EA001473B1 - Packeging a strip of material - Google Patents

Abstract

1. A package of strip material comprising a plurality of stacks (20,21,22,23) each containing a strip (11) which is folded back and forth such that each folded portion of the strip is folded relative to the next portion about a line (25,26) transverse to the strip and such that the side edges (27,28) of the folded strip portions are aligned, the strip being continuous through each stack (20,21,22,23) from a top end portion (30) of the strip at one end of the stack to a bottom end portion (29) of the strip at an opposed end of the stack, wherein the stacks (20,21,22,23) are parallel and arranged side by sida together as a common package structure (10) with the side edges (27) of the strip portions of sach stack adjacent the side edges (28) of the next adjacent stack without intervening rigid container walls, characterised in that at both the top and bottom end portions (30,29 in figures 1 and 2 and 94,94 in figure 11) of the strip of each stack the strip is arranged in the package so as to provide respective end connecting portions (44,45 in figures 1,2 and 96 in figure 11) which are either (figure 1) both accessible for connection end to end to other respective end connecting portions for a continuous strip to be produced from interconnected slacks, or (figures 2 and 11) at least one of which is already connected end to end to an end connecting portion of another of the stacks to provide a continuous strip formed by interconnected stacks. 2. The package according to claim 1 wherein the stacks (20,21,22,23) are substantially upright with a bottom (29) and a top (30), two sides (16,17) parallel to the edges (27,28) of the strips of the stacks and two ends (18,19) containing the fold lines (25,26) of the stacks and wherein the and connecting portion (45) of the bottom of each stack comprises a free unconnected tail portion which extends from the bottom strip portion (29) and is exposed beyond an end (18) of the stack. 3. The package according to claim 1 wherein one end connecting portion (45 in figure 2 and 94 in figure 11) of each stack is connected by a splice connecting portion (46 rn figure 2 and 96,97 in figure 11) to one end connecting portion (44 in figure 2 and 95 in figure 11) of the next adjacent stack. 4. The package according to claim 3 wherein (figurs 11) an end connecting portion (94 figure 11) of a top (14) of one stack "s connected to an end connecting portion of a top of a next adjacent stack to form a first splice connecting portion (96,97) coplanar with and extending across the top of the stacks and wherein an end connecting portion of a bottom (15) of said one stack is connected to an end connecting portion of a bottom of a second next adjacent stack to form a second splice connecting portion coplanar with and extending across the bottom of the stacks. 5. The package according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein there ara at least three stacks (20,21,22) and wherein the spHce connecting portions (44,45,46) are arranged such that there is no accumulated twist in the strip when the three stacks (20,21,22) are unfolded. 6. The package according to claim 3 wherein the stacks are substantially upright with a bottom (15) and a top (14). two sides (16,17) parallel to the edges (27,28) of the strips of the stacks and two ends (18,19) containing the fold lines (25,26) of the stacks and wherein the end connecting portion (45) of the bottom (15) of a stack is connected to an end connecting portion (44) of the top (14) of a next adjacent stack to form said splice connecting portion (44,45,56) which extends along one end (18) of the stack. 7. The package according to claim 6 wherein there are at (east three stacks (20,21,22) and wherein that part (44,45,46,30) of the strip defined by the splice connecting portion (44,45,46) and the top end portion (30) contains a 360 degree twist (47) in the strip such that there is no accumulated twist in the strip when the three stacks (20,21,22) are unfolded. 8. The package according to claim 6 wherein there are at least three stacks (20,21,22) and wherein the splice portions of alternate stacks are arranged at opposed ends (18,19) of the stacks and each splice connecting portion (44,45.46) is arranged to connect between the bottom strip portion (29) of one stack and the top strip portion (30) of the next stack without a twist such that there is no accumulated twist in the strip when the three stacks (20,21,22) are unfolded. 9. The package according to claim 6, 7 or 8 wherein the package is in a compressed condition so that the height thereof is decreased from a rest height to a compressed height- wherein the package is engaged by packaging material (40) which maintains the compression: wherein the splice connecting portion (44,45,46) has a length at least equal to the rest height; and the splice connecting portion is folded (54) about fold lines generally transverse to its length so as to take up the difference between the length of the splice connecting portion and the compressed height. 10. The package according to claim 9 wherein there is provided a slip sheet (30C) between two strip portions (30,30D) to allow relative sliding movement of the two strip portions as the package expands. 11. The package according to any preceding claim wherein the plurality of stacks are arranged such that the strip of each stack has the side edges (27,28) thereof along the complete length of the strip unattached from the side edges of the trip of a next adjacent stack. 12. The package according to any preceding claim wherein the strip of each stack is longitudinally slit from a web. 13. The package according to any preceding claim wherein the side edges (27,28) of the strip portions of each stack directly contact the side edges of the strip portions of a next adjacent stack. 14. A package of strip material comprising at least one stack (20,21,22,23) containing a strip (11) which is folded back and forth such that each folded portion of the at least one stack is folded relative to the neud portion about a line (25,26) transverse to the strip and such that the side edges (27,28) of the folded strip portions are aligned; the strip being continuous through the at 'aast one stack from a bottom end portion (29) of the strip at the bottom of the at least one stack to a top end portion (30) of the strip at the top end of the at least one stack, the strip portions being arranged to form a first plurality of fold lines (25) at one end (18) of the at least one stack and a second plurality of fold lines (26) at an opposed second end (19) of the at least one stack, the at least one stack being compressed downwardly (D) so as to reduce the height of the at least one stack and the at least one stack being secured by a packaging material (40) so as to maintain the at least one stack in a compressed condition for transportation, characterized in that the at least one stack includes an end connecting portion (45) of the strip extending from the bottom strip portion and extending beyond one of the ends (18) of the at least one stack so as to be accessible for splicing. 15. The package according to any preceding claim wherein the package is in a compressed condition so that the height of the stacks is decreased from a rest height to a compressed height and wherein the package is engaged by packaging material (40) which maintains the compression wherein the compression is sufficient to reduce the thickness of each strip portion of said stacks. 16. The package according to any preceding claim wherain there is provided a spacer sheet member (58) between the fold lines (25) at the end (18) of the package and the end connecting portion (44,45). 17. A method of supplying a strip of material comprising supplying a package according to any preceding claim and providing an unfold stand having an inclined support surface, placing the package on the unfold stand so as to incline (80) the stacks at an angle to the vertical such that one end stack defines a side surface which leans on and is supported by the inclined support surface and such that each stack (20,21,22) leans on and is supported by its next adjacent stack and unfolding the strip from the end stack (20) opposite to the support surface such that each stack is unfolded and withdrawn in turn.

