FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
PATENTS RULES, 2003
(COMPLETE SPECIFICATION)
TITLE OF INVENTION - "An efficient machine to provide smooth seal on the side of objects going through shrink wrapping or shrink bundling process."
NAME OF APPLICANT - Clearpack India Pvt. Ltd.
NAME OF INVENTOR - Mr. S. V. George
ADDRESS OF APPLICANT - Shrenuj House, A-7, Road No. 5,
M.I.D.C., Andheri (East), Mumbai - 400 093, Maharashtra, India.
The following specification particularly describes the nature of the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for shrink film wrapping of any object, in which the invention closes the thermoplastic film wrap on the side of an object by attempting an envelope- style fold using guide plates to fold up the bottom film over the top film and sealing the layers together using high power hot air sealing system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Shrink film packaging products are designed to keep contents dry and protected, whether they are destined for containers or simply placed on a flatbed for transportation. Fast and easy to use, shrink film packaging products are relatively inexpensive and offer an excellent labor saving option over other products.
Bundle Shrink (Sleeve Wrap, Over Wrap) is the process where items are collated wrapped in shrink film then conveyed through a shrink tunnel where the film is shrunk skin tight. Polyethylene or alternate synthetic film wrappings are commonly used in the wrapping process to protect and water proof goods before transportation.
The existing process of shrink wrapping involve the use of heat to shrink the film around the object and also results in an irregular seal. This sealing process uses more film and in some systems additional mechanisms is required to cut away the extra wrapping around the object. Also because the heat causes the film to shrink around the object the wrap does not cover the complete object leaving typical "builseye" openings on the sides. The bulls eye openings are a weak spot in the wrap and also leave the wrapped object only partially protected.
The proposed invention not only overcomes the various limitations of the existing shrink wrap mechanisms but can also be configured to achieve special requirements of packing.
Some existing inventions are following-
ln United States Patent US7918342/Indian patent application I763/CHE/2010 A wherein the
invention relates to a protective and packaging wrapper for a container, the wrapper being

constituted by a sleeve of heat-shrink plastics material for shrinking onto the container, said sleeve being obtained from a film that is folded in half and looped by bonding together two corresponding end zones. In accordance with the invention, the film constituting the sleeve is opaque to light over its entire area with the exception of a window zone, and the above-mentioned window zone is covered on the outside face of the sleeve by a detachable adhesive strip that is opaque to light, removal of said adhesive strip giving access to the window zone and making it possible to observe the substance present inside the container directly by eye.
In US3696580 wherein the invention relates to a shrink film packaging method by which articles intended for shipment by common carrier or to be sent through the mail may be wrapped so as to be protected from the usual and normal effects of handling. Articles to be wrapped are loaded onto a cardboard or plastic tray which is placed between the folds of two layers of material. The inner layer of material surrounding the tray and articles thereon is a special cushioning material which comprises closely spaced air bubbles formed by two sheets of polyethylene with air pockets formed there between. The outer layer of material is a shrink film and a sealer is utilized to form sealed edges around the tray and articles to form a package. The excess wrapping material is trimmed simultaneously as it is being sealed and the package is directed to a heat tunnel where the heat causes shrinkage of the outer shrink film which in turn causes the air in at least some of the bubbles of the inner material to be compressed to a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure.
In United States Patent 4319443 Wherein A machine in which a wrapping film extends across a path in which articles to be packaged are moved. The film is drawn from supply rolls above and below the path as an article or group of articles is moved along the path. The film is brought together and sealed behind the article or group of articles to form a tube, the tube is severed from the remaining film, and the remaining film is sealed together. The tube is then thermally shrunk. A cutting and sealing bar movable along a path inclined at an acute angle with the conveying path in part wraps the film about the article or group of articles, and severs and seals the film. An upright frame carries and guides the cutting and sealing bar and is adjustable about a pivot in the plane of the conveying path to vary the angle at which the cutting and sealing bar moves with respect to the conveying path. A film supply roll is carried by the frame so the path of the film from the supply roll relative to the frame is independent of the frame adjustment.

