Method for folding a flat or gusseted tubolar sheet of flexible material

Abstract

 A method for folding a flat or gusseted tubular sheet (1) of flexible material, comprising the steps of:
cutting the tubular sheet (1) along a substantially longitudinal, asymmetrical cutting line (2) in such a way as to define edges (3a, 3b) for opening said tubular sheet (1);
flattening said tubular sheet (1);
folding the flattened tubular sheet (1) parallel to said cutting line (2) at least three consecutive times so that, on completion of each fold, said opening edges (3a, 3b) are on the outside, i.e. accessible to a user.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for folding a flat or gusseted tubular sheet of flexible material. In particular, said method is used to fold tubular sheets from which protective covers employed in light or heavy construction or vehicle repair work are obtained.

[0002] The protective covers available on the market are generally rectangular and have two types of packing: flat or in rolls. In particular, in the case of flat packs, the cover is folded alternately in a direction parallel to the long sides and to the short sides of the rectangle. At the end of the procedure, the cover takes on a surface area of about 30 cm x 21 cm.

[0003] Other folding methods are described in documents US4948638 and GB2442722.

[0004] The main disadvantage of the above-mentioned folding methods lies in the difficulty a user has in opening and unfolding the cover. In fact, in order to be used, the cover is first placed on the floor to be protected, after which the user begins to open it, rolling it out if necessary, and unfolding it following the alternating folding directions. The user must therefore move around the cover repeatedly in order to unwind it and spread it out. In light of the foregoing, the opening operations prove to be long and inconvenient.

[0005] In this context, the technical task at the basis of the present invention is to propose a method for folding a flat or gusseted tubular sheet of flexible material which overcomes the drawbacks of the above-mentioned prior art.

[0006] In particular, it is an object of the present invention to propose a method for folding a flat or gusseted tubular sheet of flexible material which enables the sheet itself to be opened and spread out easily and rapidly.

[0007] The defined technical task and the specified object hereof is substantially achieved by a method for folding a flat or gusseted tubular sheet of flexible material which comprises the technical characteristics described in one or more of the appended claims.

[0008] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following indicative, and hence non-limitative, description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a method for folding a flat or gusseted tubular sheet of flexible material, as illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:

• figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a cut tubular sheet;
• figure 2 illustrates a top view of the tubular sheet of figure 1;
• figure 3 illustrates a perspective view of the tubular sheet of figure 1, during a first operation of folding in half;
• figure 4 illustrates the roll obtained by winding the folded tubular sheet of figure 1.

[0009] With reference to the figures, 1 indicates a flat or gusseted tubular sheet of flexible material. In particular, the tubular sheet 1 is made of plastic material. Preferably, the tubular sheet 1 is made of waterproof, biodegradable plastic material. Preferably, the material constituting the tubular sheet 1 has natural or artificial fragrant essences added to it.

[0010] From the tubular sheet 1 it is possible to obtain a protective cover to be employed, for example in construction work or vehicle repair work. For example, the tubular sheet 1 is made of material that is electrostatically charged so as to cling easily to a surface to be protected. The tubular sheet 1 can be transparent or in various colours.

[0011] Alternatively, the tubular sheet 1 is made of fabric or paper. There is also envisaged the possibility of applying the proposed method to fold metal tubular sheets 1 (e.g. made of aluminium).

[0012] The proposed method comprises a first step in which the tubular sheet 1 is cut along a substantially longitudinal, asymmetrical cutting line 2 in such a way as to define edges 3a, 3b for opening the sheet 1 itself (see figures 1 and 2). For example, the cut is made using a thin blade. Once cut, or before being cut, the tubular sheet 1 is flattened so that one upper rectangular layer 4 and one lower rectangular layer 5 of the sheet 1 are pressed together in order to make them adhere to each other. Typically, the pressing is achieved by passing the tubular sheet 1 through a series of rollers. Advantageously, the cutting line 2 is formed in said upper layer 4 so as to divide it into a first portion 4a and a second portion 4b having a different surface area. In other words, as already specified above, the cutting line 2 is asymmetrical in relation to the transverse extent of the sheet 1. As shown in figure 2, the first portion 4a has a first opening edge 3a, while the second portion 4b has a second opening edge 3b for the tubular sheet 1.

[0013] Subsequently, the flattened tubular sheet 1 is folded parallel to the cutting line 2 at least three consecutive times. Advantageously, on completion of each of the above-mentioned folds, the opening edges 3a, 3b are on the outside, i.e. accessible to a user.

[0014] In a first embodiment of the method, the step of folding the flattened tubular sheet 1 parallel to the cutting line 2 consists in folding the tubular sheet 1 in half three consecutive times. The first operation of folding in half is illustrated in figure 3.

[0015] For example, the upper layer 4 and lower layer 5 of the tubular sheet 1 have a width of about 2 m and a length of between 2 m and 200 m. The cutting line 2 is formed in such a way that the first portion 4a of the upper layer 4 has a width of about 62 cm, whereas the second portion 4b of the upper layer 4 has a width of about 138 cm. After the first folding in half parallel to the cutting line 2, the overall width of the flattened tubular sheet 1 goes from 2 m to 1 m. After the second folding in half parallel to the cutting line 2, the overall width of the flattened tubular sheet 1 goes from 1 m to 50 cm. Finally, after the third folding in half parallel to the cutting line 2, the overall width of the flattened tubular sheet 1 goes from 50 cm to 25 cm.

