The present invention relates to a method for wrapping a plurality of articles either loaded on a support, such as a pallet or a cardboard tray, or not.

Such a wrapping stabilizes the articles and renders easier the movement of the wrapped articles, such as palletized articles or articles arranged within a tray, in particular during loading and unloading into and out transport vehicles.

Conventional methods provide for stretch-wrapping around the palletized articles a plastic film unwound from a bobbin.

Nevertheless, disposal of this plastic film is typically burdensome and may cause serious environmental damages, if it is not properly done.

Furthermore, the plastic films are typically petrochemical products, so that not renewable raw materials are used for their production, which is not eco-sustainable.

On the other hand, the film must be tensioned by an external apparatus during its application in order to achieve a tight wrapping, implying further costs and burdens.

An object of the present invention is thus the provision of a wrapping method which overcomes the drawbacks of the ones of the prior art.

According to the present invention, this object is achieved by a method for wrapping a plurality of articles, comprising the steps of:

- forming a closed-loop structure either by attaching on a first face of a length of flexible material a face of at least one flat and rigid element and by attaching the opposite face of said flat and rigid element, to a second face of an end portion of the length of flexible material, so as said closed-loop structure is a closed- loop cover carrying the flat and rigid element, or by attaching both ends of a length of flexible material to respective parts of a support, so as said closed-loop structure is formed by a sequential assembly of said length of flexible material and said support, wherein at least one flat and rigid element is optionally attached on a first face of said length of flexible material,

- enclosing said plurality of articles within the closed-loop structure,

- folding the closed-loop structure either along the at least one flat and rigid element attached on the first face of the length of flexible material, if the at least one flat and rigid element is present, or along at least one of the parts of the support to which said ends of the length of flexible material are attached, and

- attaching a folded portion of the closed-loop structure to an adjacent surface of the closed- loop structure, so as said closed-loop structure tightly wraps said plurality of articles.

An advantage of the method of the invention resides in that it does not need an external tensioning apparatus, since the tensioning action is directly brought about by folding the portion of the closed-loop structure optionally carrying the flat and rigid element.

Preferably, but not exclusively, the materials used for wrapping may be obtained from renewable sources, and in particular said flexible material may be paper and/or said rigid material may be corrugated board.

Accordingly, the method of the invention may provide for using wrapping means consisting essentially of paper and cardboard or the like, which can be easily and inexpensively recycled together without any preliminary separation step, and not requiring any substantive amount of plastic material.

Additionally, the amount of paper and cardboard material used for wrapping the articles is comparatively low, further improving the eco-sustainability of the method of the invention.

According to a preferred embodiment, the method of the invention comprises the steps of:

- attaching, close to an end portion of the first face of the length of flexible material, a face of the at least one flat and rigid element,

- attaching the opposite face of said flat and rigid element to a second face of an opposite end portion of the length of flexible material, so that the closed-loop cover having a thickened cross- section in correspondence of the flat and rigid element sandwiched between said end portions of the length of flexible material is formed,

- enclosing said plurality of articles by the closed-loop cover,

- folding the closed-loop cover along the flat and rigid element attached to said end portions of the length of flexible material, and

- attaching said folded opposite end portion to an adjacent external surface of the closed-loop cover at least in terminal zones of said opposite end portion, so as said closed-loop cover tightly wraps said plurality of articles.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the method of the invention comprises the steps of:

- applying a first adhesive strip along the end portion of the first face of the length of flexible material,

- adhering on said first adhesive strip the face of the flat and rigid element which is a corrugated board strip having a second adhesive strip on the opposite face,

- adhering the second face of the opposite end portion of the length of flexible material to said second adhesive strip, so that the closed-loop cover having a thickened cross-section in correspondence of the adhered corrugated board strip sandwiched between said end portions of the length of flexible material is formed,

- applying a third adhesive strip on the external surface of the closed-loop cover in correspondence of said adhered corrugated board strip,

- enclosing said plurality of articles by the closed-loop cover, and

- folding the closed-loop cover along the adhered corrugated board strip, so as said third adhesive strip adheres to the adjacent portion of the external surface of the closed-loop cover which tightly wraps said plurality of articles.

