GB1589453A

GB1589453A - Package for fragile objects

Info

Publication number: GB1589453A
Application number: GB2792777A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: MARKETUBE SARL
Current assignee: MARKETUBE SARL
Priority date: 1976-07-05
Filing date: 1977-07-04
Publication date: 1981-05-13
Also published as: FR2357436B1; DE2728682A1; FR2357436A1; BE857083A; NL7707410A

Description

(54) PACKAGE FOR FRAGILE OBJECTS (71) We, MARKETUBE S.A.R.L. a French company of Le Marais, Marquette Lez-Lille (Nord), France, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to a package for fragile objects, and to a method of producing such a package.

A known package for fragile objects takes the form of a case of square cross-section which is open at its two ends, the object being held in this case by means of interior projections formed by wall portions of extra thickness.

These cases are generally made of moulded plastics material, and they are made by a method which suffers from the disadvantage of being discontinuous and of requiring specially made tools such as very expensive moulds. Moreover, such cases also occupy considerable space and cannot carry printed matter because of their generally complicated shape. Furthermore, such cases suffer from the disadvantage of being too rigid to accommodate the tolerances generally permitted in the manufacture of the glass objects, for example ampoules and bottles, which the cases are usually intended to contain. This difficulty is caused in particular by the form of the interior projecting portions, which form tends to impart to these portions the function of stiffening the case.

The aim of the present invention is to eliminate these various disadvantages and to provide an improved package.

The present invention provides a package comprising a tubular sleeve made of semirigid, resilient extruded plastics material and being of substantially cylindrical shape, at least three support portions provided in the cylindrical wall of the sleeve resiliently retaining a fragile object within the sleeve, the inner surfaces of the support portions lying on a cylindrical surface coaxial with the sleeve, wherein each support portion is defined by a respective inwardly-deformed zone in the wall of the sleeve, each deformed zone lying along a respective generatrix of the sleeve, and wherein the support portions are sufficiently widely spaced, and the resilience of the sleeve material is such, that contact between the inner surface of the sleeve and the fragile object is permitted only at said inner surfaces of the support portions, whereby, the fragile object having been introduced by slight pressure into the sleeve, the sleeve retains the fragile object in position and at the same time acts as a shock absorber.

The introduction of the object into the sleeve by exerting slight pressure results in the crests of the support portions being depressed in a resilient manner so that they adapt themselves perfectly to the crosssection of the object thus maintaining it in position and protecting it against impacts.

Such packages can be used in all those cases where a fragile object has to be protected in an easy and safe manner against impacts or compression, as for example in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, electrical, electronic or food industries.

A package constructed in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the package; Figure 2 is a cross-section taken on the line II--II of Figure 1.

The illustrated package is intended primarily for packaging a fragile object 2 that is symmetrical about an axis 1 coinciding with the axis of the sleeve which constitutes the package when the object is placed inside the sleeve, but this package could, of course, also be used in the packaging of fragile objects of other shapes.

Figures 1 and 2 show the package which is constituted by a sleeve 11, in the cylindrical wall of which are formed three rows 12 to 14 of spaced depressions such as 15, each row being disposed along a generatrix of the cylindrical sleeve and the generatrices of each adjacent pair being spaced from each other by an angular distance of 1200. The number and relative positions of these spaced depressions 15 could of course differ from those illustrated, but they are preferably so arranged that the object 2, bearing on the bases 16 of thcse depressions within the sleeve, is not in contact with the inner surface of the sleeve, so that the required protection against shock is maintained.

This form of package is produced by a continuous extrusion process which forms a cylindrical tube, followed by a local depression process of the sleeve wall to form the depressions. This depression process can occur either before or after cutting up the continuous tube so as to obtain separate sleeves. The support portions are preferably created by means of a pressure tool acting on the exterior of the sleeve to deform its tubular wall.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A package comprising a tubular sleeve made of semi-rigid, resilient extruded plastics material and being of substantially cylindrical shape, at least three support portions provided in the cylindrical wall of the sleeve rcsiliently retaining a fragile object within the sleeve, the inner surfaces of the support portions lying on a cylindrical surface co-axial with the sleeve, wherein each support portion is defined by a respective inwardly-deformed zone in the wall of the sleeve, each deformed zone lying along a respective generatrix of the sleeve, and wherein the support portions are sufficiently widely spaced, and the resilience of the sleeve material is such, that contact between the inner surface of the sleeve and the fragile object is permitted only at said inner surfaces of the support portions, whereby, the fragile object having been introduced by slight pressure into the sleeve, the sleeve retains the fragile object in position and at the same time acts as a shock absorber.

2. A package as claimed in claim 1, wherein each support portion is defined by a plurality of inwardly deformed depressions in the wall of the sleeve.

3. A method of producing a package as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the support portions are formed in the sleeve by deforming the tubular wall of the sleeve by means of a pressure tool acting on the outside of the sleeve.

4. A package substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and illustrated by, Figures 1 and 2, of the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. depressions 15 could of course differ from those illustrated, but they are preferably so arranged that the object 2, bearing on the bases 16 of thcse depressions within the sleeve, is not in contact with the inner surface of the sleeve, so that the required protection against shock is maintained. This form of package is produced by a continuous extrusion process which forms a cylindrical tube, followed by a local depression process of the sleeve wall to form the depressions. This depression process can occur either before or after cutting up the continuous tube so as to obtain separate sleeves. The support portions are preferably created by means of a pressure tool acting on the exterior of the sleeve to deform its tubular wall. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A package comprising a tubular sleeve made of semi-rigid, resilient extruded plastics material and being of substantially cylindrical shape, at least three support portions provided in the cylindrical wall of the sleeve rcsiliently retaining a fragile object within the sleeve, the inner surfaces of the support portions lying on a cylindrical surface co-axial with the sleeve, wherein each support portion is defined by a respective inwardly-deformed zone in the wall of the sleeve, each deformed zone lying along a respective generatrix of the sleeve, and wherein the support portions are sufficiently widely spaced, and the resilience of the sleeve material is such, that contact between the inner surface of the sleeve and the fragile object is permitted only at said inner surfaces of the support portions, whereby, the fragile object having been introduced by slight pressure into the sleeve, the sleeve retains the fragile object in position and at the same time acts as a shock absorber.