The present invention relates to a system for the vertical packaging of webbing rolls. Webbing rolls are wound rolls of film, sheet or other material that for the purposes of this invention must be shipped from point of manufacture to an end user at a distant destination. The webbing material can be paper, plastic film, yarn or the like.
No matter what the material is shipped, there have been recurring problems with damage to the webbing material during transit. This damage is often encountered during shipment by common carrier. As an example, stretch wrap film is typically shipped in multi-roll unitized loads having the rolls positioned horizontally in the load. Plastic foam cradles support the rolls at each end. This packaging method has been troublesome for a number of reasons. The horizontal arrangement creates an odd-sized load requiring that a non-standard pallet be used for shipment. These non-standard pallets cannot be reused and are an expensive item for the end user to dispose of properly. Moreover, the plastic cradles cannot be reused and can be extremely difficult to recycle. The cradles, though light, are bulky and expensive to manufacture and ship. Yet another problem with the horizontal cradle method is that the stretch wrap film load is subject to damaging impact during shipment. The cradles provide inadequate protection from such impacts so that the film is subject to nicks, tears, or abrasions that can penetrate several layers of the roll. The film can be weakened to the point that when put to use and stretched to well over 100% of its original length catastrophic failures can result. These failures reduce customer confidence in the product and cause expensive down time while the problem is corrected. Also the damaged portion of the film must be discarded effectively reducing the amount of useable film available from a full roll and indirectly increasing the cost to use the film.
Several methods are known to address the problem of film packaging for transport. U.S. Patent No. 4,033,455 to Robison describes a container for the storage and shipment of plastic sheet or film. The container has three sides and at least one end with a plurality of openings therein adapted for an end of each roll to be held in place. At the opposing bottom end the rolls are supported by a plurality of rows of cut-off, cone-shaped, knob-like upper extensions. The invention states that metal is preferably used for the sides and braces of the container.
Roden et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,487,918 describes a method of packaging thermal candles. The candles are poured into containers arranged in a tier on a pallet. As each tier of candles cools, it is used as the support means for the next tier of candles. The multiple tiers are strapped with banding material to form a load.
Rowland et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,677 describes a modular pallet and shipping tray for the shipping of yarn. The pallet is manufactured from high density polyethylene. It includes top and bottom surfaces having a repeating pattern of nubs upstanding from the top surface and a repeating pattern of depressions in the bottom surface. The nubs receive one end of the tubular core of the yarn rolls.
EPO application 0 067 656 describes a method of packaging rolls of polyvinyl butyral film between retainers which engage the ends of the roll cores. The invention uses frusto-conical retainer plugs located on an end member by an aperture sheet. The plugs have circumferential flanges and extend through the aperture sheet into the roll cores. The weight of the rolls is thus supported by the plugs on the flanges. Plugs and an aperture sheet are used in each end of the rolls of film.
Sowa et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,619 describes a shipping packaging system with at least one tier of vertically-stacked webbing rolls. The system utilizes pads having an inner set and an outer set of passages therein. The tubular core ends of the webbing rolls are intended to nest in the passages. The outer set of passages accommodates radial webbing roll movement and inhibits circumferential movement about the pad center.
Each of these inventions has disadvantages for long distance shipping of webbing rolls. Any kind of insert or plug used in the roll core will tend to become firmly lodged therein during shipment and could be quite difficult to remove when received by the end user. This problem would be particularly acute with vertically packaged rolls because the plug or insert would be driven into the roll core during shipment by the weight of the roll. Using a horizontal shipping position would address that problem but could lead to the odd-sized pallet problem described herein above.
Additionally, the polyethylene pallet of the '677 patent to Rowland et al. adds a great deal of weight to the load. The use of that pallet requires the inventory and storage of the pallet members causing increased administrative work and expense.
There remains a need for a packaging system which is lightweight, provides protection to individual rolls and does not require the expensive handling of pallet components. Preferably such a packaging system would use components of standard size which could be disposed of quickly and at low cost.