GB2615534A

GB2615534A - Method for wrapping a plurality of articles

Info

Publication number: GB2615534A
Application number: GB2201639.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hägglund Rickard; Arnesson Petter; Renman Magnus; Ferge Thomas
Original assignee: DS Smith Packaging Ltd
Current assignee: DS Smith Packaging Ltd
Priority date: 2022-02-09
Filing date: 2022-02-09
Publication date: 2023-08-16
Also published as: WO2023152087A1

Abstract

Attaching a rigid plate 24 to flexible wrap material 22 on opposite faces of each to create a loop; enclosing articles 26 in the loop; folding 30 the flexible material along the rigid plate to tighten it around articles 26; and securing the fold to another portion of the loop. The rigid plate can be elongate, at opposite ends of the wrap and perpendicular to the length of the wrap. The wrap can be paper adhered to the plate 24 of corrugated card by double sided tape or glue. There can be an extra adhesive strip or Velcro to secure the plate and wrap in place after tensioning fold. The warp can include a hood to cover articles such as cans 26 which may be on a pallet. Alternatively the articles can be supported on a cardboard tray which the wrap is attached to so that both form part of the loop, one side of the plate can attach to one side of the wrap.

Description

Method for wraminig, a plurality of articles The present invention relates to a method for wrapping a plurality of articles trim.r loaded on a support, such as a pallet or a cardboard tray, or not.

Such a wrapping stabilizes the articles and renders easier the movement of the wrapped articles, such as palletized articles or articles arranged particular during loading and unloading into and out trarmport Conventional methods provide for etch-wrapping around the palletized articles a plastic fain unwound from a bobbin.

Nevertheless, disposal of this plastic film is typically burdensome and may cause serious environmental damages, if it is not properly done. 1. 5

Fratheimore, the plastic films are typicpetrochemical products, so that not renewable raw materials are used for their production, which is not eco-sustaina ble.

On the other hand, the film must be tensioned by an external apparatus durin iation order to achieve a tight wrapping, implying further costs and burdens objectAn of the present invention is thus the provision if a wrapping method which overcomes the drawbacks of the ones of the prior art.

According to the present invention, this object achieved by a method for wrapping a. plurality of articles, comprising the steps of: -attaching on a first face of a length of flexible material a face of at least one flat and rigid ci ment -forming a closed-loop structure either by attaching the opposite thee of said flat and rigid element,to a second face of an end portion of the length of flexible material, so as said closed-loop structure is a closed-loop cover carrying the flat and rigid element or by attaching both ends of said length of flexible material to respective parts of a support, so as said closed-loop structure is fanned by a sequential assembly of said length of flexible material carrying the flat and rigid clement, and said support, - enclosing said plurality of articles within the closed-loop structure, - folding the closed-loop structure along the flat and rigid element attached on the first face of the length of flexible material, and -attaching a folded portion of the closed-loop stmcture carrying the flat and rigid element to an adjacent external surface of the closed-loop structure, so as said closed-loop structure tightly wraps said plurality of articles. 1 0

An advantage of the method of the invention resides in that it does not need an external tensioning apparatus, since the tensioning action is diiectiy brought about by folding the portion of the closed-loop structure carrying the flat and rigid clement.

1 5 Preferably, but not exclusively, the materials used for wrapping may be obtained from renewable sources, and in particular said flexible material may be paper and/or said rigid material may be corrugated board.

Accordingly, the method of the invention may provide for using wrapping means consisting essentially of paper and cardboard or the like, which can be easily and inexpensively recycled together without any preliminary separation step, and not requiring any substantive amount of plastic material Additionally, the amount of paper and cardboard material used for wrapping the articles is comparatively low. luther improving the eco-sustairiability of the method of the invention.

According to a preferred embodiment, the method of the invention comprises the steps of -attaching, close to an end portion of the first face of the length of flexible material, a face of the at least one flat and rigid element, attaching the opposite thee of said flat and rigid element to a second face of an opposite end portion of the length of flexible material, so that the closed-loop cover having a thickened cross-section in correspondence of the flat and rigid element sandwiched between said end portions of the length of flexible material is formed, - enclosing said plurality of articles by the closed-loop cover, - folding the closed-loop cover along the flat and rigid element attached to said end portions of the length of flexible material, and 3 -attaching said folded opposite end portion to an adjacent external surface of the dosed-loop cover at least in terminal zones of said opposite end portion, so as said closed-loop cover tightly wraps said plurality of articles According to a further preferred embodiment, the method of the ntion comprises the steps of: -applying a first adhesive strip along the end portion of the first face of the length of flexible material, - adhering on said first adhesive strip the face ofthe flat and rigid element which is a corrugated board strip having a second adhesive strip on the opposite face, 1. 5 -adhering the second face of the opposite end portion of the length of flexible material to said second adhesive strip, so that the closed-loop cover haying a thickened cross-section in correspondence of the adhered corrugated board strip sandwiched between said end portions of the length of flexible material is formed, - applying a third adhesive strip on the external surface of the closed-loop cover in correspondence of said adhered corrugated board snip, -enclosing said plurality of articles by the closed-loop cover, and - folding the closed-loop cover along the adhered corrugated board strip, so as said third adhesive strip adheres to the adjacent portion of the external surface of the closed-loop cover tightly wraps said plurality of articles. 2 5

