EP2732961B1

EP2732961B1 - Method and plant for making trash bags

Info

Publication number: EP2732961B1
Application number: EP13193267.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Nicola Trimboli
Original assignee: Flexopack SRL
Current assignee: Flexopack SRL
Priority date: 2012-11-19
Filing date: 2013-11-18
Publication date: 2019-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 2033-11-18
Also published as: ITGE20120111A1; EP2732961A1

Description

The present invention relates to a method of making trash bags.
Waste management is increasingly gaining attention and has now become a priority.
Unsorted waste collection raises environmental problems, due to the requirement for landfill areas, having polluting effects on soil and water.
On the other hand, separate waste collection allows minimization of the non-recyclable residue from collected waste and also allows waste recycling, which affords important power and raw material savings, thereby reducing the environmental impact of waste.
Separate waste collection is an extensive process, that involves action by citizens, authorities and operating organizations, and especially requires a collective awareness and checks to ensure compliance with regulations.
Current separate collection methods do not provide effective and inexpensive check of proper separate waste collection by each citizen, because there has hitherto been no way to assign the citizen bags that are uniquely associated with such citizen.
FR2709701 discloses a method that comprises manufacturing a plurality of bags and printing a barcode on each bag, said barcode being customizable for each bag.
WO 91/01818 discloses a trash bag provided with barcodes closely spaced in a ring extending around the circumference of the bag adjacent the bottom end thereof. Such barcodes are identical in each bag. Differently colored bar codes can be provided on different bags to permit different types of recyclable waste to be separated from one another during a separation process.
Nevertheless, prior art methods are susceptible to printing errors, that may lead to improper use of the bag during separate waste collection, as no fixed barcode generator schemes are followed.
This is mainly caused by the difficulty of checking for barcode correctness, while coping with the required bag throughput rate.
Therefore, there is a yet unfulfilled need for bags that might obviate the drawbacks of prior art waste collection methods.
The present invention has the object to obviate such drawbacks, by providing a method of making trash bags, which comprises manufacturing a plurality of bags that are grouped into sets of bags and printing a barcode on each bag, said barcode being unique for each bag and the barcodes being associated with sequence numbers, wherein said set of bags consists of a roll, and said bags are joined together one after the other in each roll, the roll being formed by spirally winding the joined bags, starting from an initial innermost bag and ending with a final outermost bag, the barcodes in each roll being associated with sequence numbers from an initial number to a final number, a correctness check being provided to check for correctness of the barcodes of each roll, which check is carried out by reading the barcode of the final outermost bag and comparing said barcode of the final outermost bag with the barcode of the final outermost bag of the previous roll, or with the first printed barcode.
Thus, each bag or each group of bags may be assigned to a user, e.g. a citizen, and is traceable as it can be associated anytime to the citizen that has had it assigned.
Since barcodes are sequential, each user may have a range of barcodes assigned to him/her, for improved traceability.
Generally, in prior art methods, the barcode is customized for each manufactured roll/stock, which makes it difficult to assign any number of bags to each user.
Conversely, in this case, since barcodes are sequential, each user may have any number of bags of the roll assigned to him/her, for perfect traceability.
Therefore, checks may be carried out, for assessing that separate waste collection is carried out properly.
Such bags are grouped into sets of bags.
Such sets are rolls.
A check for barcode correctness is provided for each set of bags.
This will allow certification of correct barcode printing at the end of the bag set manufacturing process, with possible generation of a certification label indicating the barcodes in the set of bags, and application thereof to the set of bags, to certify correctness thereof.
In a further example, said check is performed by reading each barcode of the bags that compose the set using automatic reading means.
Automatic reading of each barcode comprises software means allowing assessment of correct barcode printing on each bag and notification of any failure, such that the set of bags that has been found faulty may be removed and the barcodes may be printed on a new set of bags.
In an advantageous exemplary embodiment, each barcode is read once the barcode has been printed on each bag and prior to formation of said set of bags.
This will allow high-speed packaging of sets of bags, as the steps of barcode printing, correctness check by said automatic reading means and formation of the set of bags are carried out in quick succession.
Said set of bags consists of a roll, said bags being joined together one after the other, and the roll being formed by spirally winding the joined bags, starting from an initial innermost bag and ending with a final outermost bag.
In a barcode correctness check, in each set of bags, barcodes are sequence numbers from an initial number to a final number, and said barcode correctness check in each set of bags is carried out by reading the barcode of the final outermost bag and comparing said barcode of the final outermost bag with the barcode of the final outermost bag of the previous roll, or with the first printed barcode.
Thus, if the number of bags, and hence the number of printed barcodes are known, barcode correctness may be assessed by reading the barcode on the outermost bag of the roll, which is the last visible one, and by comparing it with the last barcode of the previous roll.
However, if the check relates to the first roll that has been formed, when no comparison with the last barcode of the previous roll is possible, comparison is made with the first printed barcode.
For this purpose, barcode printing is carried out such that the barcode of the final outermost bag is easily readable once the roll has been formed.
Advantageously, like in the above described case of automatic reading, such computing steps are performed by software means, which control generation of said certification label.
Such barcode correctness check allows the use of sequential bar codes, thereby providing the above advantages, with a good confidence in their correctness.
In a further embodiment, a white ink band of the same size as the barcode or larger is applied to each bag, the barcode being printed later, above said ink band.
Firstly, such ink band avoids direct printing of barcodes on the bag, and creates an intermediate layer that promotes adhesion of the barcode ink to the bag.
Secondly, since such ink is white, it maximizes contrast of the barcode, which is typically black, against the background, thereby optimizing readability.
The present invention also relates to a plant for manufacturing trash bags, comprising the features according to independent claim 4.
The present invention also relates to a separate waste collection method, comprising the features according to claim 5.
The present invention also relates to a trash bag having a printed barcode, said barcode being unique for said bag and the barcodes being associated with sequence numbers.
In a preferred exemplary embodiment, a white ink band is provided, which has the same size as or is larger than the bar code, and is designed to have said barcode printed thereon.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following description of a few embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a bag of the present invention;
Fig. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the plant of the present invention;
Fig. 3 shows a variant embodiment of said plant;
Figure 4 shows a block diagram of the separate collection method of the present invention.
Figure 1 shows a trash bag 1 having a printed barcode, said barcode being unique for said bag or a group of bags.

