Patent Grant
11352152
The present disclosure relates to stretch-wrapping machines, and more particularly to stretch-wrapping machines that include self-adjusting pinch rollers.
Several types of known stretch-wrapping machines use stretch wrap to secure loads of goods on pallets. These stretch-wrapping machines include a film carriage to which a roll of stretch film is mounted. The film carriage rotates relative to the load while vertically moving relative to the load to wrap the load with the stretch film in a spiral pattern. For instance, a turntable wrapping machine rotates a turntable on which the load is positioned while vertically moving the film carriage to wrap the load with the stretch film in a spiral pattern. A ring wrapping machine rotates the film carriage on a circular ring that circumscribes the load while vertically moving the film carriage to wrap the load with the stretch film in a spiral pattern. A rotating arm wrapping machine rotates a cantilevered arm carrying the film carriage around the load while vertically moving the film carriage to wrap the load with the stretch film in a spiral pattern.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a stretch-wrapping machine with self-adjusting pinch rollers configured to reorient themselves to compensate for misalignment relative to their respective pre-stretch rollers. This ensures the pinch rollers press the entire width of the film against their respective pre-stretch rollers as the film is drawn through the rollers.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wrapping machine comprising: a wrapping-machine frame; a guide mounted to the wrapping machine frame; a guide actuator operably connected to the guide to move the guide vertically relative to the wrapping-machine frame; a wrapping assembly mounted to the guide and comprising a film carriage; and a wrapping-assembly actuator operably connected to the wrapping assembly to move the wrapping assembly relative to the guide. The film carriage comprises a film-carriage frame; a first pre-stretch roller rotatably mounted to the film-carriage frame; a first pinch-roller assembly comprising an arm and a first pinch roller having a first-pinch-roller rotational axis; and a first biasing element biasing the first pinch roller to an engaged position. The first pinch roller is connected to the arm so: (1) the first pinch roller is rotatable relative to the arm about the first pinch roller rotational axis; and (2) the first pinch roller is pivotable relative to the arm to pivot the first-pinch-roller rotational axis relative to the arm. The first pinch-roller assembly is pivotably mounted to the film-carriage frame by the arm so the first pinch roller is pivotable relative to the first pre-stretch roller between its engaged position in which the first pinch roller engages the first pre-stretch roller and a disengaged position in which the first pinch roller is disengaged from the first pre-stretch roller.
While the systems, devices, and methods described herein may be embodied in various forms, the drawings show and the specification describes certain exemplary and non-limiting embodiments. Not all of the components shown in the drawings and described in the specification may be required, and certain implementations may include additional, different, or fewer components. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components; the shapes, sizes, and materials of the components; and the manners of connections of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims. Unless otherwise indicated, any directions referred to in the specification reflect the orientations of the components shown in the corresponding drawings and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Further, terms that refer to mounting methods, such as mounted, connected, etc., are not intended to be limited to direct mounting methods but should be interpreted broadly to include indirect and operably mounted, connected, and like mounting methods. This specification is intended to be taken as a whole and interpreted in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure and as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a stretch-wrapping machine with self-adjusting pinch rollers configured to reorient themselves to compensate for misalignment relative to their respective pre-stretch rollers. This ensures the pinch rollers press the entire width of the film against their respective pre-stretch rollers as the film is drawn through the rollers.
The wrapping-machine frame 10 is formed from multiple tubular and/or solid members (not individually labeled) and configured to support the other components of the wrapping machine 1. The wrapping-machine frame 10 defines a wrapping area within its interior and has an infeed area 10a at which a palletized load (such as a load L on a pallet P) is conveyed (such as via a conveyor C) into the wrapping area for wrapping and an outfeed area 10b at which the palletized load is conveyed (such as via the conveyor C) from the wrapping area after wrapping. The illustrated wrapping-machine frame 10 is merely one example configuration, and any suitable configuration may be employed.
The circular guide 20 serves as the mount for the wrapping assembly 40 and is movably mounted to the wrapping-machine frame 10 (such as to one or more vertical members of the wrapping-machine frame 10) such that the circular guide 20 is vertically movable relative to the wrapping-machine frame 10 between an upper position and a lower position.
The guide actuator 30 is operably connected to the circular guide 20 to move the circular guide 20 relative to the wrapping-machine frame 10 between the upper and lower positions. In certain embodiments, the guide actuator 30 includes one or more motors operably connected to the circular guide 20 via one or more belt-and-pulley assemblies to move the circular guide 20 between the upper and lower positions. In other embodiments, the guide actuator 30 includes one or more pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders operably connected to the circular guide 20 to move the circular guide 20 between the upper and lower positions. There are merely examples, and the guide actuator 30 may include any suitable actuator configured to move the circular guide 20 between the upper and lower positions.
