Abstract:
An apparatus and method for manually applying stretch film to palletized loads or products comprises a vertically upstanding mast member, a horizontally extending static boom member connected to the mast member, a horizontally extending orbiting boom member rotatably connected to the static boom member, and a vertically extending downright member connected to the orbiting boom member. A carriage assembly carrying a roll of stretch film is movably mounted upon the downright member in a counterbalanced manner, and an operator handle is fixed upon the carriage assembly so as to enable an operator to manually push the carriage assembly, the downright member, and the orbiting boom member in a circular locus around a wrapping station at which a palletized load or product is disposed for wrapping. The mounting of the carriage assembly upon the downright member in the counterbalanced mode enables the operator to perform the manual wrapping of the palletized load or product without having to support the weight of the film roll and its core. In addition, the handle has an elongated vertical extent so as to enable the operator to wrap lowermost portions of the palletized load or product without having to bend or stoop.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for applying stretch film to palletized loads or products, and more particularly to a new and improved apparatus and method for manually applying stretch film to palletized loads or products. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a known fact that approximately fifty percent (50%) of all stretch film that is manufactured is applied to, for example, palletized loads or products by manual means. It is also known that when applying such stretch film to, for example, palletized loads or products, the manner in which such stretch film is manually applied to such loads or products usually comprises either one of two methods. In accordance with a first one of such manual methods, as illustrated, for example, within U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,884 which issued to Stanford on Mar. 21, 1995, the operator respectively inserts four fingers of each hand into each one of two oppositely disposed recessed portions defined within the film core end caps so as to effectively hold or grasp the film roll, and while placing his thumbs upon outside surface portions of the film roll, so as to effectively cause a predetermined amount of back tension to be applied to the film whereby the film is effectively stretched as the film is being unrolled or dispensed from the film roll, the operator walks around the palletized load or product. In accordance with a second one of such manual methods of applying a stretch film to such palletized loads or products, as illustrated, for example, within U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,841 which issued to Shirrell on Oct. 17, 1995, and in lieu of directly holding or grasping the film roll, the operator holds or grasps a film roll dispensing or holding device which has a built-in tensioning mechanism. 
     In accordance with either one of the aforenoted modes, methods, or manners in which stretch film is applied manually to the palletized products or loads, several operational disadvantages or drawbacks common to both methods or modes are apparent. Firstly, for example, the film roll or the film roll and film roll dispensing or holding device must be supported by the operator personnel, yet the film roll and film roll dispensing or holding device are quite heavy and cumbersome. In addition, in order to fully wrap a palletized load, the operator must bend down while holding the film roll or film roll and film roll dispensing or holding device in order to wrap the film around the lower extremity portions of the palletized loads or products. Such requirements upon the operator personnel cause acute discomfort, fatigue, and stress-related injuries. In addition, the operators experience fatigue and discomfort even when the operators are wrapping upper regions of the palletized loads or products due to the need for supporting the entire weight of the film roll or film roll and film roll dispensing or holding device. 
     A need therefore exists in the art for an apparatus, and a method of operating the same, for overcoming the various operational disadvantages or drawbacks characteristic of the known PRIOR ART systems as briefly discussed hereinbefore and as disclosed within the aforenoted patents. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus, and a method of operating the same, for applying stretch film to palletized loads or products. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus, and a method of operating the same, for applying stretch film to palletized loads or products wherein the various operational drawbacks and disadvantages characteristic of PRIOR ART apparatus, systems, or methods of operating the same, are overcome. 
