CA2187195A1

CA2187195A1 - A cushion producing machine

Info

Publication number: CA2187195A1
Application number: CA 2187195
Authority: CA
Inventors: Dirk Johannes Siekmann
Original assignee: Dirk Johannes Siekmann; Ranpak Corp.
Current assignee: Ranpak Corp
Priority date: 1994-04-15
Filing date: 1995-04-14
Publication date: 1995-10-26
Also published as: DE69505513T2; JPH10501752A; EP0755324A1; WO1995028276A1; DE69505513D1; EP0755324B1; AU2290395A; NL9400606A

Abstract

A machine for manufacturing a cushioning product starting from a multi-ply stock (R) material or the like includes a frame (12) having a housing (14) with an exit opening, a stock supply supported by the frame, a forming assembly (28) causing the lateral edges of the stock material to roll inwardly to form a continuous strip (36) having lateral pillowlike portions and a central band, a gear assembly (34) for feeding the stock material through the forming assembly and out the exit opening, a cutting assembly (26) intermediate the gear assembly and the exit opening for cutting a determined length of the continous strip to produce a cushioning product and, an access assembly (46) for permitting the cushioning product to be fed therethrough and inhibiting access to the cutting assembly from outside the housing.

Description

W0 95128276 ~ 17 2li37~
Title: A CUSHION PRODUCING MACHINE
Field Of The Invention This mvention relates generally to a dunnage-creating machine such as a cushion producing machine for producing a dunnage product from sheet-like stock materialsupplied, for example, m roll form and, more ,U~ /, to an assembly for such a machine which inhibits foreign objects from entering the cutting zone of the machine.
~ ~L.~ ' Of The Invention In the process of shipping an item from one location to another, a protective packaging material is typically placed in the shipping container to fill any voids and/or to cushion the item during the shipping process. Some commonly used protective packagmg materials are plastic foam peanuts and plastic bubble pack. While thesev.~ iol~l plastic materials seem to perform adequately as cushioning products, they are not without diD~dy~lLb~D. Perhaps the most serious drawback of plastic bubble wrap and/or plastic foam peanuts is their effect on our C~lVil~ ' Quite simply, theseplastic packaging materials are not l~;~VI~L. ~ I and thus they cannot avoid further , '~ill~ our planet's already critical waste disposal problems. The non-"..i-l,;lity of these packaging materials has become il~ Di~ly important in light of many industries adopting more ,UIU~I~DD;~ policies in terms of cllvilu~lll.. l~l .....
~-r ~J-These and other diD~UIV ' ,, of cul-v~ iu-l-,l plastic packaging materials have made paper protective packaging material a very popular alternative. One machine which converts paper into a packagmg material includes a stock supply assembly, a formmg assembly, a gear assembly, and a cutting assembly, all of which are mounted on the machine's frame. During operation of such a cushion producmg machine, the stock supply assembly supplies the stock material to the forming assembly. The formingassembly causes the lateral edges of the sheet-like stock material to roll inwardly to form a continuous strip having lateral pillow-like portions and a thin central band. The gear assembly pulls the stock material through the machine and also coins the central band of the continuous strip to form a coined strip. The coined strip travels du..llDI~c~ to the cuttmg assembly which cuts the comcd strip into pads of a desired length.

