EP1676782B1 - Process of packaging object(s) with a heat-shrinkable sleeve and heat-shrinkable sleeve - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves pre-positioning a thermo-retractable sleeve (11) on an object (10). The sleeve is retracted by a thermal process on the object. A thermo-retractable sleeve (12) is pre-positioned on the object covered by the retracted sleeve (11). The wall of the retracted sleeve (11) is reheated, by a thermal process, to obtain a thermal balance with the wall of the sleeve (12), and to retract the sleeve (12) on the sleeve (11). An independent claim is also included for an object packaging envelope including thermo-retractable sleeves.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for packaging objects by means of heat-shrinkable sleeves according to claim 1.

Background of the invention

The technique of retraction of sleeves made of heat-shrinkable plastic material on one or more objects appeared about thirty years ago.

To control the retraction process of a heat-shrinkable sleeve on an object, it was found that the thermal issues played a considerable role, and in particular any temperature gradient between the inner and outer faces of the film to be retracted was detrimental to the quality of the retraction of the sleeve on the object. It was then attempted to organize a preheating of the sleeve to retract in order to establish a uniform temperature in the wall of the sleeve and to overcome as much as possible the temperature of the outer face of the object to coated. The applicant has in particular proposed to inject air between the inner face of the sleeve and the outer face of the object, the air mattress thus organized allowing the establishment of an optimal thermal regime in the thickness of the wall of the sleeve to be retracted at the moment when said wall reaches the softening temperature of the heat-shrinkable film constituting said sleeve.

These retraction techniques, now well controlled, have given rise to numerous patent filings by the plaintiff.

Objects packaged by such packaging techniques using heat-shrink sleeves are frequently containers. When it comes to bottles, and in particular glass bottles, the current techniques are not fully satisfactory, especially if the bottles already contain the associated liquid, because the object to be coated is a very restrictive thermal barrier during the process of retraction of the sleeve. It is indeed easy to understand that the heating of the glass wall, necessary for the equilibrium of the temperatures at the time of reaching the softening temperature of the film, is not generally compatible with the nature of the liquid. This is particularly the case when it comes to carbonated or strongly carbonated drinks. This problem of thermal order arises more generally as soon as the container is cold, whether it is full or empty.

Thus, until now, the packaging has not been used by means of heat-shrinkable sleeves for very cold and / or full bottles, and in particular glass bottles containing gaseous products such as mineral water or champagne. .

The state of the art is also illustrated by the documents mentioned below.

The document US-A-3 110 554 illustrates the covering of a metal tin, for sustainable labeling thereof. For this purpose, a shrink sleeve is placed on a can, and the whole is subjected to a temperature of about 85 ° C for three to six minutes to simultaneously sterilize the food contained in the can and retracting the sleeve on said box, said sleeve having the main function of protecting the box against corrosion, particularly at the generating line of the weld. In a variant, a first sleeve printed on its outer surface is formed on the box, then the box is filled, sealed and sterilized, and a second outer protective sleeve, identical to the first, is put in place and retracted by submitting the together at a temperature of 90 ° C for five minutes. Such a technique uses long-term thermal processes, and remains limited to cans.

The document DE-A-16 07 932 describes the production of a belt in one or two layers, the retraction of the thin-walled plastic container creates a prestressing which opposes the stress that will undergo the wall of the container under the effect of the pressure of his contained in order to avoid breaking under the effect of internal pressure. The function provided by the single or double layer belt is a shrinking function, which is specific to the field of plastic bottles containing liquids under pressure.

The documents US-A-4,190,168 and US-A-4,069,934 describe retractable sleeves with two layers bonded together, and thus retracted as a single layer.

The document US-2003/0068453 also discloses a multilayer heat shrinkable sleeve.

Finally, the document US-2003/0021918 discloses a heat-shrinkable one-walled sleeve which is internally coated with a lacquer layer and a metallized layer.

Outside the field of packaging, the state of the art of the multilayer walls is illustrated by the document EP 0 131 989 A2 . This document describes the production of a multilayer wall intended to constitute containers or pipes under pressure, with an intermediate sheet (paper, metal, barrier plastic) sandwiched between two layers of PET successively retracted. The wall is formed in successive stages on a temporary support consisting of a metal mandrel. The document is, however, silent on the thermal problems related to shrinkage, in particular the problems that may arise from the possible differences in temperature between the two layers of PET.

