Apparatus for automatically wrapping a load with a film of stretch material

Abstract

The apparatus for automatically wrapping a load with a film of stretch material includes a guide carriage including moving means, operable to move said guide carriage around a load to be wrapped; a column associated with said guide carriage and adapted to carry a reel of said film of stretch material, said reel being rotatable to release, in operation, said stretch material around said load to be wrapped; a control unit.

1 . An apparatus for automatically wrapping a load with a film of stretch material comprising
 a guide carriage, comprising moving means operable to move said guide carriage around a load to be wrapped;   a column associated with said guide carriage and capable of holding a reel of said film of stretch material, said reel being rotatable to release, in operation, said stretch material around said load to be wrapped;   radar sensor means associated with said guide carriage and/or with said column, said radar sensor means being configured to detect, instant by instant, data relating to the distance of said guide carriage from at least one obstacle, said at least one obstacle comprising said load to be wrapped;   a control unit configured to receive said data from said radar sensor means and to calculate instant by instant, based on said data, a predetermined steering angle that said guide carriage must follow.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said radar sensor means is configured to detect data relating to the distance of said guide carriage from said obstacle at least along a first direction (X), which is transverse to said guide carriage, and said radar sensor means comprises at least a first radar sensor having a visual field oriented along said first direction (X), towards said load to be wrapped. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein said radar sensor means configured to detect data relating to the distance of said guide carriage from said obstacle along a first direction (X), transversal to said guide carriage, comprises at least a first and a second radar sensor arranged side by side and oriented towards said load to be wrapped. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein said first and second radar sensors placed side by side and oriented towards said load to be wrapped are arranged at such a height as to detect at least an upper part of a device for supporting the load to be wrapped and/or a lower part of the same load to be wrapped placed on said support device. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said radar sensor means is configured to detect data relating to the distance of said guide carriage from said obstacle at least along a first direction (X), which is transverse to said guide carriage, and along a second direction (Z), which is substantially orthogonal to said first direction (X), said second direction (Z) being substantially vertical. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein said radar sensor means comprises at least a first radar sensor having a field of view oriented along said first direction (X), towards said load to be wrapped, and at least a second radar sensor having a visual field oriented upwards along said second direction (Z). 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein said radar sensor means is configured to detect data relating to the distance of said guide carriage from said obstacle at least along a third direction (Y), said third direction (Y) being substantially orthogonal to said first direction (X) and to said second direction (Z), and said radar sensor means comprises at least a third radar sensor having a field of view oriented along said third direction (Y). 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said radar sensor means is mounted at a side surface of said guide carriage adapted to face, in operation, said load to be wrapped. 
     
     
         9 . An apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein it comprises a support device associated with a side surface of said guide carriage, capable of supporting said radar sensor means. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a steering assembly, connected to said moving means, said steering assembly being controlled by said control unit based on said data transmitted by said radar sensor means. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said radar sensor means comprises a continuous wave radar sensor of the FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) type and/or a pulse radar sensor and/or a doppler radar sensor. 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said radar sensor means is of the 60 GHz pulse type. 
     
     
         13 . A method for automatically wrapping a load with a film of stretch material comprising the steps of
 a. arranging, in a work environment in which there is at least one load to be wrapped, an apparatus for automatically wrapping said load with a film of stretch material equipped with radar sensor means;   b. starting to wrap said film of stretch material around said load, and, at the same time,   c. detecting instant by instant data relating to the distance from at least one obstacle comprising said load to be wrapped, through said radar sensor means;   d. transmitting said data to a control unit;   e. controlling, instant by instant, the direction of movement of said apparatus around said load to be wrapped, by means of said control unit;   f. repeating said steps c-e until a wrapping cycle is completed.