Patent Application
20120280027
The present invention relates to a container blank and a method of forming a container for use in packaging articles, particularly the packaging of single or multiple flat articles, such as books or video cassettes and discs such as CDs and DVDs. The invention also relates to a container package (that is, including packaged articles) formed using the container blank of the invention. The invention also relates to the method used to shape the blank into a package for constraining at least one article therein for dispatch or storage.
The invention particularly relates to a container blank made of card or similar material, the blank being modified to include an article retaining means to secure articles therein and prevent damage-causing movement within the container formed from the blank. Additionally, the invention relates to a method of manipulating the blank to firstly constrain the at least one article therein and subsequently to shape the blank into a package for dispatch or storage. The invention is described herein below with reference to flat articles such as those exemplified above, however it should be appreciated that no such limitation exists.
It will be appreciated by the skilled addressee that the invention, although directed towards the packaging of substantially flat articles, may be applied to any three-dimensional object locatable within the container and is not limited to similarly shaped articles such as books and DVDs.
Increasingly, customers are eschewing the time-consuming routine of travelling to purchase their shopping and/or personal and business requisites. It is now common for purchases to be made by mail order, telephone and via the Internet and email. As a consequence, for goods to be received there is a marked increase in the use of postal and courier services to deliver the purchases.
The further involvement of postal services and other delivery systems is different from the traditional mode of shopping where the customer travels to purchase articles over the counter and returns using public or their own transport means. In this scenario, packing or packaging is done at the counter or before the customer leaves, after which responsibility for damage no longer resides with the seller. As most postal and courier services either limit their liability for damage to articles delivered by them or charge significant premiums for insurance against such damage, it falls to the retailer, warehouseman or company dispatching the purchase to ensure there is minimal risk of damage during transit to the customer.
The term “postal” as used herein is intended as a convenient expression of all local, national and international dispatch and courier services, including drop-shipping services.
With the increased popularity of Internet shopping and the dispatch of ordered articles via the postal system the requirement for packaging has increased manyfold. The popularity of such websites as Amazon™ and eBay™ have increased the postal traffic of books, CDs, CDROMs and DVDs amongst others. Due to the vast turnover of dispatched articles and the inherent risks associated with the bulk handling of goods, there is a market requirement for sturdy containers. Additionally, as the volume of mail order catalogue business increases so to does the volume of returns. This has a severe consequence on the profitability of the mail order transaction and, where the returned article is damaged, the customer must bear responsibility for the damage. This condition of sale often has repercussions for customer relationships.
In other words, a fundamental requirement of any method of goods transportation is that the goods are not damaged during transport so that they reach their destinations in a non-damaged state.
It has been found in practice, that the packaging of articles such as books, records, and similar articles having at least one surface with a relatively large surface area in relation to depth or thickness of the article has presented, in terms of packaging, a significant ongoing problem. This problem manifests itself particularly in situations where the articles are packaged on a production line basis using a packaging method involving the folding of a card or like blank into a container for receiving an article to be packed.
Containers formed from blanks made of card and cardboard and other materials suitable for dispatch through the postal services are well known in the prior art. Generally, the containers are formed from a relatively simple blank having side walls separated by fold lines and one or more base and lid portions connected to one or more of the side walls by corresponding fold lines. To construct the container, an end tab of one side wall is secured to an edge portion of another side wall and the or each base portion is folded and secured to form an open-mouthed container. When the or each article to be dispatched has been placed within the container, the or each lid portion is folded and secured. The means of securing the portions to form the container is normally selected from gluing, stapling or applying adhesive tape.
It will be appreciated that unless the container is designed to receive the specific article(s) to be dispatched, further packaging materials will be required to prevent the article(s) moving about within the container. In the packaging industry generally there is a move to obviate extraneous packaging materials and in some countries there are regulations and legislation to prevent wasteful packaging practices.
The invention is directed to overcoming some of the established disadvantages associated with prior art containers, particularly those realising a container which is adapted for encapsulating or otherwise securing one or more articles within the container to prevent damage due to movement within the container during transit to its destination.
In an attempt to obviate some of the disadvantages highlighted above, a solution suggested in the prior art is to utilise a web of lining material to secure the articles within the container.
