阅读说明：本技术 用于托盘负载的测量系统和方法 (Measurement system and method for pallet loads ) 是由 M·塞雷 M·瓦卡里 于 2018-04-05 设计创作，主要内容包括：与用塑料薄膜(50)包裹以形成托盘负载(110)的成组产品(100)相关联的测量系统(1)包括：支撑框架(2),其设置有用于所述成组产品(100)的支撑平面(31)；第一和第二检测模块(3、4),其容纳在支撑框架(2)内,并设置有第一和第二传感器装置(13、14),以检测和测量当托盘负载(110)移动和/或运输时作用在托盘负载(110)上的第一和第二物理量；处理模块(5),其包括第一和第二计算单元(6、7)以及第一和第二存储单元(17、18),它们位于支撑平面(31)上的插入产品(100)之间并且具有与其中一个产品(100)的尺寸和重量相当的尺寸和重量,所述第一和第二计算单元(6、7)、所述第一和第二存储单元(17、18)以及所述第一和第二检测模块(3、4)形成所述第一和第二物理量的第一和第二测量链(10、20)。(A measuring system (1) associated with a group of products (100) wrapped with a plastic film (50) to form a pallet load (110) comprises: a support frame (2) provided with a support plane (31) for the group of products (100); first and second detection modules (3, 4) housed within the support frame (2) and provided with first and second sensor means (13, 14) to detect and measure first and second physical quantities acting on the pallet load (110) when the pallet load (110) is moved and/or transported; -a processing module (5) comprising a first and a second calculation unit (6, 7) and a first and a second storage unit (17, 18) located between the inserted products (100) on the support plane (31) and having a size and a weight comparable to the size and the weight of one of the products (100), said first and second calculation unit (6, 7), said first and second storage unit (17, 18) and said first and second detection module (3, 4) forming a first and a second measuring chain (10, 20) of said first and second physical quantities.)

1. measuring system (1), said measuring system (1) being associated with a group of products (100), said measuring system (1) being wrapped with a plastic film (50) together with said group of products (100) to form a pallet load (110) and being arranged to measure a plurality of physical quantities acting on said pallet load (110) when the pallet load is moved and/or transported, said measuring system (1) comprising:

-a support frame (2) provided with a support plane (31) for the group of products (100);

-a first detection module (3) housed inside said supporting frame (2) and provided with first sensor means (13) to detect and measure a first physical quantity (a, ω) acting on said pallet load (110) with a first acquisition time (t 1);

-a second detection module (4) housed inside said supporting frame (2) and provided with second sensor means (14) to detect and measure a second physical quantity (t, p, u) acting on said pallet load (110) with a second acquisition time (t 2);

-a treatment module (5), said treatment module (5) being located on said supporting surface (31), being interposed between said products (100) and having a size and a weight comparable to the size and the weight of one of said products (100), said treatment module (5) comprising:

-a first calculation unit (6) connected to said first detection module (3) in order to receive and process data relating to said first physical quantity (a, ω) and to save said data on a first storage unit (17), said first calculation unit (6), said first storage unit (17) and said first detection module (3) forming a first measurement chain (10) of said first physical quantity (a, ω) with said first data acquisition time (t 1);

-a second calculation unit (7) connected to said second detection module (4) in order to receive and process data relating to said second physical quantity (t, p, u) and to save said data on a second storage unit (18), said second calculation unit (7), said second storage unit (18) and said second detection module (4) forming a second measurement chain (20) of said second physical quantity (t, p, u) with said second data acquisition time (t 2).

2. The measuring system (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said first detection module (3) comprises a first microprocessor (15), said first microprocessor (15) being suitable for receiving and processing the data obtained by said first sensor means (13) and sending said data to said first calculation unit (6) of said processing module (5), and wherein said second detection module (4) comprises a second microprocessor (16), said second microprocessor (16) being suitable for receiving and processing the data obtained by said second sensor means (14) and sending said data to said second calculation unit (7) of said processing module (5).

3. the measuring system (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the second detection module (4) comprises a third sensor device (19), said third sensor device (19) being connected to the second microprocessor (16) and being arranged to detect and measure the distance of the pallet load (110) from an external reference, in particular with a third data acquisition time (t3), said third sensor device (19) being comprised in the second measuring chain (20).

4. The measurement system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one calculation unit between the first calculation unit (6) and the second calculation unit (7) is programmed and arranged to process the data received from the first detection module (3) and the second detection module (4), respectively, in order to obtain processed and/or filtered data, in particular data processed in the frequency domain by means of a fourier transform, in order to be saved in the first storage unit (17) and the second storage unit (18), respectively.

5. The measurement system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the processing module (5) comprises a first power supply unit (26) for electrically powering the first measurement chain (10) and a second power supply unit (27) for electrically powering the second measurement chain (20).

6. The measuring system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said processing module (5) comprises a respective housing (25), said housing (25) being suitable for housing therein said computing unit (6, 7), said storage unit (17, 18) and a power supply unit (26, 27) of said measuring chain (10, 20).