The wrapping assembly 40 is movably mounted to the circular guide 20 such that the wrapping assembly 40 is rotatable relative to the circular guide 20. The wrapping assembly 40 includes a ring-shaped support (not shown), a film carriage 100, and a wrapping-assembly actuator 400 (
The ring-shaped support serves as the mount for the film carriage 100 and is movably mounted to the circular guide 20 such that the support (and the carriage and other components connected to the support) is rotatable relative to the circular guide 20. In this example embodiment, the support is movably mounted to the circular guide 20 via multiple spaced-apart rollers (not shown) that are connected to the support and positioned on a track (not shown) on the circular guide 20.
The film carriage 100 is fixedly connected to the support to move with the support (i.e., rotate relative to the circular guide 20 and move vertically relative to the wrapping-machine frame 10). As best shown in
The film-carriage frame 105 is formed from multiple tubular and/or solid members (not individually labeled) and configured to support the other components of the film carriage 100. The illustrated film-carriage frame 105 is merely one example configuration, and any suitable configuration may be employed.
As best shown in
The upper flexible-connection assembly that connects the upper arm 132a to the first pinch roller 131 includes a flexible member 133a (here, an annular, deformable, and resilient elastomeric grommet formed from vulcanized rubber); a fastener seat 134a; an annular bearing 135a; a threaded insert 136a; a retaining ring 137a; and a fastener 138a.
As best shown in
The bearing 135a is press-fit into a throughbore defined in one end of the upper arm 132a. The threaded insert 136a includes a cylindrical body (not labeled) and a cylindrical head (not labeled) at one end of the body. The head of the threaded insert 136a has a greater diameter than the body of the threaded insert 136a. A threaded throughbore (not labeled) is defined in the center of the head and the body of the threaded insert 136a. A circumferential groove is defined in the outer surface of the body of the threaded insert 136a near the end of the body opposite the head. The body of the threaded insert 136a is positioned in the throughbore defined in the center of the inner race (not shown) of the bearing 135a so the groove is outside the throughbore and so the underside of the head of the threaded insert 136a abuts the upper surface of the inner race of the bearing 135a. The retaining ring 137a is installed in the groove to retain the threaded insert in place on the bearing 135a.
The bearing 135a is positioned in a top end of the first pinch roller 131. More specifically, as shown in
The fastener 138a connects the upper arm 132a to the first pinch roller 131. Specifically, the head (not labeled) of the fastener 138a is seated in the fastener seat 134a, and the shank (not labeled) of the fastener 138a is threadably received in the threaded throughbore defined in the threaded insert 136a.
Although not shown to avoid repetition, the lower arm 132b is flexibly connected to the first pinch roller 131 via the lower flexible-connection assembly in the same (or a similar) way. The bearings of the flexible-connection assemblies enable the first pinch roller 131 to freely rotate relative to the upper and lower arms 132a and 132b in response to an appropriate force (such as the film being pulled off the roll, as described below). The fact that the flexible members are deformable enables the first pinch roller 131 to pivot so its rotational axis RA131 pivots relative to the upper and lower arms 132a and 132b in response to an appropriate force. And since the flexible members are resilient, they revert back to their original shapes (thereby pivoting the first pinch roller back to its original orientation) when that force is removed.
The second pinch-arm assembly 160 is identical (or similar) to the first pinch-arm assembly 130. While the components of the second pinch-arm assembly 160 are not separately described to avoid repetition, those components are referenced using the same numbering convention as used for the first pinch-arm assembly 130, with the leading “13” replaced by a leading “16.”
The pre-stretch drive assembly 180 is best shown in
The first pinch-roller assembly 130 is pivotably mounted to the film-carriage frame 105 at the ends of the upper and lower arms 132a and 132b opposite the ends connected to the first pinch roller 131 so the first pinch roller 131 is pivotable (relative to the first pre-stretch roller 140 and several other components of the film carriage) about a pivot axis PA131 between an engaged position (
The second pre-stretch roller 150 is rotatably mounted (such as via bearings and/or components of the drive train 184) to the film-carriage frame 105 downstream of the first pre-stretch roller 140 so the second pre-stretch roller 150 can freely rotate relative to the film-carriage frame 105 (and under control of the pre-stretch drive assembly 180) about a rotational axis RA150. A slight gap (not labeled) exists between the first and second pre-stretch rollers 140 and 150 to enable the film F to pass between them. The second pinch-roller assembly 160 is pivotably mounted to the film-carriage frame 105 at the ends of the upper and lower arms 162a and 162b opposite the ends connected to the second pinch roller 161 so the second pinch roller 161 is pivotable (relative to the second pre-stretch roller 150 and several other components of the film carriage) about a pivot axis PA161 between an engaged position (
The second idler roller 170 is rotatably mounted (such as via bearings) to the film-carriage frame 105 downstream of the second pinch roller 161 so the second idler roller 170 can freely rotate relative to the film-carriage frame 105 about a rotational axis RA170.
