GB2188606A

GB2188606A - Wrapping machines

Info

Publication number: GB2188606A
Application number: GB08608185A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stuart Green
Original assignee: ACME GERRARD Ltd
Current assignee: ACME GERRARD Ltd
Priority date: 1986-04-03
Filing date: 1986-04-03
Publication date: 1987-10-07
Also published as: GB8608185D0; GB2188606B

Abstract

A mast 7 extends upwardly adjacent a power-driven turntable 6 and a carriage 10 supporting a roll 11 of wrapping material (W) for rotation about a vertical axis is manually movable along the length of the mast 7. The carriage 10 and a full roll of wrapping material is counterbalanced by low-rate springs 16, or by a counterbalancing weight, and is easily movable over the full height of an object to be wrapped located on the turntable 6. A set of storage pegs 20 provided at the foot of the mast support individually a set of weights 21 which, when the carriage is at its lowermost point of travel, can be slid individually onto corresponding set of pegs 23 provided on the carriage 10 to make-up for the diminishing weight of wrapping material (W) on the roll 11. The mast comprises two channel section members (15) arranged with their open sides facing each other. Rollers (16) provided on the carriage 10 operate in the channel sections to guide the carriage. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Wrapping machine This invention relates to wrapping machines of the kind in which wrapping material in continuous strip form is wound from a roll around an article orgoods to be wrapped. The invention is specially, though not exclusively, applicabletowrapping with plasticsfilm known as stretch film.

The present invention consists in a wrapping machine comprising a power-driven turntablefor supporting goods to be wrapped and rotating the goods about a vertical axis, an upright mast, a carriage manually movable vertically on the mast and supporting a roll ofwrapping material with its axis vertical, and compensating mean to make up the reduction in load on the carriage as material is used from the roll,the arrangement being suchthatthe full height of goods rotated by the turntable can be wrapped by manually moving the carriage vertically on the mast while the turntable rotates the goods.

In one form of the apparatus the weight ofthe carriage and a full roll of wrapping material is counterbalanced by a spring means of very low rate so that the vertial movement ofthe carriage and its load can be controlled with little effort. A series of removable weights is provided which can be added to the carriage one byoneto make upthe diminishing weight of the roll. Convenientlythe weights are arranged side by side supported on a roof an equal numberofhorizontal storage pegs mounted on the mast.Similar pegs are provided on the carriage and can be aligned with the storage pegs at a suitable point in the vertical travel of the carriage, for example at the bottom of its travel, so that the weight can easily be slid as required from their storage pegs to the aligned pegs on the carriage.

Instead of spring means forcounterbalancing purposes, a counterweight may be connected to the carriage buy a cable passing overa pulleyatthe head of the mast, the weight being added to or taken off the carriage as previously described. Alternatively a counterweight carrier may be connected to the carriage by the cable and provision made for mounting the removable weights on the carrier for example by pegs as before. The diminishing weight ofthe roll would then be compensated by removing weights from the carrier instead of by adding them the to carriage.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa small scale perspective view of wrapping apparatus according to the invention; Figure2 is a side view ofthe apparatus of Figure 1; Figure3 is a plan; and Figure4 is a fragmentary perspective view of part of the apparatus.

The wrapping apparatus shown in the drawings stands on a base Swhich supports a turntable 6and an upright mast 7. The turntable is low so that goods to be wrapped can be easily loaded upon itand is rotatable by a motor 8 through a belt drive 9.

Vertically movable on the mast 9 is a carriage 10 which supports a roll 11 of wrapping material W. The roll 11 is mounted on the carriage 1 Oforrotation about a vertical axis. Its rotation is resisted by a friction disc 12 underthe lower end ofthe roll.

Screw-adjusting means 13 is provided on the carriage to urge the roll downwards to increase the load on the friction disc 12 and the resistence it imposes on rotation ofthe roll. A handle loop 14 is provided on the carriage to enable the carriage to be moved manually up and down the mast.

The mast comprises two channel-section members 15 arranged with their open sides facing one another. Rollers 16 on the carriage engage the inside faces of the flanges of the channel-section members 1 Swhich serve as railsto guide the vertical movement of the carriage 10. The weight of the carriage 10 and a full roll 11 of wrapping material is counterbalanced by substantially constant or very low-rate springs 17 each comprising a band ofspring steel or arcuate cross-section, longitudinally curved like a clock spring but reverse-wound into a spiral and enclosed in a case 17'.An end portion 18 ofthe spring extends from the casing and is attached to the carriage 10. Suitable springs are avaiiable, marketed undertheTrade MarkTENSATOR.