Object of the invention

The object of the invention is to propose a technique packaging objects by means of thermo-tractable sleeves not having the aforementioned drawbacks and limitations, while remaining compatible with the existing material retraction sleeve placed on objects in continuous scrolling or with individual retraction machines.

The invention also relates to a technique of packaging objects by means of heat-shrinkable sleeves which can also be used with cold and / or full containers.

General definition of the invention

1. a) mettre en place sur l'objet ou les objets à emballer un premier manchon en matière thermorétractable ;
2. b) rétracter par un processus thermique le premier manchon sur ledit ou lesdits objets ;
3. c) mettre en place sur l'objet ou les objets revêtu(s) dudit premier manchon rétracté un deuxième manchon en matière plastique thermorétractable ;
4. d) par un processus thermique, réchauffer la paroi du premier manchon rétracté en vue d'obtenir un équilibre thermique avec la paroi du deuxième manchon mis en place, et chauffer alors le deuxième manchon pour rétracter ledit deuxième manchon sur ledit premier manchon.

The aforementioned technical problem is solved according to the invention by means of a method of packaging object (s), comprising the steps defined in claim 1, namely:

1. a) put on the object or objects to be packaged a first heat shrinkable sleeve;
2. b) retracting by a thermal process the first sleeve on said object or objects;
3. c) placing on the coated object (s) of said first retracted sleeve a second heat-shrinkable plastic sleeve;
4. d) by a thermal process, heating the wall of the first shrunk sleeve to achieve a thermal equilibrium with the wall of the second sleeve in place, and then heat the second sleeve to retract said second sleeve on said first sleeve.

Thus, for the retraction of the second sleeve, the heating of the object to be coated then amounts to heat only the wall of the first sleeve retracted on the object, which allows to obtain very quickly a warming for thermal equilibrium sought, without having to suffer from the thermal barrier that the object represents. It therefore becomes possible to use specific sleeves as second sleeves, in particular sleeves of fragile plastic and thin, which could not be envisaged with conventional techniques using a single heat-shrinkable sleeve. In addition, we can now dress cold and / or full containers, especially ready for immediate consumption.

According to an interesting embodiment, the method of the invention comprises an intermediate step e) between the steps b) and c) above, consisting in setting up a functional element against the outer face of the first sleeve retracted on said or said objects, said functional element being then covered by the second sleeve.

It can then be provided that the first sleeve used in step a) has been previously deformed locally by an embossing process according to a predetermined pattern in association with the geometry of the functional element, said embossing process being such that said pattern appears in relief on the outer face of the first sleeve and remains after retraction of said first sleeve. In particular, the embossing pattern is arranged to form an encapsulating housing of the functional element.

Advantageously, the functional element is maintained at least temporarily by adhesion against the outer face of the first sleeve before the introduction of the second sleeve, the final maintenance of said functional element being ensured by the subsequent retraction of said second sleeve.

The invention also relates to an article packaged by a packaging envelope comprising the features of claim 6.

Preferably, the first sleeve and the second sleeve have identical axial heights. Thus, the thermal equilibrium can be achieved over the entire height of the second sleeve before the retraction thereof, and it also avoids level differences that could be unsightly.

It can be provided that the first sleeve and the second sleeve differ from one another by the thickness and / or the type of composition of their constituent film, or that alternatively the first sleeve and the second sleeve are made to from constituent films of the same type of composition and the same thickness.

Preferably, the first sleeve is printed to present technological impressions related to the identification and / or traceability of the objects concerned, and the second sleeve is printed to present decorative impressions, without interfering with the readability of the impressions of the first sleeve.

It may further be provided that the functional element disposed between the first sleeve and the second sleeve is an anti-theft or burglar-proof security element, or alternatively an identification or coding element, or a piece or a medal.

In a particular embodiment, the functional element is glued against the outer face of the first sleeve.

Alternatively, it may be advantageous for the first sleeve to have an embossed portion forming a pattern in relief on the outer face of said first sleeve, said pattern being arranged in association with the geometry of the functional element. Preferably then, the raised pattern of the embossed portion will be arranged to form an encapsulating housing of the functional element.

It will then be possible for the first sleeve to have a registration pattern, in particular colored dots, to facilitate the circumferential positioning of the second sleeve with respect to said first sleeve, or alternatively that the first sleeve and the second sleeve have homologous embossings, in particular forming a male-female casing once the second sleeve retracted on the first sleeve, to achieve a circumferentially indexing said second sleeve with respect to said first sleeve.