i~5 Various attempts have bee~ made to inhibit ~ccess to ihe cuttin~ assernbly of a cushioning conversion machu~e. For exarnple, a cushioniQg conversion machine hasbeen provided vvitn a solid cover which remai~ed in a closed condition unless physically pushed upon by a d~rmage stripe travelling thou~h the cxit opening. Amodificd ~crsiosl o~ this solid cover was a "Curttin cover" formed from a plurality of fing~rs that werc hing~d ~o the mtchine irl such a malmcr that they could be pushed ouhvard by the ~y~v~ dunnage s~ip, but could not be pushed inward. HvweYer, dther cover could be casily pulled opell from the outside of the mac~ine. Moreover.
operatiori of thc cutting assembly was cvmpletely ~ t from the co~ditdon of the coYer, whereby thc cuttirlg assembly would corltinue to operate even when the coYer was pulled ope~t.
~nother 3ttempt made to inhibit acccss to tne cutti~g tssembly i~YolYed prvYiding a cushior~g cor~version mscbine with ~ Io~ output chute that, by virtue of itti Icrlgth, wou~d inhibit acces~ to the cutting a~embly. ~lowever, such au J~ output chute a~ded to the ovcr 11 le~th of the m~ine, a di~ the r~any pilckagirg sites ~th limited space options. Als~, such a lorlg output chute ~
the di~charge of shorter pads (ie., pads shorter than the lerlgth of the chute). Moreover, operatiorl o~ the cuttirlg assembly wa~; cornpletdy n-l- ~f ~ 1 of the output chute whcrcby thc cut~n~ assembly w~uld co~tirlue to operate everl if a le~gth foxigrl obj~ct JO was insertet int~ the ou.tput chute.

~IEN~}ED S~EET

~ ~ 2 ~ 9~

Summ~ry Of The ~nYtrltion The prese~t inverltion provides a eushion produeing machine en~ploying ~n aceesSassembly downstream of tho cuLting assernbly which is prefer2bly open during theformation of a eushior~ and is elosed prior tc~ ~e initiation of a cutting process to inhibit S aec~ss to the eutting ass~mb~y. Preferably, the maehirle is provided with a sensor whieh ser~es whether the aecess assembly is in an open or elosed condition and whieh permits control of the cutting operation so that a cutting operation can or~ly t~e pLace wherl the aeeess asser~bly is in a c~osed conditior~. The aceess assembly may inelude a pair of fiaps or valves, the positions of wbieh are cortrollable so as to offeetuate ope and elosed or sem;-elosed conditions or states for the aeeess asser~bly. In aeeorda ee with the ir.ver tion the aeeess ~ssembly i ranged in the exit opening of tLle maehiDe arld is eor~trolled in time-depender~t relation with the aetuation of the cutting assernbly.
The aceess assembly ean hereirl be arranged in elose proximity to t~e euttin~ assembly so ~at the rnacbine ho~sing ean bo ~..ci,l. .~ redueed Ul size oYer maehilles whieh 1~ deperld o~l a relatively 10~8 diseharge ~ath r~ ah.~ of tho eutting rlssembly lo inhi~it the entry of a foreign objeet irlto the eutting zor o of the cufflrlg assembly. In aeeord~nce wsth one aspeet of the inverltiOn, a r~e for . r~ 5 a eusbio~
produet star~ng ~om a multi-ply stock material or the lilce inelud~s 2 frame havin~ a housing Y~ith ul exit opering, a stoelc supply supported by tbe ~ e, a for~ning ~0 asse~nbly eausing the lateral edges of the stock material to roll inwardly to form a eontinu~us st~ip h2LYing lateral pillow-like portions and a central band, a gear assembly for feedin~ the stoclc rnaterial through the fonn~ng a~se~nbly and out the exit oper~ing, a cuttin~ assembly; 1~ the ~e~r assembly a~d ~ ex~t operling for eutting a d~termined len~ of ~e eontinu~us s~ip to produce a eushic~ing product and, ~n ~ccess assembly for permiHing the eushior~ing pro~uct to be fed lh~ h.~ug;. and irLllibiting aeeess to th~ eutting assembly frora outside the housin~.
it~EhD~D SHE~T