One established solution is to place the articles for dispatch in a tray, usually of a cardboard material. The tray and articles are then wrapped by a web of plastics material which is subsequently heated to effect a shrink-wrapped package. Alternatively, the web or film is tensioned around the article(s) by folding elements of the tray to which the web is attached. This package is then placed into a pre-formed container which is finally sealed and marked for dispatch. This arrangement, however, has its own disadvantages including that, although the articles are bound together, the tray will often move sufficiently in the container to dislodge the articles from the tray. Furthermore, this arrangement does not avoid the use of unnecessary additional packaging materials and includes an extra stage in the packaging process.
In another solution, United Kingdom Patent No. GB 2 343 885 describes a container blank to which a sheet or web of lining material is secured. This lining material is shrink-wrappable so that articles may be placed directly into the container and secured in situ.
There has been an increasing awareness for the need for packaging to be easily recyclable and, although the general public are increasingly involved in the separation of recyclable and non-recyclable waste, where there is separation of materials required it is perceived as being simpler simply to discard the entire packaging for processing as non-recyclable waste. More recently, packaging legislation has pushed packaging manufacturers towards simpler and less obtrusive packaging use to cut down the volume of packaging material that is used for individual containers.
Consequently, there is a perceived need to provide a container having an article retaining means which is adaptable to conform with the article or articles contained therein to minimise movement of the or each article within the container during transit.
It is an object of the present invention to alleviate the above disadvantages and to provide a packaging system that is wholly recyclable and has an article retaining means which is adaptable to conform with one or more articles contained therein.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method for the manipulation of a carton blank to constrain at least one article therein for dispatch or storage.
In its primary aspect, the present invention provides a container blank, so sized and shaped as to form a container having a base and side and end walls, there being secured therein a web of material adapted to retain an article within the container, wherein the web material is selected from one or more materials having substantially identical recycling characteristics to the material from which the blank is formed.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a container blank comprising:
Conveniently, the material adapted to retain an article within the container formed from the blank is a card or paper web.
Advantageously, the material web is presented so that articles to be retained within the container are placed within the base portion over the material web which is then closed and tensioned to secure the or each article therein.
Preferably, the material web has cohesive portions thereon, the portions being brought together so that the cohesive regions bond across their entire free area until the bonded section abuts the upper surface of the or each article held therein, thereby creating the constraining tension to the article(s).
Conveniently, the cohesive portion includes an adhesive adapted to adhere only to surfaces having like adhesive thereon.
Advantageously, the cohesive portions are spray coated with a cold-seal adhesive.
In an alternative arrangement, an inner surface of a first material web portion includes an adhesive region which is adapted to overlie the outer surface of a second material web portion when one or more articles are to be retained therein and adhere to said outer surface when manual pressure is applied.
In one such arrangement a protective film is applied to the adhesive region to prevent adherence to other surfaces.
The present invention further provides a method of forming a container from a container blank of the type having an article retaining portion thereon, the method comprising:
Conveniently, co-adhesive regions are brought together with sufficient force to activate the adhesive and create securing tension across the article retaining portion to constrain the or each article within.
Advantageously, the method includes bringing together cohesive portions of the web material so that the cohesive regions bond together across their entire free area until the bonded section abuts the upper surface of an article held therein, thereby creating a constraining tension to the or each article.
Alternatively, the method includes overlying a first material web portion having an adhesive portion thereon and under wrapping tension adhering it to an exposed surface of a second material web portion within which articles to be secured are constrained.
The invention will now be described more particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example only, one embodiment of container blank and method of forming a container therefrom in accordance with the invention. In the drawings:
In the description that follows, the terms “side walls” and “end walls” are used conveniently to describe pairs of opposed walls and should not be considered as limiting. Certain portions or tabs are also described in a similar fashion, again on to assist the reader.
Referring to the drawings and initially to
The end walls 3,4 also act as risers for their respective lid portions 10,11, each connected to the end walls via fold lines L. Each of the base 2, end wall 3,4 and lid portions 10,11 have side wall forming elements which together define the shipping pack dimensions and therefore the capacity of the container formed by the blank.
As shown in
Side portions 24 of the material web overlying the retained article are brought together using manual pressure, as shown in
The final form of the shipping pack is shown n
It will be appreciated by the skilled addressee that the use of flexible card or paper as the material web provides the major advantage of the present invention, in that the container is entirely recyclable rather than extra costs being incurred in packaging levies and recycling costs which is now predominant with packaging using multiple material types or materials which can not be recycled at the same time or same process.
It will of course be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details described herein, which are given by way of example only, and that various modifications and alterations are possible within the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0917367.5 | Oct 2009 | GB | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/GB10/01891 | 10/5/2010 | WO | 00 | 7/6/2012 |
