EP0251945A1 - Procedure for closing packing containers - Google Patents

Abstract

Specific automatic closing system for packages used as containers, principally for compressible or elastic materials, but also for inert equipment or articles which may require the same system, for practical or economic reasons, in any field whatever. The system relates especially to the pressure fitting of a cover (1) equipped with foldable rims (2), which is guided and forcibly pushed inside the container (3) with the aid of a piston. This container is provided on its periphery and in its top part with a pleat (4), or profile, disposed in the opposite direction to that of the rim of the cover. The assembly is locked, after ascent of the pushing piston, by means of the phenomenon whereby the compressed materials assume their initial volume, or, in the absence of this phenomenon, by means of the addition and fastening under the cover of an elastic material, in the case of a packaging containing a material, an article or an inert item of equipment. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a particular system for automatically closing packages which are used as containers for a material, product, or material.

The fields of application and use are innumerable, especially in all sectors where packaging is necessary. One can cite for example all the activities where one wishes to package and isolate compressible or elastic materials (waste of any kind, foam, wadding, sponges, etc.) which allow the cover to lock on its own. It is also possible to widen the field of application of the system to the packaging of products, materials or equipment which, unlike the previous ones, are inert and therefore do not allow the packaging convercle to lock. This entirely relative drawback is easily overcome by adding and fixing under the cover an elastic material (plastic foam or other) which plays the role and actively replaces the phenomenon of elasticity produced naturally by other materials or products. .

In order to allow a good understanding and definition of the system, as well as its numerous advantages on all levels (economic, simple, practical, etc.) a particular example chosen from many applications will be presented below. The example chosen is that of compacting hospital waste, and this above all because of the particular problems it poses and the difficulties raised by hospital requirements in terms of hygiene.

The example described below is accompanied by a diagram fig 2 which aims to show, functionally, a compactor of hospital waste seen from the side.

This compactor currently receives, and as drawn in FIG. 2, a container 7 of conventional waste of the "American box" type.

As shown in fig 2, the technique used is that of the waste container 7 fig 2 in corrugated cardboard with upper and lower flaps. This box closed in its lower part with a self-adhesive strip is introduced into the compactor by a large main door 9 fig 2 articulated laterally and on a vertical axis. In order to introduce this waste container, the upper flaps of the box 7 fig 2 must be folded outwards. It is then sufficient to close the large main door 9 fig 2. The device thus being ready for use, the loading of the waste can be carried out by the small loading door 10 fig 3. The latter is tiltable by approximately 60 ° towards the outside of the device and articulated in its lower part on a horizontal axis. To load the waste, it suffices to introduce the waste or collection bags through the rectangular orifice left by the door opening and giving direct access to the compression zone 8 fig 2. The simple fact of closing the loading door automatically starts the compaction cycle, which causes the pressure piston 11 to descend (fig. 2). This piston, in the shape of a parallelepiped as it descends, pushes and compresses the waste previously introduced into the container (7 fig 2). This loading operation is repeated until 'when, according to a certain number of parameters defined in advance, the compactor decides that the container is "full" and that the operator must no longer introduce additional waste. This "full container" phase is signaled to the operator by a flashing light located on the front of the device. At this time, it is necessary to take out the full container of the device by opening the large main door 9 fig 2, then to fold the upper flaps of the packaging on themselves, to apply a self-adhesive strip to the join the flaps to close and isolate the compacted waste from the surrounding environment.

The disadvantages of the system currently in use are numerous, and will not be listed on a case-by-case basis. However, it seems necessary to emphasize the most important all the same, since it is very closely linked to the application of the system giving rise to the request. In fact, the main vocation of the compacting technique in the hospital sector is above all to limit the risks of secondary infection of the ambient environment by insulating, and this as close as possible to the place of production of the compacted waste. However, if during the loading cycles the isolation is ensured by a slight atmospheric depression of the compacting chamber, the need to open the main door in order to extract the container from the enclosure of the device causes violent turbulence at the time of this extraction, all the more dangerous for the ambient environment as the container is at this precise moment entirely open in its upper part and that the waste which has just been compacted is in direct contact with the ambient environment .

In addition, and in order to close this packaging definitively, the 4 flaps which constitute the lid of the packaging have to be folded back on themselves. To do this, the person responsible for this operation must necessarily look at unpleasant waste. , which give off often intolerable aromas.

The system according to the invention makes it possible to permanently close the waste container packaging without having to take it out of the enclosure of the device. To do this, the system essentially rests on a cover which is forced into a waste container specially adapted for receiving this cover and no longer allows it to be reopened. The packaging in its simplest form is shown in fig 1, before use and after filling and closing.

The cover in this case is rectangular, but can be of various shape (square, hexagonal, octagonal, etc ...) depending on the container in which it is inserted. This cover can be made of different materials depending on the use of the packaging and the intended purpose. In the case shown, it is made of corrugated cardboard covered on the face in contact with the waste with an attached plastic film which can exceed by a few centimeters the edges of this cover or of a treatment ensuring good protection against humidity.

