Patent Application
20100000686
There are no cross related applications.
The present invention generally relates to apparatuses and devices for dispensing tape or other similar products such as, but not limited to, ribbon, string or web. More particularly, the present invention relates to such apparatuses and devices which comprise tensioning mechanisms to control the dispensing of the tape.
Reinforcing or tear tapes have been used for many years in modern packaging as an aid to maintain structural integrity or as an easy open feature in boxes, packages and/or containers. The commercially available tape dispensers used at corrugating or laminating machine have an important limitation. All spools or rolls are supplied in individually packaged boxes, where each roll has to be unpacked, lifted and installed on a tape dispenser machine located near the corrugating or laminating machine. Since each roll has to be manually lifted and manipulated by the operators of the laminating or corrugating machine, each roll cannot weight more than 35 pounds to limit the dangers of injuries to the operators. This fact brings another important drawback. With a spool or roll weight this small, only a very limited amount of linear footage of tape can be wound on these rolls. With the laminating or corrugating machines going faster over the years, an important need for splicing these rolls arose, since these processes cannot be stopped as they need to have a constant supply of tape. In this industry the footage of these tape rolls are usually between 10,000 and 30,000 feet. Since multiple tapes are used in these packaging making processes, we often see a splicing rate for tape roll of 1 roll every 5 to 8 minutes. This means that an operator has to unpack a roll, lift it, install it on the dispenser and prepare the splicing mechanism every 5 to 8 minutes. This procedure can be very time consuming.
The literature is abundant with such tape dispensers and splicing systems, and they all have in common the limitation to roll size and weight and the necessity for the operator to manually handle these rolls. In more details, we can see U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,327 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,768 where we clearly see the general parameters of the tape dispenser and the need for tension control and a splicing mechanism. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,629 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,324 we also see different splicing techniques that can be used on tape dispensers.
The use of a package that dispenses tape exists in other applications than the corrugated board reinforcement or easy open feature for containers. For example, in the pressure sensitive adhesive packaging tape we can see many patents on this subject: U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,472; U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,634; U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,446; U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,655 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,051 are all patents on this subject. But all these patents, even if they cover the concept of package and dispenser, are all related to handheld dispenser of small rolls of pressure sensitive packaging tape and none use the concept of packaging/dispenser for the purpose of reducing roll manipulations and thus the increasing of tape roll footage.
Transport and packaging assemblies have also been proposed in the past. U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,821; U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,625 for example, disclosed folding racks for the storing and dispensing of rolled material. However, these systems are not design for high speed dispensing and they do not include tensioning device to generate tension in the unwound material. Also, these systems are limited to one or two rolls, a feature which may not be desirable when multiple rolls are needed simultaneously.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a tape dispenser/package that can be used both as a transport package for the rolls and as dispenser of the same rolls.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tape dispenser/package that requires less human manipulation.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tape dispenser/package that can hold multiple spools of tape which can be unwound simultaneously.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a tape dispenser/package that can be easily displaced around warehouse, factory and the like.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tape dispenser/package that can be mounted on standard wooden or plastic pallet.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tape dispenser/package that is cheap to manufacture.
Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.
The aforesaid and other objectives of the present invention are realized by generally providing a roll holder for the dispensing of tape or the like, the roll holder providing tension in the tape when the tape is dispensed, the rolls of tape comprising a core on which the tape is rolled, the core being supported by a shaft, the roll holder comprising a cylindrical hollow body comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being inserted in the core and an annular portion, the annular portion being connected inside the cylindrical hollow body, the annular portion having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the shaft; and wherein said the passes through the annular portion.
In another embodiment, the aforesaid and other objectives of the present invention are realized by generally providing a dispenser assembly for rolls of tape or the like, the roll of tape adapted to be mounted of a shaft, the dispenser assembly comprising at least one roll of tape or the like, the roll of tape comprising a core on which tape is wound, at least one pair of roll holder, the roll holder comprising; a cylindrical hollow body comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being inserted in the core; an annular portion, the annular portion being connected inside the cylindrical hollow body, the annular portion having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the shaft; and wherein the shaft passes through the annular portion and wherein each end of the core is receiving the roll holder.
