US2284735A - Ring for packages and method of making the same - Google Patents

Description

June 2, 1942.

C. G.-HE NSLEY RING FOR PACKAGES AND ME'IB O D OFM AKING THE SAME Fi led Jan. 24, 19;

IINVENTOR Patented June 2, 1942 7 KING FOR PACKAGES AND METHOD or MAKING THE SAME Charles G. Hensley, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Theodora B. Frost, Baldwin, N. Y.

Application January 24, 1938, Serial No. 186,623

7 Claims.

My invention relates to a method and product. The product comprises a ring adapted to be snapped over the edge of a pie plate or cake plate to clamp down a covering sheet of Cellophane or other transparent protective material, for the purpose of forming a package to enclose pies, cakes, or other articles. Preferably, the present ring is used in conjunction with a plate or support such as is shown in the United States patents to George S. Frost, No. 2,041,537 and No. 2,157,407, although the present ring is not limited to use with this type of plate or support.

The object of my invention is to provide a ring for the purpose described,- which will be very inexpensive to manufacture, which can be made very rapidly, and which willefliciently serve as a snap ring for packages. ages, especially for food products, must be sold at a very low price because the manufacturer of the product has no way of reimbursing himself for the cost of the package except for the en- 7 hanced appearance of the goods and the fact that the goods will keep longer in this type of package, therefore for a package. to be commercially successful'the various parts must be produced at a low cost, which is the object of this invention.

The various rings heretofore made have had to' be produced by machines in successive order, so

that the production of the rings was'limited to the speed at which a single strip couldbe passed through the machine. Under the present invention it is possible to take sheets of cardboard or similar stock, and pass it through a machine which will simultaneously produce a number of 1 Inasmuch as packtimes greater than the production from machines as now employed in making rings.

Under the present invention a sheet of board a is provided withrone or a number ofv grooves adapted to receive the outer edgeof a pie plate i or similar article, and the groove or grooves is L or are formed by a routing operation which cuts a groove or grooves in the stock partway through. This makes it unnecessay to fold the stock or perform any other operations to createthe inas it is fed through the machine at one time,

it is possible to form a number of strips simultaneously, thereby providing a machine having a large production so that the cost of manufacture of the rings is reduced to the lowest possible figure,

It is preferable, as illustrated in the drawing forming part of this case, to perform the routing operation on the sheet of stock and to slit or cut the sheet into individual strips immediately following the routing operation, so' that the routing operation is performed in multiple rows on each sheet as it is fed to the machine and by slitting or cutting the sheet into strips immediately following the routing operation, no intermediate handling is required between the routing operation and the slitting operation. Not only can the series of grooves be routed when the operation is performed by'multiplerouting members in parallel relation more accurately than if a single strip were fed through the machine, but the slitting operation can be performed between adjacent grooves. formed by the routing operation, so that the sheet of stock may be not only rapidly and accurately routed but it can also be accurately and rapidly slit or cut into individual strips. v

The strips may be shipped in flat condition and they may be afterwards bent into the form of rings, and the ends secured by the consumer of the product, or this operation may be performed at the point of manufacture-of the strips and the completed rings may be shipped to the consumers, ready for use, and for this purpose they may be pressed flat in order to permit them to be packed in compact formto keep down the freight charges.

Other features and advantages of my invention will be set forth in the following detailed description.

In the drawing forming part of this application:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine which may beused to carry out my method and to make theimproved product, in which View a portion of the suction device is broken away to show the parts below it,

Figure 2 is a sectional view thereof taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a, sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a strip formed according to my invention,

Figure 5 shows a strip after it has been bent into a ring, and the ends secured together to complete thearticle, and

Figure 6 is a sectional view through the middle of a pie package with my improved ring attached thereto,

Figure 7 is a sectional view showing a modified form of groove.

I will first describe the ring made according to my invention and then describe the method and machine for making the same.

In Figure 4 I have shown a strip I of stock, such as cardboard or similar material, the thickness of which will be such as to permit the formation of a groove by a routing operation as distinguished from folding over the edges of the material to form a groove between the folds. In this view I have shown the strip I from which a single ring may be made, and this strip is provided with a longitudinal groove 2 which extends inwardly from one face of the strip, and preferably the depth of this groove is about half the thickness of the strip. I have shown the groove as centrally located in regard to the width of the strip, although it will be apparent that this particular relationship may be varied, if desired, so that a greater portion of the strip may lie either above or below the flange of the support to which it is applied.

