1133results about "Wrapping with article rotation" patented technology

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for dispensing a predetermined substantially constant length of pre-stretched packaging material based upon load girth. Based upon the girth of the load to be wrapped, an amount of pre-stretched packaging material to be dispensed for each revolution of relative rotation between a packaging material dispenser and the load is determined. A rotational drive system used to provide the relative rotation is linked to a pre-stretch assembly portion of the packaging material dispenser. The linkage may be mechanical or electrical. The linkage controls a ratio of the rotational speed to the pre-stretch assembly dispensing speed, such that the predetermined substantially constant length of pre-stretched packaging material is dispensed for each revolution of the packaging material dispenser relative to the load regardless of the speed of the rotational drive. In the case of a mechanical linkage, the linkage also connects the rotational drive to the pre-stretch assembly portion such that the rotational drive also drives the pre-stretch assembly portion.

A control system for a wrapping apparatus may include a packaging material dispenser configured to dispense packaging material for wrapping a load. The control system may also include at least one sensor assembly configured to generate a signal based on instantaneous demand for packaging material at the load. The control system may further include a controller configured to control operation of the packaging material dispenser based at least in part on the signal.

The present invention relates to compact palletizers that include a stretch-wrap operation as the pallet is built. Specifically, the present invention uses a robot to place items from a fixed infeed elevation either above or, alternatively, below the height of the finished load. A four-sided compression mechanism compresses the rough-built load to the final pallet size and then the entire layer is released to the pallet.

Individual items or group of items are picked and placed onto a layer support device in a loose orientation. The loose orientation enables a much faster palletizing operation because the robotic arm that pick-and-places the item, the items, or the row of items, can travel much faster as it does not have to precisely locate the item, items, or row of items. During the time that a layer is being loosely constructed on the layer support device concurrent wrapping can occur.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for dispensing a predetermined fixed amount of pre-stretched packaging material based upon load girth. A non-rotating ring carries a belt driven by a motor. A packaging material dispenser is mounted on a rotating ring, and the rotating ring may include a pulley that connects to the band, such that the rotating ring is driven by the drive belt. Based upon the girth of the load to be wrapped, an amount of pre-stretched packaging material to be dispensed for each revolution made by the rotating ring is determined. Good wrapping performance in terms of load containment (wrap force) and optimum packaging material use is obtained by dispensing a length of pre-stretched packaging material that is between approximately 90% and approximately 120% of load girth. Once the amount of packaging material to be dispensed per revolution is determined, a ratio of rotating ring drive to final pre-stretch surface speed (i.e., number of pre-stretch roller revolution/rotating ring rotation) can be set and mechanically controlled. Thus, for each revolution of the rotating ring and dispenser, a predetermined fixed amount of packaging material is dispensed and wrapped around the load. In an alternative embodiment, the ratio is electronically controlled.

A film dispenser for a stretch wrapping apparatus is provided. The film dispenser includes a pre-stretch assembly having a top portion mounted to and extending downwardly from a drive plate of a roll carriage frame. The pre-stretch assembly includes two pre-stretch rollers having first ends connected to the roll carriage frame and second ends connected to one another. The pre-stretch rollers may be coated. The pre-stretch assembly further includes a cantilevered idle roller mounted to the drive plate and positioned between the pre-stretch rollers. A film path is defined by the space between the pre-stretch rollers and the idle roller. The film path is easily accessible via the bottom end of the pre-stretch assembly.

The present invention concerns an apparatus for wrapping a load with a flexible wrapping material which prevents the flexible material from unwrapping itself after the load has been wrapped. The apparatus includes a supply of flexible wrapping material which can be delivered as a rope or as a full web. The apparatus includes a first finger and a gripper for positioning a portion of a first rope supplied by the supplying means at a predetermined location. The load and the supply are relatively moved to wrap the load with the flexible material. Once the load has been wrapped, a second finger and a guide wheel are provided to position a portion of a second rope supplied by the supply at the predetermined position. The first and second ropes are fastened together at the predetermined position, and the portion of the second rope is cut downstream of the predetermined position. Preferably, before the second rope is cut, the gripper is moved to grip the portion of the second rope, which is used as a first rope for a subsequent load. The present invention is also concerned with a method for wrapping a load.

A device includes isolated hoppers defining independent passageways converging downwardly towards a central and unitary area. A conveyor belt assembly is disposed subjacent to the hoppers, traverses the passageways, and travels along a linear path passing through the unitary area. A mechanism is included for depositing a napkin onto the conveyor belt. The napkin depositing mechanism is connected to the conveyor belt assembly and is spaced adjacent to one end portion thereof. A mechanism is included for simultaneously folding the napkin and horizontally stacking the eating utensils such that the napkin becomes folded about the eating utensils before being ejected from the simultaneous folding mechanism. A receiving conveyor belt assembly is disposed beneath the simultaneous folding mechanism for transporting the combined napkin and eating utensils. A storage bin is laid adjacent to the receiving conveyor belt and houses the combined napkin and eating utensils for transit.

Packaging material may be profiled to generate an incremental containment force per revolution (ICF) attribute that is represented by a function that is variable as a function of wrap force. Moreover, the performance of different packaging materials, e.g., in terms of speed or cost, may be compared for a particular load through simulation of wrap operations based upon dimensions of the load and a desired load containment force requirement for the load.

