Method and equipment for making packaging of unlimited length and article obtained

Abstract

 A method for making packaging of unlimited length, the corresponding equipment and continuous strip of corrugated cardboard packaging thus obtained.
This consists of a method by means of which a longitudinal slit (13) is made along the whole length of a roll or coil of corrugated cardboard (1) enabling it to be folded after separating a portion from the roll of suitable length, and possibly some cuts and cutting lines; the device for producing the slit or groove consists of a pulling item made up, for example, of two adjacent rollers (2,3) in line and the actual slit (13) itself is made by the pressure of rings (9) laid out in a fixed or moveable fashion on a roller (8) aligned with another (7) which is used to support this, with cutter holding rollers when cuts and cutting lines have to be made, as well as the corresponding means for length control between cutting cycles. The continuous packing strip has longitudinal slots, and can have transverse cutting lines and longitudinal cuts in both directions starting from said cutting lines.
For application in handling rolls for forming boxes or packing.

Description

[0001] A method for making packaging of unlimited length, the corresponding equipment and continuous corrugated cardboard packaging strip thus obtained.

[0002] The sector covering the technique for this patent is the making of packaging which is made up of wrapping items of variable lengths and especially those of great length.

[0003] Until recently certain products, especially extremely long ones, were not wrapped, but instead transported exposed to the weather, held on trucks or other forms of transport, and reached their destination depending on their transport conditions; said products could be piping, beams, etc., designed for resisting very different forms of damage by their very nature.

[0004] Nevertheless, there are a great number of products today which are delicate and made with a kind of structure which cannot be transported without wrapping, and furthermore there are no facilities for making said covering for transport.

[0005] As regards the prior state of the art, the following machines for making corrugated cardboard are known:
   EP-A-0 418 364, for a procedure for making corrugated cardboard or similar, EP-A-0 518 053 for a procedure for making printed corrugated cardboard of great width, as well as the installation for developing the procedure, EP-A-0 498 777 for a method for making containers of corrugated cardboard.

[0006] The aforementioned patents start from the making of furrowed card to obtain the corrugated cardboard; nevertheless, due to the lack of need for making pieces of very different lengths no application of this process or similar is known of with anything to do with the subject of this invention.

[0007] The aim of this invention is to provide a means for making packing of unlimited length, consisting of producing a folding line on the continuous strip of corrugated cardboard by means of continuous linear pressure made in a continuous fashion along the whole length of said cardboard belt.

[0008] In an alternative embodiment, when the length of the packing can be determined, apart from producing the continuous folding lines on the continuous strip of corrugated cardboard, a transverse cutting line is also made at regular lengths, and coinciding with the already mentioned cutting lines and in the zones adjacent to each of the sides of each of the transverse cutting lines, provision is made for making longitudinal cutting lines of a length which will normally be suitable for making the closure at the ends of the packing after mounting.

[0009] The device for making the folding lines consists of a set of rollers of which at least one has annular crowns superimposed on each other, in a fixed or movable fashion, and the strip of corrugated cardboard is pulled along by means of this device, and with the rollers placed so that the pressure of said crowns on the surface of the cardboard does not cause tearing of the same. The crowns can be fixed on the roller by clamps. screwing, sticking, or any other suitable means.

[0010] In the alternative embodiment, in which cyclical cutting lines are also made, a blade with a cutting edge interrupted in places is fitted on one of the rollers, and beside this, aligned on the cutting crowns, there are longitudinal blades. The interval of the length between transverse cuts can be predefined, with there being a control processor which would cyclically set said cutting rollers in motion, according to instructions from the processor.

[0011] The continuous packaging strip of corrugated cardboard obtained by said procedure and equipment consists of a continuous surface of corrugated cardboard normally provided in a roll or coil, of a fixed width and previously indeterminable length, in which there are longitudinal lines which, through the pressure exerted on the crowns of the rollers - through having split the transverse furrows in the corrugated cardboard, this thus being flat in said area - enables these to be folded, and thus to make packaging items which are closed off by means of cutting the ends and folding these inward.

[0012] In the alternative embodiment, the cardboard strip has transverse cutting lines at regular intervals along its length, and adjacent to these and in continuity with the longitudinal lines scored, cuts of a suitable length.

[0013] With the packing mounted, said longitudinal cuts enable the areas of corrugated cardboard between these to be folded like overlaps or flaps.

[0014] In order to make the explanation of the invention clearer, three sheets of drawings are included which represent the essence of this invention in nine figures.

[0015] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the process.

[0016] Figure 2 shows a perspective view of an unfolded box obtained in this way.

[0017] Figure 3 shows the structure of the groove in the corrugated cardboard.

[0018] Figure 4 represents a view of the strip of corrugated cardboard coming out of the cutting rollers as in the second embodiment.

[0019] Figure 5 represents a plan view of the strip of corrugated cardboard perforated in accordance with the second embodiment.

[0020] Figures 6 to 9 represent the ways the strips of corrugated cardboard can be used in accordance with the invention.

[0021] In Figure 1 we can see, given the number 1, the roll of corrugated cardboard, which, due to having the corrugated part joined to a piece of flat cardboard, enables it to be stored on rolls; 2 indicates the upper traction roller, and 3 the lower traction roller, 4 being the lower support roller, and 5 the roller which supports, for example, a flexography style stencil to allow continuous printing, through an ink supply which starts at the rollers or at a supplier of the same shown as 6. 7 shows the upper support roller, which is placed on the flat part of the cardboard, and 8 is the roller whose alignment coincides with 7, which has ridges 9 which can break into the cardboard, thus scoring this lengthways to make the folding lines. 10 shows the flat side of the cardboard, and 11 the corrugated side. 12 is the part which can form the box, 13 being the slit lines and 14 the final parts of the slit lines which after cutting will make the flanges or wings which allow perpendicular closing of the box.