It may also be advantageous to provide that the second sleeve has a tear strip arranged axially or circumferentially to allow removal of said second sleeve and therefore access to the functional element.

To further strengthen the safety aspects of the package, it can be provided that at least one of the first and second sleeves has optical effects, in particular holographic.

Advantageously finally, the first sleeve is made from a multilayer film, while the second sleeve is made from a single-layer film, or vice versa. In particular, it can be provided while the multilayer film comprises at least three layers, with a central layer having barrier properties, in particular thermal barrier.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly in the light of the description which follows and the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

• la figure 1 illustre schématiquement les étapes successives du procédé de l'invention ;
• la figure 2 illustre schématiquement une variante du procédé de la figure 1, dans laquelle est prévue une étape intermédiaire de mise en place d'un élément fonctionnel avec trois variantes illustrées pour cette étape intermédiaire ;
• la figure 3 est une vue partielle en coupe illustrant le produit obtenu à l'issue du procédé schématisé à la figure 1 ;
• les figures 4 et 5 sont des vues en coupe analogues à celle de la figure 3, illustrant le produit obtenu à l'issue du procédé schématisé en figure 2 ;
• la figure 6 est une vue en coupe illustrant, comme pour les figures 4 et 5, l'insertion d'un élément fonctionnel, mais avec un embossage localisé de la paroi du premier manchon ;
• la figure 7 est une vue partielle en élévation associée au mode d'exécution de la figure 6 ;
• la figure 8 est une vue complète en élévation montrant la présence d'une bande d'arrachage permettant l'enlèvement du deuxième manchon rétracté et par suite l'accès à l'élément fonctionnel associé au premier manchon.

Reference will be made to the figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

• the figure 1 schematically illustrates the successive steps of the method of the invention;
• the figure 2 schematically illustrates a variant of the process of the figure 1 , in which is provided an intermediate step of setting up a functional element with three variants illustrated for this intermediate step;
• the figure 3 is a partial sectional view illustrating the product obtained at the end of the process shown schematically in FIG. figure 1 ;
• the Figures 4 and 5 are analog sectional views to that of the figure 3 , illustrating the product obtained at the end of the process schematized in figure 2 ;
• the figure 6 is a sectional view illustrating, as for the Figures 4 and 5 inserting a functional element, but with a localized embossing of the wall of the first sleeve;
• the figure 7 is a partial elevation view associated with the execution mode of the figure 6 ;
• the figure 8 is a complete elevational view showing the presence of a tear strip for the removal of the second retracted sleeve and hence the access to the functional element associated with the first sleeve.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

The figure 1 schematically illustrates the steps of a method of packaging objects according to the invention.

In this figure, there is illustrated the packaging of a single object, but it is understood that the invention is not limited to such an application, and that we can provide a group of objects on which we put in place first and then second sleeves of heat-shrinkable plastic material. In this technique already used for the packaging of a group of objects, but with a single heat-shrinkable sleeve, the retraction of each sleeve also provides a mechanical function of clamping and holding objects.

In step a), is placed on an object 10, which is here schematized in the form of a container, a first sleeve 11 of heat-shrinkable plastic material.

In step b), the first sleeve 11 threaded onto the object 10 is retracted by a thermal process. This retraction process may use hot air or water vapor depending on the temperature. the case, as is schematized by arrows. It will also be possible to inject air, by means of nozzles not shown here, between the object 10 and the inner face of the sleeve placed 11.

Until now, the process is very close to conventional packaging processes using heat-shrinkable sleeves, except, as will be seen later, that the sleeve 11, which is a first sleeve, may have particular characteristics.

In step c), a second sleeve 12 of heat-shrinkable plastic material is placed on the object coated with the first retracted sleeve 11.

In step d), the heat is applied to heating the wall of the first shrunk sleeve 11 and, when a thermal equilibrium is reached with the wall of the second sleeve 12 in place, to the retraction of said second sleeve sleeve 12 on the object coated with said sleeve 11 retracted. Here again the thermal process is schematized by arrows. The retraction of the second sleeve 12 is obtained easily and very rapidly, insofar as the wall of this second sleeve 12 heats up almost instantaneously, because the heating of the interior object to be coated is reduced to the only heating of the wall of the first sleeve 11, without having to wait for sufficient warming of the wall of the object.

