GB2440733A

GB2440733A - Packaging for hanging articles for display

Info

Publication number: GB2440733A
Application number: GB0616046A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nigel Davis
Original assignee: Field Group PLC
Current assignee: Field Group PLC
Priority date: 2006-08-11
Filing date: 2006-08-11
Publication date: 2008-02-13
Also published as: GB0616046D0

Abstract

A hanger arrangement comprises a hanger 4 and an article 2 such as a lipstick to be suspended by the hanger. The hanger 4 comprises a sheet of flexible material such as plastics having a first portion 12 with a hole 13 for engaging a hanger support and a second portion 14 wrapped around and under said article 2 for supporting that article. One surface of the second portion 14 may have an adhesive coating whereby it is bonded to the article, its other surface bearing information etc about the article so that it serves as its label. The first and second portions may be separable along a frangible line of weakness therebetween. One surface of the first portion 12 may have an adhesive coating whereby a second ply can be bonded thereto, that ply being either a separate sheet member or an extension from the second portion folded over into contact with the first portion. The second portion may have a line of weakness 24 allowing separation accompanied by removal of a cap 8 of the article 2.

Description

HANGER

The present invention relates to hangers which are typically used to hang products for display.

It is common to display small articles for sale by hanging them from a support, for example a hanger rod or rail. Typically the article will be enclosed in a package which is itself provided with an integral hanger. An example of such an arrangement is be a blister-pack which is provided with a hanger opening for positioning on the rod or rail. However, such packaging arrangements are inefficient in terms of material usage.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved hanging arrangement and from a first aspect provides a hanger arrangement comprising a hanger and an article to be suspended by the hanger, said hanger comprising a sheet of flexible material having a first portion for engaging a hanger support and a second portion wrapped around and under said article for supporting said article.

In accordance with the invention, therefore, a sheet-like hanger has a portion which is wrapped around and under an article to be supported. This provides a simple but effective form of hanger.

Preferably the hanger is of a sheet plastics material, although it may be made from any sheet material, for example a paper-based material.

Preferably the second portion of the hanger extends a substantial way around the article, most preferably extending substantially completely around the article.

The first portion of the hanger may comprise a second ply of material in order to improve its strength. In a first arrangement, the second ply of material may be formed by a portion of the hanger sheet folded back on itself. In another embodiment, however, the second ply of material may be formed from a completely separate member, for example of a paper, card, or other sheet material.

The second ply of material is preferably adhesively secured on the first portion. Preferably therefore, a surface of the first portion of the hanger is provided with an adhesive coating for receiving the second ply of material.

The second portion of the hanger is preferably adhesively secured to the article. In a preferred embodiment, a surface of the second portion may therefore be provided with an adhesive coating which bonds the hanger to the article as the second portion of the hanger is being wrapped around the article.

In the preferred embodiment one entire surface of the sheet material is provided with an adhesive coating.

Preferably the hanger comprises a frangible line of weakness to allow the article to be separated from at least a portion of the hanger. Preferably the frangible line of weakness is provided between the first and second portions of the hanger.

This is in itself a novel arrangement applicable to other hanger arrangements, so from a further aspect, the invention comprises a hanger comprising a first section for engagement with a hanger support and a second portion for attachment to an article, and a frangible line of weakness formed between the first and second portions.

When separated from the hanger, the article itself will still be wrapped by the second portion of the hanger. This portion of the hanger can form a label containing decoration and/or information such as product information for the article. This is particularly advantageous in that many articles such as cosmetics are provided with a label (e.g. an adhesive label or shrink wrap sleeve) containing decoration and/or product information. The second portion of the hanger may, therefore, serve as that label and obviate the need for other labelling of the article.

This is particularly advantageous, so from a further broad aspect, the invention provides in combination a hanger and an article secured thereto, said hanger having a portion detachable from the article and a portion which remains attached to the article, said portion which remains attached to the article forming a label for the article.

The invention may find application with any shape of article (provided the hanger can be wrapped around the article), but it is particularly applicable to generally tubular or cylindrical articles. The articles need not be circular in cross section but may have any other cross section as desired. Moreover, the article need not be tubular or cylindrical over its entire length but may just have a generally tubular or cylindrical section to receive the hanger. Thus, for example, the invention could be applied to articles such as toothpaste tubes and so on.

