GB1603567A

GB1603567A - Packaging unit

Info

Publication number: GB1603567A
Application number: GB16647/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: BP PLC
Current assignee: BP PLC
Priority date: 1977-05-12
Filing date: 1978-04-27
Publication date: 1981-11-25
Also published as: IT7823306A0; FR2390345A1; NL7805017A; DE2721482A1; IT1094749B

Description

(54) PACKAGING UNIT (71) We, THE BRITISH PETROLEUM COMPANY LIMITED, of Britannic House, Moor Lane, London EC2Y 9BU, a British Company, 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:- The present invention relates to a packaging unit consisting of several similar individual blister-packs which are placed together in one or more layers and covered with shrunk film.

Packaging units can consist, for example, of a plurality of similar individual packages stacked together for purposes of loading and transport. Generally the individual packages are stacked on a pallet and are firmly held to this by the film wrapping which is shrunk on by the action of heat and serves as a protection. In the case of packaged products which are shock-sensitive, shock-absorbing individual packages can be used comprising thick-walled parts of foamed material adapted in their shape to securely contain the item being packed. Such individual packages take up a comparatively large amount of space, even when they are in the empty condition because they cannot be interstacked or folded for purposes of transport.

Furthermore it is either difficult or even impossible to dispose of them without leaving residues which are harmful to the environment because of the nature of the materials employed.

For the purpose of securing an article in its proper position in a carton there has also been used what is known as a blister-pack.

This comprises a flat frame, eg of corrugated cardboard, which defines a window. On one side of the frame there is sealed or skinned a plastic film which passes through the area of the window to form a blister or trough. The blister or trough preferably has a shape corresponding to the contours of the article to be packed. The blister or trough can be formed by deep drawing or vacuum forming the film. The frame with the film trough is placed over the goods to be packaged and is fixed at its sides in the carton in a suitable manner, for example by means of additional packaging parts, which prevents the packaged article from falling into the unfilled space of the carton should the latter be tipped over.

An object of the present invention is to provide a packaging unit of the type mentioned above which whilst being relatively simple to produce offers protection for the packaged articles and also has a low package volume.

Accordingly the present invention provides a packaging unit comprising a plurality of blister-packs placed side by side and/or in layers one on top of the other wherein the unit as a whole is wrapped with shrunk film and wherein each blister-pack comprises a frame having a film skin in adherent contact with a surface of the frame the film extending across the window of the frame and being shaped to form a dependent trough therein for containing an article, the frame having two or more lateral supporting sections bent over on its outer periphery in the direction of the dependent film trough, and wherein the or each blister-pack layer stands on one or more base plates.

The film forms an adherent coating covering the frame, ie it is skinned over the frame.

The frame itself can be made from any material having sufficient rigidity to support the trough or blister together with the contained article. Examples of suitable materials are rigid or semi rigid plastics or cardboards.

Corrugated cardboard is preferred.

The two or more lateral supporting sections suitably support the frame in a generally horizontal plane. The frame is preferably fabricated from a single sheet of corrugated cardboard by bending a suitably shaped sheet thereof.

The trough of film is supported around its periphery by the frame. Preferably the peripheral part of the film is skinned over the upper surface of the frame so that the trough depends through the window. Most preferably the film skin covers the entire upper surface of the frame including the outside of the two or more supporting sections.

The supports are preferably of sufficient length to hold the bottom of the film trough clear of the base plate.

In the preferred embodiment according to the present invention wherein the film forming the trough is skinned over the entire upper surface of the frame including the outer sides of the two or more supporting sections, the shrunk film wrapper is preferably shrunk over the plurality of blister-packs so that mutual areas of contact between the wrapper and the blister-packs on the outside become connected, for example by sealing of the wrapper and the blister-pack film.

