Device and method for packaging material

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and method. The device comprises a housing (2) delimited by a top element (4), and laterally by two opposite upward directed side elements (5). A supporting element (8) is applied in the housing for supporting the packaging material. The supporting element is moveable in an upward direction towards or away from the top element and is lockable. The supporting element is provided with two supporting openings (11). The dimensions and position of the supporting openings are adapted such that when in use the fork (15) of a fork-lift truck (14) can be fittingly inserted into the supporting openings and the inserted fork can move the supporting element in an upward direction by moving the fork.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to packing used or unused packaging material. More specifically the invention relates to means to compact packaging material for a compact and efficient transport.

[0002] To transport goods from the producer to the processor or end user, said goods are packaged. The choice of packaging material depends, among other things, on the nature of the product to be transported, the need to be able to transport and store it efficiently using the usual logistical means, the desired level of protection of the product to be transported.

[0003] Known packaging materials include paper, plastic films, cardboard and plastic bags. Particularly the transport of bulk goods such as, for example, sand, gravel and construction waste increasingly use big plastic bags, also referred to as flexible intermediary bulk containers (FIBCs) or big bags.

[0004] Reusable packaging materials are used as much as possible out of environmental considerations. However, this means that the used packaging must be put back into circulation, for example, to a distributor or producer of packaging materials or to a producer or processor who packs products. Said logistical operation requires an economically justified approach that benefits all parties involved in the logistics chain by keeping the transport cost of the used packaging materials as low as possible and if possible, also by competing with the cost of single-use packaging. Indeed, due to the high energy prices and the associated increased transport costs the pressure to transport packaging material as compactly as possible, regardless of whether pallets are used, has only increased.

[0005] When the packaging material consists of reusable FIBCs, for example, it is clear that used empty FIBCs are very bulky. Consequently, used empty FIBCs are difficult to handle, are time-consuming to properly fold up and stacking said folded FIBCs in stable way is a challenge. In practice this means that when used FIBCs are loosely stacked on a pallet a relatively bulky stack of only a limited number of FIBCs needs to be transported which from a logistics and economic point of view is unjustifiable.

[0006] US 3593654 discloses a waste baler that can be used in combination with a fork-lift truck. The waste baler has a boxlike structure with a closure plate on the upperside which can be opened for the reception of waste. A compaction structure is applied in the boxlike structure with a vertical plate for closing the front side of the boxlike structure and a horizontal compaction plate. The fork of a fork-lift truck can be placed under the compaction structure to convert the vertical movement of the fork into a movement of the compaction structure.

[0007] DE 29514762 U1 discloses a waste baler for use in combination with a fork-lift truck. The waste baler has a cuboid-shaped structure with a top plate which can be opened for the reception and removal of waste and a height-adjustable front plate. A pallet is applied on the bottom of the cuboid-shaped structure that can move upwardly by moving the fork of a fork-lift truck whereby the front plate also shifts.

[0008] IT 202000025606 A1 discloses a waste baler for use in combination with a fork-lift truck. The waste baler has a housing with a height-adjustable waste container and a compacting structure therein. The waste container can move upwardly by moving the fork of a fork-lift truck until the waste container at least partially encloses the compacting structure whereby the waste is compacted in the waste container by the compacting element inserted into the waste container.

[0009] It is an objective of the invention to provide a solution for compactly packing used or unused packaging material.

[0010] It is also an objective of the invention to provide a solution whereby the means for packing the packaging material are movable, take up as little space as possible and preferably can be used cost-efficiently with as little impact on the environment as possible. Indeed, the advantage is that the aforementioned means can be used in several places in the logistics chain where appropriate and as such the logistics chain can be optimised such that the recycling of used packaging material is economically feasible.

[0011] To at least partially provide a solution to one or several of the aforementioned challenges and / or to meet one or several of the aforementioned objectives, the invention provides a device for packing packaging material.

[0012] The device according to the invention comprises a housing with a rear side and a front side, whereby the housing is delimited on an upperside by a top element and laterally by two opposite upward directed side elements that are spaced at a distance connected to the top element.

