Plastic stacking support for roll stock

A support for receiving and supporting stacked tiers of cylindrical roll stock is provided. The support can be either located on the base tier of the rolls, folded between tiers, or placed on the top tier, all to provide a rectangular stacked arrangement of the roll stock that is especially suited for storage or transport. The roll support includes a support body that is preferably formed from a resinous plastic, polymeric material, such as PET that includes a plurality of curved cradles and each curved cradle is sized for receiving a roll of cylindrical stock. A multiple of the support bodies combine to support a multiple of the rolls of cylindrical stock in a tiered array. Each support body can substantially support the weight of each roll of cylindrical stock received within its curved cradles. The weight of the support body is less than the supported weight of the roll of cylindrical stock. Additionally, the support can nest together in storage, with a minimum of increase in the nested stack height, when roll supports are added to the stack.

TECHNICAL FIELD
 The invention relates to a stacking support, and more particularly to a
 stacking support for heavy roll stock, wherein the stacking support is
 fabricated from a plastic material.
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 "Roll stock" is a common term used to describe cylindrical rolls of thin
 materials, such as plastic films, roofing sheets, light gauge metal, and
 paper products. These cylindrical rolls are typically shipped and stored
 on pallets in tiers of the rolls, all horizontally oriented. To stabilize
 and support these rolls in their tiers, stacking supports are typically
 employed. Several U.S. patents show stacking supports for receiving
 stacked rolls of materials.
 One such disclosure is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,732 to Bell, which
 teaches a support and spacing member for roll stock formed from expanded
 polystyrene foam. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,196 to Butler shows a
 roll support member that like Bell '732 is formed of expanded polystyrene
 foam. However, there are problems associated with polystyrene foam when it
 is used for roll stock supports. Expanded polystyrene is brittle and has a
 minimum of structural flexibility. Additionally, polystyrene foam cannot
 nest together for the compact storage of unused supports.
 In an apparent attempt to improve upon the inadequacies of polystyrene
 foam, U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,314 to Moyer teaches a roll support formed of
 recyclable papier-mache. In many circumstances, papier-mache is inadequate
 for roll stock supports. Papier-mache disintegrates when it is moist.
 Therefore, papier-mache cannot be used in humid environments and always
 must be protected from weather. This protection is especially difficult
 during transport unless the roll stock with its papier-mache supports are
 shipped within a container or trailer. A stronger, yet still recyclable
 material is needed that can form roll supports.
 Granted, the Moyer '314 papier-mache roll support has better nesting
 capabilities than the polystyrene foam roll supports. However, Moyer '314
 still fails to adequately nest together for saving space when stacking the
 supports in storage. Importantly, papier-mache must be fabricated with
 substantial thickness to support heavy roll stock. Therefore, papier-mache
 supports cannot stackably nest for compact storage of the unused roll
 supports. A roll support is needed for heavy roll stock that can nest
 together in storage, with a minimum increase in the nested stack height
 when roll supports are added to the stack.
 SUMMARY OF INVENTION
 The invention provides a support for receiving and supporting stacked tiers
 of cylindrical roll stock. The support can be either located on a base
 tier of the rolls, folded between tiers, or placed on a top tier, all to
 provide a rectangular stacked arrangement, or array of the roll stock that
 is especially suited for storage or transport. The roll supports nest
 within each other, substantially reducing the storage space required for
 unused supports. The roll supports are most preferably formed from a
 thermoformed and recyclable plastic, such as PET.
 The support receives and supports horizontally stacked tiers of cylindrical
 roll stock. The support includes a support body formed from a plastic
 material. The support body has a first surface and a second surface. The
 first surface includes a plurality of curved cradles and each curved
 cradle is sized for receiving a roll of cylindrical stock.
