GB2125010A

GB2125010A - Packing of articles having a bore therethrough

Info

Publication number: GB2125010A
Application number: GB08222706A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ronald William Garrett; Michael John Harrison
Original assignee: TECHNIBOND Ltd
Current assignee: TECHNIBOND Ltd
Priority date: 1982-08-06
Filing date: 1982-08-06
Publication date: 1984-02-29
Also published as: GB2125010B

Abstract

A method of packing at least one article (1) having a bore therethrough, for example a roll of adhesive foam tape, comprises passing a pillar (13) extending from a base (2) of a packing support through the article(s) and thereafter arranging the end of the pillar remote from the base to retain the at least one article on the pillar. The packing support is made of sheet material such as corrugated cardboard and a further packing element (6) is provided which together with the base (2) defines a protected volume within which the at least one article lies. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Packing of articles having a bore therethrough This invention relates to packing and in particular to a method of packing at least one article having a bore therethrough and to a pack for such an article or articles. In one particular example, the article is a roll of double sided adhesive foam tape.

Foam tape has in the past been supplied to containers using conventional packaging techniques such as stuffing packaging material around the rolls of tape. Such techniques, however, do not reliably prevent the tape being squashed in transit and although the tape may recover its shape in the long term that may not be acceptable to a customer.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved method of packing and an improved pack for at least one article having a bore therethrough.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of packing at least one article having a bore therethrough, the method including passing a pillar extending from the base of a packing support through the bore and thereafter arranging the end of the pillar remote from the base to retain the article on the pillar, wherein the article is constrained by the pillar such that it is housed entirely within a protected enclosure defined by the pack.

It will be understood that the passing of the pillar through the bore is a relative movement and can be achieved by using the article with the pillar stationary.

By this means the outer parts of the article are protected from contact either with the pack or with any other object.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a pack including at least one packed article having a bore therethrough and a packing support having a base and a pillar extending from the base and passing through the packed article, the end of the pillar remote from the base being arranged in such a way that the articles are retained on the pillar, wherein the article is constrained by the pillar such that it is housed entirely within a protected enclosure defined by the pack.

The packing support may be located with the longitudinal axis of the pillar in a substantially fixed location within a qontainer.

The packing support may be made by bending a sheet of material, which may be cardboard. The cardboard may be corrugated. The longitudinal axis of the corrugations in the pillar may be inclined both to the longitudinal axis of the pillar and the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pillar. The longitudinal axis of the corrugations may be inclined at an angle of about 45 to the longitudinal axis of the pillar. This strengthens the pillar.

The packing support may be in two parts each having a base portion and a pillar portion, the ends of the pillar portions being bent over in opposite directions to retain the article on the pillar.

Each base portion may be of the shape of a right angled triangle with the pillar portion extending from the middle of the hypotenuse.

in the case where the packing support is made by bending sheet material each pillar portion is formed by bending it through 90 relative to its respective base portion.

A further packing element may be provided having an aperture through which the pillar passes, the further packing element and the base defining the protected enclosure.

A plurality of articles to be packed may be carried on the pillar.

Spacers may be provided between adjacent articles to prevent the articles contacting one another.

The articles may be of annular shape.

By way of example, a pack embodying the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank for a packing support forming a part of the pack, Figure 2 is a side view of the pack during packing, Figure 3 is a plan view of a packing element forming another part of the pack; and Figure 4 is a plan view of the pack just before completion of packing.

The pack shown in the drawings is used to pack rolls 1 of double sided adhesive foam tape. The rolls are of conventional construction and comprise a cylindrical hollow cardboard core around which the tape is wound.

Conveniently the rolls are initially manufactured in relatively long cylindrical shapes and then cut with a slitting machine to produce rolls of tape of the desired width.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, a packing support consists of a pair of corrugated cardboard members 2 each formed from a blank of the shape shown in Fig. 1. The blank has a part 3 in the shape of a right angled triangle and an elongate part 4 extending from the centre of the hypotenuse of the triangle. To form the packing support, the parts 4 are bent through 90 about the junction of the parts 3 and 4, and placed back to back; in this position the parts 3 define a base and the parts 4 define a pillar around which the rolls 1 of tape are then stacked. In the example shown in Fig. 2, these rolls of tape are to be packed. The internal diameter of the bores through the rolls of tape is about the same as the maximum dimension of the cross-section of the pillar so that there is little or no play between the rolls of tape and the pillar.

Spacers in the form of annular sheets 5 of silicon paper separate the lowest roll 1 from the base of the packing support, separate individual rolls from each other and cover the uppermost roll. The partially packed assembly consisting of an approximately square base and a central pillar, around which the rolls 1 and spacer sheets 5 are located, is then placed in a cardboard box 10 (Fig. 4) with the base in the bottom of the box.

At this stage in the packing process, a packing element 6 shown in Fig. 3 and made of corrugated cardboard is employed. The packing element 6 is of generally square shape with one cut-away corner 7 and a central rectangular aperture 8 aligned with a diagonal of the square. The aperture 8 is dimensioned so that the elongate parts 4 of the packing support can just pass through it and the packing element 6 can thus be positioned as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 4, once the packing element 6 has been inserted in position, the free ends 1 3 of the parts 4 are bent over in opposite directions (as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2) and fixed to the face of the element 6 with, for example, adhesive tape 9. As a final step the flaps 1 4 of the box 10 folded down in the conventional way and secured by conventional means to complete the pack.

