FR2745788A1 - Protective packaging for food - Google Patents

Abstract

The packaging to enclose a product (P) has a primary package (6.1) of thermoplastics and a support for an inscription (6.5) which is separate and independent. The support for the inscription has hooks onto the primary package and is formed of a barrier material. The inscription support has at least one barrier layer for external damage and indicia and decorative sections. The inscription support can have a layer formed from a substrate, a layer of adhesive, a siliconised support band and a protective film for the decorative layer.

Description

 The subject of the invention is packaging likely to contain a product P, comprising a primary packaging made of thermoplastic material and at least one writing medium, this writing medium forming a barrier to the product P and to external aggressions (oxygen of the air, UV radiation etc ...).

 The packaging of products of all kinds (mention may in particular be made of the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields) increasingly uses packaging made of thermoplastic materials. When these packages are made of a thermoplastic material of sufficient thickness, the material itself forms a barrier to oxygen, UV radiation and the various components of the product. On the other hand, when the thermoplastic material is used at low thickness, such as for example for the manufacture of a tube, it does not provide a sufficient barrier to oxygen or to certain products, such as for example water, solvents or with oils. Also, these packages must be coated with a layer of varnish which is a barrier to external aggressions and to the components of product P.

The document EP-A-664358 describes a method of preparing cardboard food packaging which has been made waterproof by the application of a varnish. The manufacture of such packaging involves several stages: first the manufacture of the primary packaging, then its decoration by printing and thirdly the deposition of a layer of varnish, or of a plastic film, making barrier to oxygen and / or to the components of the formula. The thin plastic packaging is sealed by a similar process.

One of the difficulties encountered in this production process lies in the step of covering the printed primary packaging with a barrier varnish. It is indeed extremely difficult, on already formed packaging, to spread a layer of varnish, to extrude or laminate a layer of plastic in a regular manner. Finally, printing on already formed packaging is more delicate than printing on a flat surface. In addition, the packaging corresponding to different products is not interchangeable due to the inscriptions (brand, use, conservation) printed on these packaging.

Also, on the same packaging site for several products, we are forced to have a sufficient packaging stock for each of the products.

We know from document W093 / 17919 the use of opaque labels intended to cover a primary packaging made of recycled material, which is not very aesthetic, in order to give it a more pleasant appearance. However, this document does not mention or suggest any other use of this registration medium than the embellishment of the packaging it covers.

Furthermore, the patent application AU-541876 discloses packaging made of multilayer thermoplastic material, at least one layer of which has the function of acting as a barrier to oxygen. These packages are produced in a mold, by co-extrusion of several layers of different thermoplastic materials. This technique, which makes it possible to have the same superposition of different layers, each endowed with a specific function, over the entire room, is a very expensive technique.

Also, it is with astonishment that the applicant discovered new containers capable of containing a product P comprising a primary packaging made of thermoplastic material on which is fixed an independent and distinct inscription support, said container being both waterproof and protective the product of external aggressions, this container being more economical and easier to manufacture than those of the prior art. The use of such containers makes it possible to reduce the packaging stocks at the place where the packaging takes place, since on the one hand, multi-product primary packaging is stored, and on the other hand little recording supports bulky, they are more economical than the containers used in the prior art and they can be decorated using more varied and precise techniques.

The subject of the invention is a new container capable of containing a product.
P comprising a primary packaging made of thermoplastic material and an independent and distinct writing medium, characterized in that the writing medium comprises means for hanging on the primary packaging, ensures the impermeability of the primary packaging and protects the product of external aggressions. The fact of waterproofing the primary packaging and protecting the product from external aggressions is called a barrier effect.

The invention relates more particularly to primary packaging made of thermoplastic material which, due to their small thickness and / or by their nature, does not have sufficient waterproofing properties for various products, such as, for example, oxygen, oils, water, solvents and fragrances, as well as UV radiation, to be used as is.

The invention relates more particularly to the packaging of pharmaceutical food products and cosmetic products. In particular, the containers according to the invention act as a barrier to oxygen, to water and / or to oils and / or to perfumes and / or to solvents and / or to UV.

More particularly the containers according to the invention relate to the packaging of cosmetic compositions. Among these, there may be mentioned more particularly: the self-tanning compositions (milks, creams, etc.) and the compositions for oxidation coloring, which require protection against oxidation; toothpaste, which, if poorly protected loses its aroma, perfumed compositions, which can easily lose their fragrance through unsuitable packaging; compositions comprising a photosensitive dye, which require UV protection.

