Patent Application
20160130023
This application claims priority to German Patent Application Number 10 2014 223 124.8 filed Nov. 12, 2014, to Aad Hoekstra, currently pending, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a method for packaging an object with a defined product form, for example food, such as sandwiches and the like, in a folded packaging. It can be possible to use such a method quickly and safely in the catering sector, for example in the distribution of take away food.
For acceptance of a packaging method in commercial use, it is essential that the packaging process can be carried out quickly and safely so that the employee involved in the packaging process can start a new selling process as soon as possible.
Furthermore, a packaging method is preferred where environmentally friendly, for example biodegradable, packaging materials can be used. Such packaging materials are meanwhile required by many clients who, after having taken their purchasing decision, do not want to burden the environment by the disposal process following consumption of the purchased article.
It is the aim of the present invention to provide a packaging method fulfilling the above mentioned requirements.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, this aim is reached by a method for packaging an object with a defined product form into a folded packaging, the method comprising the following steps:
The suggested method may allow for the packaging of solid objects, but not necessarily of liquids.
The method according to the present invention, described in its simplest embodiment, allows the production of a packaging which is closed all around by folding, the maximum clearance height of the packaging volume of the packaging formed this way being largely defined by the width of the first wall section and its extension depth being defined by the corresponding dimensions of the second and third wall sections. In the packaging formed by the above mentioned method, the joining section to which the second and third wall sections are partly joined, may pass from one longitudinal end of the first wall section in a round or polygonal manner to the opposite longitudinal end of the first wall section. A folded package which in a plan view may be triangular, rectangular, polygonal or round can thus be formed, into which triangular or rectangular sandwiches, tramezzini or the like can be packed. The height of the sandwiches which can be packed into the folded packaging formed by the above mentioned method is defined by the width of the first wall section which at the end of the packaging process is usually opposite an edge or border of the sandwich. Objects other than food articles can of course also be put into a packaging using the above mentioned method.
An advantage of the present method and the packaging formed by it on the basis of a planar blank sheet is that, after opening, the packaging can be put back into an almost planar state and the packaged object can then be presented on a support which has only been contacted by the object itself.
An embodiment described in the present application as a folding line arrangement can be formed by a folding line or a plurality of at least partially parallel folding lines, depending on whether the edge of the packaging formed by the latter shall rather be sharp or rounded or faceted. The folding lines can be formed as material pre-weakenings, for example in the form of a linear embossing or a cutting which is not passing completely through the material thickness of the blank sheet.
The material pre-weakenings can be formed in the blank sheet to support folding in the desired folding direction. Given that wall sections of the blank sheet are usually folded onto the object to be packaged, it can be advantageous to apply material pre-weakenings in the form of embossings on the side of the blank sheet that will later form the inner side of the packaging. Embossings can be advantageous because they first provide depressions displacing the material that will be compressed during folding.
When the material pre-weakenings are provided in the form of incisions, it can be advantageous to provide them on the side of the blank sheet which forms the outer side of the packaging because the incisions are provided to separate material zones which during folding must be stretched against the direction of their material elasticity.
A joining section on the other side of a common longitudinal end section of the two folding line arrangements may extend at a longitudinal end of the first wall section to ensure that the packaging space enclosed by the packaging formed by the above mentioned method can be separated as completely as possible from the outer environment. In other words, the joining section can be adjacent to the first, the second and the third wall sections. Then, at least at the longitudinal end of the first wall section, a closed joining area of the second and third wall sections extending up to the first wall section can be formed by joining associated joining section portions, for example by adhesive bonding of the latter. To be able to also form such a joining section at the other longitudinal end of the first wall section, one joining section portion may be provided at the other side of each of the common longitudinal end sections of the two folding line arrangements, so that a joining section portion passes along each longitudinal end of the first wall section or is adjacent to it. For a planar blank sheet this means that the first wall section may be provided between two spaced joining section portions.
To be able to avoid an interspace when forming the joining area of the joining section portions in the region of the longitudinal ends of the first wall section, a third folding line arrangement may be provided which extends in continuation of the first wall section into the at least one joining section located on the other side of the longitudinal end of the first wall section and can pass through it, wherein the method can comprise the step of folding the at least one joining section portion around the third folding line arrangement.
In one embodiment, the first and the second folding line arrangements meet at their common longitudinal ends, so that the first wall section on the blank sheet may be completely surrounded by the first and the second folding line arrangements. The third folding line arrangement can originate from the meeting point of the first and the second folding line arrangements and extend away from the first wall section into the joining section portion or through the latter. The third folding line arrangement may be formed by exactly one folding line to avoid unnecessary interspaces.
