EP3359464B1 - Packaging system - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a packaging system for the common packaging of multiple objects.

At the interface between wholesalers and retailers, different requirements apply to the packaging systems used. On the one hand, in wholesale it is desirable to be able to move large quantities of goods at the same time and as uncomplicated as possible. For this, the goods are often packed together in relatively large systems, such as in large boxes. On the other hand, it is desirable in retail to be able to handle goods well in smaller quantities, for example, to fill shelves quickly. In addition, a sufficient protection of the goods and their packaging against external influences, such as moisture or abrasion effects is desired in order to present the goods finally the customer under a good external impression and damage.

So far, there are many packaging systems that meet the requirements of the wholesale trade. These include, inter alia, a wide variety of box formats, pallet systems or even containers, which enable easy transport of large quantities of individually packaged goods.

A packaging system having the features of the preamble of claim 1 is known from US 2007/0147712 A1 known.

In order to meet the requirements of the retail trade, it is desirable to provide a packaging system, which allows easy handling of several goods, which are to be given, for example, in a common shelf, and incidentally, a protection of the individual Goods, or their packaging, guaranteed against external influences.

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging system which allows both easy handling of several related goods as well as ensuring adequate protection of the goods and their packaging.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the combination of the features of independent claim 1. Preferred developments can be found in the dependent claims.

In the following, the entirety of a unit of goods and its packaging intended for sale is referred to as an "object". In this case, the term commodity unit can either denote a single product (such as a screwdriver), or also a sum of individual goods (such as a certain amount of screws), which are housed together in the intended packaging for sale and sold together in this form should be. In a nutshell, this means that what is referred to below as an "object" corresponds to what a customer eventually finds on the shelf of a store.

Embodiments of a packaging system include a flat bag having an outer wall. This outer wall forms a front surface and a rear surface of the flat bag. The flat bag is closed at a lower edge, at an upper edge and at both lateral edges. On the front surface of the flat bag, an opening is also formed, which may be covered by a tab. In addition to the flat bag, the packaging system also includes a holder. This holder connects objects, which are stowed inside the flat bag, with each other, and has a handle portion which protrudes from the opening of the flat bag at the front of the flat bag and can be grasped directly. In this case, the holder can be arranged or arranged in the flat bag such that the gripping area projects past an existing flap from the opening provided on the front side of the flat bag. In this case, one or both lateral edges of the flat bag are so weakened that a force which has a component perpendicular to the front surface of the flat bag and acts on the holder to cause withdrawal of the connected via the holder objects from the flat bag, a rupture of the Flat bag along the at least one weakened lateral edge causes.

In this configuration, the packaging system on the one hand by the flat bag for a sufficient protection of the objects inside the flat bag against external influences such as moisture or friction while allowing easy joint handling of the objects taken from the flat bag, as several objects in a predetermined composition can be transported and stored together. On the other hand, by the holder, which connects the objects in the interior of the flat bag together, a slight common removal of all objects from the interior of the flat bag allows, which facilitates the joint handling of the objects with respect to a liberation of the objects from the flat bag. Also, such an advantageous orientation of the objects can be ensured during their removal. By the at least one weakened lateral edge of the flat bag, which tear during the removal of the objects from the flat bag, the relief of the interconnected via the holder objects from the protective flat bag is much easier because the objects need not leave the flat bag over the opening , As a result, the opening may be formed as small as possible in order to prevent the ingress of dirt and the like and inadvertent escape of the objects from the flat bag.

According to one embodiment, the opening of the flat bag is formed by a shortened design of the front surface of the flat bag. In this case, the tab is integrally formed with the rear surface of the flat bag, folded onto the front surface of the flat bag and attached near the lateral edges on the front surface of the flat bag, so that the flap overlaps with the front surface of the flat bag and on the front of the flat bag between the front surface of the flat bag Flat bag and the back of the flat bag formed opening of the flat bag covers.

According to one embodiment, the flat bag of the packaging system is made of a single workpiece and thus in one piece.

According to one embodiment, the workpiece from which the flat bag of the packaging system is made is a plastic film.

According to one embodiment, the workpiece, from which the flat bag of the packaging system is made, is transparent and thus allows a direct view of objects received by the flat bag.

