U.S. patent application number 15/291939 was filed with the patent office on 2018-04-12 for inflatable cushion packaging mechine.
This patent application is currently assigned to Ampacs Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is Ampacs Corporation. Invention is credited to Li Lin.
Application Number | 20180099831 15/291939 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59055014 |
Filed Date | 2018-04-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180099831 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Li |
April 12, 2018 |
INFLATABLE CUSHION PACKAGING MECHINE
Abstract
An inflatable cushion packaging machine including a housing, a
driving mechanism disposed at a front side of the housing, a
rolling shaft module disposed at a rear side of the housing, and a
friction module is provided. A film roll is mounted to the rolling
shaft module, wherein a free end of the film roll is engaged with
and moved by the driving mechanism such that the film roll is
dragged by the driving mechanism to rotate the rolling shaft
module. The friction module assembled to the housing has a friction
ring being coaxial with the rolling shaft module and a plurality
friction rollers mounted to the friction ring. The friction ring is
forced to lean the friction rollers against a side surface of the
rolling shaft module and stop the rolling shaft module from
rotating while the rolling shaft module not being dragged and
rotated by the driving mechanism.
Inventors: |
Lin; Li; (Keelung City,
TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Ampacs Corporation |
Taipei City |
|
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Ampacs Corporation
Taipei City
TW
|
Family ID: |
59055014 |
Appl. No.: |
15/291939 |
Filed: |
October 12, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 16/103 20130101;
B65H 23/06 20130101; B65H 2801/81 20130101; B31D 2205/0047
20130101; B65B 7/02 20130101; B65B 61/20 20130101; B65H 16/04
20130101; B65B 41/16 20130101; B31D 5/0073 20130101; B31D 2205/0023
20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65H 16/10 20060101
B65H016/10; B65B 61/20 20060101 B65B061/20; B65B 7/02 20060101
B65B007/02; B65B 41/16 20060101 B65B041/16; B65H 23/06 20060101
B65H023/06 |
Claims
1. An inflatable cushion packaging machine, comprising: a housing;
a driving mechanism, disposed at a front side of the housing; a
rolling shaft module disposed at a rear side of the housing, a film
roll mounted to the rolling shaft module, a free end of the film
roll being engaged with and moved by the driving mechanism so as to
drag the film roll and rotate the rolling shaft module; and a
friction module assembled to the housing, having a friction ring
being coaxial with the rolling shaft module and a plurality of
friction rollers mounted to the friction ring, wherein the friction
ring is forced to lean the friction rollers against a side surface
of the rolling shaft module and stop the rolling shaft module from
rotating while the rolling shaft module not being dragged and
rotated by the driving mechanism.
2. The inflatable cushion packaging machine as recited in claim 1,
wherein the rolling shaft module comprises: a shaft body, pivoted
to the housing freely, the film roll mounted to the shaft body, the
shaft body rotated along with the film roll; and a friction pad,
disposed at a side of the shaft body, being coaxial with the shaft
body, and having the side surface, the shaft body rotating and the
friction rollers rolling with the shaft body, wherein the friction
rollers lean against the friction pad to generate a friction force
therebetween while the shaft body being rotated, and the friction
ring rotates along with the shaft body via the friction force.
3. The inflatable cushion packaging machine as recited in claim 2,
wherein the housing comprises a first part and a second part
assembled to each other, a portion of the shaft body is pivoted to
the second part by passing through the first part.
4. The inflatable cushion packaging machine as recited in claim 3,
wherein the friction ring is disposed between the first part and
the second part, and the friction rollers are protruded out of the
first part to contact with the friction pad.
5. The inflatable cushion packaging machine as recited in claim 3,
wherein the second part has a bolt protruding toward the first part
for receiving the portion of the shaft body, the second part has a
plurality of holes surrounding the bolt, and the friction module
further comprises: a supporting member, having a plurality of arms
extending through and locking with the holes respectively, wherein
the supporting member is connected with the friction ring coaxially
via a lip portion; and a first spring, disposed between and pressed
by the second part and the supporting member, wherein the first
spring constantly provides a pressing force on the supporting
member to lean the friction rollers against the friction pad, and
the pressing force increases the friction force between the
friction rollers and the friction pad.
6. The inflatable cushion packaging machine as recited in claim 3,
wherein the first part has a main opening and a plurality of sub
openings surrounding the main opening, the portion of the shaft
body passes through the main opening, and the friction rollers pass
through the sub openings.
7. The inflatable cushion packaging machine as recited in claim 6,
wherein each of the sub openings extends along an arc path, and the
friction rollers move along the arc path while the friction ring
being rotated with the shaft body.
