CA1196263A - Multi-roll package of compressible materials - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A stack of at least two multiple roll packages of rolls of compressible material, the packages being stacked one upon another and at least one of them having an external wrapping of shrinkable or stretchable plastic material; interconnecting means for the stacked packages comprises shrinkable plastic sheet material, at least one part of which overlies the upper part of the lower package and another part of which overlies the lower part of the upper package; the plastic sheet material is shrunk on external surfaces of both of the packages with which it comes into contact.

Description

The present invention.relates to an improved multiple roll package of compressible material such as fibrous insulating material and also to a process and apparatus for forming packages of such compressible materials.

Various packagings of rolled materials, whi~h may be employed either with individual rolls or with rolls assembled side by side, are known. r~he packaging in these various known cases is generally made up of one or several sheets of paper folded down on the ends of the roll or of the assembly, or made up of sheets of plastic material of the polyethylene type, usually shrunk by thermal treatment. These various types of packaging units are no longer suitable for satisfactorily responding to the needs of the users in the construction field, since very large ~uantities of products are frequently required to be transported from the production plant to the points of use.

In the case of light materials, such as insulating materials, the necessary volume of such materials in stor-age can reach a third or the total storaye vol~me of the cons~ruction materials handled by ~he users. Up to now, the technique of palettization resol~7ed the problems posed by the handling of heavy materials, such as bricks, cement, etc..., however the use ofreturnable palettes,and also the use of returnable container~ involves the problem of recovery of the palettes with risks of damage to the palettes, and with resulting division of responsibility~ This system has not beell used up to now for liyht materials~

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As far as rolls of light materlals are concerned, the solution proposed for handling such materials was to gro~p several dozen roll units, such as the individ~al in-sulating rolls above referred to, so as to make ~p a pac~-age, for example of generally cubical shape, capable of exceeding the volume-of lSm3, and a weight of several hun-dred kilos. However, this volume and weight makes the handling of such packages difficult unless spe~ific and expensive handliny means are used at tne produetion plant, in the storage warehouses and at the premises where the materials are used. Because of these facto s, handling means, such as cranes or lifts, are indispensable for accom-plishing the handling, an~ this generally leads to expensive investments Furthermore, the size of these rolls is such that they cannot be stored in ordinary warehouses, which very often are equipped with bins, racks or attics of in-.

sufficient dimensions.
.. . . . . . _ , ~

~3--Such voluminous rolls cou~ also he stored inthe open. However, they would the~ have to be water znd air tight and weather resistant (frost, rain and sunning), which would increase their cost prohibitively~

It has also been proposed to produce package~
in which elastic insulating products are collected in com-pressed form. `Packages of this type are known, in which compressed, fibrous, insulatîng panels are stacked one on top of the other (French patent 2,~16,811). Other pack-ages of this type contain tubular, fibrous products~ such as insulating ducts or pipes, stacked in the flattened state (U.S. patent 3,587,201)~ Such modes of packaging are not useable with insulating materials of the kind mentioned, due to the fact that these materials cannot be reduced to such a state of compression without adverse effects.

The aim of the invention is to overcome these disadvantages by providing a new type of multi-roll package of a compressible material, in particular insulating rolls, in which the compressible material is only subjected to a limited compression, in order to avoid its permanen*
deformation, and which lends to the handling of the packages by conventional apparatus such as fork lifts~ an~ which packages can be stacked for storage.

For these purposes t one object of the in~entior, is to provide a package of at least two layers of rolls of a compressible material, the rolls of each layer being placed side by side and in mutual contac~, while lower and upper rolls of two superposed layers vertically overlie each other and are in mutual contact along their lov~ermost and uppermost surfaces, this package being characterized in that it contains: \
- two contoured or grooved panels adjacent the outer sides of the layers of the rolls, and - two bindings bearing on ihe contoured panels and orthogonally arranged with respect to each other.

Preferably, a covering of paper or of stretchable or shrinkable plastic material will envelope the rolls, the panels and the bindings, to protect the unit ~rom incle~,-encies and to improve the overall form of the package.

Advantageously, the grooves of the said panels will receive and position the rolls and the panels will be joined by transverse panels at the ends of the rolls to form one of said bindings, whereas plastic bands or strips will make up the second bindings, perpendicular to the first bindings.

