.

In particular, preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the exemplary embodiments. Particularly preferred embodiments of the invention accordingly have two or more, preferably three or more, most particularly preferably four or more, of the preferred features of the invention disclosed below, which are also realised in the exemplary embodiments.

The invention relates to a cassette unit for use in application systems for the application of adhesive elements, comprising:

• • i) a supply roller,
  • ii) a receiving roller,
  • iii) a dispensing edge, and
  • iv) a strip-type dispenser material strip, the dispenser material strip comprising a multiplicity of adhesive elements arranged on a strip-type separation material,
  • the dispenser material strip being partially wound on the supply roller and fastened at one end to the receiving roller,
  • the strip-type separation material being guided around the dispensing edge, between the supply roller and the receiving roller with respect to the strip direction,
  • the strip-type separation material being guided around the receiving roller, or around the part of the strip-type separation material wound on the receiving roller, in front of the dispensing edge with respect to the strip direction, such that the receiving roller, or the part of the strip-type separation material wound on the receiving roller, acts as a deflection element for deflecting the dispenser material strip.

Application systems for the application of adhesive elements, as well as cassette units suitable for use in such application systems, are basically known from the prior art, in particular from DE 102022125422 A1, such that reference may be made to the prior art in respect of many basic principles.

In accordance with the prior art, the basic principle of the cassette unit according to the invention is based on the fact that the filled cassette unit comprises a dispenser material strip that comprises the adhesive elements that are to be applied in the subsequent application process and which are arranged in the dispenser material strip on a strip-type separation material. In its initial state, this strip-type dispenser material strip is largely wound onto the supply roller and is fastened at one end to the receiving roller, such that it can be transferred from one roller to the other. The dispensing material strip passes through a so-called dispensing edge, in which the dispensing material strip, or its strip-type separation material, is deflected so sharply that the adhesive elements, when guided over the dispensing edge, can be detached from the strip-type separation material due to their inherent rigidity and discharged from the cassette unit. It is thus a cassette unit according to the invention in which the cassette unit is configured such that a dispenser material strip, provided on the receiving roller and comprising a multiplicity of adhesive elements arranged on the strip-type second separation material, can be guided over the dispensing edge to the supply roller in such a way that the adhesive elements can be separated from the separation material at the dispensing edge and discharged from the cassette unit.

Preferred in this case is cassette unit according to the invention in which the cassette unit is a refillable cassette unit. Additionally or alternatively, preferred is a cassette unit according to the invention in which the supply roller and the receiving roller in the cassette unit are in the form of non-driven rollers, such that these may be driven via the drive units of an application device.

Basically preferred is a cassette unit according to the invention in which the cassette unit comprises a housing, preferably a plastic housing, the housing comprising a discharge opening in the region of the dispensing edge.

It may be viewed as an advantage of the cassette units according to the invention that in principle, in respect of the adhesive elements used and the dispenser material strip, they can be operated with the same components that are known from the prior art, such that, to that extent, there is no need for any adaptation of the existing manufacturing processes. Accordingly, a cassette unit according to the invention is preferred in which the adhesive elements are die-cuts. Additionally or alternatively, also preferred is a cassette unit according to the invention in which the adhesive elements comprise a carrier layer and an adhesive layer connected thereto, the adhesive elements being arranged with the adhesive layer on the first separation material. Again additionally or alternatively, a cassette unit according to the invention is preferred in which the adhesive elements are pressure-sensitive adhesive elements and/or in which the adhesive layer comprises a pressure-sensitive adhesive composition, the adhesive layer preferably being composed of a pressure-sensitive adhesive composition. Particularly preferred in this case is cassette unit according to the invention in which the carrier layer comprises one or more of materials selected from the group composed of polyethylene, polypropylene, cyclic olefin copolymers, polyvinyl chloride, polyester, ethylene vinyl alcohol, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyacrylonitrile, polycarbonate, polyamide, polyethersulfone and polyimide, preferably selected from the group composed of polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate, the carrier layer preferably being composed of these materials.

Additionally or alternatively, particularly preferred in this case is a cassette unit according to the invention in which the side of the adhesive elements that faces away from the adhesive layer is formed by the carrier layer.

Likewise preferred, additionally or alternatively, is a cassette unit according to the invention in which the strip-type separation material is a liner. Particularly preferred in this respect is a cassette unit according to the invention in which the strip-type separation material is coated with a release layer, preferably with a silicone release layer, on the side that faces towards the adhesive elements, the silicone release layer preferably being such that it can be produced by crosslinking a crosslinkable silicone system comprising a polysiloxane or a plurality of polysiloxanes.

