Patent Application
20100147726
The present invention relates to packaging or containers made of plastic with a water vapor permeability >15 g/(m2*d), wherein the external surface of the packaging is enclosed, at least in sections, by a presentation and identification means that fits the external surface of the packaging and has a water vapor permeability <15 g/(m2*d).
Plastic containers are used in various forms and designs as packaging for the transport and storage of a variety of most diverse packaged goods.
Many packaged goods require that the plastic packaging provides a water vapor barrier adequate to firstly prevent ingress of moisture through the packaging walls into the packaged goods, and secondly from the inside of the packaging into the surroundings.
In the case of ingress of moisture, dispersible packaged goods can become clumped, for example, such that the thus-damaged packaged goods can no longer be conveniently removed from the package. Moreover, the packaged goods can also be chemically modified by the ingress of water vapor. For example, penetrating water vapor deactivates or decomposes bleaches and/or enzymes in powdered laundry detergents and cleaning agents. Unwanted biological effects, such as bacterial growth or mold in the packaged goods, are also possible from an increased ingress of water vapor.
Concerning the egress of moisture, particularly with aqueous packaged goods, an inadequate water vapor barrier can lead to thickening of the packaged goods if water vapor can escape through the package wall into the surroundings. This is particularly relevant in warm temperatures or in direct sunshine for this kind of packaged goods. This then leads to a modified flow behavior and concentrations in the liquid packaged goods which render an exact dosage difficult for the consumer. The volume loss that results from the escape of water vapor can lead to an unaesthetic, unwanted dent in the relevant container.
Furthermore, due to the loss of liquid, soluble ingredients in the liquid product may precipitate out and settle on the bottom of the container. Finally, the subtle lowering of the level that accompanies the loss of water is undesirable, especially when the bottle is transparent and a lower fill level can be perceived by the consumer.
On the grounds of conservation of resources together with the associated reduction in costs, stringent material savings are demanded when molding plastic-based packaging. Usually this leads to lower wall thickness of the packaging, thereby generally resulting in a reduction in the water vapor barrier for this type of packaging as well as a reduction in the stability, especially of the stackability of the packaging.
This is particularly critical for plastics of non-fossil origin, such as plastics based on starch or polylactic acid, which generally have comparatively high water vapor permeability so that these so-called bioplastics are not suitable for many packaged goods.
Sustainable, renewable resources are usually used to manufacture these types of bioplastics. In addition to the possible use of the respective regionally available agricultural raw materials for manufacturing bioplastics, there is a further advantage that after use for the intended purpose, they are comparatively easily and quickly biodegradable in the sense of DIN EN 13432, for example by composting, such that a generally increased use and wider employment of bioplastics is desirable.
In order to improve the water vapor barrier, it has often been proposed in the prior art to vapor-coat this type of bioplastic with, for example, SiOx or aluminum, with the consequence that the total surface of the packaging made from this has a suitable coating. However, vapor-coating with aluminum in particular has a number of disadvantages. Firstly, a metallized plastic film loses its transparency, and secondly, they are usually unsuitable for use in a typical domestic microwave, with the result that any use for the packaging and preparation of hot foods is generally excluded.
Furthermore, the vapor-coated layer does not contribute to an increased structural stability of the molded container.
Moreover, metallized or SiOx-vapor-coated bioplastics with increasing metal or SiOx levels significantly lose their inherent biodegradability. In particular, for metallized bioplastics one must ask whether it makes ecological sense to introduce metals like aluminum into the environment, where they do not naturally degrade but rather only accumulate, especially when considering recent research results indicating a direct relationship between an increased exposure of biologically resorbable aluminum with illnesses such as Parkinson's syndrome or Alzheimer's disease.
An additional, limiting factor concerning the use of bioplastics is their comparatively high price that the use of bioplastics poses, the objective being to use the lowest possible amounts of this type of expensive plastic when designing a desirable packaging in order that it can be manufactured at a competitive price in comparison with conventional plastics. In this respect, it is evident that the requirement for the lowest possible use of primary bioplastic materials, the need to provide adequate water vapor permeability, and the ability to provide sufficiently stable packaging that is also biodegradable, stand in direct contradiction to each other and up to now has not been satisfactorily resolved.