7. Measuring system (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that each detection module (3, 4) comprises a respective container (23, 24), the respective container (23, 24) being in particular made of plastic material, the respective sensor device (13, 14) and the respective microprocessor (15, 16) being fixed inside the respective container (23, 24), said container (23, 24) being inserted and fixed inside a respective supporting element (32, 33) of said supporting frame (2).

8. Measuring system (1) according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that said first sensor means comprise a first sensor integrated unit (13), in particular an integrated electronic board provided with MEMS sensors, said first sensor integrated unit (13) being adapted to detect at least said first physical quantity of the kinematic type, in particular linear accelerations (a) along three orthogonal axes and angular velocities (ω) on three orthogonal axes.

9. Measuring system (1) according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that said second sensor means comprise a second sensor integrated unit (14), in particular an integrated electronic board provided with MEMS sensors, said second sensor integrated unit (14) being adapted to detect at least said second physical quantity of the type of environment, in particular temperature (t), pressure (p), humidity (u).

10. A measuring system (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that said third sensor means (19) comprise at least two proximity sensors (19a, 19b), said at least two proximity sensors (19a, 19b) being adapted to measure the distance (d1, d2) separating the pallet load (110) from the walls of the external environment along two substantially orthogonal axes.

11. Measuring system (1) according to claims 8 and 9, characterized in that said first sensor-integrated unit (13) and said second sensor-integrated unit (14) comprise respective integrated electronic boards provided with MEMS sensors comprising a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, humidity and temperature sensors and pressure sensors.

12. The measuring system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said calculation unit (6, 7) of said processing module (5) comprises a respective electronic computer having a single electronic board.

13. Method for measuring a physical quantity acting on a pallet load (110) when said pallet load (110) is moved and/or transported, said pallet load (110) being formed from a group of products (100) associated with a measuring system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims and being wrapped by a plastic film (50), said measuring method comprising:

-detecting and measuring a first physical quantity (a, ω) acting on the pallet load (110) at a first data acquisition time (t1) by means of a first measuring chain (10) of the measuring system (1), in particular the first physical quantity comprising a kinematic type quantity (a, ω);

-detecting and measuring a second physical quantity (t, p, u) acting on the pallet load (110) at a second data acquisition time (t2) by means of a second measurement chain (20) of the measurement system (1), in particular the second physical quantity comprising an environmental type quantity (t, p, u).

14. method for wrapping a group of products (100) on a support frame with a plastic film (50), said method comprising:

-wrapping with said plastic film (50), according to said initial wrapping configuration, a pallet load (110) formed by said group of products (100) and by a measuring system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 12;

-measuring physical quantities (a, ω, t, p, u) acting on the pallet load (110) when the pallet load (110) is moved and/or transported;

-determining an optimal parcel configuration based on data relating to said physical quantities (a, ω, t, p, u), said data being measured and processed by said measurement system (1);

-wrapping said group of products (100) on said supporting frame with said plastic film (50) according to said optimal wrapping configuration.

15. the method of claim 14, wherein the package configuration includes a respective set of package parameters selected according to characteristics of the plastic film, the load, and the product.

16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein the optimal wrap configuration is consistent with the initial wrap configuration.

17. the method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the measuring the physical quantity comprises:

-detecting and measuring a first physical quantity acting on the pallet load (110) at a first data acquisition time (t1) by means of a first measurement chain (10) of the measurement system (1), in particular the first physical quantity comprising a kinematic type quantity (a, ω);

-detecting and measuring a second physical quantity acting on the pallet load (110), in particular comprising an environmental type quantity (t, p, u), at a second data acquisition time (t2) by means of a second measurement chain (20) of the measurement system (1).

18. The method according to claim 13 or 17, further comprising saving data relating to the first physical quantity (a, ω) and the second physical quantity (t, p, u) by means of the first measuring chain (10) and the second measuring chain (20), respectively.

19. The method according to claim 13 or 17, characterized in that the first data acquisition time (t1) of the first measurement chain (10) is shorter than the second data acquisition time (t2) of the second measurement chain (20), in particular the first data acquisition time (t1) is equal to a minimum acquisition time of the first measurement chain (10).

20. Method according to claim 13 or 17, further comprising processing data related to said first physical quantity (a, ω) and/or data related to said second relative physical quantity (t, p, u) to obtain processed and/or filtered data to be saved, in particular said processing comprising processing said data in the frequency domain by means of a fourier transform.

Technical Field

the present invention relates to a machine, a system and a method for wrapping products arranged on a tray with a plastic film. In particular, the present invention relates to a measuring system and a measuring method capable of obtaining data relating to physical quantities acting on a pallet load formed by a group of products placed on a pallet and wrapped by a plastic film, while moving and transporting (e.g. from a production site to a delivery site) the pallet load. The invention also relates to a method of wrapping a pallet load based on data relating to a physical quantity measured by said measuring system.