A further subject-matter of the pnJsent invention constituted by a closed-loop cover, such as a hood, for use in the above-captioned method. Such closed-loop cover is obtainable by adhering opposite ends of a length of flexible material to respective faces of a flat and rigid element extending transversally -to said length of flexible material, wherein an adhesive strip is applied on an external stufhce of the dosed-loop cover in correspondence of said flat and rigid element.

According to a preferred embodiment of the closed-loop cover of the present invention, this latter adhesive strip is a Velcro strip and a further adhesive Velcro strip of complementary nature is applied to an adjacent portion of the external surface of the closed-loop cover.

Such a closed-loop cover can thus be used several times until hrnakage, so as only at that time the constitutive material thereof may be recycled. This later embodiment is thus even more coo-sustainable Further advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following 1 0 detailed description, given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the appended drawings, vherein: figures Ito 7 art perspective schematic views illustrating successive steps of a first method according to the invention, figures 8 to 10 are perspective schematic views illustrating successive stills of 1.5 further method according to die invention and corresponding to figures 5 to 7, respectively, illustrating the first method, and figures ii to 15 are perspective schematic views:illustrating successive steps of one more method according to the invention.

A first adhesive strip 10, which can be a glue strip or a double-sided adhesive tape, is applied (fig. along an end portion 12 of a first face of a length to be cut from a bobbin 14 of flexible material.

As a matter of fact, this latter flexible material can e.g. be any paper of suitable strength and, in 25 particular, have a mono-layer or pluri-layer structure, e.g., a structure including two layers of ghn2:Kraft liner.

Then, a thee of a flat element of rigid material, e.g. a corrugated board strip 16 having a second adhesive strip 18 on the opposite face, is adhered (fig. 2) on the first adhesive strip 10. Even the second adhesive strip 18 can be a glue strip or a double-sided adhesive tape. On the other hand, the corrugated board strip 16 can have a conventional structure consisting of an internal fluted corrugated sheer sandwiched between two external flat hrterboards or the like. As illustrated, the corrugated board strip 16 is transversal to the length of flexible material and parallel to the end portion 12 thereof Successively, a. second face of an opposite end portion 20 of the length of flexible material is adhered (fig. 3) to the second adhesive strip 18.

Hence, a cover in the form of a hood 22 having a closed-loop shape and a thickened cross-section in correspondence of the cormgated board strip 16 sandwiched between the end portions 12. 20 of the length of flexible material is formed.

A third adhesive strip 24 is further applied (fig on external surface of the hood 22 in correspondence of the adhered corrugated board strip 16. Even the third adhesive strip 24 can be a glue strip or a double-sided adhesive tape.

The hood 22 is lowered from above (as indicated by arrows 25 in fig. 5) around a plurality of articles 26 loaded on a suppon which is a pallet 28. wherein the interface area between the pallet the bottom articles 2.6 can possibly be already wrapped by a. plastic film (not illustrated in the figures). In any case,, the amount of plastic material used is quite lower than the one used by conventional methods integrally wrapping the palletized articles with plastic film.

The articles 26 piled on the pallet 28 and forming a ',octangular prism, are thus laterally enclosed (fig. 6) by the hood 22 which, due to the flexibility of the paper material, takes a shape corresponding to the one of the palletized articles 26. If the height of the hood 22 is greaterthan the one of the palletized articles 26, its upper portion can be simply folded on the top array of the palletized articles 26, so that hoods of various heights may be indifferently used.