     An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus, and a method of operating the same, for applying stretch film to palletized loads or products wherein the stretch film can be applied to or wrapped around the palletized loads or products by means of operator personnel who can simply walk around the pallet upon which the loads or products are disposed and simultaneously push or guide the roll of stretch film around the palletized loads or products whereby the palletized loads or products are accordingly wrapped with such stretch film. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus, and a method of operating the same, for applying stretch film to palletized loads or products wherein the stretch film can be applied to or wrapped around the entire vertical extent of the palletized loads or products by means of operator personnel who need not support the weight of the film roll or the film roll and the film roll dispensing mechanism, and in addition need not bend down in order to wrap or apply the stretch film upon or to the lower extremity portions of the palletized loads or products. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The foregoing and other objectives are achieved in accordance with the teachings and principles of the present invention through the provision of a new and improved apparatus, and a method of operating the same, which comprises a vertically extending mast and a horizontally extending static boom having one end thereof affixed to the upper end of the vertically extending mast. The vertically extending mast may be affixed to vertically extending column or wall, or may have a weighted based affixed to the lower end of the vertically extending mast so as to render the entire apparatus or system portable. An orbiting boom has a first end thereof pivotally mounted upon the second free end of the horizontally extending static boom, and a vertically extending downright member is fixedly mounted upon a second free end of the orbiting boom. The lower end of the downright is provided with a spring-biased wheel assembly for supporting the downright and orbiting boom structure upon a manufacturing facility floor at which a wrapping station is defined for supporting palletized loads or products to be wrapped in stretch film. A vertically reciprocable carriage is mounted upon the downright, and a roll of stretch film is mounted upon one side of the carriage while an ergonomic handle is mounted upon an opposite side of the carriage so as to positionally manipulate the carriage upwardly and downwardly along the downright as well as to effectively orbitally move film roll around the palletized load or product disposed at the wrapping station and to be wrapped. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Various other objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a new and improved apparatus or system as constructed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention for manually applying stretch film to palletized loads or products; 
     FIG. 2 a  is a top, partial schematic plan view of the new and improved apparatus or system as shown in FIG. 1 showing how operator personnel would guide the movement of the film roll, as mounted upon the film roll carriage, during a wrapping operation performed with respect to a palletized load or product disposed at the facility wrapping station; 
     FIG. 2 b  is a side elevational view of the new and improved apparatus or system constructed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention and as shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial, front elevational view of the new and improved apparatus or system constructed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention and as shown in FIG. 1, and showing the relative disposition of the orbiting boom and the downright member, upon which the operator&#39;s handle, the film roll carriage, and the film roll dispensing mechanism are mounted, with respect to the mast and static boom when the orbiting boom and downright member are disposed at an angular position of 0° with respect to the mast and static boom; 
     FIG. 4 is a partial, front elevational view of the new and improved apparatus or system constructed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and showing the relative disposition of the orbiting boom and the downright member, upon which the operator&#39;s handle, the film roll carriage, and the film roll dispensing mechanism are mounted, with respect to the mast and static boom when the orbiting boom and downright member are disposed at an angular position of 90° with respect to the mast and static boom; 
     FIG. 5 is a partial, front elevational view of the new and improved apparatus or system constructed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention and as shown in FIGS.  1 , 3 , and  4 , and showing the relative disposition of the orbiting boom and downright member, upon which the operator&#39;s handle, the film roll carriage, and the film roll dispensing mechanism are mounted, with respect to the mast and static boom when the orbiting boom and downright member are disposed at an angular position of 180° with respect to the mast and static boom; 
     FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the film roll carriage, the operator handle, and the film roll mounting bracket assembly as mounted upon the downright member as shown in FIG. 4; and 
     FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the film roll carriage, the operator handle, and the film roll mounting bracket assembly as shown in FIG.  6 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS.  1 , 2   a  and  2   b  thereof, the new and improved apparatus or system constructed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention, for manually applying stretch film to palletized loads or products, is disclosed and is generally designated by the reference character  10 . As may best be appreciated from FIG. 2 a , a palletized load or product  12 , shown in phantom lines, is adapted to be placed, positioned, or disposed at a wrapping station  14  which is defined upon a floor region  16  of a stretch film wrapping facility, and a stretch film is adapted to be manually wrapped around the palletized load or product  12  by means of an operator  18  utilizing the new and improved stretch film wrapping apparatus or system  10  constructed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention. 
     More particularly, as best appreciated from FIGS. 1 and 2 b , the new and improved stretch film wrapping apparatus or system  10  constructed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention is seen to comprise a vertically extending mast member  20  and a horizontally extending static boom member  22  which has a first end portion thereof fixedly mounted upon or integrally fixed to the upper end portion of the vertically extending mast member  20 . The lower end portion of the vertically extending mast member  20  is, in accordance with a first embodiment or variation of the present invention apparatus or system, fixedly attached to a weighted base member  24  which is adapted to be disposed upon the floor region  16  of the facility such that the entire apparatus or system  10  is effectively freestanding. In addition, the apparatus or system  10  is also thus rendered portable. 