Background

Films or webs made of cold-stretchable plastic material are known and widely used in the field of industrial packaging for wrapping and fastening a plurality of products, articles, packages, suitably layered and grouped, onto pallets to form so-called pallet loads, which can be easily moved with fork-lift trucks and loaded on different types of transport (trucks, ships, airplanes, etc.). In particular, the product is wrapped and secured together by dispensing the film so as to form a plurality of film strips or ribbons that overlap and are twisted into a helix, and wrapped and secured together with the tray.

plastic film is typically elastically and/or plastically stretched or elongated prior to wrapping it around a load. Typically, the plastic film is elastically stretched by a predetermined amount or percentage in order to be used in its optimum condition and to obtain physico-mechanical properties in order to make it more suitable to withstand the forces acting on the load when being moved and transported. More precisely, when the stretching force exerted on the film stretches the ends of the film, the elastic springback of the film thereof causes a tensioning force on the load which allows to hold and contain the product constituting the load and to tightly fasten the product on the underlying tray. Wrapping tension or force applied to the film when wrapping around a load also contributes to this containment and wrapping effect.

generally, the elongation or elongation of a film is expressed as a percentage between the elongation of the film (the difference between the final length of the stretched film and the original length) and the original length. Typically, the elongation or stretch applied to the film is between 50% and 400%.

Film stretching further allows for a significant reduction in film thickness (typically from about 20-25 μm to about 6-7 μm) to proportionately increase the length to wrap a wider load circumference with the same initial amount of unwound film. This allows to reduce the film consumption and thus the packaging costs.

The pre-stretching force also allows to change the mechanical properties of the film. Indeed, when properly stretched, a film material may transform from an elastic behavior, in which the film tends to return to its original dimensions once the stress is relieved, to a plastic behavior; in plastic behavior, however, once the stress is relieved, the film is permanently deformed and does not return to its original dimensions. In the latter case, the plastic material film represents a flexible and inextensible element, like a rope or a belt, and can be used, for example, to wrap groups of unstable products that must be fastened tightly together.

Therefore, for effective and stable wrapping, depending on both the type of load to be wrapped (fragile, solid, unstable, irregular products, etc.) and the transport route and/or movement operations to which the load must be subjected, it is necessary to select a suitable plastic material film (composition, initial thickness) and to define the correct wrapping parameters (percentage of pre-stretch, wrapping force, number of wraps of the film around the load, stacking of the wrapping material, etc.).

As is known, a considerable percentage of the pallet load (in particular in the field of drinks, where the pallet load is made up of a plurality of plastic bottles, usually grouped in bundles) is irreparably damaged during transport due to the stresses (linear, angular velocity, acceleration/deceleration, vibrations, oscillations, etc.) to which it is subjected. In fact, the load may bend laterally, undergo local deformations and collapse, causing damage and/or crushing and/or cracking of the individual products.

in order to overcome the above drawbacks, one solution is to wrap the load as tightly as possible (in line with the characteristics of the contained product) and to use a large amount of wrapping material. However, such wrapping is not always without problems and the consumption of film increases significantly, which has a significant impact on the manufacturing costs.

it is therefore highly appreciated that, depending on both the type of product constituting the load and the type of transport and the line of the pallet load, there is a need in the packaging field to optimize the procedure or wrapping cycle of the pallet load in order to obtain an optimal wrapping configuration which guarantees an optimal containment and stabilization of the load, while reducing the amount of film used.

For this purpose, it is known to measure the stress (speed, acceleration) of the vehicle (truck, ship, airplane, etc.) on which the pallet load is to be placed. The measured stress data is used to calculate and establish the correct package parameters. However, these data are inaccurate and incomplete because they do not take into account the composition and structure of the transported load and how the stresses are transferred from the loading platform of the transport to the load (which also varies greatly). In other cases, sensors that can be fixed outside the load are used to transmit data relating to the stresses acting on the load during transport. However, the positioning of the sensor on the load can affect the measurement because the sensor can change the structure, weight, and dynamic behavior of the load, where dynamic behavior refers to the kinematics, dynamics, structural response, or reaction of the load when subjected to stresses such as linearity, angular velocity, acceleration/deceleration, vibration, oscillation, and the like.

Furthermore, sensors that are not optimally fixed to the load may be subjected to specific stresses (vibrations) that do not affect the entire load. Finally, sensors are particularly susceptible to damage because they are subject to impacts and collisions during transportation and movement operations that alter the measured values and/or damage and even destroy the sensors.

EP 1818271 discloses a device for loading and transporting a plurality of items or products, in particular trays, which internally comprises a communication unit for communicating with an electromagnetic read/write IC tag located on the transported item, a sensor unit for detecting and acquiring environmental quantities, a GPS unit, a data receiving/transmitting unit, and a transmitting antenna. In the pallet disclosed in EP 1818271, a controller is also installed, which receives data from the different units (communication unit, sensor unit, GPS unit) and is able to save the data in an internal memory. The tray also contains rechargeable and removable batteries. For safety reasons, two identical sensor units are provided, which measure the same physical quantity, and which are located at opposite sides of the pallet, ensuring correct and complete data acquisition even in the event of damage or destruction of one of the two units (for example, due to impacts and collisions with the pallet). Each sensor unit includes a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and an impact sensor.