The width of the groove will be such as to permit it to receive the outer edge of the plate or other support so that the side portions 3 of the strip on each side of the groove will project inwardly sufficiently to form shoulders above and below the edge of the support. The present invention is not limited to specific measurements, but I have found that a satisfactory strip may be made one inch in width, with the longitudinal groove 2 one-quarter inch in width. The grooves 2 are shown as having rectangular sides and a flat bottom, although'it will be obvious that the walls of the groove may be rounded as shown in Figure 7. In some cases the latter form of groove may be preferred as it may be made by a cleaner routing operation, and for other reasons.

The strip may be sold as shown in Figure 4, for the consumer to bend it into a ring and attach the ends together or the ring may be completed at the location where the strips are made.

I have shown the strip having one end 4 chamfered to gradually reduce the thickness of the strip at one end, and the opposite end 5 is chamfered in the opposite direction to the end 6, so that when the strip is bent into a circle with the groove portion 2 at the inside of the circle, the chamfered ends 4, 5 may be overlapped to form a mitred joint 6 as shown in Figures 5, thus making a neat joint to enhance the appearance of the ring and to make it set more perfectly on the package support. The mitred ends of the strip may be secured together by gluing or past ing the overlapping surfaces, or the ends may be attached together by wire stitching, as desired.

In Figure 6 I have shown a pie package which includes the type of plate shown in the above mentioned patent and application of George S. Frost, together with one of my improved rings applied thereto. In this View the pie plate, which may be of the moulded pulp variety, consists of a bottom wall 1 having an inclined outer portion 8 at the upper edge of which there is formed an outwardly extending portion 9 and from this extends outwardly and downwardly a frusto conical flange l0.

The pie II, or other article to be protected, is placed in the plate and a sheet i2 is placed over the article. This sheet is preferably transage was originally assembled.

parent and for this reason it may be made of Cellophane which is transparent and it is also pliable. The sheet is of such size as to extend over the article II to cover it and it extends beyond the article sufficiently to permit its edge to be folded around the edge of the flange if! of the plate as shown in Figure 6.

After the sheet I2 has been laid over the article and the plate, one of the rings I is applied by bringing it down on the edge of the plate and snapping it into position. The flange I0 is stiff but bendable and one of the thick portions 3 of the ring passes the free edge of the flange I!) as the flange is temporarily bent inwardly and then as one of the portions 3 of the ring passes the free edge of the flange Ill this flange springs back into shape so that its edge locks in the groove 2 of the ring, as shown in Figure 6.

The ring is then clamped in place on the plate and the package remains thus assembled. When the ring is snapped onto the flange of the plate in the manner described, it carries the outer portion of the sheet G2 with it and it wraps this around the free edge of the flange It so that the package is completely closed over the article when the ring is applied. The ring, of course, holds the sheet i2 assembled on the plate.

To open the package the plate is pressed upwardly in relation to the ring and the free edge of the flange Hi passes over the upper thickened portion 3 of the ring, the flange being temporarily deflected by this operation. A piece or pieces may be cut from the pie and then the package may be reassembled to protect the unused portion of the pie.

Thi may be done in the same way the pack- The sheet l2 may be placed over the pie (or other article) and. the edge of the plate and then the ring is passed downwardly to snap it onto the flange [0. It will be understood that the ring may be applied to a plate or other support which is not supplied with the frusto conical flange l6, such as a plate which terminates in the portion 9, but the ring is held better and the package is more air-tight when the conical flange is used.

In Figures 1, 2 and 3 I have shown parts of a machine and the preferred method of making the strips to form the rings. Herein there is shown a rising table [3 to hold a stack of sheets M of cardboard or other stock, from which the strips are to be made. These sheets are preferably of such dimension as regards length, to wit, their left to right dimension in Figures 1 and 2, to correspond with the size of the rings to be made, and therefore with the length of the strips including the portions allowed for overlapping of the ends. If desired, the front and back ends of these sheets may be chamfered at 4 and 5 to form the splice of the strips when they are formed into rings, although the chamfering may be done after the strips have been grooved.

