Method and device for applying a plastic film around a product to be packaged
A method for applying a wrapping plastic film band (15) around a product (16) to be packaged, according to which method the wrapping plastic film band is wrapped to form a film girdle (18) around supporting elements (21), from where it is transferred to a position around the product (16) to be packaged. A device for applying a wrapping plastic film band around a product to be packaged comprises supporting elements (21, 22), upon which the wrapping plastic film band is wrapped, and transfer elements (21, 23) for transferring the film girdle to a position around the product to be packaged.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/811,302 filed Mar. 29, 2004, now abandoned, which claims priority based on Finnish Patent Application No. 20030459 filed Mar. 27, 2003, which is incorporated herein by reference.
METHOD DISCLOSED BY THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a method for applying a plastic film around a product to be packaged, according to which method
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- the product to be packaged is moved in the wrapping support system of the wrapping machine to a position inside a plastic film girdle of shrinkable and/or stretchable plastic placed on a supporting frame consisting of supporting elements and having a circumference larger than the circumference of the product to be packaged, or correspondingly the plastic film girdle is moved to a position surrounding the product to be packaged,
- whereupon the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements is removed from inside the plastic film girdle, with the result that the plastic film girdle is tightened around the product to be packaged,
- the plastic film girdle is formed by winding shrinkable and/or stretchable wrapping plastic film band to form a plastic film girdle around the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements and having a circumference larger than the circumference of the product to be packaged,
- and that the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements is removed from inside the plastic film girdle and the plastic film girdle is allowed to tighten around the product to be packaged.
A method for applying a plastic film around a product to be packaged is presented in Specification U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,705, wherein a plastic film girdle of shrinkable plastic is placed on a supporting frame and the product to be packaged is brought to a position inside the supporting frame. When the supporting elements of the supporting frame are removed, the plastic film girdle is tightened around the product. However, this method is not sufficiently efficient when it is necessary to get several products packaged in a short time. In addition, plastic film girdle has to be of a suitable size corresponding to the product to be packaged.
Another alternative for applying a plastic film around a product to be packaged is to bring the product to the wrapping station of a wrapping packaging machine, where the product to be packaged is held stationary while wrapping packaging film is wrapped around the product from a film reel circulating about the product. An essential feature of the prior-art wrapping method is that the product to be packaged remains stationary during the wrapping operation and the wrapping line is halted each time for as long as it takes to wrap up the product. The duration of the halt is additionally increased by the starting actions and the seaming and cutting of the wrapping film band associated with the wrapping operation. However, in practice it is important that the capacity of the packaging method used should be as high as possible to enable the products to be packaged to be passed through the packaging stage as quickly as possible.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTIONThe object of the present invention is to overcome the above-described drawbacks and achieve a new and faster method for applying a wrapping plastic film around an object. A specific object of the invention is to achieve a method for creating collars or girdles around a product to be packaged. Collars or girdles can also be made from wrapping plastic film, and these have numerous advantages as compared to prior-art girdles formed from steel or hard plastic bands, because a girdle formed from wrapping plastic film is softer and more resilient. It requires no corner supports to be used in conjunction with it and yet it does not damage the edges of the product to be packaged. However, producing a girdle by means of a wrapping packaging apparatus is a slow and uneconomical method as each girdle has to be wrapped separately.