     In order to facilitate the portability of the apparatus or system  10 , the base member  24  may be provided with spaced arrays of internal wheel members  26  which are adapted to engage and roll upon the facility floor  16  whereby the apparatus or system  10  may be moved over the floor surface  16 , or alternatively, the base member  24  may be provided with a pair of spaced slots  28  for accommodating the tines of fork-lift apparatus whereby the apparatus or system  10  can be transported between wrapping station locations by means of suitable fork-lift apparatus. Still further, and in accordance with a second embodiment or variation of the present invention apparatus or system, the vertically extending mast member  20  may be provided with a plurality of vertically spaced mounting plates or brackets  30  by means of which the vertically extending mast member  20  may be fixedly secured to an upstanding column, not shown, or to a vertical wall member, also not shown, of the manufacturing facility. 
     A second end portion of the static boom member  22 , which is disposed opposite the first end portion thereof which is fixedly or integrally attached to the upper end portion of the vertically extending mast member  20 , is provided with a bearing system  32  by means of which a first end portion of an orbiting boom member  34  is pivotally or rotationally attached to the static boom member  22  through means of an axle member  36  which is rotatably disposed within the bearing system  32  of the static boom member  22 . A dependent coil spring member  38  is fixedly mounted upon the axle member  36  so as to rotate with the axle member  36  and the orbiting boom member  34  with respect to the fixed or static boom member  22 . 
     As may be appreciated, the dependent spring member  38  is located above the palletized load or product  12  and is in effect disposed coaxially with respect to the wrapping station  14 , as illustrated in FIG. 2 a , so as to serve as a visual aid for assisting operator personnel  18  in connection with the proper disposition, centering, or alignment of a palletized load or product  12  with respect to the center of the wrapping station  14  whereby the palletized load or product  12  can be properly wrapped with the stretch film as will be more fully appreciated hereinafter. It is further noted that the visual alignment aid  38  is in the form of a flexible and resilient coil spring, somewhat similar to a coil spring conventionally utilized in connection with the support, balance, and movement of garage doors. In this manner, should a palletized load or product  12 , for example, collide with the spring member  38  during movement and positioning of the palletized load or product  12  in connection with the insertion or removal of the palletized load  12  into and out from the wrapping station  14 , the coil spring member  38  will simply deflect and inherently return to its normal vertically axial orientation with respect to the wrapping station  14 . Alternatively, if the visual aid member  38  comprised, for example, a rigid bar member, such collision with the visual aid member  38  by means of, for example, a palletized load or product  12  would damage either the visual aid member  38  and/or the palletized load or product  12  necessitating replacement of the visual aid member  38  and some form of compensation to be made with respect to the palletized load or product  12 . 
     With continued reference being made to FIGS. 1 and 2 b , a first upper end portion of a vertically disposed downright member  40  is fixedly secured or attached to a second distal end portion of the orbiting boom member  34 , and the second lower end portion of the downright member  40  is provided with a support wheel mechanism or assembly  42  which is adapted to engage the floor  16  of the manufacturing facility so as to support the downright member  40  and the orbiting boom member  34  during rotational movements of the orbiting boom member  34  and the downright member  40  around the wrapping station  14  in connection with the performance of wrapping operations being conducted upon the palletized load or product  12 . As best seen from FIGS. 3-5, the support wheel mechanism or assembly  42  is supported or mounted upon the lower end portion of the downright member  40  by means of a suitably adjustable spring-biased mounting system  44 . In this manner, the spring constant characteristics of the system  44  can be adjusted so as to properly support the weight of the downright member  40 , the orbiting boom member  34 , and a stretch film carriage assembly  46  mounted upon the downright member  40  as will be discussed shortly hereinafter, as well as to provide for the proper resiliency and shock absorption properties or characteristics within the system  44  as may be required during rotational movement of the support wheel assembly or mechanism  42  upon the floor  16  of the manufacturing facility. 
