Transport package

Abstract: The present invention relates to a transport package (1), comprising a transport pallet (2), goods (3) on said transport pallet, and a tight wrapping (4) protecting and binding together the goods. According to the invention, also the transport pallet (2) has been wrapped within the wrapping (4), advantageously together with the goods (3) thereon, into a plastic film web to form one united transport package.

Description: The present invention relates to a transport package for megacargo units in cargo boats, comprising a megacargo platform, goods such as paper rolls and/or sheets of paper on said platform, and a tight wrapping protecting and binding together said goods. Packing, protecting and securing a load so that the goods to be transported arrive intact at the destination, particularly in a transport chain containing several different forms of transport, such as car-train-boat, have proved to be particularly problematic and costly, and no satisfactory solution thereto has been found. Binding a load on a truck body, into a railway wagon, or on various transport pallets used in marine transport, such as ferry wagons and containers, as well as various modifications thereof, is difficult and technically complex. In sea transport this has proved particularly problematic, and roll on-roll off vessels have even capsized due to shifting of load when the securing of the load has failed when the sea is rough, and even if no such dramatic accidents take place, considerable damage is nevertheless continuously caused to the loads during sea transport. It has not been possible to mechanize the securing of a load to its transport pallet by means of the state-of-art procedures. Securing a load is technically difficult and requires plenty of human labour, which is expensive. As to roll on - roll off vessels, it is difficult to obtain a satisfactory end result because of the tall cargoes of these crafts which are indispensable because of their transport economy, said cargoes being very high, particularly in relation to the width of the transport pallet and therefore very difficult to be secured to their transport pallet satisfactorily. Goods to be transported on small transport bases, such as pallets, have in some cases been wrapped in plastic films, whereby the wrapping has been carried out substantially vertically around the pallet and the goods in order to secure the latter to the former; see, for example US-A-4 079 565 and DE-U-9 012 589. For marine transport the packages thus formed will have to be further secured, thus presenting the problem already discussed above. A repeated treatment of individual packages often causes great damage both to the package and the packed goods. For instance products, such as paper rolls and sheets, from wood industries, are typically handled 6 to 10 times in the present day transport chain between the manufacturing installation and the site of the end user. Therefore the packing of an individual product, such as paper roll, has to be made to last several handling processes and various potential dangers during transport, such as moisture, compression, impacts and so on. The package of an individual product is therefore expensive and, in addition, the handling of the packaging material by the receiver is expensive and harmful to the environment. Weatherproof packages are often cardboard-plastic laminates, which cannot be recycled or destroyed by burning. The only solution is to take them to a refuse disposal pit. The objective of the present invention is to provide a transport package of the type described in the introduction, in which the above shortcomings have been eliminated. The invention is defined by the accompanying claim. Instead of packing individual goods separately for protecting them against damage during transport, and in addition to the fact that the goods on the transport pallet are separately secured to their transport pallet to prevent cargo displacement in this invention the transport pallet is also wrapped in said wrapping together with the goods thereon to form a united transport package. Such transport package is not only well protected but also easy to secure during transport by anchoring the transport pallet in any manner known in the art, whereby also the goods on the transport pallet will remain in place. The used plastic film web is suitable as raw material for the plastics industry. The transport package of the invention is conveniently provided using circumferential wrapping machines known in the art, used for instance in wrapping paper rolls into a plastics film web. The transport package according to the present invention is intended for megacargo units in cargo boats, described in FI-A-83067, in which the cargo volume has been divided into freely selectable partial volumes defined by the cargo height. In the megacargo units as described by said publication print the cargo to be gathered on the intermediate platforms need not be as high as otherwise for ensuring the transport economy. Since the size of the cargo on such intermediate platforms is smaller than usual, the cargo can be tied in place with plastic film webs, i.e. using the transport packages of the invention. The invention is described more fully below, reference being made to the accompanying drawing presenting a perspective view of a wrapping machine suited for wrapping a transport package according to the invention, and of a transport package according to the invention to be wrapped therein. In the drawing the transport package to be wrapped is in general indicated by reference numeral 1. The transport pallet forming part of the transport package 1 is indicated by reference numeral 2 and the goods thereon, such as paper rolls in the present instance, by reference numeral 3. The tight wrapping protecting the goods and tying them together is indicated by reference numeral 4, and, as shown in the drawing, the transport pallet 2 has also been wrapped within said wrapping 4 together with the goods thereon to form one united transport package 1. The wrapping machine consists of platforms 6 and a wagon 8 moving reciprocatingly therebetween, said wagon being provided with a frame 7 thereon, along the inner side of which the reservoir roller 5 of the plastic film web is moving. The transport pallet 2 and the goods 3 thereon are resting supported by the ends of the transport pallet 2 on the platforms 6 of the wrapping machine, and inside the frame 7. Thus the transport pallet 2 and the goods 3 thereon are wrapped in plastic film web while the reservoir roller 5 is rotating along the inner surface of the frame 7 around the transport package 1 simultaneously with movement of the wagon 8 and the frame 7 thereon along the transport package 1 from one end to the other. The plastic film web is stretched while being wrapped, whereby a very tight wrapping 4 is formed around the transport package 1. The side margins of the transport pallet 2 are provided with recesses 9, so that the transport package 1 can be anchored in place during the transport. By means of the transport package of the invention, for instance the following advantages are gained. The transport pallet and the goods on said pallet have been wrapped with a plastic film to form one entity, whereby an elastic and dynamic securing is achieved, which prevents the cargo from moving on the transport pallet, the binding force of the package (between the goods and the transport pallet) can be regulated to meet the requirements set by the circumstances by using plastic films of different thicknesses for the wrapping, or by increasing or decreasing the number of films and the prestretching of the film, securing of the cargo to the transport pallet lasting throughout the entire transport chain,and at the same time protection of the goods to be transported, are obtained using this form of packaging, whereby the need to pack an individual product can be reduced or omitted entirely, securing the products to the transport pallet can be carried out mechanically, i.e. in an entirely automated fashion, the package can be transported as one unit in trucks, on the railroad and on board ship so that even in a transport chain containing several different forms of transport a package is provided which travels in unloaded form from the supplier to the customer, and the individual products are not touched in the course of the entire transport chain.

Claims: A transport package (1) for megacargo units in cargo boats, comprising a megacargo transport platform (2), goods (3) on said transport platform, and a tight wrapping (4) surrounding the goods (3) and transport platform (2), thereby protecting the goods and binding the transport platform (2) into said wrapping (4) together with the goods (3) thereon to form a united transport package, the wrapping (4) consisting of a plastics film web wrapped transversely around the transport platform and goods in a substantially vertical direction, wherein the film web is under tension in the form of a partially overlapping wrapping around the platform and goods.

Inventors: EBELING JAAKKO, PESONEN JARMO, EBELING, JAAKKO, PESONEN, JARMO
Applicants: POEYRY JAAKKO & CO OY, JAAKKO POEYRY OY
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B65D71
IPC codes: B65D71