EP2769652A1

EP2769652A1 - Packaging for cloths and similar articles and manufacturing method thereof

Info

Publication number: EP2769652A1
Application number: EP14000583.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Roberto Widmann
Original assignee: Widmann Srl
Current assignee: Widmann Srl
Priority date: 2013-02-20
Filing date: 2014-02-19
Publication date: 2014-08-27
Also published as: ITMI20130238A1

Abstract

Wrapping for clothes, comprising a bag (3) made of suitable material, a support, in particular a clothes hanger, having a first supporting portion for the garment, said first portion being contained inside said bag, and a second engaging portion (5), in particular a curved hook, said second portion being engageable with a structure outside said bag so as to hang the wrapping, the wrapping being characterized in that said bag has an element (1,2) for fastening a part (7) thereof to said second portion.

Method for forming said wrapping.

Description

The present invention relates to a wrapping, in particular for items of clothing.
It is common practice that items of clothing suitable for being hung by means of clothes hangers are wrapped, for display and sale purposes, inside flexible, usually transparent, plastic bags so that the contents may be viewed without removal of the wrapping. The item of clothing, which may be a garment, a suit or a clothing item of any type, is arranged on a clothes hanger or similar support in a usual manner so as to be able to be hung. The hook of the clothes hanger projects outside of an opening on one side of the wrapping so that it may be hooked on a suitable support and be placed on display or in storage. The wrapping usually contains the garment and the clothes hanger (except for the hook) and may be more or less completely sealed in order to prevent tampering with or use of the contents or may be able to be opened or be partially open to allow access to the contents, while allowing the wrapping to be used again.
In many cases, however, it is not desirable to hang the wrapping in the aforementioned manner, in particular if the merchandise is to be placed on shelves or horizontal surfaces. In such a case, rarely does the garment remain fully extended as when it is hung. but is folded one or more times. There exist, therefore, also suitable wrappings for this type of display, inside which the garment is introduced, suitably folded, optionally in such a way that it may be sufficiently visible from the outside of the wrapping to allow one to decide whether to buy it.
However, for wholesale distribution the requirements of the individual retailers are generally not predictable and it would be too complex to provide different wrapping systems for each single model. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a type of wrapping which requires a single manufacturing procedure and which, however, allows display or storage at least in the two ways described above, without having to open or tamper with the said wrapping. The aforementioned object has now been achieved by means of a wrapping for clothes, comprising a bag made of suitable material, in particular flexible plastic material, a support, in particular a clothes hanger, having a first support portion for the garment, said first portion being contained inside said bag, and a second engaging portion, in particular a curved hook, said second portion being engageable with a structure outside said bag so as to hang the wrapping, the wrapping being characterized in that said bag has an element for fastening a part thereof to said second portion.
The fastening element, when fastened to said second portion, allows the bag to be kept folded onto itself, together with the garment which is contained therein and suitably arranged on the first support portion, in a manner which may be known per se.
According to a preferred aspect, said fastening element is fixed to the outer surface of the bag in a suitable position and, according to a further aspect of the invention, it has an eyelet suitable for being mounted on said engaging portion. The fastening element may also be formed integrally with the bag or may be fixed thereto in another manner, preferably it may be glued thereto.
According to a preferred aspect, the second portion protrudes from the bag, but could also be covered by a bag portion which is suitably formed so as to allow engagement thereof with the structure as specified above.
According to a particular aspect of the invention, the bag may be sealed so that, in order to gain access to the garment contained therein, it must be broken or tampered with.
The bag may be folded onto itself one or more times, for example in two or three parts, and the fastening element may be positioned therefore, for example, if the bag is folded into two, on an edge of the bag opposite to an edge from which said second portion protrudes, or, if the bag is folded into three, along one of the folds. for example at a distance equal to about two thirds of the length of the bag from the edge where said second portion protrudes. In any case, other folding and/or positioning arrangements, different from those described by way of example, are possible if required.
The invention also relates to a method for forming the wrapping described above, said method comprising:

fastening a fastening element to the second engaging portion of a support having a first supporting portion for a garment, said first portion being contained inside a bag made of suitable material, and a second engaging portion engageable with a structure outside said bad for hanging the wrapping;
fixing said fastening element to the surface of the bag, which is optionally folded onto itself, in a suitable position.

According to a preferred aspect, fixing is performed after fastening to the engaging portion. According to a further preferred aspect, the fastening element has an adhesive portion suitable for fixing to said bag.
The present invention will now be explained in greater detail by means of the description of a preferred embodiment, provided purely by way of an example which is non-limiting with respect to the scope of protection of the claims, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows in schematic form a connecting element of a wrapping according to a preferred aspect of the present invention;
Figures 2 and 3 show in schematic form two steps during formation of a wrapping according to the present invention.