For the implementation steps a) of the first sleeve 11 and c) of the second sleeve 12, this implementation can be performed automatically in the case where a machine is used including a continuous scrolling system objects, with passage in a retraction tunnel, as is well known to those skilled in the art. Alternatively, if a machine adapted to retraction on a single object, or individual retraction, is used, then this setting up of the first and second sleeves 11, 12 can be performed manually by the operator.

Although the main technical effect sought by using a second sleeve retracted on a first sleeve already retracted is to obtain a thermal equilibrium, especially when it comes to packaging cold bottles and / or full glass it may be interesting to take advantage of the presence of the second sleeve, and the retraction thereof, to implement an additional function of covering and maintaining in place an intermediate element then sandwiched between the two sleeves.

Such a variant of the packaging process is schematically illustrated in figure 2 .

Steps a) and b) of the process are the same as before. The process of figure 2 is differentiated from the previous by the presence of an intermediate step e) intervening between steps b) and c) above, and consisting in setting up a functional element against the outer face of the first sleeve 11 retracted on the object 10, said functional element being then covered by the second sleeve 12.

On the figure 2 three exemplary embodiments are schematically represented for this intermediate step e), thus setting up a functional element 15 or 15 'or 15 "against the external face of the first sleeve 11. The functional element 15, 15 ', 15' can be maintained at least temporarily by adhesion against the outer face of the first sleeve 11, before the introduction of the second sleeve 12 provided in the following step c). The final maintenance of the functional element 15, 15 ', 15 "is then ensured by the subsequent retraction of the second sleeve 12 as illustrated in d).

The functional element 15, here represented in the form of a pellet, can be an element identification or coding. It may thus be a sensor, a chip, a transponder or an anti-theft security element or burglar-proof.

The functional element 15 'also illustrated here is in the form of an elongate filament, arranged along a generatrix of the first sleeve 11. It may for example be an anti-theft security antenna or burglar protection. For anti-theft protection techniques using an antenna associated with an electronic surveillance system operating on a magnetic detection principle, reference may be made to the document EP-A-0 698 561 of the plaintiff.

There is also illustrated a functional element 15 "which is placed in a housing defined by a localized relief of the wall of the first sleeve 11. As will be seen later with reference to the Figures 6 to 8 , the first sleeve 11 used in step a) has been previously deformed locally by an embossing process in a pattern 16 which is predetermined in association with the geometry of the functional element 15 ''. The embossing process used will be such that the pattern 16 appears in relief on the outer face of the first sleeve 11 and remains after retraction of said first sleeve. As is schematized here, the embossing pattern 16, here circular in shape, is arranged to form a housing 17 of encapsulation of the functional element 15 ''.

Once this intermediate step e) is implemented, with the implementation of the functional element 15, 15 ', 15'', or any other equivalent functional element, the following step c) is carried out. placing the second sleeve 12, and finally the retraction step d) said second sleeve 12, without these steps changing with respect to steps c) and d) of the method of the figure 1 . However, the retraction of the second sleeve 12 during step d) provides in this case an additional effect of holding in place and protective coating for the functional element 15, 15 ', 15 "which is thus protected from the outside.

It may then be advantageous to provide that the first sleeve 11 also has a registration pattern (not shown here), for example colored dots, to facilitate the circumferential positioning of the second sleeve 12 relative to said first sleeve during the first time. step c). Alternatively, it can be provided that the first and second sleeves 11, 12 have homologous embossings (not shown here), in particular forming a male-female casing once the second sleeve 12 retracted on the first sleeve 11, to achieve a circumferentially indexing said second sleeve with respect to said first sleeve.

As has been said above, it is interesting to take advantage of the presence of two separate sleeves to assign different functions to each of the two sleeves. In particular, it will be interesting to provide that the first sleeve 11 is printed to present technological impressions related to the identification and / or traceability of the objects concerned (in particular the required legal information in the country concerned), and that the second sleeve 12 is printed to present decorative or event impressions (for example a promotional sale or associated with a party, or a punctual advertising operation), without however interfering with the readability of the impressions of the first sleeve 11. These two types of impressions have been schematically Figures 1 and 2 by representing a coding 21 representing a printing of a technological order, and a letter A 22 representing the impression of decorative order, the printing 21 being carried by the first sleeve 11, while the printing 22 is carried by the second sleeve 12.

