Device for manually creating spiral-shaped packaging material

Abstract

Device for manually forming spiral-shaped packaging material (3), including a reception (20) for at least partially circumferentially encompassing a wound reel (1) of a web of fiber material defining an axial direction (A) and forming an interior side (2) from which the web of fiber material is drawn for shaping the packaging material (3), and an axial support (30) connected to the reception (20), by which axial support an axial front side (6) of the reel of the web of fiber material facing in drawing direction is held, and having a dispensing opening (11) formed therein for dispensing the packaging material (3) in the axial direction (A), and comprising an interior wall section (31) facing the front side (6) and tapering towards the dispensing opening (11).

Claims

1. A device for manually forming spiral-shaped packaging material, comprising: a reception for at least partially encompassing a wound reel of a web of fiber material defining an axial direction and forming an interior side from which the web of fiber material is drawn for shaping the packaging material, the reception having a constant diameter and having a first at least partial circumference configured to receive the reel of the web fiber material, and an axial support connected to the reception, the axial support supporting an axial front side of the reel of the web of fiber material, the axial support having a dispensing opening formed therein for dispensing the packaging material in the axial direction, and comprising an interior wall section facing the axial front side, the interior wall section being formed as a dispensing funnel having a first end adjacent the reception and a second end adjacent the dispensing opening where the first end of the interior wall section has a second circumference and where the first end connects to a front end of the reception, the interior wall section tapering from the first end towards the second end.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the interior wall section has an opening angle, the opening angle of the interior wall section is in the range of between approximately 30 and 150.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the reception is attached to the axial support in a releasable manner.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the axial support comprises at least one attachment collar that connects to the interior wall section in the axial direction.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the reception is partially cylindrical and the at least one attachment collar encompasses the outside of the partially cylindrical reception.

6. The device according to claim 4, wherein the at least one attachment collar comprises a slot cooperating with a moveable pin.

7. The device according to claim 4, wherein the at least one attachment collar is configured for attaching a blade.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the dispensing opening defines an interior circumference and a blade is arranged at the interior circumference of the dispensing opening.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the blade has multiple teeth extending at least partially in one of radial direction and the axial direction.

10. The device according to claim 8, wherein the blade has an attachment ring releasably attached to the axial support.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the dispensing opening has an interior diameter, the interior diameter of the dispensing opening is in the range of between 2.5 cm and 30 cm.

12. The device according to claim 1, wherein the reception is shaped substantially semi-cylindrical and comprises at least one support section and at least one retaining section, the retaining section extending over at least 180, and the support section extending over at most 180, wherein the support section is arranged in the direction of the dispensing material behind the retaining section.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein the at least one retaining section is longer than the at least one support section in the axial direction.

14. The device according to claim 1, wherein the reception has an end abutment opposite to the axial support and extending radially inwards, the end abutment being formed as a ledge and comprising at least one of a convex handling aperture and lattice-like openings.

15. The device according to claim 1, wherein the reception comprises a flange extending radially from the reception and through which a pivot pin at least partially extends in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, the pivot pin defining a pivot axis around which the reception can be pivoted, wherein the distance from a winding axis of the reel to the pivot pin is substantially equal to the distance of the winding axis to the pivot axis.

16. The device according to claim 15, wherein the pivot pin extends through at least part of a mounting flange and a locating pin extends at least partially through the flange and through the mounting flange for defining a pivot position, the locating pin extending in parallel with the pivot axis.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein one of the flange and the mounting flange comprise a plurality of locating apertures corresponding to the locating pin for defining a pivot position.

18. The device according to claim 1, wherein the reception is mounted to a carrier structure.

19. The device according to claim 15, wherein the carrier structure comprises a rotating device allowing for a rotary movement of the reception around an axis of rotation which is not the winding axis and which is arranged perpendicular with respect to the pivot axis and intersects the reception.

Description

(1) Further features, advantages and characteristics of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention according to the enclosed figures, which illustrate:

(2) FIG. 1 a perspective view of a device according to the invention for manually creating a packaging material having a partially unwound reel of the web of paper;

(3) FIG. 2 a side view of the device;

(4) FIG. 3 a top view on to the device;

(5) FIG. 4 perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a device according to the invention;

(6) FIG. 5 a third perspective view of a second alternate device according to the invention for creating packaging material;

(7) FIG. 6 a worktable to which a device according to the invention is mounted and an operator;

(8) FIG. 7 a different device according to the invention mounted to a table and/or rack.

