WO1993025311A1

WO1993025311A1 - A machine for producing filling material from sheet-like products

Info

Publication number: WO1993025311A1
Application number: PCT/SE1993/000533
Authority: WO
Inventors: Evald Larsson; Nils-Åke STERNHAMN
Original assignee: Masma Ab
Priority date: 1992-06-18
Filing date: 1993-06-16
Publication date: 1993-12-23
Also published as: SE9201880D0; AU4367493A; SE510873C2; SE9201880L

Abstract

The invention relates to a machine for producing from sheet-like materials a filling material which is intended for use as a force-damping means when packaging impact-sensitive and fragile products. The machine includes, in a known manner, mutually coacting cutters (25) and anvil means (32). According to the invention, the machine includes a rotatable cutting cylinder (18) which carries at least two, preferably at least four rows (24a-24f) of cutters (25) along its length. The cutters (25) in one row (24a-24f) are offset in relation to the cutters (25) of an adjacent row (24a-24f).

Description

A Machine for Producing Filling Material from Sheet-Like Products

The present invention relates to a machine for producing from sheet-like products, and then particularly but not exclusively from used corrugated packaging fibreboard, filling material which is intended for reuse when pack¬ aging products in a manner to provide impact-absorbing, elastic layers around the product to be packaged, said machine comprising mutually coacting cutting means and counter-pressure or anvil means which together function to disintegrate the sheet-like product.

It is well known that the immense quantities of packag- ing materials that are thrown away daily increase the so-called rubbish mountain, which constitutes a progres¬ sively increasing threat to the global environment. Corrugated fiberboard and comparative products, includ¬ ing cardboard packaging materials, constitute a consid- erable part of the packaging materials that utility industries, among others, are forced to handle from day to day. Normally, boxes that are made of corrugated fiberboard are compressed, bailed and transported for destruction in an incinerator. Naturally, important environmental advantages would be gained if it were possible to reuse such waste material in some useful way.

In this regard, the inventive concept returns to the abundant use of so-called plastic chips, i.e. small elastic plastic bodies which are frequently used as a filling material when packaging i pact-sensitiv and fragile products. These plastic chips function .-. a single impact-absorbing and impact-dampening layer, which normally surrounds the sensitive product. These plastic chips are manufactured particularly for this purpose and are thrown away together with the packaging material when unpacking the product. As explained by the name by which they are referred, plastic chips are formed from a plastic material, which when incinerated is liable to generate toxic gases.

On the basis of these considerations, the object of the present invention is to utilize used packaging materi¬ als, and then particularly used corrugated fiberboard boxes to produce a packaging material material which can be used as a substitute for the aforesaid plastic chips.

The structure of corrugated fiberboard imparts to the board elastic properties which are generally the same as the elastic properties of plastic chips. A moderately thick layer of corrugated fiberboard would provide in general the impact-absorbing properties desired of packaging materials that are to be used to package fragile products.

In order to realize the concept of the invention, how¬ ever, there is required an inexpensive and highly effec¬ tive machine which possesses only a few working compo¬ nents and which is reliable in operation.

A machine which fulfils these criteria is provided by means of the present invention, which has the character¬ istic features set forth in the characterizing clause of Claim 1.

By feeding the sheet-like corrugated fiberboard pieces into the machine so that said pieces will be disinte¬ grated in accordance with the configuration of the cutting/and anvil devices used, there is obtained a product which satisfactorily fulfils those requirements that are placed on a filling material intended for the aforesaid purpose.

The production capacity of the machine is primarily dependent on the number of cutters in each individual row and also on the speed at which the cutter cylinder rotates and the speed at which the horizontal conveyor moves, when the machine includes such a conveyor.

According to one embodiment of the invention, there are at least two mutually spaced cutters in each cutter row, these cutters projecting out from the cylinder periph¬ ery. For instance, if the machine includes four rows of cutters, with at least two cutters in each row, each full turn of the cutting cylinder will produce eight pieces of new filling material. If the cutting cylinder is rotated at 120 r.p.m. , this will result in 960 pieces of the new filling material (corrugated fiberboard chips) per minute, provided that the sheet-like corru¬ gated fiberboard material can be fed continuously into the machine.

Another particularly important feature of the inventive machine is that the cutters in one row are offset in relation to the cutters in an adjacent row, preferably so that the cutters of said one row will coact with one edge of the anvil means and the cutters in the following row will coact with the other edge of the anvil means. This will eliminate the possibility of spillage and enables all of the material fed to the machine to be converted into chips, in accordance with the invention.

Other features of the inventive machine will be evident from the depending Claims and also from the following description of a selected exemplifying embodiment of the invention and the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 illustrates schematically an exemplifying em¬ bodiment of an inventive machine;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft carrying the cutting devices and also illustrates a punch which coacts with said cutters; and

Figure 3 is a front view of a cutting cylinder carrying the cutters, and the anvil means coacting therewit .

In Figure 1, the reference numeral 10 identifies gener¬ ally an infeed table which slopes in the infeed direc¬ tion A and which is supported by a stand 11 at the free infeed end. The machine includes a motor-driven (not shown) conveyor belt 12 which passes around front and rear guide rollers 13 and 14 respectively. Mounted above the conveyor belt 12 in spaced relationship therewith is a first clockwise-driven roller 15 which is followed immediately by a second, anti-clockwise-driven roller 16. The driven roller 16 and the guide roller 14 define therebetween a roll nip which ensures the forward feed of the sheet-like material to be disintegrated.