The roll holders of the present invention are typically provided in pair for a tape roll, each holder of the pair being adapted to be respectively inserted in each end of the hollow core of the roll of tape around which the tape is wound.
In accordance with the present invention, the roll holder typically comprises a substantially cylindrical hollow outer body and a substantially annular portion adapted to be mounted inside the cylindrical body.
More particularly, the cylindrical body typically comprises a first portion adapted to be inserted into the hollow core of the roll of tape and a second portion, extending from the first portion outside the hollow core of the roll of tape. The first and second portions are typically separated by a blind stop on which the extremity of the hollow core abuts when the holder is inserted into the hollow core.
The outer surface of the first portion preferably comprises one or more tongues extending preferably in parallel to the axis of the holder. The tongues are typically configured to frictionally engage (press-fitting) the inner surface of the hollow core to provide a secure engagement between the holder and the roll. The free extremity of the first portion is preferably tapered such as to ease the insertion of the holder into the hollow core.
The outer surface of the second portion is typically smooth and is preferably adapted to be engaged by the gripping tool of a hoist.
The annular portion is secured inside the cylindrical body. The annular portion defines a passage through which can extend the support shaft onto which is mounted the roll of tape. In accordance with the present invention, the material and dimensions of the annular portion are chosen such as to generate a predetermined amount of friction with the shaft as the tape is unwound from the roll. The amount of friction may be adapted by varying the length of the annular (thus changing the dimensions of the contact surface between the shaft and the annular portion) and the material of the annular portion.
The internal diameter of the annular portion is larger than the external diameter of the shaft supporting the tape roll. The gap between them allows the tape roll to rotate when the tape is pulled from the roll. The shaft is partially in contact with the annular portion of the roll holder.
In a further embodiment, the first portion of the generally cylindrical body is conical. The cylindrical body is similarly inserted in the core of the tape of roll, the outer surface of the first portion contacting the core. In this embodiment, a blind stop could also be used.
In use, a roll holder in inserted into each end of the hollow core of the roll of tape and the roll of tape is then slid along a fixed supporting shaft. The tape of the roll of tape can then be unwound. In accordance with the present invention, as the tape is unwound, the weight of the roll forces the annular portion located inside the roll holder against the fixed shaft, thereby generating dynamic frictional force which slows down the unwinding roll and tensions the dispensed tape. As the tape is unwound, the weight of the roll diminishes and the dynamic frictional force between the bushing and the shaft is correspondingly reduced. The reduced frictional force allows the roll tape to be unwound faster, which is necessary since the diameter of the roll has diminished.
It is to be understood the roll holder of the present invention is not limited to be used with tape only; the roll holder may be used with almost any elongated product that is dispensed through a spool rotating on a shaft.
The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:
A novel roll holder for tape dispenser and a tape dispenser assembly therewith will be described hereinafter. Although the invention is described in terms of specific illustrative embodiments, it is to be understood that the embodiments described herein are by way of example only and that the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited thereby.
The embodiment of
As illustrated in
Referring now to
As shown, the annular portion 205 is in contact with the shaft 133 and the cylindrical body is in contact with the core 117. The annular portion 205 has an internal diameter that is larger than the external diameter of the shaft 133.
The extremity 260 of the cylindrical body 210 may be tapered to facilitate the insertion of the roll holder 200 into the core of the tape roll.
A plurality of tongues 235 are disposed on the external surface of the first portion 280 of the cylindrical body 210 so that the tape roll is press-fitted on the tongues 235 of the cylindrical body 210. The shaft 233 on which the tape rolls are disposed pass through the opening 215 and is in contact with the upward surface 217 of the annular portion 205.
The annular portion 205 may be made from bronze or other materials creating friction between the shaft and the annular portion in order to create a resistance against the rotation of the tape roll. Other materials for the annular portion may be, for example, brake lining or manganese. The amount of friction generated may thus adjusted by varying the material of the annular portion, and by varying the length of the annular portion. Indeed, the amount of friction generated is influenced by the contact surface and the particular friction coefficient of the material chosen.
The cylindrical body is typically made from metal, such as steel.
It is to be noted that the roll holder may be adaptable to a core that has a shape that is not circular or cylindrical. Indeed, only the internal surface of the annular portion has to be circular to rotate on the shaft.
While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.
