EP1588950A1

EP1588950A1 - A method for forming a handle on film used to produce packs of rolls of products

Info

Publication number: EP1588950A1
Application number: EP05425227A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Catello Di Carlo
Original assignee: TMC SpA
Current assignee: Tissue Machinery Co SpA
Priority date: 2004-04-20
Filing date: 2005-04-14
Publication date: 2005-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 2025-04-14
Also published as: EP1588950B1; CN1689798A; ATE401248T1; DE602005008131D1; ITBO20040229A1

Abstract

A method for forming a handle (M) on film (1) used to produce packs (C) of rolls of products (2) in a relative automatic packaging apparatus having at least one station (3) for feeding film (1) from a reel (4), comprising at least the steps, along a path (5) for moving the film (1) from the reel (4) to packaging stations (6) on the apparatus, for: film (1) unwinding along the predetermined feed path (5); folding a portion (7) of film (1) to form two sections (7a, 7b) which overlap and project from the remaining length of the film (1) with a shared vertex; sealing along one side (9) of the portion (7) to join the sections (7a, 7b) on their shared side opposite the shared vertex; punching part of the portion (7) of film (1) to create at least a partial through-opening (8) forming the handle (M).

Description

The present invention relates to a method for forming a handle on film used to produce packs of rolls of products, such as strips of toilet and/or kitchen paper.
In particular, the pack disclosed is produced with a carry handle which is an integral part of the pack.
At present, packs C of the above-mentioned products with a handle M integrated in the pack (illustrated in Figure 1) are produced in the same automatic apparatuses (of the known type) used to produce packs without a handle.
The main difference relates to the film used, which is prepared, or set up with previous processing so that there is already a series of handles one after another on the film.
In practice, the film preparation steps are performed "outside the machine", that is to say, not necessarily by the companies which produce the above-mentioned packs, the steps comprising:

unwinding of a traditional reel of heat-sealable film;
continuous folding R of a side portion of the film over itself;
continuous sealing S of the fold over the rest of the film along its entire length;
continuous punching F of the side zone with the fold to produce openings or pre-openings A forming the handle for picking up the pack manually (as illustrated in Figure 2);
rewinding the film with the zone forming the handle on a reel.

At this point the reel may be mounted in the relative station of the above-mentioned packaging apparatuses so that it can be fed to the subsequent known stations for:

defining the piece of film with the handle:

wrapping the film around the group of rolls of products with the handle in a predetermined position and
closing the pack by sealing it.

At present, this procedure with a ready "prepared" reel creates both economic and technical problems: the former due to the cost of the reel with handle relative to the overall value of a pack made using this film; the latter because of the reduced safety and precision if the reel is mounted on a roller reel holder (that is to say, with two motor-driven rollers supporting the reel), since the reel, being twice the normal thickness at the handle zone, is asymmetrical (basically it has the shape of a truncated cone); therefore, it is unbalanced on one side, requiring axle reel holder units (i.e.: with a supporting cylinder which is inserted inside the tubular core of the reel) which not all manufacturers have on their apparatuses. Reel change-over problems must also be considered.
To overcome these disadvantages the Applicant has invented a method for forming a handle on film used to produce packs of rolls of products starting with the reel directly unwound from the feed station of the apparatus producing the packs of rolls of products in such a way as to allow a reduction in costs and formation of the handle which is more precise and can be related to the format of the products to be produced.
Accordingly, the present invention achieves this aim with a method for forming a handle on film used to produce packs of rolls of products directly in a relative automatic packaging apparatus having a station for feeding film from the reel. The method comprises steps, along a path for moving the film from the reel to apparatus packaging stations, for: unwinding the film along the predetermined feed path; folding a portion of film to form two sections which overlap and project from the remaining length of the film with a shared vertex; sealing along one side of the portion to join the sections on their shared side opposite the shared vertex; punching part of the portion of film to create at least a partial through-opening forming the handle.
The technical characteristics of the invention, with reference to the above aims, are clearly described in the claims below and its advantages are apparent from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention provided merely by way of example without restricting the scope of the inventive concept, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pack of rolls of products with a carry handle obtained using the method according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a reel of film which already has a handle, obtained according to the prior art;
Figure 3 is a schematic top plan view with some parts cut away of the steps for production of the handle;
Figure 4 is a schematic side view with some parts cut away of the steps for production of the handle;
Figure 5 is a schematic side view with some parts cut away of an alternative embodiment of the steps for production of the handle.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and in particular with reference to Figure 1, the method disclosed is used to form a handle M on film 1 used to produce packs C of rolls of products 2, such as rolls of strips of kitchen and/or toilet paper.
These packs C are produced in an automatic packaging apparatus with at least one station 3 for feeding film 1 unwound from a reel 4. Of the above-mentioned apparatus, by way of example, only one other station 6 is visible, for forming a group of said products 2 and wrapping them with a piece 1a of the film 1 which has the above-mentioned handle M to show only the type of positioning of the piece 1a of film relative to the group of products 2.
As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the method disclosed comprises the steps, performed along a path 5 for moving the film 1 from the reel 4 to the packaging stations 6 on the apparatus, for:

