Wrapping Material and Method Of Manufacturing The Same
The invention relates generally to a method and material for wrapping items using separate wrapping portions of a predetermined length that are attached and released at their ends using a perforation. The wrapping portions include a repositionable multi-layered adhesive disposed at a single lateral end of each wrapping material so that when the wrapping portions detach at the perforation, the multi-layered adhesive securely bonds at least one wrapping portion around the circumference of the item being wrapped at the end of a wrapping cycle.
1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wrapping materials that are wrapped around a dispensing roll and are perforatedly connected to one another. The wrapping material is used to wrap an item and includes a number of perforations defining separate wrapping portions so that each wrapping portion easily releases from the remainder of the roll of wrapping portions at the end of a wrapping cycle to wrap an item.
2) Description of Related Art
Wrapping materials that use interlocking systems are generally known in the art. These interlocking systems releaseably attach two wrapping portions, each of which have an adhesive layer disposed at both lateral ends of the wrapping portion. More specifically, each wrapping portion includes a first lateral end upon which a low adhesive releasable layer is disposed and a second lateral end upon which a high adhesive layer is disposed. The two wrapping portions are secured together by attaching the releasable adhesive layer of a first wrapping portion to the highly adhesive layer of a second wrapping portion.
The disadvantage of using a system that requires both lateral ends of the wrapping portions to have an adhesive layer disposed thereon is that the item being wrapped, or a portion thereof, is likely to come in contact with the lower adhesive layer and thus some of the adhesive, which is disclosed as preferably being silicone, may stick or be otherwise transferred to the item being wrapped. For illustrative purposes only, if the wrapping portions described in the prior art were used to wrap a bale of cotton, at least a portion of the cotton would contact the releasable adhesive layer. This posses two potential problems. First, the cotton could stick to the releasable adhesive layer should the releasable layer possess a sufficient tackiness. Because cotton is sold by weight, any cotton that sticks to the prior art wrapping systems constitutes a lost profit. Even if the releasable adhesive did not possess a sufficient tackiness to cause the cotton to stick to the releasable layer, some of the releasable adhesive could be transferred to the cotton, thereby adversely affecting the ability to subsequently dye the cotton as is often done.
Another disadvantage with the prior art is that it uses a high adhesive in order to bond the wrapping portions and to secure the wrapping portion around the item being wrapped at the end of a wrapping cycle. The first disadvantage with using a high adhesive to bond the wrapping portions is that it must be protected from the rollers of the wrapping machine. Otherwise, the wrapping portion will become jammed in the wrapping machine. Accordingly, the prior art requires certain folding systems to protect the high adhesive. This complicates the manufacturing process.
The second disadvantage with the high adhesive is that there is little room to correct for errors occurring during the manufacture and/or use of the wrapping material. As disclosed by the prior art, each wrapping portion should terminate exactly even with the end of the adhesive layer on the lateral ends of the wrapping portions and that the wrapping portions should be cut exact to ensure that the lateral ends exactly align to protect the high adhesive layer. If such alignment is not initially achieved, there is no way to re-align the lateral ends and the wrapping portion cannot be used.
The third disadvantage with using a high adhesive is that once the wrapping portion is secured around the circumference of the item being wrapped, the lateral end having the high adhesive cannot be repositioned to account for any errors in wrapping the item. Moreover, the user may not reposition the lateral end for the purpose of placing identifying cards underneath the lateral end so as to keep the identifying card secured to the item in a manner that it is shielded from the elements such as rain.
Another limitation of the prior art wrapping material is that its use of a laminate to provide the adhesive qualities necessary to bond the wrapping portions to one another and/or to secure a wrapping portion around the circumference of an item to be wrapped prevents the wrapping material from be easily recycled because the laminate is made of a different materials than those from which the wrapping portions are manufactured.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wrapping material that includes a repositionable differential adhesive disposed on only one lateral end of the wrapping material so that the adhesive included on the wrapping material does not contact the item being wrapped.
It is a further object to provide a wrapping material that includes repositionable differential adhesive that does not require covering or protecting while the wrapping material is on a roll so that the first wrapping portion may be connected to the second wrapping portion by a perforation so that at the end of a wrapping cycle the second wrapping portion may tear away from the roll and be wrapped around the item to be wrapped.
