1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to plastic film/sheet of bags packaging technology and more particularly, to a film roll/bags-on-a-roll making machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Commercial plastic wraps are commonly provided in rolls and packed in individual boxes. Many film roll/bags-on-a-roll making machines are known for processing a plastic wrap into rolls. However, conventional film roll/bags-on-a-roll making machines are still not satisfactory in function and have drawbacks as follows:
1. These machines commonly use an electrical heating wire for cutting off the plastic wrap from each finished plastic wrap roll, resulting in generation of burning smell and traces of burnt.
2. Because the plastic wrap is a transparent, thin and collapsible film easy to get wrinkles, the user will be unable to easily pick up the leading edge of the plastic wrap roll.
3. These machines are commonly designed for use with reels of one single size for rolling up a plastic wrap into a roll, and thus, a different machine shall be used for rolling up a plastic wrap having a different width.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a film roll/bags-on-a-roll making machine, which can improve the drawbacks of the conventional machines.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a film roll/bags-on-a-roll making machine, which can rapidly dispense a film/sheet of bags and process the film/sheet of bags into film rolls/bags-on-a-rolls.
To achieve this and other objects of the present invention, a film roll/bags-on-a-roll making machine comprises a feeding unit, a reel displacement unit, a cutting unit and a control unit. The feeding unit comprises a first sheet-transfer cylinder, a second sheet-transfer cylinder and a feeding unit power drive. The feeding unit power drive is controllable to rotate the second sheet-transfer cylinder in reversing the first sheet-transfer cylinder for transferring a film/sheet of bags through the gap between the first sheet-transfer cylinder and the second sheet-transfer cylinder. The reel displacement unit is disposed adjacent to the feeding unit, comprising a rotating shaft, a plurality of discs, a plurality of reel-holding devices, at least one reel-supplying rack and a reel displacement unit power drive. The discs are fixedly mounted on the rotating shaft, and spaced along the length of the rotating shaft. The reel-holding devices are equiangularly mounted between two discs for cycling through a reel let-off position, a reel-supplying position, a film-rolling position and a film-cutting position upon rotation of the discs with the rotating shaft. Each reel-holding device comprises a first reel-holding member mounted at one disc, and a second reel-holding member movably mounted at another disc to face toward the first reel-holding member for detachably holding a reel between the first reel-holding member and the second reel-holding member. The at least one reel-supplying rack is adapted to receive a reel and to provide the received reel to one reel-holding device in the reel-supplying position in such a manner that when one reel-holding device is cycled to the film-rolling position, the first sheet-transfer cylinder of the feeding unit is attached to the reel in the reel-holding device that reaches the reel-supplying position, allowing the reel to roll up the film/sheet of bags from the feeding unit. The reel displacement unit power drive is controllable to rotate the rotating shaft and the discs in cycling each loaded reel through the reel let-off position, the reel-supplying position, the film-rolling position and the film-cutting position. The cutting device is disposed adjacent to the reel displacement unit, and adapted for cutting off the feeding film/sheet of bags from one reel that is cycled with the respective reel-holding device to the film-cutting position. The control unit is electrically coupled with the feeding unit, the reel displacement unit and the cutting device, and adapted for controlling the movement of the reel-holding devices of the reel displacement unit to cycle each reel through the reel let-off position, the reel-supplying position, the film-rolling position and the film-cutting position.
When cycled to the let-off position, the first reel-holding member and the second reel-holding member are in an empty condition. Further, reels are arranged in a stack, and can be individually discharged onto the reel-supplying rack when the reel displacement unit is cycled to the reel-supplying position to face toward the reel-supplying rack. The second reel-holding member is elastically movable relative to the first reel-holding member so that one end of the reel can be secured to the first reel-holding member and the opposite end of the reel can be detachably secured to the second reel-holding member. After the supply of one reel to the reel displacement unit, the reel is carried to a next step position, and a next reel-holding device that is in a vacant condition is cycled to the reel-supplying rack for receiving another reel. As soon as one reel is shifted from the film-rolling position to the film-cutting position, a part of the feeding film/sheet of bags is suspending between the reel and the feeding unit, and the serrated cutting blade is moved by the second pneumatic cylinder component to cut off the feeding film/sheet of bags. Immediately after cutting, the serrated cutting blade is moved back to its original position by the second pneumatic cylinder component. This cutting operation avoids the problem of generation of burning smell and traces of burnt of the prior art technique that uses an electric heating wire to cut off the film.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a film roll/bags-on-a-roll making machine, which can be adjusted to dispense a film/sheet of bags having a different width and to roll it into film rolls/bags-on-a-rolls.
