Packaging process and packaged product

Abstract

A process of applying a polymeric film sleeve to a product by a stretch sleeving process is provided. In one aspect the product has a tapered cuboidal shape having four converging sides with which the polymeric film sleeve maintains contact. In another aspect two polymeric film sleeves are applied perpendicular to one another.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Great Britain Application Serial No. 0126038.9 filed Oct. 30, 2001 (Attorney Docket No. CM2622FM).

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates to processes for applying decorative packaging to products such as containers and to products which have been packaged by this process.

[0004] 2. Background of the Invention

[0005] It is well known to supply household products in various containers, which must be provided with an indication of, for instance, the name and type of product. These containers may have a wide variety of shapes and be formed from a wide variety of materials. One type of container has a shape which is essentially tapered cuboidal. That is, it has two faces which are substantially parallel and four converging faces. Such a container is illustrated in FIG. 1. It can be seen that the two substantially parallel sides form a lid and base respectively, with the four converging faces forming the sides of the container. Such containers have recently been found to be particularly useful for holding products such as floor wipes, which are provided as a stack inside the container.

[0006] These containers are commonly formed from polymeric material and it would be desirable to be able to provide decorative and/or informative labelling on the container. One option is to apply labels with adhesives or by in-mold labelling, the decoration/information being provided on the label, but the materials for the labels and adhesives are expensive. In a high-volume product of this type, such expense can be prohibitive.

[0007] Other options would be to insert the container in a box but again this adds to the amount of packaging and the expense.

[0008] It is known to package containers using shrink polymeric films. However, this has the disadvantage that materials from which polymeric shrink films are formed, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) are expensive and the processes for rendering them heat-shrinkable are expensive. They also carry the risk of deformation of the polymeric material of the container due to the high shrink forces applied. They can also be difficult for the consumer to remove.

[0009] Therefore it would be desirable to provide a means for applying decorative or informative packaging to containers of this general shape in a convenient and economical manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] According to the invention we provide a process of applying a polymeric film sleeve to a product, wherein the product is tapered cuboidal in shape and has four converging side faces and the polymeric film sleeve is applied by stretch sleeving and is applied to the product such that it contacts the four converging side faces.

[0011] In a further aspect, we provide a process of applying at least two polymeric film sleeves to a product in which a first film sleeve is applied to the product such that the first film sleeve has a first axis and a second sleeve is applied to the product such that its axis is perpendicular to the first axis.

[0012] The invention also provides the novel products of these processes.

[0013] We find that the use of stretch sleeving for provision of decorative or informative packaging on products, especially containers, of this shape, has the benefits of increased economy without sacrificing quality of the packaging. In particular, low density polyethylene (LDPE) or low density polyethylene/ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) blends or co-extrusions may be used for the polymeric film sleeve. These are very inexpensive film materials.

[0014] The process of stretch sleeving is well known. However, as far as we are aware it has previously been applied primarily to products which are bottles or otherwise have an essentially cyclindrical shape. Thus the polymeric film sleeve is applied to a container which has a circular or oval cross-section. We are not aware that this process has previously been applied to containers of the shape defined above and in particular applied in such a way that two perpendicularly arranged sleeves are applied to a container.

[0015] Furthermore, we find that application of stretch sleeving to containers of the type discussed above is not straightforward and preferred features of the invention address problems which may arise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0016] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a tapered cuboidal container to which a polymeric film sleeve can be applied in the invention.

[0017] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the same container having had a single polymeric film sleeve applied in contact with the four converging faces.

[0018] FIG. 3 shows the container of FIG. 1 having had two polymeric film sleeves applied in a perpendicular orientation.

[0019] FIG. 4 shows the stages in a process of the invention for application of a single polymeric film sleeve.

[0020] FIG. 5 shows a preferred configuration of the container lid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] The invention will be discussed below in the context of a container, since it is preferred in the invention that the product to which the polymeric film is applied is a container for a household product. However, it will be understood that the invention is equally applicable to products of the same general shape which are not containers.

