AU768679B2

AU768679B2 - Packaging for moist tissues or similar consumable articles

Info

Publication number: AU768679B2
Application number: AU11256/01A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Heinz During
Original assignee: During AG
Current assignee: During AG
Priority date: 1999-12-01
Filing date: 2000-11-16
Publication date: 2003-12-18
Anticipated expiration: 2020-11-16
Also published as: JP2003525076A; EP1233914A1; PT1233914E; ATE246130T1; BR0016028B1; WO2001040073A1; IL149803A0; AU1125601A; BR0016028A; DK1233914T3; DE50003147D1; EP1233914B1; ES2203526T3

Abstract

The invention relates to a flat heat-sealed bag packaging for a large number of moist tissues or other consumable articles, consisting of a flexible packaging material (1), which has a convenient resealable opening on the opening side (4) and a permanent adhesive coating on the adhesive side (5) which is opposite said opening side (4). The adhesive coating is covered by a protective film (6). Said protective film (6) is removed for use and the packaging is stuck onto a wall or onto another surface which is as stable as possible. The adhesive fixing lends the packaging new stability and rigidity which enables said packaging to be simply opened, the contents to be removed and to be resealed, in particular with one hand; an operation which is otherwise only possible with more complex packaging. To remove, the empty packaging can simply be peeled off the surface. The packaging consists for example of a plastic film, aluminium foil or of a composite material.

Description

P1626PCT-E -1- A PACKAGING ITEM FOR MOIST TISSUES OR FOR SIMILAR CONSUMABLE ARTICLES The invention lies in the field of packaging technology and relates to a packaging item according to the preamble of the independent claim. The packaging item contains a plurality of moist tissues or a plurality of similar consumable articles.

A series of demands are made on a packaging item which contains a plurality of moist tissues and from which, on several occasions at different time intervals in each case at least one moist tissue is to be removed. The most important ones of these demands are the following: The packaging item is to be opened and re-sealed in a simple manner, advantageously with only one hand.

The packaging item is to be sealed in a manner such that the moist tissues remain moist during a normal usage time, not only before the first opening but also in a re-sealed condition.

The packaging item is to be stable in a manner such that the moist tissues, from the first to the last one, can be removed in an equally simple manner and advantageously using only one hand.

The packaging item is to allow a simple manufacturing process, is to be disposable without problem and is to be as inexpensive as possible.

Individual moist tissues are usually offered in flat bags consisting of two pieces of foil.

These flat bags are for example manufactured in a continuous process from two quasi endless foil strips, wherein the foil strips lying on one another are connected to one another along their longitudinal edges, the connected foil strips are alternately transversely sealed and filled and the filled and transversely sealed foil strips are separated into individual flat bags in the region of each transverse seam.

P1626PCT-E -2- Usually, such flat bags comprise a notch on one edge which simplifies tearing-open for removal of the moist tissue. Since such a packaging once torn open cannot be re-sealed it is not suitable as for packaging a plurality of moist tissues. For opening such flat bags and for removing the moist tissue therefrom, two hands are necessary.

For packaging a plurality of moist tissues, e.g. tins have been suggested. Such tins have a re-sealable opening and where appropriate are fastenable to a wall with the help of suitable wall mountings. With such tins it is possible to fulfill the above-mentioned conditions up to the condition of simple manufacturability and inexpensiveness.

It has also been suggested in the publication AU-696902), to offer together with flexible packages, for example flat-tubing packages, a stiff cover element with a sealable opening and being connectable to the package. While the package is a disposable article, the cover element is used for further packages. Such a solution also fulfills the above-mentioned conditions including the one regarding the one-handed operation, if the cover element is e.g. fastened on a wall. However, exchanging an empty package with a full package entails additional handling.

It is the object of the invention to provide a packaging item for a plurality of moist tissues or for a plurality of similar consumable articles which item is simple and practical and can still be produced in a simple and inexpensive manner. The packaging item according to the invention is to be usable at an essentially freely selectable location which may also change from use to use and without the aid of elements not belonging directly to the packaging item, such as wall mounts or the like, and it is to permit simple and in particular one-handed operation for removing a consumable article and where appropriate also for opening and re-sealing the package.

This object is achieved by the packaging item as defined in the independent patent claim.

The packaging item according to the invention is a bag, for example a flat tubing bag package of a flexible packaging material having no essential intrinsic stiffness, for example of a plastic foil, of an aluminum foil or of a composite material, such as e.g. coated paper. The bag is flat, that is to say it comprises two surface regions essentially parallel to one another and defining a front side and a rear side of the bag, wherein the distance between the front side and the rear side, that is to say the thickness of the bag is not larger than the dimensions of the front and rear side. The flat bag comprises on the front side an opening which is where appropriate re-sealable P1626PCT-E -3and its rear side is at least partly coated with an adhesive having a permanent adhesiveness. The adhesive may at least in the new condition of the bag be covered e.g. with a cover foil.