8. The inflatable cushion packaging machine as recited in claim 3,
wherein the friction module further comprises: at least one second
spring, connected between the first part and an edge of the
friction ring, wherein the second spring is deformed while the
friction ring being rotated with the shaft body, and a restoring
force of the second spring pulls back the friction ring while the
shaft body not being dragged and rotated by the driving
mechanism.
9. The inflatable cushion packaging machine as recited in claim 2,
wherein a driving force of the driving mechanism provided to the
film roll is greater than the friction force generated between the
friction rollers and the friction pad.
Description
BACKGROUND
1. Field
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to an inflatable
cushion packaging machine, in particular, to an inflatable cushion
packaging machine with self-braking structure.
2. Description of Related Art
[0002] The use of inflatable cushions (bubble film) for packaging
goods has been known in the packaging art for some time, wherein it
is advisable that both cushion air chambers be isolated from one
another. Webs of plastic film which are constructed to permit the
production of patterns of air filled envelopes, cushions and
pillows have been used extensively for cushioning objects to be
transported in containers.
[0003] After the goods being packaged by the inflatable cushions,
the object can thus be transported and subjected to severe
conditions while minimizing any risk of it being damaged. The
cushions absorb shock to a greater extent than is possible using
rigid wedging means. In addition, such cushions provide thermal
insulation and, in some applications, they are advantageous in that
they make the box unsinkable.
SUMMARY
[0004] Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to an
inflatable cushion packaging machine with a self-braking structure
therein so as to reduce a working time of producing the inflatable
cushion package.
[0005] An inflatable cushion packaging machine including a housing,
a driving mechanism disposed at a front side of the housing, a
rolling shaft module disposed at a rear side of the housing, and a
friction module assembled to the housing is provided. A film roll
is mounted to the rolling shaft module, and a free end of the film
roll is engaged with and moved by the driving mechanism so as to
drag the film roll and rotate the rolling shaft module. The
friction module has a friction ring being coaxial with the rolling
shaft module and a plurality of friction rollers mounted to the
friction ring. The friction ring is forced to lean the friction
rollers against a side surface of the rolling shaft module and stop
the rolling shaft module from rotating while the rolling shaft
module not being dragged and rotated by the driving mechanism.
[0006] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the rolling
shaft module comprises a shaft body pivoted to the housing freely
and a friction pad disposed at a side of the shaft body. The film
roll is mounted to and rotated along with the shaft body. The
friction pad is coaxial with the shaft body and has the side
surface. The shaft body rotates and the friction rollers rolling
with the shaft body, wherein the friction rollers lean against the
friction pad to generate a friction force therebetween while the
shaft body being rotated, and the friction ring rotates along with
the shaft body via the friction force.
[0007] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the housing
comprises a first part and a second part assembled to each other,
and a portion of the shaft body is pivoted to the second part by
passing through the first part.
[0008] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the friction
ring is disposed between the first part and the second part, and
the friction rollers are protruded out of the first part to contact
with the friction pad.
[0009] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the second
part has a bolt protruding toward the first part for receiving the
portion of the shaft body and has a plurality of holes surrounding
the bolt. The friction module further comprises a supporting member
and a first spring, wherein the supporting member has a plurality
of anus extending through and locking with the holes respectively.
The first spring is disposed between and pressed by the second part
and the supporting member. The first spring constantly provides a
pressing force on the supporting member to lean the friction
rollers against the friction pad, and the pressing force increases
the friction force between the friction rollers and the friction
pad.
[0010] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the first part
has a main opening and a plurality of sub openings surrounding the
main opening, the portion of the shaft body passes through the main
opening, and the friction rollers pass through the sub
openings.
[0011] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, each of the
sub openings extends along an arc path, and the friction rollers
move along the arc path while the friction ring being rotated with
the shaft body.
[0012] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the friction
module further comprises at least one second spring connected
between the first part and an edge of the friction ring. The second
spring is deformed while the friction ring being rotated with the
shaft body, and a restoring force of the second spring pulls back
the friction ring while the shaft body not being dragged and
rotated by the driving mechanism.
[0013] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a driving
force of the driving mechanism provided to the film roll is greater
than the friction force generated between the friction rollers and
the friction pad.