(9) In FIGS. 1 through 6, the device according to the invention for manually creating packaging material 3 is illustrated in the form of a packaging material dispenser 10.

(10) The packaging material dispenser 10 comprises as its main component a reception 20 and an axial support attached thereto, which provides an abutment in the axial dispensing direction A for the reel 1, and which is realized as a dispensing funnel 30. Other than the illustrated cone-shaped dispensing funnel 30 also other tapering wall shapes are imaginable for the axial support for providing an axial abutment in the dispensing direction for the reel 1, which, for example, may not be rotationally symmetrical, but only mirror symmetrical, such as an oblique cone.

(11) The dispensing funnel 30 has an exterior wall section 31 tapering in a truncated cone shape from the reception 20 in the direction of the dispensing opening. The opening angle of the interior wall section 31 is about 90. The wall strength of the dispensing funnel 30 and of the attachment collars 32 and 33 thereof is substantially constant.

(12) The packaging material is initially provided in the form of a reel 1 of a web of paper, which is unwound from the interior side 2 thereof in the axial direction, resulting in a spiral-shaped packaging material 3. The reel lies with the exterior side 5 thereof flat against the interior circumference 25 of the reception 20 which is complementarily shaped with respect to the reel 1, so that the reception 20 positively and force-fittingly encompasses the reel 1. An unwound section 3 of packaging material extends outwardly from the packaging material dispenser 10, on the far side of the dispensing opening of the dispensing funnel 30.

(13) The reception 20 is formed by a half shell. At the front end of the half shell, the reception the 20 has multiple pins 24 engaging a slot 34 of the attachment collar 32, which dispensing funnel 30 encompasses the front end of the reception 20, the pins realizing a snap- and bayonet-connection by means of which the dispensing funnel is held tightly to the reception 20 in any arbitrary orientation and cannot fall down.

(14) At the back end of the reception 20, an end abutment 55 extends radially inwards from the reception 20. When the reel 1 web of paper slides backwards in the axial direction A, it abuts against the end abutment 55 and does therefore not fall out of the reception 20.

(15) The reel 1 of web of paper can be loaded into the reception 20 by the operator at an angle from behind, or in the radial direction R. The loading aperture extends between the dispensing funnel 30 and the end abutment 55. At the outside of the reception 20, opposite from the loading aperture or opposite the reel 1, respectively, the packaging material dispenser 10 has a pivoting device 60.

(16) The pivoting device 60 comprises a flange 61 at the side of the reception and a mounting flange 62, as well as a pivot pin 63 extending through flanges 61 and 62 and defining a pivot axis S. The pivot axis S stands perpendicular with respect to the axial direction A and is usually arranged between the winding axis W of the reel 1 of web of paper and a member to which the flange 62 is attached.

(17) The flange 62 at the carrier structure side has multiple openings or apertures 65 arranged in a circle of constant diameter around the receptacle of the pivot pin 63. Usually, the number of openings 65 is at least 3 and an odd number. One (not visible) opening 65 is arranged in the radial direction R below the pivot pin 63 for allowing horizontal arrangement of the packaging material dispenser 10.

(18) For securing a pivot position of the packaging material dispenser 10, the locating pin 64 is inserted through the flange 62 and a not visible opening of the flange 61 at the reception side.

(19) FIG. 2 shows a side view of a horizontally arranged packaging material dispenser 10 into which no reel of web of paper has been inserted.

(20) The dispensing funnel 30 has a cone-like tapering interior wall section (not shown in FIG. 2), a front attachment collar 32, a back attachment collar 33, and rounded transitions therebetween. At the front attachment collar 32, a blade having an attachment ring 14 is attached by means of two screws 42, the blade having a plurality of teeth 41. By means of the teeth 41, unwound packaging material (not illustrated) can be separated from the reel of web of paper (not illustrated).

(21) The back attachment collar 33 has snap- and bayonet-connection slots 34 engaged by corresponding pins 24 of the reception 20.

(22) The reception 20 is shell-shaped in FIG. 2, and its axis of rotation corresponds to the winding axis W of the (not illustrated) reel of web of paper.