To ensure that the folded packaging can be quickly and easily joined in its joining region, the joining section of the blank sheet may be at least section-wise provided with a pressure-sensitive adhesive or/and with a cold sealing medium sealing only against itself. If a pressure-sensitive adhesive is provided in the joining section, the latter can be provided with a release layer to enable stacking of the blank sheets without having to fear that they are blocked in the region of the joining sections. In this case, the method can comprise a step of activating a joining section portion, for example pulling off a release layer from the joining section. A mechanically connecting joining section shall not be excluded, wherein for example foun fit formations of different joining section portions can be brought into a form fit engagement for closing the packaging.
“Joining sections” in the sense of the present application do not only include the blank sheet portion provided with an adhesive, form fit formations or the like, but may also include the part of the blank sheet interacting with the regions provided with the adhesive, form fit formations or the like due to the provided folding lines, i.e., for example those regions which will be bonded to the regions provided with the adhesive.
The above mentioned simplest packaging, with the first wall section being a wall section defining the clearance height of the packaging, tapers towards the packaging end which after folding is remote to the first wall section. To provide sufficient packaging height, even in an area remote to the first wall section of the packaging produced by the above mentioned method, the method can, according to the present invention, be developed further by the planar blank sheet comprising at least a fourth folding line arrangement defined thereon, the first and the second folding line arrangements defining between each other the first wall section and the fourth folding line arrangement being located between the second and a fourth wall sections, the second wall section being located between the first and the fourth wall sections, the method comprising the following further step:
The term “fourth” folding line is a consequence of consecutive numbering. It should be made clear that a fourth folding line arrangement can also be provided without providing the above mentioned third folding line arrangement.
In this case, in the region of the first wall section, the clearance height of the packaging produced may be determined by the width of the first wall section and in the region of the fourth wall section by the width of the fourth wall section. For obtaining a clearance height which is as constant as possible across the packaging width, the first and the fourth wall sections may have the same width and can have the same shape.
Closing the packaging can be further supported in that the planar blank sheets comprise a fifth folding line arrangement defined thereon, the fourth and the fifth folding line arrangements defining the fourth wall section between each other, the distance between the fourth and the fifth folding line arrangements being, in common longitudinal end sections, smaller than in a central section located between the common longitudinal end sections, and the planar blank sheet comprising a fifth wall section, being adjacent to the fourth wall section in such a way that the fifth folding line arrangement is located between the fourth and the fifth wall sections, the method comprising the following further step:
Here, the third and the fifth wall sections can be used for further delimiting the closed packaging volume against the outer area of the packaging.
For example, a delimitation of the packaging volume against the outer environment can be enforced by the step of folding the third and the first wall sections in relation to each other around the second folding line arrangement and the step folding the fifth and the fourth wall sections in relation to each other around the fifth folding line arrangement comprising a step of a partial overlapping of the third and the fifth wall sections.
A packaging width which substantially does not exceed the clearance height plus the two-fold or three-fold of the material strength of the blank sheet can be obtained when, at the end of the overlapping step, a surface of one wall section of the third or fifth wall sections which is facing away from the object to be packaged is facing towards a surface of the other wall section out of the third or the fifth wall sections which is facing towards the object to be packaged.
The third and the fifth wall sections can be chosen for closing the packaging because a border region of the third wall section remote to the first wall section can be provided with a joining means and because a border region of the fifth wall sections remote to the fourth wall section can be provided with a joining means, wherein the joining means and the joining counterpart may be adapted for a material-fit or/and form-fit joining engagement. In this case, the method may comprise the further step of bringing into engagement the above mentioned joining means and the joining counterpart. The joining means and the joining counterpart can be protruding flaps and cooperating slots or complementary interlocking formations or can alternatively or in addition be a flat adhesive application to portions of one or both above mentioned wall sections.
The above mentioned description of the first wall section and the hermetical closing of the packaging in the region of its longitudinal end also applies to the fourth wall section described in the following, so that according to one embodiment of the present invention a joining section portion can be provided so that it extends on the other side of a common longitudinal end section of the fourth and the fifth folding line arrangements along a longitudinal end of the fourth wall section or is adjacent to the latter, wherein a joining section portion on the other side of each of the common longitudinal end sections of the fourth and the fifth folding line arrangements may extend along a longitudinal end of the fourth wall section. For ensuring the hermetical closure of the packaging in the region of the longitudinal ends of the fourth wall section, a sixth folding line arrangement in extension of the fourth wall section can extend into the at least one joining section portion located on the other side of the longitudinal end of the fourth wall section and can extend through the latter, wherein the method comprises folding of the at least one joining section portion around the sixth folding line arrangement. What has been said for the third folding line arrangement also applies here. The method can also comprise the step of folding the joining section portion around the sixth folding line arrangement onto itself.