[0014] According to the above descriptions, the inflatable cushion
packaging machine including a friction module assembled to a
housing, wherein a friction ring of the friction module is forces
to lean a plurality of friction rollers onto the rolling shaft
module, such that the friction module is able to stop the rolling
shaft module from rotating while the film roll not being dragged
and rotated by the driving mechanism. Therefore, when the machine
is stop from producing the inflatable cushion, the friction module
serves as a self-braking structure in the machine to stop the
rolling shaft module from rotating. It is beneficial to reduce the
working time of the machine wasted in a waiting process of stopping
the rolling shaft module in progress, and a portion of the film
leaving from the film roll but not being inflated is prevented from
being stocked and blocked between the driving mechanism and the
rolling shaft module.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate
embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an inflatable cushion
packaging machine according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the inflatable cushion
packaging machine in FIG.
[0018] FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 respectively depict a part of the
inflatable cushion packaging machine of FIG. 2 in different
states.
[0019] FIG. 4 depicts the inflatable cushion packaging machine in
another view of FIG. 3.
[0020] FIG. 6 depicts the inflatable cushion packaging machine in
another view of FIG. 5.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Reference will now be made in detail to the present
preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the
same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description
to refer to the same or like parts.
[0022] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an inflatable cushion
packaging machine according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the inflatable cushion packaging
machine in FIG. 1. Please referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2
simultaneously, in the present disclosure, an inflatable cushion
packaging machine 100 includes a housing 110, a driving mechanism
120, a rolling shaft module 130, a friction module 140, and a base
150. The housing 110 is disposed at a side of the base 150, such
that a film roll 200 is suited for being mounted to the rolling
shaft module 130. The driving mechanism 120 is disposed at a front
side of the housing 110 and located above the base 150, such that a
free end of the film roll 200 is suited for being engaged with and
moved by the driving mechanism 120 so as to rotate the rolling
shaft module 130.
[0023] In the present disclosure, the driving mechanism 120 is
composed of a plurality of driving rollers and transmission belts,
a motor (not shown) is connected to and used for driving the belts
and driving rollers. The free end of the film roll 200 is engaged
with the driving rollers so as to drag and rotate the film roll 200
on the rolling shaft module 130. Besides, an inflator or gas
generator (not shown) is also provided in the housing 110 to
dispense air or gas into material sheets at the free end of the
film roll and then sealed by a sealing tool (not shown) to form the
inflatable cushion shown at right side of FIG. 1 in dashed lines.
The driving mechanism 120, the inflator and the sealing tool are
known technical members of the inflatable cushion packaging machine
100, and unnecessary details thereof will not be described
hereinafter.
[0024] In a process of manufacturing the inflatable cushion, the
driving mechanism 120 drags the free end to rotate the film roll
200, such that the rolling shaft module 130 is rotated along with
the film roll 200. Referring to FIG. 2 of the present disclosure,
the rolling shaft module 130 includes a shaft body 132 and a
friction pad 134 mounted to a side of the shaft body 132. The
housing 110 includes a first part 112 and a second part 114 being
assembled to each other via a plurality of screws (not shown), the
friction module 140 is disposed in the housing 110, wherein the
shaft body 132 passes through the first part 112 and the friction
module 140 so as to be pivoted to the second part 114.
[0025] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the first part 112
has a main opening 112b and a plurality of sub openings 112a
surrounding the main opening 112b. The second part has a bolt 114a
extending toward the first part 112 and a space 114b therein, and a
top edge of the bolt 114a is located at the main opening 112b
substantially when the first part 112 and the second part 114 are
assembled to each other. An end portion of the shaft body 132 is
received in and pivoted to the space 114b of the second part 114
with a screw 116 along an axis C1 by passing through the main
opening 112b of the first part 112, such that the shaft body 132 is
pivoted to the housing 110 freely and be able to rotate along with
the film roll 200 about the axis C1 smoothly. In the present
embodiment, a bearing 111 is used in the space 114b (but not
limited thereto) for connecting to the end portion of the shaft
body 132.
[0026] The friction module 140 includes a friction ring 142a and a
plurality of friction rollers 142b mounted to the friction ring
142a. The fiction ring 142a is disposed between the first part 112
and the second part 114 so as to protrude the friction rollers 142b
out of the first part 112 via the sub openings 112a. The friction
module 140 further comprises a supporting member 144 and a first
spring 146, wherein the supporting member 144 is coaxially
connected to the friction ring 142a via a lip portion 144b along
the axis C1, and the bolt 114a is collared by the friction ring
142a, the supporting member 144 and the first spring 146. The first
spring 146 is disposed between the supporting member 144 and the
second part 114, wherein the supporting member 144 has a plurality
of anus 144a extending through a plurality of holes 114c
surrounding the bolt 114a respectively, and locking with the holes
114c of the second part 114. After the supporting member 144 being
assembled to the second part 114, the supporting member 144 moves
along the axis C1 relative to the second part 114 but not being
released from the second part 144 because of a hook structure
existed at an end of each arm 144a. Besides, a plurality of ribs
existed on the lip portion 144b to reduce contact area between the
friction ring 142a and the lip portion 144b, such that the friction
ring 142a rotates relative to the supporting member 144 about the
axis C1.