The sheets are fed one at a time in succession (by hand or by automatic means) upon the table l5 and along the same to the grooving device. The latter is shown as consisting in part of a shaft It extending at right angles to the path of the sheets and it is mounted in bearings in brackets I! on the frame of the machine and above the path of travel of the sheets over the table l5. The shaft carries one and preferably a number of grooving members which may be revolving routing knives but preferably these members are circular discs Ila of hard abrasive material, such as emery or carborundum. The discs are mounted to revolve with the shaft Hiand they are spaced apart thereon as by sleeves la'mounted upon the shaft between adjacent discs. The vertical center of these discs willobe spaced from each other the width of the strips to be formed by the machine.

The shaft l6 and the discs Ha carried thereby will preferably be revolved at high speed in an anticlockwise direction in Figure 2, so that,

the waste material cut from the sheets will be thrown'forwardly by the discs, to be drawn off by suction by the suckers IBextending from the pipe 20 to which a suction blower (not shown) may be connected.

Suitable rollers 2|, 22 may be arranged just above the top of the table I5 to act as propelling means to propel the sheets just in advance of and following the grooving discs. Feed rollers may be placed at any other locations found necessary. The feed rollers 2|, 22 will be revolved clockwise in Figure 2 to propel the sheets from right to left in this figure.

The number of discs l'| arranged on the shaft I6 will depend upon the number of strips to be formed side by sideand the number will preferably correspond with the width of the sheets M which are to be fed to the machine. While I l have shown eleven such discs in the drawing, it

will be obvious that the number may be less or greater than this.

The discs will be so spaced from thetop of the table that when the sheets travel over the table and under the discs the latter will rout out the material to form the grooves 2 the depth of which may be one half the thickness of the sheets. 2

The'feed rollers 2|, 22 will not only propel the sheets but keep them down. on the top of the table so that the grooving action of the discs will be, controlled.

As the sheets leave the grooving discs they are acted upon by cutters or strippers which divide the sheet into individual strips each strip having one of the grooves 2. The type of stripper shown in the drawing is one which acts by a shearing action upon the sheet. For instance, below the table l5 there is a laterally extending shaft 24 onwhich are mounted a number of spaced shearing members 25 which project through an opening 26 in the table, to a point above the plane of the top of the sheets as they travel over the table. Above and parallel with the shaft 24 there is another shaft 21 disposed above the table, and on this shaft there aremounted the spaced cutters 28 which revolve with the shaft 21 at high speed. These cutters are sharpened on one side of their edges as shown in Figure 1, and these sharpened edges overlap the side faces of the lower members '25 so that the lower points of these cutters extend as far down or a little farther than the plane of the top of the table l5. The cutters 28, there being ten shown in the drawing to correspond with the eleven grooving discs H, are so disposed that they lie in vertical planes which are disposed between the vertical planes of the discs Ila and in the drawing they are shown midway between the same.

Operation The sheets H! are fed from the table |3 one at a time over the table top l5, so that they pass first under the propelling roller 2|, thence under the discs Ila, thence under the propelling roller 22. From there the sheets travel along the table It: being propelled by the rollers 2| and 22 until they engage with the cutting members 28 and which act on the sheets to cut them into individual strips I, and then the strips leaving the cutting device maybe disposed of in any desired manner. i

As the sheets pass under the discs Ila the latter operating at very high speed rout out .the grooves 2 in parallel relation upon the sheets, one groove being formed in line with each disc |'|a. These discs will rout the grooves 2 to the desired depth, which is preferably half the thickness of the sheets, so that as the sheets leave the grooving device they will have as many grooves 2 running parallel with each other and equally spaced from each other, as there are discs Ila. When the sheets pass the slitting de-, vice, they are cut into strips of equal width, each strip having a groove 2 either at the middle thereof or nearer one edge, as desired. Where there are eleven discs I'Ia forming grooves in the sheet, there will be ten slitting discs 28. As the discs Ila revolve anticlockwise in Figures 1 and 2,

the material removed to'form the grooves 2 will be thrown to the right in Figure 2 from the disc, and this material will be sucked up through the nozzles l9 and the pipe 20 and will be disposed of in any desired manner.

