DE102020131189A1 - Packaging device and method for producing packaging units - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a packaging device (1) and a method for producing packaging units. The packaging units each comprise an article arrangement (21) made up of at least two articles (22), the articles (22) being partially enveloped by an outer packaging material (26) made of paper or cardboard. The packaging device (1) comprises an application device (8) for Attaching the outer packaging material (26) to the article arrangement (21) and an ultrasonic joining device (5) for forming a joint between at least partially overlapping layers of the outer packaging material (26). The ultrasonic joining device (5) comprises at least one anvil tool (6) and a sonotrode. The anvil tool (6) is designed to be inserted and arranged between two articles (22) of the article arrangement (21) that are at least partially encased by the outer packaging material (26). The sonotrode is designed to interact with the anvil tool (6) arranged between the articles (22) to form a joint between the overlapping layers of the outer packaging material (26).

Description

The present invention relates to a packaging device and a method for producing packaging units according to the features of the independent claims.

There are different types of packaging for the processing, assembly, grouping and packaging of articles such as beverage containers, for example the combination of articles or containers into portable, relatively handy packaging units or bundle units. For example, beverage containers are usually combined and packaged using shrink films to form bundles of four, six or more containers. The production of containers is usually unavoidable, as they represent the most common variant of sales units for beverage containers or bottles made of PET plastic. Some of the containers are combined again for transport and/or put together in layers and palletized.

In the production of known types of containers, specific production steps are required in order to be able to process the shrink films that are usually used. These production steps require a relatively large amount of energy. In addition, the film used incurs costs for production, provision, handling and subsequent disposal, since it is no longer required after sale. The machinery for providing the so-called film wrapping modules and other handling stations also causes high investment costs. Finally, the provision of the so-called shrink tunnel, in which the film wrapped around the container is shrunk around the container by means of the application of hot air, also requires a relatively high capital investment.

A variant in which the use of shrink film can generally be dispensed with is the so-called strapped bundle. Here, the containers are combined into a bundle and connected to one another by means of so-called straps. In strapping machines that work continuously or in cycles, containers, articles or bottles are grouped into formations and then strapped with one or more straps using strapping units. Typical formations can be, for example, 1×2 arrangements (two containers in a row), 2×2 arrangements (four containers in a square or in a diamond formation), 3×2, 4×3 or, in principle, also variable n×m arrangements be.

The present invention relates in particular to the formation of packaging units in which at least two articles, preferably bottles, are combined by an outer packaging made of paper or cardboard. This applies in particular to so-called over-the-top-open (OTO) packaging. These are packaging units in which, for example, two to six bottles are partially wrapped in an outer packaging material made of paper or cardboard. The outer packaging material is arranged partially overlapping on the upper side and sealed with adhesive tape or hot glue.

For the connection of the overlapping areas of the outer packaging material, an adhesive is used in particular, which usually contains a proportion of plastic, which makes disposal of the outer packaging more difficult. The use of water-based adhesives is usually unsuitable due to the long drying time.

The object of the invention is to produce packaging units with an outer packaging made of paper or cardboard, in which preferably plastic-containing connecting means can be completely dispensed with.

The above object is achieved by a packaging device and a method for producing packaging units, comprising the features in the independent patent claims. Further advantageous configurations are described by the dependent claims.

The invention relates to a packaging device for producing packaging units. A packaging unit comprises an arrangement of articles made up of at least two articles, which are combined by at least one outer packaging. In particular, the articles are mechanically held together by the outer packaging.

The overwrap is preferably formed from an overwrap material formed at least in part from paper material or board material and partially encasing the assembly of articles. The outer packaging material is preferably a pure paper material or cardboard material that does not contain any plastic components, as a result of which packaging units can be produced in a particularly environmentally friendly manner.

However, the packaging device can also be used to process an outer packaging material with a plastic content, for example to process a plastic-coated paper material or cardboard material, a paper-plastic composite material or the like.

According to a preferred embodiment it is provided that the outer packaging is a so-called OTO packaging (OTO: over the top open). The outer packaging material is arranged around the article arrangement in such a way that two opposite first sides of the packaging unit are formed by exposed outer lateral surfaces of the articles, while the second side surfaces of the packaging unit, which are arranged between the first sides, are formed by outer packaging material, which in each case has outer lateral surfaces of the articles to the outside covers towards. The tops and bottoms of the articles are also preferably covered by overwrap material.