     With reference now being made to FIGS. 3-7, it is to be appreciated that the downright member  40  comprises a hollow tubular member having a substantially square cross-sectional configuration, and the aforenoted carriage assembly, generally indicated by the reference character  46 , is adapted to be mounted upon the exterior of the downright member  40  so as to be movable upwardly and downwardly along the exterior surface portions of the downright member  40  in a reciprocating manner in accordance with known stretch film wrapping techniques in connection with the stretch film wrapping of a palletized load or product  12  disposed at the wrapping station  14  of the manufacturing facility. As may best be appreciated from FIGS.  4 , 6 , and  7 , the carriage assembly  46  is seen to comprise a carriage  48  which, similar to the structure of the downright member  40 , also comprises a hollow tubular structure having a substantially square cross-sectional configuration as defined by four sides  50 ,  52 , 54 , 56 . Upon the interior surface of each one of the sides  50 - 56  defining the carriage  48 , a glide member  58 , 60 , 62 , 64  is provided for engaging and riding upon a corresponding external surface portion of the downright member  40 . The glide members  58 - 64  may be suitably fabricated, for example, from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) such that the carriage  48 , and therefore the entire carriage assembly  46 , is readily and relatively easily movable along the downright member  40 , and yet, nevertheless, as will be more fully discussed hereinafter, a sufficient amount of friction is developed between each one of the glide members  58 - 64  and its corresponding exterior surface of the downright member  40 . In this manner, when the carriage assembly  46  is moved along the downright member  40  to a particularly desired elevational position or level at which stretch film is to be dispensed in connection with a film wrapping operation being performed upon a palletized load or product  12 , the carriage assembly  46  will be automatically or inherently maintained at such elevational position or level such that the operator  18  need not exert any upward or downward force upon the carriage assembly  46  so as to hold or maintain the carriage assembly  46  at such elevational position or level. As will become apparent, the operator  18  need only exert in effect a substantially horizontally directed force which pushes the carriage assembly  46 , and, in effect, the downright member  40  and the orbiting boom member  34 , around the palletized load or product  12  disposed at the wrapping station  14  such that stretch film, from the carriage assembly  46 , can be wrapped around the palletized load or product  12 . 
     In order to facilitate such aforenoted upward or downward positional movement of the carriage assembly  46  along the downright member by the operator  18 , as well as the aforenoted horizontally directed force impressed upon the carriage assembly  46 , and the downright and orbiting boom members  40 , 34 , in a comfortable manner by means of the operator  18 , an operator handle  66  is fixedly attached to side  56  of the carriage  48  by means of a pair of vertically spaced mounting brackets  68 , 70 . The handle  66  has a substantially large vertical extent, and it is to be particularly appreciated that at least one half of the vertical extent of the handle  66 , that is, the upper half of the handle  66 , is disposed above the carriage  48  such that when the operator  18  grasps the handle  66 , the operator  18  can effect any one of the aforenoted required positional adjustments of the carriage assembly  46  along the downright member  40 , as well as the rotational movement of the carriage assembly  46 , the downright member  40 , and the orbiting boom member  34 , around the palletized load or product  12  without the need for bending or stooping downwardly toward the facility floor  16  which is operationally fatiguing. In addition, it is further noted that the uppermost end portion of the handle  66  is bent at angle of approximately 30° with respect to the vertical axis of the handle  66  such that the uppermost hand grasp portion of the handle  66  is ergonomically comfortable. 
     The opposite side  52  of the carriage  48  is also provided with a pair of vertically spaced mounting brackets  72 , 74  by means of which a stretch film applicator or dispenser, generally indicated by the reference character  76 , may be mounted upon the carriage  48 . The stretch film applicator or dispenser  76  may be of the type disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,179 which issued to Zentmyer et al. on Jul. 14, 1998, and is seen to basically comprise a substantially C-shaped holder  78  for mounting a stretch film roll core  80  upon which a roll of stretch film  82  is disposed. The applicator or dispenser  76  is further provided with a spring-biased release mechanism  84 , which is more particularly disclosed within the aforenoted U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,179, for facilitating replacement of a depleted roll of stretch film  82  with a new roll of stretch film  82  without the need, for example, for removing the applicator dispenser  76  from the carriage assembly  46 . 
