AU2021105147A4

AU2021105147A4 - Packaging for bottles and a method of packaging a bottle

Info

Publication number: AU2021105147A4
Application number: AU2021105147A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Robyn Wulfse
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2021-08-09
Filing date: 2021-08-09
Publication date: 2021-10-07
Anticipated expiration: 2029-08-09

Abstract

: A packaging for a bottle having a cylindrical main body tapering inward to a narrow neck, 5 is disclosed. The packaging comprises a tubular sleeve formed from a sheet of flexible material sized to receive a bottle therein within some clearance. The tubular sleeve has one end that is open and another end that is closed and defines a longitudinal direction passing through the ends. The flexible material is formed of aluminium foil and has a plurality of corrugations extending in the longitudinal direction across its surface. The 10 flexible material can be crimped radially inward onto the bottle to compress the material so that it fits tightly against the bottle. A method of packaging a bottle with the packaging is also disclosed. 15 Figure 5 for publication Figure 3

Description

Figure 3

PACKAGING FOR BOTTLES AND A METHOD OF PACKAGING A BOTTLE FIELD

This invention relates to a packaging for bottles.

The invention relates particularly, but not exclusively to, a packaging for wine bottles and sparkling wine bottles, and it will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to this example application. However, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is capable of broader application. For example, the invention could be used to package bottles other than wine bottles and in particular other bottles having different shapes to wine bottles.

DEFINITIONS

In the present disclosure and claims, the term "comprising" shall be understood to have a broad meaning similar to the term including" and will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. This definition also applies to variations on the term "comprising" such as "comprise" and comprises".

In the present disclosure and claims, the term "crimped" shall be understood to have a broad meaning.

BACKGROUND

A packaging for wine bottles is known. This packaging comprises an elongate sleeve with an open top through which a bottle is inserted into the packaging. An example of this known packaging for wine bottles is shown in Figure 1.

One disadvantage of this type of packaging is that the bottle is received loosely within the packet. It does not snugly bear up against the bottle and thus the packaged bottle does not convey or mimic the shape of the bottle. It therefore has a limited aesthetic appeal and is not very stylish.

The reference to prior art in the background above is not and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the referenced prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia or in any other country.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Applicant is aware of the limitation of the prior art packaging for wine bottles discussed in the background above.

Applicant recognises it would be beneficial to develop new and attractive ways of packaging wine bottles and in particular presenting wine bottles as a gift.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a packaging for a bottle, the packaging comprising: a tubular sleeve formed from a sheet of flexible material and being sized to receive a bottle therein within some clearance, the sleeve having two ends one of which is open for receiving a bottle there through, wherein the flexible material can be compressed inward onto the bottle.

The flexible material compressed inward onto the bottle may sit up against the bottle.

Compressing the flexible material inward onto the bottle may include crimping or squeezing the flexible material radially inward onto a surface of the bottle. It may also include twisting the material onto the surface of the bottle.

The tubular body may have a closed end opposed to the open end.

The sheet of flexible material may be formed of a metallic material. In particular, the sheet of flexible metallic material may be a foil, e.g., an aluminium foil.

The sheet of flexible material may have a plurality of corrugations across its surface.

The tubular sleeve may have a longitudinal direction passing through the ends and the corrugations may extend in the longitudinal direction.

The plurality of corrugations may form a series of repeating peaks and troughs that enable the sheet to expand and contract, e.g., in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the corrugations.

The peaks and troughs may be rounded when viewed in cross section and the sheet may resemble a sinusoidal wave when view in cross section.

The corrugations may have a depth of at least twice the thickness of the sheet of flexible material, e.g., at least four times the thickness of the sheet, e.g., about five times the thickness of the sheet.

In dimensional terms, the corrugations may have a depth of 0.2mm to 1mm.

Further, each corrugation may have a width or pitch (between adjacent corrugations) of 0.2mm to 1.0mm which pitch is repeated across the sheet of material.

