Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~ 156V2S
1 -
PACKAGE AND METHOD OF PACKAGING
FOR FLAT ELONGATED MATERIAL
The abstract is not to be taken as limiting the in-
vention of this application and in order to understand
the full nature and extent of the technical disclosure
of this application reference must be made to the accom-
panying drawings and the following cletailed description.
This application pertains to a package for a plurality
of side-by-side rolls of ~lat, elongated material and
particularly to a package for the winding, shipment,
storage and individual dispensing of at least two side-
by-side lengths o~ flat belting.
While flat belting is used herein to describe the in-
vention, it is to be understood that the invention is also
applicable to conveyor belting, elastomeric sheet material
such as is used for gaskets and tank linings and general
trade use, and films and other sheet material.
At times it is desired to transport large diameter
rolls of flat belting, the belting being of relatively
narrow width. As an example, a roll of conveyor belting
may be ten or more feet in diameter and only two ~eet in
width. Such a roll is typically prepared for shipment
by winding the roll on a central shell of wood or metal
and building a crate around the roll in the config~ration
of the roll, The crate has two circular end plates o~
wood with the end plates at their outer periphery belng
Joined to one another by boards extending parallel to
the axis of rotation o~ the central shell about which
the roll has been wound. This known packaging method
is expensive in terms o~ man hours to assemble it and
the amount o~ lumber re~uired.
3~ A~er thc roll o~ bel-ting ha~ been crated as describ~d
it is typically place~ with its axi~ o~ rotation exte~ding
~ri~ontally upon a low-b4y -truck or a rail car and
blooked to preVent rclling and tied down to pr~vent
~ ~ S60~ ~
-- 2 --
tipping over onto one of its sides. The radius of the
roll of fla-t belting which can be accommodated in one
roll is usually limited by the maximum clearances avail-
able on the proposed transportation route ~or the belting
from lts point of manufacture to its point of use. The
wooden crating method just described adds somewhat to
the overall height o~ the package and thus reduces the
maximum amount of belting which cou:ld be supplied in a
single roll if -the belting itself were resting on the
transporter and exposed at its highest point above the
transporter. When the crated bel-t rolls are transported
by rail car and these are sorted out in a railway ~reight
yard the cars are caused tocollide with one another to
lock their couplings. The resulting impact has on
occasion destroyed the wooden crate surrounding the roll
of belting causing loss of time and/or damage to the
belting,
A tall roll of relatively narrow belting, for example,
a roll of about ten feet diameter and two to three feet
in width, when positioned with its axis of ro-tation
horizontal is relatively unstable and because of its
great mass can pose a considerable threat to the safety
of personnel. Packaging two or more of such tall narrow
rolls slde by side to one another provides a more stable
package. The package of this invention can be used to
wind, transport and dispense a plurality o~ side~by-side
rolls of flat belting or other sheet material.
It is an object of an aspe¢t of this invention to pro~
vide a package ~or the winding, shipment, storage and
~0 individual dispensing o~ at least -two side--by-sid~ rolls
oP ~la-t belting,
The package is comprised o~ two cylindrical shells,
each of the shells having a central bore extending axially
therethrough, and a dlvider plate ri~idly Joi~ed to one
end of the shell. The divider plate extends radially
~5~
ou~wardly beyond the circumference of any of said shells.
The shells are positioned end-to-end with their bores
aligned and the divider plates adjacent to and aligned
~ith one ano-ther to ~orm a pair of parallel pla-tes
having axially adjacent and axially mos~ distant parallel
surfaces. An elongated central member passes through the
aligned central bores of said end-to-end shells and ex-
tends axially beyond the outer ends of said assembled
shells. An upper ~rame member extends axially and generally
horizontally beyond the outer ends of said assembled
shells. A side member of the frame is rigidly attached
to and dependsfrom each end of -the upper member~. Each
side member at its radially inner end is rigidly joined
to the central member and to the outer end of the respec-
tive outer shell to preyent relative axial movement of theshells and central member. At least two tie members are
spaced substantially equally apart from one another and
from the upper member of the frame in the circum~erential
direction of the shells. Each of the tie members has a
portion spaced a predetermined amount radially outwardly
from the outer circumference of said shells. Each tie
member extends axially beyond the assembled shells.