It is a further object to provide a wrapping material that includes repositionable differential adhesive that the lateral ends of the wrapping material to be adjusted during the manufacture and/or use of the wrapping material.
It is a further object to provide a to provide a wrapping material that may have a lateral end that may be repositioned during the wrapping cycle or at the completion of the wrapping cycle once the item has been wrapped with the wrapping material.
It is a further object to provide a wrapping material that is easily recycled.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA wrapping material comprising a first wrapping portion and a second wrapping portion, wherein both the first and second wrapping portions have an upper surface having adhesive characteristics along the entire upper surface and a lower surface having non-adhesive characteristics; a multi-layered adhesive disposed on the lower surface of the second wrapping portion at a point that is generally adjacent to a first lateral end of the second wrapping portion, wherein the multi-layered adhesive comprises a first adhesive layer permanently bonded to the lower surface of the second wrapping portion and a second releasable adhesive layer disposed on the first adhesive layer that is permanently bonded to the first adhesive layer; a perforation connecting the first wrapping portion to the second wrapping portion that allows the first and second wrapping portions to detach at a predetermined point during a wrapping cycle so that at the end of the wrapping cycle the multi-layered adhesive releaseably attaches the lower surface of the second wrapping portion to the upper surface of the second wrapping portion, and where in an item is securely wrapped so that the item does not contact any adhesive from the second wrapping portion; and, wherein the first lateral end of the second wrapping portion may be repositioned with respect to the upper surface of the second wrapping portion.
In one embodiment, the lower surface of a second lateral end of the second wrapping portion is completely non-adhesive.
In one embodiment the first adhesive layer and the second releasable adhesive layer remain adhered to the second wrapping portion at the end of a wrapping cycle.
In one embodiment, the first wrapping portion and the second wrapping portion each have an upper surface and a lower surface and one of the upper surface and the lower surface has adhesive characteristics along the entire length and width of the surface. Moreover, the multi-layered adhesive is disposed on the surface opposite of the surface having adhesive characteristics along the entire length and width of the surface.
In one embodiment, the second wrapping portion has a upper surface and a lower surface and the multi-layered adhesive is disposed on the lower surface so that when the wrapping cycle is complete, the multi-layered adhesive releaseably attaches the lower surface to the upper surface.
In one embodiment, the first adhesive layer and the second releasable adhesive layer remain adhered to the second wrapping portion at the end of a wrapping cycle.
In one embodiment, the first wrapping portion and the second wrapping portions have two opposing lateral ends and at least one of the two opposing lateral ends is tapered to guide the wrapping portions into a wrapping machine.
In one embodiment, the wrapping material includes a metalized tag carried by an upper surface of one of the first wrapping portion and the second wrapping portion to instruct a wrapping machine when to cause a dispensing roll to dispense the second wrapping portion and when to cease dispensing the second wrapping portion.
In at least one embodiment a method of manufacturing a wrapping material comprising the steps of providing a dispensing roll of wrapping material; perforating the wrapping material at a predetermined length to create a first wrapping portion and a second wrapping portion, each having a first lateral end and a second lateral end; and creating a multi-layered adhesive by applying a first adhesive layer to a portion of a first lateral end of said second wrapping portion and applying a second releasable adhesive layer on top of said first adhesive layer.
In one embodiment, the method of manufacturing a wrapping material further comprises the step of providing a second lateral end opposing said first lateral end that is completely non-adhesive.
In one embodiment, the method of manufacturing a wrapping material further comprises the step of providing one of an upper surface and a lower surface of the wrapping material with adhesive characteristics along the entire surface. In a further embodiment, the method of manufacturing a wrapping material further comprises the step of disposing said multi-layered adhesive on a surface that is opposite of said surface having adhesive characteristics.
In another embodiment, the method of manufacturing a wrapping material further comprises the step of providing at least one of said first and second lateral ends with a taper to guide the wrapping portions into a wrapping machine.
In another embodiment, the method of manufacturing a wrapping material further comprises the step of disposing a metalized tag carried on an upper surface of one of said first wrapping portion and said second wrapping portion to instruct a wrapping machine when to cause a dispensing roll to dispense said second wrapping portion and when to cease dispensing said second wrapping portion.
