Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FILM ~ISPENSER
Field o~ the ~nvention
This inve~tion relates to packaging and mo~e
partic~larly to a device to f~oili~te pa~ka~ing articles
with plastic wr~pplng m~terial or synthetic plastic bindin~
material~
So-called "~tre~ch~film" - usually a s~nthetic
plastics m~erial Ru~h as linear polyethylene having
inheren~ "cling" proper~ie~ - has been used for the
wrapping or p~çkaging o~ many ~ype~ of arti~les, such
as pallet-bOxne articleæ including ~riçks, glass contain-
ers, p~cks o~ ~evera~es such as beer, and of bulky ~nd1or
heavy products ~uch ~5 large rolls of newsprlnt, kr~t
pap~r and the li~e. The ~retçh film binds the articles
1S together as ~ singl~ un~t to f~cilitate their h~ndling
and tr~nspOrt. Spe~ial machines have be~n devel.ope~ to
"stretch-wrap" ~uçh groups of ar~cle~.
Back~round of the In~ention
In many ca~es it may ~e desi~ed to packa~e
to~ether, as for desp~tçh or market~n~, pluralities of
like or dls~imilar articles, ei~her wi~h or without a
pallet. For example, in such ~ields as food distribu~ion,
ha~d~are supplie~, etc., it may be de~irable to pack~ge
t~gether se~eral artlcles ~ be sold ~o~ether as a unit.
Heretofor~, in -~uch appllcatlons, a nu~ber of
ar~içles, whiçh may be separate, or individually packa~ed
in c~r~ons o~ boxes, may be pa¢kaged tog~er with
cellulose tape, ~ands, cord, la8hing, metal or plas~ic
strapping, ~r the llke bindl~g materials.
Such packa~in~ methods are time-consumin~ and
labour in~ensive and, therefore, ~el~ively exp~nsive.
Back~round Ar~
S~veral ~orms o~ ma~hine have been propo~ed to
assi~t in the wrapping of article~ with ~ ~tre~h film.
3s Au~trallan Patent No. 51~,642 disçlose~ an auto~a~i~
wr~pping ma~hine for w~apping la~er~ of ~il~ web Qroun~
a l~d. With this machin~, a turnta~le holds th~ loa~
in posit~on ~nd rotates relatlve to a suppor~ed r~ll of
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stretchable film. A br~ke i~ applied to the roll t~ pl~e
ten~ion on ~he film web ~o as to stret~h the we~ as it
is applied to ~he ~otating l~ad.
~his ~achine is designed for relatively large
loads and is, ~onsequently, rel~ively expenslve to
manu~a~ure,
Australian Patent No. 51~,45~ dls~lo~es a pro~ess
usin~ a slmil~ type o~ wxapping maçhine, while Australian
P~ent ~o. 505,~21 ~iscloses another form of apparatus
10 for wrapping a plu~ality of loads in~o a unitized lo~d.
Simll~rly, United States Patent Nos. 4,050,~21, 4,27t,657
and 4,43~,18S all dis~lose o~her ~o~mg of stret~h wrapping
machines for wxappin~ a plurali~y o~ packa~ex into a uni~
or wrapping palletl2ed lo~
~he use of suoh m~hines requires th~t the loads
be transpor~ed to the mz~hine, lo~ded the~eon, cl~n~ped
or sUpported ~ n s30me way while ~che maahine wraps the
stretchable film about the load. United States Patent
No, 4 ,102,5t3 d~sclo~es a portable, hand-held dispenser
~0 ~or wrapping a roll of p~a~itic stre~ch f ilm ~bout an
ob~ e~t . The ~lspenser has a reel a~se~blY on w~ich ~s
mounted ~he roll of ~tret~h~ble film, Two handles are
oonnected to the reel assembly for support there~f during
use. The support as~embly lncludes a ~upport shaft secure~
to a b~se plate and c~r~ying ~ pair of opposed rotary
end supports mounted ~or rotation on the ~haft. The
suppor~s engage into ~he end$ of ~ roll of plasti~ ~tre~h
film. At least one o~ the supports hax a friction ~ake
member ope~a~le to act as a ~xake ~nd re~ict rotation
of the roll of s~ret~h film on the support shaft. One
of the hand grip3 ls operati~el~ a$$o~ ed with the rotary
end ~upp~rts to increase or decrease the dra~ on the roll
an~ to ~hereby ~ry ~he ten~ion on the film during
wr~pplng, This dispenser, however, reqUixeQ two hand~
3~ for operation thereof ~nd ~equires ~he ~r~king on ~he
roll of ~ilm to be ~on~rolled ~y the operator d~r~ng use.