For using the bag the cover foil is removed and the bag is fastened on a wall or on another stable surface table, sink, chair rest, computer monitor, where appropriate also pieces of clothing) with the help of the adhesive. By way of this fastening the bag which per se has little stability, in particular when not full any more, gains a new stability and stiffness which permits the removal of part of the contents from it and where appropriate also its opening and resealing. At the same time the shape and the stiffness of the fastened bag changes to a negligable extent only by further removal, i.e. the first removal is effected in essentially the same way as the last. The empty or still partly filled bag is easily removed from the surface on which it sticks by peeling thanks to its intrinsic flexibility.

The opening is located on the front side of the packaging item according to the invention, that is to say, on the one side of the flat bag which lies opposite the adhesive side. The configuration of the adhesive side, the opening and where appropriate the means for re-sealing it are coordinated to one another in a manner such that on removing part of the contents from the packaging and where appropriate on opening and resealing the packaging no forces arise by way of which the bag is peeled away from the underlay on which it sticks. The opening in the new packaging item does not need to be really present but may for example be defined by a breakage line in a manner such that it is only formed when the package is opened for the first time.

The packaging item according to the invention is described in detail in connection with the following Figures, wherein: Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal section through a preferred embodiment of the packaging item according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows the opening side (front side) of the packaging item according to Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows the adhesive side (rear side) of the packaging item according to Fig. 1.

Figure 1 shows an exemplary, preferred embodiment of the packaging according to the invention in a longitudinal section. It is a flat tubing bag packaging made of a flexible packaging P1626PCT-E -4material 1 and encloses the packaged contents 2 in the manner of a flat tube being sealed off with two transverse seams 3 arranged opposite one another. The flat packaging item comprises on its one side (front side or opening side 4) a resealable opening and on its other side (rear side or adhesive side 5) it is coated with an adhesive layer having a permanent adhesiveness, said adhesive layer advantageously being covered with a cover foil 6.

The contents 2 of the package is for example a stack of moist tissues. The packaging item according to the invention is however not limited to contain moist tissues but may also contain a plurality of other consumable articles which are not all removed at once from the packaging item and which render it necessary or at least advantageous for the packaging item to be resealable between removal operations and for removal and also opening and re-sealing to be carried out with one hand. Therefore, the contents of the packaging item may also be dry tissues such as hankies, toilet tissues or serviettes as well as cotton wool pads, cotton buds or many further similar consumable articles.

The packaging material to be used depends on the contents of the packaging item, but is sufficiently flexible for the package to be able to be removed from the underlay by peeling. For packaging moist tissues, a plastic foil or coated paper are suitable. Advantageously the whole packaging item consists essentially of the same material, that is to say not only the tubing bag but also a sealing element to be described later and the cover foil.

The re-sealable opening on the opening side of the packaging item is for example formed as a predetermined breakage line 10 in the packaging material 1, said breakage line defining an opening and being covered over by a flexible sealing element 11. The sealing element 11 may likewise consist of the packaging material or of another flexible material. As evident from Fig. 2 showing the opening side 4 of the packaging item according to the invention, the sealing element 11 projects beyond the opening 12 defined by the breakage line 10 and comprises a holding region 13 and a hinge region 14 opposite the holding region 13.

In the holding region 13 the sealing element 11 is advantageously not connected to the packaging material so that for opening it can be easily gripped. If the sealable opening 12 is realized in the form of a breakage line 12 as shown in Fig. 2, the sealing element 11 (where appropriate up to the holding region) may be stuck onto the packaging item in a manner such that it can be peeled off. By suitable measures regarding the sealing element and/or the breakage line P1626PCT-E it is advantageously prevented that the sealing element can be peeled from the packaging in the hinge region also and therefore, the opening can be closed without having to newly position the sealing element.

In Fig. 1 the sealing element 11 is shown in unbroken lines in a position which it assumes during opening, and dot-dashed in the sealed position. From this it is evident that for opening, the holding region 13 of the sealing element 11 (not being connected to the packaging material), is gripped and the sealing element 11 is peeled off the packaging item from this side, wherein on opening for the first time the packaging material 1 tears along the breakage line 10 and the part of the packaging material lying within the breakage line 10 is removed or lifted from the opening together with the sealing element, thereby freeing the contents of the packaging 2 for removal. In the hinge region 14 the sealing element 11 remains connected to the packaging material 1.

Therefore, the sealing element 11 does not need holding during removal of the contents and the sealing element 11 keeps its position for re-sealing.

Evidently, the opening may also be designed differently, in particular it may be not resealable. Furthermore, the packaging item according to the invention need not have an actual opening, it is sufficient also to correspondingly mark a potential opening which the user before the first removal e.g. opens using a knife or scissors.