Accordingly, the object of the invention is to improve the water vapor barrier of plastic packaging with the lowest possible use of resource-saving primary material in a cost-efficient and easily manufacturable manner, wherein the packaging possesses an adequate structural stability, especially stackability.
The object is achieved by a packaging that is made of plastic, wherein in one embodiment the packaging is especially for free-flowing or pourable surfactant-containing and/or bleach-containing packaged goods such as powdered laundry detergent or cleaning agent. The packaging has a water vapor permeability >15 g/(m2*d), and comprises a floor, a top, wherein an opening for removing product from the packaging is located on or in the top and the opening can be closed with a closing means, and a lateral surface, wherein at least the lateral surface of the packaging is enclosed, at least in sections on the external surface of the packaging, by a film-like presentation and identification means that has a water vapor permeability <15 g/(m2*d) and a modulus of elasticity of at least 200 N/mm2 and the film-like presentation and identification means is a shrink film or a stretch film.
The advantages of the invention include firstly an improvement in water vapor barrier properties with possible simultaneous reduction of required usage of plastic materials. Secondly, by simultaneously increasing the bioplastic fraction, a reduction in the plastics of fossil origin can be achieved.
Moreover, plastic packaging according to the invention allows for separation of biodegradable plastic materials and non-degradable or only difficultly degradable plastic materials, depending on use of the packaging.
Packaging according to the invention can be produced in a cost-efficient manner by exclusive use of industrially established packaging production processes.
Packaging according to the invention is especially suitable for filling, storing, transporting and dispensing free-flowing or dispersible products, in particular, for filled goods from the group of the laundry detergents, laundry cleaning agents and laundry care agents, dishwasher detergents, body care agents, pharmaceuticals, agricultural auxiliaries, building materials, colorants, adhesives or foodstuffs.
The invention is particularly suitable for essentially dimensionally-stable plastic packaging, such as beakers, cans, buckets, barrels, bottles, canisters, jugs, drums or tubes. In principle, it can also be used for flexible containers such as pouches or sacks.
The packaging can assume any shape. Round or rounded cross sectional shapes, however, are advantageous as “sharp edges” on packaging lead to unwanted stress peaks in the enveloping film-like presentation and identification means, and thus can cause an unintentional tearing of the film-like presentation and identification means.
In order for the presentation and identification means to fit without difficultly onto the surface of the packaging, the outline of the packaging should be as flat as possible. However, it is possible to shape the presentation and identification means such that it fits closely to the outline of the packaging.
Packaging shapes that are rotationally symmetrical are particularly advantageous.
In terms of the present application, a ‘beaker’ is a dimensionally-stable container for holding a free-flowing or pourable product which has a filling volume delimited by a floor and a lateral wall, wherein the cross-section of the floor corresponds to the cross-section of the opening of the beaker.
Cans can include an extended can, tear-open can, press-in lid can, threaded can, folding lid can, folding lid can with filling hole, folded can, drawn can, lobed can, sleeved can, ripcord can, crimped can, sliding lid can or raised-rim can.
Barrels or drums can be chosen from belly barrels, staved barrels, pressurized barrels, garage drums, semi-pressurized barrels, kegs, tire-shod roller drums, heavy-duty drums, flanged drums, roller flanged drums.
For the present application, a ‘bottle’ is a closable, dimensionally-stable container for holding a free-flowing or pourable product which has a filling volume delimited by a base and a lateral wall, wherein the filling volume can be filled or emptied through an opening in the bottle neck that tapers towards the opening formed in the wall, wherein the cross-section of the base is greater than the cross-section of the opening.
A bottle can be designed, for example, as an aerosol bottle, transparent bottle, drinks bottle, in particular, ale bottle, various wine bottles, stone bottle, stubby bottle, Vichy bottle, broad-necked bottle as well as flat bottle, squeeze bottle, droplet bottle, or packaging bottle such as a flagon.
The wall thickness of the bottle is chosen such that the bottle is dimensionally stable. In one embodiment of the bottle, the walls or the lateral wall surface can be elastically deformable so that pressure can be exerted on the product located in the bottle, facilitating the release of product out of the bottle.
