Abstract:
A packaging for a mattress consisting of a wrapping provided by a sheet of heat-sealing plastics, the wrapping comprising two rectangular portions, which are sized to cover the opposite faces of the mattress and have perimetric regions which are folded so as to cover the perimetric band of the mattress and have, along at least two mutually opposite and parallel sides of the mattress, subflaps which are folded outward and heat-sealed to each other, so as to form wings provided with slots adapted to act as handles.

Description:
The present invention relates to a packaging for mattresses and to an apparatus for providing the packaging. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is known to protect mattresses against dust and damage caused by the handling that they undergo during transport and sorting in warehouses. To protect the mattresses, hermetic packaging is provided, consisting of a sheet of plastics that is wrapped around them and closed by heat-sealing. 
     However, the packaging currently in use does not allow a comfortable grip of the mattresses due to the fact that the sheet of plastics is normally stretched around the mattress and does not offer holds for gripping it and handling it. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The aim of the present invention is to propose a packaging that is capable of obviating the drawbacks of known packagings, i.e., is conceived so that it can be handled more conveniently by assigned personnel as regards both horizontal and lifting movements. 
     Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a packaging which is provided without having to resort to auxiliary means but by intervening only on the sheet of plastic material that is wrapped around the mattress. 
     This aim and this and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved with a packaging for a mattress consisting of a wrapping provided by means of a sheet of heat-sealing plastics, characterized in that said wrapping comprises two rectangular portions, which are sized to cover the opposite faces of the mattress and have perimetric regions which are folded so as to cover the perimetric band of the mattress and have, along two mutually opposite and parallel sides of the mattress, subflaps which are folded outward and heat-sealed to each other, so as to form wings provided with slots adapted to function as handles. 
     The above aim is also achieved with an apparatus for packaging a mattress with a sheet of heat-sealing plastic material unwound from at least one reel, characterized in that it comprises a mattress handling table which is composed of a first conveyor for the advancement of the mattress and a second conveyor for receiving the mattress, said conveyors being mutually separated by an opening, folding means for stretching across said opening a portion of said sheet of heat-sealing plastic material, means for actuating said conveyors to transfer said mattress from the advancement conveyor to the receiving conveyor so as to fold the sheet, by said folding means, so that said sheet covers the opposite faces of the mattress with an upper portion and a lower portion, which have perimetric regions adapted to cover the perimetric band of the mattress with flaps that are folded outward, first heat-sealing means which are actuated to join the flaps of each side that is perpendicular to the advancement direction of the mattress with two parallel heat-sealing lines, so as to close in a loop said sheet around said mattress, and second heat-sealing means for joining the two remaining flaps and forming a closed wrapping for containing said mattress, cutting means for splitting said sheet between said two parallel heat-sealing lines, and punching means for forming slots in the flaps of at least one side of said wrapping. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a packaged mattress; 
         FIG. 2  is a view of the mattress taken along the line II-II of FIG. 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged-scale view of the detail enclosed in the circle of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the apparatus for providing the packaging of the mattress of  FIGS. 1-3 ; 
         FIGS. 5 and 6  are two views of the apparatus of  FIG. 4  in two successive operating situations; 
         FIG. 7  is a view of the packaging heat-sealing and punching assembly alone; 
         FIG. 8  is an enlarged-scale view of the heat-sealing and punching elements of the assembly of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the elements for heat-sealing and punching the packaging; 
         FIG. 10  is an enlarged-scale view of the detail enclosed in the circle of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIGS. 11 and 12  are two perspective and plan views of a mattress that is packaged according to a further embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-3 , a packaging according to the invention consists of a wrapping, which is generally designated by the reference numeral  1  and is provided by using a sheet of heat-sealing plastic material that is wrapped around a mattress M so as to close the latter in a hermetic bank that copies the parallelepipedal shape of the mattress. 