Europe~n Paten~ No. 0 081 328 d~ted Novem~er 26,
19B2 discloses another fo~m of ~ dispenser in wh~ch
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the film pass~ around a pair of rolle~ which are ~oun~ed
pivo~ally relative to the ilm roll, Tenslon applied
to the fllm ~ause~ one of the rolle~ to be pressed a~ainst
the sur~ace of ~he roll of ~ilm, and the roller~ are g~ared
together so that one roller rotates at a gxeater spe~d
~han the other to thereby ~tretch the ~Llm lon~itudinally
hetween the rollers. The dispenser has a ~heele~ ~ase
for move~ent ~r~und a palle~ed load. While thls dispen~er
is porta~le, it requ~res ~o be rolled along a floor aro~nd
a palleted load, and a h~ndle is provided at ~h~ upper
end to facilitate such move~ent, Further, the æt~etch
o~ the ~ilm is con~rolle~ ~y ~he differen~e between th~
peripher~l speeds of ~he two xollers. As ~oo~ ~5 ten~ion
on the film i~ dimlnished, the for~e~ holding one of ~he
rollers agains~ ~he s~r~ace of the ~ilm roll also
diminisheR thu~ permit~in~ ~he roll unrestricted movement
and diminishing the stre~h ~e~ween the rollers~
It is there~ore desirabl~ ~o provide an improved
device for p~ck~gin~ ob~ec~s which avoids a~ lea~t some
of the previous packagin~ problems~
It is also desi~able to pro~ide a packaging device
whiG~ ~a~ilita~es ~he use of a plastics ~ , preferably
linear, lo~-den~lty polyethylene ~ilm as a packa~ln~
mat~rlal,
~ is an ob~ec~ of the inven~iOn to provid~ a
por~able film dispenser whic~ can ~e operate~ with one
hand and whi~h allow~ ~he user to gtretch w~ap an article
or a group of ar~icle~.
A further obje~t of the inven~ion is to provi~e
a film dlspenser which is of relatively ~imple construc~
tion, of relatively few moving par~s and which is relati
vely easy to use.
It is also an o~ e~t of the invention ~o provide
a film dispen~er ln ~hiç~ the ~tretch o~ the film ~pplied
~o an arti~le may be con~rolled ~ de~ired.
Summary o~ ~he In~ention
A~cordin~ ~o one a~pe~t o~ the present invention
there is provided a ~eViCe for di~pensing a packa~ng
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medium comprising holder means to hold a roll of the
packa~ing medium such that the ~oll is a~le to rot~te,
brake means applied to the roll o the paçka~ing medium,
and support means for the hclder means ~o enable the medlum
to either be ~pplied to ~r~i~les or to be withdrawn from
~he roll, said brake means including a~ lea~t one roller
means engaged with a surfac~ of the xoll of the pa~kagin~
medium an~ ~ia5ing mea~s ~o bias ~he ~aid roll ~nd at
least one roller together.
In one preferred ~orm ~he holder means aomprise~
oppos~d journals adapted to engage opposite ends o~ ~
hollo~ ~ore o~ the roll of plas~iç medium. In ano~her
form, the holder means comprise~ a mandrel which may be
~ixed rel~ti~e to the ~upport mean~, in which case the
roll of plastic m~t~rial will rotate r~lative thereto,
or may be ~o~nalled for ~otation relative to the support
means.