 The support body function to stabilize the tiered array of the cylindrical
 stock. A multiple of the support bodies combine to support a multiple of
 the rolls of cylindrical stock. Firstly, the rolls of cylindrical stock
 are supported by the support bodies to form a bottom tier of supported
 roll stock. The bottom tier of the supported roll stock then supports a
 minimum of two additional tiers of the cylindrical roll stock. Each of the
 additional tiers of the cylindrical roll stock is also supported by
 additional support bodies.
 Each support body can substantially support the weight of each roll of
 cylindrical stock received within its curved cradles. The support body has
 a weight and the roll of cylindrical stock has a total weight and a
 supported weight. The weight of the support body is much less than the
 supported weight of the roll of cylindrical stock. Additionally, the
 support body has a height and the support body can stackably nest onto
 another support body while only minimally increasing the height of the
 support body.
 According to one aspect of the invention, the roll support is strong enough
 to support heavy roll stock material, yet is still recyclable.
 According to another aspect of the invention, the roll support can nest
 together in storage, with a minimal increase in the nested stack height,
 when roll supports are added to the stack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS
 The present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 through 6 and includes a roll
 support 10 manufactured from a plastic material. As shown in FIG. 1 and 6,
 a multiple of the roll supports combine with elements of a roll stock 12,
 to support the roll stock for storage and shipping.
 Resinous supports are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,453 to Knitter,
 which shows a synthetic resin support for flourescent tubes. Knitter '453
 narrowly specifies that the tube supports only for use with light weight
 tubes. Knitter '453 fails to broaden the use of these resin supports to
 any application other than fragile and light weight flourescent tubes. In
 practice, the resin supports of Knitter '453 cannot support heavier
 articles such as roll stock 12.
 Knitter '453 totally fails to teach beyond uses with flourescent tubes.
 This is because Knitter '453 supports would collapse and be crushed if
 employed to support heavier items such as roll stock. The specific
 configurational features of Knitter '453 are specifically designed to
 cushion the tubes from destructive impacts, not for the support of weight.
 Additionally, Knitter '453 specifically teaches that the resin supports,
 preferably made form polyvinyl chloride (PVC) can nest in storage into
 stacks separated by at least 1/8th of an inch. Importantly, the stacking
 features of Knitter '453 are to facilitate machine automation, instead for
 providing for the compact storage of unused trays.
 The roll support 10 of the present invention is manufactured from a
 resinous plastic, polymeric material. Preferably, the resinous plastic
 utilized for the roll support is a high density polymer. The resinous
 plastic polymer material is thermoformed to the preferred shape shown in
 FIGS. 1 through 4. Unlike the PVC material utilized by Knitter '453 that
 is easily deformable, especially when a minimum of material thickness is
 employed, the present invention most preferably employs polyethylene
 terephthalate, commonly called "PET." Instead of providing a cushioning
 and flexible support, as desired when protecting a fragile article, the
 roll support of the present invention must be strong and resistant to
 deformation. To support heavier items, PET resin forms a high strength
 product through the ability of the individual polymer chains to
 "cross-orient" on a molecular scale.
 The roll support 10 of the present invention is preferably fabricated from
 recycled plastic, polymeric materials. Utilizing recycled plastic material
 is a great advantage over cellulose materials that are considered more
 difficult to manufacture from recycled waste products. Cellulose materials
 must be strictly segregated, homogenized and carefully processed to
 achieve the required strength and consistency for forming roll supports.
 Recycled plastics are much easier to reprocess. PET, as with a great
 variety of plastic materials, is initially segregated by the consumer at
 disposal, after which it is typically kept clean and uniform during the
 entire recycling process, thereby retaining its material properties.
 The use of high strength, resinous plastic polymers are a significant
 improvement over the fibrous, papier-machine materials taught by U.S. Pat.
 No. 5,080,314 to Moyer. Like Moyer '314 the roll supports 10 of the
 present invention are preferably manufactured in a pair 13, as shown in
 FIG. 3. However, the paired roll supports of the present invention can
 easily stack onto another pair with only a slight increase in height. The
 most preferred thickness of the roll support of the present invention is
 only approximately 40 Mils, which is 0.04 inches. This small thickness is
 a significant advantage over the stacked pairs of Moyer '314, in that the
 inherent thickness of the papier-mache material prevents adequate nesting.