     The wrapping  1  can be thought of as being composed of two parts which are mutually coupled and are referred to hereinafter, for the sake of convenience in description, as rectangular halves  2 ,  3  which are mutually heat-sealed. More precisely, the upper half  2  comprises a rectangular region  4 , which covers the upper face of the mattress M and has perimetric flaps  5 ,  6  which extend from the long sides and the short sides, respectively, of the region  4  toward the lower half, partially covering the lateral peripheral band F of the mattress. Likewise, the lower valve  3  comprises a rectangular region  7 , which covers the lower face of the mattress M and has lateral flaps  8 ,  9 , which extend from the long sides and the short sides, respectively, of the region  7  and complete the covering of the remaining part of the peripheral band F of the mattress. 
     The important advantage of the packaging according to the invention consists in the presence of handles formed during the formation of the wrapping  1 . For this purpose, the peripheral flaps of the wrapping  1 , preferably the flaps  5 ,  8  that extend along the two long sides of the mattress, are provided with subflaps  10 ,  11 , which project laterally at right angles with respect to the flaps  5 ,  8  and are mutually heat-sealed so as to form two wings  12  of double thickness which protrude from the two long and opposite sides of the wrapping. In practice, a series of elongated slots  13  are punched simultaneously with the formation of the wings  12 , said slots constituting the handles to be used for the manual displacements to which the mattress is subjected for lifting, storage and transport. 
     Advantageously, the punching provides only for a partial cutting of the slots  13 , so that a tab  14  remains attached inside them and makes it possible to obtain a handle that can offer a more comfortable and safe grip. 
     The apparatus that, according to a further embodiment, makes it possible to provide the packaging described above is generally designated by the reference numeral  15  and is described hereinafter with reference to  FIG. 4 . It is composed of two functional assemblies  16  and  17 , which are designed to cause the advancement and reception of the mattress M and between which a third functional assembly  18  is arranged which is designed to close the wrapping  1  that constitutes the packaging. 
     The first assembly  16  comprises a frame  19 , which is composed of longitudinal members which are connected by cross-members and supported on the ground by means of uprights. 
     The frame  19  supports a table  20 , which provides support for the mattress to be packaged and below which horizontal sliding guides  21  are arranged for a slider  22  which is actuated by means of a motor drive composed of a reversible gear motor  23 , which actuates a chain  24  closed in a loop around toothed pulleys  25  and connected to the slider  22  for moving it forward and backward in the direction A-B. A pusher  26  is fixed on the slider  22  and, together with the table  20 , constitutes a conveyor for the advancement of the mattress M toward the functional assembly  18 , as will become better apparent in the continuation of the description. 
     The pusher  26  consists of a bar  27 , which is oriented at right angles to the direction A-B, is parallel to the table  20  and is fixed to an L-shaped arm  28 , which rises from the slider  22  on which it is fixed. With the actuation of the gearmotor  23 , the arm  28  moves along a slot of the table  20  which is parallel to the sliding direction A-B of the slider, while the bar  27  of the pusher  26 , being perpendicular to said direction and moving above the table  20 , can push the mattress M to be packaged toward the assembly  18  once it has been deposited on the table  20  by feeder means, not shown in the figures. 
     The assembly  18  is provided with means which spread and wrap the sheet of material with which the wrapping  1  is formed around the mattress M. 
     In the example of apparatus shown, the sheet to be wrapped around the mattress is obtained by connecting through heat-sealing the initial ends of two sheets  29 ,  30  unwound from two respective reels  31 ,  32 . The reel  31  is supported by a pair of rollers  33 , which are mounted on the top of the frame  34  of the functional assembly  18  at a height which lies above the mattress supporting table  20 . Likewise, the second reel  32  is supported by a pair of rollers  35  at a height that lies below the mattress supporting table  20 . The two sheets  29 ,  30 , which unwind from the respective reels  31 ,  32 , are guided by a plurality of rollers  36 ,  36   a ,  36   b ,  36   c , which are supported rotatably in the frame  34  and act as guiding and folding elements. In particular, the roller  36   a  is arranged at the exit of the supporting table  20  below the roller  36   b , so as to guide the sheet  29  vertically. In  FIG. 4 , the sheets  29 ,  30  are shown already joined by a heat-sealing assembly  37  which is arranged downstream of the sheets  29 ,  30 , so as to form a single sheet which, for the sake of convenience in description, is designated ideally by the reference numeral  38  and remains continuous during the packaging process until the wrapping  1  is split. 