Where the packaging unit of the present invention comprises more than one layer, the troughs of one layer of blister-packs are preferably closed at the top by the base plate for the next layer located above. The shrunkon film wrapper causes a bundling of the loose individual packs. Furthermore in the preferred embodiment wherein there is sealing of the wrapper and the blister-pack film at the contact surfaces, in particular with the supporting sections located on the outside, the base plates are firmly retained as a cover on the blister-packs located below them and there is imparted to the blister-packs of the stack which are mutually joined together a stability which goes beyond the stability of the individual packs. The result is a completely self-supporting packaging unit which requires no further vertical or horizontal supporting elements.

The packaging unit according to the present invention, however, possesses not only an excellent stability, but can also offer an outstanding protection to articles or goods packed therein, which may be fixed elastically in the film troughs of the blister-packs.

The film troughs may be adapted to the shapes of the goods packed and may be freely suspended on all sides, so that they cannot impinge either on one another or against the supporting sections of the blisterpacks. This ensures a secure spacing even of particularly unstable packaged goods which could suffer damage if packed rigidly. Despite the good protection afforded, the packaging unit according to the present invention can have a comparatively small volume for the goods packed. The empty individual blister-packs can be transported closely stacked or laid out flat and therefore save a great deal of space. The packaging units assembled in accordance with the present invention generally take more packaged goods than, for example, foam packaging units of the same total volume.If one starts off from practically the same safety against breakage and the same number of parts to be packed, it is possible with the packaging unit according to the present invention to save, for example, up to 30 per cent by volume as compared with known packaging units. A further advantage of the preferred embodiment is that because of the mutual sealing or welding of the wrapper film with the film skinned on the blister-packs, in the case of the unpacking of the packaging unit layer by layer, in which the shrunk wrapper is cut open between the individual layers in a horizontal direction, the layers of the stack of individual blister-packs which have still not yet been unpacked, remain protected from dust. Finally, the individual blister-packs can be produced simply on tranditional automatic machines.This renders possible socalled "in line production", which takes place in parallel to a packing belt. The shrinking of the film wrapper on the plurality of blister-packs is carried out in a conventional manner, for example by means of a shrinking oven. The packaging unit of the present invention can be built up on a transport pallet (as in the case of known packaging units) which is then held together with the packaging unit by the shrunk film wrapper.

In a preferred packaging unit according to the present invention each base plate has at its periphery a standing up retaining edge, the height of which is smaller than that of the supporting sections of the individual blisterpacks. This retaining edge facilitates the stacking of the individual blister-packs and also the handling of a stack of such packs until the time of shrinking on the wrapper and it also increases the stability of the total packaging unit. The height of the retaining edge is preferably smaller than that of the supporting sections of the individual packages, so that in the projecting part of the supporting sections the sealing with the film wrapper which has been mentioned as a preferred embodiment can be carried out.

Generally the base plates of the individual layers have the same base area as the total stack. However, this is not essential; it is also feasible that each layer can possess a number of base plates located side by side.

It is an advantage of the new packaging unit that it can be produced without difficulty from materials which can be removed and disposed of without any appreciable damage to the environment. In this connection and taking into account the necessary stability and firmness it has been found advantageous to make the base plates and the frames of the individual packs of carboard, the latter preferably of corrugated cardboard. In the selection of the film material for the film wrapper and the individual blister-packs, preferably care is taken to see that the mutual sealing or adhering or welding is possible. From the point of view of the protection of the environment and for economic reasons polyolefins are particularly suitable, preferably polypropylene and polyethylene, the latter being especially preferred.Further examples of suitable film materials are cellulose acetate and cellulose acetobutyrate, but these are not so much preferred for economic reasons. Also composite films, such as for example polyethylene/ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymerisate composite films, are suitable.

In the case of the film employed to form the blisters or troughs of the packages one must pay attention to its capacity to be moulded, deep drawn or otherwise fabricated to the desired shape trough-shape.

Here films of polyolefins, preferably lowpressure (ie high density) polyolefins, are preferred, and once again especially polyethylene. On the other hand, in the case of the film for the wrapper, high-pressure polyethylene (ie low density polyethylene) is preferred.

