DE102020201893A1 - PACKAGING PART, METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THEREOF AND PACKAGING CONTAINER - Google Patents

Abstract

The molded packaging part (1) consists of spelled husks (2) and a biodegradable binding agent such as corn starch. It has a trough-like recess (4) into which a bottle can be inserted as an object to be protected. The trough-like recess (4) is shaped in such a way that its contour can be brought into engagement with a bottle contour in such a way that the bottle is prevented from rolling away or slipping.

Description

The present invention relates to a packaging molding, a method for its production and a packaging container. The invention also relates to a method for packaging an object to be protected using a molded packaging part.

STATE OF THE ART

Packaging has an important protective function. Products must be protected from mechanical damage, particularly during transport and storage. For this purpose, various cushioning materials are used, which are packed together with the object to be protected in an outer packaging, for example a cardboard box. These can be roughly divided into three areas: bulk, large-volume, non-positive-locking cushions and positive-locking cushions or molded packaging parts.

Chips made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) or based on starch are often used as bulk materials. Overall, packaging chips are inexpensive to manufacture and can be used flexibly in the packaging process. However, they are very uncomfortable when opening a package, since the chips usually fall out of the package when the packaged goods are removed and make it more difficult to remove the product (object to be protected). In addition, in order to prevent the object to be protected from slipping, essentially the entire cavity in the packaging must be filled with the chips, which creates a large volume of waste. The disposal routes differ depending on the raw material used, as EPS, unlike starch chips, is not biodegradable. However, the differentiation is often not possible for the consumer, which leads to a large number of incorrect packaging material being thrown in during disposal. Therefore, both variants cannot be regarded as environmentally friendly packaging solutions.

Large-volume, non-interlocking pads can be made from a variety of materials. The most important representatives here are, on the one hand, foil cushions, air cushion foils and paper cushions, as well as sheet materials made of EPS or other foamed plastics.

Cushions of this type generally only insufficiently enclose the packaged objects to be protected and usually do not offer good transport protection for the products. In terms of environmental friendliness, the materials mentioned are generally considered recyclable (with the exception of the foamed panels). Foil cushions or air cushion foils are usually made of polyethylene and thus produced on the basis of mineral oil. Therefore, in terms of resource conservation, this material is to be classified as unsustainable.

For paper cushions, paper is delivered in rolls and crumpled up with paper poster machines during the packing operation. A comparatively large amount of cushioning material is necessary for good cushioning properties. The paper cushions are made from recycled paper. Although paper is considered to be easily recyclable, both paper production and paper recycling are associated with high water and energy requirements.

Form-fitting cushioning materials are usually designed as molded parts made of expanded polystyrene. In addition, corrugated cardboard inserts are increasingly being used. For the latter, blanks are made, which are then folded and wrapped, creating three-dimensional holding systems for the objects to be protected. With a suitable construction of the winding, large cavities are enclosed, as a result of which the object to be protected is fixed in the packaging with relatively little use of material. However, the required cushioning properties for some products, for example filled glass bottles, cannot be achieved in this way. Therefore, EPS upholstery continues to determine the market. The advantage of the EPS molded parts is a very good protective effect combined with a low transport weight of the packaging material. The molded parts provide targeted protection at the endangered parts of the packaged goods and their elasticity can be adapted to the requirements of the packaged goods. The decisive disadvantage of molded packaging parts made of EPS cushioning, however, lies in the classification as non-recyclable material and their manufacture from petrochemical raw materials. EPS is therefore a burden for the environment and should therefore be substituted as a packaging material if possible.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

In view of the described problems of the prior art, it is the object of the present invention to provide an alternative to conventional cushioning materials which is as environmentally friendly as possible and which adequately protects packaged goods in an outer packaging against damage in transit.

SOLUTION OF THE TASK

According to one aspect of the present invention, a packaging molding is provided which has a disperse filler and a binder. The disperse filler has plant-based particles, which come from plant growth have resulting concave recesses. The particles are therefore not loose, but rather connected to one another by means of the binding agent to form the molded packaging part. The concave recesses in the particles ensure high porosity. By metering the binder, preferably in such a way that the space between the particles is not completely filled with binder, the porosity is further increased. A high porosity results in a low weight and good damping properties. The volume fraction of the binder can advantageously be between 6% and 65%, preferably between 10% and 35%, particularly preferably between 15% and 25% of the volume fraction of the filler in order to achieve a good compromise between the resulting porosity and inherent strength of the packaging molding. Volume ratios (particles: binder) of 10: 1 to 1.6: 1, preferably 7: 1 to 3: 1, have proven to be particularly advantageous when using a system made from cereal husks and industrial starch (commercially available, for example, under the name Sobex 222 from from Südstarke GmbH) as a binder, volume ratios (particles: binder) of 16: 1 to 4: 1, preferably 8: 1 to 6: 1, as particularly advantageous when using a system of cereal husks and agar binders.