The partial section of the figure 3 allows, thanks to a very large scale, to distinguish the three successive layers, with the wall of the object 10, coated with the first sleeve 11 retracted on the object 10, and the second sleeve 12 retracted on the first sleeve 11 already retracted. 11.1 and 11.2 have been noted respectively the internal and external faces of the sleeve 11, and 12.1, 12.2 respectively internal and external faces of the second sleeve 12. This allows in particular to understand that the thermal equilibrium for the retraction of the second sleeve 12 essentially concerns the space defined between the outer wall 11.2 of the first sleeve 11 already retracted, and the inner wall 12.1 of the second sleeve 12 not yet retracted.

The cup of the figure 4 makes it possible to distinguish the presence of a functional element 15 maintained between the two sleeves 11 and 12. The same applies to the figure 5 which illustrates the presence of an intermediate functional element 15 'made in the form of an antenna filament, which is held between the walls of the two sleeves 11 and 12.

The Figures 6 and 7 correspond to the last variant illustrated for the intermediate step e), with the establishment of a functional element 15 "in a housing specifically provided in the wall of the first sleeve 11. It is found that the first sleeve 11 has a embossed portion 16 forming a pattern in relief on the outer face of said first sleeve, which pattern is arranged in association with the geometry of the functional element 15 '', in this case a circular shape.The embossing flange forming the part embossed 16 forms a kind of crater which defines a housing 17 of encapsulation of the functional element 15 ''. Before the introduction of the second sleeve 12, it is possible, if desired, secure the establishment of the functional element 15 "by bonding said functional element against the outer face of the first sleeve 11 at the bottom of the associated housing 17. In any event, when the second sleeve 12 is put in place and retracted, its wall comes to complete encapsulation of the functional element 15 ", avoiding any loss of it and any external aggression that may affect its functionality .

It can be predicted that the functional element 15 "is a promotional element such as a coin or a medal, in which case it may be interesting, as illustrated in FIG. figure 8 , to provide that the second sleeve 12 has a tear strip 18 to allow removal of said second sleeve and therefore an access to the functional element 15. In this case, the tear strip 18, which has a lower gripping element 19 is arranged axially, that is to say according to a generatrix of the sleeve 12, but it will naturally be possible alternatively a tear strip arranged circumferentially.

In general, it will be provided that the first sleeve 11 and the second sleeve 12 have substantially identical axial heights. If the heights differ significantly, it will be endeavored to provide that the lowest height is that of the second sleeve 12, for which it is desired to control a rapid retraction.

It can be provided that the first sleeve 11 and the second sleeve 12 different from each other by the thickness and / or the type of composition of their constituent film. Alternatively, the first sleeve 11 and the second sleeve 12 may be made from constituent films of the same type of composition and the same thickness.

Of the two previous possibilities, the first is in practice the most interesting, insofar as it allows distinct choices, with for example a use for the first sleeve of a relatively thick multilayer film, while the second sleeve 12 is , meanwhile, made from a film monolayer thinner, or vice versa. In particular, it will be possible to use a multilayer film having at least three layers, with a central layer having barrier properties, in particular a cellular layer forming a thermal barrier. We then have a very interesting function element retarder warming, and this in both directions, that is to say during the retraction, and also after retraction to prevent heating of the product contained in the object .

It should be noted that the presence of the first sleeve 11 also optimizes the sliding character for the introduction and retraction of the second sleeve 12.

It can also be provided that at least one of the first and second sleeves 11, 12 has optical effects, in particular holographic.

In any case, thanks to the presence of the two superimposed sleeves, one can dress containers cold or very cold, and / or full, and it is also possible to create a thermal bridge that allows in particular to keep longer a liquid to the desired temperature.

The invention is not limited to the various embodiments which have just been described, but on the contrary covers any variant using, with equivalent means, the essential characteristics stated above.

It will be possible, for example, to provide other functional elements sandwiched between the two sleeves 11, 12, such as hologram ribbons, in order to have a feature specifically dedicated to the authenticity and inviolability of the object.

It will of course also be possible to use the simultaneous use of several functional elements as described.

Finally, it will be possible to apply, for the second outer sleeve 12, one or the other of the techniques already proposed by the Applicant in the case of a single shrunk sleeve, for example totally or partially tear-off supplementary techniques. .

Finally, it will be possible to provide a lenticular arrangement, with a crossed structure arranged on the second sleeve 12 to hide or reveal all or part of a text present on the first sleeve 11, with also the possibility of organizing animations and / or codings .