According to another important characteristic o~ the inv~ntior~, the contoured panels at two opposite sides of the package will each ha~e two recesses lyin~ between the grooves, said recesses accommodating the fork of a handl-ing apparatus, these recesses resulting from foldin~ or castiny of the materlal of which these panels are composed.
The transverse panels at the ends of the rolls preferably have perforations t~ accommodate said fork, or will have def~nitely marked areas which the fork will perforate during the handling of the package~

It is also an object of the invention to provide a process of making such a packagef characterized in that:
- a first layer of rolls arranged side by side and in mutual contact i~ placed on a grooved panel;
- at least one other layer of rolls ormed like the first layer is stacked on the first layer, the rolls of the second la~er being in contac~ along their lowermost surEaces with the uppermost surfaces of the rolls of the first layer;
- a second grooved panel is placed on the stack and the stack is compressed between the two grooved panels;
and - the stack maintained in the compressed state is bound with binding elements bearing on said panels and forming two bindings orthogonally directed in relation to each other.

Preferably, the assembly t:hus for~led is next en-veloped with a paper covering ~r with stretchable or shrink-able plastic material~

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for implementing the process, this apparatus being characterized in that it contains:
- a base for the lower gro~ved panel and the stack of multi-roll layers;
- an upper plate, which is movable with respect to the base under the influence of the compression means used; and - side supports constituting a structure defining a maximum pac~age size.

Said base will prefera~ly contain individual sup-ports for the rolls of the first layer r said individual supports bein~ adjustable in position with regar~ to each other, so that tney may be positioned beneath the base of the grooves of the overlying contoured panel when rolls of different sizes are being packaged. These supports will preferably have a cross section having the contour of the roll surfaces.

The side supports, which define the maximum struc-ture, will preferably be adjustable in position with regard to each other. Advantageously, these supports will contain openings to accommcdate strips or similar binding elementsO

Another object o~ the ir,~ention is cons,ituted by the application of said packages to the storase of rolls of compressible material, by stackin~ said packages in piles containing a plurality of the packages.

Still another ob~ect of ~he invention is ,o pro-vide for binding together a group of multiple roll packages particularly of the kind described above in a manne~ further simplifying handling and storage of such insulation rolls in total quantities larger than included in ~he in~ividua multiple roll packages.

Tne attached drawings ~llustrate the implementa-tion of the inventionO On these dra~ings.

Figure 1 is an explode~ ~iew in perspective of a package of six rolls;

Figure 2 is a Yiew in perspective of an assembled package of the kind shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 illustrates the stacking of a plurality of packages of six and nine rolls;

Fi~ures 4 and 5 are two elevational views, one from the front and the other from the side, of an apparatuS
for use in assembling and b;nding the multiple roll packages;

Figures 6, 7 and 8 illustrate different phases of the assembly of a stack of multiple roll packages in the case where the package assembling means is a be]t of shrinkable material, these fig~res respectively show stack-ing, placement of the belt and shrink fit of the latter, ~~

Figures 9, 10 and 11 are views similar to Figures6, 7 and 8, illustrating a modified fornl of the assembling and wrapping o~ a stack of packages with shrinkable material, Figure 12 shows a two-package stack beirJg trans-ported by a carrier vehiclei and Figure 13 shows a strap assembly adapted for use with four stacks of two packages~ each ready to be trans-ported by car, fvr example.

The package in accordance with the invention, in the embodiment sho~7n in Figures 1 and 2, is made up of six rolls 1 of a compressible material, for example, a fi-brous thermal insulating material, such as glass fibers.
These rolls are grouped in two superimposed layers each containing three rolls, the rolls of the lower layer being placed parallel and in mutual contact, whereas the rolls of the upper layer rest on the rolls of the lower layer with the uppermost and lowermost sur~aces in contact, . . .

6~
-g The rolls of the lower layer are supported by a panel 2 cast of a plastic material or formed of cardboard, which is contoured or grooved to receive the lower portions of rolls 1 and provide triangular recesses 3 at the under-side to receive the fork prongs of a fork lift or handling apparatus.

. Analogously, an identical panel 2 overlies the rolls of the upper layer J the upper panel being inverted in position as compared with the bottom panel..