     As was noted hereinbefore, the downright member  40  comprises a hollow tubular member, and in order to facilitate the vertical movement or positional adjustment of the carriage assembly  46  along the downright member  40  in a weight-balanced mode whereby the operator  18  is effectively relieved of the weight of the entire carriage assembly  46 , the carriage  48  is operatively connected to a counterweight component  86  which is housed or disposed internally within the downright member  40 . A cable  88  is attached at a first end portion thereof to the counterweight  86 , and extends upwardly internally within the hollow interior of the downright member  40 . The upper end of the downright member  40  is provided with a suitable pulley mounting bracket  89 , and accordingly, the cable  88  extends upwardly and is conducted over a pulley member  90  which is mounted within the pulley mounting bracket  89  whereupon the cable  88  then extends downwardly and externally of the downright member  40  such that a second end portion of the cable  88  is able to be attached to the carriage  48 . The counterweight is specifically weighted or fabricated so as to exhibit a weight mass which is substantially equal to the weight of the carriage  48 , the film core  80 , and one-half of the weight of a full roll of stretch film  82 . In this manner, as the operator  18  moves the carriage assembly  46  upwardly or downwardly so as to operatively position the same upon the downright member  40  and relative to a particular palletized load or product  12  so as to optimally provide or facilitate dispensing of the stretch film from the roll of stretch film  82  and onto the palletized load or product  12  being wrapped, the counterweight  86  accordingly or correspondingly moves downwardly or upwardly so as to achieve the movement of the carriage assembly  46  in the aforenoted balanced mode whereby the operator  18  need not, in particular, support the weight of the carriage assembly  46 , particularly during the operative stretch film wrapping of the palletized load or product  12  as was characteristic of the PRIOR ART modes of operation as discussed hereinbefore. 
     It is also to be noted that in order to eliminate the generation of any noise or chatter between the counterweight  86  and the interior of the downright member  40  when the counterweight  86  is moved upwardly and downwardly relative to the downright member  40 , the external surfaces of the counterweight  86  may be coated with a suitable sound-deadening or sound-absorbing material which may therefore prevent the generation of such noise while not inhibiting the movement of the counterweight member  86  within the downright member  40 . Still further, in order to limit the upper extent to which the carriage assembly  46  is able to be moved relative to a palletized load or product  12  to be wrapped at the wrapping station  14 , a stop bar  92  fixedly mounted upon an external surface portion of the downright member  40  at a predetermined elevational level which corresponds to the maximum height the carriage assembly  46  would need to be moved in order to achieve the stretch film wrapping of all regions of the palletized load or product  12 . Alternatively, in order to accommodate different palletized loads or products  12  having different height dimensions, the downright member  40  may be provided with a plurality of sets of, for example, vertically spaced apertures, not shown, within which suitable fasteners may be disposed so as to fasten the stop bar  92  at different elevational positions upon the downright member  40  which correspond to the maximum height level to which the carriage assembly  46  is to be moved with respect to a particular palletized load or product  12  to be wrapped. 
     Thus, it may be seen that in accordance with the teachings and principles of the present invention, there has been provided a new and improved apparatus for manually applying stretch film to palletized loads or products. As can be appreciated from FIG. 2 a , and in accordance with the method of the present invention, after the operator  18  has adjusted the carriage assembly  46  to a particular elevational position at which, for example, the wrapping operation is to commence, the operator  18  simply uses the carriage assembly handle  66  to exert a pushing force upon carriage assembly  46  which in turn causes the downright member  40  and the orbiting boom member  34  to rotate or revolve around the wrapping station  14  at which a palletized load or product  12  is located so as to cause wrapping of the palletized load or product  12  by means of the stretch film being dispensed from the roll of stretch film  82 . The downright member  40  defines, in effect, a circular path or locus  94 , and during such movement of the carriage assembly  46  and the roll of stretch film  82  along such circular path or locus  94 , the operator  18  can also easily move the carriage assembly upwardly or downwardly so as to achieve complete wrapping of the palletized load or product  12  disposed at the wrapping station  14 . Such upward or downward movement of the carriage assembly  46 , simultaneous with the rotational or revolutionary movement of the carriage assembly  46  along the circular path or locus  94 , is of course readily achieved due to the weight-balanced mode established in connection with the carriage assembly  46  by means of the counterweight  86  and its attachment to the carriage assembly  46 . It is lastly noted that while the operator  18  has been depicted as walking in a counterclockwise direction as illustrated in FIG. 2 a , it is to be appreciated that the operator  18  can likewise walk and therefore achieve wrapping of the palletized load or product  12  in a clockwise manner. 
     Obviously, many variations and modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.