FR2508001A1 - Sleeves of expanded thermoplastic sheet for fragile containers - for protection against impact and mutual abrasion in bulk packs - Google Patents

Abstract

Protective covers for the whole or selected portions of fragile containers are made of cellular plastics material, pref. comprising a heat shrunk sleeve of expanded polyethylene. Esp. suitable to cover the necks and/or bodies of glass bottles to be stacked head to tail or packed side by side in a common case. Better fitting and more compact than corrugated paper for protecting containers of valuable or hazardous liqs. such as spirits, perfumes, chemicals etc. Opt. the sleeve is lined internally with a smooth film and/or is treated to be antistatic and non-slip. Opt. the sleeve is fabricated by edge welding a panel of sheet as long as the required sleeve to form a tubular preform which can be fitted over the container and then locally heat shrunk. Pref. the expanded sleeve wall is 1-2.5 mm thick and fitted by brief (2-3s) exposure to external hot air jets at about 200 deg. C.

Description

 The present invention relates to an improved packaging for objects such as containers made of brittle or fragile materials, which should be protected from impact and abrasion during storage and transport. The invention applies more particularly to glass bottles containing valuable liquids such as champagne, fine wines, alcohols, fines, liqueurs, perfumes, etc., but it can also be used for all glass, crystal, ceramic, delicate metals and the like, having, in particular, a general vase or cup shape.

 For shipping, we currently protect the bottles of fine wines, champagne among others, in the following way we wrap each bottle in tissue paper or tissue paper and store the bottles in crates, either upright and aligned, usually on a single floor, either lying down and upside down, often in several layers, in which case spacers of various materials are placed forming support plates and wedging elements between successive layers, mainly in the case of goods intended for export.

 The boxes are most often made of corrugated cardboard, either that called 1I double-sided "consisting of a so-called flute paper glued between two paper covers, or that said double double n consisting of two flutes and three covers including a median corrugated type "double double '2, more robust, is used for export. For example, a box can be provided for a floor of 4 rows of 3 standing bottles or for 1 to 2 layers of 3 or 6 lying bottles, arranged head to tail. The wrapping of the bottles with tissue paper and the installation of the dividers-require a lot of manpower, on the one hand, and the protection against shocks thus obtained is not perfect, of On the other hand, there is therefore a problem to be solved, which arises particularly in the trade of champagne bottles.

 The present invention overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks by providing a packaging for objects and in particular for containers made of brittle or fragile materials, comprising a packaging case and a means of individual protection of objects, characterized in that this means of individual protection consists of a plastic foam sheath extending over all or part of the total height of the object according to the points of weakness.

 The sheath can surround the object over its entire height or over a portion thereof, leaving free either the upper region or the lower region of the object: this is how, in the case of bottles, everything the neck or only the stopper, or the base of the bottle, or the stopper and the base can be out of the sheath.

 This sheath can be a so-called "normal" sheath, of a diameter adapted to that of the object, which can slide on the object and easy to remove. In the case of bottles, the normal sheath will be cylindrical and possibly frustoconical in the region of the neck.

 According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sheath is retracted on the object; it thus perfectly matches the shape of the latter, which makes it more aesthetic and makes it safer protection, since it can no longer slip; however, it remains easy to remove by hand when using the item or putting it on display for sale.

 The retraction does little to reduce the thickness of the plastic foam, which on the other hand increases a little in the regions of smaller diameter of the object, like the neck of a bottle. The sheath is also useless around the neck, if the bottles are placed upright in the boxes; on the other hand, the neck must be protected if the bottles are placed lying down and head to tail in the crates.

 As foam of plastics, expanded polyethylene foam is very suitable, but other foams, such as polypropylene foam, can be used, as well as any foam that is not brittle and does not lose its properties when heated. retraction operation.

 The suitable thickness of the foam may be between approximately 1 millimeter and a few millimeters, preferably between approximately 1 and approximately 2.5 millimeters. A thickness of around 1 millimeter is sufficient for short distance shipments (national market). A thickness of at least 2 millimeters is desirable for export.

 It is also possible to use a complex material for the sheath, in the form of plastic foam coated with a plastic film, for example a few microns thick. This is how the film can be made of polyethylene if the foam is made of polyethylene. It will cover the inside of the sheath, to facilitate welding and improve the "sliding" of the latter on the wrapped object.

 The foam can be white in color, just like it can be colored, its color being able to be adapted to that of the object or of an element of it, te] que # the label of a bottle, for a more harmonious presentation. She may also have undergone antistatic and / or non-slip treatment.

 The sheath as defined above is much more quickly and easily placed on the object and removed than the tissue paper which it replaces and it alone provides sufficient protection, thick and flexible, making it useless in cases dividers and all other complementary means of protection, resulting in a significant saving of time and labor, for packing and unpacking.

 The sleeve put in place manually is a non-shrunk sheath, which is prefabricated to the desired diameter and length from a strip of foam of width corresponding to the length of the sheath, this strip being, in known manner, heat sealed to provide sleeves, which the user can obtain from a specialized manufacturer.

 The user of the prefabricated sheaths may have a retraction oven known per se, in which he will pass the objects provided with their sheath, before placing them in the packaging boxes.

 Another object of the invention is a mechanical process for continuously producing the packaging, which is characterized in that the objects to be wrapped are passed between two strips of plastic foam with a width equal to the length. desired for the sheath and wound on two reels, from which said strips are automatically unwound to wrap, over its entire periphery, the object, when it occurs, and in that the two strips are automatically cut and simultaneously welded around the object, the sleeves being thus formed and put in place mechanically and continuously on the objects themselves brought continuously between the two coils. Objects can be presented standing or lying down.