End panels 4, also of plastic material or o~ card-board, are placed against the ends of the rolls 1 and are bonded to the panels 2 by flanges 5 glued to the panels

2. These panels 2 and the panels 4 thus form a first bind-ing enclosing the rolls 1. ~he panels 4 contain cu. outs 6 in registry with recesses 3 o~ the contoured panels 2, in order to accommoda~e the teeth of`a fork lift.

A second binding, orthogonal to the one first described, is formed by one or more strips 7, preferably ~ at least two strips, of plastic material, for example o~
polypropylene, which surround the rolls 1 and panels 2 perpendicular to their axes~
.

. . . -- -Finally, a covering 8 of a shrink~ble material, for example polyethylene of a thickness of from 0.07 mm to 0.15 mm, encloses the assembly formed b~ the rolls 1, the contoured panels 2, the panels 4 and the ~trips 7 The binding formed by the panels 2 and the panels 4 establish the height of the assembl~ of rolls 1 and pre-vent lateral deformation~ whereas the encircling strips 7 prevent the longitudinal sliding of the rolls. The covPr-ing 8 of shrinkable material prote~ts the package from in-clemencies.

For the handling of such a package with a fork lift, the teeth of the fork may readily perforate the cov-ering 8 and engage in the cut-outs 6 of the panels 4 and the recesses 3 of the panels ~. The accessibility of the recesses for cooperation with the fork elements of a fork lift is thus maintained~ It is also possible tc easily stack several packages, identical or not, on top of each other, as is seen in Figure 3. Packages of six or nine rolls, or even more, can be formed. For instance, Figure shows a stack of packages of six and nine rollsO

The applicant has thus provided packages of rolls of fibrous thermal insulating material, which in typical cases have the following characteristics~

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Packages of six rolls:
- diameter of the rolls: 500 to 550 millimeters, - length of the package: 1600 mm, - width: ~length of ~he rolls): 1200 l~m.
- height of the package: 860 mm, - weight of the package: about 95 kg.
Three packages of this type can be stacked, totalling 1 rolls.
Packages of nine rolls, - diameter of the rolls: 500 to 550 millimeters, - length of the package: 1600 mm, - width: (length of the rolls): 1200 mmr - height of the package: 1280 mm, - w~ight of the package~ about 145 kgO
Two packages of this type can be stacked, totalling 18 rolls, as in the precedin~ case.

In practice, to reduce the volume of the pac~age and to increase its mechanical endurance, the rolls 1 are compressed under a pressure lower than that which would cause their permanent deformation, before being assembled - by the orthogonal bindings.

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In the case of thermal insulation rolls, the char-acteristics of which were just yiven, these rolls are~ in general, compressed so as to cause a reduct;on of their diameter of 10 to 25%, which corresporlds to a press~re of 1000 to 2200 Pascal. For instance, a pressure of 155D
Pascal (corresponding to a stress of 250 kg) causes a diam-eter red~1ction of 179~.

In order to produce the packages according .o the invention and to compress the multi-roll packages r the apparatus schematically shown in Figures 4 an~ 5 will be advantageously utilized.

This app~ratus has a base 10, equipped with sup-ports 11 laterally adjustable in position to accol~m~date rolls of different sizes~ side walls formed b~ vertical plates 1~, or preferably of plates 12' shown as broken lines . . _ in Figure 5 separated by gaps 13, and an upper plate 14, parallel to tne base 10 and capable of bein~ displaced with S regard to the latter on a frame 15 under the effect of a jack 16. The plate 14 is equipped with pressure blocks 17 for engaging and compressing the rolls being packaged.

A panel 2, previously contoured, is placed on the supports 11, of which the position was adjusted so that each of the supports was aligned with a roll 1~ The various layers of rolls are stacked and the last one is covered with a grooved panel 2, identical to the panel first i2~

mentioned b~t arranged in inverted position. With plate 14 and frame 15 the multi-roll parcel is then lightly com-pressed t-o the desired volume and the plate 14 i~ ~,aintained in this position.

Strips 7 are then applied by introducing these strips through the spaces 13 which separate the plates 12.
Finally, the flar-ges 5 of the panels 4 are glued on tbe ends of the lower and upper panels ~. This gluing can alter-natively be effected before the encirclin~ of the rolls by the strips 7.

