The present invention is in the field of packaging, in particular the invention relates to the temporary bundling of individual cases having a relatively small width to facilitate the handling, storage and transport (palletizing) of these cases.
Manufactured products such as diapers or sanitary pads are usually transported from the site of production to the point of sale in cases, usually designated as secondary packages, containing several of the carton boxes or plastic wraps that are presented to the consumers, the so called primary packages.
Shelf-ready secondary packages are increasingly being used because they allow the supermarket staff to place several products in one movement on the shelf instead of having to place each primary packages separately. Examples of shelf-ready packages are the so called tray-and-hood packages, wherein the primary packages are placed in a tray which can he placed directly on the shelf. A hood is placed within the tray during transport and storage to protect the products, and is normally discarded by the supermarket staff before placing the tray on the shelf These packages provide an excellent protection for relatively unstable or fragile products, for example hygiene products such as diapers or feminine sanitary products packaged in a carton box or a plastic wrap.
Secondary packages usually have a width larger than 15 cm, especially for absorbent hygiene products such as diapers or feminine sanitary articles. Since many secondary packages are shelf-ready packages, the width of the package is usually the width of the space occupied by the products on the shelf. However shelf space is limited, so it may be a customer (the supermarket) requirement to the manufacturer of the products to provide secondary packages with a smaller width, for example by packing only one row of products in the shelf-depth direction instead of two as may be the case for products having a relatively small width, e.g. feminine sanitary products.
Although secondary packages can be made with a smaller width, these packages are less stable and require a handling (e.g. palletizing) system with higher capacity for the same amount of products. Furthermore it is also desirable that an untrained supermarket staff should he able to easily and intuitively place the products on the shelf without using a cutting implement such as a cutter or knife in order to avoid causing damages to the products or injuries to the staff
In order to solve the above mentioned problems, the inventors have come to the insight that cases with a smaller than usual width of from 50 mm to 200 mm, and in particular of from 75 mm to 150 mm, could be releasably attached together to provide a bundle having a larger width, providing easier handling, storage and transport.
The bundles of the invention, as indicated in the claims, comprise two or more cases. The cases are releasably attached together by attachment means defining a twisting axis. The cases can be detached by being twisted apart along the twisting axis, for example by a supermarket attendant. The invention is also for a process for bundling two cases into a bundle, as indicated in the claims.
a-9f shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary process for attaching the two cases into a bundle.
While the specification concludes with claims which particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description of exemplary embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The case 2 has a width W, a height H and a length L. For shelf-ready packages, the width can be easily defined as the dimension in the horizontal plane of the front side of the case (i.e. the side that is presented to the buyer when the product is placed on the shelf), the length is the dimension of the case in the horizontal plane perpendicular to the width and the height is the vertical dimension of the case. In general, the width is usually the dimension of the smallest side of the case, the length the dimension of the longest side of the article and the height its third dimension. The length of the case may be chosen to be approximately equal or slightly smaller than the depth of the intended shelf. The length may be for example of from 30 cm to 80 cm. The width of the case is relatively small, being from 50 mm to 200 mm, or advantageously less, in particular from 75 mm to 150 mm. The height will of course be adapted to the products packaged in the case, for example from 10 cm to 30 cm. The invention is also especially useful with cases which width represents about half their height or less, as these may be particularly instable.
The case exemplarily represented in the Figures comprises a tray 4 and a hood 6 placed within the tray 4, The products 8 are placed within the tray 4. The hood may be releasably attached to the tray. Tray and hood cases are described fur example in EP1,864,913, U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,225, U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,369 and co-pending European application EP09172685. The hood is normally removed or detached from the tray and then discarded by the supermarket staff when the shelves are replenished. For example, the hood and the tray may be attached by a glue spot (not shown) placed under an opening 10 placed on each lateral side of the case. The opening 10 allows the user to place his fingers between the tray and the hood and break the glue seal, thus releasing the hood. Although the case shown in the Figures is a tray-and-hood type case, the principle of the invention is of course applicable to other type of cases, for example one piece fully closed cases.