 This inherent thickness of the wood fiber, papier-machine material
 prohibits a close nested stacking of unused roll supports.
 With the improved nesting achieved by the theremoforming of thin walls for
 the roll supports 10, hundreds of the plastic roll supports of the present
 invention can stack in the same height as only tens of Moyer '314 or
 Knitter '453 supports. The nesting compactness of the present invention
 provides a substantial and significant savings in shipping and storage
 space, as compared to wood fiber materials. The precious space saved in
 the storage of the nested and still unused roll supports can be allotted
 to other storage needs. Alternatively, the saved storage or shipping space
 can be used to store or transport additional roll supports and allow the
 purchase of higher quantities to realize bulk rate cost savings and
 substantially reduce freight costs.
 As also shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, each pair 13 of roll supports 10 preferably
 include a foldable edge 14 that provides the connected pair with the
 ability to fold together and form a center support 15, as shown in FIG. 5.
 Additionally, the foldable edge can be utilized as a separation edge, for
 detaching the pair from each other and forming two separate roll supports.
 The roll supports 10, as individually shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 each include a
 support body 16 formed from the resinous plastic material. As detailed in
 FIG. 4, the elongated body also includes a first surface 17 and a second
 surface 18. When the roll support is used to support the roll stock from
 beneath the roll, similar to the orientation shown in FIG. 4, the first
 surface is the upper surface of the roll support and the second surface is
 the lower surface.
 The roll support 10 is configured to receive a plurality of the roll stock,
 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. Each of the roll stock has a cylindrical radius
 19 that preferably is consistent for each roll supported in an individual
 storage array 20, as detailed in FIG. 6. The first surface 17 of each roll
 support includes a plurality of curved cradles 22 along the length of the
 support body, as shown in FIG. 5. Each curved cradle is a semi-cylindrical
 indentation sized to receive the cylindrical roll stock, as detailed in
 FIG. 6. The curved cradles also each have a radius of curvature 24, as
 shown in FIG. 4. The most preferable radius of curvature of the cradle is
 approximately the cylindrical radius of the roll stock, but can be as
 large as approximately twice cylindrical radius of the roll stock. The
 preferable radius of curvature of the cradle is therefore approximately
 equal to or slightly larger than the cylindrical radius of the roll stock.
 The roll stock 12 can be any one of a variety of materials typically
 wrapped around a spool 26 or core. This rolled material is conventionally
 placed in the cylindrical roll for storage, transport and eventual use.
 The rolled material can be any web material, plastic or film, such as
 polyethylene or cellophane. As an example, the packaging manufacturing and
 printing industry employs rolls of plastic film, typically polyethylene,
 to fabricate bags that receive a printed design or label.
 It is also considered possible to blend the plastic, polymeric material
 that forms the roll support 10 of the present invention from other,
 non-resinous materials, like wood fiber or carbon fiber. These blended,
 composite materials would be formulated to maintain the thin-walled,
 thermoformed, advantages as described for the present invention.
 The roll support 10 of the present invention are preferably used in
 multiples to receive and support a plurality of the roll stock 12. As
 shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the roll stock is received by the multiple roll
 supports to form an array 28, which is an arrangement of stacked tiers of
 the roll stock, preferably built upon a pallet 29 or a similar portable
 platform. First, a bottom support row 30 of the roll supports are placed
 onto the pallet. Three or four of the roll supports are employed to
 support the weight of the roll stock received onto the pallet and prevent
 the roll stock from shifting on the pallet. The pallet can be any type of
 pallet, made of wood, plastic or a composite material. Although the
 pallets are preferred, the roll supports could also be placed upon a floor
 or shelf system as an alternative.