According to a still further preferred embodiment, the method of the invention comprises the steps of:

- providing a blank of cardboard or corrugated board, wherein said blank includes a bottom panel delimited by first and second folding lines parallel to each other, and third and fourth folding lines parallel to each other and orthogonal to said first and second folding lines, wherein an end panel is attached to said bottom panel along each of said first and second folding lines, respectively, and a side panel is attached to said bottom panel along each of said third and fourth folding lines, respectively, and wherein a flap is attached to each side panel along fifth and sixth folding lines, respectively, which are parallel to said third and fourth folding lines,

- fixing opposite end portions of said length of flexible material to said flaps, respectively, so that said closed-loop structure is formed,

- enclosing said plurality of articles within the closed-loop structure,

- folding of 90° said side panels about the third and fourth folding lines, respectively, and said end panels about the first and second folding lines, respectively, and attaching said folded side panels to said end panels, so that a lateral wall substantially orthogonal to said bottom panel is formed by the side panels and end panels, and said lateral wall and bottom panel form said support,

- folding of 180° said flaps and the attached end portions of said flexible material about the fifth and sixth folding lines, respectively, forming respective folded portions so that said folded portions face a surface of the respective side panel, and

- fixing said folded portions to said surface of the respective side panel, so that said closed-loop structure tightly wraps said plurality of articles.

A further subject-matter of the present invention is constituted by a closed-loop cover, such as a hood, for use in embodiments of the above-captioned method. Such closed-loop cover is obtainable by adhering opposite ends of a length of flexible material to respective faces of a flat and rigid element extending transversally to said length of flexible material, wherein an adhesive strip is applied on an external surface of the closed-loop cover in correspondence of said flat and rigid element.

According to a preferred embodiment of the closed-loop cover of the present invention, this latter adhesive strip is a Velcro strip and a further adhesive Velcro strip of complementary nature is applied to an adjacent portion of the external surface of the closed-loop cover.

Such a closed-loop cover can thus be used several times until breakage, so as only at that time the constitutive material thereof may be recycled. This latter embodiment is thus even more eco-sustainable. A further subject-matter of the present invention is constituted by a closed-loop structure for use in further embodiments of the above-captioned method. Such closed-loop structure is obtainable by attaching opposite ends of a length of flexible material, such as paper, to respective faces of a support, which is a tray, of cardboard or corrugated board, and has at least a foldable portion, whose folding shorten the length of the loop.

Further advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the appended drawings, wherein: figures 1 to 7 are perspective schematic views illustrating successive steps of a first method according to the invention, figures 8 to 10 are perspective schematic views illustrating successive steps of a further method according to the invention and corresponding to figures 5 to 7, respectively, illustrating the first method, figures 11 to 15 are perspective schematic views illustrating successive steps of one more method according to the invention, figure 16 is a top plan view of a blank used in a further method according to the invention, figure 17 is a top plan view of a length of flexible material used in the further method according to the invention, and figures 18 to 24 are perspective schematic views illustrating successive steps of the further method according to the invention.

A first adhesive strip 10, which can be a glue strip or a double-sided adhesive tape, is applied (fig. 1) along an end portion 12 of a first face of a length to be cut from a bobbin 14 of flexible material.

As a matter of fact, this latter flexible material can e.g. be any paper of suitable strength and, in particular, have a mono-layer or pluri-layer structure, e.g., a structure including two layers of 100 g/m ² Kraft liner.

Then, a face of a flat element of rigid material, e.g. a corrugated board strip 16 having a second adhesive strip 18 on the opposite face, is adhered (fig. 2) on the first adhesive strip 10. Even the second adhesive strip 18 can be a glue strip or a double-sided adhesive tape. On the other hand, the corrugated board strip 16 can have a conventional structure consisting of an internal fluted corrugated sheet sandwiched between two external flat linerboards or the like. As illustrated, the corrugated board strip 16 is transversal to the length of flexible material and parallel to the end portion 12 thereof.

Successively, a second face of an opposite end portion 20 of the length of flexible material is adhered (fig. 3) to the second adhesive strip 18.

Hence, a cover in the form of a hood 22 having a closed-loop shape and a thickened crosssection in correspondence of the corrugated board strip 16 sandwiched between the end portions 12, 20 of the length of flexible material is formed.

A third adhesive strip 24 is further applied (fig. 4) on an external surface of the hood 22 in correspondence of the adhered corrugated board strip 16. Even the third adhesive strip 24 can be a glue strip or a double-sided adhesive tape.

The hood 22 is lowered from above (as indicated by arrows 25 in fig. 5) around a plurality of articles 26 loaded on a support which is a pallet 28, wherein the interface area between the pallet 28 and the bottom articles 26 can possibly be already wrapped by a plastic film (not illustrated in the figures). In any case, the amount of plastic material used is quite lower than the one used by conventional methods integrally wrapping the palletized articles with plastic film.