Each of said tie member~ also includes a portion extending
radially inwardly from each end of the axial portion of
each tie member which overlies a part of an outer end
of one of the assembled shells. The radial portion of
each tie member is rigidly joined to a respective one
of the outer shell ends and o~ one of the axial portions
o~ the tie member. A bifurcated member whose legs extend
to right angles of one another is us~d -to join -the radially
inwardly ~acing surface o:~ the upper ~emb~r to one of the
axially most dis-tan-t surfaces o~ each pair o~ parallel
divlder plates~ Preferably a plurality o~ tie bolts
sxtend throu~h the a~sembled shells to bind the shells
together along their common horizontal axis. The nuts
1~56~S
at the end of ~he tie bolts are preferably tack welded
after tightenlng to prevent their becoming loose. To
maximize rigidity of the joints between the various
members of the package, these joints are preferably of
welded construction.
An aspect of the invention is as follows:
A method for separating a package of at least
two side-by-side lengths of flat elongated sheet material
into a number of smaller units corresponding to the
number of side-by-side lengths of sheet material, the
package lncluding
(a) two cylindrical outer shells each having-a
central bore extending axially therethrough, inner and
outer ends, and a divider plate being rigidly joined to
the inner end thereof, said divider plate extending
radially outwardly beyond the circumference of said
shells, said shells being positioned end-to-end, with
their central bores aligned and their divider plates
adjacent to and aligned with one another to form a pair
of parallel plates having axially adjacent and axially
: most distant parallel surfaces;
(b) an elongated central member passing through the
aligned central bores of said end to-end shells~ and
extending axially beyond the outer ends of said
end-to-end shells;
(c) a frame including an upper member extending
axially and generally horizontally an amount about equal
to the combined axial dimension of said end-to-end
shells;
~d) a side ~ember ri~,idly joined with and depending
rom each end oE said upper member, each side member
~aving i~s radially lnner end rigidly joined to sald
central member and the outer end o the respective shell
~o preven~ axial movemen~ o~ said shells wi~h respec~ ~o
3$ said central member;
1~6~2.i
(e) at least two tie members spaced substantially
e~ually apar~ in the circumferential direction of said
shells from one another and from said upper member, said
tie members each having a portion spaced radially
outwardly from the outer circumference of said shells and
extending axially an amount about equal to the combined
axial dimension of said end-to-end shells, said tie
members each having a portion extending radially inwardly
from each end of said axial portion and overlying part of
an outer end of said end-to-end shells, each said radial
portion being rigidl~ joined to a respective one of said
axial portions and a respective outer end of said
end-to-end shells; and
(f) a plurality of bifurcated members whose legs
extend at right angles to one another with one leg of
each bifurcated member extending radially inwardly and
being rigidly joined to a radially inwardly facing
surface of said upper member and the other leg of each
bifurcated member extending radially inwardly and being
rigidly joined to one of the axially most distant
surfaces of a pair of parallel plates; the method
comprising:
(A) cutting and removing the axially extending
portion of each tie-member;
(B~ cutting the upper member at planes which
intersect the axis of rotation of the package between
each pair of divider plates; and
~ C) cu~-~ing ~he side members parallel ~o the axls of
rota~ion o~ the package at thei~ ~unc~ion with the
3~ central ~ember leavi~g the side members joined in ~heir
respec~ive outer ends of the outer shells.
1 ~S6025
Other features and advantages of the in~ention will
become apparent as the description proceeds by having
reference to the following drawings in which
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a package
according to the invention for shipment of three rolls
of flat belting in side-by-side relationship;
Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the package
shown in Figure l;
Figure 3 is an end ~iew o~ a ~hell and di~ider plate
~or u~e in a package according to the invention;
~ igure 4 ~s a fragmentary schematic view i.llus-
trating one method o~ starting a roll o~ flat belting
material onto a shell of the package;
Figures 5a and 5b are enlarged front and top views
obtained by sectioning Figure 1 along line 5-5;
Figure 6 is an enlarged frontal view taken along
line 6-6 of ~igure 1; and
Figure 7 is an enlarged frontal view taken along
line 7-7 of Figure 1.
Referrlng to Figures 1 ar~d 2 there is shown an assembled
pac~age 10 according to the in~ention suitable ~or ship-
ment of three side-by-side rolls 60 o~ flat sheet material
such as conveyor belting 11. The package includes three
shells 12 including outer shells 12a and central shell
25 12b which are assembled end-to-end on a common axis of
rotation 21 for the pac~age 10. Each of the shells 12a,
12b has a ccntral bore 14 extending axially therethrou~h
w~ich pre~'erably i3 0~ square cro~s-s~ctional con~i3u
ra~lon. An elongated centr~l ~ember 20 extands throug~
30 the align~d central bores 14 o~ the shells 12a a~d 12b.