With reference to Figure 1, a fastening element according to a preferred embodiment has a part 1, in particular an eyelet, which is designed to be engaged with the engaging element and a fixing part 2, intended to be fixed to the surface of the bag, preferably by means of gluing, but other alternative systems are possible, such as welding in the case of plastic material, or stitching. The part 2, according to a possible aspect of the invention may be formed as an adhesive surface, ready to be applied to the surface of the bag and optionally provided with a suitable protection, to be removed prior to application, for facilitating storage and handling thereof.
In the example shown in the figures, the part 1 is an eyelet intended to be mounted on a curved hook of a clothes hanger. Figure 2 shows a bag 3 containing a garment 4 (visible if the bag is transparent), the first portion of said hanger being covered by the garment arranged on it, as commonly is the case, and being contained inside the bag, and the second portion, in particular the curved hook 5, protruding from the bag from a hole in the end 6 of the bag. According to a preferred aspect of the invention, the eyelet 1 is mounted on the hook as can be seen in Figure 2. The bag is folded, as can be seen in Figure 3, and the adhesive part 2 is applied onto the surface of the bag in a suitable position, in the example shown at the end 7 of the bag opposite to that where the hook 5 protrudes. In the example shown, the bag is folded in two onto itself, but may also be folded several times depending on the requirements and the dimensions of the wrapped article: in this case positioning of the fastening element may be different, for example in the case where the bag is folded into three, it may be arranged along the second fold and, according to a possible embodiment, the bag portion left free from this fold towards the end opposite to that from where the hook protrudes may be folded up between the other bag portions so as to remain gripped between them once the fastening element has been fixed.
It should be noted that the possibility of securing the fastening element to the second portion of the support prior to fixing to the bag is particularly advantageous during both manual and automated wrapping operations. In fact, in particular if the element has an eyelet, it would in fact be difficult to mount it on a curved hook as shown in the example, and the wrapping operations would be slowed down, with an increased risk of damaging the wrapping since it must be deformed in order to perform this operation, and such an operation might be impossible to perform in the case of wrappings which are particularly rigid or have preformed folds.
The fastening element allows the wrapping to be kept folded in a manner particularly suitable for display on a shelf or for being stored in a similar manner. The wrapping may also be hung by means of the second portion of the support in the same way as wrappings similar to the prior art; however, in the present case it may be hung folded or, if it is required that it should remain extended, the fastening element may be broken or, if possible, it may be disengaged from the second portion.
All the parts of the wrapping may be made with materials which are commonly used in the wrapping sector, for example plastic materials such as PE or PVC, but also fabric or the like. If it is wished that the merchandise should remain visible, transparent materials are preferred for the bag.
The bag may or may not be sealed, either completely or partly, as commonly occurs, and special measures known in the sector, for example holes, distributed over the bag, for allowing air to escape during wrapping and folding, may be provided if required. The dimensions and the form of the fastening part may vary depending on the type of support or bag or according to other requirements.
The support may be of a different type, suitable for the item of clothing to be wrapped, such as a hanger for mounting clothes in the shoulder region, and/or a clothes hanger with a cross-piece for trousers or the like, or a gripper or a clothes hanger provided with grippers for trousers, without limitation and without departing from the scope of protection of the claims. It may also be made using any suitable material of the known type.

Claims

Wrapping for clothes, comprising a bag (3) made of suitable material, a support, in particular a clothes hanger having a first supporting portion for the garment, said first portion being contained inside said bag, and a second engaging portion (5), in particular a curved hook, said second portion being engageable with a structure outside said bag so as to hang the wrapping, the wrapping being characterized in that said bag has an element (1, 2) for fastening a part (7) thereof to said second portion.
Wrapping according to claim 1, wherein said bag is made of flexible, transparent, plastic material.
Wrapping according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said connecting element has an eyelet (1) and a part (2) for fixing to said bag, which is fixed - optionally glued - to the outer surface of said bag.
Wrapping according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said connecting element is made of plastic material.
Wrapping according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said second portion is a curved hook (5).
Wrapping according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said bag is folded onto itself in two or more parts.
Method for forming a wrapping according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising:
- fastening a fastening element to the second engaging portion of a support having a first supporting portion for a garment, said first portion being contained inside a bag made of suitable material, and a second engaging portion engageable with a structure outside said bag for hanging the wrapping;

- fixing said fastening element to the surface of the bag, which is optionally folded onto itself, in a suitable position.
Method according to claim 7, wherein fixing is performed after fastening to the second portion.
Method according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the fastening element has an adhesive portion suitable for fixing to said bag.