The articles 26 piled on the pallet 28 and forming a rectangular prism, are thus laterally enclosed (fig. 6) by the hood 22 which, due to the flexibility of the paper material, takes a shape corresponding to the one of the palletized articles 26. If the height of the hood 22 is greater than the one of the palletized articles 26, its upper portion can be simply folded on the top array of the palletized articles 26, so that hoods of various heights may be indifferently used.

Finally, the hood 22 is folded (as indicated by arrows 30 in fig. 6) along the adhered corrugated board strip 16, so as the third adhesive strip 24 adheres (fig. 7) to an adjacent portion of the external surface of the hood 22 which thus tightly wraps the plurality of articles 26 on the pallet 28. The adhesion is favored by applying a uniform pressure along the entire length of the strip 24. In this respect, it has to be emphasized that the tightening takes place contemporaneously throughout the height of the palletized articles 26 and thus allows greater uniformity than conventional methods involving wrapping several turns of stretch wrap film around the palletized articles 26 by sequentially proceeding upwards and/or downwards.

The wrapping is tight and durable until the wrapped articles 26 have to be accessed by tearing open or ripping off the hood 22, whose constitutive materials can then be recycled together due to their common cellulosic nature.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the third adhesive strip 24 may be a Velcro strip and a further adhesive Velcro strip of complementary nature is applied to an adjacent portion of the external surface of the hood 22. As it is well-known, the two complementary Velcro strips may be engaged/disengaged each time it is desired.

Hence, when the wrapped articles 26 have to be accessed, it is not necessary to tear open or rip off the hood 22, but it is sufficient to disengage the two complementary Velcro strips. Consequently, the hood 22 loosens and thus can easily be taken away from the palletized articles 26 without being damaged. The same hood 22 can successively be used several times for the same purpose until its constitutive material possibly breaks.

Figures 8 to 10 illustrate a further method according to the invention, wherein features equal or equivalent to the ones disclosed with reference to the method illustrated by the previous figures have the same reference number.

According to this latter method, the cover 22 as formed by the procedure illustrated by previous figures 1 to 4 is moved along a horizontal direction (see arrow 27 in fig. 8) in order to enclose a plurality of articles 26 which are cans arranged within a support 28, which is a cardboard tray having a bottom wall and a side wall.

The assembly of cans 26 and tray 28 substantially form a paralepidid whose base is constituted by the bottom wall of the tray 28. The cover 22 thus encloses the top surface of the cans 26, the bottom wall of the tray 28 and two opposite side walls of the paralepidid formed by the cans 26 arranged within the tray 28.

As according to the previously illustrated method, the cover 22 is folded (as indicated by arrows 30 in fig. 9) along the adhered corrugated board strip 16, so as the third adhesive strip 24 adheres (fig. 10) to an adjacent portion of the external surface of the cover 22 which thus tightly wraps the plurality of cans 26 arranged within the tray 28.

Figures 11 to 15 illustrate a further method according to the invention, wherein features equal or equivalent to the ones disclosed with reference to the methods illustrated by the previous figures have the same reference number.

According to this embodiment, a corrugated board strip 16 is attached (fig. 11) on a portion of a first face of a length of flexible material, such as paper, which portion is a center portion, or (in not illustrated embodiments) a portion close to an end of the length of flexible material. As in the previous embodiments, the strip 16 extends transversally to the length of flexible material throughout substantially the entire width thereof. Both ends 12, 20 of the length of flexible material are attached (fig. 12) by respective glue layers 32 to opposite side panels of a support 28, which is a cardboard tray having a bottom wall and a side wall, so as to form a hood thereon.

The sequential assembly of the length of flexible material carrying the strip 16 and the cardboard tray 28 constitutes a closed-loop structure which - as detailed below - is suitable for performing the same functions as the closed-loop cover of the previously disclosed embodiments.

First of all, articles, such as cans 26, can be placed (fig. 13) within the tray 28, so as they are enclosed by the closed-loop structure.

The closed-loop structure is then folded (fig. 14) along the strip 16 attached on the first face of the length of flexible material, and the folded portion of the closed-loop structure carrying the strip 16 is attached to an adjacent external surface 33 thereof (fig. 15). The tensioning of the flexible material due to the folding and consequent reduction of length brings about, as in the previous embodiments, the tightly wrapping of the cans 26 by the closed- loop structure now including also the tray 28.

Figures 16 to 24 illustrate a further method according to the invention, wherein features equal or equivalent to the ones disclosed with reference to the methods illustrated by the previous figures have the same reference number.