The fact that the concave recesses originate from plant growth means that the particles do not have to be formed into a concave shape using a technical process. Advantageously suitable particles can be, for example, cut stalks made of straw or reeds, (parts of) nutshells, shells of legumes or the like. According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the disperse filler has cereal husks (cover sheets of cereal grains) as particles. In grain production, husks are produced in large quantities as residues and are not used in the food industry. There is therefore no competition for arable land for food or even a direct use of food as a raw material. Today, large quantities of husks are pressed into pellets in the peeling mill, which are then used as fuel or as bedding material in stables. Likewise, large parts are only composted. Only a very cleaned portion is used as a filling material for pillows. This means that a raw material is preferably used which, on the one hand, is produced anyway, but on the other hand is currently only partially used for economic purposes. The husks usually do not need to be pretreated before use. The main energy expenditure is limited to the transport of the husks.

Millet or spelled husks, for example, can be used particularly advantageously, depending on the intended use. The millet has a very small, rounded husk, which is suitable for very good imaging accuracy in molded bodies. In comparison, spelled husks are significantly larger and elongated in shape. The individual husks act like small feathers and can thus contribute to a very good protective effect. Mixtures of two or more of the named and / or similar types of particles are also advantageously possible, although the use of particles of the same type usually means that a higher porosity can be expected due to a narrower particle size distribution.

Plant particles with concave recesses resulting from plant growth, such as, for example, husks, have the advantage that they are usually available as waste materials in a cost-effective, resource-saving and thus environmentally friendly manner. They also bind carbon dioxide and make it possible to make packaging moldings according to the invention easy to dispose of. The mass fraction of the particles in the molded packaging part can be selected to be greater than 50%, particularly advantageously for resource-saving production of the molded packaging part.

The environmentally friendly disposability of molded pack parts according to the invention is preferably increased in that a biodegradable binder is selected. The binding agent can advantageously comprise agar and / or casein and / or a starch material, for example potato starches (e.g. table potato starch, Sorbex), paste, or corn starches. In particular, the use of potato starch as a binding agent can lead to very strong and rigid bodies. A molded packaging part is particularly preferably free from non-biodegradable substances.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, the molded packaging part has a modified surface, for example by being wrapped in paper, preferably recycled paper, or by coating, in particular by means of a biodegradable coating agent. The binders already mentioned above, with which surfaces can be sprayed or coated, or in which the molded part can be dipped, are particularly suitable for this purpose. Flocking and the application of bio-based rubber-like layers are also advantageously possible. Modified surfaces can be made with less roughness or unevenness. In this way, for example, it is possible to prevent packaged goods with complicated surface structures from getting caught in the pores of the molded packaging part or from scratching sensitive (e.g. polished or lacquered) surfaces. In addition, surface modification can prevent individual particles from loosening too easily from the molded packaging part.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the molded packaging part has at least one trough-like or chamber-like recess. What is meant here is a macroscopic cutout with at least 10 times, preferably at least 100 times the volume of the mean volume of the concave cutouts of the particles, i.e. an area in which material is deliberately left out or removed during the production of the molded part. Advantageously, chamber-like or trough-like recesses, depending on the intended use, can have simple geometric basic shapes such as hollow cuboids, polyhedral hollow honeycombs or parts of hollow cones, truncated hollow cones, hollow cylinders, hollow spheres, or they can be designed as more complex shapes with locally different radii of curvature in different spatial directions. Such simple or more complex recesses can, depending on their design and arrangement, advantageously serve to accommodate packaged goods in such a way that they do not slip or tip over, or to keep several parts of the packaged goods away from one another, for example to prevent them from being damaged by hitting or rubbing against each other . Furthermore, such recesses can serve to reduce the weight of the packaging molding and the raw material costs for its production.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, a packaging container is provided which has a molded packaging part according to one of the above-mentioned embodiments with a chamber-like or trough-like recess and an object to be protected, an outer contour of the object to be protected having an inner contour of the chamber or trough-like recess Trough-like recess is engaged. In this way, the object can be secured against tipping or slipping.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, a packaging container is provided which has a packaging molding according to one of the above-mentioned embodiments, an object to be protected and an outer packaging which at least partially surrounds the object to be protected and the packaging molding. The outer packaging can be designed, for example, as a cardboard box, wooden box, metal box, plastic box or the like.