During movement and transport of the tray and the products placed therein, the controller is arranged to periodically (e.g. every 10, 30, 60 minutes) detect and save data from the sensors or detect and save when a tray is hit or bumped, i.e. when the hit sensor detects a stress above a threshold.

The device disclosed in EP 1818271 is not capable of measuring in real time all the stresses (linear, angular velocity, acceleration/deceleration, vibrations, oscillations, etc.) to which the product is subjected during transport, but only humidity and temperature values and impacts (events) that occur. Furthermore, since the controller, the battery and all the different units are housed inside the tray, the structure, weight and mass distribution of the above-mentioned tray are completely different from those of standard trays having the same dimensions. Thus, the use of the above-mentioned sensor may significantly affect the measurement results, since the above-mentioned sensor may change the weight and the dynamic behavior of the pallet load in which it is integrated.

Disclosure of Invention

it is an object of the present invention to improve the known systems and methods for measuring and obtaining data relating to physical quantities acting on a pallet load formed by a group of products, items, packages placed on a pallet and wrapped by a plastic film, while said pallet load is moved and transported.

Another object is to provide a measuring system and a measuring method which allow detecting and measuring, in a precise and accurate manner during transport and movement, the movement and environmental physical quantities acting on a pallet load formed by a set of products wrapped by an extensible/stretchable film.

Another object is to provide a measuring system and a measuring method which can be used for any type of load and product, article or package and which are capable of measuring the actual stress without introducing modifications or variations.

In a first aspect of the invention, a measuring system for pallet loads according to claim 1 is provided.

In a second aspect of the invention a method for measuring a physical quantity acting on a pallet load is provided according to claim 13.

in a third aspect of the invention there is provided a wrapping method according to claim 14.

drawings

the invention will be better understood and implemented with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, wherein:

figure 1 is a perspective view of the measuring system of the invention, showing in particular the supporting frame for the load of the product, the second detection module, and the processing module;

Figure 2 is a bottom perspective view of the measuring system of figure 1, associated with a group of superposed products grouped and wrapped with plastic film to form a pallet load;

Fig. 3 shows a perspective schematic view of the support frame of the measuring system of fig. 1, with some components removed in order to better highlight the first and second detection modules;

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a first detection module of the measuring system of figure 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a second detection module of the measuring system of figure 1;

Fig. 6 is a partial perspective view of the measuring system of the invention, with the housing of the processing module partially disassembled;

Figure 7 is a block diagram showing a measurement chain formed by components of the detection module and the processing module of the measurement system of the invention;

Figure 8 is a top perspective view of the measuring system of the invention associated with different groups of stacked products grouped and wrapped with plastic film.

Detailed Description

With reference to fig. 1 to 7, a measuring system 1 of the invention is shown, the measuring system 1 being associated with a group of products 100 to be wrapped with a film 50, in particular of the cold-stretchable type. The measuring system 1 may be wrapped with a plastic film 50 together with the group of products 100 to form a pallet load 110 and arranged to measure a plurality of physical quantities a, ω, t, p, u acting on said products 100 when moving and transporting the pallet load along a line, for example by one or more transport means.

The measuring system 1, also called instrument tray, comprises a supporting frame 2 or tray provided with a supporting plane 31 for the product 100, a first detection module 3 and a second detection module 4. The first detection module 3 is housed inside the supporting frame or tray 2 and is provided with first sensor means 13 to detect and measure, with a first data acquisition time t1, a first physical quantity a, ω acting on the products 100 of the tray load 110 and on the measuring system 1. The second detection module 4 is housed inside the supporting frame 2 and is provided with second sensor means 14 to detect and measure, with a second data acquisition time t2, a second physical quantity t, p, u acting on the products 100 of said pallet load 110 and on the measuring system 1.

The measuring system 1 further comprises a processing module 5, which processing module 5 is located on the supporting surface 31 of the supporting frame 2, is placed in the group of products 100 or is comprised in the group of products 100 (i.e. is inserted in said products 100 and is in contact with said products 100), and comprises a first calculation unit connected to the first detection module 3 to receive and process data relating to the first physical quantity a, ω and to store said data in the first storage unit 17, so as to form a first measuring chain 10 of the first physical quantity a, ω. The first physical quantities comprise physical quantities of the kinematic type, in particular linear accelerations a along three orthogonal axes and angular velocities ω according to three orthogonal axes, which act on the measuring system 1 and on the group of products 100 during movement and transport.

the processing module 5 further comprises a second calculation unit 7, the second calculation unit 7 being connected to the second detection module 4 to receive and process data relating to the second physical quantity t, p, u and to save said data in a second memory unit 18 so as to form a second measurement chain 20 of the second physical quantity t, p, u. The second physical quantities comprise physical quantities of the type of environment, in particular the temperature t, the pressure p, the humidity u of the environment in which the measurement system 1 and the group of products 100 are located during their movement and transport.