According to one embodiment, one or both lateral edges of the flat bag are weakened such that a tearing of the flat bag along the at least one weakened lateral edge from a tensile force of 5.0 Newton applied perpendicular to the front surface of the flat bag, preferably from a tensile force of 3.0 Newton applied perpendicular to the front surface of the flat bag or more preferably from a tensile force of 1 applied perpendicular to the front surface of the flat bag; 0 Newton, going on. In this case, however, the at least one weakened lateral edge is designed in such a way that a tensile force of less than 0.5 Newton applied perpendicular to the front surface of the flat bag and preferably a tensile force of less than 0.8 Newton applied perpendicular to the front surface of the flat bag is insufficient to produce To cause tearing of the flat bag along the at least one weakened lateral edge of the flat bag. This ensures that the flat bag normally does not tear itself along the at least one weakened lateral edge.

According to one embodiment, the at least one weakened lateral edge of the flat bag is a correspondingly formed weld seam of the flat bag. Alternatively or additionally, a targeted weakening of the at least one weakened lateral edge of the flat bag may also be due to indentations and / or scratches on the corresponding lateral edge of the flat bag. Further alternatively or additionally, the material of the outer wall of the flat bag in the region of the at least one weakened lateral edge may have a reduced thickness compared to other regions of the outer wall.

According to one embodiment, the holder comprises an annular connecting region, via which the objects in the interior of the flat bag are connected to the holder.

According to an embodiment, the ring-like connection portion of the holder has a weakening at which the annular connecting portion is applied from a force of 1.0 Newton applied perpendicularly to the circumferential direction of the annular connecting portion, preferably from a force of 0.7 Newton applied perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the annular connecting portion and more preferably from a force of 0.5 Newton applied perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the annular connection portion, breaks or ruptures. In this case, the objects, which are connected to each other by the holder, released by the breaking or tearing of the annular connecting portion of the holder. In addition, the annular connection region of the holder is formed such that a force applied in the circumferential direction of the annular connecting portion of 1.0 Newton, preferably a force applied in the circumferential direction of the annular connecting portion of 3.0 Newton and more preferably a force applied in the circumferential direction of the annular connecting portion force of 5.0 Newton not yet leads to a rupture or tearing of the annular connection region of the holder. Thus, inadvertent premature opening of the ring-like connection region of the holder and thus premature release of the objects during withdrawal of the objects from the flat bag can be avoided.

According to one embodiment, the weakening of the annular connection region of the support is realized as a notch and / or as an insert of another material, or is obtained via the use of a unidirectionally stretched / reinforced plastic film to form the annular connection region of the support. A unidirectionally stretched / reinforced plastic film can be obtained, for example, by unidirectional stretching of a plastic film, and has the property of being easily tearable in a first direction and of being difficult to rupture in a second direction orthogonal to this first direction.

According to one embodiment, the holder is made of a single workpiece.

According to one embodiment, the holder is made of cellulose and / or plastic.

According to one embodiment, the holder is formed of a plastic tape or paper tape, which is coated on one side with adhesive, wherein the adhesive is covered in a central region of the tape by a cover layer, and is exposed in the two end regions of the tape, so that by merging the End portions of the tape a loop can be formed. According to an alternative embodiment, the holder is formed from a plastic tape or paper tape, which is coated on one side in the two end regions of the tape with contact adhesive, so that a loop can be formed by merging the end regions of the tape.

A trained bracket is comparable to the usual in airline self-adhesive luggage tags.

In this context, it is to be understood that the terms used in this specification and claims to include features include "comprise," "include," "include," "contain," and "with," as well as their grammatical variations, generally non-exhaustive of features such. Process steps, facilities, areas, sizes and the like, and in no way preclude the presence of other or additional features or groupings of other or additional features.

Figur 1

eine schematische Frontalansicht eines Verpackungssystems gemäß einer Ausführungsform der Erfindung zeigt;

Figur 2

eine schematische Seitenansicht des Verpackungssystems aus Figur 1 zeigt;

Figur 3

eine schematische Seitenansicht einer Halterung des Verpackungssystems aus den Figuren 1 und 2 sowie an ihr befestigter Objekte zeigt;

Figuren 4A bis 4C

schematisch einen beispielhaften Herstellungsprozess des Flachbeutels des Verpackungssystems aus den Figuren 1 bis 3 in Frontalansicht skizziert,

Figuren 5A bis 5D

schematisch den beispielhaften Herstellungsprozess aus den Figuren 4A bis 4C sowie eine Verwendung des so erhaltenen Flachbeutels in Seitenansicht skizziert, wobei die Figuren 5A bis 5C schematische Seitenansichten sind, und die Figur 5D eine schematische Querschnittsansicht ist;