The construction designed to carry out the invention will hereinafter be described, together with other features thereof. The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown and wherein:
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that one or more aspects of this invention can meet certain objectives, while one or more other aspects can meet certain other objectives. Each objective may not apply equally, in all its respects, to every aspect of this invention. As such, the preceding objects can be viewed in the alternative with respect to any one aspect of this invention. These and other objects and features of the invention will become more fully apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying figures and examples. However, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the invention and the following detailed description are of a preferred embodiment and not restrictive of the invention or other alternate embodiments of the invention. In particular, while the invention is described herein with reference to a number of specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that the description is illustrative of the invention and is not constructed as limiting of the invention. Various modifications and applications may occur to those who are skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, as described by the appended claims. Likewise, other objects, features, benefits and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from this summary and certain embodiments described below, and will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such objects, features, benefits and advantages will be apparent from the above in conjunction with the accompanying examples, data, figures and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, alone or with consideration of the references incorporated herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENTWith reference to the drawings, the invention will now be described in more detail.
The length and width of each wrapping portion 12 and 14 should be enough to at least cover the circumference or perimeter of the item (not shown) to be wrapped. In at least one embodiment, the wrapping portions have a length that is longer than the circumference and/or perimeter of the item to be wrapped so that the wrapping portion may be secured to itself rather than to the item being wrapped. Accordingly, the length and width of the wrapping material can vary depending on the size and shape of the item to be wrapped and the wrapping application.
In
As can be seen in
Referring now to
The releasable adhesive layer 28 has a lower adhesive characteristic than the highly adhesive layer 26 and allows the adhesive area 22 to be repositioned one or more times, as deemed necessary during the wrapping process, without compromising the adhesive characteristics of the releasable adhesive layer 28. Unlike the prior art, the releasable layer 28 allows the wrapping portion to be placed through a wrapping machine without the adhesive area 22 becoming stuck to any portion of the wrapping machine and therefore causing the wrapping portion to become jammed in the machine. The releasable layer 28 may comprise any suitable material, including but not limited to, silicone that may be applied to the first highly adhesive layer by methods generally known in the art. In another embodiment, the releasable layer 28 may comprise the repositionable adhesive included in any repositionable differential adhesive such as the one marketed by 3-M under the Model No. Repositionable Tape 665 and/or Repositionable Tape 9425. However, other differential adhesive such as the adhesive sold by Mayzo under the model No. RA-150W Release Coat or any other releasable or differential adhesive that is generally known in the art and can be used.
Referring now to
As shown in
Once the second wrapping portion 14 detaches from the first wrapping portion 12, the releasable adhesive layer 28 allows the second wrapping portion's lateral end 18 to complete the wrap and to secure the wrapping material to the item to be wrapped without requiring contact between the item and any portion of the adhesive area 22. Instead, adhesive area 22 adheres to the upper, opposite surface of wrapping material 14.
Because the releasable adhesive layer 28 has lower adhesive characteristics than the first highly adhesive layer 26, the wrapping portions (1, 2 . . . n) that are rolled on the dispensing roll 13 are allowed to move smoothly between all the rollers and various parts of the baler during the wrapping process without the need for covering the adhesive area 22. However, the releasable adhesive layer 28 has sufficient adhesive characteristics to create a sufficient adhesion to securely wrap the item 34 at the end of a wrapping cycle. Accordingly, the wrapping material 10 of the present invention can be fed into unmodified wrapping machinery without the fear of jamming or sticking.
Once the wrapping cycle has been completed and the item is wrapped, the releasable adhesive layer 28 allows the user to peel the lateral end 18 away from the remainder of the wrapping material so that an identifying card may be placed under the lateral end 18 so that the identifying card is secured to the wrapped item in a manner that protects the identifying card from elements such as rain or snow. This identifying card allows the item to be identified and associated with the proper owner of the wrapped item.
As can be seen in
In the embodiment, the adhesive area 22 is disposed on the lower, non-adhesive surface 40 of the second wrapping portion 14. In alternate embodiments, however, the lower surface 40 could have adhesive characteristics along its entire width and length, while the upper surface 38 is completely non-adhesive.
