GB1576973A

GB1576973A - Pallet for magnetic tapes wound on flangeless cores

Info

Publication number: GB1576973A
Application number: GB5073477A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Agfa Gevaert AG
Current assignee: Agfa Gevaert AG
Priority date: 1976-12-07
Filing date: 1977-12-06
Publication date: 1980-10-15
Also published as: BE861381A; CH623952A5; NL7713475A; IT1090657B; AT351811B; DE2655254C2; FR2373854A1; DE2655254A1; FR2373854B1; ATA817777A

Abstract

The stackable pallet (1), consisting of plastic, serves for archiving magnetic tapes wound on various types of flangeless hubs, in particular for studio purposes or for duplicating recorded tapes. The pallet has a raised boss (3) in the axial centre and having a central bore (4), with a depression (5), provided on the surface of the pallet, by means of two steps from outside to inside in the direct region of the raised boss (3). The pallet is suitable in particular for shipping magnetic tapes of relatively great diameter wound up on flangeless hubs. It is shaped in such a way that it can accommodate hubs of various types. <IMAGE>

Description

(54) PALLET FOR MAGNETIC TAPES WOUND ON FLANGELESS CORES (71) We, AGFA-GEVAERT AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, a body corporate organised under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, of 509 Leverkusen, Federal Republic of Germany, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a plastics pallet which can be stacked for packaging and filing magnetic tapes. The surface of the pallet may be polygonal or round and is designed to hold tapes wound on different flangeless cores, in particular studio tapes and duplicating tapes having a width of at least 3.81 mm.

Tapes are liable to suffer damage during transport due to vibration. The outer turns of the tape may get entangled or slip off the flangeless core. The magnetic tapes used for professional studio instruments or for duplicating recorded tapes vary in length from 300 to 4,500 m and are wound on flangeless cores of various designs. One type of core consists of a hollow cylinder made of sheet metal which is open on one side and has a deep drawn entrainer disc. A type of plastics core known as the NARTB-core from the U.S. Standard consists of a plastics ring having an axial bore 76.4 mm in diameter and equipped with three so-called driving pins. A stacking winding core designed for the same purpose has been described in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 24 48 853. In this case, the winding surface, which corresponds in width to the width of the tape, is located centrally in the plane of projection of the core and has wedge-shaped deformations preferably situated on the internal circumference. These projections point alternately upwards and downwards from the plane of projection of the core so that they fit into each other when the cores are stacked. This type of core considerably reduces the amount of space taken up by tapes packaged for transport. When preparing the tapes for transport, they are first sorted out according to the diameters of the reels of tape and then packed in containers and cartons of various shapes and sizes. In a simpler arrangement, these containers consist of a lower part of polystyrene, usually circular, carrying a central, axial pin or supporting ring appropriate to the type of core used for the tapes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a plastics pallet which is suitable in particular for dispatching magnetic tapes of relatively large diameter wound on flangeless cores, the pallet being so designed that it can hold any of the winding cores described above.

According to the present invention, there is provided a plastics stacking pallet, for packaging and filing magnetic tapes wound on differing flangeless winding cores, comprising upper and lower surfaces, a surrounding wall, and a raised hub extending perpendicularly from the said upper surface and having a central bore, the upper surface of the pallet descending by two steps from the outside inwardly in a region immediately outward of the raised hub.

For stacking purposes, a circumferential indentation may be provided on the lower edge of the above-mentioned surrounding wall.

Magnetic tapes wound on the various types of known cores can be placed on the pallet according to the invention. With the pallet according to the invention there is achieved a reduction in the packaging space and transport volume as well as a saving in raw material, which is not unimportant to the manufacturer. The pallet also provides a simplification in the storage arrangements for the magnetic tapes and, in addition, a considerable reduction in the packaging waste at the consumer end, which is significant for environmental reasons.

When using stacking cores according to German Offenlegungsschrift No. 24 48 853, the tapes can be stacked directly above one another and need only be covered by one pallet at the top of the stack and one at the bottom. Simple and dust-proof packaging is achieved by placing this stack into a blockbottom bag or tube of shrink film, the ends of the film being simply placed into the axial bore of the hub of the pallet and the wrapped stack being then treated with heat in the usual manner. Elaborate packing with internal and external cartons was previously necessary to achieve the same purpose.

The invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figs. 1-3 show a single pallet in crosssection with magnetic tapes wound on different cores Fig. 4 shows a single pallet in cross-section with a grooved bottom surface, Fig. 4 a shows a portion of Fig. 4 on an enlarged scale, and Fig. 5 is a front view of a dust-proof packaging, using the pallets according to the invention.

Fig. 1 to 3 show a moulded pallet 1 according to the invention having a surrounding wall 2 designed to hold a reel of tape of relatively large diameter and capable of being stacked with other, similar pallets without requiring the usual packaging containers for individual pallets. The outer periphery of the pallet may be round or polygonal. The pallet has a raised hub 3 about 1 cm in height which is centred on the axis of the pallet. The hub 3 has a central bore 4 equal in diameter to the entrainer disc of a flat, hollow cylindrical core which is open at one end. The external diameter of the hub itself is equal to the internal diameter of an annular plastics core designed in accordance with the standards laid down in DIN 45 517.

In order that the same pallet may be used for 3,81 mm tapes and wider tapes wound on different cores the upper surface of the pallet descends in two steps 5 from the outside inwardly in the region where the core is fitted over the hub, so that the tape will always rest on the surface of the pallet regardless of whether it is a 3,81 mm tape (Fig. 3) or, for example, a 6,30 mm tape (Figs. 1 and 2).

The surface of the pallet may be flat, but according to a preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 4, it has a plurality of grooves 6 arranged concentrically to the hub, if desired equally spaced from one another, with the result that the tape does not make full surface contact with the pallet. The reason for this design is that the pallets are preferably produced from polystyrene foam so that after the usual steam shock and hot water treatment following removal from the mould, the surface of the moulded article is deformed in the areas 7 where the steam enters (see Fig.

4a). These surface irregularities are generally referred to as "steam marks". When vibration occurs during transport, they produce undesirable pressure points at the edges of the reel of tape. If it is desired to produce grooves on the surface of the pallet, the direction of steam may be controlled during manufacture of the pallet so that the unavoidable steam marks occur only in the recessed parts of the surface. Since the tape only rests on the raised parts of the surface, the difficulty mentioned above is avoided.

Fig. 5 shows a special form of packaging in which several tapes wound on stacking cores according to German Offenlegungsschrift No. 24 48 853 are stacked together and the outermost tapes only are each covered by a pallet 8,9. This produces a very compact packaging unit since it eliminates the intermediate pallets which are normally required.

Such a stack of tapes can easily be sealed off against dust without the usual outer cartons, simply by introducing it into a block-bottom bag or tube of shrink film 10, e.g. of polyethylene, and inserting the ends 11 of the film into the axial bore of the hub of the pallet. The film is then shrunk in the usual manner by treating the stack with heat. This form of packaging is particularly suitable for copying tape since the pallets are discarded after processing, in contrast to studio tapes, in which the individual pallets used for packaging may be used for work in the studio or for filing.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A plastics stacking pallet, for packaging and filing magnetic tapes wound on differing flangeless winding cores, comprising upper and lower surfaces, a surrounding wall, and a raised hub extending perpendicularly from the said upper surface and having a central bore, the upper surface of the pallet descending by two steps from the outside inwardly in a region immediately outward of the raised hub.

2. A pallet according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the pallet has a plurality of grooves extending concentrically with respect to the hub.

3. A pallet according to claim 2, wherein the grooves are equally spaced from one another.

4. A pallet according to any preceding claim, formed of foamed polystyrene.

5. A pallet according to claim 4, as dependent on claim 2 or 3, wherein steam marks produced in the foaming process used to produce the pallet are situated in the grooves of the upper surface.

6. A pallet according to any preceding claim, wherein a circumferential indentation is provided on the lower edge of the surrounding wall.