As shown in
As explained above, the differing rotational velocities of the pre-stretch rollers causes the film F to pre-stretch as it travels through the rollers. The first and second pinch rollers 131 and 161 are an integral part of this pre-stretching process because they press the film F against the first and second pre-stretch rollers 140 and 150, respectively. This ensures the film F maintains contact with the pre-stretch rollers long enough to achieve the desired amount of pre-stretch. One problem with certain prior art stretch-wrapping machines is that slight misalignments of the rollers (caused by, for instance, an imprecisely manufactured component or an imprecisely installed component) can create a gap between part of a pinch roller and part of its corresponding pre-stretch roller that is larger than the thickness of the film. In these instances, the pre-stretch roller does not press the film onto the pre-stretch roller along the entire width of the film. This is detrimental because the “floating” film that is not pressed onto the pre-stretch roller will experience a different level of pre-stretch than the remaining film (since less of it contacts the pre-stretch rollers and slipping may occur), leading to a suboptimal wrapped product.
The wrapping machine 1 of the present disclosure solves this problem via the flexible-connection assemblies that connect the arms of the pinch-roller assemblies to their corresponding pinch rollers. As explained above, the flexible members of the flexible-connection assemblies are deformable so as to enable the pinch rollers to pivot so their rotational axes pivot relative to their respective upper and lower arms. This enables the pinch rollers to align themselves with their respective pre-stretch rollers under the force of the biasing elements to compensate for any misalignment between the rollers (for instance, if their rotational axes are not parallel).
For example,
The cutting-and-fixing device (not shown) is supported by the wrapping-machine frame 10 and configured to, after the load L has been wrapped, cut the film F from the roll R to form a trailing end of the film F and to connect the trailing end to the wrapped load L to complete the wrapping process. Cutting the film F also creates a leading end of the film F on the roll R. The cutting-and-fixing device is also configured to hold the leading end after cutting the film F and to connect the leading end to the next load as it is being wrapped. The cutting-and-fixing device may be any suitable conventional cutting-and-fixing device known in the art.
The wrapping-assembly actuator 400 is operably connected to the wrapping assembly 40 to rotate the wrapping assembly 40 relative to the circular guide 20 and the load L. In certain embodiments, the wrapping-assembly actuator 400 includes one or more motors operably connected to the wrapping assembly 40 via one or more belt-and-pulley assemblies to rotate the wrapping assembly 40 relative to the circular guide 20 and the load L. This is merely an example, and the wrapping-assembly actuator 400 may include any suitable actuator configured to rotate the wrapping assembly 40 relative to the circular guide 20 and the load L.
The operator interface 50 is configured to receive inputs from an operator and, in certain embodiments, to output information to the operator. The operator interface includes one or more input devices configured to receive inputs from the operator. In various embodiments, the one or more input devices include one or more buttons (such as hard or soft keys), one or more switches, and/or a touch panel. In various embodiments, the operator interface 50 includes a display device configured to display information to the operator, such as information about the palletized load, the status of the wrapping operation, or the parameters of the wrapping machine 1. The operator interface may include other output devices instead of or in addition to the display device, such as one or more speakers and/or one or more lights. In certain embodiments, the operator interface 50 is formed as part of the wrapping machine 1 and is, for instance, mounted to the wrapping-machine frame 10. In other embodiments, the operator interface is remote from the wrapping machine 1.
The controller 60 includes a processing device communicatively connected to a memory device. The processing device may include any suitable processing device such as, but not limited to, a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, a digital-signal processor, one or more microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a digital-signal processor core, one or more application-specific integrated circuits, one or more field-programmable gate array circuits, one or more integrated circuits, and/or a state machine. The memory device may include any suitable memory device such as, but not limited to, read-only memory, random-access memory, one or more digital registers, cache memory, one or more semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as integrated hard disks and/or removable memory, magneto-optical media, and/or optical media. The memory device stores instructions executable by the processing device to control operation of the wrapping machine 1 (such as to carry out a wrapping operation, as described below).