unwinding the film 1 along the predetermined feed path (indicated by the arrow 5) (see Figure 3);
folding a portion 7 of the film 1 to form two sections 7a, 7b which overlap and project from the remaining length of the film 1 with a shared vertex (see Figure 3);
sealing along one side 9 of the portion 7 to join the sections 7a, 7b on their shared side opposite the shared vertex;
punching part of the portion 7 of film 1 to produce at least one partial through-opening 8 forming the handle M.

Alternatively to the succession of steps described above, after the film 1 unwinding step, first two zones of the portion 7 of film 1 set close together may be punched to produce corresponding through-openings 8, followed by the step of folding the portion 7 of film with the above-mentioned punched openings 8 to form the two sections 7a and 7b which overlap and project from the remaining length of film 1 with the shared vertex and the through-openings 8 coinciding to form the handle M.
Preferably, after the sealing step, there may be a step of folding the portion 7 joined on the film 1 being unwound (again see Figures 3 and 4).
Examining the individual steps described above in greater detail, the folding step may be performed longitudinally on the film 1, that is to say, parallel with the predetermined path 5 of the film 1; the folds made are continuous and in a predetermined zone according to the type of pack C to be produced on the apparatus.
This step may be achieved using special folders 15 and 16 (known plates and counter-plates visible in Figure 4) positioned on either side of the film and along the path 5 and immediately downstream of the reel 4. These folders 15 and 16 may create folds by lifting the portion 7 of film 1 relative to the line of extension of the rest of the film 1.
The punching step may comprise the total removal of part of the film 1 by special shaped means 17 (schematically illustrated as vertical rollers set opposite one another in Figures 3 and 4, again positioned along the path 5) to form a through-opening 8 and forming the carry handle M.
Alternatively, the shaped means 17 may create a break line along a path P forming the handle so as to obtain a pre-weakened line which can be removed by the user during use.
If the punching step is performed before the folding step (see Figure 5), the means 17 may consist of a pair of elements with vertical axes designed to form the handle M with alternating movement according to a vertical axis of movement.
The step of sealing the shared side 9 of the two sections 7a and 7b may be continuous along the entire shared side 9, or not continuous, that is to say, at spots along the shared side 9 by varying the configuration of the sealing means, for example a pair of sealing rollers 18 able to turn about a vertical axis which define the step.
These rollers 18 may make the seal by contact with the film 1, by directing a flow of hot air at the film, or using other techniques, such as ultrasound generating means.
Another possible step in the method disclosed is that of pre-punching on at least the folded portion 7 of film 1 to form two pre-weakened zones 10a, 10b on opposite sides of the through-opening 8 (see Figure 10). Again, a pair of rollers 19 may be used, with radial shaping (preferably aided by heat) to allow the creation of pre-weakened lines in the predetermined zones 10a, 10b.
Close to the rollers 19 there may be heating elements 19a to perform a sealing step close to the pre-weakened zones 10a, 10b for a dual purpose:

to keep the pre-weakened zones 10a, 10b stable during the steps of feed, product wrapping and pack C heat-sealing and
to at least partly connect the portion 7 to the rest of the film 1 so that the portion 7 is kept relatively coplanar on the film 1, by folding the portion 7 on the film 1.