Description

The present invention relates to packaging a strip of material and to a method for producing packaging of a strip of material.

The packaging of a continuous strip of material according to the prior art is obtained using a garland-laying technology, according to which the strip is folded back and forth to lay successive parts of the strip back and forth, each part being bent relative to the next part around a line running in the transverse strip . Garland-laying technology has been used for many years and is used for packaging many different types of material and, in particular, fibrous materials, such as fabrics, non-woven strips and similar materials. When using this technology, the strip is usually stacked in a container, for example in a cardboard box, while the first reciprocating movement forces parts of the strip to stack across the container and fold back and forth, and the second reciprocating movement causes the parts to move relative to the container in the transverse direction of the parts. Typically, the container is a rigid rectangular container made at least partially of cardboard, having a base and four vertical walls.

The purpose of the method, which uses the technology of laying the garland, is the packaging of the strip for supply to the production plant using this strip. Some users prefer packages obtained using the technology of laying garlands, packages of this type of material obtained by winding. The packaging obtained using the technology of laying the garland can contain a much longer material length than the packaging obtained using the technology of laying the strip of material in the form of a spiral. The package obtained using the technology of laying the garland can be simply located next to the production machine without the need for any drive device for feeding the strip. In addition, both the front end portion and the rear end portion of the package are accessible on the top of the package, so that several packages can be connected by the front end of the strip of the subsequent packaging to the rear end of the strip of the previous packaging to provide a longer feed strip. In addition, since the material is simply packed in a package, the problem of controlling the tension of the material when removing it from the packaging is reduced compared to packages obtained using the technology of coiling the strip material in a spiral, in which controlling the tension of the material in large packages can be a big problem due to the inertia of the package, thus requiring the use of a drive device for feeding the strip. For this reason, when using packages that use garland-laying technology, there is no need to use a complex strip feeding device that takes up more space than can be allocated in the workshop and significantly increases the cost of equipment.

The packages obtained using the technology of laying the garland are formed in a rigid container or box for appropriate closure and content of the material in which the material is stored during transportation to protect the material from compression and warping due to the transfer of loads from the surrounding packages. Thus, the cardboard container provides support for other similar stacked containers and prevents the transfer of loads (from stacked packages), which can cause excessive compression of the packages at the bottom of the stack. However, cardboard containers and prior art packaging designs have a number of problems.

Firstly, the container must either be recycled, in which case cardboard containers must be transported from the end user in the opposite direction to be returned to the supplier, or they must be disposed of, which in both cases leads to an increase in costs.

Secondly, the material is simply packed in cardboard containers without significant compression, so that there is a large loss of working space in the container due to the presence of air gaps in the packaging of the material. In addition, the conventional packaging design does not minimize the amount of air gaps formed in the structure. For this reason, the cost of transporting material increases significantly due to the large volume of material that provides a density that is significantly lower than the optimal value for the most efficient transport.

Thirdly, the presence of the necessary box during the formation of the structure limits the proper control of the strip during its installation, since the walls of the box limit the location and movement of the guide element that controls the strip.

Fourth, as was noted, the walls of the box, which are parallel to the stripes when they are laid, do not tightly limit the sides of the package structure, which creates a significant risk that the stripes may fall down between the edge of the package and the box wall.

In addition, the usual technology of packaging formation, in which each of the strips cut from the fabric of the supplied material is separately packaged in a separate workplace for laying the garland, has low productivity and requires a large area for a large number of jobs. The large area occupied by these workplaces leads to a large distance between the workstation intended for cutting the canvas into strips and the workstation for laying the garland, while there is a potential risk of problems associated with the tension of the strip and its damage .

For this reason, there are big claims to this type of packaging, and the technologies corresponding to the prior art are unsatisfactory for the above reasons, leaving room for improvement of the packaging design.

It is also known to feed, for example, paper or tickets in the form of a continuous strip, which is folded back and forth in the form of an accordion to form a strip block so that the strip can be stretched from one end of the block. However, this significantly limits the length of the strip that can be packaged before the folded strip becomes unstable.

For this reason, it is an object of the present invention to provide a more advanced design and method for packaging a strip of material in which higher packaging stability can be achieved.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a packaging of a strip of material comprising a plurality of blocks, each of which contains a strip that is folded back and forth so that each folded part of the block is bent relative to the next part around a line that runs in a transverse strip direction, and so that the lateral edges of the strip parts are aligned, wherein the strip is continuous in each block from the upper end of the strip at one end of the block to the lower end of the strip at the opposite end of the block, characterized in that the blocks are parallel and arranged side by side for transportation together as a common package, the upper and lower end parts of the strip of each block are located in the package so as to provide a connecting part.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for feeding a strip of material, comprising forming a strip of material comprising a plurality of blocks, each block comprising a strip that is folded back and forth so that each folded portion of the block is bent relative to the next portion around a line that extends in the transverse strip direction, and so that the side edges of the strip parts are aligned, while the strip is continuous in each block from the upper end of the block to the lower end hour a block, characterized in that it comprises arranging the blocks parallel and side by side relative to each other, transporting the package with blocks parallel and side by side to each other, and connecting the upper end of each block of the strip and the lower end of each block to another strips for continuous supply of strips from the unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for feeding a strip of material, comprising forming a strip of material containing at least one block including a strip that is folded back and forth so that each folded part of the block is bent relative to the next part around a line that runs in the transverse strip direction, and so that the side edges of the strip parts are aligned, while the strip is continuous in the block from the first end of the strip at one end of the block to the second the end of the strip at the opposite end of the block, and deploying the block to feed the strip, characterized in that it comprises compressing the block in a direction perpendicular to the strip in order to reduce the height of the block and wrapping the block with flexible packaging material in order to save the block in a compressed state for transportation.