The processing modules 5 have dimensions and weights comparable to those of one of the products 100 so as not to alter the weight mass distribution and the dynamic behavior of the group of products 100, that is the motion, dynamics, structural response or reaction of the load when subjected to stresses such as linearity, angular velocity, acceleration/deceleration, vibration, oscillation, etc.

The first calculation unit 6 and/or the second calculation unit 7 may be further programmed and configured to process the data received by the first detection module 3 and/or the second detection module 4, respectively, and to obtain processed and/or filtered data to be stored in the storage units 17, 18. For example, the data obtained by the detection modules 4, 5 may be processed by the calculation units 6, 7 in the frequency domain by means of a suitable algorithm (and variants thereof) based on fourier transforms. As is known, such algorithms allow sampling of signals acquired within a time threshold, their conversion and subsequent digitization in the frequency domain without reducing the information content, thus obtaining data that can be more easily interpreted and analyzed, while reducing computational complexity and memory filling. The first detection module 3 comprises a first microprocessor 15, which first microprocessor 15 is adapted to receive and process the data detected by the first sensor means 13, using a first acquisition time t1, and to send said data to the first calculation unit 6 of the processing module 5. Similarly, the second detection module 4 comprises a second microprocessor 16, which second microprocessor 16 is adapted to receive and process the data detected by the second sensor device 14, using a second acquisition time t2, and to send said data to the second calculation unit 7 of the processing module 5.

as will be better described hereinafter, the two data acquisition times t1, t2 are different, and in particular the first data acquisition time t1 of the first measurement chain 10 is smaller than the second data acquisition time t2 of the second measurement chain 20. The processing module 5 further comprises two different power supply units 26, 27 for electrically powering the two measuring chains 10, 20 separately and independently. More precisely, the processing module 5 comprises a first power supply unit 26 and a second power supply unit 27, the first power supply unit 26 being used to electrically power the first measuring chain 10, i.e. the first calculation unit 6, the first storage unit 17 and the first detection module 3, and the second power supply unit 27 being used to electrically power the second measuring chain 20, i.e. the second calculation unit 7, the second storage unit 18 and the second detection module 4.

The power supply units 26, 27 are batteries or accumulators which can provide the measuring chains 10, 20 with sufficient operational autonomy.

In the shown and disclosed embodiment, the second detection module 4 of the measurement system 1 further comprises a third sensor device 19, which third sensor device 19 is connected to the second microprocessor 16 and is arranged to measure the position of the measurement system 1 with respect to the external environment, i.e. to measure the distance of the pallet load 110 from an external reference, such as a truck load compartment wall. The second microprocessor 16 receives and processes the data detected by the third sensor device 14 with the third acquisition time t3 and sends said data to the second calculation unit 7 of the processing module 5. Therefore, the third sensor device 19 is comprised in the second measuring chain 20.

The calculation units 6, 7 of the processing module 5 comprise respective single board electronic computers, so-called micro-PCs, such as micro-PC Raspberry Pi, which are able to receive and process data from the microprocessors 15, 16 of the detection modules 3, 4 and to save or store said data in respective memory units 17, 18.

The first microprocessor 15 and the second microprocessor 16 comprise, for example, respective integrated microprocessors provided with specific programs for removing errors (debugger) and for programming (programmer), which are able to analyze and transmit, in particular by cable, the data coming from the sensor devices 13, 14.

The first sensor means comprise a first sensor integrated unit 13, in particular an integrated electronic unit or board, provided with a MEMS (micro electro mechanical system) sensor, suitable for detecting and measuring at least a first physical quantity of the kinematic type, in particular linear accelerations a along three orthogonal axes and angular velocities ω according to the three orthogonal axes. For this purpose, the first sensor-integrated unit 13 includes at least a three-axis accelerometer and a three-axis gyroscope.

the second sensor means comprise a second sensor integrated unit 14, in particular an integrated electronic unit or board, provided with a MEMS (micro electro mechanical system) sensor adapted to detect and measure at least a second physical quantity of the type of environment, in particular temperature t, pressure, humidity u. For this purpose, the second sensor-integrated unit 14 includes at least humidity and temperature sensors and pressure sensors.

in the embodiment shown, the first sensor-integrated unit 13 and the second sensor-integrated unit 14 comprise respective integrated electronic boards, which are identical and are provided with MEMS sensors, each provided with a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, a humidity and temperature sensor and a pressure sensor. As better explained in the following description, only some of these sensors are used by each detection module 3, 4.

the third sensor device 19 comprises at least two proximity sensors 19a, 19b adapted to measure distances d1, d2 along two substantially orthogonal axes, said distances d1, d2 separating the measuring system 1, i.e. the pallet load 110, from the walls of the external environment, such as the load compartment walls of a transport vehicle, in order to measure displacements or slips that may occur to the pallet load 110 during transport. In particular, the third sensor means comprise a third integrated electronic unit or board 19, which third integrated electronic unit or board 19 is provided with two proximity sensors 19a, 19b and is connected to the second microprocessor 16 to transmit data relating to the detected distance. The third sensor device 19 and/or the second microprocessor 16 are configured to detect and measure the distances d1, d2 with a third data acquisition time t3, the third data acquisition time t3 being longer than the first data acquisition time t1 and shorter than the second data acquisition time t 2.