(23) The front or posterior area of the reception 20 has a retaining section 22 extending over more than half of the cylinder circumference of the reception 20. The back or anterior part of the reception 20 has a support section 21 encompassing less than half of the cylinder circumference of the shell-shaped reception 20. Between the support section 21 and the retaining section 22, a continuous transition 23 is arranged. The operator can easily load the packaging material dispenser 10 with the reel 1 by holding the inside the reel 1 with both hands and then inserting it into the loading aperture of the reception 20. While loading the reception 20, the support section 21 provides a resistance only then when the reel 1 is completely inserted. As soon as the reel engages the continuous transition 23, the elasticity of the reception 20 can be utilized in order to slightly bend the retaining section 22 of the reception 20 open to easily insert the reel of the web of paper. When the reel of web of paper is inserted, the retaining section 22 of the reception 20 also lies abutting against the outer circumference 5 of the reel 1 (cf.: FIG. 1) in order to avoid that the reel 1 can slide or roll out of the reception 20 in the radial direction. These circumferential ends of the retaining section 22 and the support section 21 each are arranged diametrically opposite one another.

(24) FIG. 3 shows from above a horizontally aligned packaging material dispenser 10 having a reel 1 of web of paper inserted therein.

(25) The reel 1 of web of paper in FIG. 3 lies with the outer circumference 5 thereof abutting against the slightly larger interior circumference 25 of the reception 20. The inside of the reel 1 of web of paper formed by the innermost windings thereof is indicated by dotted lines. By drawing the inner end of the reel 1 web of paper, packaging material 3 is provided which exits from the dispensing opening 11 in shape of a spiral.

(26) The lower side 4 and the front side 6 of the reel 1 of a web of paper each extend in one plane in FIG. 4. In particular the front side 6 can abut against an interior wall section of the dispensing funnel 30 (not illustrated) and thus be deformed towards the dispensing opening 11. The front side 6 is thus deformed correspondingly to the shape of the interior wall section both when the packaging material 3 is drawn by drawing along windings adjacent to the innermost winding as well as when the dispenser 10 is arranged with the dispensing opening 10 facing vertically downwards or downwards at an angle.

(27) The length L1 of the reel 1 in the axial direction A is here about 3 cm smaller than length L2 of the loading aperture of the reception 20 between the end abutment 55 in the back attachment collar 33.

(28) FIG. 4 illustrates the packaging material dispenser 10 loaded with a reel 1 of the web of paper and having an end abutment in the shape of a substantially fully circumferential ledge 50.

(29) The packaging material dispenser 10 can substantially only be loaded in the radial direction R. The aperture for loading the packaging material dispenser 10 has the length L2 in the axial direction A. The reel 1 has the length L1 in the axial direction A. The longitudinal dimension L2 of the loading aperture is only slightly larger than the longitudinal dimension L1 of the reel 1 so that an operator can grip the reel 1 of web of paper at the lower side 4 and the front side thereof and fit it into the reception 20, this action is in particular being simplified by a convex handling aperture 51 in the ledge 50. Since the longitudinal dimension L2 is no more than about 10% larger than the longitudinal dimension L1 the reel 1, a reel 1 of the web of paper which threatens to tip laterally out of the packaging material dispenser 10 would about against a resistance in form of the back attachment collar 33 of the dispensing funnel 30 such that the reel 1 is stopped from falling out of the packaging material dispenser 10.

(30) Unlike the packaging material dispensers shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the one shown in FIG. 4 is arranged with the dispensing opening facing upwards at angle, wherein the flange 62 of the pivoting device 60 is nevertheless arranged horizontally. Dependent upon the member to which the flange 62 is to be attached, it can take pivot positions defined by the locating pin 64 and an aperture 65.

(31) Reel 1 of web of paper is particularly held in position by ledge 50. The ledge 50 is substantially shaped fully circular and thus supports almost the entire lower side 4 of the reel 1 which prevents the inner windings of the reel 1 to slide out of the packaging material dispenser 10 due to gravity.

(32) The ledge 50 comprises a plurality of apertures 53 shaped as squares and arranged in a grid like manner so that the ledge is shaped lattice-like. Generally, the ledge openings 53 can also have other shapes and do not have to be arranged in a grid. The ledge 50 is attached to the reception 20 using multiple screws 52.

