AU621775B2 - Method and apparatus for packing amassed goods with airing - Google Patents

Description

217~7~ F Ref: 149478 FORM 10 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE: Class Int Class Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: Related Art: Name and Address of Applicant: Tsukasa Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha 2-22-8, Higashi-Ueno Taito-ku Tokyo S .JAPAN Address for Service: Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia Complete Specification for the invention entitled: Method and Apparatus for Packing Amassed Goods with Airing The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the I best method of performing it known to me/us 5845/4 (i cL 11~111-- c

ABSTRACT:

In regard to the case when a stretch film is wound round in a state of tension on amassed goods for packing the same, this invention is so designed that the film is split in the width direction and in parallel into a large number of narrow-width tapes, while it is stretched, in a process oi winding the film around the goods and thereby diagonal spaces are formed naturally on a desired circumference of the amassed goods, so as to produce an airing effect t on the amassed goods.

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1 I i i I f S P E'C I F I C A T I O N TITLE OF THE TIVENTION: METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKING AMASSED GOODS WITH AIRING DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION: (TECHNICAL FIELD) In regard to the case when amassed goods are packed in one package by using a stretch-wrap film, this invention relates to a method and an apparatus for packing the goods so that they are kept aired.

(PRIOR ART) Stretch-wrap film packing has been conducted for preventing the breakup of goods amassed by ~It .stacking a number of box bodies in a certain shape.

Conventional methods therefor, however, are not suitable for packing fruits and the like which necessitate airing, since these goods are sealed t I A t I I *up by the film owing to the adhesion of the film itself, and therefore net packing has been adopted for packing with airing.

~However, a net i8 much more expensive than the stretch-wrap film and, in addition, it needs to be fixed at the starting end and the terminal by an adhesive tape or the like in the case of pallet packing. Consequently the packing operation

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i i- requires extra labor and time.

The present invention furnishes a method and an apparatus for packing which enable maintenance of the same airing effect as the net packing, with the stretch-wrap film employed, and it dispenses with an operation of fixing the opposite end parts of the film by making use of the adhesion of the surface of the film, and also attains the airing effect by forming a mesh-like airing part of a split film tape on the whole of amassed goods.

(SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION) The stretch-wrap film of the present invention is so designed that a film tape split in a prescribed ,width beforehand or a plurality of film tapes split in prescribed widths in the course of supply are wound round forward and backward on a palletamassed goods on a rotary table obliquely in the shape of a puttee (biasly) from the upper or lower end of the goods, while they are stretched in parallel simultaneously at a desired multiplication alit..

rate, so that diagonal or mesh-like space parts 1i be formed. The treatment of the starting end and the terminal of this film can be conducted in the same way as in usual stretch film packing.

Although a means for forming the split film 2 tapes can be adopted arbitrarily in the present invention, a slitter using juxtaposed knife edges is convenient for the purpose.

By controlling the operation of the slitter, it turns possible to seal up only the surface of the upper part of the goods by the stretch film, for instance, and thereby to prevent the infiltration of raindrops.

By forming a fold-back part positively at the opposite edges of each split film tape so as I to attain a strongly stretched and wound state, S, moreover, the area of an airing part is enlarged and also a mechanically stout packing form is Sobtained.

A folded-part forming means for this purpose can be attained effectively by a relatively simple 1 l means such as a wedge or a rod by utilizing that the film is in a stretched state as a whole.

(DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS) .Fig. 1 is an entire plan view of an aaratus of the present invention; Fig. 2 sa plan view I of the principal part th of; Fig. 3 is a surface view of the sta of split tapes; Fig. 4 is a front view of state of packing; Figs. 5 and 6 are plan Sncipal Parts of-the apparatas e- 3 I ii-l'~ui~--rruns~o*ea~~;ur~p -ll-~ When it is necessary that the upper surface of the amassed goods, to which the present invention is applied, be sealed (for the purpose of preventing raindrops from entering the same goods), the upper surface is enclosed '.wi'th a .covor hoot (not hown) in -ad va-noand i w on-L firmly i 5 with a wide wrapper film as the wide wrapper film is stretched with the intermediate portion thereof positioned at the shoulder portions of the amassed goods.

Since the wide wrapper films is wound in a stretched state, the upper half portion of the film is superposed in a folded state on the 1 uprmq SecA o hocc r 10 upper surface of theL t.r.-he--t At the same time, the film is strongly press-bonded at the lower end portions of the cover sheet, i.e. the side ,surface portions of the amassed goods.

