SEPARATOR FOR SHEETS

Abstract: The invention relates to a separator (1) for sheets, in particular fragile sheets such as glass sheets, comprising a strip of support material (2) with a thickening or nose (3) at one end. According to the invention the nose (3) is made of one piece of honeycomb sheet, which is formed undivided into a nose having a thickness of at least twice the thickness of the honeycomb sheet (2). Preferably the piece of honeycomb sheet is bent over twice at the location of two parallel V-shaped grooves (13) arranged in the piece of honeycomb sheet, which grooves (13) are preferably arranged such that the two portions on both sides of the grooves (13) abut each other after manufacture of the nose (3).

Description: „„„„„. „ PCT/NL96/00387 WO 97/12818 Separator for sheets The invention relates to a separator for sheets, in parti¬ cular fragile sheets such as glass sheets, comprising a strip of support material with a thickening or nose at one end. Suchlike separators are used in the glass sheet industry. The glass leaves the glass melting furnace as a continuous web, which is cut into sheets, after which the sheets are placed upright against each other. The sheets have, for example, a height of 3 metres and a width of 6 metres. In order to be able to transport several sheets simultaneous¬ ly, a number of separators are fitted for example every 8 to 10 sheets, so that an interspace is created between each packet of glass sheets. Known separators have a thickness of approximately 25 mm. The known separators are usually made of plastic or paper material so as to acquire sufficient strength at a low weight. The separators are automatically laid on a glass sheet after the latter has been cut off, either prior to placing the sheet upright or during or after upright placing. To prevent the separators from sliding, they are provided on one end with a thickening, called a nose in the technical field, which hooks behind the upper edge of the glass sheet. To prevent the separator sliding or falling from the glass sheet, for example when the glass sheet is handled, at the side of the nose the separator can be furnished with a detachable connecting means such as a suction cup. Using a strip of honeycomb panel for the strip of support material is known, as this is a light material which is rigid and which can easily take up forces perpendicular to the surfaces of its cover layers. In a direction parallel to the cover layers a honeycomb layer is not strong, however, which is a reason for not using the honeycomb panel as a nose for a separator: the weight of the separa¬ tor brings about shearing forces in the nose, which the nose - if the latter were made of common honeycomb sheet - cannot absorb. It is an object of the invention to provide a separator with a nose made of honeycomb sheet, which nose is strong enough to absorb the shearing forces brought about by the weight of the separator. According to the invention this object is achieved with a separator of the kind described in the introduction, in which the nose is made of one piece of honeycomb sheet, which is formed undivided into a nose having a thickness of at least twice the thickness of the honeycomb sheet . Because the piece of honeycomb sheet is indeed shaped into a nose with at least double thickness, but is not divided, at least one of the cover layers of the piece of honeycomb sheet is kept intact. This cover layer holds the honey¬ comb-shaped parts of the nose together, so that it is strong enough to resist shearing forces occurring during use. Preferably the piece of honeycomb sheet from which the nose is made turned over at least twice over substantially 90°, so that at each bend the outer cover layer can be continued so as to give the nose the desired strength. By bending over the sheet at an angle over substantially 90° bending over only needs to take place at as few places as is possible in order to achieve double thickness. According to an advantageous embodiment the piece of honeycomb sheet is bent over twice at the location of two parallel V-shaped grooves arranged in the piece of honey¬ comb sheet. By bending over the sheet twice, a nose with sufficient thickness is realized with as little effort as possible, the arranged V-shaped grooves facilitating bending over without any damage to the honeycomb material . The grooves can be made in a known way by cutting out or pressing in. Preferably the V-shaped grooves are arranged such that the two portions on both sides of the grooves abut each other after manufacture of the nose, so that the nose is twice as thick as the piece of honeycomb sheet from which it is made, and the cover layers of both abutting portions can be attached to each other. Preferably the nose is arranged in such a way to the strip of support material that when in use the portion of the honeycomb sheet between the two bends comes into contact with the glass sheets, so that the continuous cover layer comes into contact with the (glass) sheets and can prevent damage of the honeycomb core material of the nose. According to an advantageous embodiment the nose is arran¬ ged such on the strip of support material that the portion between the V-shaped grooves in the piece of honeycomb sheet is facing away from the end of the strip of support material to which the nose is attached. As a result the continuous cover layer of the portion between the V-shaped grooves will, when in use, rest on the edges of the (glass) sheet, whereby the shearing forces are transferred in the most advantageous way to the strip of support material and paper and glue remainders on the honeycomb material resulting from cutting will not come into contact with the sheets. „„„,„„,„ PCT/NL96/00387 O 97/12818 In an advantageous way the nose is made by glueing the piece of honeycomb sheet, preferably with the help of a hot melt adhesive, so that a stiff nose is formed, all portions of which being easily attached to one another. Preferably the strip of support material is a strip of honeycomb panel, to which the nose is attached by glueing, preferably with the help of a hot melt adhesive . Because of this the whole separator is made of honeycomb panel, which facilitates production, and the whole separator can be recycled. With the help of a hot melt adhesive the nose can be manufactured and attached to the strip of honeycomb sheet at considerable speed. The invention will now be described on the basis of an exemplary embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a separator according to the invention, Fig. 2 shows a side view of the separator according to fig. 1 on a reduced scale. Fig. 3 shows a side view of the nose of the separator according to the invention on an enlarged scale. Fig. 4 shows a side view of the piece of honeycomb sheet from which the nose according to fig. 3 has been made. A separator usually has a length of 2 - 3.35 m, a width of 60 - 120 mm and a thickness of 20 - 60 mm. For the user the compression strength is of primary importance: this is approximately 350 - 400 kPa. The separator therein con¬ sists of three layers, of which the central layer forms a honeycomb structure and the two outer layers, which con¬ tact the glass, are made of paper of which the acidity level is neutral. The central, honeycomb-shaped layer is composed of strips of paper, folded and glued together in such a way, that a structure is created which consists of a large series of interconnected walls which enclose similar prismatic hexagonal spaces. The walls of these hexagonal spaces are positioned upright between the two above-mentioned outer layers (cover layers) and are con- nected thereto by means of the glue in such a manner that shearing forces (in the plane) can be transferred onto the opposite cover layer. In this manner a rigid and light prismatic beam is created with a high compression strength. The hexagonal spaces or cells therein usually have an inner diameter of 10 to 30 mm. The paper which is used for the hexagonal spaces therein has a mass of 150 - 300 g/m J and the paper wich is used for the cover layers has a mass of 150 - 750 g/m 2 . The glue which is used to compose such a honeycomb panel, that is to say the honeycomb layer with both cover layers, can be an or¬ dinary, commercially available glue which is suitable for paper. The paper which is used is of a similar quality as the paper used for the manufacture of corrugated board and can consist in part or entirely of recycled old paper and/or in part of entirely of paper of cellulose fibres. The same honeycomb panel material can be used for the nose. Figure 1 shows a separator 1 consisting of a strip of honeycomb panel 2 and a nose 3. In the exemplary embodi¬ ment the nose 3 is made of a piece of honeycomb sheet with the same thickness as the strip of honeycomb panel 2. In figure 2 it can be clearly seen that the nose 3 is twice as thick as the strip of honeycomb panel 2. Fig. 3 shows the nose 3 in side view at approximately O 97/12818 - 6 - actual size. The nose 3 consists of two side portions 4, 6 and a triangular shaped intermediate portions 5 which connects with the side portions 4,6. The side portions 4 and 6 are glued to each other with their cover layers 7. The cover layers 8, 9, 10 form one continuous layer of paper or cardboard. Fig. 4 shows the piece of honeycomb sheet 3 from which the nose has been constructed. In the sheet 3 two V-shaped grooves 13 have been arranged, which have an apex angle of 90° and which extend parallel to one another. With their apex the grooves 13 reach up to the cover layer 7. By folding the side portions 4 and 6 towards each other, the nose 3 is thus formed. The V-shaped grooves 13 can have been formed by cutting away the honeycomb panel in the grooves 13 (as shown) , but the grooves 13 are preferably formed by making incisions 12 represented by dashed lines, and then pushing the honeycomb material in the grooves 13 down and/or to the side. The paper or cardboard of the upper cover layer 7 will thus form a part of the sides of the V-shaped grooves 13, so that these parts too can be glued together when forming the nose 3. The V-shaped grooves 13 extend to the lower cover layer 8, 9, 10 so that the piece of honeycomb panel 3 does not fall into three separate pieces, but the lower cover layer 8, 9, 10 continues uninterruptedly and is only folded when making the nose 3 , as a result of which this cover layer 8, 9, 10 affords great strength. According to the exemplary embodiment the separator 1 is 3 meters or more long, 80 mm wide and 20 mm thick. The nose 3 is 45 mm high, 40 mm thick and also 80 mm wide. As is indicated in fig. 1 and 2 the cover layer 9 of the triangular-shaped intermediate portion 5 faces away from the end of the strip of honeycomb sheet 2, so that this cover layer portion 9 comes to rest on the glass sheets when the separator is used. The shearing forces caused by the weight of the separator are thus led through via the shortest route to the strip of honeycomb panel 2, whereby the nose 3 only has to be of limited height.

