Patent Publication Number: US-2015075040-A1

Title: Display item slide

Description:
THIS INVENTION relates to a display item slide for display items, in particular slides for single sheet calendars. It further relates to equipment for manufacturing display item slides, a method of manufacturing display item slides and a display item slide manufactured using the equipment or by means of the method. 
     According to the invention there is provided equipment for manufacturing a display item slide having a predetermined length, which includes
         a first feed arrangement for feeding sheet material, in use, from a roll thereof that has a width substantially equal to the length of the display item slide;   a parting means for parting a narrow strip of material from a free end of the roll; and   a forming arrangement for forming the strip to a predetermined profile.       

     Further according to the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a display item slide having a predetermined length, which includes
         providing a roll of sheet material that has a width substantially equal to the length of the display item slide;   parting a narrow strip of material from a free end of the roll; and   forming the strip to a predetermined profile.       

     Still further the invention extends to a display item slide which has been manufactured by means of the equipment of the invention or in accordance with the method of the invention. 
     The display item slide may have a hanger. Thus the equipment may include a second feed arrangement for feeding a ribbon of hanger feedstock from a supply thereof, a shaping means for shaping a hanger from the said ribbon and an attaching arrangement for attaching the hanger to an intermediate formed display item slide blank. 
     The hanger may be attached to the blank by means of a staking or riveting operation. 
     It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the blank is formed from a narrow strip that has a longitudinal axis. Thus the display item slide may be formed to have a longitudinal channel with a first end and second end and a longitudinal bend extending from the first end to the second end. Thus, it may have a first bend portion and a second bend portion joined by the longitudinal bend, the first and second bend portions each having respective interior confronting surfaces adapted to receive an edge of the display item therebetween and respective exterior surfaces. The second bend portion may be wider than the first bend portion such that an end profile of slide is generally J-shaped The hanger may be generally centrally fast with the second bend portion and may be secured to the interior surface of the second bend portion. 
     A pair of bulges may also be formed that project from the first bend portion. They may preferably project from the exterior surface of the first bend portion. 
     The slides may be of metal, in particular mild steel, and the exterior surfaces of the first and second bend portions may be coated. 
     The parting means may conveniently be a guillotine. 
     The forming arrangement may operate in a press forming manner and may comprise a former and an anvil. The strip may be formed to have the profile described above in a single operation. 
     Preferably the forming arrangement may be transversely downstream of the parting means, such that a strip of material resulting from the parting operation is displaced transversely from the parting means to the forming arrangement. 
     Similarly, the attaching arrangement for attaching the hanger to the blank provided, in use, by the forming arrangement may also be transversely downstream of the forming arrangement, such that the blank is displaced transversely from the forming arrangement to the attaching arrangement. 
     In addition, the hanger feed arrangement and shaping means may be located transversely of the attaching arrangement, on the other side thereof to the forming arrangement. 
     The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  shows a schematic side view of equipment for manufacturing display item slides in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows schematically, in plan view, various stages in the method of manufacturing the display item slides; 
         FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of a display item slide manufactured with the equipment and in accordance with the method of the invention; and 
         FIG. 4  shows schematically, on an enlarged scale, a side view profile of the display item slide. 
     
    
    
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , reference numeral  10  generally indicates an embodiment of equipment, in accordance with the invention, for manufacturing display item slides, one of which is shown in  FIG. 3  by reference numeral  12 . As indicated above, the display item slide may particularly be used to provide a rim for single sheet calendars, such that the slides are also referred to as calendar rims. 
     Thus, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the equipment  10  includes a first feed arrangement  14  for feeding sheet material  16  from a roll  18 , a straightening unit  20 , a parting means in the form of a guillotine  22  for cutting off narrow end portions from a free end of the sheet material  16  to provide narrow strips  24 , a forming arrangement comprising a press  26  for forming the strips  24  to provide blanks  28 , being the formed strips  24 , which have a predetermined profile (as discussed hereinbelow), a second feed arrangement  30  for feeding a narrow ribbon  32  of plastic hanger material from a roll  34  thereof, a shaping means in the form of a punch  36  for punching hangers  38  from the ribbon  32  and an attaching arrangement comprising a staking unit  40  for staking the hangers  38  to the blanks  28 . The equipment also has displacing devices  42 ,  44  and  46  for displacing the strips  24 , the blanks  28  and the hangers  38 , respectively. 
     It is to be noted that the roll  18  has a width that is equal to the length of the desired display item slide. Thus, the roll  18  has a width of between 175 mm and 760 mm in accordance with the length of the desired display item slide to be manufactured. It will thus be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the equipment  10  is designed for the longest display item slide that is intended to be manufactured and also to accommodate rolls that have a smaller width to be able also to manufacture display item slides that are shorter. It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that wastage is, accordingly, significantly reduced. 
     Conventionally the sheet material  16  will be of black plate or tin plate mild steel and will have a thickness of between 0.19 mm and 0.21 mm. 
     The guillotine  22  will, conventionally, be set to provide strips  24  with a width of between 17 mm and 19 mm. 
     It will be appreciated that the strips  24  and blanks  28  have a longitudinal axis, as do the guillotine  22 , press  26  and staking unit  40 , and that the displacing units  42  and  44  move them transversely from the guillotine  22  to the press  26  and from the press  26  to the staking unit  40 , as indicated by arrows  50 . Further, the displacing unit  46  moves the hangers  38  to the staking unit  40  from an opposite side to the displacing unit  44 , in a direction  52  that is longitudinal with respect to the hangers  38  themselves, but also transversely with respect to the staking unit  40 . It will also be appreciated that the manufactured display item slides  12  are also removed transversally, in the same direction at which the blank  28  was fed, underneath the hanger forming station, as indicated by arrow  54 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , it will be seen that the blank  28  has a longitudinal channel  56  with a first end  58  and second end  60  and a longitudinal bend  62  extending from the first end  58  to the second end  60 . Thus, it has a first bend portion  64  and a second bend portion  66  joined by the longitudinal bend  62 . The first and second bend portions  64 ,  66  each have respective interior confronting surfaces  68  adapted to receive, in use, an edge of a display item (not shown) therebetween and respective exterior surfaces  70 . The second bend portion  66  may be wider than the first bend portion  64  such that an end profile of the blank  28  is generally J-shaped The hanger  38  is generally centrally fast with the second bend portion  66  and is secured to the interior surface  68  of the second bend portion  66  by rivets  72  formed from the material of the second bend portion  66  by the staking unit  40 . Further as shown in  FIG. 3 , the hangers  38  have holes  74 . 
     It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that single sheets of paper or the like are very often bound at both ends. Thus, at an upper end of the sheet a display item slide  12  with a hanger  38  is used and, at the bottom end a display item slide without a hanger  38 , which is the blank  28 . Thus, this specification must be understood to mean that the blanks  28  also constitute display item slides in accordance with the invention. 
     Still further, those skilled in the art will understand that the shaping of the hanger and the staking thereof to the blank could be performed in one operation at a single station, and that the parting of the strip and the forming thereof to be a blank may also be performed at the same station, in a single operation or in separate operations.