In the packaging method according to the present invention, a wide wrapper film identical with that in a conventional packaging method is used on the upper and lower portions of amassed goods, and the II intermediate side surface portions only of the amassed goods are wrapped with slit strip films.

The strip films used in the present invention are folded back at their opposite edge portions as shown in Figs. 7-10, whereby the stretching strength of the strip films is improved.

The size of the non-film-wound surface portions of the amassed goods can be regulated by increasing or decreasing the width of the folded back portions of the strip filmq and a draw ratio of the same films.

i| 25 (DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS) Fig. 1 is an entire plan view of an apparatus of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the principal part thereof; Fig. 3 is a surface view of the state of split tapes; Fig. 4 is a front view of a state of packing; Figs. 5 and 6 are plan views of the principal parts of the apparatus of 3a S 561w ip L II ~-FI-smuarsarrtrra*aPsmu~Qi;r~ the present invention'which are provided with folded-part forming means; Fig. 7 is a front view of the folded-part forming means of Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is a plan view showing a process of formation of narrow-width tapes; Fig. 9 is a front view of the folded-part forming means of Fig. 6; and Fig. is a plan view showing a process of formation of narrow-width tapes, Slitters are omitted in Figs. 3, 8 and

(EMBODIMENT)

Numeral 1 denotes a rotary table, 2 amassed 44 goods and 3 a feed roll of a stretch-wrap film, and the film having a width of about 500 to 1000 mm i is employed.

4 and 5 denote guide rolls and 6 a slitter sii i having knife edges disposed at equal intervals in the direction of the width of the film, and the slitter is provided rotatably on an axis 7 so that it can be touched with or detached from the film, and is equipped with a rotational angle control Sdevice not shown in the figures.

8 denotes a brake roll, which can stretch the film by about 500 ordinarily in accordance with the number of rotations of the rotary table.

8a denotes a case wherein driving and rotation 4 llr~hl~n o o00 00 0- 0" o o o 0 0 00 0 0 00 0 03 s *i speed control devices'are incorporated.

9 denotes a rotary arm, 9a a pivotally fitting element, 10 a pressure roll, and 11 a guide roll.

12 denotes a support frame and 12a an extension frame, which are elevated along a mast 13 by a driving device not shown in the figure. 13a denotes a slide guide means.

14 denotes a folded-part forming means provided between the slitter 6 and the brake roll 8, and it is equipped with wedge-shaped guiding bodies 15 or rods 16 as shown in Fig. 7 or 9, which are provided with adjusting bolts 18 so that they can be adjusted thereby in positions along a shaft 17.

It is advisable that the folded-part forming means is so provided that it can be touched with or detached from the split film in the same way as the slitter 6. 19 denotes a rotating means.

A stretch-wrap film F from the feed roll 3 is split into five tapes T as shown in Fig. 3, for instance, by the slitter 6 and is stretched in parallel in accordance with the ratio in rotation between the brake roll 8 and the rotary table.

Therefore, the respective width of the tapes is made small according to the multiplication rate o.f stretch and the tapes are wound round biasly _id L in said tape widths on amassed goods.

When a fold-back part 20 is formed in each tape, the narrow-width tape passing through the folded-part forming means 13 is stretched by a stronger force and wound round on the amassed goods 2 strongly.

In this case, in other words, the edges of the tape is folded back to be double, and therefore a tear hardly occurs in the edges even when the strong force of stretch is applied 0 °000 thereto.

i 00 °o l In either of the above-described cases, i "0 winding can be started from either upper or lower end arbitrarily. When the winding is -l 0 0 0 started at the pallet side, for instance, the film roll is raised gradually, and when it reaches 0 <the upper end, the slitter 6 and the folded-part forming means 14 are detached so that the film is a 0 wound as an ordinary stretch-wrap film. At the S" time of lowering, the slitter alone or both the slitter and the folded-part forming means are made to operate again, so that the film is wound biasly in the shape of tapes.

Thereby diagonal airing parts 21 are formed on the lateral side of the intermediate part of 6 ~;__IXLIIII__U___I__UIWj 0 00 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 000 0 00 0 0 0000 0000 0000 0 0 00 0 00 0 0 o 0 o o 00 S00 the goods (Fig. 4).

On the lower end side, each of the terminals of the tapes may be fitted in a sticking manner by utilizing the self-adhesion of the film, or it is also possible to wind the film round with the slitter set in non-operation.

(EFFECT)

In the present invention, the width of the tape to be wound can be adjusted arbitrarily by changing the multiplication rate of stretch and the number of the knife edges or the amount of fold at the opposite edges, and thereby the dimensions of the airing parts can be varied.