     In view of the position of the reels  31 ,  32  above and below the resting table  20 , respectively, and of the continuity of the sheet  38  between the reels  31 ,  32 , the advancement conveyor  16  is necessarily separated from the receiving container  17 , so that a space or opening  39  remains formed between them which allows the sheets  29 ,  30  to remain connected during the packaging of subsequent mattresses after they have been heat-sealed by the heat-sealing assembly  37 . 
     The heat-sealing assembly  37  (see  FIGS. 7-10 ) consists of a horizontal beam  40 , which is arranged at a right angle to the direction A-B and can move vertically by means of actuators, preferably of the pneumatic type, which are supported in any desired manner in the frame  34  and are not shown in the drawings. 
     A pair of heat-sealing bars  41 ,  42  is jointly connected to the beam  40  in a lower region, and a blade  43  is fixed between them. The blade  43  and the heat-sealing bars  41 ,  42  are heated by a resistor  44 , which is incorporated between them. Respective strips  45 ,  46  are supported at the sides of the beam  40 , and gaskets  47 ,  48  made of heat-resistant elastic material are attached to their lower edge. The strips  45 ,  46  are guided vertically and are actuated downward by springs  49 ,  50 , which abut against the beam  40 . When said beam is in the raised position, the blade  43  remains recessed between the strips  45 ,  46 , whose gaskets  47 ,  48 , due to the action of the springs  49 ,  50 , protrude below the blade  43 . 
     Brackets  51 ,  52  are jointly connected to the beam  40  and protrude laterally from it; pneumatic jacks  53 ,  54  are mounted on said brackets. The stems  55 ,  56  of the jacks extend downward, and two rectangular plates  57 ,  58  are coupled thereto and are adjacent to the beam. The plates  57 ,  58  have outer edges that form the outer heat-sealing bars  59 ,  60 , which protrude downward for performing two parallel heat seals which are spaced from cutting plane of the blade  43 . 
     The plates  57 ,  58 , in the central region comprised between the heat-sealing bars  59 ,  60  and the straps  45 ,  46 , have elliptical ribs  61 ,  62 , which together with the heat-sealing bars  59 ,  60  are heated by resistors  63 ,  64  and  65 ,  66  incorporated in the plates  57 ,  58 . The ribs  61 ,  62  constitute a sort of punches, which cut by melting the sheets of plastic material and forming the slots  13  in the wings  12  of the enclosure. The ribs  61 ,  62 , however, are not closed in a loop, but lack a portion, so that the punching of the wings produces the tabs  14  (see  FIG. 3 ). 
     Pins  67 ,  68  are fixed to the plate regions  57 ,  58  and extend vertically, and L-shaped members  69 ,  70  are guided thereon. Strips  71 ,  72  are connected to said L-shaped members at right angles, are adjacent to the external edge of the plate regions  57 ,  58  and are provided with gaskets  73 ,  74  made of heat-resistant elastic material. The strips  71 ,  72  are actuated downward by means of springs  75 ;  76 , which are interposed between the L-shaped members  69 ,  70  and the heads of the pins  67 ,  68 . 
     The heat-sealing assembly  37  comprises an abutment element  75  for the strips  45 ,  46  and  71 ,  72  and the heat-sealing bars  41 ,  42  and  59 ,  60 , as well as for the blade  43 . The element  75  consists of a plate which is supported by a bar  76  fixed to the frame  34  and is covered with a layer of a material that withstands the heat-sealing temperature, for example a material known commercially under the trademark Teflon. 