W095128276 ~ 1 8 7 ~ 9~ 7 In one preferred ~ the access assembly includes at least one swivelling valve in the exit opening movable by a drive member.
According to a further l t, two swivelling valves are arranged in the exit opening for movement toward and away from each other, wherein the swivelling valves are moved ~ VIIVU~ by a joint coupling mechanism from the opened to the closedposition.
These and other features of the invention are fully described and l l~, pointed out in the claims. The following descriptive annexed drawings set forth in detail one illustrative .,Il.L - t, this; ' ' being indicative of but one of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.
Brief 1~. , ' Of The Drawings In the annexed drawings:
Figure 1 shows a perspective st;mding view of an hsll:.. l of the device according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a schematic view of tbe different, , within the housing of the device; and Figures 3 and 4 show in each case a perspective view of two . ~ ' of the access assembly according to the imvention.
Detailed Description Of The In~ention With reference to the drawings and initially to Figure 1, there is shown a cushion producing machine 10 which includes a frame 12 with a housing 14 arranged thereon which comprises a number of processing assemblies discussed more fully below forconverting sheet-like stock material rnto a cushioning product. It is noted that the illustrated e ' ' of the frame 12 and the housing 14 is exempla}v and that the frame and housing as well as other ~ , of the machine 10 can be adapted to the particular place in which the machine will operate. In the illustrated ....I.~.li.,....1 the frame 12 is constructed from a number of profiles for support of the several c~
of the machine 10 rncluding a rod 16 which supports a roU R of sheet-like stock material, such as Kraft paper. The paper 18 is unwound from the roll R and carried via reversing rollers 20 to the open underside of housmg 14. The strip of paper 18 undergoes a woss/2~^276 2~ 8~ 1 q ~ C l-^7 conversion operation in the housing 14 and is discharged through the exit oper~ing 22 m &e top of housing.
Figure 2 shows the different assemblies which cooperate to produce the cushioning product. In this figure the housing 14 of Figure I is omitted to reveal the assemblies within the housmg. As can be seen the macl~ine 10 further includes a conversion assembly 24 for convertmg the strip of paper 18 received from the roll R into a continuous strip of cushioning product and a cutting assembly 26 which cuts the contmuous strip of cushioning product into cut pads of a desired length. The conversion assembly 24 includes a forming assembly 28 comprised of chute 30 with a forming frame 32 partially disposed G.. ,~ - and a gear assembly 34 which coacts with the forming assembly to convert the sheet-like material into a continuous strip of cushionmg product.
Durmg the conversion process, the strip of paper 18 is fed through the forming assembly 28 wherein the lateral edges of the paper are caused to roll inwardly, such as in a spiralling fashion, to form a continuous strip 36 having lateral pillow-like portions and a thin central band. Through the forming process the thickness of the strip of paper is tripled. When triple-ply paper is used as the stock material, nine layers then lie on one another.
The gear assembly 34 includes a pair of enmeshed, toothed gears 38 forming a nip through which the strip of cushioning material 36 is fed and which coins the material as a result of the ~l .. . ;~ by the teeth of the gears. It is also possible to use these toothed gears 38 to pull the strip of material upward in the direction of arrow Pl. The gear assembly 34 is driven by the gear motor 40.
The cutting assembly 26 arranged above or du.. ~ ca..l of the gear assembly 34 preferably includes a fixed blade 42 and a movable blade 43 which is driven by a cut . motor 44.
Finally, an access assembly 46 in the form of two flaps, door or valves 48 is arranged above omluw~l~ ", of cutting assembly 26, with the valves proximate the exit opening 22 of housing 14. The valves 48 serve to permit or to substantially close off access to the cutting zone of the cutting assembly 26 through the opening 22 depending 3û upon whether the valves are in a relative open or closed position. îhe valves 48 have a trailing position relative to the L~ ul ~ ,, direction Pl and leave a determined opening between the distal edges thereof when in a closed condition such that the formed paper w0 9s/28276 ~ 5 P~l/u~ .~/C4~(-7 strip 36 can ~e pulled out L~ eL..,.~. . after being cut into a pad of a desired length by the cutting assembly 26. The position of the valves 48 is determined by a valve motor or similar motive means 50 and sensed by a sensor 52 which transmits a signal mdicating the position of the valves to a control circuit, which is shown ~ Ily by block 54 in Figure 2. The control circuit 54 also serves to control the gear motor 40, the cut motor 44 arld the valve motor 50.
As shown in Figure 3, the access assembly 46 includes a front plate 56 amd a parallel rear plate (not shown) which are mutually connected by spacer elements 58. The valves 48 swivel in the exit opening 22 on swivel shafts 60, 62 which have a parallel orientation. The swivel shafts 60, 62 are rotatably moumted in the plates with the end of the swivel shafts mounted m the front plate 56 protruding through the front plate in order to enable connection in each case to arms 64, 66, lu~.,~ . The other ends of thearms 64, 66 are mutually comlected by an - arm 68. Arr,mged on front plate 56 is the valve motor 50 which is connected pivotally to the arm 66 via a crarlk 70 and a crank arm 72. The valve motor 50 is energized and rotates in one direction so that the crank 70 tur~s, for instance, in the direction of arrow P3. This provides a IC~ JIU~IIiII~
movement of crank arm 72 in the direction of arrow P4. The respective arms 64, 66 are thus caused to rotate about the axes of the swivel shafts 60, 62, ~ ,Li~ , thereby rotating the swivel shafts and causing the valves 48 mounted to the swivel shafts to be moved apart to a greater or lesser degree such that they are moved from a closedposition, wherein the distal edges 74 of the valves lie substantially adjacent each other, to an open position, wherein the valves lie practically parallel to each other with their distal edges substantially separated.
Figure 4 shows an alternate L~lL ' of the drive mechanism for the access assembly 46. Arranged on front plate 56 is a solenoid 76 which serves as motive means for driving the arms 78, 80 conmected to the swivel shafts 60, 62. The arms 78, 80 are embodied here as gear segments, the toothing of which is in ~ , with a gear rack82 which is joined to the solenoid pin 84. It will be apparent from Fignre 4 that by energizing the solenoid 76 the pin 84 is pulled inwardly, car~ying with it the gear rack 82, which rotates the two gear segments 78 and 80 and therewith the valves 48 of the access assembly 46.

