GB2271098A

GB2271098A - A device and a method for the creation and the application of handles on and to a wrapping film

Info

Publication number: GB2271098A
Application number: GB9320061A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrea Cinotti
Original assignee: Wrapmatic SpA
Current assignee: Wrapmatic SpA
Priority date: 1992-09-30
Filing date: 1993-09-29
Publication date: 1994-04-06
Also published as: ITBO920335A0; ITBO920335A1; DE4332419A1; IT1258330B; GB9320061D0

Abstract

Adhesive is applied by dispenser 7 to predetermined points of a narrow strip of material 5 which is to form a handle. The strip is then brought together with the wrapping material and the joined sheet is guided to a station 9 equipped with compression rollers 21, 13 to ensure tight adhesion. The velocity of the combined sheet is monitored and the information used to ensure the correct speed of the various rollers and timing of the application of glue to provide adhesive in the correct locations on the strip for the intended points of joining the handle to the wrapping material. The final bonded wrapping material with handle is then fed towards the wrapping machine. <IMAGE>

Description

2271098 A device and a method for the creation and the application of

handles on and to a wrapping film The present invention relates to a device by which carrying handles are fashioned on and applied to a film wrapping material, and to the relative method employed.

The prior art embraces various types of machines capable of manufacturing wrappers with a carrying handle, to contain one or more commodities, With regard in particular to the application of a handle to plastic film, two different approaches are adopted: a first whereby the handle is applied to the wrapper when already in place around the packaged commodity, and a second whereby a piece of material constituting the handle is applied to the wrapping film before the commodities are enveloped is by any one of a variety of machines well known to a person skilled in the art.

The first solution mentioned betrays significant drawbacks both practical and economic in character:

such handles are generally heat-sealed, in effect, and there is no possibility of obtaining a secure 2 bond between package and handle, as the force and the temperature required to guarantee a reliable fusion cannot be applied to the finished package; this difficulty is accentuated further in the event that the packaged commodity or commodities may be of particularly soft embodiment, such as rolls of toilet tissue, for example, since only a limited force can be applied if the rolls are not to suffer damage. Yet another source of difficulty is that the individual station or device used to effect the heat-seal must be adapted to the dimensions of the pack, with the result that a wrapping machine of conventional design already in service needs to be modified accordingly.

is The second solution mentioned is considerably more advantageous than the first, since any adaptation that may be needed when applying the handle can be effected much more quickly with the wrapping film still at the infeed stage, albeit the speed with which the heat-seal is performed tends to be slow by comparison with the typical operating speeds of machines now in use, and more importantly, there is the risk of the wrapping film and the handle strip material slipping out of phase in relation to one another; if the heat-seal is not effected properly, 3 moreover, the points of attachment will be weak, and the integrity of the wrapping therefore less than totally dependable.

It is with these concerhs in mind, and adopting the second of the techniques previously described, that the applicant discloses a device for the attachment of handles to wrapping film by means of adhesives, thereby addressing the difficulties with mechanical weakness and low operating speeds outlined above.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, through the creation and application of carrying handles on and to a wrapping film by means of device that is practical, compact, adaptable substantially to any kind of packaging format, and capable of applying the strip from which the handles are created by way of a method that is secure and precise.

The stated object is realized in a device and a method as characterized in the appended claims.

The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:

-fig 1 shows a pack of commodities, in perspective, of which the wrapper affords a carrying handle created by the device according to the invention; 4 -fig 2 shows the device for creating and applying handles according to the invention, viewed in side elevation and with certain parts removed better to reveal others; -fig 3 is an enlarged side elevation showing the part of the device at which the handle is secured to the wrapping film; -fig 4 is a perspective showing the wrapping film, with the handle strip applied along one edge, after passing through a compression station illustrated in fig 3.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a device for applying a narrow handle M to a wrapper I of plastic material containing a plurality of single is commodities R (typically rolls of household paper, as illustrated in the example of fig 1), occupies a position preceding a wrapping machine 1 (shown in part only, being conventional in embodiment and distinct from the device disclosed) and comprises:

first feed means 2 supplying a continuous plastic film 3 from which to fashion the wrapper I around the commodities R; second feed means 4 supplying a continuous strip 5 of material from which to create the handle M for the wrapper I; guide means 6 by which the continuous strip 5 is directed onto the film 3, means 7 by which to apply adhesive to the strip 5 and thence to the film 3, means 8 by which to monitor and control the linear velocity at least of the strip 5, and compression means 9 by which the glued strip 5 and the film 3 are secured one to another.

More exactly (see figs 2, 3 and 4), the first and second feed means 2 and 4 supplying the film 3 and the strip 5 comprise corresponding reels 10 and 11 of which the respective decoiling axes are disposed horizontally and parallel, the former 10 below the latter 11. The decoiling action of the reels 10 and 11 is produced directly by drive means 14, located beyond the device in the feed direction and forming is part of the wrapping machine 1, from which the feed movement is derived during the steps of applying and securing the handle to the wrapper.

The guide means 6 by which the strip 5 is directed onto the continuous film 3 are designed to operate in conjunction with the two reels 10 and 11, and consist in a plurality of idle rollers 15 disposed parallel with and preceding the compression means 9 in the feed direction, such that the strip 5 wound off the reel 11 is prevented from overtensioning either against the compression means 9 or against 6 the glueing means 7 and can be positioned initially on the film to best advantage.

