The present disclosure relates to sleeves for packaging floral groupings such as bouquets of flowers or other products, and to methods of making such sleeves.
Sleeves are used in the floral industry to package floral groupings for shipment between growers and retail outlets and also at retail outlets for packaging goods for sale to retail customers. Floral groupings include pot plants, bouquets and similar materials. Fresh produce and plants, e.g. spices such as basil or thyme, also can be packaged in the same way, and they are included within the meaning of the term “floral grouping”. Sleeves for floral groupings come in a variety of sizes and shapes. They may be rectangular, or square, tall or short, depending on the merchandise to be packaged and the customer's choice. Often sleeves for floral groupings are tapered or frusto-conical to hold a pot plant or bouquet. The sleeves may have open bottoms or closed bottoms.
Bags with various types of handles are known, including some with handles that are formed by openings through the upper part of the sleeve and some in which separate handles are attached to the upper part of the sleeve.
A sleeve is formed from two flat panels each having a top edge, a bottom edge, and two side edges. The side edges are spaced apart to define the width of the sleeve. The two panels are joined to each other along the opposite side edges to form a pair of seams. The sleeve includes a first handle defined by a line of perforations through the two panels that extends from one seam across part of the width of the two panels toward the other seam. The panels can be separable from each other across their top edges to enclose a space into which an article such as a floral grouping may be placed.
A sleeve with handles may be made by feeding layers of web material to form two superimposed layers, each layer having a top edge and a bottom edge. The layers can be sealed to each other to form first and second seams along first and second side edges. The seams can extend between the top and bottom edges of the two layers of web material. A first line of perforations can be formed spaced downward from the top edges of the first layer and the second layer and extending from the first seam to the second seam to define a header from which the sleeve is separable for use. A second line of perforations can be formed spaced downward from the first line of perforations and extending inward from the first seam toward the second seam to define a handle.
While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the present invention, it is believed that the same will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The sleeve 10 shown in
The sleeve 10 may be formed of suitable flexible thermoplastic material, including thermoplastic polyolefins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene, and/or polystyrene, including the OPP, CPP, and KPP. The sleeve 10 may be also formed out of any other suitable flexible sheet material such as fabric (woven or non-woven, natural or synthetic) or paper. The material may be clear, translucent, or opaque. The sleeve 10 may have decorative images and/or advertising materials printed on it; it may have care instructions for the goods or produce for which the sleeve 10 is intended.
The sleeve 10 also includes a first handle 30. See
The sleeve 10 can also include a second handle 40. The second handle 40 is defined by a second line of perforations 42. The line of perforations 42 starts at the second edge 18 and extends toward the first edge 16. The perforations of the second line of perforations 42 extend through the first panel 12 and the second panel 14 forming a tear line. The second handle 40 may be freed from the remainder of the sleeve 10 by tearing along the second line of perforations 42. The second line of perforations 42 has an internal end formed by a second hole 44 which functions like the hole 34.
The first and second lines of perforations 32 and 42 are located an inch or two down from the top edge 46 of the front panel 12 and from the line of perforations 60 which defines the top edge of the rear panel 14. The first and second lines of perforations 32 and 42 can each be, for example, about 6 inches long on a sleeve that is 16 inches wide across the top. The first and second line of perforations 32 and 42 could be as much as 5 inches down from the top edge 46 of the front panel 12 and from the line of perforations 60 which defines the top edge of the rear panel 14. The exact spacing downward selected depends in the material of which the sleeve is made and the merchandise it is intended to carry so that it does not tear unnecessarily easily, as well as aesthetic considerations.
The first and second lines of perforations 32 and 42 may be parallel to the top edge 46 of the first panel as shown in
The sleeve 10 is made in a conventional sleeve making machine 50 shown schematically in
The top web 52 (
The difference in widths of the top and bottom webs 52 and 54 allows a header 56 to be formed at the top of the rear panel 14. The header 56 can include mounting holes 58 spaced to industry standards to accommodate a mounting device such as a wicket. A line of header-separating perforations 60 extends across the sleeve 10, allowing the sleeve to be separated from the header 56. The line of header-separating perforations 60 is located just above the edge of the 62 of the top web 52. The header-separating perforations 60 ultimately define the top edge of the rear panel 14 of the sleeve 10, while the top edge 62 of the top web 52 forms the top edge 46 of the sleeve 10.
As noted, the bottom web 54 extends beyond the bottom 48 of the top web 52. This leaves a flap of excess material 66 equal in width to the header 54. The position of the top web 52 with respect to the bottom web 54 allows a series of sleeves to be made in a side by side arrangement with the sleeves facing in alternating directions, as shown in
The machine 50 (
Once the sleeves are bundled, they can be put to use, suspending the entire bundle near, for example, a retail display of produce or flowers. The sleeves are mounted with the first panel 12 facing out. The consumer then can grab the top edge 46 of the first panel 12 and open the sleeve, placing a bouquet or other merchandise inside. The entire sleeve 10 is then separated from the header 56 by tearing along the header-forming perforations 60, and the handles 30 and 40 can be separated from the first and second panels 12 and 14 by tearing along the first and second line of perforations 32 and 42. The sleeve then takes the configuration shown in
As shown in
There are a number of variations in the sleeves made following the teachings of this disclosure. The sleeve 10 may be made with an open bottom. In that case the seal 72 may be omitted entirely.
The second variation involves the orientation and configuration of the first and second lines of perforations 32 and 42. In
A third variation is illustrated in
While the inventive principles have been illustrated by the description of various embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments of been described in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus, methods and examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope or spirit of the general inventive principles.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3186626 | Shvetz | Jun 1965 | A |
3448915 | Schwarzkopf | Jun 1969 | A |
3480198 | Repko | Nov 1969 | A |
3664575 | Lake | May 1972 | A |
4709400 | Bruno | Nov 1987 | A |
4715963 | Jones | Dec 1987 | A |
5020184 | Roberts | Jun 1991 | A |
6918699 | Hanson | Jul 2005 | B2 |
7798711 | Plunkett et al. | Sep 2010 | B2 |
20090304307 | Diep et al. | Dec 2009 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1496589 | Apr 1967 | FR |
1150037 | Apr 1969 | GB |
WO 9008071 | Jul 1990 | WO |
Entry |
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Machine translation of French Document No. 1.496.589. Translated on Sep. 19, 2013. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20130327817 A1 | Dec 2013 | US |