When these steps are complete, the film 1 with the portion 7 with the handle M is cut in a zone 20 of the path 5 and brought, as the piece 1a into the packaging station 6 (of the known type and visible in Figures 4 and 5) and positioned in such a way as to allow the group of products 2 to be wrapped using known procedures. Obviously, the position of the handle M depends on the type of group to be packaged, that is to say, for a two-layered group the handle M will be located at the centre of the side of the finished pack C: in this way the user can pick up the pack C by the opening 8 which, thanks to the pre-weakened zones 10a, 10b, is detached from the rest of the portion so that it can form the means for transporting the pack C.
A method defined in this way achieves the preset aims thanks to the possibility of forming the handle M, when necessary, during the film 1 feed step directly "in the machine", that is to say, in the apparatus. This is done without decidedly altering the architecture of the apparatus, but adding several elements designed to allow formation of the handle, which may be sized, in gaps, between previous and subsequent handles, according to the packs C to be produced using the normal controls present in the known apparatuses.
The possibility of producing the handle M in the machine also allows the use of the normal reels present without having to use pre-processed ones.
Therefore, this allows the use of any type of reel supports, whether axles or motor-driven rollers.
The invention described has evident industrial applications and may be subject to modifications and variations without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Moreover, all the details of the invention may be substituted by technically equivalent elements.

Claims

A method for forming a handle (M) on film (1) used to produce packs (C) of rolls of products (2) in an automatic packaging apparatus having at least one station (3) for feeding the film (1) from the reel (4), comprising at least the following steps along a path (5) for moving the film (1) from the reel (4) towards packaging stations (6) on the apparatus:

unwinding the film (1) along the predetermined feed path (5);

folding a portion (7) of the film (1) to form two sections (7a, 7b) which overlap and project from the remaining length of the film (1) with a shared vertex;

sealing along one side (9) of the portion (7) to join the sections (7a, 7b) on their shared side opposite the shared vertex;

punching part of the portion (7) of film (1) to create at least a partial through-opening (8) forming the handle (M).
The method according to claim 1, characterised in that after the punching step there is a step of folding the joined portion (7) over the film (1).
The method according to claim 1, comprising a step of pre-punching on at least the folded portion (7) of film (1) and designed to form two pre-weakened zones (10a, 10b) on opposite sides of the partial through-opening (8).
The method according to claim 1, comprising a pre-punching step, between the sealing step and the punching step, on at least the folded portion (7) of film (1) and designed to form two pre-weakened zones (10a, 10b) on opposite sides of the partial through-opening (8).
The method according to claim 3 or 4, comprising a sealing step close to the pre-weakened zones (10a, 10b), being designed to keep the zones (10a, 10b) of the portion (7) stable.
The method according to claim 5, comprising a sealing step close to the pre-weakened zones (10a, 10b), being designed to respectively keep the zones (10a, 10b) stable and at least partly connect the portion (7) to the rest of the film (1).
The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the folding step is performed longitudinally on the film (1) and parallel with the predetermined path (5) of the film (1).
The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the folding step is a step of lifting the portion (7) of film (1) relative to the line of extension of the rest of the film (1).
The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the punching step comprises the removal of at least part of the film (1) on the portion (7), forming at least one through-opening (8) which forms a carry handle (M).
The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the punching step comprises the creation of a break line along a path (P) forming the handle (M) so as to obtain a pre-weakened line which can be removed during use.
The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the step of sealing the side (9) shared by the two sections (7a, 7b) is continuous along the entire shared side (9).
The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the step of sealing the side (9) shared by the two sections (7a, 7b) is not continuous, that is to say, is in spots, along the shared side (9).
The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the sealing step is performed by contact.
The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the sealing step is performed using a flow of hot air.
A method for forming a handle (M) on film (1) used to produce packs (C) of rolls of products (2) in an automatic packaging apparatus having at least one station (3) for feeding the film (1) from the reel (4), comprising at least the following steps along a path (5) for moving the film (1) from the reel (4) towards packaging stations (5) on the apparatus:

unwinding the film (1) along the predetermined feed path (5);

punching of two zones of a portion (7) of film (1) set close together to produce corresponding partial through-openings (8);

folding the portion (7) of film (1) with the punched openings to form two sections (7a, 7b) which overlap and project from the remaining length of the film (1) with a shared vertex and with the through-openings (8) coinciding to form the handle (M);

sealing along one side (9) of the portion (7) to join the two sections (7a, 7b) on their shared side opposite the shared vertex.
The method according to claim 15, comprising a pre-punching step after the sealing step, on at least the folded portion (7) of film (1) and designed to form two pre-weakened zones (10a, 10b) on opposite sides of the partial through-opening (8).
The method according to claim 16, comprising a sealing step close to the pre-weakened zones (10a, 10b) designed to respectively keep the zones (10a, 10b) stable and at least partly connect the portion (7) to the rest of the film (1).