AU2006100646A4 - A guide for use with a wrapping apparatus - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR AN INNOVATION PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Agent and Address Adwrap Solutions Pty Ltd John Schultz for Service: MADDERNS, 1st Floor, 64 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Invention Title: ATTACHMENT FOR A WRAPPING MACHINE Details of Associated Provisional Application No: 2005904185 dated 3 August 2005.

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to apparatus or apparatuss used to wrap printed material, in particular newspapers, in a plastic film.

BACKGROUND

Printed material such as newspapers, magazines and the like, are often delivered to residences by retail outlets such as newsagencies. It is known that printed material such as newspapers can be wrapped in a plastic film. The plastic film is usually wrapped around the newspaper which is rolled into a cylinder. The wrapped 0 cylinders are then conveniently, individually, delivered to residences while the film protects the contained newspaper from the external environment prior to collection by the owner.

The film used for wrapping the newspaper is usually purchased in rolls or spools.

These rolls are usually fitted to apparatus designed for wrapping newspapers.

Individual rolls of plastic film are expensive, typically between AU$50 to AU$80 per 2,500 meter roll, the cost being directly attributable to the amount of plastic used to manufacture the film. The rolls are also very heavy, approximately 15 kg to 20 kg and can therefore be difficult to install in a newspaper wrapping apparatus by one .0 person. The heavy rolls of film may require two persons to lift the roll into position which can cause considerable disruption during production line wrapping.

The cost and weight of the rolls of plastic film have however been accepted by users for some considerable time. The inventor has considered these issues and proposes an alternative which involves a apparatus for wrapping newspaper which is adapted for an alternative plastic film which is also potentially a different type of film to that currently used, the alternative film being lighter and cheaper.

Accordingly, there is a need for a wrapping apparatus that can be used efficiently with the lighter and cheaper rolls of plastic film.

IoN The invention will be generally discussed in relation to wrapping and covering of N rolled newspapers but it is not so restricted and may be applied to other systems S where wrapping or covering of printed material is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wrapping apparatus for wrapping an article in a film, the wrapping apparatus including: 110 0a spool of a film for wrapping the article; a rolling fork for rolling the article; C 0 pressure rollers to support the article during rolling by the rolling fork; a feed arm for supplying film to the article from the spool, an end portion of the plastic film pinched by a nip in the article during the rolling thereof, the rolling fork then rolling the article to wrap it in the plastic film which is released from said spool; and a film cutter to cut the film from the spool once the article is wrapped; wherein, the apparatus further includes a film supply guide for actively guiding the end portion of the plastic film into the nip of the rolling article during the wrapping operation.

SAccording to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method for wrapping an article in film, using the apparatus and attachment described above, said method comprising: rolling an article using a rolling fork; supplying film to said article from a film supply; providing a film supply guide to actively guide said film into a nip of the article during the rolling thereof; wrapping said article in film; and cutting said film from the film supply after the article is wrapped in the film.

S According to a third embodiment of the invention there is provided a film supply N guide for use with a wrapping apparatus that wraps a rolling article in a film, the wrapping apparatus including a supply of film, the film supply guide including: a gas emission device for directing gas at the film at a pressure sufficient to actively guide an end portion of the film supply into the rolling article.

The film supply guide can further include a guiding arm portion wherein, the guiding arm portion positions the film so that an end portion thereof is guided by the gas emitted from the gas emission device.

O0 00 Preferably, the gas emission device is a tube that releases air under pressure though a plurality of apertures spaced along the length of the tube.

Throughout this specification unless the context requires otherwise, the words 'comprise' and 'include' and variations such as 'comprising' and 'including' will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, 0 an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described in some further detail with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying figures. These embodiments are illustrative, and not meant to be restrictive of the scope of the invention.