In a further advantageous development of the invention, the bottle can also be designed as a two- or multi-chamber container. Then, in an advantageous manner, each of the chambers can contain different products. For example, a liquid product can be stored in one chamber and a granular product stored in another chamber. Further possible combinations are listed in the following table:
In another embodiment of the invention, the closure of the bottle is at least partially or sectionally covered by presentation and identification means. A tamper evident seal or closure, for example, can be easily realized in this way.
In the context of this application, flexible packaging is packaging that changes its shape under a mild force during normal use. Such flexible packaging can be designed as a pouch or sack.
The pouch can be chosen from bottom pouch, block pouch, brick pouch, block bottom pouch, floor standing pouch, folded bottom pouch, crossed bottom pouch, round bottom pouch, upright pouch, double pouch, window pouch, flat pouch, valve pouch, valve pocket pouch, conical pouch, tubular pouch, side-fold pouch, folded pouch, sealed edge pouch, three edge sealed pouch, double seam pouch, sliding valve pouch, carrier bag and/or valve bag.
The sack can be chosen from push-in sacks, suspended sacks, folded sacks, flat sacks, crossed bottom sacks, multi-ply sacks, round bottom sacks and/or valve sacks.
The inventive packaging is molded from a plastic. The plastic packaging has a water vapor permeability of more than 15 g/(m2*d).
Suitable, exemplary packaging materials for the packaging include polyolefins, polyethylene terephthalates, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers, cellulose acetates, ionomers, polyacrylonitriles, polyamides, polycarbonates, polyesters, polystyrenes, polyterephthalic acid esters, polyurethanes, polyvinyl alcohols, and/or polyvinyl chlorides.
It is particularly advantageous to choose packaging material from bioplastics that are manufactured from renewable, sustainable resources. These include cellulose-based plastics, plastics based on polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxybutyrates (PHB), polyhydroxyvalerates (PHV), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), thermoplastic starch blends, polycaprolactone (PLC).
It is particularly advantageous to mold the packaging out of PLA plastic. Firstly, PLA is highly transparent so that packaging molded from PLA is optically high-grade and attractive. Secondly, PLA is sufficiently rigid and can be processed in standard molding machines.
Ecologically, it is advantageous if the packaging material is easily and as completely as possible biodegraded.
It is also possible that fractions of recycled plastic can be blended into the plastic blend that is used.
In order to further reduce the weight of the packaging and therefore the primary material requirement, the packaging can be manufactured from foamed plastics.
In the context of the present application, a ‘presentation and identification means’ is a film-like packaging auxiliary suitable for enclosing at least a section of the packaging so that it lies on the external surface of the packaging. The presentation and identification means forms a tube that encloses in a close fit the external surface of the packaging.
“To fit” in this context means that the surface of the presentation and identification means facing the packaging touches the outwardly orientated surface of the packaging, wherein here the intermediate location of an adhesive layer between the packaging surface and presentation and identification means is also covered.
The presentation and identification means is made of a film having a water vapor permeability of <15 g/(m2*d). In a further embodiment of the invention, the modulus of elasticity of the presentation and identification means is >200 N/mm2.
The presentation and identification means and the packaging are designed to ensure a permanently good physical contact between the presentation and identification means and the packaging, as well as preventing the presentation and identification means from being easily damaged when manipulating the packaging.
The bond between the presentation and identification means and the packaging can be designed to be friction locked, interlocking and/or cohesive. A friction locked bond can be realized, for example, by shrinking or stretching the presentation and identification means onto the packaging. A cohesive bond can be effected by means of an adhesive bond.
The thickness of the film-like presentation and identification means is preferably between 5 μm and 100 μm, particularly preferably between 7.5 μm and 75 μm, most preferably between 10 μm and 60 μm.
The ratio of the thickness of the packaging wall to that of the presentation and identification means is preferably >1. The ratio of the thickness of the packaging wall to that of the presentation and identification means is particularly preferably >1.5 and <100.
Films include co-extruded film, stretch- or drawn film, extruded film, flat sheet, stretched or orientated film, cast film, calendared film, foamed film, tubular film or blown film, or shrink film.
The presentation and identification means is preferably arranged as a single layer around the packaging.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the presentation and identification means is detachably arranged on the packaging. In this way the presentation and identification means can be easily removed from the packaging and separately disposed of, such that packaging consisting of an easily biodegradable bioplastic can be composted, while a presentation and identification means made of a plastic film of fossil origin is subjected to a thermal recovery.