Figuren 6A bis 6D

einen beispielhaften Herstellungsprozess der Halterung aus den Figuren 1 bis 3 sowie eine Ausgestaltung einer durch den Herstellungsprozess erhaltenen Halterung schematisch skizziert,

Figuren 7A bis 7D

einen beispielhaften Gebrauch des Verpackungssystems aus den Figuren 1 bis 3 skizziert, wobei der Flachbeutel des Verpackungssystems in Querschnittsansicht gezeigt ist;

Further features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment in conjunction with the claims and the figures. In the figures, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. It should be noted that the invention is not limited to the embodiment of the described embodiment, but is determined by the scope of the appended claims. In particular, the individual features in embodiments according to the invention can be realized in a different number and combination than in the example given below. In the following explanation of an embodiment of the invention reference is made to the accompanying figures, of which

FIG. 1

shows a schematic front view of a packaging system according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2

a schematic side view of the packaging system FIG. 1 shows;

FIG. 3

a schematic side view of a holder of the packaging system of the Figures 1 and 2 as well as objects attached to it;

FIGS. 4A to 4C

schematically an exemplary manufacturing process of the flat bag of the packaging system from the FIGS. 1 to 3 sketched in frontal view,

FIGS. 5A to 5D

schematically the exemplary manufacturing process of the FIGS. 4A to 4C and a use of the flat bag thus obtained outlined in side view, wherein the FIGS. 5A to 5C schematic side views are, and the FIG. 5D is a schematic cross-sectional view;

FIGS. 6A to 6D

an exemplary manufacturing process of the holder from the FIGS. 1 to 3 and schematically outlined an embodiment of a holder obtained by the manufacturing process,

FIGS. 7A to 7D

an exemplary use of the packaging system from the FIGS. 1 to 3 sketched, wherein the flat bag of the packaging system is shown in cross-sectional view;

The following is with reference to the FIGS. 1 to 3 a packaging system according to an embodiment of the invention described. It shows FIG. 1 a schematic front view and FIG. 2 a schematic side view of the packaging system. 1 FIG. 3 shows a schematic side view of a holder 3 of the packaging system of the Figures 1 and 2 as well as objects 3 fastened to the holder 3.

The packaging system 1 comprises a flat bag 7, which consists essentially of an outer wall of the flat bag 7, which provides a front surface 9 and a rear surface 11 of the flat bag 7. The flat bag 7 is closed at a lower edge 13, at an upper edge 15 and at lateral edges 17. The edges 17 essentially form the boundary line between the front surface 9 and the rear surface 11 of the flat bag 7. On the front surface 9 of the flat bag 7, a tab 19 is formed which covers an opening 21 provided on the front surface 9 of the flat bag 7. The holder 3 connects objects 5, which are stowed inside the flat bag 7, with each other and has a handle portion 23 which protrudes through the opening 21 under the tab 19 on the front side of the flat bag 7 from the flat bag 7. In order to connect the objects 5 with each other, the holder 3 has a ring-like Connecting region 25, via which the objects 5 are connected by the holder 3.

In the present embodiment, the flat bag is formed of a one-piece transparent plastic film. The weakening of the lateral edges is achieved by a special kind of welding, after which the weld has only a low tear strength at the lateral edges of the flat bag. The holder is formed from a one-piece bonded to a loop unidirectionally reinforced plastic strip, wherein the reinforcing direction corresponds to the circumferential direction of the annular connection portion of the holder.

To illustrate the structure of the flat bag 7 of the packaging system 1, show the FIGS. 4A to 4C a frontal view of the flat bag and the FIGS. 5A to 5B a side view (along the line BB off FIG. 1 ) of the flat bag in the context of an outlined exemplary manufacturing process for a flat bag, as in the FIGS. 1 to 3 is shown. Here, the flat bag is formed in the outlined manufacturing process of a single rectangular cut plastic film 100.