Below with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic isometric view of a strip packaging according to the present invention, the packaging comprising four strip blocks and shown before connecting the strip from each block to the strip of the adjacent block and before compressing the blocks, with flexible packaging material not shown for ease of illustration;

FIG. 2 is a schematic isometric view of the package shown in FIG. 1, with connections made between the blocks, the package being compressed, with flexible packaging material not shown for ease of illustration;

FIG. 3 is a vertical front view of the package shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, which illustrates packaging with compounds partially made prior to compression. This drawing shows the gaps between the blocks, but which in practice do not exist, and in the drawing they are made only for the convenience of illustration;

FIG. 4 is a vertical side view of the package structure shown in FIG. 3, illustrating a packaging shell located in place, but opened to compression, which is rotated 90 ^° so that the side surface with joints is on top;

FIG. 5 is a vertical side view of the package structure, which is similar to the view shown in FIG. 4 illustrating a compressed package and a closed shell;

FIG. 6 is a vertical side view of the package structure, which is similar to the view shown in FIG. 5 illustrating a modified device of the connecting part, the package being rotated for transportation and deployment;

FIG. 7 is an isometric image similar to the isometric image shown in FIG. 2 illustrating an additional modified device of the connecting part;

FIG. 8 is a vertical side view of a package illustrating yet another additional modified device of the connecting part;

FIG. 9 is a vertical end view of the package shown in FIG. 8, freed from compression, the strip being partially deployed for use;

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the package shown in FIG. 9, illustrating additional elements of the strip and its subsequent cutting into sheet parts;

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of a package in accordance with the present invention, illustrating a package after being released from compression, with the strip partially deployed for use, with the shell not shown for ease of illustration.

A first packaging example of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1-5, on which the package 10 has, as a rule, a rectangular configuration formed from a packable strip or sheet 11 of flexible material, and, as a rule, this material is fibrous, formed from a woven or non-woven material, although this is not essential for the design packaging. Using the technology described in this application, many materials of various thicknesses can be packaged, provided that they can tolerate the bending required at the end of each folded portion of the strip. The strip has a width that is greater than its thickness, so as to have two, usually flat surfaces and two side edges. Preferably, the strip has a constant width, but this is not a prerequisite.

As shown in FIG. 2, which illustrates the final packaging for use in a production plant, the strip has a front end portion 1 2 and a rear end portion 13 of the package, in other words, the strip runs continuously in the package. The package, when oriented in its normal position for transport or use, as shown in FIG. 2, has an upper part 1 4, a lower part 15, two side surfaces 16 and 17, and two ends 18 and 19.

A package is formed from a plurality of strip blocks. In the shown embodiments of the implementation of the present invention, there are four strip blocks, indicated respectively by reference numbers 20, 21, 22 and 23. The blocks are parallel to each other and directly adjacent to each other without intermediate elements. The blocks are parallel to the side surfaces 1 6, 1 7. The package has end blocks 20 and 23 and a plurality (in this embodiment, two) of intermediate blocks.

The term block used in the description of this application does not necessarily require that the blocks be vertical or that any particular orientation of the blocks is necessarily observed. Although the blocks are usually obtained by folding the parts back and forth on top of one another to form, as a rule, a vertical block, this does not seem to be significant for this design.

Obviously, the dimensions of the package can unconditionally vary in accordance with the requirement that the number of blocks, the length of each block and the height of each block can be changed over a wide range of limits.

Each strip unit has a plurality of strip parts that are stacked one on top of the other. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, to obtain sheets folded accordion in the corresponding end lines of the fold 25 and 26, these parts are folded back and forth so that the fold lines lie in a common vertical plane bounding the ends 1 8 and 1 9 of the package. With a strip having a constant width, each part of the strip lies directly over the previous part. As shown in FIG. 3, the lateral edges 27 and 28 of the strip lie in common vertical planes 27A and 28A. For this reason, the side edges 27 of the block strips are aligned and the side edges of the 28 block strips are also aligned.

Thus, the package is obtained by laying each part of the strip on top of the next part from the bottom 29 up to the top 30 to form a block. Thus, a package is formed from a plurality of blocks, each of which has a length in the direction of the parts of the strip from which it is formed, equal to the length of the other blocks and for this reason equal to the length of the package; and in accordance with this technology, the blocks are formed from the bottom up to the total height, which for this reason is equal to the height of the package.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, but not shown for convenience of illustration in FIG. 2, the package is wrapped in a flexible wrapping material 40, preferably a waterproof, heat-sealable plastic that covers the entire package. The packaging material is preferably formed as a shell that has a base 41 and walls 42 with an open top 43, which is subsequently closed and wrapped around the package and closed by heat sealing, as shown in FIG. 5 in position 43 A. The package is compressed from the ends of the lower and upper parts 15 and 14 to significantly reduce the height of the package, and this compression causes air to be removed from the package. In a vacuum packaging system, an airtight envelope is used to ensure that the air pressure outside the casing helps to keep the packaging compressed in the height direction and maintain contact interaction between the blocks located side by side. The amount of compression and, consequently, the amount of reduction in height can be determined so as to minimize the volume of the package without the required ejection of the product when removed from the package. The packaging, which is limited only by blocks and a sealed enclosure, is thus a free-standing rigid structure. In this case, the package design does not require rigid walls of the box or similar container, so that the package design is stable due to the compression of the blocks to reduce the height of the blocks and because of the pressure of each block on the side surfaces of adjacent blocks.

The flexible packaging material is not necessarily a shell, but may be a simple wrapper. The use of a vacuum to hold the wrapper in place and hold the unit in a compressed state is a preferred, but not essential feature.