The proximity sensors 19a, 19b are, for example, proximity and ambient light sensors, which operate using time-of-flight technology (ToF). This technique provides a heuristic to the environment where measurements need to be made using a modulated light source, so that the proximity sensor can detect the luminous pulses reflected by the object (the distance from which is measured by the sensor) and convert these pulses into electrical signals, which are then transmitted to the processor ToF, which measures the phase shift between the emitted and reflected light; such a phase shift allows the distance to the object to be calculated. In practice, the processor detects the time it takes for the light pulse to perform a line from the source to the object and back to the sensor, the so-called "time of flight".

With particular reference to figures 1 to 3, the support frame 2 is essentially a pallet made of wood, metal or plastic, and is almost identical to the pallets normally used for packaging groups of products wrapped with film strips or ribbons to form pallet loads. The support frame 2 has the dimensions of a standard pallet existing on the market, for example a euro pallet having the dimensions 1200x800mm (length by width).

as shown in the figures, the support frame or tray 2 comprises three spars 34, 35, 36 arranged in parallel and spaced apart from each other, which are interconnected on the upper part by a support plane 31. The longitudinal space between the spars 34, 35, 36 allows for forklift insertion.

In one of the spars, for example in the central spar 35, two detection modules 3, 4 are inserted and fixed.

Each detection module 3, 4 comprises a respective container 23, 24, in particular made of plastic material, inside which the respective sensor device 13, 14 and microprocessor 15, 16 are fixed. The containers 23, 24 are inserted and fixed inside the respective support elements 32, 33 of the support frame 2, in particular the central spar 35.

More precisely, the first container 23 of the first inspection module 3 is inserted, in particular press-fitted, inside the first central support element 32 of the central spar 35, while the second container 24 of the second inspection module 4 is inserted, in particular press-fitted, inside the second peripheral support element 33 of the central spar 35. The second container 24 and the second peripheral support element 33 have respective aligned through holes allowing the proximity sensors 19a, 19b of the third sensor device 19 to measure respective distances separating the latter, i.e. the measuring system 1, from two orthogonal references, such as load compartment walls.

The two support elements 32, 33 are inserted and tightly fastened inside the structure of the central spar 35.

It should be noted that the containers 23, 24 made of plastic material, in particular ABS, ensure high strength, rigidity and duration, thus ensuring containment and protection of the electronic components inserted therein. The sensor boards or units 13, 14 and the microprocessors 15, 16 are tightly fixed within the respective containers 23, 24, for example by means of suitable fixing plates, thereby preventing free movements and/or vibrations of the sensor boards that may hamper and alter the measurements.

It should also be noted that the weight of the detection modules 3, 4 and the relative containers 23, 24 is limited and therefore does not change the total weight of the support frame 2, which is substantially equal to the total weight of the support frames or trays normally used. Similarly, the positioning of the detection modules 3, 4 inside the support frame 2, in particular inside the support elements 32, 33 of the central spar 35, does not affect the weight/mass distribution of the support frame 2, and its dynamic behaviour when associated with and fastened to the product 100 and subjected to stresses (linear, angular velocity, acceleration/deceleration, vibrations, oscillations, etc.) during movement and transport.

The processing module 5 further comprises a respective housing 25, which housing 25 is adapted to accommodate therein the two computing units 6, 7, the external memory units 17, 18, and the power supply units 26, 27.

It should be noted that the processing module 5 together with its housing 25 has a size and weight comparable to the size and weight of one of the products 100 to be packaged, so that the weight, geometry and structure of the pallet load 110 to be measured is not affected. Thus, the weight and the dynamic behaviour of the pallet load 110 (comprising the support frame 2 provided with the detection modules 3, 4 and the processing module 5) are almost equal to the weight and the dynamic behaviour of a pallet load formed by the same set of products 100 placed on a standard pallet.

thus, the containing shell 25 will vary according to the product 100 to be wrapped and will therefore have different weights and sizes. For example, in the case of a bundle of 0.5 liters of bottled water 6x4 (fig. 8) or a bundle of 2 liters of bottled water 6x2, the size and weight will change.

since the processing module 5 is located on the support plane 31 of the support frame 2 at the detection modules 3, 4 in order to simplify the wiring of the detection modules 3, 4, the housing 25 will have to be sufficiently strong to withstand the weight and stress of the adjacent and stacked products 100.