Moreover, the density of the distribution of the airing parts can be changed according to the number of layers of the wound tapes.

Besides, the upper part and/or the lower part of the goods can be sealed up as occasion calls for, and therefore a preferable packing form car. be furnished appropriately in accordance with t.ie properties of guods to be packed.

The present invention needs only a slight alteration of existing equipment and, in addition, the method of operation according thereto is similar to that of conventional stretch-wrap film packing.

7 i Therefore it enables execution of economical packing with airing, in addition to excellent operability and the low cost of the film.

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Claims (10)

1. Wrapping apparatus for forming and applying a stretchable self-adhering plastic film mesh wrapping about amassed goods or stacked containers and capable of allowing airing of the goods or contents of the stacked containers and forming a unitary package, comprising a rotatably driven table on which amassed goods or containers are held during wrapping thereof, roll-mounting means for rotatably mounting a roll of stretchable plastic film having an adhesive agent on one side thereof and a longitudinal axis disposed substantially vertically, said roll-mounting means being movable upwardly and downwardly relative to said table and goods or containers disposed thereon, said roll-mounting means mounting said roll rotatably for winding of film from said roll as a film wrapping is applied to said goods or containers on the rotary table when said table is rotatably driven, slitter means movable upwardly and downwardly synchronously with upward and downward movement of said roll and disposed I for slitting the film to form a plurality of parallel tapes as the film 00 o is unwound from said roll, tension applying means for stretching said parallel tapes jointly as they are being applied to said goods or containers during rotation thereof, and means for controlling the rate of 0 ooupward and downward movement of said roll, the slitter and the tension-applying means for developing and applying said mesh wrapping wound as two oppositely wound spirals of spaced parallel tapes.

2. Nrapping apparatus according to claim 1, in which said slitter comprises a plurality of pivoted blades disposed for slitting said film •into said plurality of parallel tapes.

3. Wrapping apparatus according to claim 2, in which said slitter comprises a rockable pivot mounting said blades for effecting movement of 0« 00: the blades into an operative position for slitting said film as it is unwound and for moving away from the film as it is unwound to keep from slitting the film.

4. Wrapping apparatus according to claim 3, in which said blades are mountable individually on said pivot to provide for varying the number.of blades on the slitter to thereby vary the number of tapes into which the film is slit and vary the width of the individual tapes. -9- STA/1546h a9 Wrapping apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, including means for automatically reversely foluing at least one longitu-dinal marginal edge portion of each tape over the remainder of each said tape after'slitting of the film and during forming and applying of said mesh wrapping.

6. Wrapping apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, including ''olding means for automatically reversely folding each tape longitudinally to strengthen the tapes individually, and the individual folded tapes having said folding effected and retaining a self-adhering characteristic thereof.

7. Wrapping apparatus according to claim 6, in which said folding means comprises means for varying the reverse folding of said tapes for variably determining a width of the individual folded tapes to thereby vary the stretchability and strength thereof.

8. A method of forming and applying a stretchable self-adhering film mesh wrapping about amassed goods or stacked containers and capable of allowing airing of the amassed goods or contents of the stacked Scontainers and forming a unitary package, said method comprising, providing a vertically standing roll of stretchable self-adhering film, rotating the roll of film under control of amassed goods or containers rotatably driven and on which said mesh wrapping is to be formed and thereby unrolling film for developing said mesh wrapping, slitting said film as it is unrolled from said roll to form a plurality of parallel tapes wound about said amassed goods or containers being rotatably driven, moving the roll vertically in one vertical direction and then in an opposite vertical direction as said amassed goods or containers are rotatably driven and to which the tapes are adher'd by applying tension vo to the tapes, whereby the parallel tapes are wound as two oppositely wound spirals of spaced parallel tapes defining said mesh wrapping.

9. A method of forming and applying a stretchable self-adhering film mesh wrapping according to claim 8, in which said parallel tapes are automatically folded longitudinally during the forming of the wrapping before the tapes are applied to the amassed goods or stacked containers so as to thereby increase their strength. A method of forming and applying a stretchable self-adhering film mesh wrapping according to claim 8 or 9, in which the slitting of said parallel tapes can be adjusted to provide parallel tapes of different widths. STA/1546h

11. Wrapping apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A method of forming and applying a stretchable self adhering film mesh wrapping substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this TENTH day of JANUARY 1992 Tsukasa Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON S0 0 a e e a o 0 o o o 0 0o 0 o 11- V STA/1546h r