Cardboard and polyolefin film can, for example, be burnt practically without residue, without releasing any harmful or sootcontaining substances, but they can also be placed in dumps without having to fear any damage to the underground water. Furthermore, in the case of polyethylene film, the use thereof as wrapper and as a skin on the individual packages results in mutual sealing taking place almost automatically during the heating within the course of the shrinking on of the film wrapper, so that no separate operation is required for this sealing. Although this heat sealing technique is preferred, it is also within the scope of the invention to use other sealing or welding methods, for example using adhesives. If no joint is desired, it is possible to use what are known as separated wrappers. An example of this is the use as wrapper of a polyethylene/polyamide composite film.Here no sealing occurs when the wrapper is shrunk on.

The individual blister-packs have two or more supporting sections on each frame which preferably stand on a base plate. Two supports on each frame are adequate for simple applications; however, a greater stability of the individual packages and consequently also of the stack as a whole is achieved without any appreciably extra expense by having the frame of each individual package possess a supporting section on each of its sides so that in this way, for example, rectangular frame, which would be probably the most commonly used shape, possesses four supporting sections. Advantageously these supporting sections are also joined together on their side edges. For example, when a rectangular frame made from carboard has four supporting sections bent down and which run in the direction of the film trough, the adjacent side edges can be joined using a self-adhesive strip.This strip can be applied during the production of the individual packages on one side edge of each adjacent pair and can be later pressed on to the neighbouring edge by the user after the individual package has been assembled.

Preferably one or more of the supporting sections of a blister-pack employed in the present invention are formed by lateral parts of the frame being bent down their entire width at the edge of the window, so that these lateral parts are in each case at an angle to the plane of the window. Since in this case there is no strut section located in the plane of the window between the edge of the latter and the supporting section, a particularly good utilisation of the space is achieved without losing the stiffening function of the lateral part of the blister-pack.

However, it is preferred not to bend down all the lateral parts of the frame around the edge of the window. In a preferred blisterpack employed in the invention the frame possesses two lateral parts opposite one another and bent down over their entire width as supporting sections and two further lateral parts which comprise a strut section located in the plane of the window and a bent-down supporting section. The two strut sections which for reasons of saving space best belong to the shorter lateral parts bring about a stiffening effect and define the spatial position not only of the supporting sections allocated to them but also of the two other lateral parts which are bent down over their entire width as supporting sections.

A trough or blister forming part of an individual package may be subdivided into small troughs or blisters located side by side.

The present invention is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings show: Fig. 1-an isometric view of a packaging unit according to the invention, Fig. 2-an isometric exploded view of a layer of individual blister-packs of the packaging unit according to Fig. 1, Fig. 3-an isometric view of an individual blister-pack of the packaging unit according to Fig. 1, Fig. 4--a plan view of the individual blister-pack according to Fig. 3 when laid out flat.

The packaging unit according to the present invention represented in Fig. 1 is located on a transport pallet 1. It comprises a number of similar rectangular individual blisterpacks 2 which are stacked tightly in several layers on top of one another on a base plate 3 in each layer. The entire stack is tautly covered with a transparent wrapper 4 of shrunk film which extends under the pallet 1 and therefore not only holds together the stack itself but also retains it on the pallet.

Fig. 2 shows a layer of the stack of individual blister-packs. The packs 2 of a layer are mounted on a base plate 3 in a position side by side. This single layer of individual packs is covered by the base plate of the next layer which serves as a lid. All the base plates have the same outline as the pallet 1. On the periphery each base plate is a raised retaining rim 31, the height of which is less than that of the individual packages standing on the base plate. The dimensions of the base plate and of the individual packs are arranged in relation to one another in such a manner that the retaining rim 31 of a base plate closely surrounds the layer of individual packs belonging to it and in this way, especially when building the stack, holds them together in a horizontal direction.

All the base plates 3 together with their retaining walls 31 are made of rigid cardboard.