In a preferred ~spe~t there i~ pr~vided a device
for dispensin~ a packaging medium of ~tretchable, synthetic
~ plastlc m~terial ~om a roll thereo~ comprising holder
~e~ns t~ carry the roll for relatlve ro~ation, suppor~
~e~n~ associated wi~h ~he holder means whereby the device
~an be h~nd-hçld, wall-mounted or otherwise dispo~ed for
usç, and brake mean~ including a b~aking roller ~arried
by the support means, a~ least one of the roll and braking
roller ~eing biased towards ~he other so that the braklng
roller engage~ a sur~ace of ~he roll to res~rict ro~a~ional
mo~emen~ thereof.
Preferably, ~he suppox~ means comprises at leas~
one h~ndle att~ched to or integr~l with the holder means.
In an alternatlve embodiment, ~he suppor~ me~ns inçludes
a base ~dap~ed to be secured to a wall, ben~h, table or
o~he~ ~u~aco.
The br~king ~oller preferably is mounted to eng~e
3S the ~urfa~e of the roll o~ plas~i~ m~tçrial and biasing
springs apply a pressure between the roller and the roll
to i~par~ a retaxdin~ forGe to the roll to retri~t
rotation ~le~eoi. T~us, ~hen the pl~s~ ma~eri~ d~awn
_5_ 1 335584 :~
from the roll the brakin~ roller re-~tricts rotat~on of
t~e rolL whioh ~ause$ ~he materi~l t~ be tensioned and
thçrefore stretched. The deqree of tension, ~nd therefor
stxetch, ma~ be adjusta~le by adj usting the ~pring tension.
5 In one for~ the springs ~re att~ohed to cam levers mounted
on the support me~ns whiçh are movable to incre~se or
decrease the spring ~ension and therefore vary the pxes~uxe
appl~ed ~y t~ braklng roller ~o the ~oll o~ plastios
material.
Other mean~ ~ay be used to vary the biasing force
~nd to ensure a ~uh~nti~lly ~onstant foxce is appli~d
irrespec~ive of the diamete~ of the roll.
In one ~orm of th~ invention, th~ devic~ is
provlded wl~h an eye, or runner, ~pa~ed from the roll
'IS and the brake me~rls. ~y pa~sin~ the plastics material
from the roll through the eye or runner, the m~teri~l
is formed into a str~nd, similar to a cord or the like.
In another form, th~ plastics materlal is passed through
a folding o~ banding device ~o ~orm the rela~iv~ly thin
~aterial in~o a band sultable for ~anding or tying arti~les
together.
In preferred embodlments of the lnvention the
de~i~e includes ~utting mean~ u~abl~ to cut the plasti~s
material ~hen d~wn from the ~oll. In one form, the
2~ cuttin~ mean~; ~omprlses a blade moun~ed on the suppor~
means. In another form, the cu~ting means compri~s a
cutter mo~able coaxially relative ~o the ~oll and engage-
a~le with the plastic3 material ad~a~ent the b~ake me~ns .
In ~ further emhodiment, the ~u~er means ~omp~ise~ a
blade, p~e~erably ~err~ed, ~xten~in~ ~ub~tantially
par~llel to ~he xoll ~rfa~e ~u~ sp~çed ~herefrom and
engageable ~y plasti~s material drawn from the roll.
In u~e o~ the devioe of ~he inven~ion, an end
o~ the pla~ic ctret~h-wr~p ma~erial on the roll, which
3$ is mo~nted for ro~tion on the holder means, is applied
to ar~içles to ~e wrapped ~nd is held in position while
the device ~nd articles are moved apart. The movement
cau~es the plastlcs ma~erial to ~tretch whlle slmulta~
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neously ~eing wrapped abou~ t~e artlcle~ When ~he ten~ion
in ~he ~llm re~çhes a p~edetermin~d minlmum, ~ufficie~t
for~e is exerted ~o str~tçh the ilm and, at the ~ame
time, to overcome ~he effec~ of the ~raking means ~o draw
s film from ~he roll.