The packaging container is preferably designed in such a way that the object can only assume a position spaced apart from a wall of the outer packaging without removing the molded packaging part. In this way, the item is protected against damage caused by hitting the outer packaging.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, a method for producing a packaging molding is provided, comprising wetting vegetable particles which have concave recesses originating from plant growth with a binding agent, filling a mold with the wetted vegetable particles, and removing the wetted vegetable particles Particulate packaging molding from the mold. The above applies to the selection of the particles and the binder.

According to an advantageous development, the method further comprises: drying the packaging molding after and / or during removal from the mold.

According to an advantageous development, the method further comprises: Modifying a surface of the molded packaging part. As stated above, this can be done, for example, by wrapping paper, preferably recycled paper, or by coating, in particular by means of a biodegradable coating agent. The binders already mentioned above are particularly suitable for this purpose. Modified surfaces can be made with less roughness or unevenness.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, a method for packaging an object to be protected is provided, comprising providing a packaging molding according to one of the embodiments described above and an outer packaging which has at least one wall defining an interior space for at least partially receiving the object and the molding, and placing the packaging molding and the article in the interior space in such a way that the article can only assume positions spaced apart from the wall without removing the packaging molding. In this way, the item is protected against damage caused by hitting the outer packaging. The outer packaging can be designed, for example, as a cardboard box, wooden box, metal box, plastic box or the like.

According to an advantageous development, the provision of the packaging molding comprises the above method according to the invention for producing a packaging molding.

The invention is explained in more detail below in an exemplary manner with reference to the accompanying schematic drawing. The drawings are not to scale; in particular, for reasons of clarity, the proportions of the individual dimensions to one another sometimes do not correspond to the actual proportions technical implementations. Several preferred exemplary embodiments are described, to which, however, the invention is not limited.

In principle, every variant of the invention described or indicated in the context of the present application can be particularly advantageous, depending on the economic and technical conditions in the individual case. Unless stated otherwise, or as far as technically feasible in principle, individual features of the described embodiments can be exchanged or combined with one another and with features known per se from the prior art.

Figure list

• 1 shows schematically a cereal husk.
• 2 shows schematically a particle from a cut straw.
• 3 shows a perspective view obliquely from above a packaging molding for receiving a bottle, the disperse filler of which consists of spelled husks.
• 4a shows similar 2 in a perspective view obliquely from above a molded packaging part for receiving a bottle, the disperse filler of which consists of millet husks.
• 4b shows schematically the packaging molding 4a in cross-sectional representation, the cutting plane in 4a indicated by the broken line AA '.
• 5a, b show molded packaging parts as in 4a .
• 5c shows in to 4b analogous cross-sectional representation of a packaging container, in which a bottle as an object to be protected from between the packaging moldings 5a and 5b is placed in an outer packaging.
• 6-8 show flow diagrams of processes for the production of packaging moldings according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF ADVANTAGEOUS EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In 1 is schematically a cereal husk 2 , represented as vegetable particles 2 the disperse filler of a packaging molding according to the invention can serve. At the point where the grain of the grain is located before the grain is threshed, the grain hull has a concave recess resulting from the growth of the grain 3 on.

Alternatively, can be used as vegetable particles 2 of the disperse filler of a packaging molding according to the invention, for example, sections of reeds or straws also serve, as in 2 shown. The cavity 3 inside the stalk section 2 forms the concave recess here 3 .

This in 3 packaging molding shown in perspective 1 consists of spelled husks 2 and a biodegradable binder such as corn starch. It has a trough-like recess 4th in which a bottle can be inserted as an object to be protected. The trough-like recess 4th is shaped so that its contour can be brought into engagement with a bottle contour in such a way that the bottle is prevented from rolling or slipping.

This in 3 packaging molding shown in perspective 1 consists of millet husks 2 and a biodegradable binder such as corn starch. In the trough-like recess 4th In turn, a bottle can be inserted as an object to be protected. The trough-like recess 4th is shaped so that its contour can be brought into engagement with a bottle contour in such a way that the bottle is prevented from rolling or slipping. 4b shows the molded packaging part 1 in cross-section, the cutting plane in 4a indicated by the broken line AA '.