Th~ elongated cen~ral member 20 :ls o~ su~icient le~gth
~56025
-- 7 --
to extend axially beyond the outer ends 28 of the outer
shells 12a. Preferably the central member 20 is a
heavy walled steel tube o~ square cross section. The
shells 12a and 12b are preferably ~ormed by taking heavy
walled cylindrical portions and welding to the ends
thereof heavy circular flat plate members. For example,
to manufacture an 18 inch diameter shell the cylindrical
portlon of the shell may be ~ormed of schedule 40 steel
pipe and the end plates 15 of each shell may be ~ormed
of one inch thic~ steel plate; the steel end plates being
welded to the cylindrical por-tion of the shell 12a, 12b.
At one end of each outer shell 12a there is provided a
di~ider plate 16 of steel which extends radially outwardly
beyond the circumference of the shell an amount deter-
mined by the radius of the belt roll to be formed on therespective shell. As seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3 the
divider plate 16 is preferably an elongated member having
a length much greater than its wi-dth and having a larger
portion 44 which extends radially outwardly from the shell
12 very nearly to the upper horizontal member 23 o~ the
~rame. The smaller portion 45 o~ each divider plate 16
extends radially outwardly from its respective shell an
amount slightly less than the predetermined roll diameter
for which the pa~kage 10 is designed. Each divider plate
16 includes clearance holes or recesses 49 ~or acceptance
o~ tie bolts 50 which are to be passed throu~h the assembled
s~ells to draw them together along their co~mon longi-tudlnal
axis and hole 47 ~or passage o~ the central ~ember 20
t~lereb~t~eon. 0~ course, the divider plates 16 could also
30 be disc~. ~he end plates 15 o~ the shells 12 include
tle bolt holcs 48 ~or p~ssage oP the tie bolts 5Q axially
t~ere-throu~h. Two close toler~nce holes 46 are provided
~1S~;~2~
-- 8 --
in divider plate 16 for allgnmen-t purposes prior -to
welding of said divider plate -to end plate 15 o~ shell.
Alignment of divider plate 16 is achieved by bolting
said plate to ~hell end plate 15 which has correspondingly
located tapped holes within. After welding the two tem-
porary aligning bolts are removed.
When used in this speci~ication "axially" and its re-
lated forms means in the direction of or parallel to the
axis of rotation of the shells o~ the package. In Figure 1
numeral 21 indicates the axis of rotation of the shells 12
and/or package 10 and/or rolls 60.
"Radial" and related ~orms when used herein means in
a direction that is perpendicular to and intersecting
with the axis o~ rotation of the shells and/or package.
"Horizontal" and related forms as used herein means
substantially perpendicular to the direction o~ gravi-
tational pull and parallel to the plane o~ the horizon
of the earth.
"Circum~erentially" and related forms as used herein
ls to be taken with respect to the axis o~ rotation of
any cylindrical shell of the package.
Each outer shell 12a has a divider plate 16 welded to
one end 15 thereof. Each inner or central shell 12b
has a divider plate 16 welded to each end 15 thereo~.
The bores 14 and 48 of each shell 12a, 12b are such that
they may be aligned and when they are aligned the divider
plates 16 are also aligned. The shells 12a, 12b :including
divider plates 16 are assembled with the divider plates 16
and the bores 14, and ~8, and holes 46 aligned.
~0 To ~acilitate star~ a roll 60 o~ ~lat belting 11
on a shell 12a or 12b, the shell may be provided with a
~lot 13 extendlng axiall~ acro~ its ou-ter circumfere~tial
sur~aGe 19. A tab i~ ~ormed on -the ~n~ o~ the belt or
sheot materi~l 11 and the ta4 is inserted into the slo-t 13
in the ~hell 12 and -the shell i~ rotated to 1QCk -the ~ab
1~5~02~
g
into the shell 910t. This is shown schematically in
Figure 4.
The package 10 includes a ~rame 22 including an upper
member 23 which extends axially and generally horizontally
an amount at least equal to the extent of the assemb~ed
end-to end shells 12a, 12b. The upper member 23 is
pre~erably made of tubular steel of square cross-section.
Depending radially inwardly from each end 24 of the
upper member 23 is a side member 25 which extends to the
central member 20. The radially outer end 27 of each
side member 25 i8 rlgidly joined, preferably by welding,
-to the upper member 23 or ~usset 53 which extends there-
between, A prei~erred manner o~ attachment is shown~in
Figures 5a and b where a short length of angular steel
is used to form right angle gusset 53 with one leg of
the gusset abutting and joined by weldment to an end 24
of the upper member 23 and the other leg of the right
angle gusset 53 abutting and joined by weldment to the
r~dially outer end 27 of side member 25. The right angle
gusset 53 is further rein~orced by a planar gusset 54
which is welded to both legs of the right angle gusset.