Fig. 3 shows the adhesive side 5 of the packaging item according to Fig. 1. If the packaging item comprises a longitudinal seam 20 this for example runs roughly in the middle over the adhesive side 5. A central region of this side is coated with the adhesive 21. The coated region is covered over with the cover foil 6 in a manner such that the coating is covered as completely as possible and that the cover foil 6 at least in an edge region projects beyond the coating and can be gripped there for being peeled off. For example the cover foil projects beyond the coating in the region of the transverse seams 3 which are not coated.

For the packaging item to gain as much stability as possible by its sticking on a stable surface, the region of the packaging rear side fastened to the surface through the adhesive is as large as possible, wherein it is not a condition for the whole region to be coated with adhesive. A regular or irregular coating pattern or coating only of the edges of the region to be fastened or only parts of these edges may be envisaged.

6 The adhesive has a permanent adhesiveness, it is for example a permanently adhesive hot-melt, a permanently adhesive dispersion adhesive or an adhesive being polymerisable after deposition by way of UV irradiation.

The adhesive is advantageously transparent so that a printing of the packaging material 1 remains visible through the adhesive. For a packaging material 1 which consists of a plastic foil, for example SYNCOLLAN 762 of the company Casanin AG (6033 Buchrain, Switzerland) is suitable as adhesive. The adhesive is for example applied through a nozzle and forms a complete layer, strips, beads or points. It may also be applied by spraying, spincoating, sputtering or rolling.

The cover foil 6 is for example a transparent plastic foil or consists of siliconized paper or of wax paper.

On dimensioning the opening 12 on the opening side 4 of the packaging item and the adhesive coating 21 on the adhesive side 5 of the packaging item care is to be taken that on removal of an object through the opening 12 no forces arise which lead to peeling the whole packaging item off the surface it is sticking on. This means that the opening 12 is to be arranged over a central region of 25 the adhesive coating 21 or of the region fastened by the adhesive coating respectively in a manner such that it does not extend beyond an edge region of the adhesive coating 21 or of the region of the packaging fastened by the adhesive coating respectively. If a peelable sealing element 11 is provided over the opening, the same applies.

On peeling the sealing element no forces peeling off the packaging item are to arise. This means that for a sealing element without a pregiven peeling-off direction its region being peeled off is not to project beyond the 35 fastenable region of the adhesive side. Of the peelable •region of a sealing element having a predetermined peeling-away direction defined by a holding region, at \\melb_files\homeS\Leanne\Keep\11256-01.doc 18/09/03 7 least the region in which the peeling begins is not to project beyond the adhesive (fastenable) region of the rear side.

In this specification, except where the context requires otherwise, the words "comprise", "comprises", and "comprising" mean "include", "includes", and "including", respectively. That is, when the invention is described or defined as comprising specified features, various embodiments of the same invention may also include additional features.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

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Claims

2. A packaging item according to claim 1, characterized in that a sealing element is provided over the removal opening, said sealing element being designed to be able to be peeled off at least partly and projecting beyond the .removal opening on all sides, and such that the peelable region of the sealing element does not extend beyond the 25 edges of the fastenable region of the adhesive side of the packaging item.
3. A packaging item according to claim 1, characterized in that a sealing element is arranged over the removal opening said sealing element projecting beyond the removal opening on all sides and being designed to be peeled off in a predetermined peeling-off direction at least partly and starting from a holding region and that at least the one part of the peelable region of the sealing element in ooeo 35 which peeling starts does not extend beyond the edges of oooo S• the fastenable region of the adhesive side of the packaging item. \\melb_fi es\home$\Leanne\Keep\1125601 .doc 18/09/03 9
4. A packaging item according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the adhesive coating is covered with a cover foil. A packaging item according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the adhesive having the permanent adhesiveness is a holt-melt adhesive, a dispersion adhesive or an adhesive being polymerisable after depositing by way of UV irradiation.
6. A packaging item according to one of claims 1 to characterized in that it comprises a longitudinal seam extending over the adhesive side.
7. A packaging item according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the packaging material is a plastic foil, an aluminum foil or a composite material.
8. A packaging item according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the adhesive coating covers a fastenable region of the packaging in a regular or irregular coating pattern or only along edges of the .i fastenable region.
9. Use of a packaging item according to one of claims 1 to 8 for packaging a plurality of moist tissues. Use of a packaging item according to one of claims 1 to 8 for packaging one of a plurality of hankies, a plurality of toilet tissues, a plurality of serviettes, a plurality of cotton buds or a plurality of cotton wool pads. \\melb_files\home$\Leanne\Keep\11256-01 .doc 18/09/03 10
11. A packaging item for a plurality of moist tissues or similar consumable articles, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 18th day of September 2003 DURING AG By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia *o *o o** \\melb_files\home\Leanne\Keep\11256O1.doc 18/09/03