The barcode may be of the classical one-dimensional type, or may be of two-dimensional type, so-called datamatrix, such as a QR code.
Both the barcode 20 and the datamatrix barcode 21 are shown in the figure, and both encode the same identification number.
One or both of the barcodes may be printed on the bag.
If both the barcode 20 and the datamatrix barcode 21 are printed on the bag, then they may be read by different reading means, and a consistency check may be carried out.
The bag also has a white ink band 10, which has the same size as or is larger than the barcode 20 or 21, and is designed to have said barcode 20 or 21 printed thereon.
In a preferred embodiment, the white ink band 10 is continuous and extends from the opening to the bottom of the bag. Therefore, it may be continuously applied during bag production, when bags are joined together one after the other.
Nevertheless, any shape whatever may be envisaged for the white ink band 10, as long as its size allows it to underlie the entire barcode 20 or 21 to promote adhesion thereof to the bag and maximize contrast for more effective reading.
Figure 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the plant for manufacturing trash bags 1 of the present invention.
The plant comprises means for forming bags, not shown, which may be of any known type.
The plant further comprises means for generating rolls, which may also be of any known type.
Also, the plant comprises applicator means 4 for applying a white ink band 10 to the bags 1, print means 5 for printing a barcode 20 on each bag 1 and means for checking the correctness of the printed barcodes.
Both said applicator means 4 for applying the white ink bad 10 and the print means 5 for printing the barcode 5 may include known printers respectively.
The means for checking the correctness of the barcodes 20 printed on each bag 1 comprise automatic reading means 6, processing software means 8 and certification means 7, which generate a certification label.
Said processing software means 8 may be the same means that control the emission of barcodes 20 by print means 5, store the manufacturing steps and note the various production cycles for manufacturing sequences of bags 1 with known numbers for the barcodes 20.
With the plant of the figure, the bags 1 are manufactured by said forming means such that they are joined together one after the other.
First, the white ink band 10 is applied, and then a barcode 20 is printed on each bag 1, said barcode being unique for each bag or a group of bags.
As shown in Figure 1, the barcode 20 may be a conventional barcode and/or a datamatrix barcode 21.
The bags 1 may be grouped into sets of bags, which are preferably rolls 11, but may also be bundles, stacks or the like.
The rolls 11 are formed by spirally winding the joined bags 1, starting from an initial innermost bag and ending with a final outermost bag.
Each bag in each roll 11 has a unique and sequential barcode 20.
In the plant of Figure 2, the correctness of the barcodes 20 of each roll 11 is checked by reading each barcode 20 of the bags that form the roll 11 using said automatic reading means 6.
Each barcode 20 is read once the barcode 20 has been printed on each bag 1 and prior to formation of the roll 11.
The automatic reading means may include known one-dimensional barcode reading means, such as laser or LED systems, or datamatrix barcode reading means, such as camera-based computer vision means.
The above mentioned processing software means 8 allow assessment of correct printing of the barcode 20 on each bag 1 and notification of any failure.
Once correct printing has been assessed, a certification label 3 is generated and applied to the roll 11, to indicate the barcodes contained in the set of bags and certify correctness thereof.
Figure 3 shows a variant embodiment of the plant, in which each roll 11 has sequential barcodes 20 from an initial number to a final number.
The correctness of the barcodes 20 in each roll 11 is checked by reading the barcode 20 of the final outermost bag and comparing said barcode with the barcode 20 of the final outermost bag of the previous roll 11'.
Therefore, the correctness of the barcodes 20 in each roll 11 is checked once the roll 11 has been formed.
The comparison is carried out by the processing software means 8, which control the certification means 7 that generate the certification label 3.
Figure 4 shows a block diagram of the separate waste collection method of the present invention.
A production unit 90 generates a plurality of bags, and prints a barcode on each bag, said barcode being unique for each bag or a group of bags.
The bags are grouped into rolls, as described above, and the barcodes in each roll are checked for correctness, whereupon a certification label 3 is emitted.
The rolls of bags are delivered from the production unit 90 to an intermediate user 91, e.g. an institution such as a municipality or the like.
Then, the intermediate user 91 delivers the rolls of bags to a final user 92, typically a citizen, each barcode being associated to an ID code of the final user 92.
The final user 92 throws waste into bags and waste is collected by a collection unit 93.
The collection unit is equipped with barcode reading means, and reads the barcode during waste collection for checking that user's operations are correct, and is to generate warnings in case of errors or malfunctions.
All those concerned in the process may be interfaced with preferably web-based management software, providing limited credential-based access.
The production unit 90 may monitor the situation of roll batches and delivery thereof to the intermediate user 91.
The intermediate user 91 may assign the barcodes of the bags to the ID code of the final user, monitor bag consumption and order more bags.
The final user 92 may retrieve information about proper separate waste collection.
The collection unit 92 may notify the intermediate user 91 of any anomaly in the collected bag, without knowing which final user 92 generated the anomaly, thereby ensuring privacy protection.

