Glass bottles and similar containers are used for shipment of liquid products that may, for one reason or another, not be storable or shippable in plastic containers (e.g., made from polystyrene, polypropylene or polyvinyl chloride). For example, chemical products that must retain a high level of purity, are shipped in glass bottles because of the adverse reactions with plastic containers. However, glass bottles are brittle and shatter on impact. Therefore, it is necessary to cushion glass bottles containing chemical products to prevent breakage during shipping and storage. This is necessary, not only to protect the product itself, but also because these products are frequently solvents or other chemicals that present an environmental hazard if leaked or spilled.
Disposing of packaging material is an additional burden on those who receive bottles and who are already burdened with disposing of not only chemical waste but also of the bottles and packaging materials themselves. Any arrangement that can reduce the disposal burden on an end user of chemical products shipped and stored in bottles is of substantial importance. Moreover, it is desirable that such packaging materials be recyclable and made from recycled, or at a minimum, biodegradable materials.
Currently, it is generally known to package bottles of chemicals in expanded foam polystyrene (EPS) packing material, which is placed around the bottles within a corrugated paper board container. A drawback of using EPS is that solvents in or on the bottles can dissolve the EPS, thus reducing or eliminating its cushioning purpose. Moreover, once the package is opened there are two discreet material groups which must be disposed of—the corrugated paper board as well as the expanded polystyrene. Polystyrene foam also has environmental impacts itself, both because the gases that it releases as it decomposes and because of its exaggerated physical presence resulting from its rigid expanded cell structure that consumes a great deal of volume in landfills. Restricting the use of foamed polystyrene packaging is a priority of many solid waste and environmental organizations as well as governments. For example, a number of US cities have banned polystyrene food packaging.
In view of these considerations, there is a need for an economical replacement of polystyrene with a packing system that eliminates the dual waste streams and that uses a biodegradable packing material for which there are established, environment-friendly waste management processes in place.
In light of the above-noted problem, the disclosed packaging system provides an improved package with molded inserts. More specifically, the system provides both impact protection, including restricting the potential motion of the bottle relative to its surrounding container, and cushioning for the bottle(s) and also assures the ease of use, and potential re-use, of such a system by employing an insert design that protects the bottles.
Disclosed in embodiments herein are systems and methods for bottle packaging system and shipping container, and more particularly to a container wherein top and bottom inserts are employed to stabilize the bottle(s) and to provide impact resistant cushioning during shipment of liquids and the like. For a 4-bottle (quad) pack embodiment the improved insert design includes a fiber-molded bottom insert placed on the bottom of the carton for receiving the bottoms of a plurality of bottles and top insert fitting over the caps, necks and shoulders of bottles placed into the carton.
Disclosed in another embodiment herein is a packaging system for a plurality of bottles, comprising: a carton having paper board panels defining a space, the panels meeting to define a plurality of interior corners as well as a carton bottom, a carton top and carton sides; a bottom insert for receiving bottoms of the plurality of bottles and supporting the bottles in a spaced-apart and padded relationship with one another and with the carton bottom, sides and interior corners of the carton, said bottom insert including a generally planar upper surface extending to a skirt along the edges thereof in contact with said carton, said bottom insert having a plurality of wells formed therein, one well for each bottle bottom, where each of said wells includes a well wall, where the wall includes a plurality of pairs of opposed primary ribs extending from the upper surface to a bottom of the well; and a top insert for maintaining the position of and cushioning each of the plurality of bottles relative to one another and to the carton top, said top insert including a planar surface having a plurality of recesses protruding therefrom, one for each bottle, said recesses each contacting a top shoulder of a bottle, said recesses each having a generally conical interior shape with a plurality of pillar-like supports spaced about the interior periphery of each recess, said pillar-like supports extending toward the planar surface to contact the top shoulder of the bottle to form a continuous structure between the top shoulder of the bottle and the top of the carton in order to absorb force and hold the bottle in place and avoid damage in the event of contact to the carton top.
Also disclosed herein is a packaging system for a plurality of bottles, the system retaining the bottles in a spaced-apart and padded relationship with one another and with the top, sides and interior corners of a carton, the system comprising: a generally planar surface; a plurality of conical recesses, one for each bottle, said recesses each contacting a top shoulder of a bottle; and a plurality of pillar-like supports spaced about an inner surface of said recesses, each of said recesses having spaced about the interior periphery of each conical recess, said pillar-like supports further contacting the top shoulder of the bottle to form a continuous structure between the top shoulder of the bottle and the top of the carton in order to absorb force and hold the bottle in place and avoid damage in the event of contact to the carton top.
The various embodiments described herein are not intended to limit the disclosure to those embodiments described. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the various embodiments and equivalents set forth. For a general understanding, reference is made to the drawings. In the drawings, like references have been used throughout to designate identical or similar elements. It is also noted that the drawings may not have been drawn to scale and that certain regions may have been purposely drawn disproportionately so that the features and aspects could be properly depicted. Moreover, any dimensions included in the drawings are there to provide a relative representation of the size of a particular embodiment, but are not intended to limit the disclosed embodiment.