5a and 5b show molded packaging parts 1a , 1b as in 4a , their trough-like recesses 4a , 4b a bottle 5 can completely enclose, as shown in the sectional view of the packaging container in 5c illustrated. The one with the cork 7th sealed bottle 5 is through the packaging moldings 1a , 1b safe from the wall of the cardboard box 6th spaced.

To produce a molded packaging part according to the invention, in a first step husks or other vegetable particles which have concave recesses resulting from plant growth are wetted or enveloped with the binding agent, for example a vegetable adhesive. Then the husk / binding agent or adhesive mixture is applied with a pump 8th or another conveyor system into a form 9 promoted. Depending on the desired properties of the molded packaging part 1 this is done virtually without pressure for more porous, less rigid molded packaging parts 1 , up to a re-pressing in the form 9 for denser and stronger molded packaging parts 1 .

Such manufacturing processes can advantageously be carried out, for example, as shown schematically in one of the 6-8 shown.

As in 6th a stirred tank can be illustrated 10 can be used to wet the husks with the binding agent. First the binding agent (for example starch with water) is prepared, then the husks are added and mixed with the binding agent by stirring. After that, the mixture is made using a pump 8th into the molding tool 9 convicted.

The in 7th outlined procedure is a first stirred tank 10a used to prepare the binder. The binding agent is applied by means of a first pump 8a into the second stirred tank 10b transferred, in which the husks or other suitable particulate natural substances are, and mixed with them. This results in the wetting of the husks. Then the mixture is made using a second pump 8b into the molding tool 9 convicted.

The in 8th In the illustrated procedure, the husks are put into an extruder 11 and the binding agent is added in the extruder and mixed with the husks. The mixture is made with the extruder 11 into the molding tool 9 promoted.

The execution of the process depends to a certain extent on the binding agent used. For example, the adhesives paste and industrial starch can be mixed as binders with the help of cold water. The binder mixture swells as it is stirred. It can then be mixed with the husks at normal room temperature. Table potato starch and agar, on the other hand, are heated with water before mixing to create a jelly. The subsequent filling process should therefore take place as quickly as possible and with as little heat loss as possible, otherwise solidification can occur too early.

Claims (18)

Packaging molded part, having a disperse filler and a binder, wherein the disperse filler has vegetable particles which have concave recesses resulting from plant growth. Packaging molded part according to Claim 1 wherein the disperse filler comprises cereal husks. Packaging molding according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the binding agent is biodegradable. Packaging molded part according to Claim 3 , wherein the binding agent comprises agar and / or casein and / or a starch material. Packaging molding according to one of the Claims 3 until 4th which is free of non-biodegradable substances. Packaging molding according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the volume fraction of the binder is between 6% and 65%, preferably between 10% and 35%, particularly preferably between 15% and 25% of the volume fraction of the filler. Packaging molding according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the mass fraction of the particles in the packaging molding is greater than 50%. Packaging molded part which has a modified surface. Packaging molding according to one of the preceding claims, which has a trough-like or chamber-like recess. Packaging container, having a molded packaging part according to Claim 9 and an object to be protected, an outer contour of the object to be protected being in engagement with an inner contour of the chamber-like or trough-like recess. Packaging container, comprising a molded packaging part one of the Claims 1 - 9 , an object to be protected and an outer packaging which at least partially surrounds the object to be protected and the packaging molding. Packaging according to Claim 11 wherein the object can only assume a position spaced apart from a wall of the outer packaging without removing the molded packaging part. A method for producing a molded packaging part, comprising wetting plant particles which have concave recesses resulting from plant growth with a binding agent, Filling a mold with the wetted vegetable particles, Removing the molded packaging part containing the wetted vegetable particles from the mold. Procedure according to Claim 12 wherein the vegetable particles have husks. Procedure according to Claim 13 or 14th , further comprising drying the packaging molding after and / or during removal from the mold. Method according to one of the Claims 13 until 15th , further comprising modifying a surface of the packaging molding. A method for packaging an object to be protected, comprising providing a packaging molding according to one of the Claims 1 - 9 and an outer packaging which has at least one wall defining an interior space for at least partially accommodating the object and the molded part, as well as placing the packaging molded part and the object in the interior so that the object can only assume positions spaced apart from the wall without removing the packaging molded part. Procedure according to Claim 17 , wherein the provision of the packaging molding is a method according to one of Claims 13 until 16 includes.

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