The controller 60 is communicatively and operably connected to the guide actuator 30, the cutting-and-fixing device, the pre-stretch actuators 182, and the wrapping-assembly actuator 400 to control operation of these components in conjunction with the wrapping operation, as described below. The controller 60 is communicatively connected to the operator interface 50 to: (1) receive signals from the operator interface 50 that represent inputs received by the operator interface 50; and (2) send signals to the operator interface 50 to cause the operator interface 50 to output (such as to display) information.
A wrapping operation in which the wrapping machine 1 is used to wrap the load L with the film F to secure the load L to the pallet P is now described. Initially, the circular guide 20 is at its upper position, and the cutting-and-fixing device holds the leading end of the film F on the roll R. The controller 60 controls the conveyor C to move the load L on the pallet P through the infeed area 10a and into the wrapping area of the wrapping machine 1. After the load L on the pallet P reaches the wrapping area, the controller 60 controls the guide actuator 30 to lower the circular guide 20 such that the wrapping assembly 40 is at least partially vertically aligned with part of the load L. The controller 60 controls the cutting-and-fixing device to hold the leading end of the film F against the load L while controlling the wrapping-assembly actuator 400 to rotate the wrapping assembly 40 relative to the circular guide 20 and the load L. The rotation of the wrapping assembly 40 relative to the load L combined with the cutting-and-fixing device holding the leading end of the film F against the load L causes the film F to be drawn off of the roll R, directed through the rollers of the film carriage 100, and wrapped around the load L.
Once the film F has been wrapped around the leading end, the controller 60 controls the cutting-and-fixing device to release the leading end and move away from the load L. The controller 60 continues to control the wrapping-assembly actuator 400 to rotate the wrapping assembly 40 while controlling the guide actuator 30 to vertically move the circular guide 20 such that the load L is wrapped with the film F in a spiral pattern. During wrapping the controller 60 controls the pre-stretch actuators 182 to rotate the first and second pre-stretch rollers 140 and 150 at different rotational speeds to pre-stretch the film F as it is drawn through the rollers. After wrapping is complete, the controller 60 controls the cutting-and-fixing device to cut the film F from the roll and secure the trailing end of the film F to the load L, thereby completing the wrapping operation. The controller 60 controls the conveyor C to move the wrapped load L and pallet P from the wrapping area and through the outfeed area 10b.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wrapping machine comprising: a wrapping-machine frame; a guide mounted to the wrapping machine frame; a guide actuator operably connected to the guide to move the guide vertically relative to the wrapping-machine frame; a wrapping assembly mounted to the guide and comprising a film carriage; and a wrapping-assembly actuator operably connected to the wrapping assembly to move the wrapping assembly relative to the guide. The film carriage comprises a film-carriage frame; a first pre-stretch roller rotatably mounted to the film-carriage frame; a first pinch-roller assembly comprising an arm and a first pinch roller having a first-pinch-roller rotational axis; and a first biasing element biasing the first pinch roller to an engaged position. The first pinch roller is connected to the arm so: (1) the first pinch roller is rotatable relative to the arm about the first pinch roller rotational axis; and (2) the first pinch roller is pivotable relative to the arm to pivot the first-pinch-roller rotational axis relative to the arm. The first pinch-roller assembly is pivotably mounted to the film-carriage frame by the arm so the first pinch roller is pivotable relative to the first pre-stretch roller between its engaged position in which the first pinch roller engages the first pre-stretch roller and a disengaged position in which the first pinch roller is disengaged from the first pre-stretch roller.
In certain such embodiments, the first pinch-roller assembly further comprises a flexible-connection assembly that connects the arm to the first pinch roller.
In certain such embodiments, the flexible-connection assembly comprises a deformable flexible member.
In certain such embodiments, the flexible member is formed from a resilient elastomeric material.
In certain such embodiments, the first pinch-roller assembly further comprises a second arm connected to the first pinch roller.
In certain such embodiments, the first biasing element imparts a first biasing force on the arm that biases the first pinch roller to its engaged position, and the film carriage further comprises a second biasing element that imparts a second biasing force on the second arm that biases the first pinch roller to its engaged position.
In certain such embodiments, the arm and the second arm are independently movable to cause the first pinch roller to rotate relative to the arm and the second arm so the first-pinch-roller rotational axis rotates relative to the arm and the second arm.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide the film carriage of the above-described wrapping machine.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/903,180, which was filed on Sep. 20, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 62903180 | Sep 2019 | US |