More particularly, to meet the conservation standards, the containers according to the invention have an oxygen permeability of less than 150 cm 3 / m2 / 24h / atm at 45 "C. The oxygen permeability can be measured according to the ASTM standard D3985.

The recording media according to the invention usually consist of several layers, at least one of which has the function of forming a barrier to the product
P and external aggressions and at least one layer is decorative. In addition, they can comprise a substrate, an adhesive layer, a silicone support strip, a protective film for the decorative layer.

The layer having the function of acting as a barrier to the product P and to external aggressions consists of at least one varnish and / or one film of thermoplastic material extruded or laminated on a substrate. Mention may be made, among the varnishes which can be used in the present invention: varnishes based on epoxyamine resins, varnishes based on polyurethane resins, varnishes based on polyester resins, varnishes based on epoxy-cationic resins. Among the barrier films which can be used in the present invention, mention may, for example, be made of nylon films which form an oil barrier, PVC films which form a water barrier, and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) films which form a gas barrier. .

The substrate of the writing medium can be one with the barrier film, on the other hand when the barrier function of the writing medium is provided by a varnish, this is deposited on a substrate. This substrate can be made of any material known to a person skilled in the art for making writing supports. It can consist of one or more layers of different materials, such as, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, paper. It can result from the superposition, coextrusion or copolymerization of several of these materials.

The means for attaching the inscription support to the primary packaging can be made up
- an adhesive, for example a layer of cold adhesive is applied to one of the faces of the substrate, and to this adhesive is then associated a silicone support strip; it is also possible to use a hot adhesive, which only becomes adhesive under the effect of heat; an adhesive can be applied to the substrate when gluing the writing medium onto the primary packaging.

 - A mechanical adhesion system, for example, an inscription support is made of shrinkable material which is given the shape of a sleeve in which the primary packaging is placed and which shrinks around this primary packaging by temperature rise.

According to a variant of the invention, the barrier inscription support comprises a layer of adhesive and is retractable. Thus one can for example stick it on a primary packaging of cylindrical shape or with parallel generators, such as for example a tube, then make it shrink by heating at the ends of said packaging so that it perfectly matches its shapes.

According to the invention, the recording medium can be printed. The printing of the writing medium is usually done on the substrate, by means known to those skilled in the art such as offset printing,
Inkjet printing, laser printing, screen printing, flexography, letterpress, gravure and hot stamping. Printing can be done on one or the other side of the support. The production of the recording medium in continuous film allows a wider choice of printing methods than printing on an already formed thermoplastic packaging. In addition,
Printing a continuous film of writing materials is more economical than printing individual primary packaging, in particular because production rates are faster. Finally, the entire surface of the writing medium can be decorated and then cover the packaging, while the decoration of an already formed packaging can be limited by the shape of the packaging to only part of its surface.

In addition, the printing layer can be protected by a transparent protective film different from the barrier layer.

The invention applies more particularly to packaging with developable surface, the shape of which allows maximum recovery by the affixing of a printing medium, such as, for example, tubes, truncated cones, cylindrical bottles. The invention is particularly applicable to bottles with parallel generators and even more particularly to cylindrical tubes.

Usually, the writing medium is applied, according to one of the methods described above, so as to cover the entire developable surface of the primary packaging, and only this surface. As a general rule, for cost reasons, the head of the container is not covered, using a retractable sleeve for example, which will advantageously be protected by a suitable closure means (plug for example).

According to the invention, the covering of the primary packaging can be done by means of several writing supports.

According to a variant of the invention, the primary packaging may include very thick zones, which themselves form a barrier to oxygen and to the product.
P, and thinner areas, on which a barrier inscription support is affixed. Thus, it is possible to design packages of variable thickness, the zones of great thickness giving overall rigidity to the packaging and the zones of smaller thickness allowing the product to be removed by pressure of the hand, while being rendered waterproof by a barrier inscription support.

The packages according to the invention are prepared in the following manner
The primary packaging is manufactured according to methods known to those skilled in the art comprising one or more stages, such as for example injection, compression, welding, drawing, blowing. In the case of a tube, preferably the bottom of the skirt of this tube is not sealed before but after labeling. The primary packaging thus obtained can be labeled directly or be stored as is. According to this second hypothesis, the same primary packaging can be used interchangeably to condition one product or another, the differentiation between the tubes being made at the last moment by affixing the recording medium. This organization makes it possible to have a stock of multipurpose primary packaging. In addition, the storage of registration materials takes up little space.

The following examples illustrate the subject of the invention, without however limiting it.