The items are preferably beverage containers, in particular bottles made of PET or another suitable plastic, cans made of plastic and/or aluminum or the like. However, the packaging device is also suitable for other suitable items in a corresponding outer packaging as packaging units or bundles to summarize.

Preferably, at least two identically designed articles are put together as a group of articles in a divider module or the like and combined into sales units or packaging units by means of outer packaging. So-called mixed bundles can be created by putting together differently designed articles.

The packaging device comprises an application device for attaching the outer packaging material to the article arrangement and also an ultrasonic joining device for forming a joint between at least two at least partially overlapping layers of the outer packaging material.

The ultrasonic joining device comprises at least one anvil tool and one sonotrode, with the anvil tool being designed to be at least partially inserted and arranged between at least two articles of the article arrangement that are partially encased by the outer packaging material, and with the sonotrode being designed to be at least partially between to cooperate with the articles arranged anvil tool to form a joint connection between the at least two at least partially overlapping layers of the outer packaging material.

In order to form packaging units with OTO packaging, it is provided that the application device is in the form of a folding device.

According to one embodiment, the folding device is designed to arrange free end regions of the outer packaging material on an upper side of the article so that they at least partially overlap.

First, articles are grouped in the desired composition in a divider module or similar. The article arrangement is then arranged on the outer packaging material and laterally protruding outer packaging material is partially folded upwards by means of the application device designed as a folding device, so that it preferably rests against the assigned, outward-facing outer lateral surfaces of the articles in the area of the second side surfaces of the packaging unit to be formed.

The folding device is formed, for example, by a first folding bar and a second folding bar. The arrangement of articles arranged on the outer packaging material is initially arranged preferably such that the first folding bar and the second folding bar are located laterally opposite one another, each associated with one of the second side surfaces to be formed, in a plane below the outer packaging material.

The second side surfaces of the outer packaging are formed by an upward movement of the folding bars.

Provision can be made for the outer packaging material to have prepared creased edges, which support the folding of the outer packaging material, so that defined edges are produced during folding.

Subsequently, to form the finished outer packaging, two layers of the outer packaging material are arranged partially overlapping one another and connected to one another above the articles. The overlapping layers of the outer packaging material are fixed to one another, in particular to form a joint, with an ultra-welding process being used for this purpose, in particular an ultra-friction welding process.

For this purpose, a sonotrode of the ultrasonic joining device is positioned adjacent to the at least partially overlapping layers of the outer packaging material, in particular above the overlapping layers of the outer packaging material.

To form the joint, the anvil tool of the ultrasonic joining device is inserted between at least two articles of the article arrangement that is partially encased with outer packaging material and adjacent to the at least partially wise arranged overlapping layers of the outer packaging material. In particular, the anvil tool is inserted between the articles of the article assembly via one of the side surfaces not covered by outer packaging material and is preferably guided through between adjacent rows of articles.

According to one embodiment, the anvil tool is designed to be inserted in an upper area between at least two articles. Preferably, the articles are formed by bottles which have bottle necks with a reduced cross-sectional area in an upper area, so that in the upper area a distance is formed between the adjacent bottles. In particular, the anvil tool is pushed into this distance.

The arrangement of the anvil tool between the articles of the article assembly takes place here, for example, at a point in time at which the outer packaging material has not yet been brought into its final shape by the application device.

According to an alternative embodiment, the placement of the anvil tool may be timed to coincide with the application and handling of the overwrap material to the assembly of articles. Also, the overwrapping material may first be formed into its substantially final shape before the anvil tool is placed between the articles of the article assembly, wherein the anvil tool is inserted over an area where no overwrap material is placed on the articles of the article assembly.

According to one embodiment, the sonotrode of the ultrasonic joining device is adjustable in height, so that the sonotrode can be positioned on the combination of articles that is partially wrapped with the outer packaging material by means of height adjustment. In particular, the sonotrode is assigned to the anvil tool, which is partially positioned between two articles and in the area of the overlapping layers of the outer packaging material. In this case, the sonotrode is arranged in particular above the combination of articles, above the anvil tool arranged between the articles and above the overlapping layers of the outer packaging material.

