Package making – Methods – With contents treating
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-22
2001-11-27
Gerrity, Stephen F. (Department: 3721)
Package making
Methods
With contents treating
C053S436000, C053S117000, C053S527000, C053S541000, C270S039030, C493S413000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06321512
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Previously packages of a continuous strip of material have been foamed using a technique known as “festooning” in which the strip is folded back and forth to lay a series of strip portions back and forth with each portion being folded relative to the next about a line transverse to the strip. The technique of festooning has been available far many years and is used in packaging many different types of material but particularly material of a fibrous nature such as fabric, non-woven strips and the like. In this technique the strip is conventionally guided into a receptacle such as a cardboard box while a first reciprocating movement causes portions of the strip to be laid across the receptacle and folded back and forth and a second reciprocating movement causes the positions of the portions to be traversed relative to the receptacle transversely to the portions. Normally the receptacle comprises a rigid rectangular container at least partly of cardboard having a base and four upstanding sides.
In an alternative arrangement the strip is packaged by rolling the strip into a cylindrical pad having a width equal to the width of the strip or is wound into a cylindrical traverse package having a width greater than the width of the strip.
In all of these arrangements, the intention is to limit the number of splices in the strip since these slices cause the material at or on either side of the splice to be scrapped. Spices are necessary in joining the master rolls from which the strips are slit.
The above applications disclose details of an improved method of forming a package of a strip for supply of the strip comprising:
providing strip having a fist side edge, a second side edge, a first surface and a second surface;
forming a plurality of stacks of the strip;
in each of the stacks repeatedly folding the strip back and forth so that the stack contains a plurality of folded overlying strip portions of the strip, with each strip portion being folded relative to one next adjacent strip portion about a first fold line transverse to the strip and relative to a second next adjacent strip portion about a second fold line transverse to the strip and spaced from the first fold line;
arranging the strip portions thus to form a plurality of first fold lines at one end of the stack and a plurality of second fold lines at an opposed and of the stack;
arranging the strip portions thus such that the first surface of each strip portion lies directly in contact with the first surface of one next adjacent portion and such that the second surface of each portion lies directly in contact with the second surface of the other next adjacent portion:
arranging the strip portions with the first side edge thereof lying directly on top of and aligned with the first side edges of others of the strip portions of the stack and with the second side edge thereof lying directly on top of and aligned with the second side edge of other of the strip portions;
arranging the strip portions of the stack with the first and second surfaces thereof generally parallel to a top surface and bottom surface of the stack;
arranging the strip so as to be continuous through the stack between a bottom strip portion and a top strip portion;
arranging the stacks side by side without intervening rigid container walls;
and providing at the top and bottom of each stack a tail portion of the strip which is available for splicing to the tail portion of the strip of the next adjacent stack.
In most cases the entire top surface and the entire bottom surface of each of the stacks are placed under compression in a direction at right angles to the top surface and the bottom surface of the stack and to package is engaged by a packaging material which maintains the compression.
One problem which arises in the manufacture of a package of this type is in simultaneously folding the strips side by side to form simultaneously the side by side stacks of the finished packed for economic production it is highly desirable that the folding is effected at a relatively high rate generally greater than 500 feet per minute, preferably of the order of 750 feet per minute and even up to 1200 feet per minute at which some lines currently operate. These higher rates allows the folding machine to be provided directly behind the manufacturing line thus avoiding necessity for packaging the material in web form prior to manufacture of the package of the type set forth above.
One arrangement for folding paper shoot into a single stack of zig zag folded sheet portion is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,670 (Felix) assigned to Jos. Hunkeler AG of Switzerland. Later U..S. Pat. Nos. 5,085,624 (Felix) and 5,042,789 (Hediger) are also relevant to this machine.
In this machine there is provided a carriage which moves horizontally back and forth underneath a stack of the sheets of paper. The carriage defines a transverse slot which is moved back and forth underneath the stack so that a supply of the paper sheet fed from beneath the stack through the slot is folded back and forth as the slot is moved back and forth under the package.
The package is supported on two belts each of which wraps around a respective one of a pair of rollers defining a slot. The upper run of each of the belts is thus in effect stationary holding and supporting the package in stationary position as the slot defined by the belts in the roller is moved back and forth. This arrangement as shown in the patents has led to a successful machine which folds paper sheet into a single stack at a relatively slow speed of the order of 200 feet per minute.
This machine is however unsuitable for and has not been in any way used for the manufacture of packages defined by a plurality of side by side stacks of strip material of relatively narrow width.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improved arrangement for forming a package of the type generally described above and an improved package formed by the method.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a package comprising:
a strip having a first side edge, a second side edge, a first surface and a second surface;
a plurality of stacks of the strip:
in each stack the strip being folded repeatedly back and forth so that the stack contains a plurality of folded overlying strip portions of the strip, with each strip portion being folded relative to one next adjacent strip portion about a first fold line transverse to the strip and relative to a second next adjacent strip portion about a second fold line transverse to the strip and spaced from the first fold line;
the strip portions of each stack being arranged to form a plurality of first fold lines at one fold end of the stack and a plurality of second fold lines at an opposed fold end of the stack;
the strip portions of each stack being arranged such that the first surface of each strip portion lies directly in contact with the first surface of one next adjacent strip portion and such that the second surface of each strip portion lies directly in contact with the second surface of the other next adjacent strip portion;
the strip portions of each stack being arranged with the first side edges thereof lying directly on top of and aligned with the first side edges of others of the strip portions of the stack and with the second side edges thereof lying directly on top of and aligned with the second side edges of others of the strip portions of the stack;
the strip portions of each stack being continuous through the stack between a bottom strip portion and a top strip portion;
the plurality of stacks being arranged side by side with the side edges of the strip portions of each stack adjacent the side edges of a next adjacent stack;
the plurality of stacks thus defining two fold ends of the package containing the fold ends of the stacks and two sides of the package defined by outwardly facing sides of two outermost stacks;
each stack having a splice tail portion extending from a bottom end strip portion of the stack and spl
Mol Darrell Van
O'Connor Lawrence J.
BKI Holding Corporation
Darby & Darby
Gerrity Stephen F.
LandOfFree
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