 The machine used for cutting and welding simultaneously is, for example, a heat-sealing machine with a jaw with two cavities, which forms two non-symmetrically longitudinal welds arranged on the sheath obtained; while welding, the jaw cuts on each reel the plastic strip, and it continuously repeats the joint operation of cutting and welding as the objects advance and the strips unfold.

 Objects thus provided with a protective foam sheath can pass, always continuously, a shrink oven, in which jets of hot air tightly apply the sheath to the wall of the object. It is of course necessary to adapt the number of retraction ovens to the working rate of the heat-sealing machine and to the residence time of the objects in the retraction oven. The oven temperature is around 2000C. It must be adjusted experimentally to allow a relatively easy # manual tearing of the retracted sheath later, when it is put on sale at retail or when the object is used. We also adjust experimentally the number of air jets in the oven as well as the power and the temperature of these jets. As indicated above, the shrinkage does not modify the thickness of the sheath, whose external appearance only becomes a little smoother; thus, an initial thickness of 1 millimeter can become 0.8 millimeter. As for the residence time of objects in the shrinking oven, it is of the order of a few seconds (2 to 3 aun # axîmurn); the wall of the object does not have time to heat up and even less the possible content of the object; this technique is therefore without risk in the case of bottles filled with a liquid.

 Either after passing through the heat-sealing machine, or at the outlet of the shrinking oven, the objects are stored, generally manually, in packing boxes, for storage and shipping, without there being any place to place dividers, or any additional means of protection against impact and friction, in the boxes intended for long-distance deliveries.

 The sheath according to the invention therefore allows, while significantly improving protection, standardization of the protection of objects, which becomes identical for the national market and for export. This standardization simplifies inventory management and improves performance at the level of packaging lines.

 In addition, the scabbard makes it easier to place on shelves and displays in retail locations (shops or large surfaces), because it is removed faster than the tissue paper twisted at the top and at the base of objects .

 Finally, the use of this sheath makes it possible to mechanize the packaging of the objects with a significant saving of time and manpower, which compensates for the investment costs in machines. When we want to avoid mechanization deemed too expensive in the case of objects sold in small series, we can use prefabricated sleeves on demand, that a manufacturer can provide.

 The solutions to the packaging problems provided by the present invention prove to be particularly advantageous for the packaging of champagne bottles. The application of the invention to such bottles is illustrated by the appended drawing, in which FIGS. 1 to 4 are perspective views of bottles protected by a sheath of polyethylene foam, which is not shrunk in FIG. 1 and retracted to the other figures.

 According to Figure 1, the bottle 1 is surrounded over its entire height by a non-retracted sheath 2, which, by flattening in the region of the neck, takes on a flared shape. Figures 2 to 4 show various sleeves 3a, 3b, 3c retracted on the bottle and only partially enveloping it.

 According to Figures 2 and 3, the neck is protected, but not the base these bottles are intended to be lying head to toe in the packaging boxes. In FIG. 2, the plug 4 is left free. According to Figure 4, the cervix is not protected; this type of bottle is intended to be placed upright in the packing box. The heat seal line 5 of the sleeve is visible in Figures 2 to 4, while it is hidden in Figure l. When the polyethylene foam is of relatively small thickness (of the order of 1 millimeter), the label 6 of the bottle is perceptible by transparency.

 The embodiments shown in the drawing are in no way limiting, both with regard to the location and the length of the sheath and with regard to the fragile object which it protects.

Claims (10)

 R E V E N D I C A T I O N S  l - Protective packaging for objects and in particular for containers made of brittle or fragile materials, comprising a packing case and a means of individual protection of the objects, characterized in that this means of individual protection consists of a sheath (2 or 3) in plastic foam extending over at least a portion of the total height of the object (l).  2 - Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the sheath is retracted on the object.  3 - Packaging according to claim l or 2, characterized in that the sheath is made of expanded polyethylene foam.  4 - Packaging according to any one of claims l to 3, characterized in that the thickness of the sheath is between about 1 millimeter and a few millimeters.  5 - Packaging according to claim 4, characterized in that the thickness of the sheath is between about l and about 2.5 millimeters.  6 - Packaging according to any one of claims l to 5, characterized in that the sheath is coated internally with a plastic film.  7 - Packaging according to any one of claims l to 6, characterized in that the foam has been treated to be antistatic and / or non-slip.  8 - A method of producing the packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the sheath is prefabricated to the desired dimensions, from a strip of foam of width corresponding to the length of the sheath, this strip being heat sealed to provide the sheath, which is threaded on the object, which is then placed in the packing box.  9 - A method according to claim 8, characterized in that one passes the object provided with its sheath in a shrink oven, before placing it in the packing case.  10 - Mechanical process for continuously producing the packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the objects to be packed are scrolled between two strips of plastic foam with a width equal to the desired length for the sheath and wound on two reels, from which said strips are automatically unwound to wrap, over its entire periphery, the object, when presented, in that the two strips are automatically cut and simultaneously welded around the object, the sleeves being thus formed and put in place mechanically and continuously on the objects themselves brought continuously between the two coils, and in that the objects provided with their sheath are then placed in the packaging boxes.  it - Mechanical method according to claim 10, characterized in that the objects provided with their sheath continuously pass through a shrink oven, before being placed in the packaging boxes.