The arrangement of overlapping layers of the outer packaging material is preferably clamped between the anvil tool and the sonotrode.

Alternatively or additionally, the sonotrode can be configured and/or arranged so that it can be moved laterally, so that the sonotrode can be arranged in a suitable position above the combination of articles partially wrapped with the outer packaging material by means of a lateral infeed movement. By subjecting the overlapping layers of overwrap material to ultrasonic vibration, the layers are joined and bonded together.

In addition, it can be provided that a pressure is generated between the anvil tool and the sonotrode, for example they are pressed against one another via an infeed movement in order to support the ultrasonic welding process.

Furthermore, it can be provided that the ultrasonic joining device is assigned a moistening device, with which the outer packaging material is moistened at least in the area of the at least two partially overlapping layers, for example with water or steam, in order to further promote the joining process.

Furthermore, it can be provided that the anvil tool is designed in such a way that it can be arranged and/or engage between articles of at least two article arrangements at the same time.

One embodiment provides that the anvil tool is designed in two parts, so that a multi-lane, in particular at least two-lane, processing of article assemblies is possible within the packaging device. For example, the anvil tool is formed by two anvil parts that can be advanced towards one another.

The two synchronously processed article arrangements that are partially wrapped in packaging material are located within the packaging device in an arrangement in which the first sides of the article arrangements that are not covered by outer packaging material are arranged directly adjacent and possibly in contact with one another, while two second side surfaces covered by the packaging material are essentially are arranged in one plane, in particular in a common vertical plane.

The two anvil parts are inserted into the two side-by-side article assemblies from opposite first sides. In particular, the anvil parts are each pushed into the area between the bottlenecks.

The ultrasonic joining device can include a sonotrode, for example, which is designed to interact simultaneously with the two anvil parts of the anvil tool to produce the joining connections of both packaging units. Alternatively, the packaging device can also include two sonotrodes, one sonotrode being assigned to one anvil part.

A further embodiment provides that an anvil tool can be associated with at least two article arrangements and can thereby be arranged between articles of both article arrangements. Here, too, the article arrangements partially wrapped with outer packaging material are arranged next to one another in such a way that a free first side of a first article arrangement adjoins a free first side of a second article arrangement.

The anvil tool is inserted over the free first side of the first assembly of articles opposite the second assembly of articles and passed between the articles of the first assembly of articles. By further displacement, the anvil tool is now also passed between the articles of the second arrangement of articles and is thus positioned in sections between articles in the first arrangement of articles and in sections between articles in the second arrangement of articles.

The sonotrode is arranged at a corresponding position above both article arrangements and the joints are produced by loading the respective overlapping layers of the outer packaging material above the articles of the two article arrangements.

The packaging device according to the invention and the method according to the invention can thus be used to produce packaging units with an outer packaging in which the outer packaging consists entirely of paper or cardboard and no other fasteners containing plastic components have to be used for the formation of joints. In particular, the use of an adhesive for connecting free end areas of the outer packaging material can be dispensed with. The packaging device is significantly cleaner due to the lack of gluing.

One embodiment can provide that the anvil tool arranged between the articles can be used to lift the finished packaging unit during or after the joining process has ended. In this way, the production of the joint connection and the transport of the packaging unit for the subsequent handling can be combined and optimized in terms of time, as a result of which the cycle times in the production and further handling of the packaging units can be reduced.

It should be expressly mentioned at this point that all aspects and design variants that have been explained in connection with the device according to the invention equally relate to or can be partial aspects of the method according to the invention. Therefore, if certain aspects and/or connections and/or effects are mentioned at one point in the description or also in the definition of claims for the device according to the invention, this applies equally to the method according to the invention. The same applies in reverse, so that all aspects and design variants that have been explained in connection with the method according to the invention equally relate to or can be partial aspects of the device according to the invention. Therefore, if certain aspects and/or connections and/or effects are mentioned at one point in the description or also in the claim definitions for the method according to the invention, this applies equally to the device according to the invention.