The invention relates to a method and a device for wrapping a round bale pressed in a round bale press at least about its cylindrical surface area with an at least unilaterally adhesive film (12). With the inventive method, the film (12) is pulled off by means of a pulling-off device (6, 7) from a film roll (11) in its entire width. During a predetermined space o time of said pulling-off operation, a film rope (13) is formed from the film (12). Said film rope (13) is introduced into the gap between the round bales (3) to be wrapped and a device forming the circumferential press chamber wall (2). By setting the round bale (3) into rotation, the film rope (13) present in the gap is carried along. The round bale (3) is so long rotated until the desired number of film layers has formed on the surface area of the round bale.

Control of a wrapping apparatus is facilitated by enabling an operator to input a load containment force requirement and/or a minimum number of layers of packaging material to be applied to a load, with a wrap control system automatically determining wrap force and other parameters required to meet user input requirements and/or parameters to minimize the expertise required of an operator and to provide more consistent and reliable wrapping of loads. In addition, a wrapping apparatus may be controlled to apply at least a minimum number of layers of packaging material to a load throughout a contiguous region thereof.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for stretch wrapping a load in an efficient manner so as to tightly and securely wrap the load at a desired tension without rupturing the packaging material. The method and apparatus compensate for variation in demand rate as the load is wrapped so as to apply the wrapping material to a load at a desired force, maintain the desired containment tension on the wrapping material on the load after wrapping, and prevent the wrapping material from rupturing during wrapping. The apparatus combines two systems, power assisted roller stretch (“PRS”) and roller stretch (“RS”) to vary the supply rate of the packaging material as the demand rate varies. The apparatus automatically switches between the two types of prestretch to achieve “high” and “low” wrapping force dependent upon the demand rate. Changes in the demand rate are sensed by monitoring changes in the payoff angle of the packaging material extending between the dispenser and the load.

A method of wrapping a load with a stretch wrapping system utilizes a system for monitoring film properties, a module in the stretch wrapping systems controller to analyze the data or film properties and further utilize the data to determine, at least in part, appropriate machine settings and or wrapping pattern for the film and execute by providing appropriate machine settings such that effective wrapping of the load and proper use of the film are achieved. The film properties include film stiffness.

A method, apparatus and program product monitor a wrap force during a wrap cycle to dynamically control the dispense rate of a packaging material dispenser to meet a desired containment force to be applied to a load. A conversion may be performed between wrap force and containment force for the monitored wrap force or a containment force parameter to facilitate the performance of a comparison between the monitored wrap force and a containment force parameter associated with the desired containment force to be applied to the load. A wrap force parameter may also be dynamically adjusted, and in some instances, the dynamic adjustment may be responsive to monitored wrap force, and may be used to meet a load containment force requirement for a load. In other instances, the dynamic adjustment may be responsive to monitored packaging material breaks to reduce the occurrence of packaging material breaks.

A replaceable rotating cartridge capable of dispensing flexible tubing coupled to a lid of a container housing the cartridge. The cartridge is configured to accept a waste package insertable into the flexible tubing. The lid contacts an actuation device which actuates a rotation mechanism to rotate the cartridge while holding an end of the tubing stationary, thus sealably twisting and encapsulating the waste package inside the flexible tubing.

A wrapping apparatus and method utilize a corner geometry-based wrap control that controls the rate at which packaging material is dispensed at least in part based on the geometrical relationship between one or more corners of a load and a packaging material dispenser.

A wrapping apparatus and method utilize a corner rotation angle-based wrap control that controls the rate at which packaging material is dispensed based on the rotational position of one or more corners of the load during relative rotation established between the load and a packaging material dispenser. The locations of one or more corners on a load may be sensed or otherwise calculated, and when combined with a sensed or calculated rotational position of the load relative to a packaging material dispenser, the locations of the corners relative to the packaging material dispenser may be determined and utilized to control the dispense rate of the packaging material dispenser, e.g., by determining which corner is currently driving an effective consumption rate of the load and/or determining when to apply a controlled intervention to the load.

A supply of plastic wrapping material for wrapping cylindrical modules includes a plurality of end-to-end segments, with each segment being of a length sufficient for enveloping a cylindrical cotton module of a given size with a predetermined number of layers of wrapping. All except an inner tail of an inner layer of wrapping adheres to the following layer. The location within each segment which becomes a loose inner tail when wrapped about a module is provided with a first RFID tag while other RFID tags are provided at equally spaced locations along the inner layer. Each RFID tag is provided with a unique identifier for which may be read by a RFID tag reader carried by a module handling implement having forks rotatable by reversible motors operable for rotating the module for placing the loose inner tail at a desired location relative to a cutting device for slitting the wrapping during wrapping removal. A control arrangement is coupled to the RFID tag reader and uses the information from the tag identifiers to cause the module to be rotated in a direction most suitable for optimizing placement the loose inner tail in the desired location for wrapping removal.

An apparatus and method for measuring containment force on a load is provided. The apparatus may include a first longitudinally extending arm configured to engage a first side of packaging material wrapped around the load. The apparatus may also include a second longitudinally extending arm configured to engage a second side of the packaging material, the second side being opposite the first side. The apparatus may further include an indicator positioned substantially perpendicularly to the first and second arms, a third longitudinally extending arm, and a force gauge configured to measure a force exerted on the third longitudinally extending arm.