As more particularly set forth below, the disclosed system and methods for assembling an improved bottle shipping system, specifically a container wherein molded top and bottom insert designs are employed to stabilize the bottle(s) within a surrounding carton, and to provide support and padding during shipment and handling. In particular, aspects of the disclosed embodiments are designed to assure that a bottle(s) is supported or braced against the top, bottom and sides of the carton by the top and bottom inserts, thereby reducing or eliminating the movement of a bottle within a carton, even in the event of dropping the carton (e.g., a top drop). As used herein the term bottle is intended to cover both a conventional glass bottle having a base, sides, shoulder, neck and re-sealable top, as well as other types of containers used for the storage and shipment of liquids and the like. The various embodiments described herein disclose configurations for the shipping container, and it is further contemplated that the methods and systems disclosed may be used to ship containers other than traditional bottles. Accordingly, the use of the term bottles is not intended to limit the disclosure or claims to conventional bottles or bottle designs.
The improved insert designs and associated packaging system permit a common insert to provide stabilization to the bottom and upper shoulder of the necked bottle(s) used for shipping chemicals and the like. Although generally described relative to a 4-bottle (quad) pack, it will be appreciated that the features of the disclosed packaging system, and in particular the top and bottom inserts, may be employed in packaging any number of bottles (e.g., single, double, triple, quad and six-pack configurations). Moreover, various sizes and types of bottles may be packaged using the disclosed inserts, and modifications thereof.
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The bottom insert 100 also has outer skirt 130 extending at a generally horizontal direction at least substantially all the way around the entire periphery of the 4-pack insert. It will also be appreciated that the well walls 112 are not completely cylindrical in shape (only the innermost portions thereof), but that all of the well wall features may have a slight draft or taper, with the lower portions or bottom of the well being slightly smaller in size (e.g., diameter).
Vertical ribs 120 and 122 maintain the spaced-apart relationship between the respective cells and resist the compaction or compression relative to the cylindrical walls of each well 110. When a bottle is inserted within each well 110 (see e.g.,
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The supporting pillar-like ribs 176, 178, 180 extend along the walls of each recess for at least a portion of the recess height (T), which may be on the order of 7.25 inches, but is a function of the bottle neck's shape and size. The top insert 170 may further include a cutout 810 on at least two edges of the planar surface or flange 190, in order to allow for a person's fingertips to easily grasp the top insert for placement and removal relative to carton 300.
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In one embodiment, the fiber used in the formation of the top and bottom inserts may include at least 50% Kraft paper material and less than 50% newsprint, and more particularly, about 60% Kraft paper and about 40% newsprint. It is however, possible to use varying compositions, even compositions that are at or about 100% Kraft paper material, or at or about 100% newsprint, as well as compositions that utilize alternative types of pulp/fiber materials as noted herein. One source of such materials may be recycled paper products such as cardboard, newsprint, etc. One process involves creating a vacuum formed plastic mold 500 representative of the insert shape depicted in the embodiments—described above.
This mold or “tooling” is mounted on a plate, which is subsequently mounted in pans of pulp molding machines. These machines include a tank that is continuously supplied with a slurry of corrugated Kraft and newsprint pulp. The pans are attached to a rotating wheel and as the wheel revolves, the pans are submerged in the pulp tank. The molds are connected to a vacuum, which draws the pulp solids onto the mold surface 510 and removes water. At the end of a rotation of the wheel, the individual pan reaches the unload station where an air blast blows the semi-solid pulp insert off of the mold 500. The insert is then transferred to a belt of a large multi-zone drying oven (e.g. gas-fired), which removes the remaining moisture. At the end of the oven, the inserts may be packed for shipment.
It will be further appreciated that various alternative materials may also be used, including various pulps, cellulose, sugar cane waste, palm waste, expanded starches, and foams (EPS). Preferably the materials employed in making the insert are recycled and/or recyclable. It is also contemplated that various handling tools and techniques may be employed to assist in the removal of the molded fiber inserts prior to and/or during a drying process (e.g. before stiffness and dryness of the insert achieves a desired level).
A packaging system such as depicted in
Although described herein relative to a fiber-based insert, the disclosed system may indeed be suitable for use with alternative packaging materials, including biodegradable or other plastics, starch compounds, etc. Another possible manufacturing process may involve a vacuum-formed plastic having insert shape depicted in the embodiment of
It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore anticipated that all such changes and modifications be covered by the instant application.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/681,869 for TOP AND BOTTOM INSERTS FOR BOTTLE SHIPPING SYSTEM, by R. Schmick et al., filed Jun. 7, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The disclosed packaging system is directed to an improved bottle shipping container, and more particularly to a container wherein improved top and bottom inserts are employed to stabilize bottles and to provide impact resistant cushioning during shipment of bottles filled with liquids and the like. The improved packaging includes, in one embodiment, at least one of a pair of inserts, a first to receive and secure a bottle bottom, and a second to receive and restrain a bottle shoulder and neck region (bottle top). In one embodiment, the inserts and packaging system may be used for shipping bottled chemicals and the like, and is designed to “isolate” the neck and top of bottle, and to put force of a top drop through the pillars in the top insert to the stronger shoulder of the bottle itself.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62681869 | Jun 2018 | US |