Air bubble cushioning material volume reduction device

Abstract

To provide an air bubble cushioning material volume reduction device which can achieve safety in work for placing an air bubble cushioning material to be reduced in volume and which has a wide range of use from industrial use to home use.SOLUTION: In an air bubble cushioning material volume reduction device, a placement guide for placing an object to be reduced in volume from the side surface is introduced having a structure in which a surface or a shaft is used to restrain a front arm in at least two points to prevent fingers and the front arm from reaching a volume reduction part. Further, the placement guide may be provided with two or three rollers to facilitate the use.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 47

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Bubble wrap is used as a packaging material when transporting luggage. This product uses two resin sheets to create a cylindrical air pocket that traps air, and the air pressure acts as a cushioning material.It is known by various names, including air packing, air cap, and bubble wrap, which are all trademarked products. In the present invention, this is called bubble cushioning material, and the cylindrical portion with a circular bottom that traps the air is called an air reservoir.

[0002] The details of the structure of bubble cushioning material, and the fact that it is useful but has the disadvantage of being bulky after use and that it is desirable to reduce its volume, are described in detail in Patent Documents 1 to 12, etc., and are, so to speak, publicly known matters, so will not be described in detail in this application; however, the present invention relates to a device for reducing the volume of bubble cushioning material. [Background technology]

[0003] The shapes of the bubble cushioning material to be reduced in volume in this application are square, round, and various other shapes, and there are no clear numerical standards, but for the sake of ease of explanation, the size of the material to be reduced as seen from the volume reduction device may be referred to as follows: The smallest items are small objects with a width and length of several centimeters. Among them, the relatively long items are long small objects. Large objects measuring more than several tens of centimeters in length and width. Among these, relatively long objects are called long large objects.

[0004] There are many types of bubble cushioning material, but as a specific numerical example, if we take the commonly available bubble cushioning material with φ10mm bubbles as a typical example, it will be about 3mm thick when left in a single layer without being folded, 12mm thick when four layers are stacked and no pressure is applied, and about 48mm thick when 16 layers are stacked. However, since the air bubbles in bubble cushioning material are not fully filled with air, but are only a few tens of percent, it can be described as flexible and soft, and exact dimensions cannot be specified, but are approximate values. Also, even when compressed lightly, 12mm easily becomes 6mm, and 48mm easily becomes 24mm, so roughly speaking, it can be said that light compression will reduce the thickness to roughly half.

[0005] In order to reduce the width of the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device, large objects must be folded or randomly rolled up and then placed into the device, but in this case the thickness of the large objects will increase, so the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device will require some ingenuity. In the following description, the same names and numbers will be used for the same items in each drawing, and once an explanation has been given, the explanation or number may not be repeated in the following text.

[0006] Various devices have been proposed for reducing the volume of bubble cushioning material, but they are all large, complex, difficult to manufacture, and unsuitable for mass production. At present, there are no small, inexpensive products for home use. The problems that exist in conventional bubble cushioning material volume reduction devices such as those disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 12 that have actually been published are described in detail in Patent Document 13, so they will not be repeated here.

[0007] The methods of Patent Documents 13 and 14 are extremely practical, inexpensive, applicable to industrial use, and are methods for manufacturing a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that can be miniaturized as a general-purpose product and used at home. Therefore, this application is based on the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device (basic type) shown in Figure 1, which conforms to the methods of Patent Documents 13 and 14.

[0008] Although this is referred to as "background technology," there are currently no bubble wrap volume reduction devices on the market, so there is no technology to be mentioned or improved upon. Therefore, the "background technology" described here is an improvement that was discovered in the process of developing a completely new bubble cushioning volume reduction device from a state of no prior technology, and is different in nature from ordinary "background technology."

[0009] In the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device (basic type) of Figure 1, the introduction guide 1 is for guiding the bubble cushioning material to the volume reduction section 2, and is for making it easier to introduce the bubble cushioning material. The volume reducing unit 2 has a perforating roller 203, a receiving roller 204, and a separation plate 205, and these three components mainly perform the perforation, compression, separation, and movement of the bubble cushioning material. This operation is described in detail in Patent Document 13.

[0010] The drive unit 3 consists of a motor that drives the perforation roller 203, etc., and various switches and control circuits that control the motor. There are various ways to realize this circuit, as well as mechanisms such as what to use as bearings when installing the shafts of the perforation roller 203 and receiving roller 204 in the volume reduction unit 2, using known technology. Generally, known technology is sufficient, and these can be easily manufactured by anyone skilled in the art, so detailed description will be omitted. The motor is not essential, and a method such as manually turning a handle may also be used. The legs 4 may be any known rod-shaped or box-shaped object as long as they can support the integrated unit consisting of the feeding guide 1, volume reduction section 2, and drive section 3. Since they are unrelated to the subject matter of this application, they will not be mentioned specifically below and will not be shown in the drawings.

[0011] Patent Document 14 proposes a perforation unit 209 as shown in FIG. 3 using a separation plate 208 as outlined in FIG. This separator plate 208 works well for most bubble wrap materials, but in the case of soft products such as the bubble wrap material d35 (Kawakami Sangyo Co., Ltd.) currently on the market, the material cannot be completely separated from the separator plate and gets caught in the groove between the two separator plates, which can cause separation blockages in the groove for the perforated plate as shown in Figure 3(b).

[0012] Here, please note in advance that, as shown in the front view of Figure 10, the perforated plate 207 is sandwiched between two separation plates 208, and the space between the two separation plates into which the perforated plates fit is a groove-like space.

[0013] The phenomenon of separation clogging is explained in Figure 3. In FIG. 3(a), the intersection of the outer circumferential circle 207A of the perforated plate 207 and the separation surface 208C of the separation plate 208 is called the separation point 208D, which is equidistant from the shaft center and is the point where the bubble cushioning material 8 separates from the triangular projection 207. Normally, at separation point 208D, the bubble cushioning material 8 continues in the same direction as it was traveling, and since the distance from the shaft center is greater than the separation point, it separates from perforated plate 207 without any problems.

[0014] In reality, during the volume reduction operation, friction between separation surface 208C and the bubble cushioning material applies a force that prevents the bubble cushioning material from moving, making it difficult for the bubble cushioning material to move along separation surface 208C just before separation point 208D. Since the soft, or rather weak, bubble cushioning material is easily bent in the direction of movement of triangular protrusion 207B, it does not separate from the triangular protrusion as shown in Figure 3(b), and is therefore easily moved in the rotational direction of the triangular protrusion, resulting in separation blockage. On the other hand, in the case of a stiff bubble cushioning material, it is difficult to bend in the direction of movement of the triangular projection, so even when it reaches the separation point, it moves along the separation surface and separates normally.

[0015] The slower the rotation speed of the perforated plate, the less likely the separation clogging phenomenon described above will occur. However, it is not practical to reduce the rotation speed to the point where separation clogging does not occur even with soft materials such as d35, i.e., to reduce the volume reduction processing capacity.

[0016] In Figure 4, if a force indicated by Fout, which is from the center of the perforated plate toward the tip of the triangular protrusion, acts on the bubble cushioning material at separation point 208D, the two should easily separate and no clogging should occur. However, the force Fout does not occur with the separation plate in Figure 2.

[0017] As a method for generating the force Fout, a method of providing a scraping roller 212 shown in FIG. 5 can be considered. This is achieved by rotating a scraping roller shaft 212B provided with a scraping plate 212A, applying a force Fout to the bubble cushioning material 8 and separating it from the perforated plate 207.

[0018] The scraping plates 212A are positioned between the perforated plates 8, and one more than the number of perforated plates is required. To realize the scraping roller 212, a drive unit, numerous parts, and space are required, which leads to increased costs and an increased size of the device, and is not a good method.

[0019] Another method for generating the force Fout is to blow air onto the bubble wrap, as shown in FIG. Although this method is effective, it requires an air drive device, many parts, and space, which leads to increased costs and a larger device size, making it an undesirable method. This application presents a solution to this problem.

[0020] In the case of the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device (basic type) shown in Figure 1 of the present application, the compression gap distance described below is fixed and cannot be changed depending on the object to be reduced in volume, which is inconvenient. In the present invention, the compression gap distance can be changed in accordance with the user's wishes, and the user can freely change the compression gap distance.

[0021] On page 7 of Patent Document 14, it is stated that "The receiving roller 204 may be allowed to rotate freely, or may be linked to the perforating roller 203 via a gear and rotated in the opposite direction to each other. The latter is more expensive, but has the advantage of making it easier to wrap the object to be reduced in volume around the perforating roller 203." In fact, in Figure 16, if the receiving roller 204 is left to rotate freely, the receiving roller will not rotate unless the bubble cushioning material is reduced in volume, so when the inserted bubble cushioning material 8 falls on the receiving roller, it will not move toward the perforated roller 203 and reduction will not begin, so it will be necessary to adjust its position by re-inserting the bubble cushioning material, etc.

[0022] If the receiving roller 204 in FIG. 16 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the bubble cushioning material is moved toward the perforated roller, and reduction in volume can begin. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 17, there is a method of providing a perforating roller gear 203B on the perforating roller 203 and a receiving roller gear 204D on the receiving roller 204, and rotating the receiving roller in the opposite direction as the perforating roller rotates.

[0023] However, when using gears, there are disadvantages in the following points: (a) When using standard commercially available gears, the diameter of the pitch circle of the gear is determined by the relationship between the module and the number of teeth. Therefore, in FIG. 17, the center distance L2 between the shafts of the perforating roller 203 and the receiving roller 204 and the number of teeth of each gear cannot be freely determined, which is a constraint in the design of the perforating roller and the receiving roller. In particular, the number of teeth of the two gears should originally be equal, but due to the structure, it may not be possible to do so, and in some cases, the number of teeth of the two gears has to be different. To make L2 and the number of teeth not restricted by the gear size, it is necessary to interpose another gear between the gear 203B and the gear 204D, which makes the device complicated and increases the cost.

[0024] (b) During the volume reduction operation, as shown in FIG. 18(a), a force to rotate the receiving plate 204A in the direction shown by the arrow in the figure acts on the outer peripheral circle 204B of the receiving plate due to the friction between the bubble buffer material 8 moving at a speed v1 by the perforating plate 207 and the receiving plate 204A. If the receiving roller is not rotated by a gear, it rotates at the same v1 as the perforating plate. However, when rotated by gears with different numbers of teeth, a force to rotate at a speed (denoted as v2) determined by the rotation ratio also acts.