The force with which the cutting and sealing bar is driven is reduced during lowering of the bar to avoid damage or injury if movement is obstructed. An article pusher positively advances articles for wrapping past the initial plane of the wrapping film and the path of the cutter bar movement, under control of an electric eye that prevents infeed of a subsequent article or group of articles until a preceding wrapping cycle is complete.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a quick and efficient wrapping mechanism for objects to achieve a smooth and envelope like packing and thereby reduce the amount of films used in wrapping.
In one aspect, the invention is to provide commercially viable and efficient system.
Another aspect of the present invention is that this new system does not employ any moving parts such as heated rollers or thereof to achieve the seal and thus require much less maintenance and higher reliability.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is that it needs less film compared to the other methods. Thus giving cost savings in packaging material.
Another aspect of the present invention is that it gives a better finish to the pack. There is no need to cut excess film and still achieve a good finish for the pack.
Another aspect of the present invention is that it gives an envelope style packing to the materials.
Another aspect of the present invention is that it provides all round packing of the object with no openings in the wrap.
Another aspect of the present invention is that it can be configured to achieve bull's eye pattern openings.
Another aspect of the present invention is that sealing is a continuous process and does not require the object to be stopped for the sealing operation.
Another aspect of the present invention is that, it provides tamper-evident protection.

Another aspect of the present invention is that, there is no requirement for compressed air.
Another aspect of the present invention is that, it can handle variety of size / shapes.
Another aspect of the invention is that the present invention can be configured to use either a automatic conveyor belt system or manual effort to propel the object through the packing mechanism.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in greater detail herein below, with particular reference to the accompanying Drawings.
Figure 1 shows the various constituent parts of the invention.
Figure 2 shows the top film folding guide mechanism.
Figure 3 shows the bottom film folding mechanism.
Figure 4 shows the air gun mechanism used to seal the envelope like overlapped edge of the top film edge and bottom film edge.
The Drawings show only those details essential to an understanding of the present invention, the placing of the equipment employed in its context (which is well known to a person skilled in the art) having been omitted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention will now be described in detail in connection with certain preferred and optional embodiments. So that various aspects thereof may be more fully understood and appreciated.
The term "shrink film" is broadly applied to a family of plastic films that shrink when heat is applied to them. The invention relates to a shrink wrapping or shrink bundling of several units of similar objects such as bottles etc. The film packaging is particularly useful so as to protect objects from the usual and normal effects of handling during transportation and storage. This kind of packaging is used for packing a variety of consumer and industrial products. Its applicable in different industries like food & beverage, confectionery, cosmetic, household goods, pharmaceutical, electrical and many more.
The basic method of Shrink wrap is that shrink-wrap is a material made up of polymer plastic film. When heat is applied it shrinks tightly over whatever it is covering. Heat can be applied with a hand held heat gun (electric or gas) or the product and film can pass through a heat tunnel on a conveyor.
The most commonly used shrink wrap is polyolefin. It is available in a variety of thicknesses, clarities, strengths and shrinks ratios. Specifically Thermoplastic polyolefin's are used which can be polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polymethylpentene (PMP), polybutene-1 (PB-1) thereof. Most preferably polyethylene (PE).
According to the invention, the invention forms part of the shrink bundling system where the object to be wrapped is already covered with a thermoplastic film on the four lateral sides of the object while the two sides in the perpendicular directions remain open. The proposed systems folds the cover film used for shrink bundling and seal it so that there are no open ends.
The proposed invention is used to provide a smooth envelope like seal the film on the open sides. This is achieved by a mechanism which primarily consists of a conveyor, top folding guides, bottom film folding guide, and hot air sealer thereof. While the film covered object to be wrapped moves on this conveyor, the films at the open end of the packs are guided to form a fold which is then sealed using hot air. When the object with film approach the top folding guide forces the top film down over the side of the object and holds the top film folded over the sides while the bottom folding guide lifts the bottom film over the already folded top film.