To achieve this and other object of the present invention, each reel-holding device of the film roll/bags-on-a-roll making machine can be adjusted to hold a different length of reel for rolling up a film/sheet of bags having a different width.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a film roll/bags-on-a-roll making machine, which enables the user to easily find and pick up the leading end of the film roll/bags-on-a-roll.
To achieve this and other object of the present invention, each reel-holding device of the film roll/bags-on-a-roll making machine further comprises a smoothing unit. The smoothing unit comprises a smoothing unit pneumatic cylinder, a roller holder frame, a smoothing roller and a smoothing unit power drive. The roller holder frame is connected to the smoothing unit pneumatic cylinder. The smoothing unit power drive is coupled with the smoothing roller. The smoothing roller is rotatably mounted in the roller holder frame. The smoothing unit pneumatic cylinder is controllable to move the roller holder frame and the smoothing roller into contact with a finished film roll/bags-on-a-roll at one reel for enabling the smoothing roller to be rotated by the smoothing unit power drive to smooth the edge of the finished film roll/bags-on-a-roll at the respective reel. Further, the control unit is controllable to drive smoothing unit power drive to rotate the smoothing roller in a direction reverse to the winding direction of the film/sheet of bags being wound round each reel into a film roll/bags-on-a-roll, causing the edge of the finished film roll/bags-on-a-roll at the respective reel to be folded up so that the user can easily find and pick up the folded leading end of the film roll/bags-on-a-roll.
Referring to
The feeding unit 10 comprises a first sheet-transfer cylinder 11, a second sheet-transfer cylinder 12, and a feeding unit power drive 13. The feeding unit power drive 13 is controllable to rotate the second sheet-transfer cylinder 12, causing the second sheet-transfer cylinder 12 to reverse the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 so that a film/sheet of bags A can be transferred through the gap between the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 and the second sheet-transfer cylinder 12 for the implementation of further processing steps. In this embodiment, the film/sheet of bags A is a plastic wrap.
The reel displacement unit 20 is disposed adjacent to the feeding unit 10, comprising a rotating shaft 21, a plurality of discs 22, a plurality of reel-holding devices 23 for holding reels B, and at least one reel-supplying rack 27, and a reel displacement unit power drive 28. The discs 22 are mounted on the rotating shaft 21, and spaced along the length of the rotating shaft 21. The reel-holding devices 23 are equiangularly mounted at two opposing discs 22 for holding reels B between the two opposing discs 22, and moved with the rotation of the discs 22 to cycle through a series of positions wherein the step position D1 is the reel let-off position; the step position D2 is the reel-supplying position; the step position D3 is the film-rolling position; the step position D4 is the film-cutting position.
The reel-holding devices 23 are identical, each comprising a first reel-holding member 231 and a second reel-holding member 232. The first reel-holding member 231 is mounted at one disc 22. The second reel-holding member 232 is a spring-loaded reel-holding member mounted at another disc 22 to face toward the first reel-holding member 231, and can be elastically moved in direction toward or away from the first reel-holding member 231 within a limited distance for allowing loading of a reel B between the first reel-holding member 231 and the second reel-holding member 232. The reel-supplying rack 27 is located in the reel-supplying position D2 for receiving a reel B and then supplying the reel B to the reel-holding device 23 that is moved to the reel-supplying position D2. When one reel-holding device 23 is cycled to the film-rolling position D3, the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 of the feeding unit 10 is attached to the reel B in the reel-holding device 23 that reaches the reel-supplying position D2, allowing the reel B to roll up the film/sheet of bags A from the feeding unit 10. The reel displacement unit power drive 28 is adapted for rotating the rotating shaft 21 and the discs 22, cycling each loaded reel B to every step position.
The cutting device 30 is disposed adjacent to the reel displacement unit 20. After the reel B in one reel-holding device 23 rolled up a predetermined length of the feeding film/sheet of bags A into a roll, the reel B is cycled with the respective reel-holding device 23 to the film-cutting position D4 where the cutting device 30 is controlled to cut off the feeding film/sheet of bags A, and then, the reel B is cycled with the respective reel-holding device 23 to the reel let-off position D1.