Claims (24)

1. A method of packaging one or more articles, wherein said method comprises the steps consisting in:

   a) putting a first sleeve (11) of heat-shrink material into place on the article(s) to be packaged;

   b) using a thermal process to shrink the first sleeve (11) onto said article(s);

   c) putting a second sleeve (12) of heat-shrink plastics material on the article(s) covered in said shrunk-on first sleeve (11); and

   d) using a thermal process to heat the wall of the shrunk-on first sleeve (11) in order to obtain thermal equilibrium with the wall of the second sleeve (12) as put into place, and then shrinking said second sleeve onto said first sleeve.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said method further includes an intermediate step e) between above-specified steps b) and c), the intermediate step consisting in putting a functional element (15, 15', 15") into place against the outside face of the first sleeve shrunk onto said article(s), said functional elements then being covered by the second sleeve (12).
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the first sleeve (11) used during step a) is previously deformed locally by an embossing process to have a predetermined pattern (16) in association with the shape of the functional element (15"), said embossing process being such that said pattern appears in relief on the outside face of the first sleeve (11) and remains after said first sleeve has been shrunk.
4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the embossed pattern (16) is arranged to form a housing (17) for encapsulating the functional element (15").
5. A method according to one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the functional element (15, 15', 15") is held at least temporarily by being stuck against the outside face of the first sleeve (11) before the second sleeve (12) is put into place, with said functional element being held finally in place by the subsequent shrinking of said second sleeve.
6. An article wrapped by a wrapper for packaging comprising a first sleeve (11) and a second sleeve (12) of heat-shrink plastics material, the first sleeve (11) being put into place on the article and heat-shrunk onto the article, the second sleeve (12) being put into place on the article covered by the first sleeve, and a face of the first sleeve being heated to obtain a thermal equilibrium with a facing face of the second sleeve (12) before to retract the latter, a functional element (15, 15', 15") being disposed against the face of the retracted first sleeve before the second sleeve being put into place and heat-shrunk, so that the functional element is maintained between the retracted sleeves.
7. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the first sleeve (11) and the second sleeve (12) have axial heights that are substantially identical.
8. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the first sleeve (11) and the second sleeve (12) differ from each other in the thickness and/or in the nature of their constituent films.
9. Article wrapped according to claim 6, wherein the first sleeve (11) and the second sleeve (12) are made from constituent films of the same nature and the same thickness.
10. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the first sleeve (11) is printed to present printing (21) of a technological nature relating to the identification and/or traceability of the articles concerned, and the second sleeve (12) is printed to present printing (22) of a decorative nature, but without interfering with the legibility of the printing (21) of the first sleeve (11).
11. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the functional element (15, 15') is an element providing security against theft or protection against tampering.
12. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the functional element (15, 15') is an element providing identification or encoding.
13. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the functional element (15") is a promotional element such as a coin or a medal.
14. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the functional element (15, 15', 15") is stuck against the outside face of the first sleeve (11).
15. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the first sleeve (11) presents an embossed portion (16) forming a pattern in relief on the outside face of said first sleeve, said pattern being arranged in association with the shape of the functional element (15").
16. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the embossed pattern (16) is arranged to form a housing (17) for encapsulating the functional element (15").
17. Wrapped article according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the first sleeve (11) presents a position-identifying pattern, particularly colored dots, to facilitate positioning the second sleeve (12) circumferentially relative to said first sleeve.
18. Wrapped article according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the first sleeve (11) and the second sleeve (12) possess matching embossing, forming male-female engagement once the second sleeve (12) has shrunk onto the first sleeve (11), so as to provide circumferential indexing for said second sleeve relative to said first sleeve.
19. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the second sleeve (12) presents a tear strip (18) arranged axial or circumferentially to enable said second sleeve to be removed and thus give access to the functional element (15'').
20. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the first and second sleeves (11, 12) presents optical effects, particularly holographic effects.
21. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the first sleeve (11) is made from a multilayer film, while the second sleeve (12) is made from a single-layer film.
22. Wrapped article according to claim 21, wherein the multilayer film constituting the first sleeve (11) comprises at least three layers, with a central layer having barrier properties, particularly thermal barrier properties.
23. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the first sleeve (11) is made from a single-layer film, while the second sleeve (12) is made from a multilayer film.
24. Wrapped article according to claim 6, wherein the multilayer film constituting the second sleeve (12) comprises at least three layers, with a central layer having barrier properties, particularly thermal barrier properties.

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