[0025] When v1 < v2 in FIG. 18(b) and v1 > v2 in FIG. 18(c), the frictional force 204C acts in the direction shown by the thick arrow. As a result, a slip of the difference between v1 and v2 occurs on the outer peripheral circle 204B of the receiving plate, which becomes a wasted load when viewed from the motor, causing an increase in the consumption current and a decrease in the rotational speed. Alternatively, there may be a case where it is necessary to increase the output of the motor by the amount of the wasted load.

[0026] (c) When v1 and v2 are different, as shown in Figures 18(b) and 18(c), the moving speed of the bubble cushioning material 8 on the perforated plate side and on the receiving roller side will be different, so after reduction the material will have a curled shape, which will increase its actual volume and defeat the purpose of volume reduction.

[0027] From the above, it can be seen that it is desirable to actively rotate the receiving roller when the bubble cushioning material is not being reduced in volume, and to passively rotate the receiving roller due to friction with the bubble cushioning material when the bubble cushioning material is being reduced in volume. To achieve this, it is possible to use a chain or belt instead of gears, or a ratchet mechanism, but this would make the structure more complicated, larger, and more costly. This application presents a solution to this problem.

[0028] If the bubble wrap volume reduction device (basic type) in Figure 1 is not a large industrial device, there are restrictions on the diameter of the perforating rollers and receiving rollers, as well as the dimensions of the entrance to the volume reduction section 2 for safety reasons, which naturally limits the amount of bubble wrap that can be processed at one time. Furthermore, even if multiple sheets of bubble wrap that have been temporarily reduced in volume are stacked, the total thickness is small, so by reducing the volume again as a permanent reduction, the compression that expels the air and the joining of flash are more reliable, resulting in a greater reduction effect. However, this is a hassle as it requires double work, so it is desirable to make it easier to carry out both the temporary volume reduction and the actual volume reduction. This application shows how to do this.

[0029] As stated in the abstract of Patent Document 14, various innovations have been made in an attempt to obtain a small and safe bubble cushioning material volume reduction device. Generally, these are designed to make the volume reduction section entrance boundary a long, narrow rectangle to make it difficult for a human body to enter.

[0030] However, as shown in Figure 27(a), if the bubble cushioning material is folded multiple times to form a flat plate (plane), and the thickness of the bubble cushioning material being added is close to the size of the gap between the volume reduction section entrance boundary 201 and the roller intersection 206, the bubble cushioning material will not reach the roller intersection 206 and volume reduction will not begin, so it is necessary to push the top of the bubble cushioning material toward the volume reduction section so that it reaches the roller intersection 206.

[0031] In this case, as shown in Figure 27(b), soft bubble cushioning material is weak even when multiple layers are stacked to form a flat plate, and when pressed down, the bubble cushioning material bends in the middle, the tip position does not move, and it is difficult to reach the roller intersection 206, which is time-consuming.

[0032] Also, as shown in FIG. 28, even if the bubble cushioning material is thin and has few layers, if it is weak, it is difficult to control the direction of the tip, and it gets caught on the separation plate 205 or the receiving roller 204, making it difficult to reach the roller intersection 206. In such cases, it is necessary to re-inject the bubble wrap and adjust the direction of the tip of the material several times, or to poke it with a rod-shaped object, which is time-consuming.

[0033] Furthermore, if the width of the target bubble cushioning material is wide, the width of the perforation rollers and backing rollers must also be increased, and the number of perforation plates and backing plates required increases, resulting in increased costs, larger size, and the need for a more powerful motor.

[0034] As described in detail in Patent Document 14, the perforating roller 203 and receiving roller 204 use a great deal of force to make many holes in the plate-like object, and are therefore extremely dangerous to the human body. Therefore, safety measures are an important factor when manufacturing bubble cushioning volume reduction equipment. One safety measure proposed is a structure like that shown in Figure 8 of Patent Document 14, but the structure is complicated because the front side panel is movable and linked to a limit switch.

[0035] Although it is different from bubble wrap volume reduction devices, there have been cases of children getting their fingertips caught in household shredders, which became a social issue for a while, and subsequently countermeasures became mandatory for household shredders. In this case, a method is used in which a test finger (see Figure 68, reproduced from Non-Patent Document 1 as reference material) is inserted into the shredder to verify whether the structure is safe. This is intended for use with the hands of small children, so it can be said to be suitable as a reference for considering safety measures.

[0036] Since bubble wrap volume reduction devices for home use have not been commercially available to date, no such accidents have been reported, but safety measures will be essential if such devices are to be commercialized in the future. Furthermore, since the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device is still under development, there are some imperfections in the details, and this application presents solutions to various issues, including these. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0037] [Patent Document 1] Patent 2826628 [Patent Document 2] Patent 4010235 [Patent Document 3] Patent 4452852 [Patent Document 4] Patent Publication No. 11-277297 [Patent Document 5] Patent Publication No. 2001-191329 [Patent Document 6] Patent Publication No. 2001-191416 [Patent Document 7] Patent Publication No. 2003-260709 [Patent Document 8] Patent Publication No. 2004-298845 [Patent Document 9] Patent Publication No. 2006-168030 [Patent Document 10] Patent Publication No. 2010-29964 [Patent Document 11] Patent Publication No. 2013-176928 [Patent Document 12] Patent Publication No. 2001-277241 [Patent Document 13] Patent 7023652 [Patent Document 14] Patent application 2021-153759 [Non-patent literature]

[0038] [Non-Patent Document 1] Information on the revision of technical standards (document shredders) Electrical Safety and Environment Laboratory https: / / www.jet.or.jp / common / data / new / 20070817b_kaisei.pdf Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0039] To provide a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that is safe for the human body, does not clog, and can reduce the volume of bubble cushioning materials of various sizes from small to large and long. [Means for solving the problem]

[0040] First, a freely rotating separation wheel is incorporated into the separation plate, so that even weak bubble wrap can be reliably separated from the perforated plate.

[0041] The second is, Perforated roller A scraper wheel is provided on the receiving roller and a scraped wheel is provided on the receiving roller, and when the volume is not reduced, the receiving roller is rotated via the scraper wheel and the scraped wheel, and during volume reduction, the receiving roller is rotated by friction between the receiving roller and the bubble cushioning material without the scraper wheel and the scraped wheel.

[0042] The third is a temporary receiving box for the temporarily reduced volume bubble wrap and a main receiving box for the fully reduced volume bubble wrap. Boxes are provided, and a guide board is used to easily switch between them to determine into which box the reduced volume bubble cushioning material should be introduced.

[0043] Fourth, the bubble wrap material that has been temporarily reduced in volume in the first volume reduction section is temporarily stored in the feed guide of the second volume reduction section, and then is finally reduced in volume all at once in the second volume reduction section.

[0044] Fifth, a support roller shaft base is used to change the compression gap distance between the perforating roller and the support roller.

[0045] Sixth, an auxiliary receiving roller is provided and an auxiliary receiving roller shaft base is used to change the compression gap distance between the perforating roller and the auxiliary receiving roller.

[0046] Seventh, the structure of the insertion guide is changed so that the forearm is restrained at least at two points using a surface or shaft to prevent the fingers or forearm from reaching the volume reduction section.

[0047] Eighth, side guide plates are provided on both the left and right sides of the roller pair to prevent the bubble cushioning material from spilling out on either side of the roller pair.

[0048] The ninth is to give the perforated plate a gear function, and to provide a shaft with a gear to drive it, giving it a gear function. [Effects of the Invention]

[0049] According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that is safe for the human body, can handle bubble cushioning materials of various sizes without separation or clogging, can obtain a compression gap distance according to the user's target volume reduction, and can reduce the volume reliably and with little effort. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0050] [Figure 1] This is a bubble wrap volume reduction device (basic model). [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional separation plate. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of separation and clogging of bubble cushioning material. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the direction of force applied to the bubble cushioning material. [Figure 5]FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of separation by a scraping roller. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of separation by air blowing. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a separation plate with a separation wheel. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the principle of a separation plate with a separation wheel. [Figure 11] 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams illustrating the operation of a separation plate with a separation wheel. [Figure 12] FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a groove receiver of a grooved separating wheel. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a groove receiver of a grooved separating wheel. [Figure 15] FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the position where bubble cushioning material is inserted. [Figure 17] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a geared volume reducing section. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of frictional force during volume reduction operation. [Figure 19] FIG. [Figure 20] FIG. [Figure 21] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the scraper wheel and the scraped wheel. [Figure 22] FIG. [Figure 23] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that allows selection of discharge routes. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that allows selection of discharge routes. [Figure 25] An explanatory diagram of a two-stage bubble cushioning material volume reduction device. [Figure 26] This is an explanatory diagram of a two-stage bubble cushioning material volume reduction device with an opening and closing plate. [Figure 27] This is an example of pushing in bubble wrap. [Figure 28]This is an example of bubble wrap getting caught on a separator plate. [Figure 29] 10 is an example of the shape of bubble wrap. [Figure 30] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device with a cylindrical insertion guide. [Figure 31] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a cylindrical insertion guide. [Figure 32] This is an example of a cylindrical insertion guide being jammed. [Figure 33] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the bubble cushioning material pulling-in operation. [Figure 34] This is an example of a retractor. [Figure 35] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the retraction tool in use. [Figure 36] This is an example of the inlet of a cylindrical inlet guide. [Figure 37] This is an example of a cylindrical feeding guide with a feeding roller. [Figure 38] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the features of the shape of the triangular protrusions. [Figure 39] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the required height of the insertion guide and the arm length. [Figure 40] This is a bubble wrap volume reduction device with a side loading guide. [Figure 41] It is a side insertion guide. [Figure 42] FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram of a side insertion guide (cross section taken along CC' in FIG. 41). [Figure 43] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of forearm restraint by a restraint point. [Figure 44] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the case where the elbow joint enters the side insertion guide. [Figure 45] This is an example of the shape of the back panel of the side insertion guide (cross section CC' in Figure 41). [Figure 46] This is an example of the application of two shafts of the side feed guide. [Figure 47] This is an example of the application of three shafts of the side feed guide. [Figure 48] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the function of the roller shaft of the side guide. [Figure 49] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of non-reducible portions at both ends of a roller pair. [Figure 50] This is a side guide plate. [Figure 51] The side guide plates are attached. [Figure 52] This is a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that uses a perforated roller that also serves as a gear. [Figure 53] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a compression gap. [Figure 54] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the compression gap and the number of layers of bubble cushioning material. [Figure 55] FIG. [Figure 56] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram (side view) of how to use the support roller shaft base. [Figure 57] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram (top view) of how to use the support roller shaft base. [Figure 58] This is an example of a method for fixing the support roller shaft base using a fixing plate. [Figure 59] This is an example of how to use the fixing lever of the circular receiving roller shaft base. [Figure 60] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the dimensional relationship of a circular support roller shaft base. [Figure 61] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for calculating the compression gap distance of the support roller shaft base. [Figure 62] This is an example of a rectangular support roller shaft base. [Figure 63] This is an example of using a rectangular support roller shaft base. [Figure 64] This is an example of a regular hexagonal support roller shaft base. [Figure 65] This is an example of using a regular hexagonal support roller shaft base. [Figure 66] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the positional relationship between the perforation plate and the receiving plate. [Figure 67] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an auxiliary support roller shaft base. [Figure 68] This is a test finger. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0051] By introducing various new technologies into the perforation rollers, receiving rollers, and feeding guide, we have created a highly safe bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that can reduce the volume of various sizes of bubble cushioning material without clogging.