[0022] In the second embodiment we can see in Figure 4 how the corrugated cardboard strip 21, after treatment in the first embodiment, goes between a pair of rollers which produce a cutting line and longitudinal cuts.

[0023] As can be seen in Figures 4 and 5, 21 represents a continuous strip of corrugated cardboard, with 22 being a transverse cutting line made on the same, with a longitudinal cut 23 made in this, 29 being a closing flap shown in Figure 6 and 13 being the slits which mark the folding lines for said strip of corrugated cardboard. 26 and 27 show a pair of rollers whose function is to make the transverse cutting lines.

[0024] The method is based on the formation of longitudinal pieces that can be cut in accordance with the size of the item to be wrapped, and these can be of variable length, according to a first form of embodiment, or of predetermined length according to the second form of embodiment. It is not therefore necessary for the cardboard to have been cut beforehand, but can instead be stored in rolls. The fact that the cardboard is corrugated enables rolls to be formed without this being a disadvantage for the stiffness of the boxed formed, since the formation of the boxes by folding, due to said angle, prevents the flexibility which it has without folding. Roller 8 contains parts which, like rings are set out at particular distances in order to form thereby a box of previously known dimensions as regards the section, but of the length required in any particular case. A triangle shape can be formed, as can be deduced from the groove lines shown in Figure 1, as is indicated by the rings 9 of the same, as well as other geometrical forms, according to the position of the rings on roller 8. To form the box, the continuous strip of cardboard is cut to the required length, according to the first embodiment, or at one of the cutting lines in the second embodiment, and cuts of a suitable length are made at the cutting edges, (already made in the second form of embodiment) and these are folded to form a rigid structure, being fixed by conventional forms of closure (sticking, stapling, taping, for example). The printing of the continuous strip of corrugated cardboard can form part of the same process.

[0025] One of the rollers 26 has a transverse blade 28 on its surface which can make a cutting line 22 on the cardboard 21 also transversely on said strip of cardboard.

[0026] The roller that carries the transverse blade has a number of blades 24 located at the perimeter of the section of said roller, which in turn act on the cardboard strip making longitudinal cuts perpendicular to the aforementioned cutting line, and adjacent to the same.

[0027] The blades can be moveable along the roller by means of one or several guides set there for this purpose, and have in turn securing means to prevent them from moving.

[0028] The length of each one of the longitudinal cuts will be the right one for the particular dimensions and type of product to be packed.

[0029] The process, machine and corresponding strip of corrugated cardboard described above can be made in parallel on several lines at the same time, with the result being similar to that of a number of machines working in parallel, but with separating longitudinal cutting means for each two of these.

[0030] This is for application in the manufacturing of rolls of corrugated cardboard for making cardboard boxes.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing packaging from strips of corrugated cardboard of unlimited length, characterized in that a number of longitudinal slits or grooves (13) are cut into a piece of suitably rolled up corrugated cardboard (1) of great length, along its whole length, said slits being parallel to each other and separated at a suitable distance at right angles to the curves of the corrugations, by means of annular crowns located on rollers, which continuously press onto the continuous strip of corrugated cardboard, determining the edges of the box later formed with this by folding along said grooves, with the flat piece obtained from said roll being able to be cut transversely; enabling its folding along said grooves.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that at regular lengths cutting lines (22) can possibly be made by means of blades (28) for it to be cut manually, located at right angles to the grooves, as well as longitudinal cuts (23) of a predetermined length in sections adjacent to both sides of these, for the formation of the flaps (29).

3. A method, according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the formation of slits is done in parallel with one sole entry line and several outlets, having a longitudinal cutting item for each separation.

4. Equipment for making packaging from strips of corrugated cardboard of unlimited length of the type that have a roll or coil of corrugated cardboard at the entry side and pulling rollers, characterized by having a slitting cylinder (8) aligned with a support cylinder (7) said slitting cylinder having rings or annular crowns (9) for pressing on the cardboard strip on its way through said rollers (7,8) preferably through the corrugated part (11) of the cardboard, and possibly precutting means.

5. Equipment, according to claim 4, characterized in that the annular crowns (9) can be moved transversely.

6. Equipment, according to claim 4, characterized by having a second set of rollers (26 and 27) the first of which (26) has means (28) for making a transverse cutting line (22) consisting of a fragmented blade cutter, and means (24) for making longitudinal cuts (23), adjacent to the transverse blade and located at right angles to this, set on the surface of the roller (26) with said means of longitudinal cutting being able to move transversely, and with the second roller (27) acting as support for the first one.

7. Strip of corrugated cardboard, of the sort which is provided in rolls or coils and which is made up of one plain side and one corrugated side, characterized in that it has longitudinal grooves all down its length which are obtained by squashing the corrugations on the corrugated side of the cardboard strip.

8. Cardboard strip characterized according to claim 7, in that transverse cutting lines (22) are cyclically set into the surface and adjacent to these and longitudinally in both directions longitudinal cuts (23) are made, with the length of said cuts being variable.

Drawing