The full sides of the element 6 are the same length as the sides of the base of the pillar and thus these parts define between them a protected space of approximately cuboidal shape (the protected space is reduced slightly in the region of the cut-away corner 7). Furthermore, since the base of the pillar and the element 6 are a reasonably close fit in the cardboard box 10 the position of the longitudinal axis of the pillar in the box is substantially fixed and thus the rolls 1 are safely held in the centre of the box well spaced from its sides.

Although the pillar is formed simply from the two parts 4 it is nonetheless quite strong.

To enhance this strength, the blank of Fig. 1 is punched out of the corrugated cardboard with the longitudinal axes of the corrugations lying at 45r to the longitudinal axis of the part 4, that is parallel to the axis A shown chain dotted in Fig. 1. In addition, the pillar is relatively inextensible and therefore ties the centre of the element 6 to the centre of the pillar base which together with the rolls 1 and sheets 5 imparts additional strength to the structure.

In the example described, the corrugated cardboard consists of three planar sheets separated by two layers of corrugations with the corrugations in one layer slightly greater than those in the other layer. For example, in Fig.

2, the members 2 each have a deep corrugated layer 11 and a shallow corrugated layer 1 2. It will be understood however that this is simply one example of a material that may be used.

The number of rolls of tape, the width of tape on the rolls and the outside diameter of the rolls can all be varied to a substantial extent without any change being made to the packing system.

The provision of the cut-away portion 7 facilitates unpacking by the user who can insert his fingers through this portion to grip the element 6. The cut-away portion also allows documents to be inserted into the corner of the box.

According to the desired size of box 10 to be used and the size of the rolls 1 to be packed, it may be convenient to include more than one, for example four, packing supports in the box. In this case all four packing supports may be positioned side by side in the box and a single packing element 6 having four apertures 8 placed over all the upstanding free ends of the parts 4.

It is also of course possible to stack packed sets of rolls on top of one another within a single box, with the base parts 3 of an upper packed set resting on top of the bent over free ends of the parts 4 of the packed set immediately below. Furthermore any free space in a box, which might for example be left with certain sizes of pack, can be filled with suitable spaces. Also packed sets of rolls of different sizes can be packed together in a single box.

Finally, in certain applications of the invention where the extra protection is not required, the box 10 can be omitted.

Claims

1. A method of packing at least one article having a bore therethrough in a pack, the method including passing a pillar extending from a base of a packing support through the bore or bores and thereafter arranging the end of the pillar remote from the base to retain the at least one article on the pillar, wherein the at least one article is constrained by the pillar such that it is housed entirely within a protected volume defined by the pack.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 further including inserting the packing support and the at least one article into a container.

3. A pack including at least one packed article having a bore therethrough and a packing support having a base and a pillar extending from the base and passing through the at least one packed article, the end of the pillar remote from the base being arranged in such a way that the at least one article is retained on the pillar, wherein the at least one article is constrained by the pillar such that it is housed entirely within a protected volume defined by the pack.

4. A pack as claimed in claim 3 in which the packing support is made from sheet material.

5. A pack as claimed in claim 4 in which the sheet material is cardboard.

6. A pack as claimed in claim 5 in which the cardboard includes corrugations.

7. A pack as claimed in claim 6 in which the longitudinal axis of the corrugations in the pillar is inclined both to the longitudinal axis of the pillar and the plane prependicular to the longitudinal axis of the pillar.

8. A pack as claimed in any of claims 3 to 7 in which the packing support is in two parts each having a base portion and a pillar portion, the ends of the pillar portions being bent over in opposite directions to retain the at least one article on the pillar.

9. A pack as claimed in claim 8 in which the base portion is substantially the shape of a right angled triangle with the pillar portion extending from the middle of the hypotenuse.

10. A pack as claimed in any of claims 3 to 9 in which a further packing element is provided having an aperture through which the pillar passes, the further packing element and the base defining the protected volume.

11. A pack as claimed in any of claims 3 to 10 in which a plurality of articles are carried on the pillar.

1 2. A pack as claimed in claim 11 in which spaces are provided between adjacent articles.

1 3. A pack as claimed in any of claims 3 to 1 2 in which the at least one article is of annular shape.

14. A pack as claimed in any of claims 3 to 1 3 in which the pack includes a container in which the at least one article and packing support are housed.

15. A pack as claimed in claim 14 in which the packing support is located with the longitudinal axis of the pillar in a substantially fixed location within the container.

1 6. A pack including at least one packed article having a bore therethrough and a packing support having a base and a pillar extending from the base and passing through the at least one packed article, wherein the packing support is made from sheet material and the end of the pillar remote from the base is bent such that the at least one article is retained on the pillar.

1 7. A method of packing at least one article having a bore therethrough in a pack, the method being substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

18. A pack substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.