Claims: Claims 1. Separator for sheets, in particular fragile sheets such as glass sheets, comprising a strip of support material with a thickening or nose at one end, characterized in that the nose is made of one piece of honeycomb sheet, which is formed undivided into a nose having a thickness of at least twice the thickness of the honeycomb sheet. 2. Separator according to claim 1, characterized in that the piece of honeycomb sheet from which the nose is bent over at least twice over substantially 90°. 3. Separator according to claim 2, characterized in that the piece of honeycomb sheet is made bent over twice at the location of two parallel V-shaped grooves arranged in the piece of honeycomb sheet. 4. Separator according to claim 3, characterized in that the V-shaped grooves are arranged such that the two porti¬ ons on both sides of the grooves abut each other after manufacture of the nose. 5. Separator according to claim 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the nose is arranged such on the strip of support material that when in use the portion of the honeycomb sheet between the two bends comes into contact with the sheets. 6. Separator according to claim 3, 4 or 5, characterized in that the nose is arranged such on the strip of support material that the portion between the V-shaped grooves in the piece of honeycomb sheet is facing away from the end of the strip of support material to which the nose is attached. 7. Separator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the nose is made by glueing the piece of honeycomb sheet, preferably with the help of a hot melt adhesive. 8. Separator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the strip of support material is a strip of honeycomb panel, to which the nose is attached by glueing, preferably with the help of a hot melt adhesive.

Inventors: DIDERICH JOHANNES PHILIPPUS LU, DIDERICH, JOHANNES, PHILIPPUS, LUDOVICUS, MARIA
Applicants: BESIN BV, DIDERICH JOHANNES PHILIPPUS LU, BESIN B.V., DIDERICH, JOHANNES, PHILIPPUS, LUDOVICUS, MARIA
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65D85
IPC codes: B65D57, B65D85