 In further forming the array 28 shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, approximately four
 roll stock 12 elements are placed upon the bottom support row 30. This
 first tier of roll stock from a bottom stock tier 33 of the roll stock and
 roll support array. This bottom stock tier can now receive a multiple of
 the center supports 15, which are pairs 13 of folded roll supports. Again,
 an individual center support is shown in FIG. 5. The center support
 efficiently transfers and supports the weight of the supported roll stock
 with the aid of indentations, or support lands 35, within the curved
 cradles 20 of the roll supports. The support lands abut to the
 corresponding indentations that form the lands of the paired roll support.
 These abutted indentations aid in the transfer of weight through the
 paired roll supports. The support lands are located along the curved
 cradles 22 and preferably placed in pairs on both opposing sides of the
 curvature. The support lands terminate at the second surface 18 of the
 roll support.
 Firstly to form the array 28, the roll support 10 is used in a single
 support at the bottom of the individual storage array, and typically
 resting on a pallet 29, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. The support lands 35
 aid in supporting the weight of an object, typically the roll stock, that
 rests on the same supporting surface, such as the pallet, as the roll
 support.
 The center support 15, placed on the bottom stock tier 33, each receive
 upper stock tiers 37, as also shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. The array 28
 continues upward, tier by tier, to a top tier 38 of roll stock 12. The top
 tier of row stock then receives approximately four roll supports with
 their first surface facing downward, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, and the
 curved cradles 22 placed upon the top tier to finish the array.
 Additionally, a strapping 40 can be wrapped around each set of roll
 supports, as shown in FIG. 1 and 6, to bind the array together.
 Each cylinder of roll stock 12 has a significant weight. For a plastic film
 roll stock than can be supported with the present invention, this weight
 is typically between 50 and 150 pounds. The roll supports 10 are employed
 in the array 28 to support a plurality of the roll stock, as again
 illustrated in FIG. 5. Each of the roll supports individually, or folded
 as the paired central supports 15, must handle the weight of the supported
 portion of each roll of the cylindrical roll stock received within the
 curved cradles 20, upwardly through the array. Since each elongated body
 14 preferably includes four to five curved cradles 22 and each roll is
 supported by as few as two or three roll supports, each curved cradle must
 support more than 50 pounds. Additionally, since each roll support must
 handle the weight of the tiers or rows of roll stock transferred to it
 from above, the supporting requirements on the bottom most curved cradles
 are much higher than 50 pounds. A bottom most tier, to accommodate
 shifting weights may be required to support weights in excess of 4,000
 pounds. This is especially true if there are multiple pallets of
 multi-tiered cylindrical roll stock, each stacked upon another, as found
 in typical storage warehouses.
 The roll support 10 has a supported weight and the roll of cylindrical
 stock 12 has a stock weight. The portion of the stock weight of a single
 roll of the cylindrical stock supported by an individual curved cradle 22
 is a supported weight. This weight ratio is preferably greater than 1 to
 50, and can be higher than 1 to 1,000. By this extraordinary weight to
 supported weight ratio, the weight of the roll support is clearly
 remarkably less than the weight supported by the roll support. This weight
 relationship of the roll support's weight to the weight of the roll stock
 supported by the roll support clearly differentiates the roll support of
 the present invention and plastic supports for light weight articles.
 Heavier articles will crush the conventionally configured, plastic resin
 trays and protective containers, which are typically manufactured to hold
 lightweight and fragile items like fluorescent light bulbs.
 In compliance with the statues, the invention has been described in
 language more or less specific as to structural features and process
 steps. While this invention is susceptible to embodiment in different
 forms, the specification illustrates preferred embodiments of the
 invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be
 considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention, and the
 disclosure is not intended to limit the invention to the particular
 embodiments described. Those with ordinary skill in the art will
 appreciate that other embodiments and variations of the invention are
 possible, which employ the same inventive concepts as described above.
 Therefore, the invention is not to be limited except by the following
 claims, as appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of
 equivalents.