[0052] The bubble cushioning material volume reduction device of the present application is not currently available in the world, and many of the terms used are not previously known, so in order to explain the technology, it is necessary to explain newly defined terms. Therefore, we first define the terms used in this application. (a) Volume reduction target To avoid redundancy and to the extent that no misunderstandings arise, bubble wrap that is subject to volume reduction will be referred to as "volume reduction target." (b) Roller vs. The bubble cushioning material volume reduction device of the present invention basically comprises a pair of perforating rollers and receiving rollers, which perform perforating, compression, separation and movement. The perforating roller and the receiving roller are collectively called a "roller pair." (c) Perforated plate To avoid redundant description, the disc with triangular projections will be called a "perforated disc." The term "disc with triangular projections" is used in Patent Document 13, and "perforated plate" has the same function.

[0053] (d) Separation blockage When the volume reduction target does not separate from the perforated plate and gets stuck in the groove between the separation plates, this is called "separation jamming." (e) Burr joint According to Patent Document 13, this refers to a state in which the upper and lower sheets of the air pocket or overlapping bubble cushioning materials are bonded together as a result of the rupture protrusions and rupture openings intertwining during volume reduction. In this application, this is referred to as "burr bonding" in the sense that the material is joined by burrs.

[0054] (f) Final volume reduction, temporary volume reduction If multiple pieces of bubble wrap that have already been compressed are compressed again, the effects of compression and flash joining will be greater. In this case, one piece of bubble wrap will be reduced in volume multiple times, with the final reduction being called the final reduction and the reductions before that being called the temporary reduction. If the volume reduction is done only once, it is called a permanent volume reduction. Also, when two receiving rollers are provided and the volume is reduced in two stages, the volume reduction by the first receiving roller is called temporary volume reduction, and the volume reduction by the second receiving roller is called main volume reduction. (g) Separating plate, separating wheel, scraping wheel, scraped wheel These are not commonly used words in the industry today, but are part names newly created in accordance with the present invention, and details are explained in each embodiment.

[0055] (h) Insertion guide, side insertion guide Both are components that function to guide the object to be reduced in volume into the volume reduction section, with the input guide having an inlet on the top surface and the side input guide having an inlet on the side. For the purposes of explanation, the distinction is not important, and when simply referring to a part with a guide function, it may be called a "feed guide."

[0056] The embodiments described in this application are merely "examples," and from the perspective of a person skilled in the art, methods for achieving equivalent functions can be easily envisioned, including various variations that can be inferred from, modified combinations, applications, derivations, and analogies, and are "design matters that can be appropriately set by a person skilled in the art," all of which are within the scope of the present invention as long as they are based on the principles demonstrated by the invention.

[0057] Furthermore, when design values, etc. are shown as specific numerical values, these are merely concrete examples (embodiments) to make the explanation easier to understand, and a person skilled in the art can easily implement the invention with other values ​​according to the respective target specifications, and all of these are considered to be included in the scope of the present invention.

[0058] Furthermore, it is common knowledge to add an interlock mechanism, such as stopping the motor, when opening and closing safety-related parts such as various doors, lids, and insertion guides attached to a bubble cushioning volume reduction device, and since this is a design matter that can be appropriately set by a person skilled in the art, including the method of realizing it and the location of the addition, no specific mention will be made of the necessary interlocks, as they should be present, except in parts related to the main purpose of the configuration of this application. Furthermore, in order to ensure safety, the dimensions of the human body parts are assumed to be the safest values, taking into account variations between adults, infants, and individuals, and this is not explained as a prerequisite each time.

[0059] Similarly, it is common practice in industrial systems to install metal detectors to prevent damage to perforating rollers and receiving rollers by metal objects, and the method and necessity of doing so will not be specifically mentioned here, as they are "design matters that can be appropriately set by a person skilled in the art."

[0060] Furthermore, although the following description focuses on bubble cushioning as the target of the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device, it is also possible to reduce the volume of other items such as cushion envelopes, various plastic food containers such as tofu packs, PET bottles, and bulky paper products such as cardboard. Therefore, the device based on the principles of the present invention is not limited to bubble cushioning material volume reduction devices, but also extends to devices for reducing the volume of other items to which the same principles can be applied.

[0061] In addition, the description may include the phrase "required...", which means that the present invention makes it possible to manufacture a wide range of bubble cushioning material volume reduction devices, from industrial to household use, and the required specifications vary greatly depending on the number of bubble cushioning material layers that the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device can process, its size, processing speed, device dimensions, weight, durability, driving capacity, etc., so the requirements necessary to meet the specifications in each case are expressed as "required...". In addition, characteristic technical content that is not included in the claims but that supplements the present invention is called "reference technology," and numbers are added to distinguish them from each other. [Example]

[0062] FIG. 7 shows the structure of the present invention. Reference technology 1 1 is an example of a separator plate with a separator wheel shown in third angle projection. As explained above with reference to FIG. 2, separation clogging occurs in the separation plate without a separation wheel, but this does not occur in this embodiment for the following reason.

[0063] In the separation plate 208 of FIG. 7, the roller shaft hole 208A is a hole through which the shaft of the perforation roller passes. The hole for the connecting shaft 208B is a hole through which a shaft for connecting and fixing multiple separation plates is passed, and if they are to be connected in another way, a structure for that purpose can be used, and the hole for the connecting shaft is not essential.

[0064] separation surface 208C is a separation surface, which acts as a guide by allowing the bubble wrap material that has been pierced by the triangular protrusions of the perforated plate to move along this surface as the perforated plate rotates, thereby separating it from the perforated plate.

[0065] The separation wheel hole 208E is a hole in which the separation wheel 208F is embedded, and the separation wheel 208F is designed to rotate freely within the hole, and can easily rotate when a force is applied in the tangential direction of its outer periphery.

[0066] In the explanatory diagram of the separator plate with separator wheels in Figure 8 and the explanatory diagram of the separator wheels in Figure 9, the diameter φD1 of the separator wheels, the diameter φD2 of the separator wheel hole 208E, the width L1 of the lower gap, and the thickness t2 of the separator wheel hole and the thickness t1 of the separator wheels have the following relationship so that the separator wheels can rotate freely, do not fall out of the lower gap, and do not hit the perforated plates (not shown) on either side. L1<φD1<φD2 t1≦t2 There is no particular restriction on the material as long as it satisfies the above requirements, but plastics such as POM are a good candidate to allow the separation wheels to rotate freely without lubrication.

[0067] In this embodiment, the separation plate and separation wheel can be separated individually, but when assembled into a perforated roller, the separation wheel is sandwiched between the perforated plates on both sides, so the separation wheel will not come off. A method for preventing the unit from coming off is shown in Example 2.

[0068] The principle of the separator plate with separator wheels is explained in Figure 10. In the figure, a separation plate 208 and a perforation plate 207 are combined to form a perforation unit 209. In the left side view, O1 is the center of the hole for the perforated roller shaft. The peripheral circle 207A is a circle whose radius is the distance from the center O1 to the apex of the triangular projection of the perforated plate 207. P1 is the point where the separation surface 208C of the separation plate 208 intersects with the separation wheel hole 208E. P2 is the intersection of separation wheel 208F and outer circumference circle 207A, and is also separation point 208D. P3 is the intersection of a line passing through O1 and the center O2 of the separation wheel 208F and the outer periphery of the separation wheel. At this time, the mutual distances between O1, P1, P2, and P3 are set to satisfy the following relationship. Distance between O1 and P1 < Distance between O1 and P2 (separation points) < Distance between O1 and P3

[0069] The separation operation of the bubble cushioning material when this distance relationship exists is explained using FIG. For ease of understanding, only one movement state of the triangular projection 207B is shown. In Figure 11(a) before separation begins, the bubble cushioning material moves along the separation surface toward the tip of the triangular protrusion.

[0070] At the start of separation in FIG. 11(b), the portion of the bubble cushioning material that has passed separation point 208D is completely separated from the triangular projection. At the contact point between the separator wheel and the bubble cushioning material at the triangular protrusion, friction becomes a force that rotates the separator wheel, and the bubble cushioning material does not stop.Instead, it maintains its relative position to the separator wheel as shown in Figure 11(c) during separation, that is, it remains in close contact with the separator wheel without slippage, and both move in the direction of rotation.At the same time, the distance between O1 and the triangular protrusion increases, and a force Fout is applied from the separator wheel in the direction that separates the bubble cushioning material from the triangular protrusion, causing the bubble cushioning to separate. As a result, this operation prevents separation and clogging even with weak bubble wrap.

[0071] The separator plate in FIG. 7 has one separator wheel at the bottom, but a separator wheel may be added at the top in case the perforation rollers are rotated in the reverse direction. According to this embodiment, it is possible to separate even weak bubble cushioning material from a perforated plate without using a shaft in the separation wheel, with a simple structure, low cost, and without reducing the volume reduction processing capacity. [Example]

[0072] 12 and 13 are diagrams showing the structure of the present invention. Reference technology 1 10 is another embodiment of the present invention, showing the separation wheel 208F and the separation plate 208 in third angle projection. The separator wheel of FIG. 12 has a separator wheel groove 208G with a V-shaped cross section cut around the side of the separator wheel. Separation wheel groove receivers 208H and 208H1 are provided on the wall surface of the separation wheel hole 208E of the separation plate 208 in FIG.