When the first and fourth wall sections are provided, the blank sheet can be formed with a rectangular basic design. In this case, the joining section portions can extend parallel to one another at the planar blank sheet, preferably along parallel sheet edges, with first to fifth wall sections in between.
The at least one joining section can be at least partially straight, making it easier to bring joining section portions associated for joining in coverage and in abutment, for example for adhesive bonding.
The invention thus also relates to a blank sheet for a folded packaging as it has been described above. More precisely, the present invention relates to a blank sheet for a folded packaging with at least two folding line arrangements defined thereon, defining a first wall section in between, wherein the distance between both folding line arrangements may be smaller in common longitudinal end sections than in a central section located between the common longitudinal end sections, with at least a second and a third wall section, between which the first wall section is located, the first folding line arrangement being located between the first and the second wall sections and the second folding line arrangement being located between the first and the third wall sections, and with at least one joining section, of which at least one portion is adjacent to the second and the third wall sections. Such a blank sheet is for example known from EP 0 227 592 A2, however relating to a blank sheet for manufacturing a fluid packaging, especially a milk packaging, wherein the packaging is machine-made, wherein especially the joining sections are joined by mechanical heat-sealing.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the joining section of the generic blank sheet is at least partially provided with a pressure-sensitive adhesive or/and with a cold sealing medium sealing only against itself to enable manual packaging of non-liquid objects.
The blank sheet described herein can be developed with the sheet characteristics mentioned above in the context of the method described.
For facilitating the implementation of the method described above, the blank sheet can furthermore be substantially mirror-symmetric in its main extension plane, the mirror symmetry axis extending through the first wall section. This applies in particular when only the first wall section is provided as a wall section determining the packaging height, and when the blank sheet does not comprise a fourth wall section.
The blank sheet can furthermore comprise at least three further folding line arrangements defined thereon, one further folding line arrangement being located between the second and the fourth wall sections and the second wall section being located between the first and the fourth wall sections. The further folding line arrangement mentioned herein corresponds to the fourth folding line arrangement. The advantages of providing a fourth wall section have been described above.
When developing the suggested blank sheet, the blank sheet can comprise a further folding line arrangement defined thereon, wherein the further and the even further folding line arrangement define the fourth wall section in between, the distance between the further and the even further folding line arrangement in the common longitudinal end sections may be smaller than in a central section located between the common longitudinal end sections, and wherein the planar blank sheet can comprise a fifth wall section which is adjacent to the fourth wall section in such a way that the even further folding line arrangement is located between the fourth and the fifth wall sections. The even further folding line arrangement described herein corresponds to the fifth folding line arrangement mentioned above.
For effectively storing and stacking the blank sheet, the latter can substantially be rectangular. “Rectangular” does not always mean a strict straight border. If necessary, the border of the blank sheet can, between its corner areas, also be curved. However, it will be possible to identify a substantially rectangular shape, even with curved edges.
Generally, as described above, joining section portions may be straight. In the case of a substantially rectangular blank sheet shape, it is preferred that at least two border regions arranged at a distance from each other, preferably extending substantially in the same direction and optionally being parallel, are adapted as joining section portions.
The first and, if provided, the fourth wall section at the finished packaging can have a concave shape seen from the outside, with an axis of curvature being located outside the packaging, orthogonal to the longitudinal direction from the longitudinal end section to the longitudinal end section of the first or, where appropriate, the fourth wall section.
When first and fourth wall sections are provided, the longitudinal ends of the first and fourth wall sections located at the same longitudinal end of the packaging can have a greater distance than a central region of the wall sections located between these longitudinal end sections.
Hereby the packaging formed according to the above mentioned method can be provided with greater shape stability.
The blank sheet may be formed from a thin sheet material, compared to its superficial area, for example from paper, carton or cardboard or from another fibrous material. A blank sheet made at least partially from a biodegradable material is particularly suitable. As a protection against fats and oils penetrating into a layer material of the blank sheet, the latter can be provided with an oleophobic coating, for example with a wax layer or a plastic film.
Other and further objects of the invention, together with the features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of the following description.
The invention will in the following be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show:
The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.
The following detailed description of the invention references specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The present invention is defined by the appended claims and the description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense and shall not limit the scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
In
The first folding line 12 and the second folding line 14 preferably come into contact at their longitudinal ends in a common contact area 16 or 18. However, this is not required. In this way, the first folding line 12 and the second folding line 14 completely enclose a first wall section 20.
As shown, the first folding line 12 is located between a first wall section 20 and a second wall section 22. Similarly, the second folding line 14 is shown as being located between the first wall section 20 and a third wall section 24.
