CONTAINER FOR RECEIVING A BALANCING WEIGHT ROLLER

Abstract

A container configured to receive a belt of balancing weights and to dispense the same is formed as a cartridge that is substantially closed on all sides. The container has two spaced apart sidewalls, dimensioned to receive the belt roll between them, as well as a circumferential wall, which connects the sidewalls to one another and is provided with a dispensing opening for the passage of the belt. At the inner side of at least one of the sidewalls there is at least one brake tab that is laterally adjacent to the belt or the belt roll and spreading slanted against a rearward movement of the belt or the belt roller.

Claims

1. A balancing weight dispenser configured to dispense a balancing weight from a belt of balancing weights formed into a belt roll, the container comprising: a cartridge substantially closed on all sides, the cartridge having two spaced apart sidewalls dimensioned to receive the belt roll between them, and a circumferential wall connecting said two sidewalls to one another and having therein a dispensing opening dimensioned to pass the belt therethrough, at least one brake tab at an inner side of at least one of the two sidewalls, said brake tab being laterally adjacent to the belt, and spread slanted against a rearward movement of the belt o, and the belt of balancing weights comprising a plurality of balancing weights attached to an adhesive tape, the belt of balancing weights disposed inside the cartridge.

2. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 1, wherein two brake tabs are provided at the same one of the two sidewalls of the cartridge, said brake tabs lying substantially diametrically opposite to each other with relation to an axis of the belt roll and radially aligned to one another and being adjacent to a lateral side of the belt roll.

3. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge includes a cardboard material, and wherein a brake tab is a portion of said sidewall folded to project out of a plane of a sidewall from the two sidewalls.

4. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the cartridge includes a single cardboard blank, comprising (i) a substantially rectangular base plane configured to form a first one of the two sidewalls, (ii) circumferential wall segments adjoining respective outer edges of the base plane and configured to form the circumferential wall, and (iii) surface elements adjoining outer edges of said circumferential wall segments and together configured to form a second of the two side walls.

5. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 4, wherein a circular cardboard cylinder is arranged centrally on an inner side of the base plane, said cardboard cylinder configured as a hub for the belt roll and having a height substantially corresponding to the width of the belt.

6. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 4, wherein the base plane is slanted in the region of one of its corners, and that the dispense opening is formed in a circumferential wall segment associated with a surface segment for the circumferential wall.

7. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 4, wherein a first surface element adjoins an outer edge of a first circumferential wall segment from said circumferential wall segments, a second surface element adjoins an outer edge of a second circumferential wall segment from said circumferential wall segments, wherein said first and second circumferential wall segments are mutually opposing one another, each of said first and second circumferential wall segments carrying a corresponding brake tab from the two brake tabs.

8. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 7, wherein a first surface element (38) is adjacent to a second circumferential wall segment (14c) being orthogonally to one of the two first circumferential wall segments (14a, 14d), which first surface element covers the both second surface elements (28, 30) forming the second side wall.

9. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 1, wherein a segment of said circumferential wall is inclined downwardly from the dispensing opening in order to further reduce, in operation of the dispenser, a sliding motion of the belt back into the dispensing opening.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In the following, the invention will be described by way of example, without limitation of the general inventive concept, on examples of embodiment and with reference to the drawings.

[0021] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a finished cartridge fitted with a belt carrying balancing weights;

[0022] FIG. 2 shows a cardboard blank for the manufacturing of a cartridge; and

[0023] FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E, and 3F show folding instructions for the production of a cartridge from a cardboard blank.

[0024] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment. The cartridge 2 as shown in FIG. 1 serves for receiving a tape fitted with balancing weights 4hereinafter referred to as belt 8which is wound up to a belt roll 6 and preferably is fed to a transport and cutting-off mechanism (not shown), or for manual sampling, in which a belt portion required for balancing a wheel is cut off and attached to the wheel. The cartridge 2 has two spaced sidewalls 10 and 12 receiving the belt roll 6 there-between, of which only the sidewall 10 facing to the viewer can be seen in FIG. 1, as well as a circumferential wall interconnecting the sidewalls 10, 12, which as a whole is referred to with 14, and which consists of a plurality of circumferential wall portions 14a to 14e, due to the approximately cuboidal configuration of the cartridge 2.

[0026] As can be seen FIG. 1, one of the corners of the cartridge 2 is cut obliquely, wherein in the circumferential wall segment 14b forming this obliquely cut corner, a dispensing opening 16 is formed through which the belt 8 exits.