[0027] Therefore, the first spring 146 is pressed and deformed by
the supporting member 144 and the second part 114 when the first
part 112, the second part 114 and the friction module 140 are
assembled to each other, such that a pressing force of the first
spring 146 is provided onto the supporting member 144 and the
friction ring 142a so as to lean the friction rollers 142b onto a
side surface of the friction pad 134 via the sub openings 112a
respectively.
[0028] It is worth to mention that the friction rollers 142b and
the friction pad 134 are respectively made of friction material
such as wool felt, rubber etc., such that a friction force is
generated when the first spring 146 forces the friction ring 142a
to lean the friction rollers 142b onto the friction pad 134.
Therefore, when the shaft body 132 is rotated along with the film
roll 200, the rolling shaft module 130 drives the friction ring
142a to rotate via the friction force generated between the
friction pad 134 and the friction rollers, wherein the rolling
shaft module 130 and the friction ring 142a are rotated in a same
direction while the film roll 200 being dragged and rotated by the
driving mechanism 120.
[0029] FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 respectively depict a part of the
inflatable cushion packaging machine of FIG. 2 in different states.
FIG. 4 depicts the inflatable cushion packaging machine in another
view of FIG. 3, wherein the housing 110 is disassembled in FIG. 4
to identify necessary members therein. FIG. 6 depicts the
inflatable cushion packaging machine in another view of FIG. 5,
wherein the housing 110 is disassembled in FIG. 6 to identify
necessary members therein. Please referring to FIGS. 3-6 of the
embodiment, the friction module 140 further comprises at least one
second spring 148 (two second springs 148 are depicted but not
limited thereto) connected between the first part 112 and a hook
142c located at an edge of the friction ring 142a, wherein the
second spring 148 is deformed while the friction ring 142a being
rotated with the shaft body 132 and the friction pad 134, and a
restoring force of the second spring 148 pulls back the friction
ring 142a while the shaft body 132 not being dragged and rotated by
the driving mechanism 120. Please referring to FIG. 2 again, each
of the sub openings 112a extends along an arc path, and the
friction rollers 142b protruded out of the sub openings 112a move
along the arc path while the friction ring 142a being rotated along
with the shaft body 132, which also means the movement of the
friction rollers 142b is guided by the sub openings 112a. As
depicted in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, a driving force of the driving
mechanism 120 provided to drag the film roll 200 is greater than
the friction force generated between the friction rollers 142b and
the friction pad 134, such that the friction rollers 142b and the
friction ring 142a are both still acted for rotating as well. When
once the driving mechanism 120 is stopped, the film roll 200, the
rolling shaft module 130, the friction roller 142b and the friction
ring 142a are still in the movement of rotation because of the
inertia of the driving force. At this time, the friction force
between the friction roller 142b and the friction pad 134, and the
restoring force of the second spring 148 both act as a braking
system to stop the rolling shaft module 130 from rotating, wherein
the second springs rotate the friction ring in an opposite
direction relative to the shaft body and the friction pad thereon.
Therefore, it is beneficial to keep the material sheets of the film
roll 200 between the rolling shaft module 130 and the driving
mechanism 120 in a stretched manner so as to prevent the material
sheets from being folded, stocked and blocked, and it is also
beneficial to reduce working time of the inflatable cushion
packaging machine 100.
[0030] In view of the foregoing, the inflatable cushion packaging
machine has a friction module assembled to the housing for reducing
the impact of rotational inertia of the film roll and the rolling
shaft module while the driving mechanism is stopped. The friction
module includes a friction ring forced by a first spring to lean
the friction rollers against the friction pad of the rolling shaft
module to generate the friction force therebetween, and the
friction module further includes the second spring for pulling back
the friction ring via the restoring force thereof in a rotating
direction opposite to the rolling shaft module (and the film roll).
Therefore, the friction module plays a role of a braking structure
corresponding to the rolling shaft module so as to reduce the
working time of the machine wasted in a process of waiting for the
rolling shaft module being stopped.
[0031] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the
present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the
present invention cover modifications and variations of this
invention provided they fall within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *