GB2401856A - Container and method of production thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A container for packaging multiple goods, having two opposite ends which can be selectively opened by means of integral foldable flaps (14) such that the container then forms an open-ended tube (12) of constant rectangular transverse section, through one end of which the goods can be pushed to discharge them from the other end. The foldable flaps (14) are disposed at each end of the tube (12) and which, in an open condition of the container, form continuations of side walls of the tube, but which can be folded relative to the tube to cause the ends of the tube to become closed.

Description

DESCRIPTION

CONTAINER AND METHOD OF PRODUCTION THEREOF

The present invention relates to containers for packaging multiple goods.

Currently, there are a number of different types of box-like containers used to transport multiples of goods to shops and other outlets. The box conventionally used for this purpose is made from cardboard or fibreboard and requires a shopkeeper to open the box to remove the goods in order to stack them onto shelves. Frequently, the cardboard or fibreboard is of a corrugated type. The word "cardboard" as used hereinafter shall be taken to include both cardboard and fibreboard of the corrugated and non corrugated type. This procedure can involve a plurality of individual tasks, which when taken together can involve a substantial amount of time being expended. For example, the box will usually be sealed by packaging tape or glue, which needs to be removed or broken before the goods can be removed.

The placing of the goods onto the shelves also involves an extra time element as does the destruction of the waste packaging. Commonly, such boxes are ripped apart manually in order to render the cardboard flat so that it may be placed in a bailer in preparation for transportation to a recycling plant. Indeed, it has been estimated that approximately 80% of the costs incurred in getting goods to the customer is involved in the task of opening boxes, stacking shelves and dealing with the waste that results from the boxes.

There are also additional problems associated with existing packaging, such as the need for a sharp knife to break the adhesive seals, which is not only dangerous to the store keeper but also potentially damaging to the goods inside the box.

Additionally, manually ripping the box can result in personal harm to the storekeeper and this task often requires a degree of physical strength.

There are a number of packages which are designed to reduce the time taken to place the goods on the shelves and make the task of stacking shelves easier but these also have inherent problems associated with them. It is common practice, for example, to place a cardboard tray inside a cardboard box containing goods, whereby the tray itself is intended to be placed directly onto the shelf and therefore save time in placing goods individually on the shelf. In some stores, these trays are simply discarded and not placed on the shelf thus producing more wastage, or alternatively in stores which do place these trays onto the shelves directly, when all or nearly all of the goods from one tray have been taken, there is a quantity of unsightly cardboard left on the shelf obscuring another layer of goods. Such trays may be manufactured in a composite material, whereby the tray is produced from a different material to that of the box, and there is also packaging known which has a lid disposed on top of the tray which can be pulled apart and disposed of, with the tray being an integral part of the packaging.

Some cardboard boxes also come with a series of peripheral perforations disposed around the box in order to obviate the requirement for a knife or physical strength to open the box. Such perforations may allow for a "band" of cardboard to be removed in order to enable the box to be split into two separate parts. However, the use of perforations within cardboard boxes greatly reduces the strength of the box and therefore limits the number of boxes which can be piled on top of one another on a pallet. Indeed, it is estimated that the use of such perforations can reduce the strength of the packaging by approximately 50%.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome one or more of the problems associated with existing packaging of goods. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a stronger container which is not only easily and quickly opened, but also allows for the goods to be placed on shelves in an expedient manner.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a container for packaging multiple goods, the container having two opposite ends which can be selectively opened by means of integral foldable flaps such that the container then forms an open-ended tube of constant transverse section, through one end of which the goods can be pushed to discharge them from the other end.

Preferably, the tube is of a rectangular cross section although it could in principle be of other sectional configurations.

There are preferably two of said integral foldable flaps at each end of the tube which in an open condition of the container, form continuations of side walls of the tube, but which can be folded relative to the tube to cause the ends of the tube to become closed.

Advantageously, the flaps are formed by folds in lip portions which extend around the two ends of the tube, respectively.

Preferably, the two integral flaps at each end of the tube are folded out of opposed parallel portions of the lip portion at that end of the tube.

The closure of an end of the tube can be achieved by folding a pair of said flaps either towards each other in some embodiments or away from each other in other embodiments.

In embodiments where the flaps are folded away from each other, they preferably lie alongside opposite side walls of the rectangular-sectioned tube in the closed condition. s

The container includes a holding means for holding the flaps in the closed condition of the container.

The holding means can comprise, for example, adhesive between the flaps and the opposed side walls of the tube or one or more bands extending around the outside of the container to hold the flaps in the closed condition.

Advantageously, the container is arranged to have a substantially seamless interior which allows for the contents of the container to be slid out without obstruction and deposited on a shelf when the holding means has been removed from the flaps. Therefore, the contents of the container can be placed on a surface quickly.

The container therefore provides a packaging which can be easily opened and the contents placed on the shelf of a store quickly. The substantially seamless interior and the continuous lip at the end of the container, allows for the goods within the container to be pushed or slid along the length of the interior onto the shelf without catching on any flaps or any part of the container. Furthermore, the container can be folded flat after the goods have been removed from the container, so there is no need to break the container up into smaller segments prior to transportation for recycling.

The container may be made from a number of materials, but is preferably made from one or a mixture of: cardboard, fibreboard and plastics materials.

Preferably, the material is corrugated. More preferably still, the container is made from corrugated fibreboard. It will be evident to the skilled addressee that other materials may be utilised in the production of the container, for example including plastics coated cardboard, corrugated plastic and materials such as Correx_ (which is a twin-walled polypropylene board) or similar new materials used for producing packaging.

The holding means may be a container tie. Container ties are generally made of a plastics material, but also may be produced from a metallic material.

Alternatively, the holding means may comprise an adhesive. Preferably the adhesive is a polyvinyl acetate (PVA) based glue. Other adhesives which are used in heat guns may also be used such as Hotmelt_ or other similar products.

The lips may be scored or perforated in order to assist folding of both the lips and the flaps. As the lip is continuous, not all of the lip is used as a flap and the part of the lip not used flap may be folded around the outside of the container.

Alternatively, the part of the lip not used as a flap may be folded inside the container. When the lip is folded in either configuration, the flaps may be held closed by the holding means. When the unused part of the lip is folded inside the container, it will be evident to the skilled addressee that a degree of kinetic energy will be stored in the folded cardboard or fibreboard and this will facilitate the straightening of the lip as soon as the holding means has been removed due to the amount of material inside the container which will act as a spring. At least one lip may have at least one aperture disposed on a flap in order to facilitate gripping of the container when the lip is not held in a closed position. The dimensions of such apertures should be similar to the dimensions required to receive a finger or a number of fingers of a hand. One or more cutouts may also be disposed on the lip in order to facilitate folding (by reducing the amount of cardboard in a given area). The exact shape of the cutouts will be dictated by the attributes required from the container (ea. strength). Cut-outs may also be provided to allow the container to be held by hand. Such cut-outs may be formed on a flap to allow a person to hold the container in place when the contents are slid out. Additionally one or more cut-outs may be formed to facilitate the holding of the container when it is in the closed condition. Preferably the cut-outs are chosen from one or more of the following shapes: a square, a triangle, a circle and a rectangle.

The container may be constructed from a single sheet of material which is folded along four longitudinal planes, the body being formed by adhering part of the material to the exterior of one of the sides of a container. This method of construction provides for a container with a substantially seamless interior which assists greatly in enabling the contents of the container to be pushed out without any goods being caught on a seam. This is particularly important if there are a number of goods stacked high and wide within the container. This method of construction also ensures that the container is robust and strong in order to allow multiple containers to be stacked on a pallet or similar type of transportation means.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of packaging goods by means of a container as herein described above.

The container may be formed around the goods. Alternatively, the container may be formed independently of the goods, in which case, the goods may be placed inside the container manually or by means of an automatic machine.

In accordance yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a blank for making a container as substantially described herein above. Such a blank may have a number of perforations or scores in order to assist folding and may additionally comprise apertures and cut-outs. Such blanks will commonly be made from cardboard, fibreboard, cardboard based materials, or fibreboard based materials.

The invention is described further hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a first embodiment of a packaging container in accordance with the present invention, shown in its open condition; ) Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. I, shown in its closed condition; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a second embodiment of a packaging container in accordance with the present invention, shown in its open condition; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. 3, shown in its closed condition; Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing the introduction of a plurality of stacked goods into the packaging container of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic perspective drawing showing the introduction of a plurality of stacked goods into the packaging container of Figs. 3 and 4; Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic perspective drawing showing the discharge of the plurality of stacked goods from the packaging container of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic perspective drawing showing the discharge of the plurality of stacked goods from the packaging container of Figs. 3 and 4; Fig. 9 shows a fibreboard blank for a packaging container of the type shown in Figs. I and 2; and Figs. 10 and I 1 show fibreboard blanks for two forms of packaging container of the type shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

With reference first to Fig. 1, there is shown a fibreboard packaging container 10 in its open state ready to receive a plurality of stacked goods (not shown in this view). The container is essentially in the form of a hollow tube 12 of constant transverse cross-section. In this case the cross-section is rectangular, with the height of the vertical walls being slightly greater than the width of the horizontal walls. The tube 12 is open at each opposite longitudinal end in this condition, these ends each being formed with respective foldable lip portions 12a, 12b which, in the open condition of the container, form smooth continuations of the internal passage defined by the main body of the tube 12.

As shown in Fig. 1, each lip portion 12a, 12b is formed with lines of slots/perforations which defines lines of weakness to enable the lip portions to fold in a manner firstly to close the ends of the tube 12 and secondly to form a pair of flaps 14 which can be folded back along the vertical sides of the tube 12 as shown in Fig. 2. The arrangement of the flaps 14 is such that if they are held against the vertical walls of the tube as shown in Fig. 2, for example either by glue spots or by banding as described hereinafter, then further folded end flaps 16a, 16b defined by the lip portions 12a, 12b are held tightly across the ends of the tube 12 to prevent egress of the contents of the container. For this purpose, as best seen in Fig. 1, each lip portion 12a, 12b includes a line of peripheral slots 18 extending around the tube 12 in a vertical plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the container and pair of lines 20a, 20b of angularly extending slots in each of the vertically extending walls respectively of the lip portions. The latter lines 20a, 20b in each pair extend from locations at the top and bottom of the vertical side walls and terminate at spaced locations on the extreme outer vertical edges of the lip portions so as to define respective sets of triangular panel portions 22a, 22b and 22c on each vertical wall of the lip portion. If the triangular panel portions 22a are then urged sideways and away from each other, they form with the other triangular panel portions 22b, 22c, the flaps 14. At the same time, the flaps 16a, 16b are formed by the upper and lower horizontal parts of the lip portions 12, the flaps 16a, 16b progressively coming together across the ends of the tube as the flaps 14 are moved against the vertical side walls of the tube.

In the case of the embodiment of Fig. 1, the height of the container is slightly greater than its width and so in order for the flaps 16a, 16b to meet snugly together it is necessary for the upper and lower horizontal parts of the lip portions to extend slightly beyond the plane of the ends of the vertical parts of the lip portions. On the other hand, if the tube 12 were to be of square section, then the overhang of the upper and lower horizontal parts of the lip portion would be unnecessary.

The second embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4 is of essentially the same construction as that of Figs. 1 and 2, the difference being that this time the triangular panel portions 22a are urged inwardly and towards each other so that they take up a position across the end of the tube 12, with the flaps 16a, 16b again progressively coming together across the ends of the tube as the triangular portions 22a are folded inwards.

In the Fig. 3 and 4 case, the tube is shown as being of square section so that the overhang in the lip portion of Figs. 1 and 2 is not necessary. AISO, the embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4 is turned through 90 about its longitudinal axis so that the flaps 1 6a, 1 6b meet vertically compared to the situation of Figs. 1 and 2 where they meet horizontally.

Turning now to Fig. 5, there is shown diagrammatically how the container embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2 is loaded with a plurality of goods 26 stacked together to form a rectangular block of such goods, ea. packets of biscuits. With the ends of the tube 12 in their fully open state, the stack can be pushed manually or automatically (from position 5a) into the tube (position 5b) so as to fill or substantially fill the tube, except for the lip positions 12a, 12b. The ends of the tube are then closed (position 5c) by displacing the triangular panels 22 away from each other as described above, whereby to close the ends of the tube to package and contain the goods 26. In this condition, the flaps 14 formed by the triangular panels 22a, 22b and 22c can either be adhered directly to the container side walls, for example by glue spots, or can be held in place by banding 28 (position 5d).

The packaged container is then ready for transit to its destination, for example a supermarket.

It will be appreciated that instead of loading the container with both ends of the tube in an open condition, the downstream end of the tube can be closed as a preliminary step before the goods are introduced.

Fig. 6 shows the equivalent steps for the embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4 which are essentially the same except for the inward folding of the panels 22a to close the tube ends.

Fig. 7 illustrates the steps which take place when the embodiment of Figs. 1, 2 and is to be unloaded of its goods 26 onto, for example, a supermarket shelf (not shown). At position 7a, a fully loaded and sealed container arrives adjacent an unloading position.

The banding or glue seals are broken by the supermarket shelf packer. Release of the banding or glue seals enables the flaps 14 to spring at least partly apart due to the inherent resilience of the folded fibreboard, thereby partially re-opening the tube 12. This is illustrated by the arrows A in 7c. The packer then reaches into the trailing, partially open end of the tube and pushes the stacked product as a block through the container tube and directly onto the shelf. As a consequence, the stacked product arrives at the shelf without any other packaging components, trays or the like.

Because of the described construction of the container which forms an open tube for packing and unloading purposes, it will be appreciated that the goods can pass unimpeded into and out of the tube which effectively forms a seamless passage.

Fig. 8 corresponds to Fig. 7 but shows the unloading steps when the second embodiment of Figs. 3, 4 and 6 is used. It will be understood that this operation is effectively the same.

Fig. 9 illustrates a cardboard blank 30 for use in forming the first embodiment of Figs. l and 2. The blank includes four parallel scores or lines of perforations 32 which form the four longitudinal edges of the rectangular tube when erected.

Transverse score lines or perforations 34, 36 define the inner ends of the lip portions and form the eight end edges of the container when closed. Gluing tabs 3 8, 40 are formed along one side of the blank to enable the tube 12 to be formed.

Score lines or perforations enable the triangular panels 22a, 22b, 22c to be formed as described hereinbefore. Cut-outs 42 facilitate the folding of the panels 22a, 22b, 22c in use. Finally, a further cut-out 44 can be provided to form a hand-hold for use by the operative in manhandling the packed container to allow the contents to be slid out easily. Thus, one hand can be used to hold the container, whilst the other hand can be used to slide out the contents.

Figs. 10 and 1 1 show examples of cardboard or fibreboard blanks for forming the embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4. The basic construction is essentially the same as that of Fig. 9 but with differently shaped cutouts 42 to again facilitate folding in use, by for example reducing the amount of material of the lip portion and therefore adjusting the spring action of the flaps.

These cardboard or fibreboard blanks can be formed manually or by use of an automatic gluing and folding machine. Furthermore, such an automatic machine may form the container around the stack of goods to be packaged.

The adhesive used to adhere the gluing tabs for erection of the container is preferably a PVA-based glue or a common glue used in a heat gun, such as Hotmelt - . The container will usually be produced from corrugated cardboard.

Whereas in the illustrated embodiments, the flap construction used in the same at both ends of the container, in other embodiments the flap construction at opposite ends of the container need not be the same.

Whereas the tubular body of the container will normally be of rectangular cross section as in the above-described embodiments, it could also be of other cross- sections, including triangular and polygonal.

Claims (25)

1. A container for packaging multiple goods, the container having two opposite ends which can be selectively opened by means of integral foldable flaps such that the container then forms an open-ended tube of constant transverse section, through one end of which the goods can be pushed to discharge them from the other end.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tube is of rectangular transverse section.

3. A container as claimed in claim 2, wherein there are two of said integral foldable flaps at each end of the tube which, in an open condition of the container, form continuations of side walls of the tube, but which can be folded relative to the tube to cause the ends of the tube to become closed.

4. A container as claimed in claim 3, wherein said flaps are formed by folds in lip portions which extend around the two ends of the tube, respectively.

5. A container as claimed in claim 4, wherein the two integral flaps at each end of the tube are folded out of opposed parallel portions of the lip portion at that end of the tube.

6. A container as claimed in claim 5, wherein closure of an end of the tube is! achieved by folding a pair of said flaps towards each other.

7. A container as claimed in claim S. wherein closure of an end of the tube is achieved by folding a pair of said flaps away from each other.

8. A container as claimed in claim 7, wherein in the closed condition, the flaps lie alongside opposed side walls of the rectangular-sectioned tube.

9. A container as claimed in claim 6, 7 or 8 including a holding means for holding the flaps in the closed condition of the container.

10. A container as claimed in claim 9, when appendant to claim 8, wherein the holding means comprises adhesive between the flaps and the said opposed side walls of the tube.

11. A container as claimed in claim 9, wherein the holding means comprises one or more bands extending around the outside of the container to hold the flaps in the closed condition.

12. A container as claimed in any of claims 9 to 1 1, wherein the container has a substantially seamless interior which allows for the contents of the container to be slid out without obstruction and deposited on a shelf when the holding means has been removed from the flaps.

13. A container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12, constructed from one or a mixture of cardboard, fibreboard and plastics materials.

14. A container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13 wherein the container includes lines of scoring or perforations to assist folding of said flaps.

15. A container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14 wherein the container includes one or more cut-outs to facilitate folding of said flaps.

16. A container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 15, wherein the container includes one or more cut-outs to allow the container to be held by a hand.

17. A container as claimed in claim 16, wherein the cut-outs comprise one or more of the following shapes:- a square, a triangle, a circle and a rectangle.

18. A container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 17, wherein the container is constructed from a single sheet of material which is folded along four longitudinal planes, the body being formed by adhering part of the material to the exterior of one of the sides of a container.

19. A method of packaging goods by means of a container as described in any one of claims I to 18.

20. A method of packaging goods as claimed in claim 19, wherein the container is formed around the goods.

21. A method of packaging goods as claimed in claim 19, where the container is formed independently of the goods.

22. A blank for making a container as described in any of claims 1 to 18.

23. A container substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

24. A method of packaging goods substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

25. A blank for making a container substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

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