The glueing means 7 serve to apply adhesive to the strip 5 at predetermined points N, and in practice over areas substantially coinciding with the ends of the handle M when attached to the corresponding wrapper I; such means 7 consist essentially in a dispenser 12 of conventional embodiment (indicated schematically in fig 3) positioned immediately preceding the location at which the strip 5 and film 3 are brought together.

Means 8 for monitoring and controlling the velocity (denoted Va in fig 3) of the film 3 and the strip 5 are positioned following the glueing means 7 in the is feed direction, and designed to interact with the strip by measuring the length L of the finished handle M, and more importantly the glueing pitch P, i.e. the distance between successive applications of adhesive to the strip 5. Monitoring means might be provided by a reading element 16, typically an encoder, such as will allow of sensing the velocity of the film 3 and piloting the operation of the drive means 14 accordingly; the plastic film 3 will generally afford reference notches or holes (not shown, being purely incidental to the invention) 7 placed at regular intervals, in such a way that the distance between the notches provides a value that can be read and processed to give the velocity of the decoiling film 3. The information provided by the monitoring and control means 8 is also used to regulate the angular velocity of the compression means 9, by governing the speed of the relative drive motor 17, in such a way that the film 3 can be made to advance at the same rate as the strip 5.

To advantage, the monitoring and control means 8 might also pilot the operation of one live pair of feed rollers 15 and thus allow of accelerating the strip 5 in the event of a feed timing error.

The compression means 9 occupy a position beyond the monitoring and control means 8 in relation to the feed direction, and are embodied in such a way as to allow both the passage of the film 3 toward the wrapping machine together with the strip 5, and the application of a pressure sufficient to bond the strip 5 securely to the film 3. In the example illustrated, such compression means 9 consist in a plurality of pressure rollers 13 disposed facing a reaction surface 20 afforded by a belt looped over a further pair of rollers 21, of which at least one is coupled to the aforementioned drive motor 17 and 8 therefore governed by the monitoring and control means 8.

The operation of the device will now be described.

Commencing a new reel 10 or 11 of the film 3 or the strip 5, the leading end of the strip, positioned uppermost in the device, is simply anchored to the infeed end of the compression surface 20 in such a way that both the strip 5 and the film 3 beneath it are drawn forward together with the strip 5 passing through and tensioned by the idle guide rollers 15.

The operator now selects the length L of strip that will make a single handle, the pitch P determining the distance between successive bonding points N, and the width of the strip 5 if appropriate.

is Activating the wrapping machine 1, and with it the device, the velocity Va of the film 3 is sensed by the encoder 16 and compared by the monitoring and control means 8 with that of the film 3; the two obviously must be identical.

The film 3 and the strip 5 are now drawn forward together by the drive means 14 into the wrapping machine 1, the velocity Va of the strip 5 being matched to that of the continuous film 3 by way of the monitoring and control means 8 so as to prevent any relative movement between the two. Naturally, the glue dispenser 12 will be activated marginally before the strip 5 and the film 3 converge at each predetermined bonding point N (see fig 4) in order to apply adhesive to the strip 5.

Thereafter, the portion of the film 3 brought into contact with the glued portion of the strip 5 is directed beneath the pressure rollers 13, and the joined surfaces are made secure.

The continuous film 3 runs out of the device with the strip 5 thus bonded intermittently and passes into the wrapping machine 1, where it is cut and folded around the commodities R in conventional manner; accordingly, each pack will emerge from the machine with a carrying handle M already fashioned is and attached in the prescribed position.

- -v 1

Claims

Claims J

1 A device for the creation and the application of carrying handles on and to wrapping film, designed to operate in conjunction with a wrapping machine for packaging commodities, characterized in that it occupies a position substantially preceding the wrapping machine and comprises: first feed means supplying a continuous film of plastic material from which to fashion a wrapper around the commodities; -second feed means supplying a continuous narrow strip of material from which to create a handle for the wrapper; -guide means operating in conjunction with the first and second feed means, by which the narrow strip is directed toward the wrapping film; glueing means by which adhesive is applied to the narrow strip at predetermined points coinciding substantially with the areas of contact between the ends of the handle and the corresponding wrapper; -means by which to monitor and control the feed velocity of the wrapping film and and the narrow strip, positioned following the glueing means in the feed direction and interacting with the strip according to the length of the handle and to the pitch defining the distance between successive applications of the adhesive by which the strip and the film are bonded one to another; -means by which to compress the narrow strip and the wrapping film one against the other, positioned following the glueing means and the monitoring and control means in the feed direction and designed to ensure that the film and the strip advance together as one, securely bonded, to the wrapping machine.

2) A device as in claim 1, wherein the first and the second feed means supplying the wrapping film and the narrow strip consist in respective reels of which the relative decoiling axes are disposed parallel and in different horizontal planes, such that the axis of the film supply reel is positioned substantially below that of the strip supply reel.

3) A device as in claim 1, wherein glueing means consist in an adhesive dispenser positioned 12 immediately preceding a point at which the strip and film are brought into convergence.

4) A device as in claim 1, wherein compression means consist in a plurality of rollers disposed in series, tangential to a reaction surface afforded by a belt looped over further rollers of which at least one is power driven and interlocked to the monitoring and control means, and in such a way as to bring about a secure bond between the strip and the film while favouring the passage of both as one toward the wrapping machine.

5) A device as in preceding claims, as described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings and intended for the stated objects.