Compression of the package is possible only in the Ό direction, perpendicular to the surfaces of the strip parts. It reduces the thickness of the parts, so that the size of each block in the направлении direction is reduced by such compression. Compression along parts or perpendicular to blocks is not possible, as this will lead to a curvature of the strip. For this reason, the mechanical compression of the package in the Ό direction by means of the tie rods Ό1 and Ό2 thus reduces the size of the package in this direction, allowing air to escape from the flexible packaging material 40, causing the packaging material to be pressed against the package to keep it compressed and to application of pressure, providing the ability to hold the blocks in close contact interaction.

At rest, the packaging material, as shown in FIG. 4, the base 41 of the packaging material or casing 40 is shaped and dimensioned to be slightly larger than the packaging structure itself at rest or in an uncompressed state. In this case, the packaging design can be easily placed in the molded plastic packaging material or casing and can remain held in place by the packaging material. During transportation or storage, the packaging design is in a compressed or evacuated state. In this state, the walls of the packaging material 42 are compressed in the Ό direction so as to form wrinkles or folds 39. However, when the vacuum is removed, expanding the packaging from the compressed state to its normal resting state will cause the casing to expand to its original size, thereby causing wrinkles to be eliminated. 39.

The package may be oriented as the package shown in FIG. 2, the orientation of which is similar to the orientation obtained when laying parts of the strip horizontally in the process of building blocks in the vertical direction. With this orientation, the top of the casing is in the top of the package. With the orientation shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the package is rotated 90 ^° so that the end face 18 is at the top. This can be done, but it is not necessary to facilitate splicing, as described in this application below. With this orientation, the end of the package is its upper part. The package can also be rotated so that one side surface is in the upper part, as shown in FIG. 11. For all of these orientations, the package is stable if wrapped so that it can be transported and loaded with conventional lifts and handling equipment for stacking on pallets or on top of other packages.

However, it is preferable that the package is oriented at least for deployment so that the blocks remain vertical to feed the strip to the production unit in which it is used, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 1 0. With this orientation, all blocks 20, 21, 22, and 23 are in a vertical position and are located side by side so that the individual folded parts of the strip extend horizontally from the horizontal upper part 30 of the strip of each of the blocks to the horizontal lower part 29 of the strip each of the blocks. Therefore, it is obvious that with this arrangement, each block will necessarily be deployed in turn from the upper part 30 of the strip to the lower part 29 of the strip.

The original packaging design shown in FIG. 1 comprises blocks located side by side, the strip of each block being separated from the strip of the next block. In one device, this can be achieved by cutting the canvas into many strips located side by side, and simultaneously laying side by side using a carriage having a pair of pressure rollers. The pressure rollers are located in a horizontal plane and extend perpendicular to the lateral surfaces 16 and 17. The pressure rollers make a reciprocating movement on the carriage in a direction extending perpendicular to their length so that the gripper moves back and forth between the ends 18 and 19 for accurate laying of the measured length of the strip and for folding parts of the strip in the lines 25, 26 of the inflection.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upper end portion 30 of the strip of each block 20 is typically laid across the upper part of the block and has a front free end portion 44 at the end 18, which hangs down from the upper part 1 4. The end on the upper part of the block 20 can be extended to form front end 1 2.

The lower part 29 of the strip has a tail portion 45, which is pulled from the lower part of the block or formed until the formation of the block as an element of the strip that protrudes from the end face 1 8 or extends beyond the end face 1 8 of the package.

In some types of material and in some processes, it may be desirable to wrap the package design as shown in FIG. 1, with tail parts 45, but not yet connected or spliced, but simply lying freely on top of the packaging material for splicing after completion of transportation and storage. It is obvious that the packaging design is stationary and for this reason is easily accessible for free splicing when it is moved to the production plant for feeding into it. For this reason, the splicing can be carried out after transportation and while the package is waiting for deployment, or even while the first block 20 is deployed. By arranging the tail portions 45 vertically along the end of the package to the position on the top of the package, these tail portions are easily accessible so that the packaging material described previously can remain in place by simply opening or removing the top of the packaging material or shell to gain access to the tops 1 4 and the upper end of the tail parts 45.

As shown, all the tail portions 45 are located at the end face 18 of the package. It is theoretically possible, but practically undesirable, to alternate the tail parts at opposite ends 1 8 and 1 9 so that, for example, the tail parts 45 of blocks 21 and 23 are located on the end face 19.

As shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable that the tail portions 45 are spliced with the end portions 44 by splice 46 before being transported. If the splice can be made without the required high joint speed, effective splicing systems that include stitching, tape bonding and heat sealing can be applied, which take more time than can usually be available on a working production line. In the drawings, splices by lap joints are shown, but in practice, butt joints can be made to prevent the formation of an overlapping part.

The splicing is carried out so that the surface A of each strip is attached to the surface A of the strip of the next adjacent block and similarly connect the surfaces B. In some applications, it is essential that the strip has different surface properties. In other cases, this may not be essential for the processing of the strip, but, as a rule, this is preferred in order to ensure that the strip is fed properly and to prevent the strip from twisting.

In order to ensure that the strip remains untwisted during its deployment, it is necessary to ensure the tail portion 45 is twisted in a direction that is opposite to the twisting that occurs in the strip when the deployment is transferred from block 20 to block 21. A thorough analysis of the bands and the deployment process will show that the transition from one block to the next automatically introduces one turn of twisting. For this reason, it is necessary to counteract the occurrence of this torsion coil by means of one torsion coil 47 applied to the tail portion before splicing in the joint 46.