[0013] Typically, the housing substantially has the form of a beam. However, the invention is not restricted to this and other forms can be used such as for example housings with a cross-section in the form of a circle, an oval, a regular or irregular polygon, or another form with at least a partially curved contour edge.

[0014] When in use, the device is accessible on the front side. For example, this can be done by leaving the housing of the device open on the front side, by providing panels which can be removed before use of the device, by providing one or several doors which can be opened before use or by providing other known access means.

[0015] In the housing of the device, between the side elements, a supporting element for supporting the packaging material, is applied moveably in an upward direction towards or away from the top element. The supporting element is provided with two supporting openings, preferably at the same height, which are accessible on the front side and extend substantially in a parallel way inwards in or under the supporting element in the direction of the rear side. The dimensions and position of the supporting openings are adapted such that when in use the fork of a fork-lift truck can be fittingly inserted into the supporting openings and the inserted fork can move the supporting element in an upward direction by moving the fork.

[0016] On each of its sides facing the side elements the supporting element of the device is provided with at least one lock element. For each lock element, several lock openings in upward direction are provided on the inside of the corresponding side element. Each lock element is moveable from and to a lock position, wherein, when in use, when the lock element is located on the level of a corresponding lock opening, the lock element is at least partially inserted in the corresponding lock opening.

[0017] Said configuration of the device allows used packaging material to be placed on the supporting element, either directly or on a pallet, and to be subsequently compacted into a more compact form by moving the supporting element towards the top element using a fork-lift truck. The period of time during which the compacted condition is retained can be tailored to the nature of the packaging material. In this way, for example when using plastic packaging material, said material is prevented from springing back after compacting by compacting for a sufficiently long time or, in any case, the spring back can be greatly reduced. Indeed, synthetic materials often have a slow yield point such that said materials spring back if compacted too short a time.

[0018] After compacting, the supporting element can be moved away from the top element with the fork-lift truck and optionally the already compacted packaging material can be tied up and / or an extra load of packaging material can be placed above the already compacted packaging material and subsequently compacted together.

[0019] Said configuration of the device also allows the supporting element to be locked with the packaging material in an at least partially compacted condition. Consequently, the fork-lift truck can be removed from the device while the lock elements are in lock position and the packaging material remains in compacted condition. An advantage of this is an increase in efficiency. Indeed, particularly if the packaging material needs to be compacted over a longer period of time, for example to prevent spring back, the fork-lift truck can be used for other purposes in the meantime. A further advantage is that the device can consequently be used for the temporary storage of the (compacted) packaging material.

[0020] Furthermore, said configuration of the device allows the supporting element to be moved and locked step by step. The minimum step length depends on the distance between successive lock openings, whereby in principle the distance can be determined in advance according to choice. This not only benefits the safety during the operation of the device but also offers the possibility to further compact the packaging material in successive discrete steps whereby after each step the device can be locked. Between the steps the fork-lift truck can be removed from the locked device whereby the compacted condition of the packaging material is always maintained.

[0021] The device according to the invention does not supply any energy but only uses the energy supplied by a fork-lift truck. This means the device in itself has little impact on the environment and requires little maintenance. Furthermore, the device can be executed in a compact way and with few components such that the assembly is easily moveable and can also be built in a relatively simple way. Preferably, the device is executed in a modular way with a restricted number of modules whereby, for example, the top element, the supporting element and the side elements are each built from one or several modules. A modular execution means the device can also be transported in unmounted condition whereby significantly less space is taken up. Assembly or disassembly is indeed simple.

[0022] Although, when in use, the device is used with a fork-lift truck, fork-lift trucks are commonly used in logistics such that no additional investments are required for this. The description always refers to a fork-lift truck but in principle every device can be used that is provided with a fork or lifting platform that can be moved up and down and can be placed under a load to lift or move said load. A fork-lift truck and particularly the execution of the fork, such as for example the dimensions of the blades and the centre distance between the blades, is largely standardised. The centre distance between the blades of the fork can be executed in an adjustable way. Obviously, it is also possible to execute supporting elements in several versions with different dimensions of the supporting openings and / or with different distances between the supporting openings. This allows a version of the supporting element to be provided in the device tailored to the intended fork-lift truck to be used.