The multi-roll package is then withdrawn from the compression apparatus and it is enveloped with a shrink-able poIyethylenP covering 8, before passing the unit into a shrinking oven.

Because of the compression of the roll5 during packaging, the contoured panels 2 and the panels 4 work in tension when the pressure exerted during the formation of the package is relieved; and at th~ same time, a stiffen-( ing effect is exerted by the panels 4 on the stack, This f precompression also makes the panels 2 and the panels 4 particularly suitable to resist compression when the pack-ages are stacked and support the weight of other packages, ~ he inventiont therefore, proposes a particular~y simple process for the formation of multi-roll packages of a co~pressible material, ~hermal insulation rolls in particular, hhich favors the handling and stora~e of thes~
packages without it being necessary to resort to palettes and to large storage areas~

It should be noted that it is easy, for the user, to remove the rolls from the packages just described and that the constituent materials of these packages are not very voluminous, are inexpensive and are easily destroyed after utilization.

The process according to the invention is trans-posable to a~ticles of compressible material n~t being in the form of rolls, for example to substantially parallele-pipedal blocks of plastic foam material, or even to packets of thermal insulating materials, provided that the form of these articles enables the use of the contoured outer panels, having recesses for the teeth of a fork of a handl-ing apparatus. Such an adaptation of this process is within the scope of the present invention.

Turning now to Figures 6 to 13, it is first noted that the mùltiple roll packages shown are of the kind and configuration of the packages of Figures 1 to 5, but here provision is ma~e for stacking and assembling the multiple roll packages into larger assemblies.

In Figures 6 to 8, both packaaes shown are covered with a protective wrapping. Package 2a is first stacked on top of package la, then a belt 8a of shri.nkable material is wrapped horizontally around the pile of packages (Figure 7~, so as to laterally encircle the lower part of the upper -.
package 2a and the upper part of the lower package la.
Preferably, as shown in the drawingsr the belt 8a will be positioned symmetrically with respect to the contactin~
portions of the two packages and will encircle each over a distance at least equal to the diameter of the individual rolls 3a. Belt 8a will, for example, be made of a f ilm of polyethylene extended only in a direction perpendicular to the direction of stacking of the packages in order to reinforce its resistance to stretching. This Eilm of poly-ethylene will have a thickness of 100 microns, for example.

The belt 8a of shrinkable material is then brought to a temperature sufficient to produce shrinkaget for exam-ple as shown in Figure 8/ by moving the stack of packages in front of a manifold 9a o~ hot air nozzles which discharge hot air in the direction of the stack and by turning the stack in front of the manifold 9a (Figure 8). ~nder the influence of heat, the belt 8a shrinks and shrink fits over the packages la and 2a at the point where they interfere, thereby asse~bling them to form one stack whose handlin~, as will be shown hereinafter, is easy and which may be deliv-ered to users in this form.

In Figures 9, 10 and 11, the stac~s lOa and lla are composed of packages of rolls 12a identical to those just described~ but only the lower package lOa is covered with a wrapping of shrinkable or stretchable material, while package lla which is stacked on top ~Figure 9) lacks such ~-a wrapping. However, the upper package lla is subsequently covered with a wrapping 13a of shrinkable material, such as polyethylene for example, which covers it rompletely and whose lower skirt-like part surrounds the uppe part of the lower package lOa. As p~eviously indicatedr the skirt of the wrapping 13a will preferably cover the lower package lOa to a height at least equal to the diameter of ~he rolls 12a ~Figure 10)~

The shrink fit of the wrapping 13a is subsequently acco~plished by introducing the stack of packages into a shrinkage oven 14a where it is heated by means of manifolds 15a emitting infrared radiation. The effect of the heat causes the wrapping to shrink, and to take the form of the upper package and shrink fit over the two packa~es in the region where they interface ~Figure 11).

As in the case of Figures 6, 7 and 8, a stack of two packages unite~ as one is produced which can be m~ved and stored more easily.

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6~

As a matter of fact, this methcd o~ assembling two packages with one another eliminates sliding o~ the upper package on the lower packagel t~5us facilitating stow-ing of the stack on transport carts or tr~cks.