• 1 bis 6 zeigen jeweils schematische Darstellungen einer ersten Ausführungsform einer Verpackungsvorrichtung und ein Verfahren zur Herstellung von Verpackungseinheiten.
• 7 zeigt eine schematische Darstellung einer zweiten Ausführungsform einer Verpackungsvorrichtung.
• 8 und 9 zeigen zwei verschiedene seitliche Ansichten einer erfindungsgemäß hergestellten Verpackungseinheit.
• 10 bis 13 zeigen jeweils eine schematische Darstellung einer dritten Ausführungsform einer Verpackungsvorrichtung.
• 14 zeigt eine schematische Darstellung einer vierten Ausführungsform einer Verpackungsvorrichtung.

In the following, exemplary embodiments are intended to explain the invention and its advantages in more detail with reference to the attached figures. The proportions of the individual elements to one another in the figures do not always correspond to the real proportions, since some forms are shown in simplified form and other forms are shown enlarged in relation to other elements for better illustration.

• 1 until 6 each show schematic representations of a first embodiment of a packaging device and a method for producing packaging units.
• 7 shows a schematic representation of a second embodiment of a packaging device.
• 8th and 9 show two different side views of a packaging unit produced according to the invention.
• 10 until 13 each show a schematic representation of a third embodiment of a packaging device.
• 14 shows a schematic representation of a fourth embodiment of a packaging device.

Identical reference symbols are used for elements of the invention that are the same or have the same effect. Furthermore, for the sake of clarity, only reference numbers are shown in the individual figures, which are necessary for the description of the respective figure. The illustrated embodiments only represent examples of how the packaging device according to the invention or the method according to the invention for producing packaging units can be designed and do not represent any final limitation.

The schematic representations of 1 until 6 show a first embodiment of a packaging device 1 and a method for producing packaging units 20.

A packaging unit 20 comprises an article arrangement 21 consisting of at least two articles 22 in an outer packaging 25.

The outer packaging 25 is preferably formed from an outer packaging material 26 which partially encloses the article arrangement 21 and, in particular, mechanically holds it together. In particular, the outer packaging material 26 is a pure paper material or cardboard material that does not contain any plastic components.

However, the packaging device 1 can also be used to process an outer packaging material 26 with a plastic component, for example a plastic-coated paper material or cardboard material, a paper-plastic composite material or the like.

For example, it is in the outer packaging 25 to a so-called OTO packaging (over the top open packaging) 27, as in the 8th and 9 is shown as an example.

the 8th and 9 show two different side views of a packaging unit 20 produced according to the invention, in particular FIG 8th a first side view of a packaging unit 20 and 9 shows a second side view of a packaging unit 20 rotated by 90 degrees.

The packaging unit 20 comprises an article arrangement 21 of six bottles 23 which are arranged in two parallel rows of three. The outer packaging material 26 of the OTO packaging 27 is arranged around the article arrangement 21 in such a way that the first sides 31 of the packaging unit 20 are each formed by two bottles 23 that are not covered by outer packaging material 26 ( 8th ), while the other two second side surfaces 32 of the packaging unit 20 are formed by packaging material 26, which covers the outward-facing lateral surfaces of the row of three bottles 23 ( 9 ).

In 8th shows that two layers of outer packaging material 26 are arranged overlapping one another on the upper side of packaging unit 20, with a joint 40 being formed at least in regions between the two layers of outer packaging material 26, which is formed in particular with a packaging device 1 according to the invention and/or according to the method according to the invention has been manufactured.

The items 22 are preferably beverage containers, in particular bottles 23 made of PET or another suitable plastic or cans made of plastic and/or aluminum or the like. However, the packaging device 1 is also suitable for other suitable items 22 in a corresponding outer packaging 25 summarized as packaging units 20 or bundles.

To produce the packaging units 20, at least two articles 22 of the same type or else at least two articles 22 of identical design can be provided as a group of articles 21. So-called mixed bundles can be produced by assembling differently designed articles 22 .

An outer packaging material 26 is arranged by an application device 8 on an article arrangement 21 assembled, for example, in a dividing module (not shown).