[0023] In an embodiment according to the invention the housing on an underside is delimited by a bottom element connected to the housing, whereby the bottom element comprises a protruding part which on the front side of the housing protrudes outwardly relative to the side elements and rests on the floor when in use. The dimensions of the protruding part are adapted such that, when in use, the inserted fork can move the supporting element in an upward direction by moving the fork while the fork-lift truck rests at least partially on the protruding part. Alternatively, on leaving out at least the protruding part of the bottom plate, or additionally, one can opt to connect the housing to the floor, for example by anchoring the side panels and / or the bottom plate in the floor.

[0024] In an embodiment according to the invention the supporting element of the device is provided at each of the sides facing the side elements with at least one guide element and for each guide element a corresponding guide opening is provided in the corresponding side element on the inside in which the relevant guide element is inserted at least partially. Optionally, the supporting element can be provided with at least two spaced apart guide elements at each of its sides facing the side elements and the guide elements on the respective sides of the supporting element can be placed opposite each other. Said configuration prevents the supporting element from tilting when it moves.

[0025] Also in an embodiment according to the invention the sides of the top element and the supporting element facing each other are substantially flat which allows the packaging material to be uniformly compacted together. Furthermore, optionally the sides of the top element and the supporting element facing each other can each be provided with at least one opposite longitudinal groove with open ends which extends from the front side to the rear side.

[0026] The device is adapted such that the longitudinal grooves are accessible via their open ends. This can be done, for example, by providing the housing with a rear wall in which an upward directed wall passage is applied for each pair of opposite longitudinal grooves through which the open ends of the corresponding longitudinal grooves overlap at the rear side. In this way, when the packaging material is in a compacted condition a fastening such as a strap or band can be applied via each pair of longitudinal grooves around the compacted packaging material, which can then be tightened for tying up the packaging material.

[0027] Optionally, the supporting openings can also be executed as supporting passages and two parallel upward directed wall passages can be provided in the rear wall that are configured such that the supporting passages end into the corresponding wall passages such that when in use when the fork is inserted into the supporting passages said fork can protrude beyond the rear wall through the wall passages. This allows the fork to be inserted into the passages as far as possible irrespective of the length, which guarantees an optimal lift capacity.

[0028] Optionally, the sides of the top element and the supporting element facing each other can each be provided with at least one opposite transversal groove with open ends extending laterally. The device is adapted such that transversal grooves are accessible via their open ends. The combination of the transversal grooves and the longitudinal grooves allows the packaging material to be tied up in a crosswise way while it is compacted between the supporting element and the top element.

[0029] In a further embodiment according to the invention all lock elements of the device are synchronously moveable from and to the lock position.

[0030] Optionally, each lock element can be hingedly connected to the supporting element whereby the lock element can hinge under the influence of an external force from and to the lock position. Alternatively or additionally, each lock element can be compressibly connected to the supporting element. Preferably, the compressible lock element is configured such that the depth with which the protruding section of the lock element, when in use, is inserted into the corresponding lock opening in the upward direction gradually decreases until it is practically no longer inserted. An advantage of this is that in the lock position, the supporting element can still move to the top element by gradually compressing the protruding section of the lock element through the upper edge of the corresponding lock opening. However, once the lock element overlaps with a next lock opening the protruding section will spring back and insert itself into the lock opening. In this way a stepwise automatic locking is obtained. Furthermore, if the supporting element is located in height between the lock openings, the supporting element in the lock position can only move away from the top element up to the next lock opening.

[0031] The invention also relates to a method for packing packaging material using a device as specified in the previous embodiments or a combination thereof. The method comprises the steps of: placing packaging material on the supporting element, inserting the fork of a fork-lift truck into the supporting openings of the supporting element, compacting the packaging material by moving the supporting element in an upward direction by lifting the fork of the fork-lift truck, and selectively unlocking or locking the supporting element.

[0032] In an embodiment according to the invention the method comprises the further steps of: applying at least one fastening around the packaging material compacted between the supporting element and the top element. If the packaging material is placed on a pallet on the supporting element, the compacted packaging material is also connected to the pallet by applying said fastening.