Furthermore, the interface of the packages is protected from bad weather by the assem~ling means itself.

Similar stacks of superposed packages can be pre-pared by assembling them, and while they are slightly com-pressed, surrounding them with straps such as strips of plastic material.

`- It is possible to handle the stack of packages simply by suspending the upper package from which the lower package is now suspende~ by the assembling means. ~he user may thus move the stack of packages by mea~s of a fork lift truck by introducing the prongs o~ the fork in the lower fork receiving recesses provided in the upper package.
This freq~ently simplifies the handling of stacks of mul-tiple roll packages.

Obviously, as long as the stack of packages is not ready for use, it should be handled with care to avoid damaging, on the one hand, the wrapping with which one or ~th packages are covered prior to their assembly and, on the other hand, the assembling means ~belt or wrapping) which binds them together. The use of fork lift trucks shoLlld be avoided in certain cases since the fork would perforate both the wrappings and the assembling means.
This is not a pro~lem, however, since as can be seen from -~
Figure 12, all that is needed to ~ransport a stack 16a of packages is a transport cart provided, in a manner known per se, with plates 18a tha~ move sideways with respect to one another, laterally squeeze the stack, thereby provid-ing for lifting and moving the stack safely without damag-ing any of its component parts.

The stacks of packages as disclosed can themselves be assembled into still larger units by means of borizon-tal or vertical straps for long distance transportation or hangar storage, for example.

For this purpose, as shown in Figure 13, it is possible to assemble two-package stacks by using straps of vertical strips l9a of plasticr such as pol~propylene for example, analagous to those shown in Figures 1 and ~, to bind the rolls of each package perpendicularly to their axis. It is preferable that the strips 19a be placed over the strips of the individual packages in order to cover these.

The strips l9a prevent sliding of the various stacks with respect to one another and, therefore, facili-tate storage and long distance transportation of these stacks, To bind the stacks with the strips, i~ is possible to use the same technique as described for binding the rolls of the packages, i.e., slightly compress the stacks before bindiny them, then relax the compression. In the case o~
Figure 13, the two-package s~acks are also assembled by means of a horizontal binding consisting of belts 20a of shrink~ble plastic material applied as defined in the process of the present in~ention. One such belt is shown toward the ~op of the multiple stack in Figure 13 and another such belt is shown toward the bottom of Figure 13.

.. . .
As shown in Figure~13, the applicant has thus provided for preparation of units of four two-package stacks, each package containing nine rolls o~ glass wool with the following characteristics:
-- diameter of the rolls: 500 - 550 mm -- length: 1600 mm -- width: (lenyth of the rolls3: 1200 mm ( -~ height: 12~0 mm -- weight: 145 kg Su~h units of 72 rolls have the advantage of being very compact in this form which facilitates stowing in rail-road cars and reduces dea~ storage space.

2~

From the above, it will be seen th~it the invention provides a stack of at least th'O packages of rolls or par-cels, each incorp~rating a plurality of rolls, these pack-ages being stacked and at least one being provided wit~
an external wrapping of stretchable or shrinkable plastic ~~
material, characterized in that an assembling means of shrink-able plastic material is provided) at least one part of which laterally hugs the upper part vf the lower package and the lower part of the upper package, and in that said assembling means is shrunk ~n the externa] part of said packages with which it comes into contact.

It is preferred that the assembling means hug each of the two packages over a distance at least e~ual to the diameter of the- individual rolls of which the pack-ages are made up.

Stacks of packages according to the invention are prepared by a method that is simple and easy to im~le-ment. The packages are stacked by placing a package ~ith a wrapping at the bottom of a pile, the assembling means of shrinkable plastic material then being placed around the packages in such a way as to laterally cover the upper part of the lower packa9e and the lower part of the upper package, and said means is then brought to a temperature such that it binds said packages by shrink fit~

Tn the case where only the lower package has O
wrapp ng of shrinkable or stre~chable material and where the assembling means consists of a wrapping which covers the upper package and whose lower part forms G. skirt which surrounds the upper part of the lower package t the assembly wrapping may be brought to the desired shrinkage tempera-ture by passage through an oven.