A linear polyethylene ~ilm ¢an be s~retched to
several ~i~es its o~iginal len~th, dependlng upon i~
appli~ation. Be~ause of inherent el~stici~Y of xome types
of film, a stretched ~ ma~ tend ~o return ~o its
unstretc~ed size or ~tate thereby ~xertin~ a p~e$~ure
on goods or ar~icles wrapped in the film to firmly ~old
the goods ~ogether.
Ac~ding to ano~he~ a~pect of the present
inven~ion, there i~ provide~ ~ fi~m dispenser comprising
a hou~ing, handle meanx for the housi~, a pair of opposed
guideways in the hous ing to support opposed ends of
core tube on whiçh is moun~ed a roll o~ packa~ing material,
~he roll bein~ r~ta~le relative to ~he housing, biasing
meanB acting on the core ~ub~ to bi~s 1~ towards the front
o thH houging, and a brake roller rotatablY moun~ed in
the ~ousing and enga~eable by the roll of pa~king material.
If de~ired, the di~penser m~y be designed as a
~all-mounted s~re~ch-film disp~nQer having the same
features as outlined above.
~5 ~n order ~ha~ ~he ~nvention is readily under~tood,
herei~afte~ ~ill be descxibed certain em~diments ~h~reof,
by way of exa~ple only ~nd with reference to the accompany-
ing drawings.
Des~ription of the ~awings
~0 Figure 1 ls a side-o~ ~chema~i~ p~rspective o~
a flr~t ~mbodiment of the p~esent lnventiOn;
Fiyure 2 $hows a prefe~red ~oxm of mandrel;
Fl~ure 3 is ~ top plan view o~ ~ second embodimen~;
~ igure 4 is a sectional top plan view of a ~urther
embodiment,
Figure 5 i~ a perspective view illus~rating
~urther em~odimçnt of the inv~ntion
Figure 6 is ~ top pl~n ~i~w, partly ~ut away,
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of the dlspense~ o~ Figuxe 5;
Figure 7 is a sectional view ~ken along the line~
7 - 7 of Figure 6; and
Figure ~ illustrates ~ modi~ied çonstruçtion of
braking roller.
~escriptio~ of the P~eferred ~mbodimen~s
Figure 1 shows a stretch-film dispenser able to
be ope~ated ~ingle-han~edly. The devi~ç of ~his em~odiment
compri~s a mandrel ~ - later to be descri~ed with
referen~e ~o Figure ~ - which is jou~nall~d for rotation
within a frame 10. T~ mandrel i~ such that lt is ahle
to be pa$sed through the hollow ~ore of a roll 11 of
stret~h-film.