[0022] The container of the first aspect of the invention is of a tapered cuboidal shape. Thus it has two essentially parallel faces and four converging faces.

[0023] In the discussion below we refer to the vertical axis of the container as the axis which is perpendicular to the two substantially parallel faces. The height H of the container 1 shown in FIG. 1 is the height along this axis.

[0024] It will be seen that such a container has two horizontal axes W and B perpendicular to the vertical axis along which the width W and breadth B, respectively, may be measured.

[0025] For convenience, we will define the end edges 2 as those essentially perpendicular to the W axis and the side edges 3 as those substantially perpendicular to the B axis. If the width and breadth are not the same then the width is the longer dimension, and thus the side edges are shorter than the end edges, if they are not identical in length. The same applies to the end (4) and side (5) faces respectively. Thus in FIG. 1 the end edges are designated as 2 and the end faces as 4, the side edges are designated as 3 and the side faces as 5.

[0026] Generally the height of the container is less than both the width and the breadth.

[0027] The invention is particularly useful when the container has a height:width ratio of less than 1:3, preferably less than 1:4. The invention is particularly valuable for application to containers whose height is less than 120 mm, preferably less than 100 mm.

[0028] The degree of taper of a converging face of the container is defined as the angle between that converging side and the vertical axis. Preferably this angle is the same for all four converging faces and is not more than 10°, preferably not more than 5°, more preferably not more than 3°. Generally it is at least 1°.

[0029] Preferably the converging faces are substantially planar and not concave or convex.

[0030] The second aspect of the invention may be applied to containers having a different shape, for instance a non-tapered shape, but preferably is applied to containers having the same shape as those in the first aspect of the invention.

[0031] When two perpendicular polymeric film sleeves are applied to a container of tapered cuboidal shape, it is preferred that the edges contacted by the polymeric film sleeve are substantially parallel, and in particular there is an angle of not more than 5°, preferably not more than 1° and in particular not more than 0.5° between them.

[0032] In the invention one polymeric sleeve is applied to the container so that it contacts the four converging faces. The second sleeve, if used, then contacts two of the converging faces and the upper and lower faces. The second sleeve may contact either the two longer converging side faces or the two shorter converging side faces.

[0033] In the invention the substantially parallel faces are described as the upper and lower faces, since they are usually in this configuration when the product is sold.

[0034] It can be seen that each polymeric film sleeve has an axis. FIG. 2 shows the first axis A1 of the first polymeric film sleeve 6. In this case the first sleeve is applied to the converging faces and thus first axis A1 is the same as the vertical axis of the container. FIG. 3A shows the second axis A2 of the second polymeric film sleeve 7. It can be seen that this is the same as the B axis of the container. In an alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 3B, the second sleeve has an axis A3 which is the same as the W axis of the container.

[0035] When a sleeve is applied which contacts the upper and lower faces and two of the converging side faces, it is important that edges with which the sleeve comes into contact have minimal protrusions, to avoid breakage of the film.

[0036] This can cause difficulty with prevention of the lid which forms the upper face from undergoing “denesting,” which is a tendency for the lids not to separate during the process of filling and closing the container. This is addressed by providing a preferred configuration for the lid, showed in FIG. 5. As can be seen from FIG. 5 the lid 8 is provided with rounded corners 9 and has essentially no protrusions along the portion of the end edges 2 with which a sleeve is to come into contact. However, the lid is also provided with a flange 10 at each rounded corner 9, the flange being provided with a projection 11. The height of the projection relative to the height of the lid is chosen so that the underside of the corresponding flange of a lid stacked above the first lid rests on the top surface of the projection 11 and the underside of the upper lid is kept from contacting the upper side of the lower lid.

[0037] The container is generally in the form of a lower part, commonly described as a tray, and an upper lid (8 in FIG. 1). Thus the tray forms the lower face and the four converging side faces, and the lid forms the upper face.