The control unit (not shown) is electrically coupled with the feeding unit 10, the reel displacement unit 20 and the cutting device 30, and adapted for controlling the movement of the reel-holding devices 23 of the reel displacement unit 20 to cycle each loaded reel B through the aforesaid step positions D1-D4. Actually, the control unit is electrically coupled with the feeding unit power drive 13, the reel displacement unit power drive 28 and the cutting device 30. Subject to the instruction of the control unit, the feeding film/sheet of bags B, for example, plastic wrap, is moved by the feeding unit 10 to the reel B in the replacement unit 20 that is cycled to the step D2, enabling the leading end of the film/sheet of bags B to be attached to the reel B. At this time, the reel displacement unit power drive 28 is controlled to rotate the discs 22 to the step position D3, enabling the reel B to be rotated to roll up a predetermined length of the feeding film/sheet of bags B. When the discs 22 are rotated, the reel-holding devices 23 are shifted from one step position to another. Thus, each reel B can be moved with the respective reel-holding device 23 to cycle through the reel-supplying position D2, the film-rolling position D3, the film-cutting position D4 and the reel let-off position D1 step by step in a proper order.
When cycled to the let-off position D1, the first reel-holding member 231 and the second reel-holding member 232 are in an empty condition. In actual application, reels B are arranged in a stack, and can be individually discharged onto the reel-supplying rack 27 when the reel displacement unit 20 is cycled to the reel-supplying position D2 to face toward the reel-supplying rack 27. As stated above, the second reel-holding member 232 is elastically movable relative to the first reel-holding member 231 so that one end of the reel B can be secured to the first reel-holding member 231 and the opposite end of the reel B can be detachably secured to the second reel-holding member 232. After the supply of one reel B to the reel displacement unit 20, the reel B is carried to a next step position, and a next reel-holding device 23 that is in a vacant condition is cycled to the reel-supplying rack 27 for receiving another reel B.
When one reel B reaches the film-rolling position D3, the feeding film/sheet of bags A is being continuously transferred through the gap between the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 and the second sheet-transfer cylinder 12, enabling the leading end of the film/sheet of bags A to be attached to the reel B. At this time, the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 of the feeding unit 10 is pressed on the reel B, the film/sheet of bags A and the second sheet-transfer cylinder 12. During the operation of the feeding unit power drive 13 to rotate the second sheet-transfer cylinder 12 in reversing the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11, the reel B by the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 relative to the respective reel-holding device 23 to roll up the feeding film/sheet of bags A from the feeding unit 10.
When the reel B is shifted from the film-rolling position D3 to the film-cutting position D4, as shown in
After the cutting operation, the reel B is shifted from the film-cutting position D4 to the reel let-off position D1, where the second reel-holding member 232 of the reel-holding device 23 is retracted from one end of the reel B, enabling the reel B to fall from the reel displacement unit 20, and the reel-holding device 23 can then be shifted from the reel let-off position D1 to the reel-supplying position D2. Thus, the reel-supplying step, the film-rolling step, the film-cutting step and the reel let-off step are continuously and automatically cycled enhancing quick fabrication of rolls of film/sheet of bags.
When the reel B is shifted from the film-rolling position D3 to the film-cutting position D4, a part of the feeding film/sheet of bags A is suspending between the reel B and the feeding unit 10, and the serrated cutting blade 34 is moved by the second pneumatic cylinder component 33 to cut off the feeding film/sheet of bags A. Immediately after cutting, the serrated cutting blade 34 is moved back to its original position by the second pneumatic cylinder component 33. This cutting operation avoids the problem of generation of burning smell and traces of burnt of the prior art technique that uses an electric heating wire to cut off the film.
Referring to
The first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 of the feeding unit 10 is selected from rubber or other material with a high friction coefficient. Thus, when the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 is pressed on the film/sheet of bags A at the reel B, a certain friction force is produced, enabling the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 to rotate the reel B. The feeding unit 10 further comprises bracket 14 and two drive members 15. The bracket 14 is adapted to hold the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 and the second sheet-transfer cylinder 12. The feeding unit power drive 13 (for example, motor) is controllable to rotate the second sheet-transfer cylinder 12, causing the second sheet-transfer cylinder 12 to reverse the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 by gear transmission. The first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 is moved into contact with the reel B, the reel B is rotated by the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11. The drive members 15 can be, for example, pneumatic cylinders adapted for biasing the bracket 14, moving the first sheet-transfer cylinder 11 into contact with or away from the reel B in the respective reel-holding device 25.