7. A plastics stacking pallet substantially as herein described with reference to Figures

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. When using stacking cores according to German Offenlegungsschrift No. 24 48 853, the tapes can be stacked directly above one another and need only be covered by one pallet at the top of the stack and one at the bottom. Simple and dust-proof packaging is achieved by placing this stack into a blockbottom bag or tube of shrink film, the ends of the film being simply placed into the axial bore of the hub of the pallet and the wrapped stack being then treated with heat in the usual manner. Elaborate packing with internal and external cartons was previously necessary to achieve the same purpose. The invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figs. 1-3 show a single pallet in crosssection with magnetic tapes wound on different cores Fig. 4 shows a single pallet in cross-section with a grooved bottom surface, Fig. 4 a shows a portion of Fig. 4 on an enlarged scale, and Fig. 5 is a front view of a dust-proof packaging, using the pallets according to the invention. Fig. 1 to 3 show a moulded pallet 1 according to the invention having a surrounding wall 2 designed to hold a reel of tape of relatively large diameter and capable of being stacked with other, similar pallets without requiring the usual packaging containers for individual pallets. The outer periphery of the pallet may be round or polygonal. The pallet has a raised hub 3 about 1 cm in height which is centred on the axis of the pallet. The hub 3 has a central bore 4 equal in diameter to the entrainer disc of a flat, hollow cylindrical core which is open at one end. The external diameter of the hub itself is equal to the internal diameter of an annular plastics core designed in accordance with the standards laid down in DIN 45 517. In order that the same pallet may be used for 3,81 mm tapes and wider tapes wound on different cores the upper surface of the pallet descends in two steps 5 from the outside inwardly in the region where the core is fitted over the hub, so that the tape will always rest on the surface of the pallet regardless of whether it is a 3,81 mm tape (Fig. 3) or, for example, a 6,30 mm tape (Figs. 1 and 2). The surface of the pallet may be flat, but according to a preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 4, it has a plurality of grooves 6 arranged concentrically to the hub, if desired equally spaced from one another, with the result that the tape does not make full surface contact with the pallet. The reason for this design is that the pallets are preferably produced from polystyrene foam so that after the usual steam shock and hot water treatment following removal from the mould, the surface of the moulded article is deformed in the areas 7 where the steam enters (see Fig. 4a). These surface irregularities are generally referred to as "steam marks". When vibration occurs during transport, they produce undesirable pressure points at the edges of the reel of tape. If it is desired to produce grooves on the surface of the pallet, the direction of steam may be controlled during manufacture of the pallet so that the unavoidable steam marks occur only in the recessed parts of the surface. Since the tape only rests on the raised parts of the surface, the difficulty mentioned above is avoided. Fig. 5 shows a special form of packaging in which several tapes wound on stacking cores according to German Offenlegungsschrift No. 24 48 853 are stacked together and the outermost tapes only are each covered by a pallet 8,9. This produces a very compact packaging unit since it eliminates the intermediate pallets which are normally required. Such a stack of tapes can easily be sealed off against dust without the usual outer cartons, simply by introducing it into a block-bottom bag or tube of shrink film 10, e.g. of polyethylene, and inserting the ends 11 of the film into the axial bore of the hub of the pallet. The film is then shrunk in the usual manner by treating the stack with heat. This form of packaging is particularly suitable for copying tape since the pallets are discarded after processing, in contrast to studio tapes, in which the individual pallets used for packaging may be used for work in the studio or for filing. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A plastics stacking pallet, for packaging and filing magnetic tapes wound on differing flangeless winding cores, comprising upper and lower surfaces, a surrounding wall, and a raised hub extending perpendicularly from the said upper surface and having a central bore, the upper surface of the pallet descending by two steps from the outside inwardly in a region immediately outward of the raised hub.

4. A pallet according to any preceding claim, formed of foamed polystyrene.

1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A stack of magnetic tapes each wound on a respective stacking core and located directly above one another, a pallet according to any preceding claim being located at opposite ends of the stack, and a shrink film providing a dust-proof covering for the stack of tapes and pallets.

9. A stack of magnetic tapes covered by pallets and a shrink film, substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.