According to the embodiment shown here, the arrangement of articles 21 is placed on the outer packaging material 26 and the outer packaging material 26 is partially folded upwards by means of an application device 8 designed as a folding device 2, so that the outer packaging material 26 is partially attached to the outward-facing outer lateral surfaces of the bottles 23 in the area of the second Side surfaces 32 (compare 9 ) is present.

The folding device 2 is formed, for example, by a first folding bar 3 and a second folding bar 4 . The article arrangement 21 arranged on the outer packaging material 26 is initially arranged preferably in such a way that the first folding bar 3 and the second folding bar 4 are located laterally opposite one another and are each assigned to one of the second side surfaces 32 to be formed in a plane below the outer packaging material 26. The second side surfaces 32 of the outer packaging 25 are formed by an upward movement of the folding rods 3 and 4 .

The packaging device 1 further comprises an ultrasonic joining device 5 for forming a joint 40 between at least two at least partially overlapping layers of the outer packaging material 26 (cf 8th ). For this purpose, the ultrasonic joining device 5 comprises at least one anvil tool 6 and at least one sonotrode 7.

As in 1 as well as in the 90 degree rotated view according to 2 shown, the anvil tool 6 is arranged at least partially between the bottles 23 of the article arrangement 21, in particular the anvil tool 6 is at least partially inserted between the bottles 23 of the two parallel rows of three in the area of the bottle necks 35. In the area of the bottle necks 35 , the bottles 23 have a reduced cross-sectional area compared to the bottle body 36 , so that a distance A is formed between adjacent bottles 23 in the area of the bottle necks 35 .

The arrangement of the anvil tool 6 between the bottles 23 takes place here, for example, at a point in time at which the outer packaging material 26 has not yet been brought into its final shape by folding with the aid of the folding device 2 .

The schematic view of 3 shows the further folding up of the second side surfaces 32 by the folding device 2 up to the vertical alignment and arrangement of the second side surfaces 32. Furthermore, FIG 3 the sonotrode 7 of the ultrasonic joining device 5 is shown.

According to the 4 and 5 ( 5 shows a 90 degree rotated view as shown 4 ) the areas of the outer packaging material 26 that protrude upwards over the bottles 23 are folded downwards by the folding rods 3, 4 in the direction of the upper side of the bottles 23, with the edge areas 33, 33-1, 33-2 of the outer packaging material 26 lying opposite one another at least partially are arranged overlapping each other above the bottles 23.

In particular, first the edge area 33-1 is folded down using the first folding bar 3 and then the opposite edge area 33-2 is folded down using the second folding bar 4, so that the edge area 33-2 overlaps at least partially above the edge area 33- 1 is located.

In particular, a so-called overlapping area above the anvil tool 6 arranged between the bottles 23 is formed by the partially overlapping edge areas 33 - 1 , 33 - 2 .

The sonotrode 7 is arranged above the overlapping edge areas 33 and thus above the anvil tool 6 in temporal connection with the folding of the edge areas 33 or subsequent to the folding of the edge areas 33 . By subjecting the overlapping edge regions 33 to ultrasonic vibrations, the edge regions 33 are joined and connected using a so-called ultrasonic welding method, in particular using a so-called ultrasonic friction welding method.

In addition, the anvil tool 6 and the sonotrode 7 can be pressed against one another in order to support the ultrasonic welding process.

Provision can also be made for the ultrasonic joining device 5 to be assigned a moistening device (not shown), with which the outer packaging material 26 is moistened with water or steam, for example, at least in the overlapping area of the two edge areas 33-1, 33-2, in order to further promote the joining process .

After completion of the joining process, the anvil tool 6 is pulled out of the finished packaging unit 20 by moving it laterally or the like. The packaging unit can now be supplied for further handling, for example to a palletizing device or the like.

the 7 shows a second embodiment of a packaging device 1, in which a multi-lane processing takes place, in particular a synchronous two-lane production of packaging units 20 takes place. 2 includes.

The two synchronously processed article arrangements 21 partially wrapped in packaging material 26 are located in the packaging device 1, in particular in an arrangement in which the first sides 31 not covered by the outer packaging material 26 are arranged directly adjacent and possibly in contact with one another, while two sides each are covered by the packaging material 26 second side surfaces 32 are arranged essentially in one plane, in particular a common vertical plane.