[0016] In a second embodiment of the method, the step of folding the flattened tubular sheet 1 parallel to the cutting line 2 consists in carrying out, in sequence, the following operations:

• folding the flattened tubular sheet 1 in half;
• folding the tubular sheet 1 in two different fractional parts;
• again folding the tubular sheet 1 in half.

[0017] Preferably, the two fractional parts respectively constitute one third and two thirds of the tubular sheet 1.

[0018] The cutting line 2 is formed in such a way that the first portion 4a of the upper layer 4 has a width of about 85 cm, whereas the second portion 4b of the upper layer 4 has a width of about 115 cm. After the first folding in half parallel to the cutting line 2, the overall width of the flattened tubular sheet 1 goes from 2 m to 1 m. After the second folding in said fractional parts parallel to the cutting line 2, the overall width of the flattened tubular sheet 1 goes from 1 m to about 66 cm. Finally, after the third folding in half parallel to the cutting line 2, the overall width of the flattened tubular sheet 1 goes from 66 cm to 33 cm.

[0019] Once the overall width has been reduced, the tubular sheet 1 is rolled up transversely to the cutting line 2. The tubular sheet 1 is rolled up for its entire length so as to obtain a roll 7, as shown in figure 4. Preferably, the opening edges 3a, 3b and the cutting line 2 are on the inside of the roll 7, that is, not accessible to the user when the roll is wound up, but only when the roll 7 is at least partly unwound.

[0020] Alternatively, the tubular sheet 1 is folded transversely to the cutting line 2.

[0021] In an unillustrated embodiment, the tubular sheet 1 has lines of weakening (or pre-cuts) transverse to the cutting line 2. As a result, the tubular sheet 1 is tearable along said lines of weakening so as to obtain a plurality of sheets.

[0022] The characteristics of the method for folding a flat or gusseted tubular sheet of flexible material according to the present invention are readily apparent from the description provided, as are the advantages thereof.

[0023] In particular, the tubular sheet cut along the longitudinal cutting line can be rapidly opened and is easy to handle. The formation of the cutting line in an asymmetrical position in the upper layer contributes to this. In fact, during opening and unfolding operations, the user places the roll on a surface to be protected (e.g. a floor) and easily rolls out the sheet for its entire length. In this way, the opening edges are made accessible to the user. Once the roll has been unwound, the user grips the opening edges and unfolds the sheet in a single movement.

[0024] In the case of a flat pack, the user places the folded tubular sheet on the floor and begins unfolding it transversely to the cutting line. At the end of said unfolding, the opening edges are made accessible to the user, who unfolds the sheet in a single movement as described above.

Claims

1. Method for folding a flat or gusseted tubular sheet (1) of flexible material, comprising the steps of:

cutting the tubular sheet (1) along a substantially longitudinal, asymmetrical cutting line (2) in such a way as to define edges (3a, 3b) for opening said tubular sheet (1)

flattening said tubular sheet (1),

characterised in that it comprises the following steps:

folding the tubular sheet (1) parallel to said cutting line (2) at least three consecutive times so that, on completion of each fold, said opening edges (3a, 3b) are on the outside, i.e. accessible to a user.

2. Method according to claim 2, wherein the step of flattening said tubular sheet (1) consists in pressing together an upper rectangular layer (4) and a lower rectangular layer (5) of said tubular sheet (1) in order to make them adhere to each other, said cutting line (2) being formed in the upper layer (4) so as to divide it into a first portion (4a) and a second portion (4b) having a different surface area.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the step of rolling up the tubular sheet (1) transversely to said cutting line (2), said rolling up step being carried out after the step of folding the tubular sheet (1) parallel to the cutting line (2).

4. Method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the step of folding the tubular sheet (1) transversely to said cutting line (2), said transverse folding step being carried out after the step of folding the tubular sheet (1) parallel to the cutting line (2).

5. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the step of folding the tubular sheet (1) parallel to said cutting line (2) consists in folding said tubular sheet (1) in half three consecutive times.

6. Method according to any of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the step of folding the tubular sheet (1) parallel to said cutting line (2) consists in carrying out, in sequence, the following operations:

folding the tubular sheet (1) in half;

folding the tubular sheet (1) in two different fractional parts;

again folding the tubular sheet (1) in half.

7. Method according to claim 6, wherein said two fractional parts of the tubular sheet (1) respectively constitute one third and two thirds of said tubular sheet (1).

8. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said tubular sheet (1) is made of plastic material.

9. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said tubular sheet (1) has lines of weakening transverse to said cutting line (2), said tubular sheet (1) being tearable along said lines of weakening so as to obtain a plurality of covers.

10. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the material constituting said tubular sheet (1) has natural or artificial fragrant essences added to it.

Drawing