[0073] The separation wheel is pushed into the separation plate so that the separation wheel groove and the separation wheel groove receiver are fitted together, and the separation wheel is free to rotate smoothly. As a result, even when the separation plate is in a single state, the separation wheels remain in the separation wheel holes and do not scatter or fall off, making handling easy. The cross-sectional shape of the separating wheel groove does not have to be V-shaped, and may be rectangular, sectorial, part of an ellipse, or the like, as long as a corresponding separating wheel groove receiving groove can be provided, and the shape is not particularly limited.

[0074] Also, if the separation wheel is thick enough that it will not come off even if it is tilted, the separation wheel groove holder may be either 208H or 208H1, or it may be in another position. Also, the separation wheel groove receiver 208H may be provided on the entire periphery of the wall surface of the separation wheel hole 208E as shown in FIG. 14, provided that it has sufficient elasticity to be fitted. [Example]

[0075] Figure 15 is Reference technology 1 1 is another embodiment of the separator plate shown in third angle projection. In the left side view, the perforated plate 207 and the separating wheel 208F are shown by chain lines for ease of understanding. The parts using the same symbols as those already mentioned have already been explained. In FIG. 15, the separation wheels 208F are provided at two locations, one above the other, but they may be provided at one location, at the bottom. Furthermore, as in the second embodiment, a separation wheel groove receiver may be provided and combined with a separation wheel having a separation wheel groove. Alternatively, the width may be increased to the shaft of the perforating roller, and a hole may be drilled to allow the shaft to pass through.

[0076] The separation plate of this embodiment covers a portion of the perforated plate near the receiving roller side, which differs from the separation plate of FIG. 7 which covers most of the perforated plate. When high throughput is required, such as in industrial bubble wrap volume reduction equipment, the diameter of the perforated plate must be increased. In this case, if most of the perforated plate is covered as shown in Figure 7, the separation plate must also be large, and if an expensive material is used, the cost will be high.

[0077] This problem was avoided by the separation plate shown in Figure 15. As the perforated plate becomes larger, it tends to vibrate more when rotating, and the possibility of contact between the triangular protrusions and the receiving plate of the receiving roller increases, but this separation plate also functions to suppress this vibration. [Example]

[0078] The scraper 214 in FIG. 19 and the scraped wheel 215 in FIG. 20 are the same as those of the present invention. Reference technology 2 This is an example of a third angle projection. The method of use is to replace the perforating roller gear 203B in Figure 17 with the scraper wheel 214, and the receiving roller gear 204D with the scraped wheel 215 (not shown). Of course, instead of the above positions, they may be on the right side of the perforating rollers or receiving rollers, or on the outside of the left side plate 105 or right side plate 106, or anywhere that can achieve the purpose.

[0079] The scraper wheel 214 in FIG. 19 will now be described. The scraper 214A is a part that rotates the scraped wheel in a scraping manner, and although there are four in FIG. 19, one or more will be sufficient to function, and the number can be determined according to the specifications. The elastic bridge 214B supports the scratching claw and has elasticity, allowing it to move in the direction of the arrow Δd due to an external force. An example of a material for this purpose is plastic such as POM.

[0080] The elastic bridge gap 214C is a cavity in the scraper that allows for the creation of an elastic bridge. The hole 214D for the perforating roller shaft is a hole through which the shaft of the perforating roller passes, and its shape may be adjusted to match the cross section of the shaft. The scraper outer circumference 214E corresponds to the path of the tip of the scraper claw when the scraper rotates.

[0081] The scratching wheel 215 in FIG. 20 will be described. The receiving roller shaft hole 215A is a hole through which the shaft of the receiving roller passes, and its shape may be adjusted to match the cross section of the shaft. The circumferential surface of the scraper, shown in the front view of Figure 20, is made of a material with a friction coefficient that allows it to rotate when scraped by the scraper, or it can be given a matte finish or provided with shallow grooves in several places to provide the required frictional force (not shown).

[0082] FIG. 21 is a side view showing a case where a scraper wheel is provided on the perforating roller and a scraped wheel is provided on the receiving roller, and the operation will be explained using this. The receiving roller can be rotated by a small external force, and the center distance between the perforating roller and the receiving roller is L2. (a) In the diagram of the scraper wheel in a stationary state, R1 is the radius of the scraper wheel outer circumference 214E, R1X is the distance between the center and the outer edge of the scraper wheel 214, and R2 is the radius of the scraped wheel 215. Here, the scratcher wheel and the scratched wheel are assumed to satisfy the following relationship: It should be noted that Δd is the displacement of the scraper 214A. (R1X+R2)< L2 <(R1+R2) (R1+R2-Δd)= L2 When the above dimensional relationship is met, in (a) there is a gap between the scraper wheel and the scraped wheel, so even if the scraper wheel rotates in the direction of the arrow, the scraped wheel will not rotate.

[0083] As the scraper wheel rotates further and the equation becomes (R1X + R2) = L2, the scratcher claw begins to come into contact with the scratched wheel, and when it reaches the position shown in (b) in the diagram of the scratched wheel rotating state, the equation becomes (R1X + R2 - Δd) = L2, and the repulsive force caused by the displacement Δd generates a frictional force between the scratcher claw and the scratched wheel, causing the scratched wheel to rotate in the opposite direction to the scratcher wheel. As a result, even if the bubble cushioning material is placed on the receiving roller, it is moved to the roller intersection.

[0084] Furthermore, if the receiving roller can be rotated with a small external force, once the receiving roller starts to rotate, the receiving roller can continue to rotate by inertia even if the scraper wheel continues to rotate and a gap occurs between the receiving roller and the scraped wheel.

[0085] As mentioned above, the large frictional force between the receiving roller and the bubble cushioning material causes it to rotate during the volume reduction operation. This is not shown in the figure, but (c) Slippage of the scraper wheel shows the state of the scraper and the scraper wheel during the volume reduction operation. The rotation 215B associated with the volume reduction operation is shown by a thick arrow, as an image of the receiving roller being rotated by the large force caused by the friction with the bubble cushioning material at this time.

[0086] On the other hand, the rotational force of the receiving roller due to the frictional force caused by the displacement Δd is small, and the difference in rotational speed with the rotation 215B caused by the volume reduction operation causes the scraper to slip at the slip point 214F, so there is no significant loss of motor power.

[0087] To summarize the above operations, according to this embodiment, when the bubble cushioning material is not being reduced in volume, the receiving roller is actively rotated by the scraper, and when the bubble cushioning material is being reduced in volume, the receiving roller is passively rotated by friction with the bubble cushioning material, thereby achieving ideal operation. Moreover, the structure is extremely compact and inexpensive compared to using a chain, belt, or ratchet mechanism.

[0088] Furthermore, unlike gears, there is no restriction on the distance between the shafts of the perforating roller and the receiving roller, which increases the degree of freedom in design. Receiving plateThis can be substituted with other parts, which is a major advantage as it reduces the number of parts required. [Example]

[0089] The scraper 214 in FIG. Reference technology 2 1 is another example of a third angle projection. The scraper 214 in FIG. 22 is displaced in the direction of the arrow Δd, which is different from that in FIG. 21, but functionally it can achieve exactly the same operation.

[0090] As can be seen from this example, Reference technology 2 There are many variations in the shapes of the scraper and the scraped wheel that satisfy the above, and the method of realizing this is not limited to the embodiments of the present application. [Example]

[0091] FIG. 23 shows the structure of the present invention. Reference technology 3 This is an example of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that allows for selection of discharge routes, shown using third angle projection. The basic parts are the same as those in FIG. 1, but the major difference is that a main receiving box 904 and a temporary receiving box 905 are provided to receive the bubble cushioning material after it has been reduced in volume. Although there is no precedent device commercially available, if a receiving box were to be provided in FIG. 1, this receiving box 904 would normally be the only one.

[0092] The temporary receiving box 905 is provided outside the apparatus and in a location that is easy for people to work in, and in FIG. 23, for example, it is provided on the front side of the apparatus. A guide plate 901 is provided below the volume reducing section 2, with a guide plate shaft 902 as its axis, and the position of the guide plate can be changed by operating a guide plate lever 903 provided outside the device. Discharge port 906 is used to move the temporarily reduced volume bubble cushioning material to temporary receiving box 905 via guide plate 901, and is the outlet of the device for the bubble cushioning material. These operations are shown below in FIG.

[0093] When guide plate 901 is placed at the position shown in (a) of FIG. 24 for temporary volume reduction, the temporarily reduced volume of the bubble cushioning material is received in temporary receiving box 905 from guide plate 901 via discharge port 906 . Temporary volume reduction is performed multiple times, and when the bubble wrap has accumulated in the temporary receiving box 905, it is removed and stacked, and if necessary, rolled or folded to bundle it together (not shown).

[0094] Next, the guide plate lever 903 is operated to switch the guide plate 901 to the position shown in Figure 24(b) for final volume reduction, and the bubble cushioning material collected above is reduced in volume again as the final volume reduction, as shown in the same figure, and the reduced bubble cushioning material falls and accumulates in the final receiving box 904.

[0095] If there were only the main receiving box 904, temporary volume reduction would require the work of selecting and removing the temporarily reduced volume items from the large number of bubble wrap materials accumulated in the main receiving box 904 inside the device each time.However, a major advantage of this embodiment is that temporary volume reduction can be easily repeated any number of times.

[0096] The structure of the guide plate 901 is not limited to the method of the embodiment; it is also possible to apply many known techniques, such as moving the guide plate parallel instead of rotating it, or changing the position of the plate to change the path in other devices other than bubble cushioning material volume reduction devices, and further, if costs are not spared, it is also possible to motorize the guide plate, or to mechanize or robotize the movement of the temporarily reduced bubble cushioning material from the temporary receiving box to the input guide for final reduction instead of using a worker, and the method is not limited to the embodiment of the present application (not shown). [Example]

[0097] FIG. 25 shows the present invention. Reference technology 4 1 is an embodiment of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device shown in third angle projection, in which temporary volume reduction is performed in a first volume reduction section 2 and main volume reduction is performed in a second volume reduction section 2A. The input guide 1A is for the second volume reduction section 2A, and is designed to receive and store the bubble cushioning material that has been temporarily reduced in volume in the first volume reduction section 2A.