Referring to
The first reel-holding member 231 of each reel-holding device 23 comprises a reel-holding end portion 2311. The second reel-holding member 232 of each reel-holding device 23 comprises a reel-holding end portion 2321. The reel-holding end portions 2311 and 2321 are smaller than the inner diameter of each reel B so that they can be respectively inserted into the two opposite end of one reel B to hold the reel B therebetween in a rotatable manner. The second reel-holding member 232 of each reel-holding device 23 further comprises an adjustment block 2325, an axial hole 2327, and a pin 2329. The reel-holding end portion 2321 is located at one end of the pin 2329. The opposite end of the pin 2329 is inserted through the adjustment block 2325 into the inside of the axial hole 2327. The adjustment block 2325 comprises at least one radially extending screw hole 23251. The adjustment block 2325 is coupled to the pin 2329 between the reel-holding end portion 2321 and the respective holder tube 221 and stopped at one end of the respective spring 233 that has its other end stopped at an inside part of the respective holder tube 221, allowing the pin 2329 to be moved axially in and out of the axial hole 2327. A tightening-up screw (not shown) is threaded into one respective screw hole 23251 to lock the adjustment block 2325 to the pin 2329 in the axial hole 2327 at the desired position. When loosened each tightening-up screw, the pin 2329 is unlocked from the adjustment block 2325 and can be moved axially in and out of the axial hole 2327 to adjust the distance between the reel-holding end portion 2321 of the second reel-holding member 232 and the respective holder tube 221, thereby changing the distance between the first reel-holding member 231 and the associating second reel-holding member 232 according to the length of the reel B for rolling up a different width of film/sheet of bags A.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the reel displacement unit 20 further comprises a reel displacement unit pneumatic cylinder 29, a guide yoke 291, and a plurality of stop blocks 2322. The stop blocks 2322 are equiangularly mounted on a back side of one disc 22 and respectively linked to the respective second reel-holding members 232 and the respective holder tubes 221 corresponding to the respective step positions D1,D2,D3,D4. The guide yoke 291 is disposed between the step position D1 and the step position D2 at one lateral side relative to the stop blocks 2322. The stop blocks 2322 are movable with the respective second reel-holding members 232. The reel displacement unit pneumatic cylinder 29 is movable with the second reel-holding members 232 of the reel-holding devices 23 and the stop blocks 2322. When one second reel-holding member 232 is shifted to the reel let-off position D1, the control unit (not shown) drives the reel displacement unit pneumatic cylinder 29 to move the second reel-holding member 232 in direction toward the respective stop block 2322 to compress the associating spring 233, and at the same time, the respective stop block 2322 is moved in direction away from the disc 22 and stopped at one end of the guide yoke 291. At this time, the reel B carrying a film roll/bags-on-a-roll is released from the second reel-holding member 232. Thereafter, the respective reel-holding device 23 is shifted to the reel-supplying position D2, and the respective stop block 2322 is moved along the guide yoke 291 and then away from the guide yoke 291, enabling the reel-holding end portion 2321 of the respective second reel-holding member 232 to be moved by the elastic potential energy of the associating spring 233 back to its original position to hold one end of another reel B that is newly supplied by the reel-supplying rack 27 and attached with its other end to the first reel-holding member 231.
Referring to
Referring to
Further, subject to the control of the control unit (not shown), the smoothing unit power drive 54 can rotate the smoothing roller 53 to smooth the edge of the film/sheet of bags A of the duly finished film roll/bags-on-a-roll at the respective reel B in a direction reverse to the winding direction of the film/sheet of bags A of the duly finished film roll/bags-on-a-roll around the respective reel B, causing the edge of the finished film roll/bags-on-a-roll at the respective reel B to be folded up so that the user can easily find and pick up the folded leading end of the film roll/bags-on-a-roll.
Further, the smoothing roller 53 is selected from rubber or other material with a high friction coefficient. Thus, when the smoothing roller 53 touches the film/sheet of bags A of the duly finished film roll/bags-on-a-roll at the respective reel B, a high friction force can be produced, enabling the edge of the film/sheet of bags A of the duly finished film roll/bags-on-a-roll at the respective reel B to be easily reversed.
Referring to
Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.