In the case of bundled bottles, the housing 25 is a closed box-like structure made of sheet metal. In use, the support frame or tray 2 of the measuring system 1 is loaded with a certain number of products 100, said products 100 being arranged according to predetermined rows on different levels, substantially reproducing the tray loading configuration used in ordinary production. The processing module 5 of the measuring system 1, whose size and weight are the same as those of the product 100, is previously placed on the support plane 31 of the tray 2, in place of the original product 100. However, as already said, the thus formed composition has almost the same structural and dynamic behaviour as the composition produced, since its size and weight are substantially comparable to those of the product to be replaced.

the measuring system 1 and the groups 100 associated therewith are then wrapped with a cold-stretchable plastic film by means of a wrapping machine, known and not shown, to form the pallet load 10. The wrapping is performed according to an initial wrapping configuration defined by preset wrapping parameters (pre-stretch percentage, number of wraps, film tape overlap, etc.) selected according to the type of product 100 (fragile, irregular, unstable, etc.).

The obtained pallet load 110 is almost equal to the pallet load 110 obtained in conventional production. The detection modules 3, 4 inserted in the pallet 2 allow measuring the physical quantities acting on the pallet load 110 when the pallet load 110 is moving and transported.

in particular, by means of the first measuring chain 10, data relating to kinematic quantities, such as the acceleration a and the angular velocity ω acting on the pallet load 110 during transport, can be measured and saved. These two kinematic quantities measured on the three axes accurately describe the dynamic stresses (vibrations, oscillations, etc.) to which the pallet load 110 is subjected, and which may cause tilting, deformation, collapse of the pallet load, leading to damage and deformation of the product 100.

The second measuring chain 20 allows measuring and storing environmental quantities (temperature, pressure, humidity) and measuring possible displacements or slips of the pallet load 110 during transport. As is known, the relevant changes of the environmental quantities, in particular the temperature and humidity, can seriously affect the quality of the film wrapping.

Thanks to the third sensor means 19 comprising two proximity sensors 19a, 19b, the second measuring chain 20 also allows measuring distances d1, d2, which distances d1, d2 separate the pallet load 110 from the walls of the external environment, thus verifying whether the way in which the pallet load is fixed on the transport vehicle is suitable or not sufficient.

It should be noted that the measuring system 1 of the invention measures physical quantities, in particular kinematic quantities, directly on the supporting frame or tray 2, i.e. on the body (usually fixed on the loading platform of a transport vehicle) subjected to stresses and transmitting such stresses to the stacked load. Thus, neither the physical quantities acting on the transport means nor those detected by the sensors directly fixed to the product are measured.

By using two different measuring chains 10, 20, the measuring system 1 of the invention can obtain extremely precise and accurate measurements of physical quantities, in particular kinematic quantities. Furthermore, by using two measuring chains formed by the respective and independent detection modules 3, 4, microprocessors 15, 16, calculation units 6, 7, storage units 17, 18, and power supply units 26, 27, greater reliability, safety and operational autonomy of the measuring system 1 is ensured.

More precisely, the first measuring chain 10 using the MEMS sensor linear triaxial accelerometer and the triaxial gyroscope of the first sensor integration unit 13 allows to have a very short first data acquisition or reading time t1 (for example of about 5-10ms), for example the minimum acquisition time allowed by the electronic components, in order to have the highest sampling frequency and to be able to analyze the signal in a wide bandwidth, in particular in the frequency domain. Tests carried out by the applicant have in fact shown that the values of linear acceleration and angular velocity (six values on the three axes) must be acquired simultaneously with the same sampling times in order to detect and define the kinematic and dynamic characteristics of the pallet load 110.

These high performances are obtained because in the first measuring chain 10 only the data related to the first physical quantity are detected, processed and saved, while the data related to the second physical environment quantity are not considered; in other words, the temperature, humidity, and pressure sensors of the first sensor-integrated unit 13 are not used.

The humidity and temperature MEMS sensors and the pressure MEMS sensors of the second sensor integrated unit 14 are used to detect, process and save data relating to the second physical environment quantities t, p, u by the second measuring chain 20 at a second data acquisition time t2, the second data acquisition time t2 having a higher value (e.g. 60 s).

The same second measuring chain 20 allows processing and saving of data relating to the distances d1, d2 detected and measured by the two proximity sensors 19a, 19b of the third electronic integrated unit 19 with a third data acquisition time t3 and transmitted to the second processor 16, the third data acquisition time t3 having a value (for example 100ms) higher than the first data acquisition time t1 and lower than the second data acquisition time t 2.

Thus, all data from the respective detection modules 3, 4 can be processed and saved in a complete and accurate manner for the first calculation unit 6 and the second calculation unit 7.

The advantage of performing measurements of physical quantities by means of two different measurement chains 10, 20 is even more evident in the case where the calculation units 6, 7 in the variant of the measuring system 1 of the invention are programmed and configured to process the data respectively acquired from the first detection module 3 and/or the second detection module 4 in order to obtain the processed and/or filtered data to be saved in the storage units 17, 18, in particular in the frequency domain.