Thus the top film is underneath the bottom film when the pack enters the sealing area where a hot air gun is used to merge the top and bottom film edges on the sides of the object forming a seal.
The arrangement of sealing by the proposed invention is very efficient and easy to handle. According to proffered embodiment, top folding mechanism is an integrated part of the system which operates when the object with film moves to the first section of the unit, where a pair of top folding guides pushes down the top film that extends beyond the pack so that it is flat against the side of the pack. A set of fiat bars support the film on top so that it does not come up when getting folded. The top film gets folded down as the pack moves forward when the film comes in contact with the top folding guides.
The bottom film folding mechanism forms the second section of the invention. This consists of the wedge shaped plate guide that does serves dual function of lifting up the bottom film and folding it over the previously folded top film and holding both in place while the object with film passes through this section. A cut-out is provided in these plates on either side so that the hot air sealer can blow hot air directly on the overlapped film on the side of the object for sealing them together.
The hot air sealer forms the third section of the invention. There are two hot air sealers, one on either side and is powered by high speed brushless compact motors. Each of these blowers is capable of heating air to more than the temperature needed for melting and sealing the PE film. The normal operating temperature is around 200 degrees Centigrade. These can be fitted with suitable nozzles to increase the sealing area based on the pack dimensions.
The wrapped and sealed object through the system can be sent through the heat tunnel to complete the shrink packaging process with the object completely covered without any "bullseye" and a clean and smooth edge on all the sides of the object. If required, the system can be configured to achieve packing with "bullseye" by deactivating the hot air sealers.
Also, the system can be adjusted for different width and height of object to be packed. The folding guides/plates are adjusted for the pack size irrespective of the width of film used. The film width chosen should be such that there is an overlap of minimum 75mm on top and bottom film after folding in order to achieve an envelope like seal on the sides.

Additionally the invention is that it can be used for irregular shaped objects as long as the top and bottom films overlap at the sides after the folding operation.
The packing speed depends on the hot air sealing system. It has been validated upto 30 bundles per minute but higher speeds can easily be achieved by using a longer sealing section.
ADVANTAGES
1. This system has improved reliability and reduces maintenance costs.
2. It needs less film thus giving cost savings in packaging material.
3. There is no need to cut excess film and still get a good finish for the pack.
4. It does not require the pack to be stopped for the sealing operation.
5. Adjustable working platform
6. Visual observation of sealing operation
7. Easy to work with one operator
8. Can handle variety of size and shapes

ABSTRACT
The disclosure relates to a quick and efficient wrapping mechanism for objects to achieve a smooth and envelope like packing and thereby reduce the amount of films used in wrapping.

CLAIMS,
We claim,
1. An efficient film wrapping machine comprises of conveyor, Top film folding guide, Bottom film folding guide, Conveyor belt, Hot Air Sealer thereof
2. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 1, wherein Shrink-wrap is a material of polyethylene film. When heat is applied it shrinks tightly over whatever it is covering. Heat can be applied with a hand held heat gun (electric or gas) or the product and film can pass through a heat tunnel on a conveyor.
3. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 1, wherein while the film covered object to be wrapped moves on this conveyor, the films at the open end of the packs are guided to form a fold which is then sealed using hot air.
4. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 3, wherein When the object with film approach the top folding guide forces the top film down over the side of the object and holds the top film folded over the sides while the bottom folding guide lifts the bottom film over the already folded top film.
5. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 4, wherein Thus the top film is underneath the bottom film when the pack enters the sealing area where a hot air gun is used to merge the top and bottom film edges on the sides of the object forming a seal.
6. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 5,wherein it is to provide a quick and efficient wrapping mechanism for objects to achieve a smooth and envelope like packing and thereby reduce the amount of films used in wrapping.
7. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 2, wherein that it gives a better finish to the pack. There is no need to cut excess film and still achieve a good finish for the pack.
8. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 1, wherein this new system does not employ any moving parts such as heated rollers or thereof to achieve the seal and thus require much less maintenance and higher reliability, it provides tamper-evident protection.

9. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 1, wherein sealing is a continuous process and does not require the object to be stopped for the sealing operation.
10. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 3, wherein it gives an envelope style packing to the materials, it can be used for irregular shaped objects as long as the top and bottom films overlap at the sides after the folding operation. It provides all round packing of the object with no openings in the wrap.
11. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 1, wherein it can be configured to achieve bull's eye pattern openings.
12. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 1, wherein it can be configured to use either a automatic conveyor belt system or manual effort to propel the object through the packing mechanism.
13. An efficient film wrapping machine of claim 1, wherein there is no requirement for compressed air.