Preferably, this twist loop is formed in the first bend line 48 on top of the first part 50 and in the second bend line 49 on the bottom of part 51. The first bend line 48 and part 50 are aligned with block 20 and the bend line 48 is at an angle of 45 ^degrees to the horizontal. This makes it possible to obtain a horizontal portion 52 of the strip that extends from the inflection line 48 and, for this reason, acts as a horizontal and extends at right angles to the normal vertical direction of the tail portion 45 and parts 50 and 51. The first inflection line 48 causes the horizontal portion 52 to lie outside the vertical portions 50 of the tail portion 45. The second inflection line 49 is positioned so that the vertical portion 51 of the tail portion 45 is located within the horizontal portion 52. This arrangement introduces one twist loop, minimizing while at the same time keeping the length of the horizontal part 52 and providing a neat design that is attractive in terms of aesthetic appearance and which limits the sagging of the accessible elements of the tail part 45, which otherwise could interfere or become confused.

The vertical part 51 of the tail part 45 then extends vertically upward of the block 21 to the splicing 46, from which the part 44 continues upward along the side surface of the block 21 and on the upper part of the block 21.

The horizontal portion 52 is preferably located at the bottom of the block 20 or in close proximity to the bottom of the block 20 so that almost the entire tail portion 45 is supported by the block 21 when the block 20 is completed. For this reason, there is little or no possibility of tangling the tail portion 45 with the strip from the block 20 during its extraction and before moving from the lower part 29 through the tail portion 45 to the end portion 44 at the top of the block 21.

In FIG. 3, 4, and 5 show the same package design as the design illustrated in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3 shows the packaging in a partially spliced state, so that only some of the tail portions 45 are connected to the corresponding portion 44 of the next block. In FIG. 3, the package is shown in the same orientation as the package illustrated in FIG. 2, with the upper part 14 located at the top. The tie rods Ό1 and Ό2 therefore work in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the same package is rotated in the tie rods Ό1 and Ό2 so that the linings become vertical and the end face 18 moves up. With this rotation, the parts 44 and 45 acquire a horizontal orientation, which simplifies splicing and twisting, since these tail parts remain supported in place by the horizontal end face 18.

In FIG. 4, the package is shown in a state before compression, but after twisting and splicing, the shell 40 being open. In FIG. 5, the package is shown in a compressed state supported by an outer wrapper or sheath 40. In this state, the height of the package between portions 1 4 and 1 5 is reduced compared to the height of the package at rest to the height of the package in a compressed state, as shown, with a reduction proportional to the height at rest and varies depending on how much the material is compressible.

As a result of the decrease in height, the free part 54 of the connection of parts 44, 45 is formed, which must be compensated for during compression. This is achieved as shown in FIG. 5, by accurately bending the connection of the parts 44, 45 along the first transverse inflection line 53 and the second transverse inflection line 53 A, which are substantially perpendicular to the length of the strip and which are spaced apart by half the length of the free portion 54.

The compression is carried out mechanically in the direction Ό with the help of the tie rods Ό1 and Ό2 until the desired reduction in the height of the package is achieved. During this compression, the connecting portion sags and an excess length portion 54 is formed.

Folding is carried out manually and carefully so that the fold, as shown in FIG. 2, lay on the corresponding block, combined with the corresponding part 44. When the compression is completed and the crease is completed, the shell is closed and sealed using a conventional, industrial-based vacuum sealing system that provides welding of the upper edge of the shell and evacuation of the shell. It is also possible that the creation of a vacuum can be used to provide mechanical compression while the casing remains unbrewed so that the casing can be opened to neatly fold and seal after folding is completed. However, wrinkling of the tail portion 45 during vacuum evacuation must be avoided.

A gasket 58 is located between the joints of parts 44, 45 and the end face 18 containing the inflection lines 25. Obviously, the inflection lines, even with significant compression, form an uneven surface with a series of transverse indentations and ribs bounded by the actual inflection lines themselves. It is important that the connections of the parts 44, 45 remain flat and free from wrinkles that would otherwise form when the connecting parts were compressed under vacuum from the shell (i.e., under the pressure of air outside the shell) at the end face 18.

For this reason, the gasket 58 comprises a stiffening sheet 59 made of a relatively rigid flat material defining a flat outer surface 60 that is attached to a compressible seal 61, for example made of closed cell foam, on the bottom side or simply mounted on it . The sheet stiffener may be formed of cardboard or similar material that has sufficient stiffness to remain substantially flat and thus limit the flat surface 60 adjacent to the connecting parts. Compressible material or foam is intended to fill in the recesses formed between the inflection lines and to compress the inflection lines so that the sheet stiffener can remain flat and not be pressed into these recesses.

The gasket is inserted at the appropriate point in the process before evacuating the shell. The height of such a gasket is equal to the height of the package after compression.

The gasket may also be used in the previously described situation in which the package is transported after being compressed and wrapped in the configuration shown in FIG. 1, in which case the gasket is used to prevent wrinkling to prevent wrinkling of parts 44 and 45.

In FIG. 6 shows an alternative arrangement of the connecting part, which avoids the need for folding the connecting part during the compression process. Thus, the connecting portion extending from the tail portion 45 to the portion 44 is twisted, as described previously, to form a turn 47 of the twisted portion and spliced to form a joint 46. However, with this arrangement, the joint is made so that the connecting portion fits snugly against the end face 18 packaging without bending corresponding to the crease of the free part 54 shown in FIG. 2. Thus, in FIG. 6, the package is shown in a compressed state without a sealed shell and under vacuum.

The package is shown in a position in which the lower part 1 5 rests on a horizontal support and the upper part 1 4 is at the top. With this orientation, the shell can be opened by removing the vacuum and allowing the packaging to increase in volume to its original resting state. In the process of such an increase in volume, the connecting portion is not long enough to reach the resting height, and for this reason, an additional length for forming an elongated connecting portion is obtained by pulling the strip from the upper portion 30, as shown in FIG. 6 arrows 30 A and 30V.

In order to ensure that the terminal upper portion 30 of the strip slides freely over the upper portion 1 to 4, a slip sheet 30C is provided to improve sliding located between the upper two parts of the strip and the third portion 30 частью of the strip. Thus, the bend line 26 at the end face 19 of the package is pulled in the direction indicated by arrow 30B and can be drawn from the next adjacent bend line and the strip portion 30, without a tendency to pull the next strip portion 30 with it. The slip sheet may be formed from any suitable low friction plastic sheet or from another material. The slip sheet to improve the sliding covers the entire area between the ends and the side surfaces and thus separates the two upper parts of the strip from the rest of the package.