[0098] In the temporary volume reduction shown in FIG. 25(a), temporary volume reduction is performed in the first volume reduction section 2, and the roller pair of the second volume reduction section 2A is stopped. As a result, the temporarily reduced volume of the bubble cushioning material is accumulated in the feeding guide 1A. When the stored amount reaches an appropriate level, as shown in Figure 25(b) main volume reduction, the roller pair in the first volume reduction section 2 is stopped or the introduction of bubble cushioning material is stopped, and the roller pair in the second volume reduction section 2A is started, and the main volume reduction begins, and the reduced bubble cushioning material falls into the main receiving box 904 and is stored. This allows the temporary volume reduction and the final volume reduction to be carried out reliably and easily.

[0099] The perforated plate, which sandwiches the bubble cushioning material between it and the backing plate, has triangular protrusions in a "V" shape that perform perforation, expel air, and create burr joints between layers; hereafter this will be referred to as the "V" effect. From the viewpoint of the shape of the triangular projection, there is a trade-off between perforation and air expulsion on the one hand and interlayer flash joining on the other.

[0100] That is, as shown in Figure 38(a), when it comes to perforating and expelling air, the thinner the tip of the triangular protrusion, the easier it is to perforate, and the wider the base, i.e., the larger the angle between both sides of the "V" shape, the more difficult it is for the bubble cushioning material to move toward the base, resulting in a greater compression effect. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 38(b), if the tip of the triangular protrusion is not sharp, it is more likely to create a burr, and if the angle on both sides of the "V" shape is small, the bubble cushioning material will tend to move toward the base and will easily penetrate multiple layers of bubble cushioning material, making it suitable for interlayer burr joining.

[0101] Furthermore, there is a trade-off between the size of the compression gap distance. The compression gap distance G will be explained with reference to FIG. The compression gap is the shortest distance between the inner circumferential circle 207A1 of the perforated plate 207 and the outer circumferential circle 204B of the backing plate, and its size is referred to as the compression gap distance. The object to be reduced in volume (bubble cushioning material) that passes through while being perforated is compressed most greatly at the compression gap.

[0102] The radius of the inner circumferential circle 207A1 of the perforated plate 207 is R1, the radius of the outer circumferential circle 204B of the backing plate is R2, the center of the perforated plate 207 is O1, the center of the outer circumferential circle 204B is O2, and the distance between O1 and O2 is L. The compression gap distance G is G=L-(R1+R2) is. Therefore, changing the distance L between O1 and O2 also changes the compression gap distance.

[0103] As shown in Figure 54(a), which illustrates the relationship between the compression gap and the number of layers of bubble cushioning material, when the number of layers of bubble cushioning material 8 is small and the thickness of the perforated bubble cushioning material 8 is smaller than the compression gap distance G, the torque for rotating the perforated plate is small, but the degree of compression is low because the bubble cushioning material is compressed only by the V-shaped effect of the triangular protrusions 207B.

[0104] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 54(b), if the number of layers of bubble cushioning material 8 is large and the thickness of the perforated bubble cushioning material is greater than the compression gap distance G, the torque required to rotate the perforated plate will be large, but the degree of compression will be high because the bubble cushioning material is compressed by the outer peripheral circle 204B of the support plate and the inner peripheral circle 207A1 of the perforated plate.

[0105] Furthermore, as shown in the explanatory diagram of the positional relationship between the perforated plate and the receiving plate in Figure 66, the size of the gap S1 + S2 between the perforated plate 207 and the receiving plate 204A and the size of the overlap B are in a trade-off relationship in terms of the effectiveness of the volume reduction operation.

[0106] That is, as shown in FIG. 66(a), when the relative positions are close, S1+S2 is small, and B is large, the torque required to rotate the perforated plate 207 is large, but the degree of compression of the bubble cushioning material is also high. On the other hand, if the relative position is coarse, S1+S2 is large, and B is small as shown in FIG. 66(b), the torque required to rotate the perforated plate 207 is small, but the degree of compression of the bubble cushioning material is also low.

[0107] When there is one pair of rollers, the design of the perforated plate requires compromises from certain perspectives, taking into account the various trade-offs mentioned above. However, when there are two volume reduction sections, as in this embodiment, the first volume reduction section can be designed primarily for perforation and compression (air expulsion), and the second volume reduction section can be designed primarily for interlayer flash joining, making it possible to design roller pairs that are optimized for each.

[0108] For example, in the perforated plates of the second volume reduction section, since it is not necessary to crush all the air bubbles in the bubble cushioning material, the spacing between the tips of the triangular protrusions and the spacing between the perforated plates on the perforation roller can be increased, which reduces the power required, reduces the number of perforated plates, and allows the plate thickness to be increased, resulting in a stronger device. Furthermore, since the thickness of the object to be reduced after the temporary reduction is small, the diameter of the roller pair can be reduced.

[0109] Alternatively, since the first volume reducing section does not need to accommodate multiple layers of bubble cushioning material, the compression gap distance in FIG. 25 may be reduced to increase its air expulsion capacity. From the above, it can be seen that the present invention has the great advantage of realizing a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that has a large volume reduction effect, low power consumption, and is efficient and durable.

[0110] The start and stop of the roller pair can be controlled manually or automatically using known techniques if costs are not to be spared. In addition, in order to adjust the length of the bubble cushioning material to the height (depth) of the insertion guide 1A, a mechanism for cutting the bubble cushioning material to an appropriate length may be added at either insertion guide entrance as needed (not shown). [Example]

[0111] FIG. 26 shows the present invention. Reference technology 4 1 is an embodiment of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device shown in third angle projection, in which temporary volume reduction is performed in a first volume reduction section 2 and main volume reduction is performed in a second volume reduction section 2A. The main difference from Example 7 is that in this example, an opening and closing plate 2B is provided at the entrance of the volume reducing section 2A. This allows the roller pair to be rotated at all times, eliminating the need for control thereof. The opening and closing plate 2B may be manually operated, electrically operated, or automatically controlled. The advantages of the system are the same as those of the seventh embodiment. [Example]

[0112] Figure 55 shows the present invention. Reference technology 5 1 is an embodiment showing a circular support roller shaft base 12 in third angle projection. The receiving roller shaft hole 1201 is a hole for passing the shaft of the receiving roller, and if a bearing is used to hold the shaft, it can be made to receive the bearing. O2 is the center of the receiving roller shaft. O3 is the center of the support roller shaft base 12, and O2 and O3 do not overlap, that is, O2 is eccentric with respect to O3, and the distance therebetween is d. By using the above, it becomes possible to change the compression gap distance as will be described later.

[0113] The method of applying the support roller shaft base 12 to a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device will be described below with reference to Figures 56 and 57. As shown in Figure 57, the support roller shaft base 12 is mounted on the left side plate 105 and the right side plate 106 of the volume reducing section 2, which have holes drilled to fit the support roller shaft base 12, and the support roller is passed through this.

[0114] Figure 56 shows this situation from the side. Except for the mounting of a support roller shaft base 12, this is the same as the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device (basic type) in Figure 1. Here, the receiving roller shaft base 12 is made rotatable around O3. However, it is necessary to fix the roller during volume reduction and prevent it from moving in the direction of the receiving roller shaft and falling off the side plates 105, 106. An example of how to do this is shown in FIG.

[0115] A hole for passing a fixing screw 1203 is provided in a fixing plate 1202, one screw is fixed to the side plates 105 and 106, and the other screw is used to press and fix the receiving roller shaft base 12, or a screw hole is provided in the receiving roller shaft base 12 for fixing. If a plurality of screw holes are provided in the side plate or the receiving roller shaft base, the receiving roller shaft base can be fixed in position after being rotated.

[0116] It should be noted that the method of fixing the support roller shaft base 12 is not limited to the above method; various methods are available using known techniques, and as this is not the focus of this application, the fixing method will not be mentioned hereinafter unless necessary.

[0117] Figure 60 shows the dimensional relationship of each part. O1 is the center of the perforation roller shaft 203A and also the center of the perforation plate. R1 is the radius of the inner circumference of the perforated plate 207A1 (fixed value), O2 is the center of the receiving roller shaft 204E, R2 is the radius of the receiving plate 204A (fixed value), O3 is the center of the support roller shaft base 12, L is the distance between O1 and O3 (fixed value), LX is the distance between O1 and O2 (variable value), d is the distance between O2 and O3 (fixed value) θ is the angle (variable value) formed by O1-O3-O2, and is represented as ∠O1 O3 O2. GX is the compression gap distance and can be expressed as a function with θ as a variable. However, the value of θ must be the same for the left and right support roller shaft bases 12. Otherwise, the support rollers will twist and the support plate and perforated plate will collide. As the support roller shaft base 12 rotates, O2 traces a circular locus with a radius d, as indicated by the chain line.

[0118] To find GX as a function of θ, the dimensional relationship in Figure 60 can be rewritten in Figure 61 to obtain the following relationship. Note that the power of n is represented as "^n". GX = LX - (R1 + R2) (1) By the second cosine law, LX^2=L^2+d^2-2·L·d·cosθ ···(2) From (1) and (2) GX=(L^2+d^2-2·L·d·cosθ)^1 / 2 -(R1+R2) (3)

[0119] From equation (3), we can see that GX is a function of θ. This shows that by changing the mounting direction of the receiving roller shaft base and changing θ, it is possible to change the compression gap distance between the perforated roller and the receiving roller depending on the object to be reduced in volume, making it easier to use the bubble cushioning material reduction device. Incidentally, when θ=0°, GX=(Ld)-(R1+R2), At θ=90°, GX=(L^2+d^2)^1·2-(R1+R2), At θ=180°, GX=(L+d)-(R1+R2) is.

[0120] In addition, since 180°<θ≦360° is equivalent to 0°≦θ≦180° in terms of the magnitude of GX, the structure of the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device needs to be able to achieve any of these θ ranges.

