GB2330345A - Edge protector for roll of sheet steel - Google Patents

Abstract

A protector suitable for protecting an edge of an article such as a roll of steel comprises an elongate web member 1 having a series of tabs 6 along one edge, each tab being foldable about a crease line 7 to extend at substantially a right angle to the main part 3 of the member, and each tab being pitched relative to its neighbours sufficiently such that on flexing of the part 3 bringing edges of neighbouring tabs towards one another the edges of the tabs do not come into abutment but instead become partially overlapped. The tabs 6 and crease lines 7 thus lie in spaced, substantially parallel planes 9. The member 1 may be formed from corrugated plastics with the corrugations extending in direction A.

Description

EDGE PROTECTOR ELEMENT The present invention relates to an edge protector element.

In particular, the invention relates to an edge protector for fitting to a corner at the intersection of a curved surface with a second surface. The invention also relates to a method of covering or protecting an edge portion or corner of an article.

The corners and adjacent edges of many articles are vulnerable to damage, particularly during transportation.

In order to prevent such damage, most industrial products are protected by packaging material, arranged to fit over and protect their corners and edges.

Coils or rolls of sheet steel are covered in protective packaging, prior to being shipped from the steel mills where they are produced. Several forms of edge protector, suitable for application to the edges of coils or rolls of sheet steel have been proposed in the past.

Recent proposals include the edge protectors described in International Patent Application Nos. WO 94/29195 and WO 94/29196, which each comprise a pair of cover portions disposed about a crease line, wherein one of said cover portions is in the form of a flexible elongate web and the other comprises an array of relatively moveable flap or tooth portions arranged along the web in the direction of its elongation.

A variation upon this design is disclosed in WO 95/35248.

In this variation, the edge protector is in a form of a longitudinally extending element consisting of two webs extending from a crease line, wherein one of the webs is split into a plurality of tabs and the other is a simple unbroken web. In order to fit such a cover to the end of a roll of steel, neighbouring tabs are caused to overlap and the unbroken web is flexed and brought into covering contact with the curved surface of the roll, leaving the overlapped tabs covering the flat end surface of the roll. Because it requires a fitter to manipulate each of the tabs out of the path of its neighbour while, at the same time, bending the web around the roll of steel, this fitting procedure is difficult, inconvenient and time consuming. The degree of difficulty and inconvenience is such that operatives often fail to fit this form of protector correctly. For example, through inadvertence, adjacent tabs can be allowed to come into abutment, and, thus, cause the protector, to become deformed or displaced. Also, in the case of large rolls of steel, more than one operative may be required to manipulate the protector into place. WO 95/35248 provides no insight as to how these difficulties can be overcome.

It is an object of the present invention to improve upon the edge protector described in WO 95/35248. The present invention, thus, provides an edge protector for protecting an edge of an article such as a roll of steel, comprising a web member and an array of tabs, each tab extending from a crease line formed at a margin of the web member, wherein the protector is formed with each tab pitched relative to its neighbour sufficiently such that the web member can be flexed, sufficiently to bring neighbouring and unoverlapped tabs into an overlapping relationship, without said neighbouring tabs coming into flex resisting abutment.

An advantage of the present invention is that the web can be flexed and the tabs caused to overlap without any need for each tab to be individually manipulated out of the path of its neighbour, thus allowing an edge protector in accordance with the present invention to be easily and simply applied to the edge of a roll of steel, or other coiled material.

Preferably, the tabs are defined by a plurality of substantially equal length cut lines. In a preferred arrangement, a crease line at the root of each tab extends between a pair of cut lines defining the tab.

Said crease line, preferably, extends from an intermediate location on the first of said pair of cut lines, to a second location on the second of said pair of cut lines wherein, relative to the position of said intermediate location on said first cut line, said second location is displaced towards the root of said second cut line.

In an embodiment, each tab lies in one of an array of substantially parallel spaced planes and, preferably, the crease line at the root of each tab lies in the plane of that tab.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method of protecting the edge of a roll of material, preferably a roll of steel, comprising applying thereto an edge protector in accordance with the first aspect of the invention.