Each blister-pack consists of a frame 5 stamped out of corrugated cardboard, the internal edges of which define a rectangular window 53. On the upper surface of the frame there is skinned over the entire area a foil 6 made of low-pressure (ie high density) polyethylene. The foil is shaped in the form of a trough in the window 53. This is achieved by deep drawing which is carried out at the same time as the skinning, so that four adjacent troughs 61 are formed which are the same as one another and are adapted in their shape to the particular shape or contour of a packaged product to be held.

The two lateral parts 52 of the frame 5 which are opposite one another each comprise a strut section 54 and a supporting section 56 hinged on at crease line 55, the crease line when the frame is laid out fiat running in the projection of the neighbouring side edges 57 of the long lateral parts 51.

The latter are hinged on to their strut sections 54 at crease lines 58 which run as a projection of the side edges 59 of the short lateral parts 52 or their supporting sections 56. The long lateral parts 51 and the supporting sections 56 have the same widths. In order to form the individual blister-pack in its erected configuration 2 the long lateral parts 51 in each case are bent down along the crease lines 58. The supporting sections 56 are bent down at the crease lines 55. As a result of this the long lateral parts 51 adjoin with their side edges 57 running in the direction of the troughs so as to be parallel with the neighbouring side edges 59 of the- short lateral parts.At the adjoining side edges the supporting sections 56 and the long lateral parts 51 which form also supporting sections over their entire width are joined together by means of selfadhesive tape 7. As a result of this one has a box-shape frame which stands with four supporting sections on its four sides on a base plate 3 and in which the troughs 61 are suspended inwards from the plane of the window 52. In this way the width or height of the supporting sections and consequently the height of the entire blister-pack are adjusted in such a way in relation to the depth of the troughs 61 that these do not come up against the relevant base plate underneath.

The erected blister-packs which have been stacked according to Figs. 1 and 2 are joined, insofar as they are located on the outside of the stack when the wrapper 4 is shrunk on to this, because their film skins are made of polyethylene and therefore are sealed to the polyethylene film of the wrapper as a result of the action of heat during the heat shrinking.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A packaging unit comprising a plurality of blister-packs placed side by side and/or in layers one on top of the other wherein the unit as a whole is wrapped with shrunk film and wherein each blister-pack comprises a frame having a film skin in adherent contact with a surface of the frame, the film extending across the window of the frame and being shaped to form a dependent trough therein for containing an article, the frame having two or more lateral supporting sections bent over on its outer periphery in the direction of the dependent film trough, and wherein the or each blister-pack layer stands on one or more base plates.

2. A packaging unit as claim 1 wherein the film skin of the frame covers the entire upper surface thereof including the outer sides of the two or more supporting sections.

3. A packaging unit as claimed in claim 2 wherein the shrunk film of the wrapper is sealed to the film of the blister-packs at areas of mutual contact.

4. A packaging unit as claimed in claim 3 wherein the sealing is by means of heat sealing.

5. A packaging unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each of the one or more base plates has a raised retaining edge of its periphery.

6. A packaging unit as claimed in claim 5 wherein the height of the retaining edge is less than that of the blister pack.

7. A packaging unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the shrink wrap film is low density polyethylene.

8. A packaging unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the film skin of the blister-pack frame is high density polyethylene.

9. A packaging unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the frame of each individual blister-pack is made of cardboard.