At th~t end of frame 10 which is ~emote from the
1S roll 11 ~nd mandrel ~ there is a handle, or hand-~rlp
12, Th~ di~pensex has a bra~ing rolle~ 13, preferably
a rough-~ex~ured r~er ~oller, carried ~y arms ~ ~nd
having spindle end 16 slidablç in slots 7. Th~ rolle~
13 i8 50 biased by springs 14 as to be able to maintain
a substantially ~onstant braking ac~ion force on th~ roll
11. This braking ~orce is su~ ient to permit an adeq~ate
degree of stre~ch of the fllm of the roll 11 ~o ~e att~ined
when the d~vic~ iæ put to use. One end of each biasing
spring 14 is atta~hed, as in hole$ 15 in ~he sides of
2S the frame 10, while ~he othe~ end iR att~ched to ~he
~pindle 16 of brakin~ roller t3. A~ an alternative,
compres~ ion spring means could ~e employed to ensure the
reqhired degree of biasing of ~he ~r~king roller on the
roll of stretch film. Ideally, adj u~tment means are
provided ~or appropriate ad;u~tmen~ of ~he springs in
~he v~riou~ em~odiments of the invention r such as the
pluralit~ of holes 15~
Referrlng to Fi~ure 2, this shows a mandrel 8
of teles~opic ~onst~ ion. Within a barrel 17 iB
acGommoda~ed an i~ner mem~er 1~ havin~ a head 1~ of
diameter equal to that of ~arrel 17. Also withln barrel
17, a~ that end ~emote f~om head 1g, is a ~ompression
spring (not shown) to bias ~h~ sp~got~ 20 into oo-acting
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socket~ in ~rame 10. A detçnt or stop 21 works in a slo~
~2 in barrel 17 to prevent inne~ member 18 from coming
out of barrel t7. In u~e, the mandrel ~ is simply removed
f~om the housing 10 ~y relative movement of the barrel
17 and inner mem~e~ 1~ to wi~hdraw ~he ~pigots 20 from
the xockets in the f~ame 10. Alte~natively~ ~he handle
1~ may compriSe intereng~glng socket ~nd spigot p~rts
which enable the handle to ~e dism~ntled ~hus providing
a~cess ~o the ~andrel 8.
~ig~re 3 i~ ~ top plan vie~ of another embodimen~
of the pr~en~ invention, In this ~mb~diment, a mand~el,
which may ~e simil~r ~o tha~ ~hown in Figure ~, or which
may ~e fixed wi~hln a f~am~ 2~, passes throug~ the hollow
~ore of ~ roll 11 ~f stretch film 24.
1S Thç fr~me ~3 ha~ a handle or hand~rip 25 and the
dispen$e~ is provided with a biased bx~king roller ~6.
The braking ~oller 26 is carried ~y ~ wire fr~me 35 which
is held to ~he ~ame 23 ~y a p~ir of eye~ 2~. A torsion
spring Z7 which is inte~ral with ~he fr~me 35 applies
~he ~asin~ force to the braking rolle~
Re~e~ring to Figu~e 4 ~here is ~.hown a fur~her
embodi~ent of a hand-held dlspenser 31 to dispense plas~i~
film from a roll 32 which is wound onto a core 30, o~
ca~dboard or other m~te~ial. The core 30 is supported
on spigots 33 and 3~ integral with frame side ~embers
3~ and 37 ~e~pectlvely. The fr~e side member 3~ has
an integral handle 38 which ex~ends sub~tantially coax~al
with the spigots 33 and ~4. The handle 3~ has an enlar~ed
bul~ 3~ o~ lts free end whi~h snap-fi~s in~o a ~oGke~
41 formed in ~he ~ide member 37 ~ hold the fr~me parts
toge~her.
A roller 42, prefera~ly o a ~u~ber co~poun~ or
the llke, is ~a~ried ~y springs 43 ~nd 44 to eng~ge the
surfa~e of the film ~oll 32. The sp~in~s 43 and 44 are
attached to tens~.on adjustin~ mem~e~ 46 an~ 47 re~pect-
ively lo~ated ~i~hin the frame ~lde members 36 and 37.
Each adju~ti~g member has a fin~er 4~, 49 eng~ea~l~ with
one of a p1urali~y of seatQ 51 dlcposed on a side wall
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g
of a slot S2 formed in each ~r~me side mem~er 36 and 37.
The ~rame side ~ember 3~ has a cu~in~ ~lade 53
fixed theret~ and prote~te~ by a guard 54 ~hich will permit
the film to contact the bla~e 53 wh~le prevçntin~ inadver~-
ant ~ontact by a user~
Th~ ~ilm of plas~ics material may be formed into
a band, cord or "string" $or ce~taln application~. For
this purpose, the dispens~r 31 is provlded with an eyelet
56 carried by ~ wire suppo~ 5~ or the llke $0 ~S to 4e
spa~ed ~rom th~ roller 4~. When the plast7~ film i~ pas~ed
~hrough ~he eyelet ~ ~he ~onstric~ion of the eyelet
together ~ith the ten5ion applied ~o the film as ~ell
as its inherent "clln~" property, c~u~es the film to take
up the form o~ a $triny whlch is extremely ~tron~.