Planar gusset 54 preferably includes an aperture 55 which
is used in hoisting the assembled package 10,
The radially inner end 26 of each side member 25 is
rigidly joined to central member 20 and to the outer end
28 of an outer shell 12a, preferably by welding. The
pre~erred manner of extent o~ the weld 51 which joins
side member 25 to central member 20 is shown in Figure 7.
It is to be noted that weld 51 does not extend axially
inwardl~ the entire axial dimension or thickne~s of side
membor 25, that corner o~ side member 25 closest to -the
sh~ll end 2~ being ~ree o~ weld. Also, weld 52 which
~oi~9 9ide member 25 to the outer end 28 o~ the outer
~hell 12a does not ex-te~d radially inwardly ~rom the
outer circum~ere~cc o~ the shell -~o the cen-tral member 20.
11$6025
-- 10 -
The purpose and advantage of this arrangement will be-
come apparent as -the description proceeds. The radially
inner end 26 of side member 25 may be -truncated as shown
by line 58 in Figure 7 to encourage desired weld pattern.
The frame 22 also includes at least two ~-shaped tie
members 30 which are spaced substantially equally apart
in the circumferential direction of the shells 12 ~rom
one another and from the upper member 23. Each of the
tie members 30 includes a cross portion 31 spaced radially
from the axis 21 which extends axia:lly an a~ountabout equal to
the combined axial dimension of the end-to-end assembled
shells 12. Each tie member 30 also includes at each end
thereof a slde portion 32 which extends radially inwardly
from each end o~ the axial portion 31 and overlies a part
of the outer end 2~ o~ an outer shell 12a. The radial
portion 32 of each tie member 30 is rigidly joined to the
bottom cross portion 31 of its respective tie member and
is also rigidly joined to a respective one of the outer
shell end 28, preferably by welding.
Referring to Figures 1 and 6, the frame 22 also includes
a plurality of bi~urcated members 36 whose legs 38,42
extend at right angles to one another. One leg 38 of
each bifurcated member 36 extends axially and is rigidly
joined to the radially inwardly ~acing surface 40 of the
upper member 23 preferably by welding. The other leg 42
of each b~furcated member 36 extends radlally inwardly
and is rigidly joined to one of the axially most distant
surfaces 18, 18a of a pair 17 of parallel divider plates
16, 16a.
3~ Tho package 1~ pre~erably ~ur-ther include~ a plurali-ty
of tie bo].-ts 50 whi.ch ~xtend axially through the assembled
shells 12~ 12b. These tie bolts 50 are used to draw the
shells 12a, 12b tightly toward one another. The threaded
~uts whlch are u~qd to draw up ~he ~ie bolts 50 are
pre~rably tack welded a~ter cinching,
1 ~56025
- lL -
A method of packaging for shipment and individual letof~
of a plurality of side ~y side rolls 60 of flat bel-ting
11 i~ as follows:
A plurality of cylindrical shells 12a, 12b are assembled
in end-to-end relation on a common horizontal axis of
rotation 21. Each of the adjacent ends o~ di~ferin~
ones 12a, 12b of said shells has a separate divider
plate 16 welded thereto. The divider plates are aligned
with and parallel to one another as are the bores 48 and
14 which extend through each o~ the shells 12a, 12b. An
elongated central member 20 is passed through the aligned
central bores 14 of said end~to-end shells 12a, 12b. Tie-
bolts 50 are used to draw the shells toward one another.
One or more flat belts 11 are started onto the assembled
shells 12 which are rotated about their common horizontal
axis 21 to wind the side-by-side lengths of flat belting
into side-by-side rolls 60 of a predetermined radius.
After the rolls 60 are wound to their finished radius
they may be banded or wrapped in known manner to secure
them. The remainder o~ the package is then constructed.