Behind the foot of the mast is an upright plate 19 (Figure 2) on which are mounted storage pegs 10, four in this instance, arranged parallel to one another in a horizontal row. The storage pegs 20 extend forwards and, as also shown in Figure 4, each supports a counterweight 21 provided with a hole to fit the storage peg freely. On the lower part of the carriage 10 is a horizontal row of parallel pegs 23.

When the carriage loins at the bottom of its travel each ofthe pegs 23 is aligned with an associated storage peg 20. The free ends of each storage peg 20 is close enough to the free end of the aligned peg 23 for the associated counterweight to be slid from one of the aligned pair of pegs to the other. In this way, as the wrapping material is used, counterweights can be transferred readilyfrom the storage pegs 20 to the peg 23 to add their weight to the carriage to compensate for the reduced weight of the roll.

Although there are four pairs of pegs and associated counterweights in this example, a smaller or larger number may be provided.

In use of the wrapping machine goods, for example loaded on a pallet, are placed on the turntable 6. The free end of the wrapping material W is pulled by hand from the roll and held against the side of the goods. Rotation of the turntable is then started and as soon as one turn has been completed the wrapping material has become firmly attached to the goods. As rotation of the turntable continues the operatortraversesthe carriage 10 up and down the mast until the full height ofthe goods has been enveloped with wrapping material.

1. Awrapping machine comprising a power-driven turntable for supporting goods to be wrapped and rotating the goods about an upwardly extending axis, an upwardly extending mast, a

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

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Wrapping machine This invention relates to wrapping machines of the kind in which wrapping material in continuous strip form is wound from a roll around an article orgoods to be wrapped. The invention is specially, though not exclusively, applicabletowrapping with plasticsfilm known as stretch film. The present invention consists in a wrapping machine comprising a power-driven turntablefor supporting goods to be wrapped and rotating the goods about a vertical axis, an upright mast, a carriage manually movable vertically on the mast and supporting a roll ofwrapping material with its axis vertical, and compensating mean to make up the reduction in load on the carriage as material is used from the roll,the arrangement being suchthatthe full height of goods rotated by the turntable can be wrapped by manually moving the carriage vertically on the mast while the turntable rotates the goods. In one form of the apparatus the weight ofthe carriage and a full roll of wrapping material is counterbalanced by a spring means of very low rate so that the vertial movement ofthe carriage and its load can be controlled with little effort. A series of removable weights is provided which can be added to the carriage one byoneto make upthe diminishing weight of the roll. Convenientlythe weights are arranged side by side supported on a roof an equal numberofhorizontal storage pegs mounted on the mast.Similar pegs are provided on the carriage and can be aligned with the storage pegs at a suitable point in the vertical travel of the carriage, for example at the bottom of its travel, so that the weight can easily be slid as required from their storage pegs to the aligned pegs on the carriage. Instead of spring means forcounterbalancing purposes, a counterweight may be connected to the carriage buy a cable passing overa pulleyatthe head of the mast, the weight being added to or taken off the carriage as previously described. Alternatively a counterweight carrier may be connected to the carriage by the cable and provision made for mounting the removable weights on the carrier for example by pegs as before. The diminishing weight ofthe roll would then be compensated by removing weights from the carrier instead of by adding them the to carriage. An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa small scale perspective view of wrapping apparatus according to the invention; Figure2 is a side view ofthe apparatus of Figure 1; Figure3 is a plan; and Figure4 is a fragmentary perspective view of part of the apparatus. The wrapping apparatus shown in the drawings stands on a base Swhich supports a turntable 6and an upright mast 7. The turntable is low so that goods to be wrapped can be easily loaded upon itand is rotatable by a motor 8 through a belt drive 9. Vertically movable on the mast 9 is a carriage 10 which supports a roll 11 of wrapping material W. The roll 11 is mounted on the carriage 1 Oforrotation about a vertical axis. Its rotation is resisted by a friction disc 12 underthe lower end ofthe roll. Screw-adjusting means 13 is provided on the carriage to urge the roll downwards to increase the load on the friction disc 12 and the resistence it imposes on rotation ofthe roll. A handle loop 14 is provided on the carriage to enable the carriage to be moved manually up and down the mast. The mast comprises two channel-section members 15 arranged with their open sides facing one another. Rollers 16 on the carriage engage the inside faces of the flanges of the channel-section members 1 Swhich serve as railsto guide the vertical movement of the carriage 10. The weight of the carriage 10 and a full roll 11 of wrapping material is counterbalanced by substantially constant or very low-rate springs 17 each comprising a band ofspring steel or arcuate cross-section, longitudinally curved like a clock spring but reverse-wound into a spiral and enclosed in a case 17'.An end portion 18 ofthe spring extends from the casing and is attached to the carriage 10. Suitable springs are avaiiable, marketed undertheTrade MarkTENSATOR. Behind the foot of the mast is an upright plate 19 (Figure 2) on which are mounted storage pegs 10, four in this instance, arranged parallel to one another in a horizontal row. The storage pegs 20 extend forwards and, as also shown in Figure 4, each supports a counterweight 21 provided with a hole to fit the storage peg freely. On the lower part of the carriage 10 is a horizontal row of parallel pegs 23. When the carriage loins at the bottom of its travel each ofthe pegs 23 is aligned with an associated storage peg 20. The free ends of each storage peg 20 is close enough to the free end of the aligned peg 23 for the associated counterweight to be slid from one of the aligned pair of pegs to the other. In this way, as the wrapping material is used, counterweights can be transferred readilyfrom the storage pegs 20 to the peg 23 to add their weight to the carriage to compensate for the reduced weight of the roll. Although there are four pairs of pegs and associated counterweights in this example, a smaller or larger number may be provided. In use of the wrapping machine goods, for example loaded on a pallet, are placed on the turntable 6. The free end of the wrapping material W is pulled by hand from the roll and held against the side of the goods. Rotation of the turntable is then started and as soon as one turn has been completed the wrapping material has become firmly attached to the goods. As rotation of the turntable continues the operatortraversesthe carriage 10 up and down the mast until the full height ofthe goods has been enveloped with wrapping material. CLAIMS