The peculiarity of this cover is that, unlike traditional packaging, the cover which closes the container does not come to cover this container, but comes to be forced inside the latter. This cover 1 fig 7 consists of a base of rectangular or other shape, depending on the shape of the container, the dimensions of which are slightly smaller (a few millimeters for example) than the dimensions of the inlet opening of the container in which it comes introduce yourself, and folds 2 fig 7 of variable height (3 to 5 cm for example) having the function of forming its sides. In addition, this cover is differentiated by the fact that the folds which form its periphery are not interconnected in the corners, but on the contrary are notched in each corner 15 fig 7 so as to make them independent of each other. The notches 15 made in the corners of the lid can have a variable angle, but preferably a 180 ° cut like 15 fig 7 in order to allow good penetration of the corners of the lid (after folding) in the corners of the flaps or sidewalks of the container. . Indeed, if the notch had an angle of 90 °, the folds after folding would touch and could not pass under the flaps of the container especially in the corners. These folds can be obtained by marking a trace 14 fig 7 during manufacture or any other means. The purpose of this marking is to maintain an elasticity to these folds after folding, because it is necessary to be able to fold them perpendicularly to introduce the cover into the enclosure 8 fig 2. Then these folds 2 must open after passing from the sidewalk 4 of the container to press against the walls of this container so as to be certain that on raising the edges of the cover will be introduced well under the folds 4 of the container 3 in the space 20 fig 9 delimited by the edges of the container and 4 flaps or sidewalks. In addition, another particularity, this cover is introduced into the compactor through the loading door 10 fig 2 but upside down from a normal cover, that is to say with its folds oriented towards the top, and this in order to allow a push by the pressing piston without risk of catching on the side walls of the compression enclosure 8 fig 2 and also its locking inside the container.

• 1ère phase : Le conteneur étant livré à plat, on l'ouvre légèrement afin de pouvoir plier vers l'intérieur les rabats 16 et 17 fig 8. Cette opé­ration étant réalisée comme fig 14 il suffit d'écarter les angles du con­teneur afin de former le volume (cube, parallélépipède ou autre) comme montré fig 10.
• 2ème phase : En continuant d'éloigner l'un de l'autre les trottoirs ou rabats 16 et 17 déjà formés on ramène les rabats 18 et 19 face à face fig 11. Cette opération de pliage étant terminée fig 12, il suffit d'­éloigner l'un de l'autre les rabats 18 et 19 afin de former à nouveau le volume fig 13; De cette manière les quatre éléments de trottoirs ou rabats 16, 17, 18 et 19 sont repliés vers l'intérieur du conteneur et ne peuvent plus se réouvrir du fait essentiellement de la continuité de ces rabats dans les angles du conteneur après formation (fig 13). De cette manière, les pliages internes de conteneur ainsi formés vont résister à la remontée du couvercle arpès son introduction par pression à l'intérieur du conteneur. En effet, la fermeture à l'aide du couvercle nécessitant une forte pression du fait soit de l'importance des volumes introduits dans le conteneur dans le cas de compactage (le but recherché étant la diminution des volumes), soit de l'élasticité des éléments rapportés sous le couvercle (mousse ou chips de polystyrène ou autre) dans le cas d'un contenu totalement inerte, le dit couvercle va remonter après relachement de la poussée et être arrêté dans son mouvement ascendant par les pliures internes formées dans les angles du conteneur par les trottoirs et par le fait que les rebords du couvercle se trouvent à ce moment prisonners sous les rebords du conteneur dans l'espace 20 fig 9.

As for the container, it can be made of corrugated cardboard, laminated polyethylene cardboard or other materials, cardboard treated with HOT-MELT, KRAPO, etc., or even in "extra" type packaging (cardboard in which is glued a plastic bag previously welded) and possibly in thermoformed plastic, blown, injected, or any other process which allows to achieve, according to the requirements of use, mechanical resistance or against moisture. This container 3 fig 1, of rectangular shape in the example presented, is provided in its upper part with a trace of folding 13 fig 6 located at a certain distance from the top of the container 12 fig 6. These interruptions are either notches representing a certain angle for example 45 ° (12 fig 6) or more simply cuts made at right angles to the height of the flaps or sidewalks. They are intended to allow folding of these flaps or sidewalks before final formation of the container. Indeed, it would be impossible to fold a flap that goes around the compactor without these notches or these cuts. In the invention which is the subject of the present application, it is possible to fold the sidewalks or flaps without damaging them and this in the following manner:

• 1st phase: The container being delivered flat, it is opened slightly in order to be able to fold inwards the flaps 16 and 17 fig 8. This operation being carried out as fig 14 it suffices to spread the angles of the container in order to form the volume (cube, parallelepiped or other) as shown in fig 10.
• 2nd phase: By continuing to move the sidewalks or flaps 16 and 17 already formed from one another, the flaps 18 and 19 are brought face to face fig 11. This folding operation being completed fig 12, it suffices to move the flaps 18 and 19 away from each other in order to again form the volume fig 13; In this way the four sidewalk elements or flaps 16, 17, 18 and 19 are folded towards the interior of the container and can no longer reopen mainly due to the continuity of these flaps in the corners of the container after formation (fig 13 ). In this way, the internal folds of the container thus formed will resist the rise of the cover after its introduction by pressure inside the container. Indeed, the closure using the cover requiring high pressure due either to the importance of the volumes introduced into the container in the case of compaction (the aim being the reduction in volumes), or to the elasticity of the elements added under the cover (foam or polystyrene chips or other) in the case of a completely inert content, the said cover will rise after releasing the thrust and be stopped in its upward movement by the internal folds formed in the corners of the container by the sidewalks and by the fact that the edges of the cover are at this time trapped under the edges of the container in the space 20 fig 9.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 show clearly and precisely, the different phases of the automatic closing of the packaging which is the subject of the request. In fig 3, the container 3 being in the enclosure of the device is filled with waste 5. The cover 1, the folds 2 of which are folded back in place, after having been introduced into the enclosure situated below the full container of waste. The pressure piston 6, the base surface of which covers almost the entire surface of the cover, is in the high position.

In fig 4, after the operator has closed the loading door of the device, the pressing piston 6 driven by a hydraulic cylinder engages its downward movement, and therefore pushes the cover 1 and the waste to the interior of the container 3. At this time the folds 2 of the cover having exceeded the flaps 4 of the container 3 open due to their elasticity and come to press against the interior walls of the container.

FIG. 5 represents the ascent of the pressure piston 6. The latter was engaged using a position switch forcing in the previous phase the piston to descend by a distance defined in advance in order to be certain that the folds of the lid have gone well beyond the flaps of the container. It is therefore at this moment that the lid, pushed upwards by the natural volume recovery of the compressed waste, rises again and that the folds of the cover are locked definitively under the folds 4 forming the periphery of the packaging 3 fig 5.

When this operation is finished, it suffices to open the main door 9 fig 2, to leave the closed enclosure of the appliance and to evacuate to its storage or treatment site.

The fundamental difference with any other mode of automatic closing essentially lies in the fact that one uses in this system a natural phenomenon to close and lock the packaging definitively. This phenomenon is mainly due to the composition of the contents of the packaging, and in particular to the diversity of the compacted waste, which has the effect of causing this phenomenon. Thanks to the latter, the locking of the packaging is practically inviolable. The advantage of this system lies above all in the fact that it does not require any technical means traditionally used for this type of closure (bonding, stapling, welding, crimping, etc.).

By this system, the objective aimed by the use of the waste compacting technique in the hospital field is definitively achieved, that is to say compress the waste to reduce the volumes, while isolating it from the ambient environment in an enclosure. close, and this as close as possible to the place of their production.

The optimal advantage of this system remains the fact that one avoids reintroducing into the ambient environment pathogenic germs, and that one eliminates manipulations dangerous for this same environment.

On the basis of the example presented, and of the advantages which flow from the proposed system, it is easy to extrapolate and to think that it can apply this closing technique in all areas where packaging by cardboard, plastic or other container requires the use of expensive and complex closing systems (machine for folding the flaps after filling the container, gluing machine, welding, stapling or applying adhesive tapes to close the container).

In addition, the use of this system can also be applied to the bottom of the packaging which avoids the flaps or other means of closing using a tape, gluing or stapling technique and gives it once the bottom and the cover in place a character of inviolability and an excellent resistance to the load.

Claims (2)

1) Packaging closure device comprising a container body 3 and a cover 1, the joining of these two parts being carried out as follows:
- the body of the container has flaps 4 directed towards the inside of the container 3
- the cover has folds 2 directed towards the outside of the container
- the folds 2 of the cover being intended to be inserted in the space 20 delimited by the edges of the container and the flaps 4 so that when the cover tends to lift (under the effect of the pressure of the contents) the folds 2 sink completely into space 20 until a stop occurs either of fold 2 at the bottom of space 20 or fold 4 on top of the cover, or both, this device being characterized by the fact that the internal folds or sidewalks 4 of the container are continuous in the angles and discontinuous between the angles, preferably towards the middle. The purpose of these discontinuities 12, for example notches or notches between the angles, is to allow, the container 3 being delivered flat, the formation of these folds or sidewalks 4 at the same time as that of the container. 2) Device according to claim 1 characterized in that the edges 2 of the cover 1 are cut in the corners 15 in order to allow the penetration of said folds 2 under the folds 4 of the container 3, and more particularly in the corners of the container, which have no flexibility due to the folding of the folds 4 and their continuity there.
The rise of said cover is made in the present case by the recovery of the volume of the compressible or elastic products located inside the container or by any other means capable of causing this rise.

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