US20100012762A1

US20100012762A1 - Film-aligning device for air cushion maker

Info

Publication number: US20100012762A1
Application number: US12/218,694
Authority: US
Inventors: Tung-Lung Chiang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-07-17
Filing date: 2008-07-17
Publication date: 2010-01-21

Abstract

A film-aligning device applicable to an air cushion maker implements an eclectic heater to partially heat and soften a plastic film before the plastic film receives an inflating process and a softening process. When the plastic film is tending to proceed slantingly, the heated and soften plastic film performs a plastic deformation to realign the feeding stork of the plastic film.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to air cushion makers, and more particularly, to a film-aligning device for aligning a plastic film during a feeding stork, so as to ensure smooth inflating and sealing processes.
2. Description of Related Art
For protecting packed objects from being damaged under accidental impact, buffer or cushion materials are generally used to fill void. As can be seen in FIG. 1, an air-bubble sheet made of plastic films is one of the most poplar cushion materials. A manufacture employs special equipments to produce such air-bubble sheet as a large piece, and a user can later cut or pucker the sheet at will to fill void in a packing case. However, the manufactured air-bubble sheet is space-consuming at transportation and storage due to its characters of being inflated and non-compressible. Thus, such air-bubble sheet is uneconomic and inconvenient in respect of transportation and storage.
A desk-top air cushion maker has been therefore developed to remedy the aforementioned problem by providing an inflated and sealed air cushion, as depicted in FIG. 2. Such air cushion can be made in-site for instant use by the foregoing air cushion maker and is superior in convenience as well as economy. Nevertheless, a conventional desk-top air cushion maker typically suffer from slant film in the maker that tends to cause creases on the film and leads to defective inflating and sealing processes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One primary objective of the present invention is to provide a film-aligning device for automatically aligning and orienting a plastic film before the plastic film receives inflating and sealing processes in an air cushion maker.
To achieve this and other objectives of the present invention, the film-aligning device comprises a plastic film roll rotatably mounted on a base of a desk-top air cushion maker, a plurality of film-pulling roller sets, a heater settled on the base. The heater provides a heating temperature ranging from 55 to 60 Centigrade degrees. The heater is positioned between the plastic film roll and the film-pulling roller sets that continuously draw out a plastic film from the plastic film roll. Thereby, the plastic film over the heater is heated and softened. In the event that the film is tending to become slant, two sides of the film receive different magnitudes of pulling force from the film-pulling roller set. At this time, the side receiving the relatively great pulling force becomes taut and the other side receiving the relatively small pulling force becomes loose, so that the film crossing over the heater performs plastic deformation that stops the uneven pulling force being transmitted toward the plastic film roll. As a result, the film between the plastic film roll and the heater is protected from receiving the uneven pulling force and kept aligned, thereby rectifying the film stroke from slanting and ensuring the following film proceeding straightly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to- the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional plastic air-bubble sheet;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an air cushion made of a conventional desk-top air cushion maker;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an air cushion maker according to the present invention, wherein a cover thereof is closed;

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the air cushion maker according to the present invention, wherein the cover thereof is open;

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing showing a plastic film passing over a heater according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While some preferred embodiments are provided hereinafter for illustrating the concept of the present invention as described above, it is to be understood that the components in these drawings are made for better explanation and need not to be made in scale. Besides, in the following description and the drawings, resemblances are indicated by the same numerals.
Referring to FIG. 3 for a perspective view of an air cushion maker according to the present invention. The air cushion maker primarily comprises a base 10 and a cover 12 that is liftably affixed to the base 10, wherein the cover 12 is now lying on the base 10. The cover 12 includes an arched canopy 13, a button switch 14, a plurality of function buttons 15 and a latch assembly 16 for holding the cover 12 with the base 10.
Another perspective view of the air cushion maker according to the present invention can be seen in FIG. 4 and 5, wherein the cover 12 is presently open. A film roll 17 to be inflated into an air cushion is mounted on a pair of roll supporters 20. A plurality of rubber rollers 211, 212 are arranged-on the base 10 and the cover 12, respectively, in the manner that when the cover 12 lies on the base 10, each pair of the rubber rollers 211, 212 facing each other are vertically contact so as to form at least two film-pulling roller sets 21. One said rubber roller 211 of one said film-pulling roller set 21 is rotate by a motor so as to drive the other rubber roller 212 contacting therewith. Hence, after being settled between the two contacting rubber rollers 211 and 212, a plastic film 171 constituting the film roll 17 can be continuously pulling out from the film roll 17 as the rubber rollers keep rotating coordinately. Then the plastic film 171 passes an inflating device 22 and a sealing device 23 settled on the base 10 to receive inflating and sealing processes, thereby forming an air cushion as shown in FIG. 2.
A heater 30 is provided on the base 10, between the plastic film roll 17 and the film-pulling roller set 21, and below a plane where the plastic film passes along. A pressing roller 31 is provided on the cover 12 adjacent to the plastic film roll 17 for contacting the heater 30 so as to press the plastic film 171 on a surface of the heater 30 for enhanced heating. The heater 30 is in a bar shape, and parallel to the film-pulling roller set 21. It is to be noted that the heater 30 has a length long enough to heat the plastic film 171 for an entire width of the plastic film 171, as shown in FIG. 5.
The film-pulling roller set 21 draws out the plastic film 171 from the plastic film roll 17. Thereby, the plastic film 171 over the heater 30 is heated and softened. In the event that the film is tending to become slant, two sides of the film 171 receive different magnitudes of pulling force from the film-pulling roller set. At this time, the side receiving the relatively great pulling force becomes taut and the other side receiving the relatively small pulling force becomes loose, so that the film 171 crossing over the heater 30 performs a plastic deformation that stops the uneven pulling force being transmitted toward the plastic film roll 17. As a result, the film between the plastic film roll 17 and the heater 30 is protected from receiving the uneven pulling force and kept aligned, thereby ensuring the plastic film 171 continuously and straightly released from the plastic film roll 17. Consequently, the heater 30 facilitates aligning the plastic film 171 and preventing the plastic film 171 from a slanting feeding stork.
Although the particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that numerous variations will be possible to the disclosed embodiments without going outside the scope of the invention as disclosed in the claims.

Claims

1. A film-aligning device applicable to an air cushion maker, which is characterized in having an eclectic heater for partially heating and softening a plastic film before the plastic film receives an inflating process and a softening process.

2. The film-aligning device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the eclectic heater is provided below a plane where the plastic film passes along.

3. The film-aligning device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the eclectic heater heats the plastic film for an entire width of the plastic film.

4. The film-aligning device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air cushion maker primarily comprises a base and a cover that is liftably affixed to the base, in which a plastic film roll is rotatably mounted on the base so that at least one film-pulling roller set serves to draw the plastic film out from the plastic film roll while the eclectic heater is settled on the base between the plastic film and the film-pulling roller set and right below a plane where the plastic film passes along.

5. The film-aligning device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the heater is parallel to the film-pulling roller set.

6. The film-aligning device as claimed in claim 4, wherein a pressing roller is provided on the cover adjacent to the plastic film roll for contacting the heater.