[0027] The belt roll 6 is centrally and rotatably supported on a hub 18 formed in the interior of the cartridge.

[0028] On the viewer-facing sidewall 10, two brake tabs 32, 34 are formed, which tabs spread slanted against the sides of the belt roll 6 opposite to a rotation direction of the belt roll 6 (the rotation direction being indicated with arrow 44), thus avoiding such rotation or sliding back of the belt 8 into the cartridge. The brake tab 32 may reach that far radially outwards that even with a full belt roll the outermost winding, i.e. the already lifted belt end is held. Optionally, sliding back of the belt end is further reduced by the circumferential wall segment 14b being inclined downwards from the dispensing opening 16, since the weights adjoining the circumferential wall segment 14b preferably pull down here.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a cardboard blank 20 with a base plane 22 forming a first one 12 of the sidewalls, at the outer edges 24a to 24e of which the circumferential wall segments 14a to 14e adjoin.

[0030] A surface element 28 adjoins to the outer edge 26a of the circumferential wall segment 14a, which surface element forms the second side wall 10 together with surface element 30 being adjacent to the outer edge 26d of the circumferential wall segment 14d. A brake tab 32 or 34, respectively, is punched in each of the surface elements 28 and 30, such that these tabs can be folded around an associated folding edge, out of the plane of the associated surface element.

[0031] A circumferential wall segment 14b adjoins to the oblique outer edge 24b of the base plane 22, in which circumferential wall segment 14b a dispensing opening 36 is punched out.

[0032] The hub 18 is arranged on the base plane 22, which hub is formed, for example, of a circular cardboard cylinder with a thickness substantially corresponding to the width of the belt 8.

[0033] A further surface element 38 adjoins to the outer edge 26c of the circumferential wall segment 14c, whose function will be explained with reference to FIG. 3.

[0034] The surface elements 40 or 42, respectively, which adjoin at the outer edge 26b of the circumferential wall segment 14b on the one hand and at the outer edge 26e of the circumferential wall segment 14e on the other hand, are pure adhesive edges, as will also be explained with reference to FIG. 3.

[0035] FIGS. 3A to 3F show an instruction how to fold a cardboard blank 20 according to FIG. 2 to a cartridge 2 according to FIG. 1, to glue it and to fit it with a belt roll 6.

[0036] In the first step (FIG. 3A) a belt roll 6 is mounted on the hub 18, the oblique circumferential wall segment 14b is folded up and the belt end withdrawn from the belt roll 6 is threaded through the dispensing opening 36. The surface element 40 serving as the adhesive edge is folded such that it lies parallel to the plane of base plane 22.

[0037] In the next steps, the brake tabs 32, 34 formed in the surface elements 28, 30 are folded inwardly, such that they spread against a rearward rotation of the belt roll (according to arrow 44) after folding inwards the surface elements 28, 30; the surface elements 28, 30 are folded inwards such that the brake tabs rest on the belt roll 6 (FIGS. 3B to 3D).

[0038] In a further step, the covering strips arranged on the surface elements 38, 40 and 42 are peeled off, so that the subjacent adhesive layers are revealed, and thereafter the surface element 42 and the surface element 38 are successively folded onto the surface elements 28, 30 forming the second side wall, and are glued together. The cartridge 2 is now ready for use in a transport and cutting-off mechanism, wherein the belt roll 6 is prevented from rearward rotation and the belt end protruding from the dispense opening is prevented from sliding back into the cartridge by the brake tabs 32, 34. In order to additionally secure the belt end for a longer transport, it may be, for example, releasably glued to the circumferential wall segment 14c.

[0039] It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that this invention is believed to provide a container for receiving a balancing weight roller. Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0040] 2 cartridge [0041] 4 balancing weights [0042] 6 belt roll [0043] 8 belt [0044] 10 first sidewall [0045] 12 second sidewall [0046] 14 circumferential wall [0047] 14a-14e circumferential wall segments [0048] 16 dispense opening [0049] 18 hub [0050] 20 cardboard blank [0051] 22 base plane [0052] 24a-24e outer edges [0053] 26a-26e outer edges [0054] 28 surface element [0055] 30 surface element [0056] 32 brake tab [0057] 34 brake tab [0058] 36 dispensing opening [0059] 38 surface element [0060] 40 surface element [0061] 42 surface element [0062] 44 arrow