[0033] With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, a preferred embodiment of a device for packing packaging material according to the invention is described hereinafter, by way of an example without any limiting nature, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 schematically shows a perspective view of an embodiment according to the invention of a device for packing packaging material; figure 2 schematically shows a perspective view of the device shown in fig.1 whereby a fork-lift truck lifts a supporting platform of the device; figure 3 partially shows a longitudinal section of the device shown in fig.1 according to line A-B as indicated in fig.1; figure 4 schematically shows an enlarged perspective view of the supporting platform of the device shown in fig.1 indicated in fig.1 with F4; figures 5A and 5B show the lock mechanism of the supporting platform shown in fig.4 and indicated in fig.4 with F5, respectively in unlocked and locked position.

[0034] Figures 1 to 5 show an example of a baler 1 for packing packaging material. The baler 1 comprises a substantially beam-shaped housing 2. The housing 2 comprises a bottom plate 3, a top platform 4, two opposite sidewalls 5 and a rear wall 6. The bottom plate 3 comprises a protruding part 7 that rests on the floor and on the front side of the housing 2 protrudes outwardly relative to the sidewalls 5. The housing can be connected to the floor by anchoring the sidewalls and / or the bottom plate, for example. The housing 2 of the baler is open on the front side. The external dimensions of the shown housing are approximately as follows: 2.1 m high, 1.25 m long (deep) and 1.4 wide. The dimensions are chosen such that standard pallets (such as europallets) fit horizontally in the housing. The protruding part 7 of the bottom plate protrudes approximately 75 cm from the front side of the housing. However, the invention is not limited to a housing comprising a bottom plate 3 with a protruding part 7. The bottom plate, entirely or only the protruding part, can be left out.

[0035] A supporting platform 8 is applied in the housing which in the shown condition rests on the bottom plate 3 and is height adjustable between the top platform 4 and the bottom plate. Packaging material, stacked or not stacked, can be placed on the supporting platform on a pallet. On each of its sides facing the sidewalls 5, the supporting platform 8 is provided with two laterally protruding guide elements 9. For each guide element 9 a corresponding guide passage 10 is provided in the corresponding sidewall 5. Said guide passage extends vertically from the bottom plate up to the top platform. A cylindrical section of the guide element 9 extends in the corresponding guide passage 10 such that when adjusting the height of the supporting platform the guide elements are guided through the guide passages.

[0036] In the supporting platform 8, two beam-shaped supporting passages 11 are provided at the same height, extending at a distance from each other practically parallel with the sidewalls 5 from the front side to the rear side of the housing 2. On the rear side the supporting passages 11 overlap with wall passages in the rear wall 6 which extend vertically from the bottom plate 3 to the top platform 3. The dimensions of the supporting passages 11 in cross-section and their mutual centre distance are chosen such that the fork 15 of a fork-lift truck 14 (shown in fig.2) can be placed therein. If necessary, the fork 15 can be inserted into the supporting passages 11 such that the blades protrude through the wall passages beyond the rear wall 6.

[0037] The sides facing each other of the fixed top platform 4 and the height-adjustable supporting platform 8 are substantially flat. In their sides facing each other, two opposite longitudinal grooves 12 and two opposite transversal grooves 13 are applied in a crosswise way. The longitudinal grooves 12 are provided with open ends and extend from the front side to the rear side. The open ends of the longitudinal grooves overlap on the rear side with the wall passages in the rear wall 6. The transversal grooves 13 are provided with open ends and extend between the sidewalls. The open ends of the transversal grooves overlap on the sides with the guide passages 10 in the sidewalls 5.

[0038] The supporting platform 8, see figures 3 to 5 in particular, is provided with a lock mechanism. On each of the sides facing the sidewalls 5 of the supporting platform, the lock mechanism comprises 8 two lock elements 16 which are connected to the supporting platform 8 via hinge points 17. The lock mechanism comprises a control which is workably connected to the lock elements 4 to be able to move said lock elements synchronously between a lock position as shown in fig.5A and an unlock position as shown in fig.5B. On the outside of each sidewall 5, the control comprises a lever 18 for selectively unlocking or locking the supporting platform 8 or in other words for selectively moving the lock elements from and to the lock position. The lever 18 extends in the housing 2 via a guide element 9. The levers 18 are connected relative to each other via a shaft 19 such that said levers move synchronously. The shaft 19 is workably connected to two sliding slats, one on each side of the supporting platform 8 facing the sidewall. The connection is such that upon rotating one of the levers 18, the rotational motion of the shaft 19 is converted into a simultaneous translation of the sliding slats 20, on the respective ends of which the locking elements 16 rest.