The sheet of flexible material may have a thickness in the range of 5 microns to 200 microns. Preferably, the sheet of flexible material has a thickness in the range of 10 to 200 microns, for example, 10 to 50 microns. Even more preferably, the sheet of flexible material has a thickness in the range of 15 to 30 microns.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a packaging for a bottle having a cylindrical main body tapering inward to a narrow neck, the packaging comprising: a tubular sleeve formed from a sheet of flexible material sized to receive a bottle therein within some clearance, the tubular sleeve having one end that is open and another end that is closed and defining a longitudinal direction passing through the ends, wherein the flexible material is formed of a foil, e.g. aluminium foil and has a plurality of corrugations across the full extent of its surface, the corrugations extending in the longitudinal direction, and parallel to each other, and the flexible material can be compressed inward onto the bottle.

Compressing the flexible material inward onto the bottle may include crimping or squeezing the flexible material radially inward onto the cylindrical body so that it lies snugly up against the cylindrical body of the bottle.

Compressing the flexible material inward onto the bottle may also include twisting the material onto the neck of the bottle while squeezing it inwardly so that it lies snugly up against the neck of the bottle.

This snug fitting of the flexible material on a surface of the bottle presents a neat and attractive appearance when a bottle is packaged in the packaging, e.g., suitable for presentation as a gift.

The packaging may further include any one of more of the features of packaging defined in a preceding aspect of the invention and any combination of these features.

The invention also extends to a method of packaging a bottle comprising a substantially cylindrical main body tapering inward to a narrow neck, the method including: providing a packaging as defined in any preceding aspect of the invention; inserting the bottle into the open end of the tubular sleeve; crimping the flexible material onto the main body of the bottle so the material compresses and sits against the main body; and twisting the bottle while holding the packaging against the neck of the bottle to compress the flexible material onto the neck of the bottle so it sits against the neck.

The bottle has a top and a bottom and the method may further include folding any excess flexible material projecting beyond the top of the bottle down onto the top of the bottle.

Yet further, the method may include folding any excess material that projects down beneath the bottom of the bottle up against the bottom of the bottle.

The method may further include the step of arranging a message tab on the packaged bottle outside of the sheet of flexible material.

The message tab may include a chain that hangs around the neck of the bottle.

The packaging may further include any one of more of the features of packaging defined in any preceding aspect of the invention.

It will be appreciated that the method does not require any ribbon or sticky tape to wrap or package the bottle for presentation as a gift.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a packaging for a bottle in accordance with a preceding aspect of the invention, the method including: providing a rectangular sheet of flexible material, folding it in half then attaching a tape along a side edge of the sheet of flexible material; attaching a tape along a half of a bottom edge of the sheet folding the sheet over to attach the side edges and two halves of the bottom edge, whereby to form a cylindrical sleeve with one open end.

The method may further include placing another tape along the bottom edge of the folded sheet, being a half of the length of the bottom edge and folding it over.

Providing a rectangular sheet of flexible material may include providing a sheet of metallic foil, e.g., aluminium having corrugations across its surface that extend parallel to the side edges.

Placing a tape may include placing adhesive tape including single sided or double-sided adhesive tape.

According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a packaged wine bottle including: a packaging in accordance with any of the preceding aspects of the invention and a wine bottle received in the packaging.

According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a packaged wine bottle formed in accordance with the method defined in a preceding aspect of the invention.

The method may further include any one or more of the optional method steps defined in a preceding aspect of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A packaging and a method for packaging a bottle in accordance with the invention may manifest itself in a variety of forms. It will be convenient to hereinafter describe in detail at least one embodiment of the invention with reference to accompanying drawings. The purpose of providing this detailed description is to instruct persons having an interest in the subject matter of the invention how to carry the invention into practical effect. However, it is to be clearly understood that the specific nature of this detailed description does not supersede the generality of the preceding summary section. The Detailed Description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic drawing of a packaging for a wine bottle known in the prior art;

Figure 2 is a front view of a packaging in accordance with one embodiment of the invention prior to its use;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the packaging packaged up with a wine bottle received therein for presentation as a gift;

Figure 4 to 7 illustrate a sequence of steps for packaging a wine bottle in a package like that in Figures 2 and 3;

Figures 8 to 13 illustrate the sequence of steps involved in forming the packaging illustrated in Figure 2 from a single sheet of flexible material; and

Figure 14 is schematic drawing of the cross-sectional configuration of the foil used to form the packaging in Figure 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 illustrates a prior art packaging for a wine bottle known in the prior art which has been discussed above in the background section.