Referring now to
Referring now to
As is generally known in the industry, these metalized tags can be used to regulate the movement of the wrapping and/or baling machine. In one embodiment, a light source directs a beam of light across the surface of the wrapping portions, once the sensor detects a break in the beam of light, which is caused by the metalized tag's deflection of the light source, powered rollers at the dispensing roll cease to rotate and the dispensing roll ceases to feed the wrapping portions. While the dispensing roll ceases to feed wrapping portion 14, the item 34 continues to rotate so that the wrapping cycle may be completed as discussed above in
The wrapping material is manufactured by creating pieces of wrapping portion by creating a perforation a predetermined lengths and cutting the wrapping portions to the desired width, which will vary upon the item being wrapped. In at least one embodiment, each lateral end of the wrapping portions will be tapered to aid in guiding the wrapping portions into the wrapping machine and/or bailer.
A first high adhesive layer is then applied generally adjacent to the first lateral end of the second wrapping portion and the corresponding first lateral end of the first wrapping portion. In at least one embodiment, the high adhesive layer is added to the lower surface of the wrapping portion's lateral end. In one embodiment, the first high adhesive layer is applied so that it extends along the entire width of the wrapping portion and to the distal portion of the lateral end. In other embodiments, however, the high adhesive layer need not extend the entire width and/or to the distal portion of the lateral end.
Once the first highly adhesive layer is applied, a second low adhesive layer is applied directly to the high adhesive layer. In at least one embodiment, this is done by applying silicone to the high adhesive layer. In one embodiment, the second low adhesive can be the adhesive sold by Mayzo under the model No. RA-150W Release Coat or any other releasable or differential adhesive that is generally known in the art. In one embodiment, the second low adhesive layer is applied so that it covers the entire upper surface of the first high adhesive layer to ensure that the high adhesive layer does not contact a wrapping portion and/or an item being wrapped so that the lateral end will be repositionable. In alternate embodiments, however, less than all of the high adhesive layer may be covered by the second low adhesive layer.
In at least one embodiment, a tackifier ingredient can be added so that when extruded, the upper surface or the lower surface of the wrapping portion will have adhesive characteristics the entire surface. In at least one embodiment, the tackifier is added so that the upper surface of the wrapping portion has adhesive characteristics along the entire surface and the multi-layered adhesive is disposed on the lower surface of the wrapping portion.
Because the wrapping material of the present invention does not use a laminate or a substrate that consists of different material than the wrapping portions like other materials in the prior art, the entirety of wrapping portions may be easily and inexpensively recycled after use without the need for removing the substrate and/or laminate layers included in the prior art.
In an alternate embodiment, metalized tags can be added to the wrapping portion to instruct the wrapping machine as to when to start the dispensing roll and when to stop it.
While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A wrapping material comprising:
- a first wrapping portion and a second wrapping portion, wherein both said first and second wrapping portions have an upper surface having adhesive characteristics along the entire upper surface and a lower surface having non-adhesive characteristics;
- a multi-layered adhesive disposed on said lower surface of said second wrapping portion at a point that is generally adjacent to a first lateral end of said second wrapping portion, wherein said multi-layered adhesive comprises a first adhesive layer permanently bonded to said lower surface of said second wrapping portion and a second releasable adhesive layer disposed on said first adhesive layer that is permanently bonded to said first adhesive layer;
- a perforation releaseably connecting said first lateral end of said second wrapping portion to a second lateral end of said first wrapping portion;
- wherein said perforation allows said first and second wrapping portions to detach at a predetermined point during a wrapping cycle so that at the end of the wrapping cycle said multi-layered adhesive releaseably attaches said lower surface of said second wrapping portion to said upper surface of said second wrapping portion, and wherein an item is securely wrapped so that the item does not contact any adhesive from said second wrapping portion; and,
- wherein said first lateral end of said second wrapping portion may be repositioned with respect to said upper surface of said second wrapping portion.
2. The wrapping material of claim 1 wherein said lower surface of a second lateral end of said second wrapping portion is completely non-adhesive.