For the present invention, where the case has a relatively small width, it is expected that the one product at a time would normally be facing the buyer, so that the products may be placed in a single line along the length of the tray. The tray may be printed with decoration and/or indication of the products contained therein. The hood is normally not decorated, but information about the products may be indicated, such as bar code or a written description of the content.
The cases are releasably attached together by attachment means 12a defining at least one twisting axis T which will be used intuitively by a manipulator to detach the cases when needed. The attachment means may be exemplarily provided by at least two glue spots 12a, 12b, defining a twisting axis T as shown on
The twisting axis T may be placed proximal one of the side corner 14 of each case, as shown on
As shown in the Figures, the attachments means may be advantageously placed such that the twisting axis is orientated in the same direction as the length of the cases. All these advantageous features provide improved attachment means because they lead the manipulator to grab the sides of the cases opposite the twisting axis and intuitively break the attachment means by twisting the cases apart. Some examples of attachment means will now be described in more details.
In one embodiment, the attachment means comprises two or more aligned glue spots, as exemplary shown on
In another embodiment, a single glue spot 12c in the form of a stripe may he used, as exemplary shown on
In another embodiment, a single glue spot 12d which is not in the form of a stripe, for example a rectangle, a square, a circle or an ellipse may be considered, as exemplary shown on
Any suitable pressure sensitive glue may he used to form the glue spots, for example a hot melt glue such as a silicone based glue. In one embodiment, it may be considered advantageous to use a glue having a temporary strength (i.e. where the adhesive strength of the glue decays with time), so that after a given time (e.g. after a few days) the eases separate automatically or are much easier to twist apart.
Other placements of the glue spots than those shown in the Figures may of course be used. For example the attachment means, e.g. glue spot(s), may be placed on the tray 4 instead of, or in addition to, the hood 6. The glue spots may also be placed in a vertical alignment to create a vertical twisting axis proximal one of the vertical corner of the cases, or may he placed proximal one of the corner side of the bottom of the cases, i.e. on the tray for tray-and-hood type cases. However, with cases of the tray-arid-hood type, it may be advantageous to place the glue spot on the hood for aesthetic reasons, so that the glue spots on one case, and the respective tearing marks on the other case are not visible to the buyer when the trays are placed on the shelf.
In another embodiment, instead of glue spots, an adhesive band 12e which may be perforated can be used as attachment means, The twisting axis is then defined by the length of the band, and/or the perforation line. if present. This is exemplarily shown on
Other attachment means may be considered, for example a “hook and loop” (e.g. Velcro®) system, where one component (e.g. the hooks) is fixed on one case and the other component (e.g. the loops) is fixed on the other case.
The attachment means may be placed on the cases using conventional techniques. For example, glue spots may be applied using a standard gluing machine on the desired emplacement on one case, and then pushing another case against it so that both cases are pressed together and the cases become attached by gluing. If an adhesive tape (e.g., perforated) is used, it can be simply unrolled and adhered along the length of the cases in a conventional manner so that it overlaps its side corners. Of course it may be advantageous to make this process automatic, but the attachment means may also be placed by hand to avoid capital cost if desired.
a-9f describes an embodiment of an exemplary process that was developed to apply attachment means, in particular one or more glue spots in an efficient way. The bundling equipment comprises a conveyor belt 14 on which the cases are provided, as is known in the art, and as shown in
As indicated above, bundling two relatively small cases has the advantage to provide a packaging of more standard size, which is easier to manipulate in standard production lines. In addition, the inventors have found that the bundles of the invention help stabilizing the pallets on which they are loaded for transport. For example, the bundle can be stacked in a columnar pattern on a pallet, whereas the single cases would require alternated stacking to avoid cases to fall down when the stretch foil is released. It is conjectured that bundling the relatively small cases together provide improved rigidity compared to non bundled cases.
The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean “about 40 mm”. Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or related patent or application, is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation of any document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect to any invention disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in any combination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests or discloses any such invention. Further, to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning of definition assigned to that term in this document shall govern.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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09015913.8 | Dec 2009 | EP | regional |