In a third aspect, the invention provides an article having a curved surface, which is preferably a roll of steel, to which the edge protector of the first aspect of the invention is applied.

Preferably, the edge protector is formed from a corrugated material, preferably a corrugated plastic resin material, such as polypropylene or an ethylene/polypropylene co-polymer. In embodiments where the cover is formed from a corrugated material it is supplied, preferably, in elongate strips with the corrugations extending alone the length thereof. When supplied in this way, sections of cover can be cut to the length required to fit into or over the corner, which it is wished to cover.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of a protector in accordance with the present invention in a flexed position, as if applied to a roll of steel; Figure 2 is a schematic detail of a part of the protector shown in Figure 1, but in a relaxed position, before application; and Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the protector shown in Figure 1.

The cover 1 shown in the Figures, is formed from a corrugated polyethylene/polypropylene-polymer extrusion, with the corrugations extending length-wise along the cover 1 and in the direction of arrows A. The cover 1 comprises first and second flanges 3 and 4. The second flange upstands from the first flange 3, along one of the latter's long edges, or margins, to form a substantially right-angled corner 5.

The second flange 4 is cut into and consists of an array of tabs 6, each formed between a pair of cut lines 8 and upstanding from a crease line 7 formed at the junction of each tab 6 and the first flange 3. As can be seen in Figure 2, the crease lines 7 and, hence, the tabs 6 are pitched so that the tabs 6 and crease lines 7 lie in a plurality of spaced, but substantially parallel planes 9.

The cover 1 is manufactured from a strip of corrugated polyethylene/polypropylene board, available from Corrugated Plastic Products Ltd of Ringwood, Hampshire as twin-wall polypropylene board, which is cut and bent, while being heated, to the above described shape, using conventional processing techniques.

In use, the cover 1 can be bent into the shape shown in Figures 1 and 2 around the end of a roll of steel or other curved surface. As the first flange 3 is caused to so bend, by virtue of their pitch, adjacent tabs 6 automatically overlap one another in the manner shown in Figures 1 and 3.

When for use in protecting rolls of sheet steel, the cover 1 is formed from twin-wall polypropylene (polyethylene/polypropylene co-polymer) board, having a material grade of 2/1000gsm, and is supplied in lOOm reels, ready to be cut to the required length.

Claims (13)

1. Claims 1. An edge protector for protecting an edge of an article such as a roll of steel, comprising a web member and an array of tabs, each tab extending from a crease line formed at a margin of the web member, wherein the protector is formed with each tab pitched relative to its neighbour sufficiently such that the web member can be flexed, sufficiently to bring neighbouring and unoverlapped tabs into an overlapping relationship, without said neighbouring tabs coming into flex resisting abutment.
2. 2. An edge protector as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the tabs are defined by a plurality of substantially equal length cut lines.
3. 3. An edge protector as claimed in either of the preceding claims, wherein a crease line at the root of each tab extends between a pair of cut lines defining the tab.
4. 4. An edge protector as claimed in Claim 3, wherein said crease line extends from an intermediate location on the first of said pair of cut lines, to a second location on the second of said pair of cut lines.
5. 5. An edge protector as claimed in Claim 4, wherein, relative to the position of said intermediate location on said first cut line, said second location is displaced towards the root of said second cut line.
6. 6. An edge protector as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein each tab lies in one of an array of substantially parallel spaced planes
7. 7. An edge protector as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the crease line at the root of each tab lies in the plane of that tab.
8. 8. An edge protector as claimed in any of the preceding claims, formed from a corrugated material.
9. 9. An edge protector as claimed in Claim 8, wherein said corrugated material is a corrugated plastic resin material, such as polypropylene or an ethylene/polypropylene co-polymer.
10. 10. An edge protector as claimed in either of Claims 8 and 9, wherein the protector comprises elongate strips of the corrugated material with the corrugations extending along the length thereof.
11. 11. An edge protector, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
12. 12. A method of protecting the edge of a roll of material, comprising applying an edge protector as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 11 thereto.
13. 13. An article having a curved surface to which an edge protector as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 11 is applied.