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a packaging for a bottle such as a wine bottle in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In the drawings, reference 10 refers generally to the packaging.

The packaging 10 comprises a tubular sleeve 12 formed from a sheet of flexible material having one open end 14 that is sized to receive a bottle therein within some clearance, and an opposite end 16. The opposite end 16 is closed forming a base or bottom support for a bottle received within the tubular sleeve 12. This way a bottle can be inserted into the tubular sleeve 12 through the open end 14 and be supported by the closed end 16 within the sleeve 12 as will be described in more detail below.

Conveniently the sheet of flexible material which is indicated generally by reference numeral 18 is a metallic foil material such as aluminium having a plurality of corrugations 20 extending in a longitudinal direction (passing through the ends of the sleeve 12). The corrugations making up the plurality of corrugations 20 extend parallel to each other across the full surface of the flexible sheet.

Thus, the plurality of corrugations 20 form a series of repeating peaks and troughs across the width of the sheet and it is these corrugations that enable the sheet to extend or expand and contract. This structural feature enables the sheet of flexible material to be squeezed or crimped radially inward onto an outer surface of the bottle 50. That is, the material is crimped and/or compressed inwardly so that it lies snugly against a surface of the bottle 50. The plurality of corrugations 20 in the sheet help to avoid a crinkly appearance when the tubular sleeve 12 is squeezed inward and compressed onto the bottle. This feature which avoids a crinkly appearance in the sheet provides the packaging with desirable aesthetics.

The sheet of flexible material may also have ornamentation on its surface, particularly an outward facing surface, to enhance its aesthetic presentation as a packaging. For example, the ornamentation of the sheet of material may be like that of a gift wrap.

The corrugations have a depth that is at least four times the thickness of the sheet of material, and more typically about five times the thickness thereof. In dimensional terms, the corrugations have a depth of 0.2mm to 1mm and a width or pitch of 0.2mm to 1.0mm (the pitch is the length of each corrugation when viewed in cross section) which is then repeated across the width of the sheet. In the illustrated example the sheet of foil has a thickness in the range of 15 to 30 microns.

The sheet of flexible material may be procured by purchasing it off the shelf from an agency in China that works with packaging, foil and tag suppliers. Applicant understands that the foil is currently being sold to businesses for use in chocolate wrapping, and butter wrapping and other like applications.

The foil can be obtained from the following company: SUNSHINE INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LIMITED, TIANJIN NEW RUIHUA TECHNOLOGY CO, LTD at A215, Lvling Industrial Zone, Hebei District, Tianjin, China.

The packaging 10 can be manufactured from a sheet of flexible material 18 that is foil having corrugations across its surface using the sequence of steps illustrated in Figures 8 to 13. These steps will now be described with reference to these drawings.

A rectangular sheet of flexible material 18 is provided of a suitable size. Conveniently the rectangular sheet may be cut from a roll of foil. A length of single-sided tape 40 is then applied to a side edge 42 of the sheet 18 as shown in Figure 8. The sheet 18 is then folded in half to define a mid-point across a bottom edge 44 of the sheet 18 as shown in Figure 9.

A length of single-sided tape 46 is then applied to one half of the bottom edge of the sheet. This is shown in Figure 10 where the tape is shown extending halfway across the bottom edge of the sheet.

The tape 40 along the side edge 42 is then folded over its adjacent side edge to fix the adjacent edges 42 of the sheet 18 to each other as shown in Figure 11.

Next, the tape 46 on the bottom edge 44 is folded over and fixed to its adjacent section of the bottom edge 44 as shown in Figure 12.

The process is completed with another strip of tape 48 along the bottom edge 44 which is folded over the outside of the bottom edges 44. This effectively creates a tubular sleeve 12 with one closed end as shown in Figure 13 which is a finished packaging 10 suitable for use.

In use, the packaging 10 can be used to package up a bottle of wine for presentation as a gift. The method of packaging a wine bottle as shown in Figures 2 and 3 is shown in the sequence of drawings forming Figures 4 to 7 in which the bottle of wine is indicated generally by the reference numeral 50.