1. Awrapping machine comprising a power-driven turntable for supporting goods to be wrapped and rotating the goods about an upwardly extending axis, an upwardly extending mast, a carriage manually movable along the length of the mast and supporting a roll of wrapping material with its axis extending upwardly, support means for at least partially supporting the loaded carriage, and compensating means to compensate forthe reduction in load on the carriage as material is used from the roll, the arrangement being such that the full heightofgoods rotated by the turntable can be wrapped by manually moving the carriage along the mastwhile the turntable rotatesthegoods.

2. Awrapping machine according to claim 1 in which the support means exerts a force on the carriage of such a magnitude thatthe carriage may be moved along the mastwith little effort.

3. Awrapping machine according to claim 2 in which the support means substantially counterbalances the weight of the carriage and the roll at some stage in the supply life of the roll.

4. Awrapping machine according to claim 3 in which the support means substantially counterbalances the weight of the carriage and the roll when the roll is full.

5. Awrapping machineaccording to any preceding claim in which the mast member extends substantially vertically upwards.

6. Awrapping machine according to any preceding claim in which the support means comprises spring means of low rate.

7. Awrapping machine according to any preceding claim in which the support means comprises a counterwight attached to the carriage bya cable passing over a pulleyatthe head ofthe mast.

8. Awrapping means according to any preceding claim in which the compensating means comprises a series of removable weights which can be added to the carriage one by one to make up forthe diminishing weight of the roll as the wrapping material remaining on the roll is reduced.

9. Awrapping machine according to claim 8 in whichthe weights are arranged side byside supported on a row of pegs mounted on the mast.

10. Awrapping machine according to claim 9 in which each of the weights is supported on the mast bya separate peg and a corresponding row of pegs is provided on the carriage, the arrangement being such that at a point in the travel of the carriage on the mastthe pegs of the carriage are aligned with the corresponding pegs of the mast so that the weights can be slid as required between the aligned pegs of the two rows.

11. Awrapping machine according to claim 10 in which the point in the travel ofthe carriage on the mast at which the pegs ofthe carriage align with the corresponding pegs ofthe mast is when the carriage it the bottom of its travel.

12. Awrapping machine according to claim 7 in which the compensating means comprises removable weights which can be removed from the counterweight one by one to offset the diminishing weightofthe roll as the wrapping material remaining on the roll is reduced.

13. Awrapping machine according to any preceding claim in which the mast comprises two channel-section members arranged with their open sides facing each other, and rollers provided on the carriage co-operate with the insidefancesofthe channel-section members to guide the movement of the carriage.

14. Awrapping machine substantially as herein described with referenceto,and as illustrated by,the accompanying drawings.