FEATURES OF THE METHOD OF THE INVENTIONThe method of the invention is characterized in
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- that the plastic film girdle is formed by wrapping shrinkable and/or stretchable wrapping plastic film band to form a plastic film girdle around the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements and having a circumference larger than the circumference of the product to be packaged,
- that the product to be packaged and/or the plastic film girdle are/is moved so that the product to be packaged remains inside the plastic film girdle,
- and that the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements is removed from inside the plastic film girdle and the plastic film girdle is allowed to tighten around the product to be packaged,
- forming in the wrapping support system of the wrapping machine a binding plastic film girdle whose width is essentially smaller than the length of the product to be packaged,
- binding together two or more pieces in the product to be packaged so that the binding plastic film girdle does not cover the whole length of the product to be packaged,
- forming in advance the binding plastic film girdle in the wrapping support system of the wrapping machine on the supporting elements at the same time when the product to be packaged is transferred towards the wrapping support system,
- transferring the product (16) to be packaged and/or the binding plastic film girdle so that the area on the product, where the bandage is to be formed comes into a position aligned with the binding plastic film girdle, and
- allowing the binding plastic film girdle to tighten around the product to be packaged so that only a part of the length of the product to be packaged remains under the binding plastic film girdle.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in
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- that the plastic film girdle is formed by wrapping a wrapping plastic film band around the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements
- that the wrapping plastic film band supplied to form the plastic film girdle is severed and, if necessary, seamed,
- that the product to be packaged and/or the plastic film girdle are/is moved on a track so that the product to be packaged remains inside the plastic film girdle,
- and that the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements is removed from inside the plastic film girdle and the plastic film girdle is allowed to shrink and tighten around the product to be packaged.
Since the plastic film to be wrapped consists of either stretched plastic film or tightened or otherwise shrinkable stretched plastic film in conjunction with the wrapping carriage, the film girdle will shrink and tighten around the product to be packaged when it is transferred onto the surface of the product to be packaged. The tightening force can be adjusted by suitably selecting the plastic film and/or its pre-stretching.
According to the invention, during the wrapping operation the girdle to be produced by wrapping is most preferably located outside the product to be packaged, at a distance from it. However, the girdle to be produced by wrapping need not be aligned with the product to be packaged. Preferably the products to be packaged can be moved on the track so that the area on the product where a wrapping or bandage is to be formed comes into a position aligned with the girdle, whereupon the girdle is transferred onto the product.
A second preferred embodiment of the method of the invention is characterized in
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- that wrapping film band is wrapped over the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements, thus forming a film tube on the supporting frame,
- that a plastic film girdle of desired length is cut off the film tube,
- that the product to be packaged and/or the plastic film girdle are/is moved on the track so that the product to be packaged remains inside the plastic film girdle cut off,
- and that the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements is removed from inside the plastic film girdle and the plastic film girdle is allowed to shrink and tighten around the product to be packaged.
A third preferred embodiment of the method of the invention is characterized in
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- that wrapping film band is wrapped over the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements in a continuous manner so that a film tube continuously increasing in length is formed on the supporting frame,
- that a plastic film girdle of desired length is cut off the plastic film tube during the wrapping operation
- that, while the wrapping operation is being continued, the product to be packaged and/or the plastic film girdle is moved on the track so that the product to be packaged remains inside the plastic film girdle cut off,
- and that the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements is removed from inside the plastic film girdle and the plastic film girdle is allowed to shrink and tighten around the product to be packaged.
The continuous method is very fast and efficient because the wrapping packaging machine can be continuously in operation, producing wrapped tube, from the end of which a girdle of suitable width is cut off, which girdle then tightens around the product to be packaged that comes to the appropriate position while advancing on the track.
DEVICE OF THE INVENTIONThe invention also relates to a device for applying a plastic film around a product (16) to be packaged, said device comprising a wrapping support system of a wrapping machine having
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- a supporting frame consisting of supporting elements and having over it a plastic film girdle of shrinkable and/or stretchable plastic, said girdle having a circumference larger than the circumference of the product to be packaged,
- transfer elements for transferring the product to be packaged and/or the plastic film girdle so that the product to be packaged remains inside the plastic film girdle,
- means for removing the supporting elements from inside the plastic film girdle, allowing the plastic film girdle to tighten around the product to be packaged.
- a wrapping system for wrapping a shrinkable and/or stretchable plastic film band from a film reel over the supporting elements so that the wrapping film band being wrapped forms on the supporting elements a plastic film girdle tightening over the product to be packaged,
- and transfer elements for transferring the product to be packaged and/or the plastic film girdle formed from the wrapping plastic film band so that the product to be packaged remains inside the plastic film girdle.
