Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02274284 1999-06-08
LOAD RETAINING WRAP
Field of invention
The present invention relates to a product for securing loads, such as a stack
of
boxes on a pallet.
Background of the invention
In the storage and distribution of items of products and materials, via
warehousing
and/or transport trucks, it is important to have a way of securing loads, such
as a
stack of boxes on a pallet, in order to secure and maintain these items of
materials
and products. Certain load retaining materials have been used in order to aid
and
secure these products and materials for transportation. In recent years, such
load
retaining products as shrink wrap have been used in order to maintain and
handle
the everyday usage of products and materials either in storage or in
distribution. In
order to maintain the security and balance of these products and materials for
storage, it is necessary to use such load retaining products as disposable
shrink
wrap in order to make storage and distribution effective and safe.
With greater environmental concerns in recent years however, it has become
necessary to reduce disposal of such materials as plastic shrink wrap both to
reduce
the negative impact on the environment and also to reduce expense to
corporations
who deal in and handle such load retaining products as plastic wrap everyday.
With
governments taking greater action on reducing waste, thus disposable plastic
shrink
wrap has become more of a liability than an asset. This goes along with other
disposable load retaining products such as wire or metal mesh along with
plastic or
synthetic materials. Products or supplies to be distributed or transported,
are
contained with these disposable items such as plastic shrink wrap. To be
distributed
or transported, such products or supplies are usually palletized, and in turn
enclosed
with a load retaining product such as plastic shrink wrap or a wire mesh.
Plastic
shrink wrap along with such items as wire mesh are removed and retain no
further
use once the product has been distributed or transported. Only removed, the
used
plastic shrink wrap is disposed of, making it bound for a landfill site.
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Reusable storage and transport wraps have been proposed including in US patent
4,868,955 to Magnant et al which provides a flexible reusable wrap removably
attachable to a cluster of articles. The wrap of Magnant includes a releasable
fastener, such as a hook and loop fastener at the ends of the wrap to secure
the
wrap about the cluster of articles. Tension control of the wrap of Magnant
about the
cluster of articles is limited. Where the wrap is constructed from a flexible
material
only, the wrap simply encloses the articles to be wrapped. Where the wrap is
constructed from an extensible material, the extensible material is used to
enclose
irregular shaped items such as bags and the like. To prevent a loose wrap from
falling off of the items wrapped, additional straps have been proposed, for
example a
top strap is shown in US patent 4,876,841 to Jensen.
Summary of the invention
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved reusable wrap
product to
secure loads, such as a stack of boxes on a pallet.
The reusable wrap for wrapping a load, such as a palletized load, includes a
rectangular section of material having two opposed parallel edges, and
fasteners for
securing the opposed edges to each other. The rectangular section of material
is
resilient and tear resistant, but includes a band of the elastic material
oriented
parallel to the opposed edges. The fasteners preferably include hook and loop
fasteners. The reusable wrap may be wrapped tightly around a load, stretching
the
band of elastic material, and secured by attaching the opposed ends together
with
the hook and loop fasteners. The opposed edges may be separated from each
other, and the wrap reused.
In accordance with invention, there is provided a reusable wrap for wrapping a
load,
the wrap comprising: a section of material having first and second opposed
edges,
and fastening means for securing the first and second ends to each other,
whereby
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the material may be wrapped around a load in the first and second ends secured
to
each other.
In one of its aspects, the invention provides a reusable wrap for wrapping a
palletized load, the wrap comprising a rectangular section of material having
first and
second opposed edges, and fastening means for securing the first and second
edges to each other, the section of material including a resilient tear
resistant section
and at least one band of elastic material oriented parallel to the first and
second
edges.
Other advantages, objects and features of the present invention will be
readily
apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the following detailed
description
of preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawing and
claims.
The preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with
reference to
the drawings, in which:
Brief description of the drawing
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stack on a pallet which is draped with a
reusable
wrap constructed in accordance with principles of the invention.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the reusable wrap of Figure 1 extended length wise.
Detailed description of the invention
Figure 1 shows a stack of products 10 mounted upon a pallet 11. A wrap,
generally
shown by reference numeral 9, comprises a flexible portion 12, preferably
constructed from a flexible tear resistant material such as nylon, is mounted
to the
products 10 by a length of strap 13, also preferably constructed from nylon
material,
which is mounted between items of the product 10. The wrap 9 material is then
wrapped about the sides of the stack. When the items of product 10 have been
wrapped, adjacent side edges 14 are releasably secured to each other with
fasteners 14 and 15, which preferably are a hook and loop material 15
overlapping
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one on top of the other. Tension band 16, which is attached on both sides to
the
nylon material of wrap 9, gives leeway.