Mounted downstream of the rollers 14, 15, 16 as seen in the feed direction A is a cutting cylinder 18 which is mounted for rotation on a shaft 17 and carried by a stand 19 (see Figure 1). The cutting cylinder 18 will be described in more detail later on. A second, driven conveyor belt 22, carried by a stand 23, runs over front and rear guide rollers 20, 21 in the feed direction A. The sheet-like corrugated fiberboard (not shown) is fed into the machine from the free end thereof shown to the left in Figure 1, and is disintegrated by the cutting cylinder 18, whereafter the disintegrated product (the fiberboard chips, not shown) is carried by the conveyor belt 22 to a packaging station (not shown) , for instance. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cutting cylin¬ der 18. Outwardly projecting cutters, generally refer¬ enced 25, are arranged uniformly spaced around the circumference of the cylinder. In the case of the illus- trated embodiment, each cutter 25 has a generally trian¬ gular shape and may have the form of a cutting bit or knife-like cutter, or may be fitted with an exchangeable cutlery steel 26, which is preferred.

Figure 3 is a front view of the cutting cylinder 18. The cylinder 18 may have any desired length, for instance a length of '00 mm, although the length of the cylinder is governed, to some extent, by the width of the sheet-like material to be disintegrated.

As will be seen from Figure 2, the cutting cylinder 18 of the preferred embodiment has six rows of cutters 24a- 24f evenly spaced around the cylinder circum erence. Further, in the case of the Figure 3 embodiment, the cutter row 24a, for instance, comprises two mutually spaced and outwardly projecting cutters 25, whereas the following row 24f has three mutually spaced and outward¬ ly projecting cutters 25. It will also be seen that the cutters in row 24f are offset axially in relation to the cutters in row 24a. Thus, in the case of the embodiment illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the cutters 25 in rows 24a-24f may be distributed as follows: Row 24a includes two mutually spaced cutters 25; row 24b has three cut¬ ters; row 24c has two cutters 25; row 24d has three cutters; row 24e has two cutters; and row 24f has three cutters 25. It will be understood from this that one row will have an even number of cutters and +"'iat an adjacent row has an odd number of cutters. It will also be evi¬ dent that the cutters in one row are offset axially in relation to the cutters of an adjacent row. The aforedescribed cutters 25 may be configured in an appropriate fashion, as desired. According to one pre¬ ferred embodiment, the cutters have a polygonal configu¬ ration, for instance a triangular configuration.

The cutters 25 in each row 24a-24f are all intended to coact with an adjustable anvil or counter pressure means 32. The anvil means 32 has a configuration which is complementary to the configuration of the cutters 25, i.e. the anvil means 32, whose length is at least the same as the lengths of the cutting rows 24a-24f, in¬ cludes a plurality of mutually adjacent triangular recesses or notches 33 and is so arranged that the cutters 25 of respective rows 24a-24f will penetrate corresponding recesses 33 in the punch 32 as the cutting cylinder 18 rotates, and therewith disintegrate the corrugated fiberboard material, such as to obtain a disintegrated product whose shape corresponds to the shape of the cutters 25/anvil means 32.

The anvil means32 can be adjusted horizontally with the aid of adjusting nuts 35, 36, so as to be moved closer to or further away from the cutters 25.

It will be understood from the aforegoing that the rows 24a, 24c, 24e and the rows 24b, 24d, 24f of said rows 24a-24f of cutters will coact with the anvil means 32 in an identical fashion.

Although not shown, the inventive machine may be provid¬ ed with a variator which will enable adjustments to be made to the rotational speed of the cutting cylinder 18 and also to the feed rate of the conveyor belt 12, so as to achieve optimal machine efficiency.

In the case of one practical embodiment, the anvil means 32 is positioned so that when the cutters enter respec¬ tive recesses 33 in the anvil means, a gap of about 1 mm will remain between a respective recess and cutter. Sheet-like material fed into the inventive machine will be fully disintegrated into small pieces which have essentially the same shape as the cutters 25/the anvil means 32, i.e. a triangular shape in the case described.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. Machine for producing from sheet-like material, and particularly but not exclusively from used corrugated fiberboard packaging material and corresponding materi¬ als, a filling material for use when packaging impact- -sensitive and fragile products with the intention of providing a force damping layer around the products to be packed, said machine including co-acting cutter - and anvil means, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said machine includes at least one rotatable cylinder (18) , having along its length at least two, preferably at least four rows of cutters (25) , arranged under a distance from each other and projecting radially out- wards from the cylinder (18) , said cutters (25) in a manner known per se co-operating with said adjustable anvil means (32) whereby said cutters (25) in one row (24a-24f) are displaced in relation to the cutters of a neighbouring row (24a-24f) .

2. Machine according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e ¬ r i z e d in that each row includes at least two mutu¬ ally spaced cutters (25) which project out from the periphery of the cylinder (18) .

3. Machine according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the number of cutters (25) in one row (24a-24f) are odd-numbered and that the cutters (25) in a neighbouring row (24a-24f) are even-numbered.

4. Machine according to anyone of preceeding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the number of rows (24a-24f) carrying cutters are six and that the rows are angularly equidistant from one another.

5. Machine according to at least one of preceeding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the cutters (25) have a polygonal shape, e.g. triangular form and that the anvil means (32) has a to said cutters comple¬ mentary form.

6. Machine according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e ¬ r i z e d in that the anvil means (32) are adjustable in relation to the cutters (25) and can be locked in respective adjusted position.

7. Machine according to one or more of the preceeding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the machine includes a motor-driven horizontal conveyor (12) and a product discharge conveyor (22) which is located on a lower plane than the horizontal conveyor (12) .

8. Machine according to one or more of the preceeding claims, particularly according to claim 7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by means for adjusting the speed of rotation of the cylinder (18) and also for adjusting the conveyor speed.