[0038] The container may be made by any suitable process, for instance injection molding or thermoforming. It may be made from any suitable polymeric material such as high impact polystyrene, polypropylene, PET, PVC, standard polystyrene or HDPE, but high impact polystyrene and PET are preferred.

[0039] One difficulty which can arise with applying a polymeric film sleeve by stretch sleeving to a tapered cuboidal container is that the appearance of the sleeve applied to the four converging side faces may be uneven. In particular, loosening and wrinkling may be observed towards the lower face towards which the side faces converge.

[0040] In order to address this problem, preferably the percent stretch is chosen to be at least 1% at all points where the polymeric film sleeve makes contact with the converging faces. More preferably it is at least 1.2% at all points. In general the percentage stretch will be around 1 or 1.5% at the narrowest circumference of the container with which the polymeric film sleeve is in contact and is at least 4%, often up to 4.5 or 5% or 8%, at the widest part of the container with which the film has contact.

[0041] Percentage stretch is defined as:

[(circumference of container−circumference of sleeve before stretching)/circumference of container]×100%

[0042] (the circumference of the container being measured around the part at which the stretch is to be measured and around which the sleeve is applied).

[0043] A further problem which may arise, in particular in the case where the height is relatively low, eg below 100 mm, is that the polymeric film sleeve may slide off the container during transport or use.

[0044] This difficulty can be addressed for instance by the choice of film sleeve/container combination. In particular it is preferred to choose a combination such that the coefficient of friction CF between the film and the container is at least 0.3, preferably 0.4 to 1 (measured by ASTM D1894).

[0045] Generally the nature of the polymeric film is chosen so as to achieve the desired value of CF, but modifications to the container (such as the components or the surface roughness) may also be used.

[0046] An alternative way of dealing with this potential problem is to apply a small amount of adhesive to the polymeric film sleeve/container combination. This may be applied on to the sleeve before it is applied to the container but is preferably applied on to the container. Generally only small amounts of adhesive are required and are preferably applied to the end faces.

[0047] Preferred adhesives are water-based and a suitable adhesive is E2019 water based adhesive supplied by Sealock, Colles Industrielles, France.

[0048] The film sleeve(s) may be made of any suitable material which can be applied by a stretch sleeving process. Examples are low density polyethylene LDPE and blends of LDPE with ethylene vinyl acetate EVA or co-extrusions of LDPE with EVA.

[0049] The polymeric film sleeve may be applied to the container in conventional manner. An example process is illustrated schematically in FIGS. 4A to 4D. A polymeric film sleeve 6 is formed (FIG. 4A) and then subjected to stretching so that its circumference is greater than the circumference of the container 1 to which it is to be applied (4B). The film is then positioned around the relevant faces 4 and 5 of the container (FIG. 4C). The film is then released (FIG. 4D). Because the circumference of the film in the unstretched state is lower than the circumference of the container, the film sleeve fits tightly on to the container.

[0050] The thickness of the polymeric film sleeve is generally conventional. In the final product the thickness is generally from 10 to 120 μm, preferably 20 to 100 μm, more preferably 40 to 90 μm.

[0051] In the unstretched state polymeric sleeves suitable for application to tray-lid containers for carrying household goods have circumference of for instance 400 to 1000 mm and width from 10 to 60 mm.

[0052] The filling of the container and the application of the polymeric film sleeve or sleeves may be carried out in any convenient manner, but preferably a polymeric film sleeve is applied to the four converging sides, the container is then filled with the relevant product, the lid is then applied to form the upper face of the container and a second perpendicular polymeric film sleeve is then applied in contact with the upper and lower faces and two of the converging side faces to which the first sleeve has already been applied.

[0053] The polymeric sleeve applied in contact with the four converging sides is generally described herein as the first sleeve, since it is preferably applied first. The sleeve in contact with the upper and lower surfaces is generally described as the second sleeve.