[0039] Upon rotation of the lever 18 to the unlock position the sliding slats 20 translate such that their ends exercise a compressive force on the lock elements 16 such that said lock elements synchronously hinge inwardly and consequently do not protruded laterally outwardly relative to the supporting platform 8.

[0040] Upon rotation of the lever 18 to the lock position, the sliding slats 20 translate such that their ends no longer exercise a compressive force on the lock elements 16 such that under the influence of gravity said sliding slats synchronously hinge outwardly and protrude laterally outwardly relative to the supporting platform 8. On the inside of the sidewalls 5, lock openings 21 are provided which overlap with the lock elements in length (depth) and are spaced apart in the height direction. When in use in the lock position, when the lock element 16 is located on the level of a corresponding lock opening 21, the lock element is inserted at least partially in the corresponding lock opening. The shape of the section 22 of the lock element 16 which when in use is inserted into the lock opening is such that the depth of the insertion in the upward direction gradually decreases until it is practically no longer inserted. The lock element can be compressed, indeed by exercising a compressive force on the protruding section 22 which is greater than gravity the lock element will hinge inwardly. When in use, said compressive force is generated by the contact of the protruding section 22 with the upper edge of the lock opening 21 in which it is inserted and it is gradually compressed upon raising the supporting platform 8.

[0041] With reference to the characteristics of the device as shown in figures 1 to 5, the method for packing packaging material is very simple and as follows.

[0042] At the start of the method no packaging material is yet located in the baler 1 and the supporting platform 8 is typically located on or near the bottom plate 3. If a cover or closure is provided on the front side, said cover or closure is removed or opened such that the baler is accessible from the front side. The lock mechanism is located in the lock position or is put in the lock position using the lever 18. The packaging material, for example used FIBCs, is stacked directly on the supporting platform or on a pallet on the supporting platform until a desired stack height is reached Examples of pallets to be used are euro pallets with an upper surface of 1.2 m by 0.8 m, or 1.2 m by 1 m, or CP9 pallets of 1.14 m by 1.14 m.

[0043] Subsequently, the fork 15 of a fork-lift truck 14 is slid horizontally into the supporting passages 11. Compacting the FIBCs is initiated by slowly and gradually moving the fork upward while the fork-lift truck rests on the protruding part 7 of the bottom plate 3 such that the supporting platform 8 is raised. During the upward movement, always on the level of lock openings, 21 the protruding sections 22 of the lock elements 16 fall into the lock openings and on continuing the upward movement are pushed in again. The upward movement is continued until the supporting platform 8 practically comes to a standstill or the movement slows down substantially. The fork is now gradually lowered until the lock elements 16 fall into the first available lock openings 21 in the downward movement. The supporting platform 8 is now locked at a height whereby the used FIBCs are compacted and the fork is freely located in the supporting passages 11.

[0044] After sufficient time, the supporting platform 8 can optionally be lowered to remove the compacted stack, or to possibly place additional used FIBCs on the already compacted stack and subsequently compacting everything together. It is also possible to opt to first tie up the compacted stack.

[0045] If the choice is to tie up the stack first, the fork can first be removed from the supporting passages 11. A fastening, for example in the form of a band or strap, can be applied to tie up the compacted stack by circulating the fastening, for example, through one of the longitudinal grooves 12 in the top platform 4 and through the openings in the pallet or in case no pallet is used through the opposite longitudinal groove 12 in the supporting platform 8. If desired, several fastenings can of course be applied using the available longitudinal and transversal grooves. After tying up the stack, the supporting platform 8 can be lowered.

[0046] Lowering the supporting platform 8 is done by lightly lifting the locked supporting platform using the fork inserted into the supporting passages 11 to reduce the pressure on the lock elements 16. Subsequently, using the lever 18, the lock mechanism is moved from the lock position to the unlock position and by lowering the fork, the supporting platform 8 is lowered onto the bottom plate 3 after which the compressed packaging material may be removed.