The oxygen permeability measurements were made according to standard ASTM D3985. The protective varnish deposit is around 6 to 8gr / m2.

Figures 1 to 4 show barrier inscription supports according to the invention in cross section.

FIG. 5 represents a barrier sleeve according to the invention in cross section.

Figure 6 shows a package according to the invention in longitudinal section.

The recording medium represented in FIG. 1 comprises a substrate 1.1 in
PVC of 100pu thickness, this substrate is covered with a printing layer 1.2 and a barrier varnish 1.3 sold by the company BASF under the reference EQ 32010F. The back of the substrate is coated with a layer of adhesive 1.4 which is protected by a silicone support strip 1.5.

The permeability of this writing medium is less than 95cm3 / m2 / 24h / atm at 45 "C. This writing medium can be glued to a tube of any shape thanks to its 1.4 adhesive layer.

The recording medium shown in FIG. 2 comprises a substrate 2.1 made of paper, this substrate is covered with a printing layer 2.2 and a film-coated barrier film 2.3 made of polyvinyl chloride. The back of the substrate is coated with a layer of adhesive 2.4 which is protected by a silicone support strip 2.5.

This inscription support can be glued to a tube of any shape thanks to its layer of adhesive 2.4.

The recording medium shown in FIG. 3 comprises a substrate 3.1 made of polyethylene 80 to 90 μm thick covered with a varnish 3.3 sold by the company BASF under the reference ET82001F, this film is covered with a layer of print 3.2 and this is itself covered with a decorative protective varnish 3.6. The back of the substrate is coated with a layer of adhesive 3.4 which is protected by a silicone support strip 3.5.

The permeability of this writing medium is less than 95cm3 / m2 / 24h / atm at 45 "C.

The recording medium represented in FIG. 4 comprises a film 4.1 made of a complex coextruded PE / EAA / EVOH / EAA / transparent PE material which is both substrate and barrier, PE denoting polyethylene, EAA denoting an ethylene copolymer and acrylic acid, EVOH denoting a copolymer of ethylene and polyvinyl alcohol. The back of the substrate is coated with a layer of adhesive 4.4 and a printing layer 4.2, the whole being protected by a silicone support strip 4.5.

The recording medium shown in FIG. 5 comprises a film 5.1 made of polyethylene terephthalate with a shrinkable thickness of 501 μl which is both a substrate and a barrier. This film is covered with a printing layer 5.2 and a decor protection varnish 5.6.

The packaging shown in Figure 6 is a tube during manufacture. It consists of a tube 6.1 made of injected polypropylene comprising a dispensing head 6.2 and a cylindrical skirt 6.3 ending in one end 6.4. The tube 6.1 is covered by an inscription support 6.5 comparable to that described in FIG. 5. The end 6.4 is not covered by the inscription support 6.5 and will be welded later. The end 6.6 of the writing support is retracted around a part of the head 6.2.

Claims (11)

Claims 1- Container capable of containing a product P comprising a primary packaging (6.1) made of thermoplastic material and an independent and distinct writing support (6.5), characterized in that the writing support comprises hooking means (1.4, 2.4, 3.4, 4.4) on the primary packaging and is made of a material having a barrier effect. 2- Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the printing medium (6.5) has an oxygen permeability of less than 150cm3 / m2 / 24h / atm at 45 "C. 3- A container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the printing medium (6.5) comprises at least one barrier layer (1.3, 3.3, 4.1, 5.1) to external aggressions and to the components of the product and at least a decorative layer. 4- Container according to claim 3, characterized in that the printing medium (6.5) further comprises at least one layer chosen from the following categories: a substrate (1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1), a layer of adhesive (1.4, 2.4, 3.4, 4.4), a silicone support strip (1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5), a protective film (3.6, 5.6) of the decorative layer (3.2, 5.2). 5- Container according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the barrier layer consists of at least one varnish (1.3, 3.3) and / or a film of thermoplastic material (2.3) extruded or laminated on a substrate. 6- Container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the means for attaching the writing support to the primary packaging consist of an adhesive (1.4, 2.4, 3.4, 4.4) or a mechanical adhesion system (5.1). 7- A container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the primary packaging (6.1) is developable surface. 8- A container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the primary packaging (6.1) is parallel generators. 9- A container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the primary packaging (6.1) is a cylindrical tube. 10- Container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the primary packaging (6.1) is permeable to one of the components chosen from: oxygen, oils, water, solvents, perfumes , UV radiation. 11- A container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the primary packaging is a packaging of variable thickness, comprising areas of small thickness made waterproof by the writing medium.