A flat monolithic blank 34 of cardboard or corrugated board is symmetrical in respect of two intersecting orthogonal axes 35, 37 (fig. 16) and includes a substantially rectangular bottom panel 36 delimited by first and second folding lines 38 parallel to each other, and third and fourth folding lines 40 parallel to each other and orthogonal to the first and second folding lines 38.

An end panel 42 is attached to the bottom panel 36 along each of the first and second folding lines 38, respectively, and a side panel 44 is attached to the bottom panel 36 along each of the third and fourth folding lines 40, respectively. A flap 46 is attached to each side panel 44 along fifth and sixth folding lines 48, respectively, which are parallel to the third and fourth folding lines 40.

A lateral wing 50 is attached to each end of each side panel 44 along respective marker lines 52 which are parallel to the first and second folding lines 38. Each lateral wing 50 is divided in two portions by a respective further marker line 54 which is parallel to the first and second folding lines 38. In not illustrated embodiments, the marker lines 52, 54 might be folding lines.

Opposite end portions 12, 20 of a length of flexible material (fig. 17), e.g. paper as in the previous embodiments, are attached, in particular glued, to the flaps 46, respectively, (fig. 18) of the blank 34, so that a closed-loop structure is formed (fig. 19). The attachment can take place on an internal or external surface of the flaps 46. The sides of the length of flexible material have respective oblong protrusions 45 in the mid portion thereof, which face the respective end panel 42. The side panels 44 with the attached flaps 46 are folded of 90° about the third and fourth folding lines 40, respectively, and a plurality of articles, such as cans 26, is then enclosed within an open volume defined by the closed-loop structure (fig. 20).

Successively (fig. 21), the lateral wings 50 are incurved and follow the profile of respective rounded comers of the bottom panel 36. The end panels 42 are then folded of 90° about the first and second folding lines 38, respectively, (fig. 22) and attached, in particular glued, to the folded side panels 44 through the incurved lateral wings 50, so that a continuous lateral wall substantially orthogonal to the bottom panel 36 is formed thereby.

In sum, the lateral wall and the bottom panel 36 constitute a support for the cans 26, which is analogous to the tray 28 of the former embodiment, but is formed during the wrapping method instead of being pre-formed. It has also to be noticed that the various panels and flaps of the tray 28 are flat and rigid so that - as will be highlighted below - the flaps 46 are equivalent to the flat and rigid element of the previous embodiments.

The flaps 46 with the attached ends 12, 20 of the length of flexible material hitherto remained substantially coplanar with the respective side panel 44 are then folded (fig. 23, see arrow 53) of 180° about the fifth and sixth folding lines 48, respectively, forming respective folded portions facing an external surface 33 of the respective side panel 44. In a not illustrated alternative embodiment, the folded portions might face an internal surface of the respective side panel.

Finally, (fig. 24) the folded portions formed by the flaps 46 and the attached end portions 12, 20 are attached, in particular glued, to the external surface 33 of the respective side panel 44 (depending on the face of the flaps 46 on which the end portions 12, 20 of the flexible material were previously attached, the flaps 46 or the end portions 12, 20 are attached to the surface 33). The tensioning of the flexible material due to the folding and attachment of the flaps 46 and consequent shortening of the length of the loop of the closed-loop structure brings about, as in the previous embodiments, the tightly wrapping of the cans 26 by the closed-loop structure including the tray 28 acting as a bottom support. In sum, the flaps 46, which are flat and rigid, play a role which is substantially analogous to the one played by the flat and rigid element of the previous embodiments.

Of course, the principles of the invention remaining the same, the details of construction and embodiments may be widely varied with respect to those described purely by way of example, without thereby departing from the claimed scope. E.g., the articles to be wrapped may be either loaded on a support, such as a pallet or a cardboard tray, or not. The flat element may be of any material which is suitably rigid, such as cardboard or corrugated cardboard and the like, and even plastic or metallic materials, and substantially maintains its configuration in the absence of meaningful external actions. The flat element may extend throughout the entire width of the length of paper or only a part, in particular a center part, thereof. The final attachment of the folded portion of the closed-loop structure to an adjacent portion thereof, which brings about the tight wrapping, may take place only in correspondence of the terminal zones or more extensively even throughout the entire length of the folded portion, and/or be done by any adhesive, glue, and mechanical fastening means, e.g. clamps of any material and the like. Furthermore, the closed-loop structure may carry additional flat elements longitudinally offset from each other, which allow an additional folding in correspondence of each of them and attachment to respective adjacent surfaces of the structure, so that the articles are even more tightly wrapped.