[0047] The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described as an example and shown in the figures, but a device and method for packing packaging material according to the invention can be realised in all kinds of forms and dimensions without departing from the scope of the invention, as is described in the claims attached.

Claims

1. A device (1) for packing packaging material comprising a housing (2) with a rear side and a front side, whereby the housing is delimited on an upperside by a top element (4) and laterally by two opposite spaced apart upward directed side elements (5) connected to the top element, and between the side elements, a supporting element (8) for supporting the packaging material is applied moveably in an upward direction towards or away from the top element, whereby the supporting element is provided with two supporting openings (11), which are accessible from the front side and extend substantially in parallel inwardly in or under the supporting element in the direction of the rear side, whereby the dimensions and position of the supporting openings are adapted such that when in use, the fork (15) of a fork-lift truck (14) can be fittingly inserted into the supporting openings and the inserted fork can move the supporting element in an upward direction by moving the fork, and whereby the supporting element is provided at each of its sides facing the side elements with at least one guide element (16) and for each lock element in upward direction several lock openings (21) are provided on the inside of the corresponding side element, whereby each lock element is moveable from and to a lock position, wherein, when in use, when the lock element is located on the level of a corresponding lock opening, the lock element is at least partially inserted in the corresponding lock opening.

2. The device according to claim 1 characterised in that the housing (2) is delimited at an underside by a bottom element (3), whereby the bottom element comprises a protruding part (7) which on the front side of the housing protrudes outwardly relative to the side elements and when in use rests on a floor, and whereby the dimensions of the protruding part are adapted such that when in use the inserted fork can move the supporting element in an upward direction by moving the fork while the fork-lift truck rests at least partially on the protruding part.

3. The device according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the supporting element (8) is provided at each of its sides facing the side elements (5) with at least one guide element (9) and in that for each guide element a corresponding guide opening (10) is provided in on the inside of the corresponding side element in which the relevant guide element is inserted at least partially.

4. The device according to claim 3, characterised in that the supporting element (8) is provided at each of its sides facing the side elements (5) with at least two spaced apart guide elements (10) and the guide elements are placed opposite each other on the respective sides of the supporting element.

5. The device according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the supporting openings (11) are supporting passages and the housing (2) is provided with a rear wall (6) with two parallel upward directed wall passages, configured such that the supporting passages end in the corresponding wall passages such that when in use when the fork (15) is inserted into the supporting passages said fork can protrude beyond the rear wall through the wall passages.

6. The device according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the sides of the top element (4) and the supporting element (8) facing each other are substantially flat.

7. The device according to claim 6, characterised in that the sides of the top element (4) and the supporting element (8) facing each other are provided with at least one opposite transversal groove (12) with open ends which extends from the front side to the rear side.

8. The device according to claim 7 in combination with claim 5, characterised in that the open ends of the longitudinal grooves (12) on the rear side overlap with the wall passages.

9. The device according to claim 7 or 8, characterised in that the sides of top element (4) and the supporting element (8) facing each other are each provided with at least one opposite transversal groove (13) with open ends which extends laterally.

10. The device according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that all lock elements (16) are synchronously moveable from and to the lock position.

11. The device according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that each lock element (16) is hingedly connected to the supporting element (8).

12. The device according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that each lock element (16) is compressibly connected to the supporting element (8).

13. The device according to claim 12, characterised in that the depth with which the section (22) of the lock element (16) in use is inserted in the corresponding lock opening (21) in the upward direction gradually decreases until it is practically no longer inserted.

14. A method for packing packaging material using a device according to any one of the previous claims, the method comprising the steps of: placing packaging material on the supporting element (8), inserting the fork (15) of a fork-lift truck (14) into the supporting openings (11) of the supporting element (8), compacting the packaging material by moving the supporting element in an upward direction by lifting the fork of the fork-lift truck inserted in the supporting openings, and selectively unlocking or locking the supporting element.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterised in that the method comprises the step of applying at least one fastening around the compacted packaging material on the supporting element (8).

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