Suggestions and descriptions of other embodiments may be included within the scope of the invention but they may not be illustrated in the accompanying figures or alternatively features of the invention may be shown in the figures but not described in the specification.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying representation in which: 0 5 Figure 1 is a perspective view of the wrapping apparatus having the plastic film supply guide attached; Figure 2 is an end view of the wrapping apparatus of Figure 1 having a newspaper inserted and ready for a rolling action; Figure 3 is a close up view of the plastic film supply guide according to the present ~0 invention; Figure 4 is an end view of the wrapping apparatus of Figure 2 showing initial rolling of the newspaper; Figure 5 is an end view of the wrapping apparatus of Figure 4 showing further rolling of the newspaper; Figure 6 is an end view of the wrapping apparatus of Figure 5 showing further rolling of the newspaper and cutting of the film.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF BACKGROUND ART AND A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION SIn Figure 1, a known wrapping apparatus 10 is shown having a roll (or spool) 12 of film 14 which may be plastic and preferably, clear plastic. Roll 12 is rotatably mounted on a spindle so that it is able to supply film for wrapping. Film 14 which is drawn from roll 12 passes over a pair of spring loaded dancing rollers 16 and 18 which supply the required tension for the wrapping operation. Dancing rollers 16 and 18 are connected to the spindle which holds roll 12 by arms 17 and 19. Arm 17 has a brake (not shown) attached to the spindle. The brake prevents undesired rotation of roll 12 and, in the stationary position when the apparatus is not operating in a rolling action, brake 21 is activated.

Wrapping apparatus 10 further comprises a feed arm 20 which pivots about rod 22.

Figure 2 is an end or side view of the wrapping apparatus. In Figure 2 it can be seen that the end portion of film 14 is supplied from the feed arm 20. Feed arm 20 can be S pivoted about rod 22 manually, or mechanically, (not shown) thereby altering the S spatial location of the end portion of film 14. Preferably feed arm 20 is controlled by S external mechanical means.

O 5 The following description is a known wrapping operation. In Figure 2, the wrapping apparatus 10 is shown having a newspaper 31 inserted between rolling fork 28 ready for a rolling action. It will be understood by the person skilled in the art that an article other than newspaper could be rolled by the present apparatus, a magazine.

O0 00 Upon actuation, rolling fork 28 rotates, thereby rolling newspaper 31. Figure 4 illustrates that upon actuation of rolling fork 28, one end of newspaper 31 is lifted and support rollers or pressure rollers 30 move upward to support the rolling of newspaper 31. Pressure rollers 30 comprise a number of individual rollers which freely rotate about individual spindles.

As the pressure rollers 30 move upward, the end of feed arm 20 which supplies film 14 curves towards the rolling paper; both actions are illustrated by arrows in Figure 2. The movement of the rolling fork, the pressure rollers and the feed arm are Sactuated by external means (not shown). The tension in the film caused by the action of the feed arm 20 causes dancing rollers 16 and 18, by means of arms 17 and 19, to move toward each other thereby releasing brake 21. Roll 12 dispenses a portion of film 14.

The view in Figure 3 also shows that feed arm 20 further comprises two levers 19 supporting a hot wire cutter 25 between them. The levers 19 pivot about pivot pins 27. In the preferred embodiment the hot wire cutter 25 is a wire suspended between the free ends of the two levers. However, other methods for cutting film could be used, for example, razor wire or a moving razor. Concurrently, as feed arm 20 pivots downward, lever 19 supporting hot wire cutter 25 pivots upward about pivot pin 27.

S The lever pivots by means of a coil spring acting about pivot pin 27 to a position shown in Figure 4.

The next step in the rolling action is shown in Figure 5; rolling bar 28 has further rolled newspaper 31 such that a nip, (or fold or rolled portion) is presented to the end portion of film 14 protruding from feed arm 20. The nip is the region of the newspaper where the rolls or folds of the paper are closest together. When rolling bar 28 moves to further roll newspaper 31, this rolling action is encouraged by the support rollers which provide rotation beneath the newspaper. The further rolling 0 pinches the end portion of film 14 in the nip and the film is drawn over dancing rollers 16 and 18 from roll 12 to wrap the newspaper.

Figure 6 shows that further rolling envelops the newspaper 31 in film 14. The feed arm 20 pivots upward to its starting position. In doing so, hot wire cutter 25 moves downwards, relative to the feed arm and the hot wire cuts the film 14. The film is preferably made from a plastic material which adheres to itself when two portions contact. Once the film is cut therefore the cut end portion adheres to the rolled newspaper maintaining the wrapped condition.

.0 Once the wrapping or rolling action is complete, newspaper 31 is ejected from rolling fork 28. The next rolling action then takes place. All of the above is a known wrapping method.