~eferrlng to Figure~ 5, 6, 7 ~nd 8, ~he disp~er
of this embodi~ent ~ompri~es a housing 62, moulded of
synthetio plastic material ~nd h~ing a fro~t sectlo~
63 and a rear section ~4 pivo~ed togethe~ about an axi~
66. A clip 67 holds the two hou~lng sections in the
operable poQitio~ as ~hown in Figure 5.
The houQing i~ p~ovi~ed on opposite sides with
a pair of guidew~y~ 68 w~i~h ~re able ~o re~eive the ends
o~ a film roll core o~ ~ ~ore tube ~9 ~o as to be mova~le
along ~he g~ide~ays 68 whilst permitting rotation of the
~5 roll 11 of the film materi~l~
The rç~r housing section ~4 ls ~ormed wlth an
int~gral handle 71 while the f~ont housing ~ection 63
carrie~ a brak~ng roller 72. The b~aking roller 72
comprises a spindle 73 mounted in ~he front section ~3,
bearing bushes 74 moun~ed on ea~h end of ~he spindle 7~
and a sub$tan~i~11y ~igid, PVC roll~r 7~ rota~bly mounted
on the bearing bu~he~ 74.
A pair of biasin~ ~pring~ 78 ar~ moun~ed on a
journal 79 ~oaxial wi~h ~he pivot axis 6~. One leg 81,
o~ each spring 78 ls suppor~ed hy a bax a2 in the rear
housing seç~ion 64 whi~e ~he ~ther leg 8~ of each hiasing
sprin~ 78 bear~ agains~ ~he core tube 6~ carried in the
g~deways 6~. The ~iasing spring~ 7~ thus bia~ ~he core
-1 o 1 3 3 5 5 8 4
tube 6~, and hence the roll 11 toward~ the b~aking rolle~
72. In u~e, ~ilm ~aterial passes ~ro~ the ~oll 1t between
the nip ~e~ted by thç en~agemen~ of the roll 11 with
the braking ~oller 72 r to be applied to an arti~le or
S a g~oup of ~rticles to ~e wrapped with the ~tretch film
mate~ial. The braking orce ~pplie~ by the braklng ~oller
72 enable the film to ~e s~re~ched a~ it i~ ~pplied to
the ~ticles, ~he degree o~ stret~h being dependent bo~h
on the biasin~ force an~ the rotational freedom of ~he
~r~kin~ roller 7~ pasBlng the st~etch film ~h~ou~h
the nip, the mate~ial is ~lway~ flrmly held on ~he roll
11 and ~ conS~a~t tension i~ able ~o ~e maintained d~ring
wrapping.
Referring to Figure 8, the bi~8ing roller 72 may
have an inbui~ clutch me~h~nism whi~h is ad~usta~le ~o
vary the rota~ional ~reedo~ of the braking roller 7~,
in use. ~he struc~ure illu~trated ln ~igure 8 comprises
a pai~ of ~langes ~ and 87 ~dap~ed to enga~e the ends
of the ~rakln~ rolle~ 72. The ~l~nges ~6 and 87 are held
~ together b~ a spring 88 an~ a screwed splndle 89 conne~ted
to a handle 91. ~y ~dju~ing the axlal position of the
spindle 8~, by threaded movement of the handle 91 and
~pindle 89, the ~en~ion in the spring 8~ can be varied
to thereby vary the pros~ure applied by the ~langes 86
and 87 on the end~ of the braking roller, thereby varyin~
the rota~ional ~re~dom thereo.
