Patent Publication Number: US-2012037519-A1

Title: Packaging unit comprising insulating material

Description:
The invention relates to a packaging unit comprising: an insulating material, and, in particular, high-temperature wool, the wool being preferably formed from a mineral fibrous raw material, and a wrapper made of a film or the like. 
     The transport and storage of insulating materials presents several problems associated with the material bulkiness and the requirement for increased amounts of transport and storage space. Another problem arises from the fact that such materials must be handled carefully during packaging because the internal fiber structure of the products must be preserved in order to maintain the desired insulating effect. 
     It is one goal of this invention to provide a packaging unit of this type, which would require significantly less transport and storage space without destroying the inner fiber structure thereof, all of which would translate into enormous cost savings, especially with respect to transportation costs. 
     These tasks are achieved with a packaging unit having the features as in claim  1 . 
     Further embodiments of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims. 
     A characteristic of the packaging unit according to the present invention is the special way of rolling the insulating material, which incurs space savings of up to 20% compared to conventional insulating materials, which are stacked in sheets or rolled into rolls. The subsequent compression of the packing unit achieves further space savings, which then amounts to about 50% space savings compared to conventional insulating materials. This space saving arrangement results in substantially lower warehousing and transport costs because the available space can be better utilized, and twice as much of the insulating material can be stacked on a pallet or the like and can be transported on a truck and/or in a container. 
     After the release of the insulating material by opening of the packaging unit, i.e., after removing the surrounding foil, the insulating material expands again as is customary according to industry standards. Although approximately 3-5% volume is lost (relative to the initial expanded state), the benefits are tremendous due to the significantly lower transportation costs, and the loss can be neglected. 
    
    
     
       Additional advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description on the basis of the exemplary embodiments illustrating the invention and shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows a top view of the packing unit comprising the insulating material rolled up into a bale and foil prior to compression, 
         FIG. 2  shows a top view of the packing unit comprising the insulating material rolled up into a bale and foil after compression, 
         FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of a storage and transportation unit comprising a palette with multiple layers, stacked one above the other, of packaging units rolled up into rolls (related art), and 
         FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of a storage and transportation unit comprising a palette with multiple layers, stacked one above the other, of packaging units rolled up into bales and compressed. 
     
    
    
     With reference to the figures, the packaging unit  1  comprises an insulating material  2 , in particular, made of a high-temperature wool comprising a mineral fibrous raw material, rolled up into bales  3  comprising long sections  4  and round short sections  5 , wherein the insulating material  2  is an elongated strip in an unpackaged state. The rolled up bale  3  (see especially  FIG. 1 ) is provided with a wrapper  6  made of foil. 
     To roll up of the insulating material  2 , a roll-up template  7  is preferably inserted into the bale  3  and is disposed on the first straight long section  4   a.    
     The bale  3 , rolled in this way, provides, as mentioned, space savings of up to 20% compared to conventional insulating materials that are stacked as sheets or rolled up into rolls. To increase the space savings by up to 50%, the packaging unit  1  is compressed after being rolled up such that a smaller and close-to-rectangular cross-section of the packaging unit  1  is formed (see  FIG. 2 ). The opening of the wrapper  6 , which is preferably formed as a sack made of foil, is sealed after compression. 
     The compression of the packing unit  1  can be performed, for example, by a mechanical device or by creating a vacuum, wherein the creation of a vacuum and the subsequent closing or welding of the wrapper  6  formed as a sack, the packaging unit  1  or, as the case may be, the insulating material  2  remains in a compressed state. 
       FIG. 4  shows a storage and transport unit  8  comprising a palette  9  with a plurality of stacked layers  10  of the inventive packaging units  1  rolled up into bales and compressed. In this figure, it is clearly visible that twice as many packaging units  1  (of this invention) can be stored and transported as compared to the number of the packaging units  15  (of the related art) shown in  FIG. 3  and contained in the storage and transport units  11 , which include a palette  12  with multiple stacked layers  13  of the packaging units  15  rolled up into rolls  14 . 
     For example, a container can be loaded with 20 storage and transport units  8 ,  11 , i.e., a container with the storage and transport units  11 , containing packaging units  15  (of the related art) rolled up into rolls  14  can hold 480 rolls (20 storage and transport units  11  each with 4 layers each with 6 rolls  14 ). In contrast, a container with the storage and transport units  8  comprising packaging units  1  (of this invention) rolled up into bales  3  and compressed, can hold 960 rolls (20 storage and transport units  11  each with 4 layers each with 12 rolls  14 ). 
     REFERENCE LIST 
     
         
           1 . Packaging unit 
           2 . Insulating material of  1   
           3 . Bales of  2   
           4 . Straight long sections of  3   
           4   a . First straight long section of  3   
           5 . Round short sections of  3   
           6 . Wrapper of  2  or of  1   
           7 . Roll-up template 
           8 . Storage and transport unit ( FIG. 4 ) 
           9 . Palette of  8  ( FIG. 4 ) 
           10 . Layers of  1  or of  2  ( FIG. 4 ) 
           11 . Storage and transport unit ( FIG. 3 ) 
           12 . Palette of  11  ( FIG. 3 ) 
           13 . Layers of  15  ( FIG. 3 ) 
           14 . Rolls of  15   
           15 . Packaging unit ( FIG. 3 )