In FIG. 7 shows an alternative device for twisting, splicing and folding in the joints of parts 44, 45. With this device, the package remains in its original position during the process, so that the upper part 1 4 continues to occupy the highest position. With this orientation, before compression, the connecting part bounded by parts 44 and 45 is twisted to form a twisted part 62, as described previously, and spliced to form a fusion 63, as described above, except that the twisting and fusion are located on the upper parts 1 4. Splicing is performed so that the height of the tail portion 45 from the bottom of the package along the end of each block is equal to the height of the package in an uncompressed state.

The design of the package must be wrapped with wrapping material or enclosed in a shell having an open top facing the end of the package. Compression is performed as shown in FIG. 3, when using the tie rods Ό1 and Ό2. To prevent the side surfaces of the package from being squeezed out due to outward compression, a pair of side plates 64 and 65 supports the side surfaces during the compression operation. The shell is certainly placed in the gap between the plates 64 and 65 under the clamping pad Ό1 and on the top of the clamping pad Ό2.

In a compressed package, the tail length is longer than the height of the package after compression, so that an excess part is formed, which is then neatly folded, as shown in FIG. 7. In a position in which the height of the compressed package is less than half the height of the package at rest, many folds may be formed to limit folds 66 having fold lines 67, 68, 69 and 70. A flat gasket 58 is located between the folds 66 and the tail portions 45 and the end face 1 of the package 8.

In FIG. 8 illustrates yet another additional alternative technology to compensate for the necessary splicing, twisting and creasing in the connecting part. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8, a splicing 71 is made on the upper region of the upper part 1 4 in the same way as shown in FIG. 7. However, the twist and crease are located at the end 1 of the package 8 and are combined into one element. Thus, there is a first upper inflection line 72 and a second inflection line 73, which extends in a direction that automatically twists the strip around its length to obtain the desired one turn 74 located in the same position as the folded portion. Accordingly, such a crease is an elongated version of the crease illustrated in FIG. 2. Such neat folding provides an attractive appearance and reduces wrinkling or warping of the strip, since the fold lines 72 and 73 are spaced apart by a length of turn 74 and almost intersect the length of the strip.

In FIG. 9 and FIG. 1 0 illustrates the deployment technology of packages that were previously formed and shown in FIG. 2-8. The particular illustrated packaging is the packaging shown in FIG. 8, and it is obvious that the twist and splicing position have little or no effect on the deployment operation and therefore the packages shown in FIG. 27 will work the same.

Thus, upon termination of the packaging impact of the compressive forces, as shown in FIG. 9, the tension of the connecting parts is reduced, and the turn 74 in a certain position along the length allows the connecting part to transfer deployment from one block to the next. The sheath 40 is cut so that the upper part 43 and the walls 42 are removed, leaving only the base 41 and the part of the wall covering the surface 82. The gasket 58 is removed.

The packaging is installed in the device 80 for feeding and for the deployment of the strip. It has, as a rule, a horizontal main supporting surface 81, on which the blocks 20 and 23 are mounted vertically to deploy the strip from the upper part in the downward direction.

In addition, the device 80 has a lateral abutment surface 82, which is perpendicular to the surface 81. After that, the device is tilted by a small angle of the order of 10-20 degrees, which is sufficient to deflect the package to one side so that the block 23 lies on the surface 82, and each of the remaining blocks rested on a neighboring adjacent block. Such an angle is sufficient to prevent tipping or deviation of the blocks from each other in the direction from the surface 82.

Obviously, the tendency of the packaging to slightly increase in volume and the tension of the first block 20 will create the greatest tendency of the first block 20 to tip over while the other blocks remain stable. For this reason, in order to prevent the first block and each subsequent block from tipping over when it becomes the first block after other blocks are deployed, an appropriate angle is selected. Thus, the first block 20 is available for deployment from the top towards the bottom, followed by the subsequent deployment of each subsequent block. Such a device has the advantage that no other support is required for the side surfaces of the package, and that the package is stable in the position shown during deployment. The deployment transfer from one block to the next can also take place without frictional contact interaction of the strip with the packaging material or other support, which can cause the weakened material to rupture.

Strips are often used to cut them into a series of consecutive sheet elements, each of which has a predetermined length.

In order to prevent the inflection lines from interfering with cutting into the sheet elements, during folding of the blocks, as described previously, a marker (not shown) is adjacent to the packaging device for applying a machine readable marking 90 to the strip in accordance with the inflection lines. Such markings may be a marking inkjet of an ink paste in the form of a dot or a square visible to the eye and the cutting machine, or in some cases only to the machine. The marking may or may not be directly located on the bend line, depending on the location of the machine reader 91 relative to the cutting knife 92, which is therefore positioned to perform cutting directly along or adjacent to the bend line. In the illustrated example, the marking is located in front of the inflection line or in front of the intended cut line. Marking can only go through a small portion of the strip width. Obviously, when marking in accordance with certain inflection lines, each marking is offset from the corresponding inflection line by the same distance. In a device in which the mark is inkjet of the ink paste, there will be only one mark on each part of the strip. To preserve the cut lines on the inflection lines, it is necessary that the number of sheet elements on each part of the strip be an integer. In many applications, the relative lengths of the elements and the strip are such that this integer is greater than one. For this reason, the intended cut line can be marked, or only kink lines can be marked. Therefore, the cutting lines are arranged so that the inflection lines are very close to the end of each of the sheet elements to prevent deterioration of the performance of the sheet elements.

In FIG. 11 shows a package formed from similar previously described blocks oriented so that each block is horizontally laid on top of another and that they can be deployed downward from the top block. In this case, similar splicing, twisting and folding can be used, as described previously. However, in the latter case, the orientation of the package can be simplified technology for obtaining splicing. Thus, being wrapped in a wrapping material, compressed and sealed, the packaging design is oriented so that the blocks 20, 21, 22 and 23 are horizontal. With this orientation, the application of vertical loads to the package from other packages is transmitted through the package design located below the pallet without curving or damaging the strip. This is due to the fact that the strip has a relatively high stiffness in the direction of its width and, being compressed in the blocks of the strip together form a rather rigid structure.

