Patent ID: 11912445
Assignee: LANTECH.COM, LLC
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 17:
18. A load wrapping apparatus configured to wrap a load with packaging material, the apparatus comprising:
a packaging material dispenser configured to dispense a web of the packaging material;
a rotational drive system that generates relative rotation between the packaging material dispenser and the load about an axis of rotation;
a packaging material drive system that controls a dispense rate of the packaging material dispenser during the relative rotation;
a lift drive system that controls a position at which the packaging material dispensed by the packaging material dispenser contacts the load along a direction generally parallel to the axis of rotation; and
a central processing unit coupled to the rotational drive system, the packaging material drive system and the lift drive system and configured to:
receive input data associated with a load containment force requirement to be used when wrapping the load with packaging material, wherein the input data specifies a load containment force to be applied to the load and/or a load attribute associated with the load;
determine a first parameter and a second parameter from the load containment force requirement and a packaging material attribute associated with the packaging material; and
during the relative rotation generated by the rotational drive system, control the packaging material drive system of the load wrapping apparatus using the first parameter and control the lift drive system of the load wrapping apparatus using the second parameter to cause the packaging material dispenser to apply a sufficient amount of packaging material to the load with a sufficient amount of wrap force throughout a contiguous region extending between first and second positions respectively disposed proximate first and second opposing ends of the load to meet the load containment force requirement throughout the contiguous region.