[0121] Original Vow Reference technology 5 So even if the shaft of the receiving roller moves, Reference technology 2 A scraper wheel is used that can obtain a sufficient displacement Δd so that the scraper claws 214A of the scraper wheel of the perforating roller can reach the scraped wheel. Similarly, even if the shaft of the receiving roller moves, Fig. 50 The shape shall be such that the side guides are effective. [Example]

[0122] Figure 59 shows the present invention. Reference technology 5 This is a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device equipped with a circular receiving roller shaft base 12. This embodiment is limited to cases where the receiving roller shaft base 12 is circular, and one side of the fixed lever 1204 is screwed to the receiving roller shaft base 12 with a screw 1203, and the other side is extended outside the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device and fixed to a fixing plate or the like (not shown) outside. This allows the operator to change the compression gap distance by moving the fixed lever 1204 in the direction of the arrow in Figure 59 depending on the volume reduction target, which greatly improves usability from the user's perspective. [Example]

[0123] The present invention of FIG. Reference technology 5 It is possible to manufacture a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that is automatically controlled to minimize the compression gap distance by providing a pressure sensor that measures the pressure applied to the support roller shaft on the circular support roller shaft base 12 and a rotation mechanism that rotates the support roller shaft base 12 around O3 (both not shown). All of these can be achieved using known technology, so we will not go into details here, but this bubble cushioning material volume reduction device can always achieve stable, good volume reduction results regardless of the number of layers or hardness of the material being reduced. [Example]

[0124] Figure 62 shows the present invention. Reference technology 5 1 is an embodiment showing a rectangular support roller shaft base 12 in third angle projection. The method of use and the compression gap distance are the same as in Example 9, and detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0125] In the case of a rectangular support roller shaft base, as shown in Figure 63, there are only two compression gap distances, G1 and G2, but the structure of the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device is therefore simpler. [Example]

[0126] Figure 64 shows the present invention. Reference technology 5 1 is an embodiment showing a regular hexagonal support roller shaft base 12 by third angle projection. The method of use and the compression gap distance are the same as in Example 9, and detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0127] For a regular hexagonal support roller shaft base, the compression gap distance is as shown in Figure 65. Four possibilities are obtained. (∠O1 O3 O2=180° (not shown)) Basically, the shape of the support roller shaft base 12 is arbitrary, and it may be designed taking into consideration the ease of manufacturing the device, the required specifications, and the cost. However, shapes other than circular cannot be mounted in the same direction as the roller shaft base mounted on the side plate, and it is necessary to remove the roller shaft base from the side plate once, which is difficult for the user to do. Generally, the circular shape has the widest range of applications. [Example]

[0128] Figure 67 shows the present invention. Reference technology 6 This is an embodiment of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device using an auxiliary support roller shaft base 14. The greatest feature of the present invention is the provision of an auxiliary receiving roller 13, which may be called a third roller.

[0129] In FIG. 67, the auxiliary receiving roller 13 is functionally and structurally similar to the receiving roller 204 of the bubble cushioning material volume reducing device (basic type) in FIG. 1, and details thereof will be omitted. The auxiliary support roller shaft base 14 Reference technology 5 It is functionally and structurally similar to the support roller shaft base of , and details are omitted here. The auxiliary support roller shaft hole 1401 supports the auxiliary support roller 13. Reference technology 5 This corresponds to the receiving roller shaft hole 1201 of the receiving roller shaft base.

[0130] As described above in the seventh embodiment, when there is one perforating roller and one receiving roller, various trade-offs must be made with respect to the volume reduction operation. As a countermeasure Reference technology 4However, this method has the drawback of requiring a larger device, increasing power consumption, and increasing both the device cost and running cost.

[0131] In contrast, in Figure 67, there is only one volume reduction section, but there are two receiving rollers, which divides the functions and increases the volume reduction effect. That is, the receiving roller 204 mainly performs perforation and temporary volume reduction, and the auxiliary receiving roller 13 performs the main volume reduction.

[0132] The auxiliary support roller 13 placed on the auxiliary support roller shaft base 14 Reference technology 5 It has the same functional merit as the receiving roller in (1), and can optimize the compression gap distance. If a fixing lever (not shown) is provided, the user can also set the compression gap distance.

[0133] In this case, the gap S1+S2 between the perforated plate 207 and the receiving plate 204 is large, as in the case of the rough relative position shown in Figure 66(b), and the overlap size B can be made small, so great strength is not required, and the required manufacturing precision is reduced, resulting in reduced manufacturing labor and costs.

[0134] Since the bubble cushioning material is temporarily reduced in volume by the receiving roller 204, the diameter of the receiving plate of the auxiliary receiving roller 13 can be determined by taking into account the size of the overlap B in addition to the shaft diameter, and can be reduced to about a fraction of the diameter of the receiving plate of the receiving roller 204. Even if the size of the gap S1 + S2 is reduced, the diameter of the receiving plate is small, so it is easy to control precision during manufacturing, and it can be manufactured relatively inexpensively and with high precision by cutting the plate integrally with the shaft, so it can be said that there are significant manufacturing advantages.

[0135] In addition, Reference technology 5 So even if the shaft of the receiving roller moves, Reference technology 2 It is necessary to provide a scraper that can obtain a sufficient displacement Δd so that the scraper claw 214A of the perforation roller can reach the scraped wheel. Fig. 50 The side guides had to be shaped so that the guide function would be effective even if the shaft of the receiving roller moved. On the other hand, with the auxiliary receiving roller, the bubble cushioning material has already been temporarily reduced in volume by the receiving roller, so another advantage is that a scraper wheel or side guide is not required.

[0136] From the above, the present invention Reference technology 6 According to this, it is possible to manufacture a high-performance, small, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that balances the trade-offs. [Example]

[0137] The present invention Reference technology 6 It is possible to manufacture a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that is automatically controlled to minimize the compression gap distance by providing a pressure sensor that measures the pressure applied to the auxiliary support roller shaft on the circular auxiliary support roller shaft base 14 shown in Figure 67 and a rotation mechanism that rotates the auxiliary support roller shaft base 14 around O5 (both not shown). All of these can be achieved using known technology, so we will not go into details here, but this bubble cushioning material volume reduction device can always achieve stable, good volume reduction results regardless of the number of layers or hardness of the material being reduced. [Example]

[0138] Figure 40 shows the present invention. Claim 1 This is an example of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device using a side feed guide 5 shown in third angle projection. The side input guide 5 is for inputting the object to be reduced in volume from the side, and in FIG. 40, an input port 506 is located on the front side.

[0139] In the case of the feeding guide 1 and cylindrical feeding guide 7 shown in Figures 1, 23, 30, and 36 of the present application, in order to prevent accidents involving entanglement in the roller pair, the height H of the feeding guide must be equal to or greater than the length of a human arm LA, as shown in Figure 39, which becomes an obstacle when trying to make the device smaller. Alternatively, as mentioned above, a structure such as that shown in FIG. 7 of Patent Document 14 has been proposed, but this structure is complicated.

[0140] This embodiment is intended to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and FIG. 41 shows the side insertion guide 5 in detail. The front panel 501, back panel 502, top panel 503, left side panel 504, and right side panel 505 form a cylindrical inverted pyramidal box, and the object to be reduced in volume is placed through the inlet 506 and emerges downward from the volume reduction section inlet boundary 201. The shape of each board Installation method and tilt is an example, and if it functions properly, For example, the front panel 501 and the rear panel 502 may be attached vertically or in other shapes. good.

[0141] Any material can be used as long as it has the required strength, but from the standpoint of workability, it is recommended that the front panel 501, back panel 502, and top panel 503 be made of transparent resin such as acrylic or PET, which allows the inside of the insertion guide to be seen.

[0142] FIG. 42 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC′ in FIG. 41, showing how the bubble cushioning material 8 is being inserted through the insertion opening 506. As shown in FIG. When the bubble cushioning material 8 is inserted from the right side (the front side of the device) in FIG. 42, it is redirected inside by the insertion guide or the operator to a lower outlet. G is the vertical dimension of the inlet 506, and the larger it is the easier it is to use when loading the object to be reduced in volume, and H is the height dimension of the side loading guide 5, and the smaller it is the better for the device.

[0143] FIG. 43 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC' in FIG. 41, and explains the basis for the safety of the side insertion guide 5. In FIG. Two top plates 503 are shown to explain the effect depending on the position, but only one of them is mounted.

[0144] Here, it is assumed that the hand 1101 stops when it hits the back panel 502 and cannot be inserted any further. Furthermore, the height HF of the front plate 501 is set to be large enough so that the tip of the hand 1101 does not reach the roller pair in the above-mentioned state. In addition, when the hand 1101 is in contact with the back panel 502, the position of constraint point B1 (or constraint point B2) relative to constraint point A indicated by the black circle (●) is set to be upward and to the right in Figure 43, and the height position and depth dimensions of the top panel 503 are determined so that constraint point A and constraint point B1 (or constraint point B2) always come into contact with the forearm 1103.

[0145] First, a case will be described in which the top plate 503 is mounted on the lower side, that is, the height is HB1 and the vertical dimension of the insertion slot 506 is GB1. When bubble wrap (not shown) is manually pushed into insertion port 506, the rod-like arm is constrained at constraint points A and B1, and forearm 1103 cannot move in the direction of the thick dashed arrow in the figure. Accordingly, the hand 1101 is also restricted, and cannot move further in the direction of the volume reduction section entrance boundary 201 than shown in the figure. On the other hand, in the direction of the thick solid arrow in the figure, the forearm 1103 can move freely because the constraint point B1 does not act on the forearm 1103.

[0146] Similarly, even when the top plate 503 is mounted on the upper side, i.e., the height is HB2 and the vertical dimension of the insertion port 506 is GB2, if you manually push bubble wrap (not shown) into the insertion port 506, the rod-shaped arm will be restrained at the restraint points A and B2, and the forearm 1103 cannot move in the direction of the thick dashed arrow in the figure. As a result, the hand 1101 is also restrained, and the direction of the volume reduction section entrance boundary 201 is Cannot move. On the other hand, the forearm 1103 can be freely moved in the direction of the thick solid arrow in the figure.

[0147] From the above, it can be seen that a safe side insertion guide 5 can be realized by appropriately setting the height position and lateral protrusion dimension of the top plate 503 so that the forearm 1103 and wrist 1102 are restrained in a safe position and can be easily used as an insertion guide, and by setting HB1 and GB1 (or HB2 and GB2) and constraint point A and constraint point B1 (or B2).

[0148] See Example 25 below. DescriptionAs can be seen from the above, in practice, HB1 only needs to be a minimum of about 30 cm and GB1 a minimum of about 10 cm, which can be said to be sufficiently small compared to the insertion guide shown in Figure 39, which requires an H of about 90 cm.

[0149] However, to make the device completely safe, strictly speaking, each dimension must be determined taking into consideration the human body with the shortest forearm 1103 and the smallest thickness.

[0150] Figure 44 shows a case where the elbow joint 1104 enters inside the insertion guide beyond constraint point A when the above prerequisite condition that constraint point A and constraint point B1 (or constraint point B2) must always come into contact with the forearm 1103 is not met. In this case, there is nothing to restrict the position and direction of the forearm 1103, so in the worst case scenario, as shown in Figure 44, the hand 1101 may extend beyond the volume reduction section entrance boundary 201 and reach the roller pair, causing an accident. In such a case, the height HF is made sufficiently large so that the hand 1101 does not extend beyond the volume reduction section entrance boundary 201, thereby preventing an accident.

[0151] In addition, Claim 1 This method can be applied not only to bubble wrap volume reduction devices but also to devices such as shredders that crush paper. In other words, typical household shredders have a paper feed opening that is about 3 mm wide to prevent babies' fingers from getting stuck, and can only process about 2 to 3 sheets of paper at a time, making them inefficient.However, with the method of the present application, the width of the paper feed opening can be made larger, making it possible to process many sheets of paper at the same time, within the limits of the motor's driving force. [Example]

[0152] FIG. 45 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC' in FIG. 41. Claim 1 This is an example of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device using a side feed guide 5 shown by third angle projection, and shows the characteristics of the shape of the back panel 502.

[0153] The side feed guide 5 essentially utilizes the difference that while a rigid rod-like arm is constrained at two points, bubble wrap is soft even when shaped into a cylinder and can bend freely, so is not constrained. Therefore, in use, it is desirable for the bubble cushioning material to have a structure that allows it to be easily bent downward toward the volume reduction section inlet boundary 201 after being inserted through the insertion port 506.

[0154] In Figure 45(a), the back panel 502 is bent in a "L" shape, and bubble cushioning material 8 inserted from the right side of the figure is reflected downward by the back panel 502 and changes direction, making it easy to use.

[0155] Figure 45(b) shows a curved back panel 502, and bubble cushioning material 8 inserted from the right side of the figure is reflected downward by the back panel 502 and changed direction, making it as easy to use as Figure 45(a). The curve may be any curve such as a circular arc, an elliptical arc, a parabola, or a hyperbola, as long as it allows the volume reduction target to change direction easily. In either case (a) or (b), it is advantageous for the back plate 502 to be made of a material with low friction, and it is also effective to apply a lubricant or the like to make the surface of the back plate 502 smooth. [Example]

[0156] Figure 46 shows the present invention. Claim 1 1 is an example showing the side feeding guide 5 by third angle projection. The difference from the sixteenth embodiment is that two constraint points are generated at roller shaft 1 507 and roller shaft 2 508. Here, roller shaft 1 507 and roller shaft 2 508 may be simple shafts, or roller shafts in which shafts are passed through freely rotating rollers.

[0157] However, since the hands and arms come into contact with roller shaft 1 507 and roller shaft 2 508 every time the volume reduction target is pushed into the loading guide, roller shafts with rollers are desirable to eliminate the risk of discomfort and abrasions.

[0158] Usually, the force of the hand 1101 or the forearm 1103 is directly applied to the restraint point. or The top plate 503 must be strong enough to withstand this, and care must be taken when making it from transparent resin. On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 46, if a metal shaft is used, it is easy to provide strength, and it becomes easy to manufacture the front plate 501 and top plate 503, which are not subjected to direct force.

[0159] Furthermore, in FIG. 43 of the 16th embodiment, when the bubble cushioning material comes into contact with constraint point A on the front panel 501 or constraint point B1 (or B2) on the top panel 503, it does not slide well, so the force required to pull in the bubble cushioning material with the roller pair increases. On the other hand, if rollers are used as roller shaft 1 507 and roller shaft 2 508 as shown in FIG. 46, the force required for the roller pair to pull in the bubble cushioning material is reduced. From the above, it can be seen that using roller shafts offers great advantages in terms of manufacturing, function, and use. [Example]

[0160] Figure 47 shows the present invention. Claim 1 1 is an example showing the side feeding guide 5 by third angle projection. The difference from Figure 46 is the presence or absence of roller shaft 3 509, which has two advantages. The first advantage is improved safety for infants and young children. Depending on the dimensions of the side insertion guide 5, in the cases of Figures 41 and 46, the shoulders of the baby may get right up to the insertion opening 506. In this case, as shown in FIG. 44, the upper arm and hand may enter the inside of the side insertion guide 5, and the fingertips may reach the roller pair, which may lead to an accident. On the other hand, in FIG. 47, the roller shaft 3 509 prevents the baby's shoulders from getting too close to the insertion opening 506, so it is safe.

[0161] The second advantage is that the roller shaft 3 509 makes it easier to pull long bubble cushioning materials into the side insertion guide 5. This is shown in Figure 48. (a) In the case of two roller shafts, the bubble cushioning material 8 is bent sharply at the roller shaft 2 508, so the force required to pull it in is large. On the other hand, in the case of (b) three roller shafts, the bubble cushioning material 8 bends gently across roller shaft 2 508 and roller shaft 3 509, so the force required to pull it in is small.

[0162] From the above, it can be seen that adding just one roller shaft 3 provides great benefits in terms of safety and use. [Example]

[0163] Figure 50 shows the present invention. This is a supplement to Reference Technology 1. 2 is an embodiment showing the side guide plate 2010 in third angle projection. However, this shape is merely an example, and since it must be manufactured to match the shapes of the perforating roller 203 and the receiving roller 204, it is highly likely that the shape will be different from that shown in FIG.

[0164] FIG. 49 shows a state in which the bubble cushioning material 8 is placed between the pair of rollers consisting of the perforating roller 203 and the receiving roller 204 when the side guide plate 2010 is not present, as viewed from above. The non-reducible portions 801 of the bubble cushioning material 8 that fall in the hatched areas between the left end of the roller pair and the left side plate 105, and between the right end of the roller pair and the right side plate 106, will come off the perforation plate and separation plate, and will not be perforated, compressed, or separated, resulting in the volume not being reduced normally.

[0165] As shown in FIG. 51, by mounting two side guide plates 2010 on both the left and right ends of the roller pair, the non-reducible portion 801 can be eliminated. As a result, the number of cases where the volume reduction process is not performed properly is significantly reduced, improving the functionality of the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device. [Example]

[0166] The bubble cushioning material volume reduction device of the present invention has only a few perforated plates 207, the volume reduction target is small, the number of layers is small, and no large driving force is required for volume reduction. No motors or gears It is also possible to manufacture a manual bubble wrap volume reduction device, as shown in Figure 52. An example of a bubble wrap volume reduction device This is an embodiment shown by third angle projection, and is composed of a volume reducing section 2, a cylindrical feeding guide 7, a geared shaft 2011 as a drive section, and a handle 2012.

[0167] As shown in FIG. 3, the star-shaped perforated plate 207 has triangular protrusions 207B, but is not limited to a specific shape and can be arbitrarily determined within the designer's discretion when implementing.

[0168] On the other hand, the tooth shape of spur gears used in gears generally uses an involute curve. Therefore, the triangular projections 207B of the perforated plate 207 used in the perforated roller 203 in Figure 52 are given an involute curve or a shape close to it, giving them the function of a gear, thereby eliminating the need for a dedicated gear (not shown).

[0169] On the other hand, the gear of the geared shaft 2011 is made to correspond to the tooth shape of the perforating roller 203, and the two form a gear. Here, the gears of the geared shaft 2011 have a width corresponding to all or a plurality of the perforated plates 207 . As a result, the shaft of the perforating roller 203 is driven at multiple points by the geared shaft 2011, so that the torsional rigidity thereof can be small, and the overall size of the device can be made small.

[0170] If, as shown in Figure 52, one gear is provided on the shaft of the perforating roller 203 and one on the shaft 2011 to drive the perforating roller 203 according to the conventional method, the shaft of the perforating roller 203 would need to be made thicker to increase its torsional rigidity, and the size of the device would need to be increased to accommodate the space for the gears. That is, the present invention provides a great advantage especially when manufacturing a small bubble cushioning material volume reduction device with only a few push plates. [Example]

[0171] Reference Technology 1 separation plate and Reference technology 2 The scraper and the scraped wheel Reference technology 3 , Reference technology 4 This applies to the roller pair of the bubble wrap volume reduction device (not shown). This allows for a high performance bubble wrap material that benefits from both of the inventions already described. [Example]

[0172] By replacing the insertion guide 1 and volume reducing section 2 in FIG. 23 with the side insertion guide 5 in FIG. 40 (not shown), it is possible to realize a high performance air bubble cushioning material that obtains the advantages of both of the inventions already described. [Example]

[0173] Each claim of the present application and reference technology The inventions in (a) and (b) individually improve each part of the bubble cushioning volume reduction device (basic type) shown in Figure 1, and basically they are not in conflict with each other, so it is sufficient to decide whether or not to adopt each invention individually. In other words, in addition to Examples 22 and 23, when manufacturing a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device, each invention item can be used not alone but in any combination of multiple invention items as required.

[0174] Furthermore, as a further development, it is possible to manually or automatically change the compression gap distance depending on the number of layers to be reduced, thereby optimizing the compression finish and flash joining (not shown).

[0175] Furthermore, in the future, it will be possible to equip the system with cameras and other sensors, and use AI (artificial intelligence) functions on the CPU installed in the drive unit to determine whether bubble wrap is present or not, and whether humans have entered or come into contact with dangerous areas, making it possible to create an autonomous driving system that also includes safety measures (not shown).

[0176] The following examples, which are not included in the claims, are presented as technical references regarding the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device of the present invention. [Example]

[0177] FIG. 30 shows an example of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device, which is an embodiment shown in third angle projection, having a cylindrical insertion guide 7 with one or more slits on its side. The volume reduction section 2 has the same configuration as the volume reduction section 2 in FIG. 1, and reduces the volume of the bubble cushioning material. The main difference from FIG. 1 is that the feeding guide 1 is replaced with a cylindrical feeding guide 7.

[0178] The volume reduction section entrance boundary 201 of the input guide 1 in Figure 1 is designed to fold the bubble cushioning material multiple times to make it flat, so it is a long, thin rectangle that is long in the axial direction of the roller pair and has short sides at right angles to it for safety reasons. As mentioned above, in FIG. 1, the soft bubble cushioning material is weak even when flattened, and even when pressed in, the bubble cushioning material bends in the middle, the tip position does not change, and it is difficult to reach the roller intersection 206, which is time-consuming. Furthermore, in the case of Figure 1, if the target bubble cushioning material is wide, the widths of the perforation rollers and receiving rollers must also be increased, and the number of perforation plates and receiving plates required will increase, resulting in increased costs, larger size, and the need for a more powerful motor.