wossl2s276 2 1 8 7 1 95 .~ c~ 7 ~
In this ~_ ~ the sensor 52 is embodied as I~ Wi~ll, the arm 86 of which senses the position of the gear segment 78 via a roller 88 and thereby determines whether the Yalves 48 are in an open or closed condition. The sensor 52 generates a signal which is transmitted to the control circuit 54 in Figure 2 which, when the access assembly 46 is in its open position, renders inoperative the energizing of cut motor 44 of cuttmg assembly 26. The gear motor 40 powering the gear assembly 34 for through feed of the strip of paper 36 can however be energized so that a determined strip can be discharged through the opening. Once the desired length of paper has been fed through the machine 10, the control circuit 54 commands the gear motor to stop and energr~es the valve motor 50 or solenoid 76 to close the valves 48 of the access assembly 46. Once the sensor 52 has sensed that the valves 48 are m a closed condition and this; l . r", ., . ~
has been relayed to the control crrcuit 54, the control circuit energizes the cut motor 44 to cause the blades 42, 43 of the cutting assembly 26 to cut the strip of paper 36 to result in tbe ~ y sized length of cushioning product. Thereafter the user can pull the cut pad outward between the valves 48 to remove it from the machine for packaging a given item.
After the cutting operation is complete, e.g., the control circuit 54 has caused the blades 42, 43 to retract, the valve motor 50 can be energized to open the access assembly and the feed motor 40 can be started for renewed feed of the strip of paper 36 through the machine 10. It is noted that when closing of the valves 48 of the access assembly is prevented, for instance because of the presence of a foreign object between them, the control crrcuit 54 will not energize the cut motor 44 despite the possibility that the valve motor 50 for the access assembly has energized to close the valves. The interaction of the access assembly and the cutting assembly and gear assembly as controlled by the control crrcuit may be based on sensmg of the states of the assemblies or based on a time dependant operation wherein the control circuit commands the respective assemblies to perform their operations based on a time sequence, or a ' of these control methods.
The invention is not limited to the above described ' ' Many ,.. ~ll;ri~ of the invention given the preceding description will become apparent, all such "....l;li. -li.. - being within the scope of the invention. As an example, the sensor 52 may embodied as a different sensor or as multiple sensors, such as separate sensors WO9~i/28276 7 ~ ~7 ~ ",~