The blank sheet 10, which can be made from a biodegradable fibre material or at least comprises such a material, has a larger surface than the sum of the first wall section 20, the second wall section 22 and the third wall section 24, because the wall sections 20, 22 and 24 abut on a joining section 26. In one embodiment, the joining section 26 extends completely at the outer border region of the blank sheet 10 around the three wall sections 20, 22 and 24. The joining section 26 may be provided with a cold sealing means, sealing only against itself and having no other adhesive effect. In this way, the blank sheet 10 can be stored as a stack without further measures and without individual sheets 10 blocking each other.
Starting from the contact areas 16 and 18, a third folding line 28 extends through the joining area 26 at both sides of the first wall section 20.
In the example shown, the blank sheet 10 serves to package an object, for example a sandwich, with a triangular base area (outlined by a broken line as sandwich 30).
The sandwich 30 can be placed on the second wall section 22 and then it is possible to fold the first wall section 20 around the first folding line 12 towards the sandwich 30 until a central region 20a of the first wall section, located between two longitudinal areas 20b and 20c of the latter, encloses a right angle with the second wall section 22.
In the longitudinal regions 20b and 20c, the distance between the first and the second folding lines 12 and 14 decreases towards the contact areas 16 and 18, while in the central region 20a of the first wall section it is larger than in the longitudinal end sections 20b and 20c. The central region 20a and the longitudinal end sections 20b and 20c of the first wall section correspond to the central region or the longitudinal end sections of the first and second folding lines 12 or 14. The distance between the two folding lines 12 and 14 in the central region 20a of the first wall section 20 can be constant, i.e., the folding lines 12 and 14 may be parallel in this region.
In a further folding step, the third wall section 24 can be folded around the second folding line 14 towards the sandwich 30 so that the wall sections 22 and 24 are arranged approximately in a parallel manner. The joining section 26 may be folded around the third folding line 28 so that the joining section portions on either side of the third folding line 28 come to lie on top of each other. The joining section portions lying on top of each other may then be pressed together and bonded. Because the joining section 26 passes around the wall sections 20, 22 and 24, a packaging 32 can be formed which is completely closed towards the outer environment, as shown in
As can be seen in
In the second embodiment, similar components or component parts and components or component parts with the same function as in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numbers increased by 100.
In the following, the second embodiment will only be described insofar as it differs from the first embodiment; reference will explicitly be made to the first embodiment for explaining the second embodiment.
The blank sheet 110 of the second embodiment comprises a fourth wall section 134 which may have the same shape as the first wall section 120. The fourth wall section 134 can be completely surrounded by a fourth folding line 136 and a fifth folding line 138.
The fourth wall section may again comprise a central region 134a, where the folding lines 136, 138 may have a greater distance from each other than in the common longitudinal end sections 134b and 134c of the fourth wall section 134 or the folding lines 136, 138; in the longitudinal end sections 134b and 134c the distance between the fourth and the fifth folding line 136a decreases towards the contact areas 116 and 118 until the folding lines 136, 138 meet preferably in the contact areas 140 or 142 which correspond to the contact areas 116 and 118 of the folding lines 112 and 114. A sixth folding line 144 may run on the other side of both longitudinal ends of the fourth wall section 134 through the joining section 126 formed as parallel joining section portions 126a and 126b.
Each of the joining section portions 126a and 126b can run outside and along the first wall section 120 and the fourth wall section 134, so that the wall sections 120 and 134 are located between the joining section portions 126a and 126b.
The joining section portions 126a and 126b can be located at a border region of the substantially rectangular blank sheet 110, the first wall section 120, the second wall section 122, the third wall section 124, the fourth wall section 134 and a fifth wall section 146 being preferably located between the joining section portions 126a and 126b.
The fifth wall section 146 may be separated from the fourth wall section 134 by the fifth folding line 138. The third wall section 124 may be defined in a transverse direction by the second folding line 114 and in the opposite direction by the sheet edge 148. Similarly, the fifth wall section 146 may be defined towards a transverse end by the fifth folding line 138 and in the opposite direction by the sheet edge 150, the sheet edges 148 and 150 being preferably orthogonal to the joining section portions 126a and 126b.
For better closing properties of the packaging after folding, a joining means 152 can be provided, for example at the border 148, for example in the form of an interlocking formation. As a counterpart, a joining means 154 can be provided at the opposite sheet edge 150, for example also in the form of a form-fit interlocking counter formation.
An object to be packaged can be placed onto a blank sheet 110, for example onto the second wall section 122. Then, the first wall section 120 can be folded around the first folding line 112 and the fourth wall section 134 can be folded around the fourth folding line 136 towards each other, and, with the sides shown in
From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure. It will be understood that certain features and sub combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. Since many possible embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is also to be understood that all matters herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative and not limiting.
The constructions and methods described above and illustrated in the drawings are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the concepts and principles of the present invention. Thus, there has been shown and described several embodiments of a novel invention. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required”. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present construction will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2014 223 124.8 | Nov 2014 | DE | national |