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

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. covered with a transparent wrapper 4 of shrunk film which extends under the pallet 1 and therefore not only holds together the stack itself but also retains it on the pallet. Fig. 2 shows a layer of the stack of individual blister-packs. The packs 2 of a layer are mounted on a base plate 3 in a position side by side. This single layer of individual packs is covered by the base plate of the next layer which serves as a lid. All the base plates have the same outline as the pallet 1. On the periphery each base plate is a raised retaining rim 31, the height of which is less than that of the individual packages standing on the base plate. The dimensions of the base plate and of the individual packs are arranged in relation to one another in such a manner that the retaining rim 31 of a base plate closely surrounds the layer of individual packs belonging to it and in this way, especially when building the stack, holds them together in a horizontal direction. All the base plates 3 together with their retaining walls 31 are made of rigid cardboard. Each blister-pack consists of a frame 5 stamped out of corrugated cardboard, the internal edges of which define a rectangular window 53. On the upper surface of the frame there is skinned over the entire area a foil 6 made of low-pressure (ie high density) polyethylene. The foil is shaped in the form of a trough in the window 53. This is achieved by deep drawing which is carried out at the same time as the skinning, so that four adjacent troughs 61 are formed which are the same as one another and are adapted in their shape to the particular shape or contour of a packaged product to be held. The two lateral parts 52 of the frame 5 which are opposite one another each comprise a strut section 54 and a supporting section 56 hinged on at crease line 55, the crease line when the frame is laid out fiat running in the projection of the neighbouring side edges 57 of the long lateral parts 51. The latter are hinged on to their strut sections 54 at crease lines 58 which run as a projection of the side edges 59 of the short lateral parts 52 or their supporting sections 56. The long lateral parts 51 and the supporting sections 56 have the same widths. In order to form the individual blister-pack in its erected configuration 2 the long lateral parts 51 in each case are bent down along the crease lines 58. The supporting sections 56 are bent down at the crease lines 55. As a result of this the long lateral parts 51 adjoin with their side edges 57 running in the direction of the troughs so as to be parallel with the neighbouring side edges 59 of the- short lateral parts.At the adjoining side edges the supporting sections 56 and the long lateral parts 51 which form also supporting sections over their entire width are joined together by means of selfadhesive tape 7. As a result of this one has a box-shape frame which stands with four supporting sections on its four sides on a base plate 3 and in which the troughs 61 are suspended inwards from the plane of the window 52. In this way the width or height of the supporting sections and consequently the height of the entire blister-pack are adjusted in such a way in relation to the depth of the troughs 61 that these do not come up against the relevant base plate underneath. The erected blister-packs which have been stacked according to Figs. 1 and 2 are joined, insofar as they are located on the outside of the stack when the wrapper 4 is shrunk on to this, because their film skins are made of polyethylene and therefore are sealed to the polyethylene film of the wrapper as a result of the action of heat during the heat shrinking. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A packaging unit comprising a plurality of blister-packs placed side by side and/or in layers one on top of the other wherein the unit as a whole is wrapped with shrunk film and wherein each blister-pack comprises a frame having a film skin in adherent contact with a surface of the frame, the film extending across the window of the frame and being shaped to form a dependent trough therein for containing an article, the frame having two or more lateral supporting sections bent over on its outer periphery in the direction of the dependent film trough, and wherein the or each blister-pack layer stands on one or more base plates.

10. A packaging unit as claimed in any

preceding claim wherein the one or more base plates are made or cardboard.

11. A packaging unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each blister-pack frame includes a supporting section on each of its sides.

12. A packaging unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each blister-pack has a rectangular frame.

13. A packaging unit as claimed in claim 11 wherein the supporting sections of each individual blister-pack are joined together at their adjacent side edges running in the direction of the dependent trough.

14. A packaging unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein at least some of the supporting sections are formed of lateral parts of the frame bent down for their entire width at the edge of the window.

15. A packaging unit as claimed in claim 14 wherein the frame of each blister-pack is rectangular and possesses two side parts located opposite one another which are bent down over their entire width to form supporting sections and two further side parts each of which comprises a strut section located in the plane of the window and a bent-down supporting section.

16. A packaging unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the dependent film trough of each blister-pack is subdivided into smaller troughs or blisters.

17. A packaging unit as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the shrunk film extends underneath a pallet and thereby secures the whole unit to the pallet.

18. A packaging unit as claimed in claim 9 wherein the cardboard is corrugated.

19. A packaging unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.