[0054] The second sleeve is preferably applied such that the degree of stretch is at least 1%, preferably at least 1.5%.

[0055] Preferably the coefficient of friction (determined according to ASTM D1894) between the second sleeve and the container is at least 0.1, preferably 0.1 to 1, in particular around 0.2.

[0056] It may be convenient to provide either or both sleeves, but especially the second sleeve, with perforations or other means to render it easier for the consumer to remove the sleeve.

[0057] Where the product is a container, it may contain any desired product, but especially a household cleaning product. For the first time we have been able to provide containers containing detergent materials by use of stretch sleeving. It can be problematic attempting to apply labels to detergent-containing containers, because the detergent can tend to attack the adhesive holding the label to the container. Since the stretch sleeving process of the present invention does not depend upon the use of large amounts of adhesive, this is particularly convenient for the labelling of detergent containers and indeed in a further aspect of the invention we provide a process of applying a polymeric film sleeve to a container containing detergent by stretch sleeving. We also provide the product of this process.

[0058] The product is preferably a container which contains a stack of disposable mops wetted with a cleaning composition. These may each be folded in thirds in the container. Preferred containers and mops are disclosed in EP-A-1086648.

Claims

1. A method of packaging a product comprising the steps of: applying a polymeric film sleeve to a product wherein said container has a tapered cuboidal shape having four converging side faces and wherein said polymeric film sleeve is applied in contact with all four converging side faces by a stretch sleeving process.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said polymeric film sleeve is made of material selected from the group consisting of low density polyethylene, blend of low density polyethylene and ethyl vinyl acetate, co-extrusion of low density polyethylene and ethyl vinyl acetate and any combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said product is a container comprising a detergent product.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said converging side faces have a tapering angle of between about 1 and 10 degrees.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the coefficient of friction between said product and said film sleeve is between about 0.3 to about 1.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said film sleeve has a percentage stretch of at least about 1% at all points of contact with said converging side faces.

7. A method of packaging a product comprising the steps of: applying a first polymeric film sleeve to said product by a stretch sleeving process such that said first polymeric film sleeve has a first axis; and applying a second polymeric film sleeve by a stretch sleeving process to said product such that said second polymeric film sleeve has a second axis which is substantially perpendicular to said first axis of said first polymeric film sleeve.

8. A packaged product comprising: A product having a tapered cuboidal shape having four converging faces; and a first polymeric film sleeve applied to said product by a stretch sleeving process wherein said polymeric film sleeve is in contact with said four converging side faces.

9. The packaged product of claim 8 wherein said first polymeric film sleeve is made of material selected from the group consisting of low density polyethylene, blend of low density polyethylene and ethyl vinyl acetate, co-extrusion of low density polyethylene and ethyl vinyl acetate and any combination thereof.

10. The packaged product of claim 8 wherein said product is a container comprising a detergent product.

11. The packaged product of claim 8 wherein said converging side faces have a tapering angle of between about 1 and 10 degrees.

12. The packaged product of claim 8 wherein the coefficient of friction between said product and said film sleeve is between about 0.3 to about 1.

13. The packaged product of claim 8 wherein said product comprises a second polymeric film sleeve applied to said product by a stretch sleeving process and wherein said first polymeric film sleeve has a first axis and said second polymeric film sleeve has a second axis such that said first axis is substantially perpendicular to said second axis.

14. The packaged product of claim 13 wherein said second polymeric film sleeve is made of material selected from the group consisting of low density polyethylene, blend of low density polyethylene and ethyl vinyl acetate, co-extrusion of low density polyethylene and ethyl vinyl acetate and any combination thereof.

15. The packaged product of claim 13 wherein said product is a container comprising a detergent product.

16. The packaged product of claim 15 wherein said converging side faces have a tapering angle of between about 1 and 10 degrees

17. The packaged product of claim 15 wherein the coefficient of friction between said product and said film sleeve is between about 0.3 to about 1.