Finally, the hood 22 is folded (as indicated harrows 30 in fig:long the adhered corrugated board strip in so as the third adhesive strip 24 adheres (fig. 7) to an adjacent portion of the external surface of the hood 22 which thus tightly wraps the plurality of articles 26 on the pallet 28. The adhesion is favored by. applying a iinifbrin pressure along the mime length of the strip 24. In this respect, it has to be emphasized that the tightening takes place contemporaneously throughout the height of the palletized articles 26 and thus allows greater unifiumity than 1 0 1 5 conventional methods involving wrapping several rums of stretch wrap film around the panelized articles 26 by sequentially proceeding upwards and/or downwards The wrapping is tight and durable until the wrapped articles 26 have to be accessed by tearing open or ripping off the hood 22, whose constitutive materials can then be recycled together due to their common cellulosic nature.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the third adhesive strip 24 may be a Velcro strip and a further adhesive Velcro strip of complementary nature is applied to an adjacent portion of the external surface of the hood 22. As it is well-known, the two complementary Velcro strips may he engaged/disengaged each time it is desired.

Hence, when e wrapped articles 26 have to be accessed, it is not necessary to tear open or op off the hood 22, but it is sufficient to disengage the two complementary Velcro strips.

1.5 Consequently, the hood 22 loosens and thus can easily be taken away from the palletized articles 26 without being damaged. The same hood 22 can successively be used several times for the same purpose until its constitutive material possibly breaks.

Figures to 10 illustrate a further method according to theinvention, wherein features equal or equivalent to the ones disclosed with reference to the method illustrated by the previous figures have the same reference number.

According to this latter method, the cover 22 as firmed by the procedure illustrated by previous figures I to 4 is moved along a horizontal direction (see arrow 27 in fig. 8) in order to enclose a plurality of articles 26 which are cans arranged within a support 28, winch is a cardboard tray having a bottom wall and a side waif The assembly of cans 26 and tray 28 substantially form a paralepidid whose base is constituted by the bottom wall of the tray 28. The cover 22 thus encloses the top surface of the cans 26, the bottom wall of the tray 28 and two opposite side walls of the paralepidrd thrilled by the cans 26 arranged within the tray 28.

As according to the previously illustrated method, the cover 22 is folded (as indicated by WOWS fig. 9) along the adhered corrugated board strip 16, so as the third adhesive strip 24 adheres 10) to an adjacent portion of the external surface of the cover 22 which thus tightly wraps the plurality of cans 26 arranged within the tray 28, Figures 11 to 15 illustrate a further method according to the invention, wherein features equal or equivalent to the ones disclosed with mference to the methods illustrated by the previous figures have the same reference number.

According to this embodiment, a corrugated board strip 16 is attached (fig. 1) on a portion of a first face of a length of flexible material, such as paper, which portion is a center portion, or On not illustrated embodiments) a portion close to an end of the length of flexible material. As in the previous embodiments, the strip 16 extends transversally to the length offlexible material throughout substantially the entire width thereof Both ends 12, 20 of the length of flexible :15 material are attached (fig. 12) by respective glue layers 32 to opposite side panels of a support 28, which is a cardboard tray having a bottom wall and a side wall, so as to form a hood thereon.

The sequential assembly of the length of flexible material carrying the strip 16 and the cardboard tray 28 constitutes a closed--loop structure which --as detailed below -is suitable for performing the same functions as the closed-loop cover of the previously disclosed embodiments.

First of all, articles, such as cans 26, can be placed (fig. 13) within the, so as they are.

enclosed by the closed-loop structure, The closed-loop structure is then folded (fig. 14) along the strip 16 attached on the first face of the length of flexible material, and the folded portion of the closed-loop structure carrying the strip 16 is attached to an adjacent external surface 33 thereof (fig 15) The tensioning of the flexible material due to the folding and consequent reduction of length brings about as in the previous embodiments, the tightly wrapping of the cans 26 by the closed-loop structure now including also the tray 28.