In the present invention, preferably the film 14 of roll 12 is lighter and cheaper than commonly used films. The film is pre-stretched in order to achieve a thickness of less than 15 microns and is preferably approximately 7 microns. Preferably the film is polyethylene (PE) however it may be any other polymer, or polymer combined with a plasticizing agent, that is able to wrap an article. The film is supplied in rolls having dimensions 50 cm wide, 1300 metres long and 7 microns in thickness and weighs approximately 9 kg. However, the roll may be of any length of film and the roll is only required to be at least as wide as the article to be wrapped. Such a roll is Sapproximately half the weight of existing rolls and is substantially cheaper due to

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N less plastic used during manufacture of the roll.

While these thin film are cheaper, during a wrapping operation the film tends to curl 0 5 away from the nip of the newspaper because it is lighter and the pre-stretching biases the ends to curl inwards. Thinner films have increased clinginess and are ,electrostatically attracted to adjacent surfaces to which the film will cling until it is peeled away by the user. Thinner films are more clingy because there is less D structural integrity in the film and accordingly the film is more flexible. This curling 0 10 away from the fold or roll in the newspapers occurs frequently with thin films since the process of inserting the newspaper through rolling forks 28 disturbs and/or pushes the film towards the rear of the wrapping apparatus. Notwithstanding this however the thin film lacks the rigidity of thicker films and readily clings to itself and adjacent surfaces even when not exacerbated by the insertion of the newspaper.

The present invention reduces the likelihood that the thin film will move from the desired position directed towards the nip of the newspaper) by providing a film supply guide.

In Figure 2, film supply guide 23 of the present invention is shown as an attachment to apparatus 10. The supply guide is attached to feed arm 20 by bolts thereby forming part of the apparatus 10. It will be understood that any method of attaching film supply guide 23 to feed arm 20 could be used, for example welding or adhesive glue. The film supply guide may be sold with or as an attachment for a new wrapping apparatus and may be attached to existing apparatus.

It is an option that the film supply guide is not attached to the feed arm (or any other part of apparatus 10) and instead is separate to the apparatus but has an effect upon the wrapping operation nevertheless (described further below). The end portion of film 14 can be seen protruding from an arm portion of guide 23. Effectively, film supply guide 23 acts to actively guide the end portion of film 14 into the nip of a rolling newspaper 31. This significantly improves the likelihood of film 14 being o pinched by the newspaper during a rolling action. If the film is not pinched by the 0 N newspaper then the film is not drawn from roll 12 and the newspaper is not wrapped in film. Accordingly, by providing a film supply guide to the underside of the wrapping apparatus the efficiency of the apparatus is improved.

By "actively guides" it is meant that the film supply guide has an influence on the film that causes it to be directed towards the rolling article. Actively guided is said to 0 be more than merely providing the film on the feed arm such as is prior D arrangements. In the present case, active guiding is a directed flow of a gas such as 0 10 air which blows the end portion of film 14 into the nip of a rolling newspaper 31. The directed flow of air in one direction along a surface adjacent the free end of the film is at a pressure sufficient to causes the thin film to be entrained in the air and thereby directed towards the nip of the rolling newspaper.

Guidance is most useful when the thickness of the film is less than 15 microns and film as thin as 7 microns (or less) can be used by the improved wrapping apparatus.

The force from the air flow is desirably greater than any forces moving the film in the wrong direction away from the nip of the newspaper). Effectively, the active guidance of the film reduces the clinginess of the film to both itself and the wrapping apparatus. The film supply guide reduces the tendency for the film to move away from the rolling newspaper by providing a positive force to the film supply which directs and end of the film supply towards and into the rolling paper. The film supply guide is also therefore a clinginess reducing means since in its absence the film tends to cling to itself and adjacent surfaces.

In a preferred embodiment, film supply guide comprises both a guiding arm portion and a gas emission device 26 into which a gas such as air is pumped from an air pump (not shown). In Figure 2, gas emission device 26 is shown on the opposite side of feed arm 20 to the film 14, but this is merely a preferable location. It will be understood that any gas can be pumped into gas emission device 26, however air is most convenient since it can be drawn into the air pump from the surrounding atmosphere. Furthermore any means of introducing an air flow into tube 26 can be utilised. The gas emission device is preferably disposed close to the edge region of the feed arm. Air which exits from gas emission device 26 is directed to impinge the portion of film 14 protruding from feed arm 20 over the arm portion of guide 23 in the direction of the arrows shown, away from the feed arm and towards the simultaneously forming nip in a rolling article such as a newspaper. The guiding arm portion positions the film so that an end portion is guided into the flow of air from the gas emission device, effectively causing the film to be entrained by the gas I emitted from the gas emission device. By "entrained" it is meant that the film is 0 0 L0 carried along in the direction of the air flow.