The anvil parts 6-1 and 6-2 are inserted from opposite sides into the two article arrangements 21 which are arranged next to one another and are partially covered by packaging material 26, in particular in the area of the distance A between the bottle necks 35.

A sonotrode 7 can now be used, for example, which is designed to interact simultaneously with the two anvil parts 6 - 1 , 6 - 2 of the anvil tool 6 to produce the joints (not visible) of both packaging units 20 . Alternatively, the packaging device 1 can also include two sonotrodes (not shown), one sonotrode being assigned to an anvil part 6-1, 6-2.

the 10 until 13 show a third embodiment of a packaging device 1. For the description of the reference numbers, reference is made in particular to the description of the 1 until 6 referred.

In contrast to the first embodiment according to the 1 until 6 In the embodiment shown here, the outer packaging material 26 is first folded into the desired final shape (see 10 until 12 ). Only then is the anvil tool 6 inserted between the bottles 23 via the open first side 31 and a sonotrode 7 arranged above the overlapping edge regions 33 in order to produce the joint connection between the overlapping edge regions 33 on the upper side of the packaging unit ( 13 ).

The schematic view of 14 shows a fourth embodiment of a packaging device 1 for the synchronous production of at least two packaging units. In this case, the anvil tool 6 is designed in such a way that it can be inserted between the bottles 23 of at least two article arrangements 21 which are arranged next to one another and are partially encased in outer packaging material 26 .

In particular, the article arrangements 21 partially encased by outer packaging material 26 are analogous to the description 7 arranged side by side in such a way that in each case a free first side 31 of one article arrangement 21-1, referred to below as the first, adjoins a free first side 31 of the other article arrangement 21-2, referred to below as the second.

The anvil tool 6 is inserted over the free first side 31 of the first article arrangement 21-1 and passed between the bottles 23 of both article arrangements 21-1, 23-2. The sonotrode 7 is arranged at a corresponding position above both article arrangements 21-1, 21-2 and by applying overlapping layers of the outer packaging material 26, possibly in connection with pressure, which can be generated in particular by an infeed movement of the anvil tool 6 and sonotrode 7, a joint (not visible) is produced in the manner described above between two layers of the outer packaging material 26 surrounding the respective article arrangements 21-1, 21-2.

The embodiments, examples and variants of the preceding paragraphs, the claims or the following description and figures, including their different views or respective individual features, can be used independently of one another or in any combination. Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments unless the features are incompatible.

Even if "schematic" representations and views are generally referred to in connection with the description of the figures, this in no way means that the representations of the figures and their description are to be of secondary importance with regard to the disclosure of the invention. The person skilled in the art is quite capable of extracting enough information from the schematic and abstract drawings to make it easier for him to understand the invention, without having to learn from the drawn and possibly not exactly true-to-scale proportions of the articles and/or parts of the packaging device , the packaging unit or other drawn elements would be impaired in any way in his understanding. The figures thus enable the person skilled in the art as a reader to derive a better understanding of the inventive concept formulated more generally and/or more abstractly in the claims and in the general part of the description on the basis of the more specifically explained implementations of the method according to the invention and the more specifically explained mode of operation of the device according to the invention.

The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, it will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that modifications or variations can be made to the invention without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Reference List

1

packaging device

2

folding device

3

first folding bar

4

second folding bar

5

ultrasonic joining device

6

anvil tool

6-1,6-2

anvil part

7

sonotrode

8th

application device

20

Packaging Unit

21

Article arrangement

22

article

23

Bottle

25

outer packaging

26

outer packaging material

27

OTO packaging (over the top open packaging)

31

first pages

32

second side surfaces

33, 33-1, 33-2

edge area

35

bottleneck

36

bottle body

40

joint connection

A

Distance

Claims (13)