Of course, the principles of the invention emaining the same, the details of construction and embodiments may be widely vaned with respect to those described purely by way of example, wi thorn thereby departing from the claimed scope. E.g., the articles to be wrapped may be either 3 loaded on a support, such as a pallet or a cardboard tray, or not. The flat clement may be of any material which is suitably rigid, such as cardboard or corrugated cardboard and the like, and even plastic or metallic materials,, and substantially maintains its configuration in the absence of meaningflal external actions. The fiat element may extend throughout the entire width of the length of paper or only a part, in particular a center part, thereof. The final attachment of the 1 0 folded portion of the closed-loop structure to an adjacent portion thereof, which brings about the tight wrapping, may take place only in correspondence of the terminal zones or more extensively even throughout the entire length of the folded portion, andior be done by any adhesive, glue, and mechanical fastening means, e.g. clamps of any material and the like. Furthermore, the closed-loop stmaure may carry additional flat elements longitudinally offset 13 from each other, which allow an additional finding in correspondence of each of them and attachment to respective adjacent surfaces of the structure, so that the articles are even more tightly wrapped.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method for wrapping a plurality of articles (26), comprising the steps of - attaching on a first face of a length of flexible material a thee of at least one flat rigid clement - forming a closed-loop structure either by attaching the opposite face of said flat and rigid element to a second thee of an end portion (20) of the length of flexible material, so as said closed-loop structure is a closed-loop cover carrying the flat and rigid element, or by attaching both ends (12, 20) of said length of flexible material to respective parts of a support, so as said closed-loop structure is formed by a sequential assembly of said length of flexible material carrying the flat and rigid element, and said support, - enclosing said plurality of articles (26) within the closed-loop structure, - folding the closed-loop structure along the flat and rigid element attached on the first face of 1. 5 the length of flexible material, and - attaching a folded portion of the closed-loop structure carrying the flat and rigid element to an adjacent external sinface of the closed-loop structure, so as said closed-loop structure tightly wraps said plurality of articles (26).
2. The method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of -attaching, close to an end portion (12) of the first face of the letigth of flexible material" a face of the at least one flat and rigid clement, - attaching the opposite thee of said flat and rigid element to a second face of an opposite end portion (20) of the length of flexible material, so that the closed-loop cover having a thickened cross-section in correspondence of the flat and rigid element sandwiched between said end portions (12, 20) of the length of flexible material is fomited, -enclosing said plurality of articles (26) by the closed-loop cover, -folding the closed-loop cover along the flat and rigid element attached to sad end portions (12, 20) of the length of flexible material, and attaching said folded opposite end portion (20) to an adjacent external surface of the closed-loop cover at least in terminal zones of said opposite end portion (20), so as said closed-loop cover tightly wraps said plurality of articles (26).
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2 wherem said flexible material is paper and/or said rigid material is corrugated board.
4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, comprising the steps of - applying a first adhesive strip (10) along the end portion (12) of the first face of the length of flexible material, - adhering on said first adhesive strip (10) the face of the fiat and rigid element which is a corrugated board strip (16) having a second adhesive strip (18) on the opposite face, - adhering the second face of the opposite end portion (20) of the length of flexible material to said second adhesive strip (18), so that the closed-loop cover having a thickened cross-section in correspondence of the adhered corrugated board stip (16) sandwiched between said end portions (12, 20) of the length of flexible material is formed, - applying a third adhesive strip (24) on the external surface of the closed-loop cover in correspondence of said adhered corrugated board strip (16), - enclosing said plurality of articles (26) by the closed-loop cover, and - folding the closed-loop cover along die adhered corrugated board strip 6), so as said third adhesive strip (24) adheres to the adjacent portion of the external surface of the closed-loop cover which tightly wraps said plurality of articles (26).
The method according to any one of the preceding claims 2 to 4, wherein said closed-loop cover is a hood (22) which is lowered from above around said plurality of articles (26) which are laterally enclosed.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said articles arc supported by a support * -a pallet (28).
The method according to any one of the preceding claims 2 to 4, wherein said closed-loop cover is moved along a horizontal direction in order to enclose a plurality of articles (26). 1 0 1. 5
The method according to claim 7, wi articles (7 a s.
9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein said articles (26) are s ported by a support which is a cardboard tray (28) having a bottom wall and a side wall.
10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 4 to 9, whereinsaid first (10), second (18) and third (24) adhesive strips are constituted by respective double-sided adhesive tapes.
11. The method according to any of the preceding claims 4 to 10, wherein said first (10), second (18) and third (24) adhesive strips are constituted by respective glue strips. 1 0
12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims herein said steps are performed in the sequence in which they are listed.
13. A closed-loop cover, such as a hood (22), for use in a method according to any one of 1. 5 the preceding claims, which closed-loop cover is obtainable by adhering opposite ends (1.2, 20) of a length of flexible material to respective faces of a flat and rigid element extending transversally to said length of flexible material, wherein an adhesive strip (24) is applied on an external surface of the closed-loop cover in correspondence of said flat and rigid element.
14. The closed-loop cover according to claim 13, wherein said adhesive strip (24) is a Velcro strip and a thither adhesive Velcro strip of complementary nature is applied to an adjacent portion of the external surfite° of the closed-loop cover.
15. The closed-loop cover according to claim I3or 14, wherein said fiat and rigid element is a corrugated board strip (16) and(or said flexible material is paper material.6. the closed-loop cover according to claim 15, wherein said corrugated board s (16) has a length substantially corresponding to the h of said length of flexible material