The nylon material forming the flexible portion 12 of wrap 9, is made up of
100%
nylon which is made up of woven strands of nylon resin. Wrap 9 includes a
tension
band 16 which is constructed from a two-way elastic stretch material, for
example a
fabric woven from Lycra T"" brand elastane fibre produced by E. I. du Pont de
Nemours and Company.
Use of wrap 9 in the manner aforesaid prevents the stack of boxes from falling
or
becoming disassembled as it is being stored or transported. The flexible
portion 12
of the wrap jacket is made of 100% nylon which does not stretch and thereby
allows
for complete support and retention of product which is being stored and/or
transported. A wrap constructed in accordance with the principles of the
invention
provides a wrap product that is 100% fully reusable and which can be used on a
daily manner. Wrap 9 can be used over and over again which reduces the need to
use disposable plastic wrap as a load retaining product. Wrap 9 is more
environmentally friendly and can reduce the cost to corporations that use
other load
retaining products such as disposable plastic shrink wrap. Like plastic shrink
wrap,
this invention is used as a load reinforcement in areas of distribution and
transportation. The invention acts as a load retaining device when wrapped
around
the products or product that is to be transported for example. Not only does
the
invention retain the product in transit, just like other load retaining
products, such as
disposable plastic shrink wrap, it is more secure with special straps which
help
contain the load. Also, with the invention, tension band 16, a piece of two-
way
stretch material, is used which provides for tension of the wrap against the
wrapped
items and gives elasticity in cases of cumbersome products which are being
distributed.
Tension band 16 may take several forms depending on the type of load which is
to
be wrapped. Tension band 16 may be constructed as a relatively large piece of
two
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way elastic stretch material attached to two other flexible portion pieces 12,
preferably constructed from nylon fibre material, to form wrap 9. Using a
larger
portion of stretch material to form tension band 16 allows for the wrap 9 of
the
invention to become more elastic as it is being secured to the product which
is being
stored and/or transported. For better control and containment of torsional
forces
acting on the load 10, it is preferable to construct wrap 9 by providing a
relatively
smaller tension band 16 portion relative to the flexible portions 12. Torsion
forces
created when load 10 tends to tip or sway do not deform the flexible resilient
portions
12 of the wrap 9 which acts to retain the load. Tension band 16 connects 2
flexible
end portions 12 to form wrap 9 to allow jacket closures 14 and 15 to be
mounted on
the flexible end portions 12 and not on tension band 16. For ease of
construction, It
is preferable to provide tension band 16 as a lateral connecting portion of
wrap 9.
Such a configuration allows a simple three piece construction for wraps having
only
one tension band, namely two flexible end portions 12 and one tension band 16.
Before the wrap 9 of the invention is wrapped around the product which is
being
warehoused or transported, two restraint straps 13 act as anchors by initially
securing the invention to the product. This holds the end of wrap 9 in place
and
allows the rest of the application of the wrap around the items to be wrapped
10.
Once the wrap 9 has been wrapped around the items to be wrapped 10, jacket
closures 14 and 15, preferably three hook and loop fasteners, with the hook
portion
of the fastener on one end of wrap 9 overlaps with the loop portion of the
fastener on
the other end of wrap 9, are engaged to close wrap 9 about items 10. This in
turn,
allows the hook and loop fasteners forming jacket closures 14 and 15 to bond
the
two ends of the wrap 9 fabric together.
On the outer side of the nylon fabric, the hook and loop fasteners consist of
a rough
textured fabric. The wrap of the present invention is wrapped around the
product 10
in only one 360 degree fashion. This invention, as stated before, reduces the
need
for disposable load retaining products which are not environmentally friendly,
including plastic shrink wrap and/or plastic film wrap. Thus, this invention
not only
acts as the load retaining item, it also is reusable which plays an important
role in the
environment.
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Over time, disposable load retaining products, such as plastic shrink, produce
more
and more waste thus becoming more and more environmentally unfriendly. Use of
this invention can reduce waste such as a plastic shrink wrap along with
plastic film
and other disposable load retaining products such as plastic netting and metal
strapping. This invention provides the benefit of an effective load wrap but
is able to
be used over and over again on a consistent basis. Disposable load retaining
products, such as film wrap and plastic wraps, can only be used once, before
being
disposed of in a garbage dump and/or a landfill site. This invention is geared
toward
reducing waste.
Figure 2 shows a plan view of the reusable wrap of Figure 1 extended length
wise.
The straps 13 are shown more clearly in Figure 2, which are used to position
one
end of wrap 9 to the load to allow one person to wrap the load. Once one or
more of
straps 13 have been attached to the load, the length of the wrap can then be
wrapped about the perimeter of the load while the strap end is maintained in
position
by straps 13.
Numerous modifications, variations and adaptations may be made to the
particular
embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope
of
the invention, which is defined in the claims.
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