Packaging device (1) for producing packaging units (20), the packaging unit (20) comprising an article arrangement (21) of at least two articles (22), the articles (22) being partially encased by an outer packaging material (26) made of paper or cardboard are, the packaging device (1) comprising at least - an application device (8) for attaching the outer packaging material (26) to the article arrangement (21), - an ultrasonic joining device (5) for forming a joint (40) between at least two at least partially overlapping layers (33) of the outer packaging material (26), - wherein the ultrasonic joining device (5) comprises at least one anvil tool (6) and one sonotrode (7), - which anvil tool (6) is designed to be inserted and arranged between at least two articles (22) of the article arrangement (21) that are at least partially wrapped by the outer packaging material (26), and wherein the sonotrode (7) is designed to be used with the at least one anvil tool (6) arranged between the articles (22) to cooperate to form a joint (40) between the at least two at least partially overlapping layers (33) of the outer packaging material (26). Packaging device (1) after claim 1 for producing a joint (40) between at least two partially overlapping layers (33) of the outer packaging material (26) and in particular for producing or in connection with the production of a packaging unit (20) using a method according to one of Claims 8 until 13 . Packaging device (1) after claim 1 or 2 , wherein the application device (8) is formed by a folding device (2) or comprises such a folding device (2), which folding device (2) is designed and equipped for this purpose, free end regions of the outer packaging material (26) on a top side of the articles (22 ) to be arranged at least partially overlapping. Packaging device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the ultrasonic joining device (5) is designed and equipped to produce packaging units (20) comprising at least two articles (22) designed as bottles (23), the at least one anvil tool (6) designed to be inserted in an upper area between the at least two bottles (23), in particular in an area of the bottle necks (35) in which the bottles (23) have a reduced cross-sectional area. Packaging apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the anvil tool (6) is adapted to engage articles (22) of at least two article assemblies (21) at or about the same time. Packaging device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the anvil tool (6) is designed in two parts and comprises two anvil parts (6-1, 6-2) which can be advanced towards one another. Packaging device (1) after claim 5 or 6 , wherein a sonotrode (7) is used, which is designed to interact simultaneously with the two anvil parts (6-1, 6-2) of the anvil tool (5) to produce the joints (40) of both packaging units (20), or wherein two sonotrodes (7) are used, which are designed to each interact with an anvil part (6-1, 6-2) of the anvil tool (6). Method for producing packaging units (20) (20), comprising the following method steps: - applying an outer packaging material (26) consisting of paper or cardboard to an article arrangement (21) comprising the article arrangement (21). send at least two articles (22), so that the arrangement of articles (21) is partially encased by outer packaging material (26), - inserting an anvil tool (6) of an ultrasonic joining device (5) between at least two articles (22) partially covered with outer packaging material (26). wrapped article arrangement (21), - arranging the anvil tool (6) adjacent to at least two at least partially overlapping layers (33) of the outer packaging material (26), - arranging a sonotrode (7) of the ultrasonic joining device (5) adjacent to the at least two at least partially overlapping layers (33) of the outer packaging material (26), and - connecting the overlapping arrangement of the at least partially overlapping layers (33) of the outer packaging material (26) by ultrasonic welding or ultrasonic friction welding. procedure after claim 8 , wherein the sonotrode (7) is arranged in a working mode above the at least partially overlapping layers (33) of the outer packaging material (26). procedure after claim 8 or 9 , wherein at least two articles (22) designed as bottles (23) are wrapped with outer packaging material (26), the anvil tool (6) being inserted in an upper area between the bottles (23), in particular in an area of the bottle necks (35) , in which the bottles (23) have a reduced cross-sectional area. Procedure according to one of Claims 8 until 10 wherein at least two packaging units (20) are produced at the same time by using an anvil tool (6) which is designed to be inserted into two adjacent article arrangements (21) partially covered with outer packaging material (26). procedure after claim 11 , wherein the anvil tool (6) comprises two anvil parts (6-1, 6-2) which can be advanced towards one another and which, by an infeed movement between at least two items (22) in each case, insert one of the item arrangements (21) partially covered with the outer packaging material (26) into the latter be introduced. Procedure according to one of Claims 11 or 12 wherein a sonotrode (7) is used, which is designed to interact with the two anvil parts (6-1, 6-2) of the anvil tool (6) to produce the joint (40), or wherein two sonotrodes (7) are used are designed to each interact with an anvil part (6-1, 6-2) of the anvil tool (6).

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