to determine if the access assembly is in an open position or a closed position.Moreover, opening or closing of the valves may be actuated by a variety of different actuation means. For example, the crank and linkage mechanism of Figure 3 could be combined with a pair of enmeshed partial gears such as illustrated in Figure 4, but without the ' gear rack, to effectuate control of the valves.

Claims

A machine (10) for converting a sheet-like stock material (18) into a cushioning product of a desired length, said machine comprising:

a frame (12) having a housing (14) with an exit opening (22);

a conversion assembly (24), mounted to the frame (12), which converts the sheet-like stock material (19) into a dunnage strip (36) and which feeds the dunnage strip (36) through the exit opening (22);

a cutting assembly (26), positioned upstream of the exit opening (22), which cuts the dunnage strip (36) to produce the cushioning product of the desired length;

characterized in that:

the machine (10) includes an access assembly (46) movable between an open condition which permits the cushioning product to be fed through the exit opening (22) and a closed condition which inhibits access to the cutting assembly (26) through the exit opening (22); and the machine (10) includes a control assembly (54) which allows operation of the conversion assembly (24) when the access assembly (46) is in the open condition and which prevents operation of the cutting assembly (26) unless the access assembly (46) is in the closed condition.
2. A machine (10) as set forth in claim 1, wherein the control assembly (54) includes a sensor (52) for determining whether the access assembly (46) is in the closed condition and wherein the control assembly (54) only allows operation of the cutting assembly (26) when the sensor (52) determines that the access assembly (46) is in the closed condition.
3. A machine (10) as set forth in claim 2, wherein the control assembly (54) moves the access assembly (46) to the closed condition upon deactivation of the conversion assembly (24).
4. A machine (10) as set forth in claim 3 wherein the control assembly (54) moves the access assembly (46) to the open condition upon deactivation of the cutting assembly (26).
5. A machine (10) as set forth in claim 4, wherein the control assembly (54) activates the conversion assembly (24) upon deactivation of the cutting assembly (26).
6. A machine (10) as set forth in claim 1, wherein the access assembly (46) includes at least one door (48) which moves between an open position and a closed position.
7. A machine (10) as set forth in claim 6, wherein the door (48) pivots between an open position and a closed position.
8. A machine (10) as set forth in claim 1, wherein the access assembly (46) includes two doors (48) which move between an open position at which their distal edges (74) are substantially separated and a closed condition at which their distal edges (74) are substantially adjacent to each other.
9. A machine (10) as set forth in claim 8, wherein the doors (48) pivot between the open position and the closed condition.
10. A machine (10) as set forth in any of the preceding claims, wherein the conversion assembly (24) also includes a forming assembly (28) which forms the dunnage strip (36) from the sheet-like stock material (18) and a feed assembly (34) which feeds the dunnage strip (36) through the exit opening (22).
11. A machine (10) as set forth in claim 10. wherein the feed assembly (34) is a pulling assembly which is position downstream of the forming assembly (28) and which pulls the stock material (18) through the forming assembly (28).
12. A machine (10) as set forth in claim 11, wherein the pulling assembly (34) is a pulling/connecting assembly which connects the dunnage strip (36).
13. A machine (10) as set forth in claim 12, wherein the pulling/connecting assembly (34) comprises a pair of gears (38) which coin the dunnage strip (36) as it passed therethrough.
14 A machine (10) as set forth in any of claim 10-13, wherein the conversion assembly (24) further includes a stack supply assembly, position upstream of theforming assembly (28). which supplies the sheet-like stock material (18) to the forming assembly (28).