[0179] On the other hand, if the bubble wrap material is rolled up or folded into an accordion shape as shown in Figure 29 (a) to (c), it will become cylindrical, and even soft bubble wrap material will become strong. The cylindrical feeding guide 7 in Figure 30 is designed to form bubble cushioning material into a cylindrical shape, and the volume reduction section inlet boundary 201 has a cross-sectional shape such as a circle, oval, square, rectangle, polygon, etc. with an aspect ratio of approximately 1:1 to 1:2, and the cross-sectional shape is extended in the height direction to form a cylindrical shape.

[0180] Various cross-sectional shapes have been mentioned above, but what this means is that any cross-sectional shape is acceptable as long as it allows the bubble cushioning material bundled into a cylindrical shape as shown in Figures 29(a) to (c) to pass through smoothly. Furthermore, if a long piece of bubble cushioning material is fed into the cylindrical feed guide 7 with the tip formed into a cylindrical shape as shown in Figures 29(d) to (f), as the volume is reduced, the non-cylindrical part of the bubble cushioning material will be automatically rolled into a cylindrical shape as it is drawn into the cylindrical feed guide 7.

[0181] The maximum width of bubble wrap currently available on the market is about 1200 mm, and when rolled into a cylindrical shape it has a diameter of about 70 mm. Therefore, although it depends on the processing capacity specifications, the diameter of the cylindrical feeding guide 7 in Figure 30 does not need to be unnecessarily large and can be limited to approximately φ70 to φ300 mm, and the width of the perforation rollers and receiving rollers and the number of perforation plates, separation plates, and receiving plates can also be adjusted accordingly, which allows for cost reduction, miniaturization, and lower motor output.

[0182] When the inner diameter of the cylindrical feeding guide 7 is φD, the radius of the outer circumferential circle of the perforation plate of the perforation roller 203 is R1, and the radius of the receiving plate of the receiving roller 204 is R2, in order to reduce the volume smoothly without clogging the rollers, as explained in Patent Document 14 using FIG. 22, φD ≒ (R1 + R2) / 2 It has been found that the best solution is to make it so that: Usually, R1 = R2, and if that is R, then φD=R is.

[0183] The height H of the cylindrical feeding guide 7 is determined in accordance with the dimension φD in order to ensure the safety of the human body. In other words, if φD is small enough that a child's hand cannot fit inside, then H can also be small, and if φD is large enough that an adult's hand can fit inside, then H should be made larger than the length of an adult's arm so that even if a hand or arm is inserted, it will not reach the volume reduction section entrance boundary 201.

[0184] Alternatively, if the height of the entrance of the cylindrical feeding guide 7 is higher than the shoulder of a person, H may be equal to or greater than the length from the tip of the hand to the elbow. From the above, it can be seen that φD, R, and H can be determined according to the processing capacity specifications, and that bubble wrap volume reduction equipment for home use to industrial use can be flexibly manufactured using a unified procedure.

[0185] FIG. 31 shows an example of a cylindrical feeding guide 7 having a circular cross section and an inner diameter φD. The two slits 701 have a width W2 and a length H1, and the inter-slit barrier 702 therebetween has a width W1. The lower side of the slit 701 is at a distance H2 from the lower side of the cylindrical insertion guide 7.

[0186] W2 is set to a width that allows the fingers of a human hand to fit through but not the palm or back of the hand, and H2 is set to a size that prevents the fingertips inserted into the slit from reaching the boundary of the entrance to the volume reduction section, ensuring safety by preventing the fingertips from reaching the roller pair. As a specific example, according to the test finger in Figure 68, if the dimensions are in mm, W2<15, H2<90, or W2<19, H2<96, or W2<21.5, H2<136, or W2<25.4, H2<154, it is safe. The width W1 of the inter-slit barrier 702 may be set to a value that allows easy operation with two fingers and maintains strength. The specific values ​​for W1, W2, and H2 are within the discretion of the designer.

[0187] When cylindrical bubble cushioning materials are pushed into a cylindrical insertion guide to reduce their volume, if the diameters are too close, the bubble cushioning materials 8 may get caught on the inner wall of the cylindrical insertion guide 7 and become stuck, preventing them from moving to the opposite roller, as shown in the example of a jammed cylindrical insertion guide in Figure 32. In contrast, if the tip end of the bubble cushioning material is pulled downward through slit 701 as shown in the explanatory diagram of the bubble cushioning material pulling-in operation in Figure 33, it will move smoothly without getting clogged, and slit 701 is provided for this purpose.

[0188] The details are explained below. As shown in Figure 33(a), after inserting the tip of the bubble cushioning material 8 into the cylindrical insertion guide 7, insert your fingers through the two slits 701 to grasp the tip of the bubble cushioning material and pull it downward, and it can be easily moved to position (b) without getting stuck. This process is repeated until the leading edge of the bubble cushioning material reaches the roller pair, is pulled in, and the volume reduction operation begins. Once the volume reduction operation begins, the bubble wrap material is automatically retracted and the volume reduction operation continues.

[0189] In other words, by using the cylindrical feeding guide with slits of this embodiment, it is possible to obtain a small, low-power consumption, inexpensive, non-clogging, and safe bubble cushioning material volume reduction device that meets the processing performance.

[0190] In consideration of maintenance, the cylindrical feeding guide 7 should be designed to be easily removable. There are various methods that can be used with known technology, such as hinges, screws, snap locks, and screw-in methods, but this is left to the discretion of the designer, so we will not go into detail here (not shown). [Example]

[0191] As an example of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device, instead of pinching and pulling in the bubble cushioning material with fingers as shown in FIG. 33, a pull-in tool 10 shown in FIG. 34 can be used. The tip width W4 of the pulling tool 10 is made smaller than the slit width W2 of the cylindrical insertion guide 7, and the distance L4 from the tip to the stopper 1004 is made smaller than H2 of the cylindrical insertion guide 7. As shown in Figure 35 when the retracting tool is in use, the retracting tool 10 can be inserted through the two slits 701 to pinch and retract the bubble cushioning material 8 downward, but since the inter-slit barrier 702 hits the stopper 1004, the retracting tool will not accidentally get caught in the volume reduction section and damage the bubble cushioning material volume reduction device or the retracting tool. This shows that it is possible to automate the mechanical processing of bubble wrap.

[0192] Even if there is only one slit, the object of the present invention can be achieved by pinching the bubble wrap with two fingers or by using a tool like tweezers or an ice pick, although this may be difficult to handle (not shown). [Example]

[0193] Figure 36 shows an example of a cylindrical guide opening with a circular cross section, and by changing the shape it is possible to easily insert bubble cushioning material. Basically, it widens the entrance, and other variations are possible in addition to (a) to (c), and it can also be applied to cylindrical injection guides with cross-sectional shapes other than circular, but this is left to the discretion of the designer and will not be discussed further (not shown). [Example]

[0194] As yet another example of a bubble cushioning material volume reduction device, FIG. 37 shows an example of a cylindrical feeding guide with feeding rollers. This is a cylindrical feeding guide with a plurality of feeding rollers 703 arranged around the entrance, which are free to rotate around the center of a disk as an axis. This allows even a long piece of bubble cushioning material that hangs down outside the entrance of the feeding guide to be smoothly drawn in. The method of installing the feed roller 703 can be any of various known techniques, and is within the discretion of the designer, so will not be described here (not shown). [Industrial Applicability]

[0195] According to the present invention, it is safe for the human body and is not affected by the strength or size of the bubble cushioning material. This will enable the production of bubble wrap volume reduction equipment for a wide range of applications, from industrial to home use, that does not separate and clog. [Explanation of symbols]

[0196] 1, 1A Insertion Guide 105 Left side plate 106 Right side plate 2, 2A volume reduction section 2B Open / Close Version 201 Volume reduction section entrance boundary 202 Outlet 203 Perforated Roller 203A Perforated Roller Shaft 203B Perforated Roller Gear 204 Receiving roller 204A Receiving plate 204B Support plate outer circumference 204C Frictional force 204D Support roller gear 204E Support roller shaft 205 Separation plate 206 Roller intersection 207 Perforated plate 207A Perforated Plate Outer Circle 207A1 Perforated plate inner circumference 207B Triangular protrusion 208 Separation plate 208A Roller shaft hole 208B Connecting shaft hole 208C Separation surface 208D Separation point 208E Separation car hole 208F separation car 208G Separation groove 208H, 208H1 Separate groove support 209 Drilling Unit 2010 Side guide plate 2011 Geared Shaft 2012 Handle 212 scraping roller 212A scraping board 212B scraping roller shaft 214 Scraping Wheel 214A Scratching Claws 214B Elastic Bridge 214C Elastic Bridge Gap 214D Perforated roller shaft hole 214E Scraping Wheel Outer Circle 214F slippage area 215 Scraping Wheel 215A Support roller shaft hole 215B Rotation due to volume reduction operation 3 Drive unit 4 legs 5 Side loading guide 501 Front plate 502 Back plate 503 Top plate 504 Left side plate 505 Right side plate 506 Inlet 507 Roller shaft 1 508 Roller shaft 2 509 Roller shaft 3 7 Cylindrical feeding guide 701 Slit 702 Slit Barrier 703 Feeding roller 8. Bubble wrap 801 Volume cannot be reduced 901 Information board 902 Guide plate shaft 903 Guide plate lever 904 Book Receiving Box 905 Temporary Receiving Box 906 Outlet 10 Retraction device 1001 Fulcrum 1002 emphasis 1003 Point of action 1004 Stopper 1005 Stopper through hole 1101 Hand 1102 Wrist 1103 Forearm 1104 Elbow joint 1105 Upper Arm 12 Support roller shaft base 1201 Support roller shaft hole 1202 Fixed plate 1203 Fixing screw 1204 Fixed lever 13 Auxiliary support roller 14 Auxiliary support roller shaft stand 1401 Auxiliary support roller shaft hole

Claims

[Claim 1] Restraining the forearm at at least two points using a surface or shaft; This bubble cushioning material volume reduction device is characterized by having an insertion guide structured to prevent fingers and forearms from reaching the volume reduction section.

Images