3. The wrapping portion of claim 1 wherein said first adhesive layer and said second releasable adhesive layer remain adhered to said second wrapping portion at the end of a wrapping cycle.
4. A wrapping material comprising:
- a first wrapping portion;
- a second wrapping portion;
- a multi-layered adhesive disposed on said second wrapping portion, wherein said multi-layered adhesive comprises a first adhesive layer having a lower surface permanently bonded to said second wrapping portion and a second releasable adhesive layer having a lower surface that is permanently bonded to an upper surface of said first adhesive layer;
- a perforation releaseably attaching said first wrapping portion to said second wrapping portion during a wrapping cycle.
5. The wrapping material of claim 4 wherein said multi-layered adhesive is disposed at a point that is generally adjacent to a first lateral end of said second wrapping portion.
6. The wrapping material of claim 4 wherein said second wrapping portion has a first lateral end and a second lateral end, wherein said multi-layered adhesive is disposed generally adjacent said first lateral end and said second lateral end is completely non-adhesive.
7. The wrapping material of claim 4 wherein said multi-layered adhesive is disposed on a lower surface of said first lateral end and said lower surface of said second lateral end is completely non-adhesive.
8. The wrapping material of claim 4 wherein said first wrapping portion and said second wrapping portion each have an upper surface and a lower surface and one of said upper surface and said lower surface has adhesive characteristics along the entire length and width of said surface.
9. The wrapping material of claim 8 wherein said multi-layered adhesive is disposed on the surface opposite of said surface having adhesive characteristics along the entire length and width of said surface.
10. The wrapping material of claim 4 wherein said second wrapping portion detaches from said first wrapping portion at the end of a wrapping cycle and said multi-layered adhesive releaseably attaches to a portion of said second wrapping portion so that the item is wrapped and said second releasable adhesive layer does not contact the item being wrapped.
11. The wrapping portion of claim 10 wherein said second wrapping portion has a upper surface and a lower surface and said multi-layered adhesive is disposed on said lower surface so that when the wrapping cycle is complete, the multi-layered adhesive releaseably attaches said lower surface to said upper surface.
12. The wrapping portion of claim 4 wherein said first adhesive layer and said second releasable adhesive layer remain adhered to said second wrapping portion at the end of a wrapping cycle.
13. The wrapping material of claim 4 wherein said first wrapping portion and said second wrapping portions have two opposing lateral ends and at least one of said two opposing lateral ends is tapered to guide the wrapping portions into a wrapping machine.
14. The wrapping material of claim 4 further including a metalized tag carried by an upper surface of one of said first wrapping portion and said second wrapping portion to instruct a wrapping machine when to cause a dispensing roll to dispense said second wrapping portion and when to cease dispensing said second wrapping portion.
15. A method of manufacturing a wrapping material comprising the steps of:
- providing a dispensing roll of wrapping material
- perforating the wrapping material at a predetermined length to create a first wrapping portion and a second wrapping portion, each having a first lateral end and a second lateral end; and
- creating a multi-layered adhesive by applying a first adhesive layer to a portion of a first lateral end of said second wrapping portion and applying a second releasable adhesive layer on top of said first adhesive layer.
16. The method of manufacturing a wrapping material of claim 15 further comprising the step of providing a second lateral end opposing said first lateral end that is completely non-adhesive.
17. The method of manufacturing a wrapping material of claim 15 further comprising the step of providing one of an upper surface and a lower surface of the wrapping material with adhesive characteristics along the entire surface.
18. The method of manufacturing a wrapping material of claim 17 further comprising the step of disposing said multi-layered adhesive on a surface that is opposite of said surface having adhesive characteristics.
19. The method of manufacturing a wrapping material of claim 15 further comprising the step of providing at least one of said first and second lateral ends with a taper to guide the wrapping portions into a wrapping machine.
20. The method of manufacturing a wrapping material of claim 15 further comprising the step of disposing a metalized tag carried on an upper surface of one of said first wrapping portion and said second wrapping portion to instruct a wrapping machine when to cause a dispensing roll to dispense said second wrapping portion and when to cease dispensing said second wrapping portion.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 14, 2013
Publication Date: Sep 18, 2014
Inventor: Stan Skelton (Greenville, SC)
Application Number: 13/803,157