The device of the invention is characterized in that the device comprises
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- a wrapping system for wrapping a shrinkable and/or stretchable plastic film band from a film reel over the supporting elements so that the wrapping film band being wrapped forms on the supporting elements a plastic film girdle tightening over the product to be packaged,
- and transfer elements for transferring the product to be packaged and/or the plastic film girdle formed from the wrapping plastic film band so that the product to be packaged remains inside the plastic film girdle,
- that the wrapping support system of a wrapping machine comprising a wrapping system, which is arranged to wrap shrinkable and/or stretchable plastic film band for forming a binding plastic film girdle in order to bind together two or more pieces in the product to be packaged,
- that the width of the binding plastic film girdle being essentially smaller than the length of the product to be packaged so that the binding plastic film girdle does not cover the whole length of the product to be packaged,
- that the transfer elements are arranged to transfer the product to be packaged towards the wrapping support system while the binding plastic film girdle (18) is wrapped in advance in the wrapping support system of the wrapping machine on the supporting elements, and
- that the transfer elements and the supporting elements are arranged to transfer the binding plastic film girdle so that the area on the product, where the bandage is to be formed comes into a position aligned with the binding plastic film girdle, and allow the binding plastic film girdle to tighten around the product to be packaged so that only a part of the length of the product to be packaged remains under the binding plastic film girdle.
A preferred embodiment of the device of the invention is characterized in
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- that the supporting elements of the device, on which the wrapping plastic film band can be wrapped to form a plastic film girdle, form a preferably rectangular supporting frame whose width and height are larger than the width and height of the product to be packaged,
- and that each corner of the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements is provided with at least one supporting element, which can be moved to transfer the plastic film girdle to a position around the product to be packaged.
A second preferred embodiment of the device of the invention is characterized in that the device has at the corners of the supporting frame supporting element pairs which can be turned or moved away from each other to pass the plastic film girdle wrapped over the supporting elements to a position around the product to be packaged.
A third preferred embodiment of the device of the invention is characterized in that the device comprises
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- a wrapping system and supporting elements for wrapping a wrapping plastic film band to form a plastic film tube having a circumference larger than the circumference of the product to be packaged,
- a clipper for cutting the plastic film girdle off the plastic film tube,
- and which plastic film tube supporting elements also constitute plastic film girdle transfer elements, such as endless bands or rotating bars.
A fourth preferred embodiment of the device of the invention is characterized in
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- that, in the device, the wrapping system for wrapping the wrapping plastic film band to form a plastic film tube is a continuously working system
- and that the supporting elements in the device consist of two parts such that the first part of the supporting elements is a base on which the wrapping of the wrapping plastic film band is carried out while the second part of the supporting elements is a transfer part for transferring the plastic film girdle cut off by the clipper.
In the following, the invention will be described in detail with reference to examples and the attached drawings, wherein
LIST OF FIGURES
The wrapping machine 10 in
In the situation illustrated in
In
In
In
In
In
In the embodiment presented in
It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that different embodiments of the invention may be varied within the scope of the claims presented below.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS
- 10 Wrapping machine
- 11 Track
- 12 Ring
- 13 Carriage
- 14 Film reel
- 15 Film
- 16 Product to be packaged
- 17 Transverse piece
- 18 Film girdle
- 20 Wrapping support system
- 21 Supporting element
- 22 Straight side
- 23 Axle
- 24 Gripper
- 25 Seaming and cutting device
- 26 Clipper
Claims
1. A method for applying a plastic film (18) around a product (16) to be packaged, according to which method
- the product (16) to be packaged is moved in the wrapping support system (20) of the wrapping machine (10) to a position inside a plastic film girdle (18) of shrinkable and/or stretchable plastic placed on a supporting frame consisting of supporting elements (21) and having a circumference larger than the circumference of the product to be packaged, or correspondingly the plastic film girdle is moved to a position surrounding the product to be packaged,
- whereupon the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements (21) is removed from inside the plastic film girdle (18), thus allowing the plastic film girdle to tighten around the product (16) to be packaged,
- the plastic film girdle (18) is formed by winding shrinkable and/or stretchable wrapping plastic film band (15) to form a plastic film girdle (18) around the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements (21) and having a circumference larger than the circumference of the product (16) to be packaged,
- and that the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements (21) is removed from inside the plastic film girdle (18) and the plastic film girdle is allowed to tighten around the product to be packaged.