The entire plastic film 100 is divided along a longitudinal direction of the plastic film 100 transversely to the longitudinal direction via fold lines 115 and 113 into three sections 109, 111 and 119 (see. FIG. 4A ). Here, a middle portion 111 is larger than a lower portion 109 which is itself larger than an upper portion 119. In addition, the lower and upper portions 109 and 119 together are larger than the middle portion 111. Now, the lower portion 109 along the fold edge 113 turned up and welded at outer edges 117 of the plastic film 100 with the central portion 111 of the plastic film 100 (see. Figures 4B and 5A ). This welding operation is represented by a serrated line and is adjusted by selecting a suitable temperature and / or size of the welding surface so that the resulting welds are weakened relative to other regions of the plastic film 100. By this welding operation, the closed lower edge 13a of the flat bag 1a and the weakened lateral edges 17a of the flat bag are formed. In addition, an opening 21aa results between the front surface 9a of the flat bag 1a formed by the portion 109 and the rear surface 11a of the flat bag 1a formed by the portion 111. In the further course of the manufacturing process, the Section 119 folded down along the folding edge 115 and welded in the region of the outer edges 117 with the front surface 9a and the Rückflächella of the flat bag 1a (see. Figures 4C and 5B ). It should be noted that a tab 19a formed by the portion 119 overlaps with the front surface 9a of the flat bag 1a so as to form an opening 21a of the flat bag 1a between the tab 19a and the front surface 9a. This results in the described exemplary manufacturing process according to the FIGS. 1 to 3 shaped flat bag 1a.

FIG. 5C shows a side view of the flat bag obtained by the manufacturing process just described along the line BB according to FIG. 1 wherein the dashed lines indicate the course of the welding edges obtained during the manufacturing process.

FIG. 5D shows a cross-sectional view of the flat bag obtained by the manufacturing process just described along the line AA FIG. 1 , wherein the opening 21a is clearly highlighted and a filling process of the flat bag is indicated by marked arrow lines. As an alternative to a subsequent filling of the finished flat bag 7, it is possible to form the flat bag 7 around the holder 3 with the objects 5 attached thereto. Then, during the formation of the flat bag 7, it is preferable to ensure that the grip area of the holder 3 protrudes at least in sections out of the opening of the flat bag 7 after the formation of the flat bag 7.

To illustrate the structure of the holder 3 of the packaging system 1, the show FIGS. 6A to 6D a sketch of an exemplary manufacturing process of a holder. The holder is in the outlined manufacturing process of a single rectangular cut unidirectionally reinforced plastic tape 200 (see. FIG. 6A ), which is pre-stretched in the longitudinal direction of the plastic band and thus reinforced.

At the beginning, an upper portion 202a and a lower portion 202b of the plastic tape are provided with a suitable adhesive (see FIG. FIG. 6B ). This adhesive may be temporarily provided with a removable cover layer, or be pressure-sensitive and / or contact adhesive. After threading the objects to be connected (not shown), the regions 202a and 202b become superimposed on each other and so glued together over the provided on the areas 202a and 202b adhesive, which forms a bonding region 202, which provides the grip portion of the holder. This results from the unidirectionally stiffened plastic strip 200 according to the FIGS. 1 to 3 type of holder 3a, which has an annular connecting portion 25a, over which objects are attached to the holder (see. Figures 6C and 6D ).

Having now illustrated the structure of the components of the packaging system according to the invention by means of exemplary manufacturing processes, the following describes a use of a packaging system 1b according to the present invention. For this show the FIGS. 7A to 7D a cross section of the packaging system 1b according to the FIGS. 1 to 3 along a line AA at different times of an unpacking process of objects 5b from the packaging system 1b. In this case, the flat bag 7 is shown in cross-section, and the holder 3 is shown with the objects 5 attached thereto in side view.

In order to free objects 5b from the flat bag 7b of the packaging system 1b, a force F _{1 is} to be applied to the grip area 23b of the holder 3b projecting from the flat bag 7b, which component has a sufficient component perpendicular to the front surface 9b of the flat bag 7b (cf. FIG. 7A ). The applied force is transmitted through the holder 3b to the front surface 9b of the flat bag 7b. With sufficient force, this application of force according to the invention leads to a tearing of the flat bag 7b along weakened lateral edges (not shown here) of the flat bag 7b (cf. FIG. 7B ). As soon as the flat bag has been torn open sufficiently, the objects 5b, which are still connected to one another via the holder 3b, can be completely removed from the flat bag (cf. FIG. 7C ). The finally remaining laterally torn flat bag 7b can now be disposed of. Finally, when a force F2 perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the annular connection portion 25b having sufficient strength is applied to the ring-like connection portion 25b of the holder 3b, the annular connection portion 25b of the holder 3b (FIG. Figure 7D ). Thus, the objects 5b are released from the ring-like connection portion 25b of the holder 3b and can be removed from the holder 3b to finally be given, for example, in a designated for them shelf. The remaining and broken in their annular connection area 25b holder 3b can finally be disposed of as well.

By means of the combination according to the invention of a flat bag weakened at the lateral edges and a corresponding holder, a packaging system is obtained which protects objects inside the flat bag on the one hand against external influences such as moisture or friction and on the other hand still allows easy handling of the objects. Thus, the foregoing object of the invention is achieved by systems according to the invention.