It will be apparent from the above that I have provided a machine and a method wherein a number of longitudinal grooves are formed in parallel relation on each sheet and immediately following this the sheet is cut or divided into individual strips each having one of the grooves. Therefore, I am enabled to simultaneously form a number of strips in parallel relation. Whereas individual strips have been fed in successive .re-

'lation to form single strips at a time in prior machines, under the present method it is possible to form a number of strips in parallel. relation at the same speed that single strips were made u nder previous methods and, therefore the production under my method is much greater with a given machine than under other methods.

The rings,-as shown in Figure 5, which are made from my improved strip, are relatively stiff for any given weight of stock used in making them, so that they form a very firm ring for attachment to the packages. If desired, the rings shown in Figure 5 may be scored crosswise at opposite points to permit the rings to be collapsed during shipment. The propelling roller 29 may be disposed just ahead of the cutting members to assist in propelling the sheets through the cutting device, and a similar propelling roller 30 may be disposed following the cutting members.

If desired, the sheets I4 may have applied to I them by pasting thereto, a paper covering 3| of suitable color or decorative type, to give the rings a finished appearance since the body of the ring will often be made of cardboard of rather indefinite color. If such a finishing paper is applied to the sheets, it will in no way modify the method of producing the rings. In this case the sides of the sheets having the covering 3| will lengthwise of the strip and shaped to ring form with the groove on the inside and secured at the ends, said groove when the ring is applied'to the plate or support engaging the perimeter of the plate or support with the walls of the groove clamping the cover sheet to opposite faces thereof.

2. A ring for application to a plate or support to secure a cover sheet thereto and form a package, consisting of a strip of fibrous material having its ends reversely chamfered and a portion of the material removed from one face to form a groove extending lengthwise thereof shaped to ring form with the groove on the inside and the chamfered ends overlapped and secured in said condition, said groove being adapted for the engagement of the perimeter of the plate or support when the ring is applied thereto with the Walls of the groove clamping the cover sheet to the opposite surfaces thereof.

3. A method of making rings for application to plates or supports to form packages, which consists of reversely chamfering the opposite ends of the sheet, removing material from a surface of the sheet to simultaneously form a' plurality of grooves extending partly through the material longitudinally of the sheet, severing said sheet intermediate the grooves into a plurality of strips, and then shaping the strips to ring form with the chamfered ends in overlapping relation and securing the ends of the strips in said condition.

4. A method of making rings for application to plates or supports to form packages, which consists of reversely chamfering the opposite ends of a sheet, removing material from a surface of the sheet to simultaneously form a plu rality of parallel grooves extending partway through the sheet and immediately following said grooving operation dividing the sheet along a plurality of parallel lines intermediate the grooves to divide it into a plurality of strips, and then shaping the strips to ring form with the chamfered ends in overlapping relation and securing the ends of the strips in said condition.

5. A method of making rings for application to plates or supports to form packages, which consists of reversely chamfering the opposite ends of a sheet, removing material from the sheet to simultaneously form a plurality of parallel grooves extending longitudinally of and partway through the sheet and severing said sheet intermediate the grooves into a plurality of strips, shaping the strips to ring form with the chamfered ends in overlapping relation, and securing the ends of the strip in said condition.

6. A method of making rings for application to plates or supports to clamp cover sheets thereto and form packages, which consists in providing a strip of fibrous material, reversely chamfering the faces at opposite ends of the strip, removing material from a face of the strip intermediate the side edges to form a groove therein extending longitudinally of the strip, said groove terminating within the chamfered face atone end of the strip and extended through the chamfered face at the opposite end of the strip,shaping said strip to ring form with the groove on the inside and the chamfered end through which the groove is extended overlapped by the opposite chamfered end, and securing the strip in said condition.

7. A method of producing material for making rings for securing cover sheets to plates or sup ports to form packages, which consists of reversely chamfering the opposite ends of a sheet of fibrous material, removing material from the sheet to simultaneously form a plurality of grooves extending partly through the material and longitudinally of the sheet with the one end of the grooves terminating within a chamfered end of the sheet and the opposite ends of the grooves extended through the opposite chamfered end of the sheet, and immediately following said grooving operation severing said sheet intermediate the grooves into a plurality of strips.

CHARLES G. HENSLEY.

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