From various parts of the detailea description gi~en above and from examination of the drawings accompany-ing this applicationt it will be seen that the present inven-tion pro~ides a method for integrating a multiplicity of rolls of compressible material into a unitarily handleable assembly. The method comprises several major aspects and .
stages incluain~ preliminary assembly of a plurality of rolls of compressible material in groups, the rolls of each group being assembled-in at least two layers sùperimposed upon each other ana each comprising a pl~rality of rolls, with the axes of individual rolls of each layer overlying the axes of individual rolls of adjoining layers. These groups of rolls are then subjected to pressure in vrder to partially compress the rollsj and in this condition, bindings are applied to each group in order to f~rm inte-grated multiple roll packages. After relief of the pres-sure, a plurality of the packages may be assembled in a stack, and bindings are applied to the stack, the bindings .

comprising shrinkable plastic sheet material at least a portion of which bridges and is shrunk onto adjoining ex-posed surfaces of stacked packages. Still further, provi-sion is made ~or assembly of a plurality of such stac~s of packages in side-by-side relation, and the application of bindings in the form of belts surrounding the ~ssembled stacks.

Various of these feature~ are Or great importance from many standpoints in the fabrication and handling of such materials. Thus, by the initial assembly of the ~ul-tiple roll packages, these packages may be handled, stored or transp~rted as such, or they may alternatively be brought t to~ether in stacks and the stacks, in turn, may be brought together into groups of stacks, so that ]arger t~tai quanti-ties of rolls may readily be handled as a unit, either for storage or transport. The flexi~ility of this system is of great importance not only in the manufacturing operationJ
but also in connection with the ultimate shipment and handl-ing of the rolls at a point of use.

It will also be observed that even where coYer-ings and bindings are applied to assembled packages~ the accessibility of the recesses for the fork elements of a fork lift is ~lways maintained. Sheet coverings can readily b2 penetrated by the fork elements, and bindings can readily be applied in areas which will not interfere with the actîon of a fork lift.

Claims (4)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A method for integrating a multiplicity of rolls of compressible material into a unitarily handleable assembly, which method comprises assembling a plurality of rolls in groups, the rolls of each group being assembled in at least two layers superimposed upon each other and each comprising a plurality of rolls, with the axes of indi-vidual rolls of each layer overlying the axes of individual rolls of adjoining layers, partially compressing the assem-bled rolls of each group by applying pressure transversely of the layers, applying bindings to the assembled and com-pressed rolls of each group to form integrated multiple roll packages, releasing the pressure after application of the bindings, characterized by assembling a plurality of said packages in a stack, and applying bindings to said stack, the stack bindings comprising shrinkable plastic sheet material, at least a portion of which bridges and is shrunk onto adjoin-ing laterally exposed surfaces of stacked packages.

2. A method for integrating a multiplicity of rolls of compressible material into a unitarily handleable assembly, which method comprises assembling a plurality of rolls in groups, partially compressing the assembled rolls of each group, applying bindings to the assembled and compressed rolls of each group to form integrated mul-tiple roll packages, characterized by superposing a plurality of said packages in a stack, and applying bindings to said stack, the stack bindings comprising heat shrinkable plastic sheet material, at least a portion of which bridges and is heat shrunk onto adjoining laterally exposed surfaces of stacked packages.

3. A method as defined in Claim 2, in which a plurality of stacks of multiple roll packages are assem-bled in side-by-side relation and in which binding is also applied in the form of a belt surrounding the assembled stacks.

4. A method for integrating a multiplicity of rolls of compressible material into a unitarily handleable assembly, which method comprises assembling a plurality of rolls in groups, applying contoured panels to the rolls of each group, the panel, having grooves for receiving por-tions of the rolls of each group and further having recesses between the grooves accessible to accommodate the fork ele-ments of a fork lift device, partially compressing each assembly of rolls and panels, applying bindings to each compressed assembly of rolls and panels to form integrated multiple roll packages retaining the accessibility of said fork lift recesses, characterized by assembling a plurality of said packages in a stack, and applying bindings to said stack to form an integrated multiple package stack retaining the access-ibility of said fork lift recesses, the stack bindings com-prising heat shrinkable plastic sheet material, at least a portion of which bridges and is heat shrunk onto adjoining laterally exposed surfaces of stacked packages.