GB2395180A

GB2395180A - Roll-up swim cap package

Info

Publication number: GB2395180A
Application number: GB0224778A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jonathan Davis
Original assignee: Speedo International Ltd
Current assignee: Speedo International Ltd
Priority date: 2002-10-24
Filing date: 2002-10-24
Publication date: 2004-05-19
Also published as: WO2004037677A1; AU2003278337A1; GB0224778D0

Abstract

A garment package comprises a flexible packaging sheet 1 onto which is laid a laminar flexible garment 9. The sheet 1 and the garment 9 are then rolled up so that the packaging sheet is on the outside. Fastening means 4,5, preferably press studs 4,5, releasably hold the package in a rolled up state. Preferably the garment 9 to be packaged is a swim cap or swimwear. The packaging sheet 1 may be wholly or partly transparent, and the sheet may be fitted with flaps 21,22 to hold the garment in place. The packaging sheet may also have a hanging formation 8 for suspension in a sale display.

Description

PACKAGING AND PACKAGED ARTICLES

This disclosure has to do with packaging and

packaged articles. We envisage use of the ideas in the 5 packaging of garments e.g. swimwear, particularly swim caps, but the present proposals can be used for packaging other things as will be apparent.

BACKGROUND

Conventionally, rubber swim caps are sold sealed in 10 plastic bags, or in plastic or cardboard boxes. When sealed in bags it is hard for a potential buyer to get a good look at the cap. When packed in boxes, the browsing customer may be reluctant to commit themselves so far as to pull the cap out of the box and, if they do, may find 15 it hard to put it back in again afterwards. Caps are not usually suitable for selling loose, because of difficulties of labelling combined with risks of getting soiled or damaged. Of course, similar issues arise with products other than swim caps.

20 What we propose here is packaging in the form of a sheet which has free ends so that it can be rolled up with the packaged product - preferably a single, flexible flat or flattenable article - lying against it so that the product is rolled with the sheet, the sheet on the 25 outside. The packaging has at least one fastener for holding the sheet releasably (preferably, re-securably) in the rolled-up state.

The general idea here is that such packaging is useful for display of articles for sales a prospective customer can unroll the package to get a good look at the contents and then roll it up again. In the context of 5 this general proposal, we have a number of preferred sub proposals. Firstly, as regards the fastener, we prefer to provide one or more inwardly-directly fastener elements on the inner surface of the sheet adjacent one of its 10 free ends, and one or more corresponding outwardly directed fastener elements on the outer surface of the sheet, spaced lengthwise from the inwardly-directed element(s), the inner and outer elements being engageable to hold the sheet in the rolled condition with a 15 circumference corresponding to the lengthwise distance between the fasteners. Preferably the rolled package makes at least one and a half and preferably at least two complete turns, so the outwardly directed fastener(s) is preferably spaced from the inward by not more than three 20 quarters or two-thirds of the length of the sheet.

Preferably the inner and outer fastening elements are adapted for repeated release and re-fastening. For simplicity of manufacture they are preferably fixed on the sheet so as to determine the rolled size (by contrast 25 with the ties and straps used on surgeon's or carpenter's rolls which hold instruments or tools). It is preferred for the fastening engagement to be distributed up the height of the sheet, to give a stable roll even without

rolling tightly. So, plural fasteners may be distributed up the height of the sheet, or elongate fastener elements may be used.

While hook-and-loop fasteners (Velcro type) are 5 clearly suitable, they are not well adapted to use when wet. For swimwear contexts we prefer pop or press fasteners; these are also easy to mount in plastics sheet materials. A second preferred proposal is for the packaging 10 entity to include retaining formations for holding a packaged article in position against the inner surface of the sheet, especially when unrolled. One good way of doing this is by providing one or more flap, strap or pocketforming layers superimposed on the inner surface 15 of the main sheet. The best shapes for these will depend on the kind of articles packaged. Preferably they leave at least part of the retained packaged article exposed when the sheet is unrolled. Preferred retaining formations are upper and lower flaps attached to the 20 sheet and extending towards each other but with a space in between. They may extend from at or near the top and bottom edges of the sheet. Other retaining formations may be used, e.g. frictional or adhesive attachments, or slits in the sheet, but the latter are less preferred 25 because they may expose the packaged article at the outside of the roll.

The sheet is preferably closed and continuous to give best protection to the rolled-up article(s) within,

although one or more perforations may be desirable in special circumstances, e.g. for drainage if it is expected that the packaging will be used for holding a swim cap after use.

5 Preferably the sheet is of plastics material. Since it is usually preferred to get some visual impression of the contents from the outside, the material may be translucent and preferably transparent, at least in part (a window) and preferably completely. On the other hand, 10 it is also preferred that a label be provided on the outside of the sheet and this of course is usually opaque. An opaque outer sheet may be acceptable or useful e.g. in cases where the contents might suffer from exposure to light) a user is still able to inspect the 15 contents by unrolling the package.

It is highly desirable that a hanging formation be provided on or in the sheet, so that the rolled package can be suspended e.g. in a shop display. This hanging formation might be e.g. a hook or loop formation bonded 20 to, looped through or formed integrally with the sheet, or simply a hole through a top edge portion of the sheet, depending on the kind of hanging intended.

While the rollable packaging sheet itself is an independent aspect of the invention, a further aspect of 25 the invention is an article packaged in such a rolled/rollable sheet, particularly a single article, preferably a garment and especially a swim cap.

An embodiment of the invention is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is an inside view of a packaging sheet 5 embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is an outside view of the Fig. 1 sheet; Fig. 3 is a front view of the sheet rolled up, and Fig. 4 is a back view of Fig. 3.