Although the foregoing invention has been described by way of example only, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope of the invention disclosed in the following claims.

Claims (10)

1. Packaging system (1) comprising:

   a flat bag (7),
   wherein the flat bag (7) has an outer wall providing a front face (9) and a back face (11) of the flat bag (7),
   wherein the flat bag (7) is closed at a bottom edge (13), at a top edge (15) and at side edges (17), and
   wherein an opening (21) is formed at the front face (9) of the flat bag (7);

   characterized by

   a holder (3),
   wherein the holder (3) is configured to connect objects locatable or located in the interior of the flat bag (7) to each other; and
   wherein the holder (3) has a handle section (23) configured to protrude out of the opening (21) of the flat bag (7) at the front side of the flat bag (7);

   wherein at least one side edge (17) of the flat bag (7) is weakened so that a force acting on the holder (3), applied in a pull direction having a component perpendicular to the front face (9) of the flat bag (7) in order to pull objects connected to each other by the holder (3) out of the flat bag (7), causes the flat bag (7) to be teared open along the at least one weakened side edge (17).
2. Packaging system according to claim 1,
   wherein the outer wall of the flat bag (7) forms a flap (19) covering the opening (21) at the front face (9) of the flat bag (7); and
   wherein the holder (3) is disposed in the flat bag (7) so that the handle section (23) of the holder (3) protrudes past the flap (19) out of the opening (21) of the flat bag (7).
3. Packaging system according to claim 2,
   wherein the opening (21) is formed by a shortened formation of the front face (9) of the flat bag (7),
   wherein the flap (19) and the back face (11) of the flat bag (7) are integrally formed,
   wherein the flap (19) is turned over on the front face (9) of the flat bag (7) and is fixed to the front face (9) of the flat bag (7) in proximity of the side edges (17) so that the flap (19) overlaps the front face (9) of the flat bag (7) and covers the opening (21) of the flat bag (7) formed on the front side of the flat bag (7) between the front face (9) of the flat bag (7) and the back face (11) of the flat bag (7).
4. Packaging system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the flat bag (7) is formed from a single workpiece and in particular from a synthetic sheet, wherein, in particular, the synthetic sheet is transparent.
5. Packaging system according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one side edge (17) of the flat bag (7) is weakened so that it tears open along the weakened side edges (17) of the flat bag (7) by a pull force perpendicular to the front face (9) of the flat bag (7) from 5,0 Newton or by a pull force perpendicular to the front face (9) of the flat bag (7) from 3,0 Newton or by a pull force perpendicular to the front face (9) of the flat bag (7) from 1,0 Newton and simultaneously remains intact despite a pull force perpendicular to the front face (9) of the flat bag (7) of less than 0,5 Newton or despite a pull force perpendicular to the front face (9) of the flat bag (7) of less than 0,8 Newton.
6. Packaging system according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein weakening of the at least one weakened side edge (17) of the flat bag (7) is provided by providing respectively formed weld seams and/or
   projecting of grooves and/or
   carvings and/or
   reductions of the material strength
   along the at least one weakened side edge (17) of the flat bag (7).
7. Packaging system according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the holder (3) comprises a ring-like connection section (25) by which objects (5) in the interior of the flat bag (7) are connectable to each other.
8. Packaging system according to claim 7, wherein the ring-like connection section (25) of the holder (3) has a weakening at which the ring-like connection section (25) breaks open or tears open by a force applied perpendicularly to the circumferential direction from 1,0 Newton or by a force applied perpendicularly to the circumferential direction of the ring-like connection section (25) from 0,7 Newton or by a force applied perpendicularly to the circumferential direction of the ring-like connection section (25) from 0,5 Newton in order to release the objects (5) connected to each other by the holder but simultaneously remains intact despite a force applied in circumferential direction of the ring-like connection section (25) of 1,0 Newton or despite a force applied in circumferential direction of the ring-like connection section (25) of 3,0 Newton or despite a force applied in circumferential direction of the ring-like connection section (25) of 5,0 Newton.
9. Packaging system according to claim 8, wherein the weakening of the ring-like connection section (25) of the holder (3) is provided by a groove and/or an inset of a material of less solidity compared to the surrounding material of the holder (3) and/or use of an unidirectionally strengthened synthetic sheet for the ring-like connection section (25) of the holder (3).
10. Packaging system according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the holder (3) is made from a single workpiece and in particular from pulp and/or from synthetics.

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