In the field of gardening equipment for use at both amateur and professional level, the use is well known of grass cutting heads for lawn mowers, brush cutters and the like, which use, as cutting elements, cutting lines in polymeric material. These lines project from a housing, which is carried in fast rotation around the drive shaft of the machine, and, due to centrifugal effect, they cut the vegetation. The cutting lines are subject to wear and breakage, and therefore they must be often replaced. For this purpose, packages of cutting lines in polymeric material are marketed, containing a several meters of line for its replacement in the cutting heads.
Usually, these lines are produced in polyamides with different chemical structures, all usually containing amide group CO—NH. Among the most important starting products for the production of these cutting lines there are the caprolactam, the adipic acid, and the hexamethylene diamine. Polyamides 6 and 6.6. are often associated with the mark “nylon”. The features of the single polyamides do not differ much from each other; Immediately after the thermoplastic working, under dry condition, they are hard and less or more fragile materials. Following the absorption of water from the atmosphere or following water conditioning, they become more tough and abrasion resistant.
The packages used for marketing these materials are usually open and can last for a very long time before they finish, above all if the user does not use great quantities of line. This can entail, also based upon the environmental conditions of use, an excessive drying of the product and thus the loss of the characteristics of abrasion resistance and of toughness linked with the water absorption inside the polymeric structure.
The object of the invention is to provide a package, which allows a better conservation of the polymeric material forming the cutting line also after the first use thereof.
Substantially, according to one embodiment, the package of cutting line made of polymeric material for brush cutters, lawn mowers, cutting devices for removing side shoots and the similar, comprises an aperture provided with a removable cap which can be applied in a reversible manner to the package, so that the package—once opened—can be effectively closed again in order to maintain the humidity conditions inside it. It is also possible, both during the packaging phase and during use, to add water inside the package, so as to maintain a high humidity condition inside the package and therefore to maintain the polymer, forming the cutting line, water-logged.
Further characteristics and embodiments of the package according to the invention are described in the appended dependant claims, and will be described in greater detail with reference to embodiments disclosed hereunder.
The drawing shows practical non limiting embodiments of the invention, and more in particular:
With initial reference to
Characteristically, one of the two valves (in the example the valve 1A) has an approximately round aperture in a substantially central position.
Around the central aperture of the upper valve or semi-shell 1A, a ring or collar 3 is applied, for example a ring in plastic material welded, for example by means of ultrasounds, or glued, or in any way blocked to the laminar material forming the upper valve 1A. The ring or collar 3 can be coupled in a reversible manner to a cover or cap 5. The coupling can be made through a thread, a bayonet grafting, a shape coupling joint or in any other manner. The coupling can be provided with a security seal which, once removed, allows to remove and to place the cap 5 again, so as to open and close the container or package 1. In this way, the user can open the package and extract the desired quantity of cutting line, cut it and close the package again by means of the cap 5. This safeguards the humidity conditions inside the package 1, conditions which can be made optimal in terms of saturation of the polyamide or other analogous polymer which forms the line F by adding of a small quantity of water inside the package.
Advantageously, in order to allow a simpler storage of the packages 1 in a small space, both for display and for transportation or storage, on the face of the package 1 opposite to that on which the cap 5 is applied to the ring 3, the semi-shell or valve 1B has a cavity 7 having a shape substantially corresponding to, and preferably slightly wider, than the cap 5. In this way it is possible to stack (see
In a modified embodiment (
The cover 57 can be engaged in a reversible manner with the collar or ring 55, instead of through a thread, by means of a bayonet grafting, through friction or in other suitable manner.
As in the case of the embodiment of
With the package object of the present invention it is possible for the user to maintain the line F always in the optimal conditions for its use, guaranteeing that it is always water-logged or in any way sufficiently impregnated with water. It is also possible that a certain quantity of water is loaded inside the package during the phase of production of the package itself, so that, even in case of particularly long periods of storage in dry environmental conditions and with an imperfect seal of the package 1, the line 1 remains always water-logged and therefore it remains always ready for use as the package is open.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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FI2008U000024 | Apr 2008 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IT09/00181 | 4/22/2009 | WO | 00 | 11/19/2010 |