Packaging material grading and/or factory profiles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11518557-B2
Application number	US-202017015372-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 9, 2020
Priority date	Sep 19, 2019
Publication date	Dec 6, 2022
Grant date	Dec 6, 2022

Abstract

Control of a load wrapping apparatus may be based at least in part on packaging material grading and/or factory profiles.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of controlling a load wrapping apparatus of the type configured to wrap a load on a load support with packaging material dispensed from a packaging material dispenser through relative rotation between the packaging material dispenser and the load support, the method comprising:
receiving a first input data that selects a packaging material thickness;
receiving a second input data that selects a packaging material grade;
determining an incremental containment force using the first and second input data;
determining a wrap force parameter for use in wrapping the load using the incremental containment force determined using the first and second input data; and
controlling a dispense rate of the packaging material dispenser during the relative rotation based on the determined wrap force parameter.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the grade is selected from among a plurality of predetermined grades.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the grade is selected from among an ultra grade, a premium grade, a standard grade and a low bid grade.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising maintaining a mapping of a plurality of load containment forces to a plurality of corresponding wrap forces and a plurality of corresponding numbers of layers of packaging material and receiving a third input data associated with a load containment force requirement to be used when wrapping the load with packaging material, wherein determining the wrap force parameter includes accessing the mapping based upon the third input data to determine a corresponding wrap force parameter and a corresponding layer parameter for the load containment force requirement, and wherein controlling the dispense rate is further based on the determined corresponding layer parameter.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the layer parameter specifies a minimum number of layers of packaging material to apply throughout a contiguous region of the load.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the layer parameter specifies an amount of overlap between successive revolutions, a carriage or elevator speed, a number of up and/or down passes of a carriage or elevator, or a number of relative revolutions.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the mapping maps the corresponding wrap force and layer parameters for the load containment force requirement further based on the packaging material thickness and the packaging material grade.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the incremental containment force using the first and second input data includes determining the incremental containment force from an incremental containment force function that uses the first and second input data as inputs and that varies across a range of packaging material thicknesses and a range of grades.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the wrap force parameter based on a factory profile.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising receiving third input data selecting the factory profile from a set of predefined factory profiles, each profile in the set of predefined factory profiles including one or more wrap settings and optionally one or more special wrapping features.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the set of predefined factory profiles includes a regular light profile, a regular heavy profile, an irregular light profile, an irregular heavy profile, a sharp edge profile, an incomplete top layer profile, a soft top profile, a prewrapped double load profile, a short normal profile and/or a short one layer inboard profile.

12. A method of controlling a load wrapping apparatus of the type configured to wrap a load on a load support with packaging material dispensed from a packaging material dispenser through relative rotation between the packaging material dispenser and the load support, the method comprising:
generating a display including a plurality of user-selectable factory profile buttons respectively corresponding to a set of predefined factory profiles, each predefined factory profile in the set of predefined factory profiles including one or more wrap settings, and at least one predefined factory profile in the set of predefined factory profiles further including a special wrapping feature;
receiving a first input data selecting a first user-selectable factory profile button among the plurality of user-selectable factory profile buttons to select a first predefined factory profile from the set of predefined factory profiles that corresponds to the first user-selectable factory profile button; and
controlling a dispense rate of the packaging material dispenser during the relative rotation based on the first predefined factory profile, determining if the first predefined factory profile includes a first special wrapping feature, and if the first predefined factory profile includes the first special wrapping feature, performing the first special wrapping feature;
wherein the set of predefined factory profiles includes an incomplete top layer profile for loads having incomplete top layers, wherein the incomplete top layer profile specifies a moderate wrap force parameter and a special feature that causes a rate of rotation to slow for a predetermined number of relative revolutions to allow an operator to hand rope around a top layer of the load.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the set of predefined factory profiles includes a regular light profile for light loads without sharp edges and requiring no special features, wherein the regular light profile specifies a moderate wrap force parameter.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the set of predefined factory profiles includes a regular heavy profile for heavier loads without sharp edges and requiring no special features, wherein the regular heavy profile specifies a high wrap force parameter.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the set of predefined factory profiles includes an irregular light profile for light loads and/or irregular loads with sharp edges and requiring no special features, wherein the irregular light profile specifies a low wrap force parameter.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the set of predefined factory profiles includes an irregular heavy profile for heavier loads with irregularities and/or with sharp edges and requiring no special features, wherein the irregular heavy profile specifies a moderate wrap force parameter.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein the set of predefined factory profiles includes a sharp edge profile for severely inboard loads and/or very sharp loads and requiring no special features, wherein the regular light profile specifies a low wrap force parameter.

18. The method of claim 12 , wherein the set of predefined factory profiles includes a soft top profile for loads having top layers that are soft and/or light, wherein the soft top profile specifies a moderate wrap force parameter and a special feature that reduces the wrap force parameter at the top of the load for one or more relative revolutions.

19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the set of predefined factory profiles includes a prewrapped double load profile for loads having two previously-wrapped and stacked loads, wherein the prewrapped double load profile specifies a special feature that raises a carriage to a center of a stack of two loads, pauses until a leading end of packaging material is attached, and wraps a predetermined number of layers of packaging material around the center of the stack.

20. The method of claim 12 , wherein the set of predefined factory profiles i

Assignees

• Lantech Com Llc

Inventors

• Lancaster Iii Patrick R

Classifications

• B65B57/08

  and operating to stop, or to control the speed of, the machine as a whole · CPC title

• B65B57/04

  and operating to control, or to stop, the feed of such material, containers, or packages · CPC title

• B65B11/045 Primary

  by rotating platforms supporting the articles · CPC title

• B65B59/003

  Arrangements to enable adjustments related to the packaging material · CPC title

• B65B2210/20

  the web dispenser being mounted on a rotary arm · CPC title