As shown in FIG. 11, the upper block 20 is partially deployed from the front end portion 1 2 towards the rear end portion 94 of this block at the end of the upper packaging portion 14. The next block 21 has a front end portion 95 located on the same end 1 4 as the rear end portion 94, connected by means of a connecting part 96, having an union 97, with the front end part 95 of the block 21. The connecting part 96 lies in the same plane as the end 1 4 and extends, as a rule, in the diagonal direction between the blocks 20 and 21.

Similarly, the front end part (which is not visible) of the block 21 is connected to the front end part of the block 22 through the connecting part (which is not visible) having a splicing. The rear end part of the block 21, the connecting part and the front end part of the block 22 are located at the end located lower part 1 5 of the packaging, coplanar to the end face 15.

Another connecting part 98 and a splicing 99 at the end 14 connect the rear end part 1 00 of the block 22 and the front end part 101 of the block 23.

The connecting parts 96, 98 and any additional connecting parts required for additional blocks are located at the end 1 4. The connecting parts for alternative (intermediate) blocks are located on the opposite end 15.

The connecting parts are coplanar to the end parts of the strip and thus abut against the side surface of the package when it is in a finished and wrapped state, as described in this application above.

This orientation of the package used to deploy the package is illustrated in FIG. 11. The shell remains in place to hold the end parts of the strip and the connecting parts, and the upper part 43 (shells) is opened by removing or cutting a small hole, grab the end of the front end part 1 2 of the strip and pull it through this hole. For this reason, by arranging the package in such an orientation, each block can be deployed in turn without the risk of tipping over, since it lies on its side surface supported by the underlying blocks.

It should be noted that the splicing technology shown ensures that when deploying strips, as shown in FIG. 11, the strip is not twisted when transferring deployment from one block to the next. However, in order to guarantee this, the side A of the strip of block 20 is connected to the side A of the strip of block 21 (and the sides B are connected), it is necessary to reverse the direction of passage of the strip in block 21. Symmetrically located block 22 has the same orientation as block 20, and block 23 has the opposite direction of passage of the strip, as block 21. Such a change in the direction of passage of the strip to the opposite can be obtained by lifting the intermediate blocks and rotating them 180 ° ^{about an} axis perpendicular to the blocks. A similar effect can be achieved by twisting the strip through ¹⁸⁰ ° during its feed to the device for supplying the strip for simultaneous deployment as described above. Such twisting has the effect of placing side A outside the inflection lines at end 1 of 8 blocks 20 and 22 and placing side B outside the inflection lines at the same end for blocks 21 and 23.

In an alternative device (not shown), the folding and compression technology described previously can be used for a single strip unit. Such a strip can be relatively wide, for example, a piece of carpet or fabric that is folded back and forth, packaged in a shell, compressed and supported in a compressed state by air pressure outside the shell with vacuum.

Compression reduces the height of the block to such an extent that the structure becomes rigid and can stand freely without damaging the strip and allow easy handling.

To prevent inadvertent increase in packaging volume at inopportune moments during transportation, storage and handling operations due to puncture of the casing and lack of vacuum, the casing can be additionally wrapped with shrink wrapping material or other material that will keep the packaging in a compressed state.

In another device (not shown), a package can be formed by stacking each block in turn from one end of the strip so that the strip continuously passes from each block to the next without the need for splicing. This technology has the disadvantage that the growth is relatively slow and requires a certain number of winding devices for each of the strips, the total width of which is equal to the width of the web from which they are obtained by cutting the latter.

In yet another additional device (not shown), the packaging shown in FIG. 1, they are compressed, wrapped with wrapping material and transported to the workplace of its application, the package remaining with unconnected upper and lower terminal parts. At the workplace, instead of connecting the strip of each block to the strip of the next adjacent block, to supply a continuous strip from the package, each block is connected to the corresponding block of the next adjacent package. Thus, each block supplies a separate strip to the production technological unit and the strip of each block is connected by splicing at the workplace of its application with the block of another package for the continuous supply of such a separate strip. The blocks in the package are located side by side and the lower parts of the strip are exposed in the form of tail parts, as shown in FIG. 1, for connection.

In an additional device, which is not shown, but has a structure similar to that shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, alternating tail portions 45 are located at opposite ends of the package structure. In such a device, it is possible to avoid the need for twisting in the connecting part and to connect the tail parts directly with the upper part of the next adjacent layer. When connecting the tail parts without twisting, the effect of automatic twisting caused by the transfer of deployment from one layer to the next causes an application to the twisting strip of 360 ^° . This twisting is then canceled by twisting in the opposite direction in the next transfer position.

Claims (17)