     The receiving assembly  17 , arranged downstream of the heat-sealing assembly  37 , consists of a conveyor  77  of the single-belt type or of the type with narrow belts (see  FIG. 4 ), which form a wide belt that is closed in a loop around rollers  78 ,  79  supported by a frame  80  and actuated by a gearmotor  81 . The conveyor  77  has a horizontal upper portion, which lies substantially on the plane of the abutment plate  75  and laterally to which the shoulders  82  of the frame  80  rise. The shoulders  82  are mutually connected by a pair of cross-members  83 ,  84 , which are perpendicular to the direction A-B and on each of which a pair of jacks  85 ,  86 , preferably of the pneumatic type, is fixed. The stems of the jacks  85 ,  86  arranged on each side of the conveyor  77  and therefore parallel to the direction A-B support respective heat-sealing bars  87 , which after the activation of the heat-sealing bars  41 ,  42  and  59 ,  60  of the heat-sealing assembly  37  close the enclosure  2  with heat-sealing lines  88 ,  89  and  90 ,  91 , of which the first ones  88 ,  89  (see  FIG. 1 ) extend along the angles formed by the flaps  5 ,  8  with the wings  12  and the second ones  90 ,  91  connect the edges of the flaps  6 ,  9 . It should be noted that in order to allow the heat-sealing of the lateral flaps  6 ,  9  there are deflection elements  92 , which fold outward the lateral flaps  6 ,  9  and then arrange them on top of each other on respective bars  93 , which act as abutments for the heat-sealing bars  87 . In this manner, a guaranteed heat-sealing of the flaps  6 ,  9  is obtained, forming an outer lip of irrelevant protrusion, which is not shown in the figures. 
     The operation of the apparatus is described hereinafter starting from the situation shown in  FIG. 4 , in which it is assumed, as mentioned above, that the sheets  29 ,  30  are already connected so as to form a sheet  38  by the heat-sealing line  89  provided in preceding operating steps and referred to hereinafter as the front sealing line. It is further assumed that the mattress M is oriented transversely on the resting table  20 , i.e., with the longer side at a right angle to the direction A-B. Upon actuation of the slider  22  by means of the gearmotor  23 , the pusher  27  pushes the mattress M in the direction C (see  FIG. 1 ) against the portion of the sheet  38  that is comprised between the roller  36   a , which is arranged at the outlet of the table  20 , and the roller  36   b , which is arranged above the table  20  at a height that is greater than the thickness of the mattress. Accordingly, the rollers  36   a ,  36   b  act as folding elements, so that the sheet  38 , as it is progressively unwound, folds over onto itself, covering the upper and lower faces of the mattress. When the mattress M has moved onto the conveyor  77 , the descent of the heat-sealing assembly  37  is actuated and produces, by means of the abutment of the heat-sealing bar  60  against the plate  75 , the closure of the sheet  38  in a loop around the mattress M, forming the rear heat-sealing line  88  (see  FIG. 1 ) and, by means of the abutment of the rear heat-sealing bar  59  against the plate  75 , the connection of the two sheets  29 ,  30 , forming the front heat-sealing line  89  of the wrapping designed to be wrapped around the next mattress. 
     Simultaneously with the formation of the heat-sealing lines, the punches  61 ,  62  cut the slots  13 , while the pressing strips  45 ,  46 , having reached abutment against the plate  75 , retain the two sheets  29 ,  30  so that they are superimposed on the latter, so as to allow the blade  43  to perform a clean central cut, forming the subflaps  11 ,  12  and, by heat sealing, two wings  12 , each provided with slots  13 . At this point, the heat-sealing assembly  37  is again lifted so as to allow the positioning of the mattress between the heat-sealing bars  87 , which perform the complete peripheral closure of the wrapping, joining the lateral flaps  6 ,  9  by means of the heat-sealing lines  90 ,  91 . 
     The operating cycle of the apparatus is thus ended and can be repeated in the manner described above to perform the packaging of the next mattress, which in the meantime has been transferred onto the supporting table  20 . 
     The described apparatus is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. A first variation consists in associating with the longitudinal heat-sealing bars  87  plates which have die-cutting punches and pressers which are functionally identical to the ones of the example described above, so as to allow the formation of wings  94  which are provided with slots  95  also along the sides of the mattress that are parallel to the direction C, and to thus obtain handles along the entire perimeter of the mattress, as shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 . 
     In a second variation, the packaging sheet is taken from a single reel. For this purpose, for the application of the sheet around the mattress there are means according to what is disclosed in EPA 09172295.9 in the name of this same Applicant and referenced herein as an integral part of the present invention. 
     A third variation of the invention consists in providing a presser, which is designed to compress and reduce the thickness and therefore the space occupation of the mattress. Advantageously, the presser substantially consists of a plate whose dimensions are complementary to those of the mattress M and which is movable between the heat-sealing bars  87  by means of jacks which are supported on the frame  80  according to what is described in the above cited application. 
     The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. BO2008A000764 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.