It is essential to the invention that, unlike in DE 102022125422 A1, it is not necessary to use a stationary deflection guide or other separate guide elements in order to deflect the dispenser material strip, but rather that the strip-type separation material is guided around the receiving roller, or around the part of the strip-type separation material already placed on the receiving roller. In other words, it is therefore a cassette unit according to the invention in which the strip-type separation material is guided around the receiving roller, or around the part of the strip-type separation material wound on the receiving roller, in front of the dispensing edge with respect to the strip direction, in such a way that it contacts the receiving roller or the part of the strip-type separation material wound on the receiving roller.

The above definition, that the strip-type separation material is guided around the receiving roller, or the part of the strip-type separation material wound on the receiving roller, takes into account the fact that, when the cassette unit according to the invention is in the fully filled initial state, it may happen that the receiving roller is not yet completely wound with the strip-type separation material, such that the strip-type separation material guided around the receiving roller actually contacts the roller core. As the dispensing of the adhesive elements progresses, however, the receiving roller is filled with strip-type separation material that can then contact the dispenser material strip.

Following on from this consideration, it is at least theoretically conceivable that different parts of the receiving roller could be used for deflecting the dispenser material strip and for winding the strip-type separation material. For example, guiding of the strip could be effected, at least theoretically, via a front or rear sub-portion of the receiving roller, while the winding of the strip-type separation material is effected on a second, different portion, such that the dispenser material strip is guided over the roller core throughout the entire emptying process of the cassette unit. The inventors, however, consider this theoretical design to be less preferable, as the structural height of the receiving roller would have to be of a larger design, which would increase the space requirement. Moreover, it would be necessary to deflect the dispenser material strip laterally at least once from the original guide plane, between the deflecting and the winding of the strip-type separation material, such that the interaction with the receiving roller is effected at two mutually differing sub-portions, which in turn would increase the complexity of the cassette unit, such that the inventors consider that such designs are more suitable for special applications.

The advantageous structure according to the invention makes it possible, in preferred embodiments, to substantially completely dispense with further deflection or guide elements, thereby making it possible to optimise the time efficiency and cost efficiency of the production of such cassette units, to reduce the amount of material required and, in particular, also to achieve an advantageous reduction in weight, which is advantageous in particular for use in such application systems that are in the form of end effectors of industrial robots. In the light of the foregoing, a person skilled in the art will understand that it is particularly preferred to utilise the possibility, opened up by the invention, for reducing such deflection or guide elements by the cassette unit correspondingly also making use of these elements as little as possible. Even if it would theoretically be possible, for example, to provide further guide rollers, which may even make sense for certain high-performance applications, it is nevertheless preferred for substantially all embodiments if no further deflection elements are provided beyond the deflection on the receiving roller, or the dispensing edge, and the number of other guide elements that contact the dispensing material belt is also minimised in order to reduce the range of parts and the friction in the system. Preferred, therefore, is a cassette unit according to the invention in which the cassette unit does not comprise any further deflection elements for deflecting the dispenser material strip, in particular any deflection rails, that deflect the dispenser material strip by more than 30° between the supply roller and the dispensing edge with respect to the strip direction. Additionally or alternatively, a cassette unit according to the invention is preferred in which the cassette unit does not comprise any further guide elements for guiding the dispenser material strip, in particular any deflection rails, that contact the dispenser material strip between the supply roller and the dispensing edge with respect to the strip direction.

A major advantage of the design of the cassette unit according to the invention is that, by using the supply roller as a deflection element, it is possible to guide the dispenser material strip to the dispensing edge in a particularly space-efficient manner without causing an excessively sharp deflection, which might cause premature detachment of the adhesive elements from the strip-type separation material, and should be avoided accordingly. In this respect, the inventors have succeeded in identifying particularly advantageous dimensions for the respective roller core for the most common adhesive elements for the supply roller and the receiving roller, with which particularly advantageous cassette units according to the invention can be obtained. Specifically, a cassette unit according to the invention is preferred in which the supply roller without the dispenser material strip has a roller diameter D_Z in the range of from 10 to 30 cm, preferably in the range of from 12 to 25 cm, particularly preferably in the range of from 14 to 20 cm. Additionally or alternatively, a cassette unit according to the invention is preferred in which the receiving roller without the strip-type separation material has a roller diameter D_A in the range of from 5 to 30 cm, preferably in the range of from 7 to 25 cm, particularly preferred in the range of from 14 to 20 cm.