CLAIM 1. Packing a strip of material containing many blocks (20, 21, 22, 23), each of which contains a strip (11) folded back and forth so that each folded part of the strip is bent relative to the next part along the line (25, 26) inflection, passing in the transverse strip direction, and the side edges (27, 28) are aligned, while the strip is continuous in each block from the upper end part (30) of the strip at one end of the block to the lower end part (29) of the strip at the opposite end of the block, while these blocks are parallel to each other and side by side ok together as a general package design (10) having side edges (27) of strip parts of each block located adjacent to side edges (28) of the next neighboring block, characterized in that the upper and lower end parts (end parts 30, 29 shown in Fig. 1 and 2 and the terminal parts 94, 100 shown in Fig. 11) the strips of each block are arranged in a package to provide the corresponding terminal connecting parts (connections of the parts 44, 45 shown in Fig. 11). 1 and 2, and the compounds of parts 96, 98 shown in FIG. 11), which either both (as shown in Fig. 1) are available for connection, forming a continuous connection with other corresponding terminal connecting parts to obtain a continuous strip of connected blocks, or (as shown in Fig. 2 and 11), at least , one of them is connected with the formation of a continuous connection with the end connecting part of the other of the blocks to obtain a continuous strip formed by connected blocks. 2. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that said blocks are mounted essentially vertically and have a lower part (29) and an upper part (30), two side surfaces (16, 17) parallel to the side edges (27, 28) of the strips blocks, and two ends (18, 19) and kink lines (25, 26) of the blocks, while the terminal connecting part of the lower part of each block contains a free unconnected tail part (45) extending from the lower part (29) of the strip and end face (18) of the block. 3. The packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that one terminal connecting part (terminal connecting tail portion 45 shown in Fig. 2 and terminal connecting part 94 shown in Fig. 11) of each block is connected by means of a splice connecting part (fusion 46 shown in Fig. 2 and splices 97, 99, as shown in Fig. 11) with one terminal connecting part (terminal connecting part 44, as shown in Fig. 2, and terminal connecting part 95, as shown in FIG. 11) the next adjacent block. 4. Packaging according to claim 3, characterized in that (as shown in FIG. 11) the terminal connecting part (terminal connecting part 94 shown in FIG. 11) of the upper part (14) of one unit is connected to the terminal connecting part of the upper part of the next an adjacent block for forming the first connecting part of the splice (splice 97, 99), the coplanar upper part of the blocks and passing through the upper part of the blocks, while the terminal part of the lower part (15) of the indicated one block is connected to the terminal part of the lower part another next adjacent block to form a second connecting part of the fusion, a coplanar lower part of the blocks and passing through the lower part of the blocks. 5. Packaging according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it has at least three blocks (20, 21, 22), and the connecting parts (44, 45, 46) of the splices are located so that when deployed of these three blocks (20, 21, 22), no twisting is formed in the strip. 6. Packaging according to claim 3, characterized in that the blocks are mounted essentially vertically and have a lower part (15) and an upper part (14), two side surfaces (16, 17) parallel to the side edges (27, 28) of the stripes of blocks , and two ends (18, 19) and kink lines (25, 26) of the blocks, with the terminal connecting part of the lower part (15) of the block connected to the terminal connecting part of the upper part (14) of the next adjacent block to form the specified connecting part (44 , 45, 46) of the joint extending along one end (18) of the block. 7. Packaging according to claim 6, characterized in that it has at least three blocks (20, 21, 22), and a part of the strip is limited to the connecting part (44, 45, 46) of the splicing, while the upper end part ( 30) has part (47) twisted 360 ° in the strip so that when three blocks are deployed (20, 21, 22), no twisting is formed in the strip. 8. Packaging according to claim 6, characterized in that it has at least three blocks (20, 21, 22), and the fusion parts of alternating blocks are located on opposite ends (18, 19) of the blocks and each connecting part (44 45, 46) the splices are connected without twisting between the lower part (29) of the strip of one block and the upper part (30) of the strip of the next block so that when three blocks (20, 21, 22) are deployed, no twisting is formed in the strip. 9. Packaging according to claims 6, 7 or 8, characterized in that it is in a compressed state and has a height reduced compared with the height of the package at rest by contact with the packaging material (40) that supports the compression state, while the joint part (44, 45, 46) of the splices has a length of at least equal to the height of the package at rest, and the folded part (54) around the inflection lines, which usually extend in the transverse strip, to compensate for the difference in length of the joint part of the splices and in Compressed packing heights. 10. Packaging according to claim 9, characterized in that between the two parts (30, 30Ό) of the strip to allow relative sliding of these two parts when expanding the packaging, a spacer sheet (30C) is placed to improve sliding. 11. Packaging according to any one of the preceding paragraphs, characterized in that the plurality of said blocks are arranged so that the side edges of the strip of each block extend along the final length of the strip and are not connected to the side edges of the strip of the next adjacent block. 1 2. Packaging according to any one of the preceding paragraphs, characterized in that the strip of each block is a part obtained by cutting the blade in its longitudinal direction. 1 3. Packaging according to any one of the preceding paragraphs, characterized in that the lateral edges (27, 28) of the strip parts of each block are in direct contact with the lateral edges of the strip parts of the next adjacent block. 1 4. Packaging a strip of material containing at least one block (20, 21, 22, 23), including a strip (11) folded back and forth so that each folded part of at least one block bent relative to the next part along the inflection line (25, 26) passing in the transverse strip direction, and the lateral edges (27, 28) of the folded parts of the strip are aligned, and the strip is continuous in at least one block from the lower end part (29) strips in the lower part of at least one block to the upper end part (30) of the strip in the upper part and at least one block, wherein portions of the strip are arranged to form a first plurality of inflection lines (25) at one end (18) of at least one block and a second plurality of inflection lines at the other end (19) ) of at least one block, at least one block is compressed in a downward direction (Ό) to reduce the height of at least one block, and at least one block is fixed by means of packaging material (40) for transportation, at least one block in a compressed state, characterized in that then at least one block includes a lead connecting portion (45) of the strip extending from the bottom of the strip and at one of the ends (18) of at least one block providing access to the splice. 1 5. Packaging according to any one of the preceding paragraphs, characterized in that it is in a compressed state with a block height reduced compared to the height of the package at rest, and in contact with the packaging material (40) that maintains a compression state, the thickness of each part of the strip of these blocks is reduced. 1 6. Packaging according to any one of the preceding paragraphs, characterized in that a sheet gasket (58) is placed between the inflection lines (25) at the end (18) of the package and the end connecting part (44, 45). 17. A method of supplying a strip of material, comprising supplying a package according to any one of the preceding paragraphs and having a device (80) for deploying a strip having an inclined abutment surface, placing the package on a device for deploying a strip with the blocks tilted at an angle to the vertical so that one terminal the block forms a side surface passing and supported by an inclined surface by means of a supporting surface, and each block (20, 21, 22) extends and is supported by the next adjacent block, pulling the strip from the terminal block (20) against the supporting surface with the provision of the deployment and removal of each block sequentially.