In order to measure the physical quantity acting on the pallet load 100 (formed by a group of products 100 wrapped by a plastic film 50) while the pallet load is being moved and/or transported using the above-described measuring system 1, the following is provided:

detecting and measuring a first physical quantity a, ω, acting on the pallet load 110, in particular comprising kinematic quantities such as linear acceleration a, angular velocity ω, at a first data acquisition time t1 by means of the first measuring chain 10 of the measuring system 1;

Detecting and measuring a second physical quantity t, p, u acting on the pallet load 110, in particular comprising environmental physical quantities such as temperature t, pressure p, humidity u, at a second data acquisition time t2 by means of a second measurement chain 20 of the measurement system 1.

Furthermore, the method provides for storing data relating to the first and second physical quantities by the first and second measuring chains 10, 20, respectively.

According to the method of the invention, the first data acquisition time t1 of the first measuring chain 10 is shorter than the second data acquisition time t2 of the second measuring chain 20; in particular, the first data acquisition time t1 is equal to the minimum acquisition time of the first measurement chain 10.

It is also provided to process the data relating to the first physical quantity a, ω and/or the data relating to the second physical quantity t, p, u in order to obtain processed and/or filtered data to be saved, in particular said processing comprising processing said data in the frequency domain by means of fourier transformation (or a variant thereof).

The measurement system and method of the present invention allows for the detection and measurement of motion and environmental physical quantities acting on the pallet load 110 as it moves, particularly along a transport route on one or more transport vehicles, in a precise and accurate manner.

The pallet load 110 is formed by a certain number of products 100, which products 100 are arranged side by side and are superposed according to a determined sequence (number of rows and layers), and are enveloped and wrapped by the plastic film 50 according to a predetermined wrapping configuration defined by preset wrapping parameters (pre-stretching percentage, wrapping force, number of wraps of the film around the load) selected according to the characteristics of the plastic material film (composition, initial thickness) and of the load type (fragile products, number, positioning, etc.).

The data obtained by the measuring system 1 of the invention allows to know the stresses to which the pallet load 110 is subjected, in order to optimize the wrapping configuration, for example for changing wrapping parameters, and to verify that the pallet load 110 has been correctly fixed and fastened on the transport means.

In fact, the physical quantity data, in particular the kinematic quantities, can be used to verify the different effects on the pallet load obtained by modifying the parcel configuration under the same transport route and various movement operations in one simulation, in order to optimize the parcel configuration.

The method of wrapping the composition 100 with the plastic film 50 of the present invention comprises:

Wrapping a pallet load 110 formed by the group of products 100 and the above-mentioned measuring system 1 with a plastic film 50 according to an initial wrapping configuration;

Measuring the physical quantities a, ω, t, p, u acting on the pallet load 110 when the pallet load 110 is moved and/or transported;

-calculating an optimal package configuration based on data related to the physical quantities a, ω, t, p, u and measured and processed by the measurement system;

Wrapping the group 100 of products with a plastic film 50 according to an optimal wrapping configuration.

The initial and optimal wrapping configurations include a corresponding set of wrapping parameters (percent pre-stretch, wrap strength, number of wraps of film around the load, overlap of film strips, etc.) selected according to the type of product 100 (fragility, irregularity, instability, etc.), the type (size) of pallet load, and the characteristics of film 50 (width, thickness, density, composition, etc.).

The optimal wrap configuration may be consistent with the initial wrap configuration, typically where the initial wrap configuration has ensured that the load is properly contained and stable.

According to the wrapping method of the present invention, the measuring the physical quantity includes:

Detecting and measuring a first physical quantity a, ω, in particular a first kinematic quantity comprising kinematic type quantities a, ω, acting on the pallet load 110 by means of the first measuring chain 10 of the measuring system 1 at a first data acquisition time t 1;

Detecting and measuring a second physical quantity t, p, u acting on the pallet load 110, in particular a second physical quantity comprising an environment type quantity t, p, u, by means of the second measuring chain 20 of the measuring system 1 at a second data acquisition time t 2.

it is also provided to save data relating to the first physical quantity a, ω and the second physical quantity t, p, u, respectively, by means of the first measuring chain 10 and the second measuring chain 20.

The first data acquisition time t1 of the first measurement chain 10 is shorter than the second data acquisition time t2 of the second measurement chain 20; in particular, the first data acquisition time t1 is equal to the minimum acquisition time of the first measurement chain 10.

The method also provides for processing the data relating to the first physical quantity a, ω and/or the data relating to the second physical quantity t, p, u in order to obtain processed and/or filtered data to be saved, in particular said processing comprising processing said data in the frequency domain by means of a fourier transform (or a variant thereof).

Thanks to the wrapping method of the invention, it is possible to determine an optimal wrapping configuration for the group of products 100, i.e. a wrapping configuration wrapped with the film 50, which allows to obtain an optimal containment and stability of the group of products 100 during movement and transport, while reducing the amount of film used, by using the data obtained by the measuring system 1, which allows to detect and measure the physical quantities of the type of movement and environment that occur for the pallet load wrapped with the defined initial wrapping configuration when it is moved and/or transported.

The optimal parcel configuration may be consistent with the initial parcel configuration when the data relating to the first physical quantity measured by the measurement system 1 highlights the correct accommodation and proper stability of the transported pallet load 100.