The wine bottle 50 comprises a substantially cylindrical body 52 tapering inward to a narrow neck 56. The wine bottle has an open top at an upper end of the neck 56 and a closed bottom.

In use, a packaging 10 like that shown in Figures 2 and 3 is provided for packaging a wine bottle up as a gift. The packaging 10 is sized such that a conventional size of wine bottle 50 can be fully received within the tubular sleeve 12 of the packaging 10 when the bottom of the bottle 50 is resting on and supported by the closed end 16 of the tubular sleeve 12.

The bottle 50 is then inserted through the open end 14 and into the tubular sleeve 12 as shown in Figure 4 until the base of the bottle 50 is resting on and supported by the closed end 16 of the sleeve 12. The bottle 50 will then be fully received within the tubular sleeve 12. As shown in Figure 4, the tubular sleeve 12 has some clearance around the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body region 52 of the bottle 50.

The method then includes crimping and/or squeezing the packaging 10 to compress the flexible material onto the cylindrical body 52 of the bottle 50. It further includes turning the bottle 50 while holding the packaging on the neck 56 of the bottle 50 to crimp the packaging onto the neck 56 of the bottle 50.

The method further includes folding any excess sheet of flexible material projecting beyond the top of the bottle 50, onto the top of the bottle 50 as shown in Figure 6. Yet further, the method includes folding any excess sheet material at the base of the bottle 50 underneath the bottle 50 where it is not visible as shown in Figure 7. Finally, a message tag on a chain containing a personal message can be hung around the neck of the bottle for presentation as a gift.

One working advantage of the embodiment of packaging illustrated in the drawings is that it enables a person to quickly and easily, package up a wine bottle for presentation as a gift in a neat and attractive fashion. The packaged wine bottle is attractive because it hugs the wine bottle and has a stylish shape that mimics or follows the shape of the bottle.

One working advantage of the embodiment of packaging illustrated in the drawings is that it does not require any ribbon or sticky tape to wrap the wine bottle in the packaging. It therefore avoids the need for this step and the additional materials. It also does not require any natural skill or experience in gift wrapping to use it. This makes it more versatile and user friendly. For example, gifts can be professionally packaged and presented in an impromptu fashion on the run. It does not require any scissors or a horizontal surface to wrap the gift on.

Another advantage is that the packaging in Figures 2 and 3 does nor present a crinkly surface to the outside. The corrugations on the sheet of flexible material forming the tubular body of the packaging enable the product to present a smooth exterior which is neat and attractive.

It is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. All such modifications and variations thereto, as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art, are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as is set forth herein. Changes in detail or structure may be made without departing from the basic elements of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A packaging for a bottle, the packaging comprising: a tubular sleeve formed from a sheet of flexible material and being sized to receive a bottle therein within some clearance, the sleeve having two ends one of which is open for receiving a bottle therethrough, wherein the flexible material can be compressed inward onto the bottle.

2. A packaging for a bottle according to claim 1, wherein the sheet of flexible material is a foil that has a plurality of corrugations across its surface, the plurality of corrugations extending in a longitudinal direction passing through the ends of the sleeve.

3. A packaging for a bottle according to claim 2, wherein the sheet of flexible material has a thickness of 15 to 30 microns, the corrugations have a depth of 0.2mm to 1mm and a width or pitch of 0.2mm to 1.0mm.

4. A packaging for a bottle having a cylindrical main body tapering inward to a narrow neck, the packaging comprising: a tubular sleeve formed from a sheet of flexible material sized to receive a bottle therein within some clearance, the tubular sleeve having one end that is open and another end that is closed and defining a longitudinal direction passing through the ends, the flexible material is formed of aluminium foil and has a plurality of corrugations across the full extent of its surface, the corrugations extending in the longitudinal direction, and parallel to each other, and the flexible material can be compressed inward onto the bottle.

5. A method of packaging a bottle comprising a substantially cylindrical main body tapering inward to a narrow neck, the method including: providing a packaging as defined in any one of claims 1 to 4; inserting the bottle into the open end of the tubular sleeve; crimping the flexible material onto the main body of the bottle so the material compresses and sits tightly against the main body; and twisting the bottle while holding the packaging on the neck of the bottle to pack the flexible material onto the neck of the bottle so it sits tightly against the neck.