Claims

Method of making trash bags (1),
which comprises manufacturing a plurality of bags (1) that are grouped into sets of bags (11) and printing a barcode (20, 21) on each bag (1), said barcode (20, 21) being unique for each bag (1) and the barcodes being associated with sequence numbers, wherein said set of bags consists of a roll (11), and said bags (1) are joined together one after the other in each roll (11), the roll (11) being formed by spirally winding the joined bags (1), starting from an initial innermost bag and ending with a final outermost bag, the barcodes (20, 21) in each roll (11) being associated with sequence numbers from an initial number to a final number, a correctness check being provided to check for correctness of the barcodes (20, 21) of each roll (11), which check is carried out by reading the barcode (20, 21) of the final outermost bag and comparing said barcode (20, 21) of the final outermost bag with the barcode (20, 21) of the final outermost bag of the previous roll (11'), or with the first printed barcode (20, 21).
A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said check is performed by reading each barcode (20, 21) of the bags (1) that compose the roll (11) using automatic reading means (6).
A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein each barcode (20, 21) is read once the barcode (20, 21) has been printed on each bag (1) and prior to formation of said roll (11).
A plant for manufacturing trash bags (1), comprising means for forming a plurality of bags that are grouped into sets of bags and means for printing on the bag (1),
wherein the plant has print means (4) for printing a barcode (20, 21) on each bag, said barcode (20, 21) being unique for each bag (1) and the barcodes being associated with sequence numbers,
wherein said means for forming the bag generate said bags (1) in a joined configuration one after the other, means being provided for forming said set of bags consisting of a roll (11) by spirally winding the joined bags (1), starting from an initial innermost bag and ending with a final outermost bag, the barcodes (20, 21) in each roll (11) being associated with sequence numbers from an initial number to a final number,
means being provided for checking the correctness of the printed barcodes of each roll (11), wherein said means for checking the correctness of barcodes comprise automatic barcode reading means (6) for reading the barcode (20, 21) of the final outermost bag, processing software means (8) for comparing said barcode (20, 21) of the final outermost bag with the barcode (20, 21) of the final outermost bag of the previous roll (11') or with the first printed barcode (20, 21), which processing software means (8) control certification means (7) for generating a certification label (3),
A separate waste collection method,
which comprises the steps of:
a) manufacturing a plurality of bags (1) that are grouped into sets of bags (11);

b) printing a barcode (20, 21) on each bag (1), said barcode (20, 21) being unique for each bag (1) and the barcodes being associated with sequence numbers;

c) checking the correctness of the barcodes (20, 21) in each set of bags (11);

d) associating each barcode (20, 21) with a user identification code (92);

e) reading the barcode (20, 21) during waste collection for checking that the operations of the user (92) are correct, and being able to generate warnings in case of errors or malfunctions,
wherein said bags (1) are manufactured with the method as claimed in one or more of claims 1 to 3.