- characterized in
- forming in the wrapping support system (20) of the wrapping machine (10) a binding plastic film girdle (18) whose width is essentially smaller than the length of the product (16) to be packaged,
- binding together two or more pieces (16, 17) in the product (16) to be packaged so that the binding plastic film girdle (18) does not cover the whole length of the product (16) to be packaged,
- forming in advance the binding plastic film girdle (18) in the wrapping support system (20) of the wrapping machine (10) on the supporting elements (21) at the same time when the product (16) to be packaged is transferred towards the wrapping support system (20),
- transferring the product (16) to be packaged and/or the binding plastic film girdle (18) so that the area on the product, where the bandage is to be formed comes into a position aligned with the binding plastic film girdle (18), and
- allowing the binding plastic film girdle (18) to tighten around the product to be packaged so that only a part of the length of the product (16) to be packaged remains under the binding plastic film girdle.
2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that one or more binding plastic film girdles (18) are used for binding together two or more separate pieces (16, 17) in the product (16) to be packaged.
3. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the binding plastic film girdle (18) is formed by wrapping several layers of wrapping plastic film band (15) one upon the other and the cutting the band.
4. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the binding plastic film girdle (18) is formed by wrapping three layers of wrapping plastic film band (15) one upon the other and the cutting the band.
5. A method according to claim 1, characterized in
- that the binding plastic film girdle (18) is formed by winding layers of wrapping plastic film band (15) around the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements (21), and the cutting and seaming the band.
6. A method according to claim 1, characterized in
- that wrapping film band (15) is wound over the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements (21), thus forming a plastic film tube (18b) on the supporting frame,
- that a binding plastic film girdle (18a) of desired length is cut off the plastic film tube (18b),
- that the product (16) to be packaged and/or the binding plastic film girdle (18) are/is moved on the track (11) so that the product to be packaged remains inside the plastic film girdle (18a) cut off,
- and that the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements (21) is removed from inside the plastic film girdle (18a) and the binding plastic film girdle is allowed to shrink and tighten around the product (16) to be packaged so that only a part of the length of the product (16) to be packaged remains under the binding plastic film girdle.
7. A method according to claim 6, characterized in
- that wrapping film band (15) is wrapped over the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements (21) in a continuous manner so that a plastic film tube (18b) continuously increasing in length is formed on the supporting frame,
- that a binding plastic film girdle (18a) of desired length is cut off the plastic film tube (18b) during the wrapping operation,
- that, while the wrapping operation is being continued, the product (16) to be packaged and/or the binding plastic film girdle (18) are/is moved on the track (11) SO that the product to be packaged remains inside the binding plastic film girdle (18a) cut off,
- and that the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements (21) is removed from inside the binding plastic film girdle (18a) and the binding plastic film girdle is allowed to shrink and tighten around the product (16) to be packaged so that only a part of the length of the product (16) to be packaged remains under the binding plastic film girdle.