In the course of developing the present invention, the inventors have found that, for optimum performance, it is advisable to design the diameter of the roller cores of the supply roller and the receiving roller to be as similar as possible, the use of roller cores of substantially the same size being particularly preferred in particular, since this advantageously results, with a space-saving arrangement, in excellent deflection angles at the supply roller and the dispensing edge that enable particularly reliable operation. Preferred, therefore, is a cassette unit according to the invention in which the receiving roller without the strip-type separation material has a roller diameter D_A in the range of from 0.4*D_Z to 1.6*D_Z, preferably in the range of from 0.6*D_Z to 1.4*D_Z, particularly preferably in the range of from 0.8*D_Z to 1.2*D_Z, wherein D_Z is the roller diameter of the supply roller without the dispenser material strip.

A particularly advantageous design of the cassette units according to the invention is obtained if the direction of rotation of the receiving roller that results during the winding of the strip-type separation material is selected such that the vector of the rotational velocity on the outside of the supply roller coincides with the strip direction vector of the dispenser material strip guided around the supply roller. Advantageously, the rotation used for winding the strip-type separation material thus simultaneously conveys the dispenser material strip, which moreover is advantageously effected at substantially the same speed, such that frictional motions may be almost completely avoided, thereby making it possible for the cassette unit according to the invention to be operated in a manner that is particularly sparing of material and with low friction.

Preferred, therefore, is a cassette unit according to the invention in which the cassette unit is designed such that a rotation of the receiving roller for winding up the strip-type separation material, freed from adhesive elements at the dispensing edge, is effected such that the direction of rotation in the region of contact with the guided-around strip-type separation material coincides with the direction of conveyance of the strip-type separation material.

The cassette unit according to the invention may be used in an application system as known from DE102022125422A1, and it may be viewed as a major advantage of the invention that the advantageous cassette units according to the invention may be used without the need to make any design changes to the existing application devices.

Accordingly, the invention also relates to an application system for the application of adhesive elements, comprising:

• • I) an application device,
  • II) a cassette receiver having at least one drive unit,
  • III) a cassette unit according to the invention arranged in the cassette receiver,
  • the application system being configured, by use of the drive unit, to cause the dispenser material strip to be guided through the cassette unit arranged in the cassette receiver, such that the dispenser material strip is guided in front of the dispensing edge around the receiving roller, or around the part of the strip-type separation material wound on the receiving roller, such that the receiving roller, or
  • the part of the strip-type separation material wound on the receiving roller, acts as a deflection element for deflecting the dispenser material strip, and such that the dispenser material strip is then guided around the dispensing edge in such a way that the adhesive elements are separated from the separation material and discharged from the cassette unit.

Preferred application systems in this case are based on such designs that have already proven to be particularly efficient in the prior art.

For example, an application system according to the invention is preferred in which the drive unit is an electric motor.

Additionally or alternatively, an application system according to the invention is preferred in which the application system additionally comprises:

• • IV) a transfer unit comprising a revolving conveyor belt having an adhesion-reduced surface, the transfer unit preferably comprising a transfer dispensing edge.

Again additionally or alternatively, an application system according to the invention is preferred in which the transfer unit is preferably arranged in such a way that the adhesive elements discharged from the cassette unit may be transferred directly to the transfer unit.

Likewise preferred, additionally or alternatively, is an application system according to the invention in which the application device comprises a movement unit and a receiving unit arranged on the movement unit, the receiving unit being configured to realize a reversibly and non-destructively detachable connection to a carrier layer of the adhesive elements. Particularly preferred is an application system according to the invention in which the receiving unit comprises one or more controllable suction grippers, the application device preferably comprising one or more vacuum pumps connected to the suction grippers. Particularly preferred, additionally or alternatively, is an application system according to the invention in which the movement unit comprises a piston arrangement having a cylinder and a piston that can be moved in the cylinder, the movement unit preferably comprising a rotation device for rotating the piston arrangement.

In addition to the design of the application device known from the prior art, the use of cassette units according to the invention results in a particularly advantageous design if the application system is able to determine the radius of the supply roller and/or the receiving roller, it being conceivable in principle to calculate the radius of one roller using the known radius of the other roller with knowledge of the total quantity of strip-type separation material, or dispenser material strip. Such a determination of the radius may be effected in particular by means of contactless distance meters spaced in the radial direction, for example ultrasound-based distance meters that can deduce the radius of the roller, and thus the fill level, from the distance measured in each case from the circumferential surface of the roll. This knowledge enables the rotational speed acting at the outer edge to be deduced from the number of revolutions of the respective roller, thereby making it possible to match the rotation of the rollers to each other so as to enable optimum strip guiding of the strip-type separation material with uniform winding and unwinding, which in particular ensures a particularly advantageous interaction between the rotating receiving roller and the dispenser material strip guided around it. Accordingly, an application system according to the invention is preferred in which the application system comprises means for determining the radius of the supply roller and/or the radius of the receiving roller, preferably the radius of the supply roller and the radius of the receiving roller, preferably as a constituent part of the application device. Particularly preferred is an application system according to the invention in which the application system is configured to cause the dispenser material strip to be guided through the cassette unit arranged in the cassette holder in dependence on the radius of the supply roller and/or the radius of the receiving roller, preferably the radius of the supply roller and the radius of the receiving roller, preferably to maintain a predefined strip speed. Particularly preferred, additionally or alternatively, is an application system according to the invention in which the means of determining the radius are selected from the group composed of optical image acquisition devices and contactless distance measuring devices, preferably contactless distance measuring devices, particularly preferably ultrasound-based distance measuring devices.