In the preferred embodiment gas emission device 26 is a tube having a plurality of apertures along its length from which air exits under pressure. It will be understood that there may be more than one tube for releasing air. Furthermore, the exit of the air from the tube, or other gas emission device, may be via either an aperture, a valve or any other suitable means.

Figure 3 is a view of the underside of film supply guide 23 showing tube 26 attached to and running along the underside of the film supply guide 23. Air is blown into an end of the tube by an air pump (not shown). Air is able to exit from the tube 26, in the direction of the arrows shown, from a number of holes 29 positioned along the side of tube 26.

It should be understood that other means of releasing air onto the film may be used instead of a tube, for example, there may be one or more individual gas outlets disposed on the underside of the feed arm 20. Furthermore, the arm portion of the film supply guide may be omitted however, film supply guide 23 will not work as well without it. As mentioned above, it is also an option that the film supply guide is separate from the apparatus, for example, the film supply guide may be a gas emitting means such as a fan arranged adjacent the apparatus 10. The fan could be some distance from the feed arm 20 provided the air still has the effect of guiding the

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N thin film towards the nip of the rolling article.

The film supply guide of the present arrangement allows thinner films than previously available to be used to wrap newspapers. Thin film is advantageously used in the wrapping apparatus since less film (by weight) is used during the wrapping of one unit, i.e. a newspaper. This means that overall less plastic is consumed when wrapping a given number of newspapers. Since the price of film is directly correlated to the weight of plastic used, the rolls of thin film are therefore 0 0 LO cheaper than existing rolls of thicker films. In addition, the thinner rolls are lighter than thicker rolls of film and accordingly can be installed by one person rather then requiring two persons to be involved in heavy lifting. This improves the time and efficiency of roll changes during production of wrapped newspapers. Furthermore, the use of thinner and therefore less plastic per newspaper is more environmentally friendly since fewer resources are required to perform the wrapping operation.

It is an option that a biodegradable additive be added to the film in order to improve biodegradability of the film over time. Furthermore a colour may be added to the film if desired.

_0 It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted in its use to the particular application described. Neither is the present invention restricted in its preferred embodiment with regard to the particular elements and/or features described or depicted herein. It will be appreciated that various modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the invention.

Therefore, the invention should be understood to include all such modifications within its scope.

Claims (4)

1. A wrapping apparatus for wrapping an article in a film, the wrapping <apparatus including: a spool of a film for wrapping the article; a rolling fork for rolling the article; pressure rollers to support the article during rolling by the rolling fork; a feed arm for supplying film to the article from the spool, an end portion of the film pinched by a nip in the article during the rolling thereof, O the rolling fork then rolling the article to wrap it in the film which is released from said spool; and a film cutter to cut the film from the spool once the article is wrapped; wherein, the apparatus further includes a film supply guide for actively guiding the end portion of the film into the nip of the rolling article during the wrapping operation.

2. A method for wrapping an article in film, said method comprising: rolling an article using a rolling fork; supplying film to said article from a film supply; 0 providing a film supply guide to actively guide said film into the article during the rolling thereof; wrapping said article in film; and cutting said film from the film supply after the article is wrapped in the film.

3. A film supply guide for use with a wrapping apparatus that wraps a rolling article in a film, the wrapping apparatus including a supply of film, the film supply guide including: a gas emission device for directing gas at the film at a pressure sufficient to actively guide an end portion of the film supply into the rolling article. NO ci

4. A film supply guide according to claim 3, further including: a guiding arm portion wherein, the guiding arm portion positions the film so that an end portion thereof is guided by the gas emitted from the gas 0 5 emission device. A film supply guide according to any one of claims 3 or 4, wherein the gas emission device is a tube that releases air under pressure though a plurality of O apertures spaced along the length of the tube. 0 0 L0 Dated this 3rd day of August, 2006. Adwrap Solutions Pty Ltd By his Patent Attorneys MADDERNS