8. A device (10) for applying a plastic film (18) around a product (16) to be packaged, said device comprising a wrapping support system (20) of a wrapping machine (10) having
- a supporting frame consisting of supporting elements (21) and having over it a plastic film girdle (18) of shrinkable and/or stretchable plastic, said girdle having a circumference larger than the circumference of the product (16) to be packaged,
- transfer elements (11, 22, 23) for transferring the product (16) to be packaged and/or the plastic film girdle (18) so that the product to be packaged remains inside the plastic film girdle,
- means (22, 23) for removing the supporting elements (21) from inside the plastic film girdle (18), allowing the plastic film girdle to tighten around the product (16) to be packaged,
- a wrapping system (12,13) for wrapping a shrinkable and/or stretchable plastic film band (15) from a film reel (14) over the supporting elements (21) so that the wrapping film band being wrapped forms on the supporting elements a plastic film girdle (18) tightening over the product (16) to be packaged,
- and transfer elements (11, 22, 23) for transferring the product (16) to be packaged and/or the plastic film girdle (18) formed from the wrapping plastic film band (15) so that the product to be packaged remains inside the plastic film girdle,
- characterized in
- that the wrapping support system (20) of a wrapping machine (10) comprising a wrapping system (12, 13), which is arranged to wrap shrinkable and/or stretchable plastic film band (15) for forming a binding plastic film girdle (18) in order to bind together two or more pieces (16, 17) in the product (16) to be packaged,
- that the width of the binding plastic film girdle (18) being essentially smaller than the length of the product (16) to be packaged so that the binding plastic film girdle does not cover the whole length of the product to be packaged,
- that the transfer elements (11, 22, 23) are arranged to transfer the product (16) to be packaged towards the wrapping support system (20) while the binding plastic film girdle (18) is wrapped in advance in the wrapping support system (20) of the wrapping machine (10) on the supporting elements (21), and
- that the transfer elements (11, 22, 23) and the supporting elements (21) are arranged to transfer the binding<plastic film girdle (18) so that the area on the product, where the bandage is to be formed comes into a position aligned with the binding plastic film girdle (18), and allow the binding plastic film girdle (18) to tighten around the product to be packaged so that only a part of the length of the product (16) to be packaged remains under the binding plastic film girdle.
9. A device (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that in the binding plastic film girdle (18) comprises several layers of wrapping plastic film band (15) one upon the other.
10. A device (10) according to claim 9, characterized in that in the binding plastic film girdle (18) comprises three layers of wrapping plastic film band (15) one upon the other.
11. A device (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that
- that the supporting elements (21) of the device (10), on which the wrapping plastic film band (15) can be wrapped to form a binding plastic film girdle (18), form a preferably rectangular supporting frame whose width and height are larger than the width and height of the product (16) to be packaged,
- and that each corner of the supporting frame consisting of supporting elements (21) is provided with at least one supporting element (21), which can be moved to transfer the binding plastic film girdle (18) to a position around the product (16) to be packaged.
12. A device according to claim 8, characterized in that the device (10) has at the corners of the supporting frame supporting element pairs (21a, 21b) which can be turned or moved away from each other to pass the plastic film girdle (18) wrapped over the supporting elements (21) to a position around the product (16) to be packaged.
13. A device (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that the device comprises
- a wrapping system (12, 13) and supporting elements (21) for winding a wrapping plastic film band (15) to form a plastic film tube (18b) having a circumference larger than the circumference of the product (16) to be packaged,
- a clipper (26) for cutting the binding plastic film girdle (18) off the plastic film tube (18b),
- and which plastic film tube (18b) supporting elements (21) also constitute binding plastic film girdle (18) transfer elements, such as endless bands or rotating bars.
14. A device (10) according to claim 13, characterized in
- that, in the device, the wrapping system (12, 13) for wrapping the wrapping plastic film band (15) to form a plastic film tube (18b) is a continuously working system
- and that the supporting elements (21) in the device (10) consist of two parts such that the first part of the supporting elements is a base on which the wrapping of the wrapping plastic film band (15) is carried out, while the second part of the supporting elements is a transfer part for transferring the plastic film girdle (18) cut off by the clipper (26).
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 25, 2006
Publication Date: Aug 2, 2007
Inventor: Arno Haloila (Rymattyla)
Application Number: 11/492,207
International Classification: B65B 13/10 (20060101);