The invention also relates to a method for operating an application system according to the invention, comprising the method steps:

• • a) guiding the dispenser material strip through the cassette unit arranged in the cassette receiver, the dispenser material strip being guided around the receiving roller, or around the part of the strip-type separation material wound on the receiving roller, in front of the dispensing edge, such that the receiving roller, or the part of the strip-type separation material wound on the receiving roller, acts as a deflection element for deflecting the dispenser material strip, and
  • the dispenser material strip being guided around the dispensing edge in such a way that the adhesive elements are separated from the separation material and discharged from the cassette unit, and
  • b) applying, by means of the application device, the adhesive elements discharged from the cassette unit.

Preferred in this case is a method according to the invention in which the receiving roller for winding up the separation material, freed from adhesive elements at the dispensing edge, is rotated in such a way that the direction of rotation in the region of contact with the guided-around separation material coincides with the direction of conveyance of the separation material.

Preferred in this respect, additionally or alternatively, is a method according to the invention in which the guiding of the dispenser material strip through the cassette unit arranged in the cassette holder is effected in dependence on the radius of the supply roller and/or the radius of the receiving roller, preferably the radius of the supply roller and the radius of the receiving roller, preferably to maintain a predefined strip speed.

In the following, the invention and preferred embodiments of the invention are explained and described in more detail with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a cassette unit according to the invention in a preferred embodiment, in the filled state; and

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a cassette unit according to the invention in a preferred embodiment, in the filled state.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of the main constituents of a cassette unit 10 according to the invention in a preferred embodiment, as it may be in the filled state. Represented here are the essential components, which in subsequent use may be installed in a housing, as is also known, for example, from DE 102022125422 A1.

The cassette unit 10 comprises a supply roller 12 and a receiving roller 14, which in the example shown have a roller core that has a diameter of approximately 17.9 cm. It can be seen in FIG. 1 that the supply roller 12 is filled with a dispenser material strip 18, which comprises a classic separation liner as a strip-type separation material, arranged on which are a multiplicity of die-cuts, as adhesive elements, that are connected to the strip-type separation material via their adhesive layer.

The end of the strip-type release material belt 18 is fastened to the receiving roller 14 in such a way that it is guided between the supply roller 12 and the receiving roller 14 over a dispensing edge 16. At the dispensing edge 16, the strip-type separation material is deflected so sharply that the intrinsic rigidity of the die-cuts causes them to be detached from the strip-type separation material and enables them to be discharged at the dispensing edge 16. For reasons of clarity, the adhesive elements are not depicted in FIG. 1. For greater clarification, the strip-type dispenser material strip 18 that still comprises adhesive elements is shown with darker hatching up to the dispensing edge 16 than after the dispensing edge 16. Due to the different hatching of the dispenser material strip 18 before and after the dispensing edge 16, it is clearly evident in FIG. 1 that, at the receiving roller 14, which acts as a deflection element, the strip-type separation material is guided around the receiving roller 14, the cassette unit 10 being realized in such a way that the direction of rotation of the receiving roller 14 in the region of contact with the dispenser material strip 18 has the same direction as the direction of strip guiding.

FIG. 2 shows the same cassette unit 10 that is also represented in FIG. 1, but at a later time-point in the method according to the invention, namely when the die-cuts contained in the cassette unit 10 have already been largely dispensed. In this state, there is only a small portion of the dispenser material strip 18 still arranged on the supply roller 12, such that, correspondingly, there is large portion of the strip-type separation material wound onto the receiving roller 14, the radius of which increases accordingly.

It is evident from FIG. 2 that, advantageously, even with a growing increase in the diameter of the strip-type separation material wound on the receiving roller 14, an advantageously gentle deflection of the strip-type dispenser material strip 18 is effected and the receiving roller 14 can advantageously be positioned in such a way that, even in the case of a largely filled state, a sharp deflection of the strip-type separation material can still be achieved at the dispensing edge in order to ensure efficient discharge of the adhesive elements from the cassette unit 10.

LIST OF REFERENCE DESIGNATIONS

• • 10 cassette unit
  • 12 supply roller
  • 14 receiving roller
  • 16 dispending edge
  • 18 dispenser material strip