(33) The packaging material dispenser 10 has a plurality of teeth 41 arranged circularly around the dispensing opening 11 of the dispensing funnel 30. In FIG. 4, the teeth 41 are arranged substantially in the axial direction A, so that the operator cannot hurt himself when grasping through the dispensing opening and particularly when drawing the packaging material outwardly in the axial direction A.

(34) FIG. 5 again illustrates a horizontally arranged packaging material dispenser 10. The funnel shaped interior wall section 31 has no obstacles at its inside against which the (not illustrated) paper web can come up against during unwinding. The front attachment collar 32 of the dispensing funnel 30 has a plurality of protrusions 43 for screws (not illustrated) for attaching an attachment ring 40 having teeth 41 to the dispensing opening 11. Teeth 41 are substantially radially arranged in FIG. 5 so that the packaging material can be ripped by the teeth 41 even when only little effort is applied. Both attachment collars 32, 33 are substantially cylinder-sleeve-shaped.

(35) FIG. 6 shows an operator 90 grasping with his hand 91 in the direction of the dispensing opening of the packaging material dispenser 10a. The packaging material dispenser 10a is attached by means of the attachment flange of a pivoting device 60 to a leg 70 of the table. The dispensing opening of the packaging material dispenser is substantially oriented vertically upwards. Ledge 50 of the packaging material dispenser 10a prevents the reel 1 of web of paper material to fall down, out of the dispenser 10a, or from involuntarily unwinding downwardly.

(36) The opening aperture of the packaging material dispenser 10a is dimensioned sufficiently large for the operator 90 to grasp therethrough using several fingers 92 in order to unwind packaging material 3 from reel 1.

(37) FIG. 7 illustrates different possibilities of how different packaging material dispensers 10 can be attached to a table leg 70, a table top 71, or a rack 72. The packaging material dispenser 10a is substantially attached to the table leg 70 as illustrated in FIG. 6.

(38) The packaging material dispenser 10b is attached to the rack 72b by means of a pivoting device 60 and a rotation device 74, which rack 72b is cylinder sleeve shaped and thus at the same time forms a part of the rotation device 74. The packaging material dispenser 10b is attached onto the table top 71 by means of the attachment plate 77. The packaging material dispenser 10b is oriented with its dispensing opening sloping leftwards and downwards in the direction of the tabletop 71.

(39) The packaging material dispenser 10c is attached to the rectangular rack 72c via cantilever arm 73. The cantilever arm 73 has one rotating device 74 each at either end thereof. The first rotating device 74 is arranged close to the rack 72c and the second one immediately below the pivoting device 60 of the packaging material dispenser 10c, so that the axis of rotation D of the second rotating device 74 intersects the reception 20 of the packaging material dispenser 10c and a reel 1 of web of paper arranged therein. The packaging material dispenser 10d is arranged on a rack 72d by means of an attachment plate 77 which is attached immediately to the floor and which is otherwise a similar to the rack of the packaging material dispenser 10b.

(40) The rack 72e of the packaging material dispenser 10e has five rolling wheels 78. At least one, preferably two, of the wheels 78 can be fixed so that the rack 72e of the packaging material dispenser 10e is prevented from inadvertently rolling around.

(41) The features disclosed in the above description, the figures and the claims can each be of importance by themselves as well as in any combination for realizing the invention in the different embodiments thereof.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

(42) 1 reel of web of fiber material 2 inside of reel 3 unwound packaging material 4 lower side of reel 5 exterior circumference of reel 6 reel front side 10 packaging material dispenser 11 dispensing opening 20 reception 21 support section 22 retaining section 23 transition 24 pin 25 interior circumference of reception 30 dispensing funnel 31 interior wall section 32 front attachment collar 33 back attachment collar 34 slot 40 attachment ring 41 teeth 42 screw 43 protrusion 50 ledge 51 handling aperture 52 screw 53 apertures 55 end abutment 60 pivoting device 61 reception side flange 62 mounting flange 63 pivot pin 64 positioning pin 65 aperture 70 table leg 71 table top 72 rack 73 cantilever arm 74 rotation device 75 pin receptacle 76 fixation pin 77 mounting plate 78 wheel 90 operator 91 hand 92 finger A axial direction D axis of rotation L1 length of reel L2 length of loading aperture R radial direction S pivot axis W winding axis