The figures show a generally rectangular sheet 1 of 10 transparent PVC or polypropylene. For ease of subsequent description we mention here its first free end 11 (to go

on the outside), its second free end 12 (to go on the inside) and its top and bottom edges 13,14. This embodiment being for a swim cap, the sheet in this 15 example is from 18 to 24 cm high and from 20 to 30 cm long, but of course the dimensions chosen will depend on the article to be packaged.

Along a central part of each of the top and bottom edges 13,14 a respective D-shaped retaining flap 21,22 is 20 fixed, and in its rest position lies over the inner face of the sheet 1. The mode of forming the flaps is not critical, but desirably they lie preferentially inwardly in the positions shown, to serve their retaining function. In this embodiment they are parts of a 25 separate sheet hot-welded along the edges of the main sheet. Part of the top edge 13 has an integral hanger projection 8, and the welded-on layer forming the flap 21

has the same shape so that the hanger projection 8 is double-thickness for strength.

A swim cap 9 is shown in dotted lines, lying entirely within the area of the sheet 1 and with its top 5 and bottom central parts retained under the flaps 21,22 so that it will not fall out.

The sheet 1 is adapted to be rolled-up with the cap 9 inside it, and secured releasably in the rolled form.

To this end, upper and lower pop fasteners 4 are provided 10 on the inner surface adjacent the first end 11, and a complementary pair of fasteners 5 is provided on the outer surface slightly more than halfway along the sheet from the first end 11. Such fasteners are easily and cheaply fitted through plastics sheet material.

15 Fig. 3 and 4 show the package rolled-up, with the fasteners 4,5 engaged. Features to note include the following. The hanger formation 8, having a standard shaped hanging slot 81 with a central locating notch 82, is formed slightly off-centre on the sheet so as to be 20 lined up with the outer fasteners 5. In the rolled condition both the hanger and the fastened joint end up at the back of the package, with the front view (Fig. 3) showing the swim cap 9 within and a suitable label 7 in the best way. A potential customer in a shop can see the 25 general nature of the cap from outside. To get a better look, they can unpop the fasteners 4,5 and unroll the package. It can then be re-rolled and put back on the hanger without disarranging the cap 9.

By having the sheet 1 of sufficiently robust material, the package can also be used for holding the cap after purchase.

In this embodiment there are just over two full 5 turns of roll. The tightness of rolling, and the spacing needed between the fasteners 4,5 to achieve the desired number of turns, can routinely be determined taking into account the thickness of the packaged article.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A garment package comprising a flexible garment in laminar form rolled up in a flexible packaging sheet 5 having free ends, the garment lying against the packaging sheet and being rolled with it, the packaging sheet being on the outside of the package, and the packaging sheet comprising at least one fastener to hold it releasably in the rolled state.

2. A garment package according to claim 1 in which the packaging sheet is wholly or partly transparent.

3. A garment package according to claim 1 or 2 in which the packaged garment is swimwear.

4. A garment package according to claim 3 in which the packaged garment is a swim cap.

20

5. A garment package according to any one of the preceding claims in which the packaging sheet has one more retaining formations for -folding the garment in position against the packaging sheet's inner surface.

25

6. A garment package according to claim 5 in which the retaining formations are flaps on the inner surface of the packaging sheet.

7. A garment package according to any one of the preceding claims in which the at least one fastener comprises one or more inwardly-directed fastener elements on 5 the inner surface of the sheet, adjacent one of its ends, and one or more corresponding outwardly-directed fastener elements on the outer surface of the sheet, spaced lengthwise from the inwardly-directed element(s), 10 the inner and outer fastener elements being engageable to hold the sheet in the rolled state with a circumference determined by the lengthwise distance between the fasteners. 15

8. A garment package according to claim 7 in which the fastener elements are fixed on the sheet.

9. A garment package according to claim 7 or 8 in which engagement(s) between inwardly-directed and outwardly 20 directed fastener elements is or are distributed up the height of the sheet.

10. A garment package according to any one of the preceding claims in which the fastener comprises pop or 25 press fastener elements.

11. A garment package according to any one of the preceding claims in which the packaging sheet makes at least one and a half complete turns.

5

12. A garment package according to any one of the preceding claims in which the packaging sheet has a hanging formation from which the package can be suspended. 10

13. A packaging sheet suitable for packaging a flexible laminar article such as a garment, the sheet having two free ends, being wholly or partially transparent, having one or more retaining formations for holding the article lying in position against its inner surface, and having 15 fastener means for holding the sheet in a rolled state with the article rolled within, the fastener means comprising one or more inwardly-directed fastener elements on the inner surface of the sheet adjacent one of its free 20 ends, and one or more corresponding outwardly-directed fastener elements on the outer surface of the sheet spaced lengthwise from the inwardly-directed element(s), the inner and outer fastener elements being engageable to 25 hold the sheet in the rolled condition with a circumference corresponding to the lengthwise distance between the inwardly-spaced and outwardly-directed fastener elements.

14. A packaging sheet according to claim 13 dimensioned to make at least one and a half complete turns in the rolled and fastened condition.

15. A packaging sheet according to claim 13 or 14 in which the engagement(s) made by the fastener elements is or are distributed up the height of the sheet to stabilise the roll.

16. A packaging sheet according to any one of claims 13 to 15 in which the fastener elements are pop or press fastener elements.

15

17. A packaging sheet according to any one of claims 13 to 16 comprising a hanging formation by which the rolled package can be suspended.

18. A packaging sheet according to any one of claims 13 20 to 11 which is of plastics material.

19. A garment package or packaging sheet substantially as described herein with reference to the example shown in the accompanying drawings.