A pair of side members 25 are welded to the outer ends 28
o~ the outer shells 12a and to the central member 20 as
shown in Figures 1 and 7. The side members 25 lie in a
single radial plane. The radially outer end 27 o~ each
side member 25 is then joined to an axially extending
upper member 23 whose length is at least equal to the
combined axial dimension of said end-to-end assembled
shells and divider plates, pre~erably by welding. ~he
side members 25 and upper member 2~ are positioned cir-
cumferentially of the package 10 ~uch that the upp~rmember 23 extends acro~s the divider plate~ 16 which
wh~n ~ormed accordlng to pre~erred embodiment Qf the
inven-tion include a larger portion ~4 over which the
upper member 23 extends. At least two U-sh~ped tie
~ember~ 30 are formed with the bo-ttom or cros3 portion
1 15602
12 --
31 of each ~-shaped tire member being o~ a leng-th at
least equal -to the axial dimension of said assembled
shells and wi-th the side portions 32 of each of said
tie members being of a leng-th sligh-tly less than the
predetermined radius of the belt rolls. The bottom or
cross portion 31 and side portions 32 of each tie member
30 are then positioned at a predetermined radius ~rom
the axis of rotation 21 of the package 10 with the side
portions 32 of each tie member 30 extending radially in-
wardly from the bottom portion 31 of' that tie member.The bottom portion 31 pre~erably is closely adjacent to
or in contact with the rolls 60. Each side portion 32
of each tie member 30 overlies a respective outer end
28 of an outer shell 12a. The tie members 30 are pre~erably
spaced substantially equally apart from one another and
said upper member 23 when viewed in the circumferential
direction of the shells 12~, 12b. In a preferred embodi-
ment there is a single upper member 23 and two tie members
30 which are spaced 120 degrees apart from one another in
the circumferential direction of the shells 12a, 12b.
Each side portion 32 of each tie member 30 is pre~erably
welded at its radially inner end to the respective outer
end 28 of an outer shell 12a. Re~erring to Figures 1 and
2, red~dant sharp corners o~ side portions 32 o~ tie
member 30 at the juncture o~ said -tie member and t;ie
member 31 are preferably eliminated by radiusing. A
plurality of bifurcated members 36 typically of angular
steel are positioned such -that one leg 38 o~ each
~xtends axially alonga radially inwardly facing sur~ace
3Q 4Q of ~he upper member 23 and the o-ther leg 42 oP each
respec-tive bi~urca-ted member 36 extends radially inwardly
along one o~ the axially mos-t distan-t sur~aces o~ a pair
17 of ad~acen-t divider plates 16, 16a. Each leg of each
bl~urcatod member 36 is preferabl~ welded -to the par-t it
abut~,
~ 1~6~2~
'~hen the package 10 including a plurality o~ side-by~
side rolls 60 of conveyor bel-ting 11 reaches i-ts destin-
ation and it is desired to let off the rolls of belting
individually the package is disassembled, preferably by
cutting with an oxy-ace-tylene torch. It is understood 9
of course, that other kno~n methods of severing such as
sawing, grinding and chiseling may also be employed and
the use o~ the term "cutting" is intended to contemplate
these al-ternate methods. Because o~ the corlfiguration
of the package 10 this is readily accomplished~ The tie-
bolts 50, if present, are removed. The tie members 30
are burned apart and at least -the bottom axially extending
portion 31 of each tie member 30 is entirely removed.
The upper horizontal member 23 o~ the frame 22 is burned
apart at planes 56 as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 6.
The side members 25 are separated from the central member
20 by burning apart welds 51. It is readily appreciated
at this time that the extent of and positioning o~ welds
51 and 52 are such that separation of side member 25
~rom the central member 20 is readily accomplished since
the weld 51 does not continue axially to the junction of
the radially inner end 26 of the side member 25 with the
outermost shell end 28. In like manner because divider
plates 16 are assembled so as to ~orm pairs 17 the upper
member 23 is easily severed at lines 56. The result of
this procedure is to dismantle the package 10 of Figure 1
into ~hree smaller sub-packages each of which includes
an upper member (a portion of member 23) to facilitate
hoisting ancl movement o~ that sub-package and mounting
on a le-tof~ unit. Because each shell 12a7 12b inclucles
a cen-tral bore 14 therethrough a bar (not shown) may be
inserted through bore 14 a~ter which the remainder o~
upper member 23 is c,ut away fro~ the sub-package~ ~he
roll 60 of belting may then be let o~f ~or use or ln
~tallatlon.
- 14 -
The configuration of the package 10 allows the package
to be rotated on a transporter such that the upper member
23 of frame 22 will be at an elevation equal to or less
than that defined by the radius of the rolls 60 of belt m g.
Referring to Figure 2, it is readily apparent that the
package 10 may be rotated either clockwise or counterclock-
wise to result in member 23 being at an elevation not
exceeding that defined by the radius of the rolls 60~of
belting. One of tie-members 30 may ba used to help block
the package 10 from rolling further. The configuration of
; the package lO thus permits shipment of maximum diameter
rolls of flat elongated materiaI since the packa~e~10-, when
properly positioned on the transporter, does not co~tribute
to the overall height o~ the rolls 60.
15While certain representative embodiments and details `~
have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the in~
vention it will be apparent to those skill~ed ln ths~ art ;~
that various changes~and~modifications may be~made~thereln
without departing from the spirit or scope~o~ the invention.
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