The presentation and identification means can be attached to the packaging by means of one or more cohesive bonds. The cohesive bond can be designed such that on removing the presentation and identification means from the packaging, the cohesive bond is destroyed and cannot be re-established, such that the presentation and identification means, once removed from the packaging, no longer adheres to the packaging through the original cohesive bond. Separately, the cohesive bond can be designed such that a repeated removal and adhesion of the presentation and identification means to the closure cap is possible.
The cohesive bond can be chosen from adhesive joints, welded joints or sealed joints.
It is particularly advantageous if the employed adhesive layer provides a water vapor barrier. Therefore, it is also conceivable for the water vapor barrier of the adhesive layer to be greater than that of the presentation and identification means located on top of the adhesive layer. In this case it is advantageous to form a closed surface between the presentation and identification means and the packaging.
In order to facilitate removal of the presentation and identification means, an opening aid such as scissors or a knife can be provided on the presentation and identification means, allowing the presentation and identification means to be detached without need for opening means.
These types of opening aids can be formed, for example, as perforations, tear-off tabs, rip tapes, rip threads, pull tabs, tear-off seams, tear-off scratch lines or body rip-off tapes.
The presentation and identification means can completely enclose the packaging.
It is particularly advantageous for the presentation and identification means to enclose the lateral walls of the packaging, with the bottom of the packaging remaining substantially unenclosed by the presentation and identification means. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, between 50-95% of the packaging surface is covered by the presentation and identification means. It is particularly preferred to cover between 65-90% of the packaging surface with the presentation and identification means. Doing so produces firstly a water vapor permeability that is adequate for a large majority of possible applications, and secondly a sufficiently high supporting effect against buckling or bulging of the packaging, particularly when stacked.
Moreover, the presentation and identification means can reduce emission of bad odors from the plastic material into the surroundings, as can result, for example, from the use of plastic blends that comprise a recycled fraction.
Advantageously, the ratio of the surface area of the packaging lateral walls to that of the top and bottom can be greater than 2, such that on enclosing the surface area of the lateral walls with a presentation and identification means having a high water vapor barrier, the more water vapor-permeable area of the top and bottom is minimized. In this respect, it should be noted that surprisingly a water vapor exchange through the bottom surface occurs only to a small extent if at all, as the weight of the filled packaging produces a seal of the bottom surface to the floor.
A shrink-sleeve label is understood to mean a thermoplastic, pre-stretched film that shrinks or contracts when heated. The shrink-sleeve label and the packaging are accordingly designed so as to ensure a permanently good physical contact between the shrink-sleeve label and the packaging. The shrink-sleeve label should preferably shrink in the temperature range of about 50° C. to 90° C. by at least 5% in the orientated direction with sufficient force so as to produce a firmly seated, close fitting skin around the packaging enclosed by the coating.
A stretch sleeve label refers to film with a tendency to adhesion, which can be stretched by hand or with a machine and laid tightly around the packaging.
The stretch label and packaging are accordingly designed so as to ensure a permanently good physical contact between the stretch label and the packaging. The stretch label is preferably made of stretchable materials and contracts with sufficient force to produce a firmly seated, close fitting skin around the packaging enclosed by the coating.
The presentation and identification means is molded from a packaging material having a water vapor permeability of less than 15 g/(m2*d). The modulus of elasticity of the packaging material of the presentation and identification means is preferably >200 N/mm2.
The packaging material of the presentation and identification means should possess good printability. The packaging material can be printed substantiallyover its whole surface and therefore can be substantially opaque, thereby forming a correspondingly good UV-barrier that protects the contents of the packaging against environmental UV irradiation. This is of particular advantage for packaged goods containing UV-sensitive ingredients, such as enzymes, vitamins, colorants or fragrances.
The packaging material can also comprise specific UV-barrier substances and/or UV stabilizers. This can be advantageous for protecting UV-sensitive packaged goods, particularly when too high a fraction of transparent presentation and identification means is used. The use of UV-barrier substances in the presentation and identification means has moreover the advantage that for a given UV-barrier effect, comparatively less UV-bather substances need to be incorporated in the presentation and identification means than in the packaging material, with the result that the corresponding UV-bather can be manufactured more cost effectively.
However, it is also conceivable to print the surface of the packaging and to enclose it in a transparent presentation and identification means.
Suitable, exemplary packaging materials for the presentation and identification means include polyolefins, polyethylene terephthalates, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers, cellulose acetates, ionomers, polyacrylonitriles, polyamides, polycarbonates, polyesters, polystyrenes, polyterephthalic acid esters, polyurethanes, polyvinyl alcohols, and/or polyvinyl chlorides. In particular, the packaging material for the presentation and identification means can be polyethylene and/or polypropylene.
In order to realize a particularly good water vapor barrier and modulus of elasticity, multi-layered and/or composite films can be used as the presentation and identification means. In this regard, multi-layered films or composites consisting of PET-Al-PE, PET-PE or BOPP-PE are particularly preferred.
When packaging according to the invention is used, free-flowable and pourable packaged goods are particularly preferred.
In particular, it is advantageous that the ratio of the fill-height of the free-flowing or pourable packaged goods to the height of the lateral walls of the packaging is greater than 0.5, preferably greater than 0.75. This ensures that the packaged goods exert a sufficient, externally directed pressure on the lateral walls of the packaging so that the lateral wall is not pressed inwards by the force of the presentation and identification means enclosing the packaging.
The pourable packaged goods can be especially laundry detergent powder, laundry detergent granulates, cleaning agent granulates, salt or the like.
The free-flowing packaged goods are preferably liquid or gelled laundry detergents and/or cleaning agents, body-care products, adhesives, building materials or the like.
The invention is illustrated below in more detail with illustrative drawings of some embodiments. Particularly preferred developments and particularly preferred combinations of characterizing features will also be described below in detail.
Another embodiment of the bottle 1 in
The closure 7 can also be designed as a metering aid, such as for example a trigger spray head. This is illustrated in
A cylindrical plastic can 1 is shown in
Another embodiment of the plastic box 1 of
A further embodiment, not illustrated in the Figures, of a polylactic acid (PLA) bottle with a stretch label or shrink label, is described below.
The PLA bottle described below is a 500 ml bottle from the BELU Company used for “Natural Mineral Water UK” production code: 25061819. The bottle is cylindrically shaped and has a height of 220 mm.
One group of the BELU Company bottles was enveloped with a PET sleeve from the Klöckner Company with the name Pentaplast Thermodurr SF-E 649/15. The bottom of the bottle was not covered by the sleeve; the wall was completely sleeved up to the closure (200 mm).
Another group of BELU PLA bottles was provided with a PE shrink label with the trademark Flexaround® from the Bischof+Klein Company with a thickness of 65 μm. The PE shrink label was sleeved onto the PLA bottle to a height of 150 mm, the bottom of the bottle also remaining uncovered by the sleeve.
A control group of BELU PLA bottles remained without a cover. The bottles were filled with a commercial liquid universal laundry detergent named Persil and stored in a conditioning cabinet at 40° C. Weight loss from the bottles over time was measured and is shown in the following Table and
As can be seen from the Table and
Furthermore, the PLA bottles were subjected to a compression test according to DIN 55526 part 1. For this, as described above, were provided a group of BELU PLA bottles with a PET sleeve and another group with a PE shrink label. Here also there was a control group of un-enveloped BELU PLA bottles. In contrast to the above-described storage tests however, the BELU PLA bottles remained empty for the compression measurement. The PLA bottles were positioned between the platens of a press and the platens moved towards one another at a speed of 10 mm/min. The force for a deformation of 3 mm (F 3 mm [N]) and 5 mm (F 5 mm [N]) was measured.
From the above and
Although the present invention has been described in detail, it is to be clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only, and is not to be taken as a limitation. The spirit and scope of the present invention are to be limited only by the terms of any claims presented hereafter.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2007 029 315.3 | Jun 2007 | DE | national |
The present application is a continuation of PCT/EP2008/052688, filed 5 Mar. 2008, which claims priority to German Patent Application No. 10 2007 029 315.3, filed 22 Jun. 2007.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP2008/052688 | Mar 2008 | US |
| Child | 12642930 | US |