Many articles will have a removable closure, and in the preferred embodiment, the second portion of the hanger is arranged so as to extend over at least part of the closure. Preferably the second portion comprises a frangible line of weakness which, when broken, allows the closure to be removed from the article. In one embodiment, for example, the article may have a main body and a removable cap. The second portion of the hanger is then preferably arranged to extend over the junction of the cap and main body. The line of weakness is preferably generally aligned with that junction. The cap can only be removed by breaking that line of weakness. This therefore acts as a tamper evident feature.

The first hanger portion is preferably provided with an opening for receiving a hanger support. such as a hanger rod or rail.

Some preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an arrangement in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 shows a vertical section through the arrangement of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a hanger in accordance with the invention; Figure 4 shows the arrangement of Figure 1 with the first hanger portion removed; and Figure 5 shows a second hanger in accordance with the invention.

With reference to Figure 1, a cylindrical article 2 such as a lipstick, is provided with a hanger 4. The article 2 comprises a main body part 6 and a removable cap 8. The cap 8 and main body 6 meet at a junction 10.

The hanger 4 comprises a first portion 12 which projects above the article 2 and has an opening 13 for engagement with a hanger rod or rail, and a second portion 14 which is wrapped substantially completely around and under the article 2.

The hanger 4 is formed from a sheet 16 of a flexible material, most preferably a plastics material, as shown in Figure 3. One surface of the sheet 16 is provided with an adhesive coating 18. This adheres the hanger 4 to the cylindrical article 2 as the second portion 14 is wrapped around the article 2. The first portion 12 of the hanger 4 includes a second ply of material 20 which is also attached to the sheet 16 by the adhesive coating 1 8.

The first and second portions 12, 14 of the hanger 2 are joined along a frangible line of weakness (e.g. perforations) 22 as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Moreover, the second portion 14 of the hanger 4 is provided with a frangible line of weakness (e.g. perforations) 24 extending transversely to the line of weakness 22, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. As can be seen from Figure 1, the line of weakness 24 is generally aligned with the junction 10 between the cap 8 and main body 6 of the cylindrical article 2.

Thus when a customer purchases the product he or she may detach the first hanger portion 12 from the second hanger portion 14 by tearing along the frangible line of weakness 22. This leaves the article 2 surrounded by the second hanger portion 14, as shown in Figure 4. As discussed above, the frangible line of weakness 24 is aligned with the junction 10 between the main body 6 and cap 8 of the article 2, so that should the user then wish to open the article 2 he or she may do so by, for example, pulling or twisting the cap and in so doing break the line of weakness 24 to allow the cap 8 to be removed. When the user replaces the cap 8 it will be apparent that the line of weakness 24 has been broken. This therefore acts a tamper evidence feature.

Moreover, the hanger 4 may be printed with decorative matter and/or product information. In particular, the second portion 14 of the hanger 4 may be provided with material which will remain attached to the cylindrical article 2 after the first portion 12 is detached. Thus, for example, product information and decoration which would previously had been applied to the article 2 on a separate label or shrink sleeve can be provided by the second portion 14 of the hanger 4 instead.

It will be understood that the above is merely a description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and that various modifications may be made to that embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the second ply of material 20 described above may be omitted if desired. Alternatively, instead of having a separate ply 20 it could be formed by an extension of the hanger sheet 16. Such an arrangement is shown in Figure 5.

In this embodiment, the hanger sheet 16 is provided with a third portion 26 which is attached to the second portion 14 along a further frangible line of weakness 28. When the second portion 14 of the hanger 4 is wrapped around the article 2, the third hanger portion 26 adheres face to face with the first hanger portion 12 so as to form a 2-ply structure. The lines of weakness 22, 28 will also align allowing the article 2 to be separated from the first portion 12.

It will also be appreciated that the article 2 need not be cylindrical as shown.

It may be any shape which allows the second portion 14 of the hanger 4 to be wrapped around and under it, The cross section of the article need not be circular as shown but could be any polygonal shape, for example square.

Also, the second portion 14 of the hanger 4 need not extend over the entire length of the article 2 although in certain embodiments this is preferred.

Moreover, while the hanger has been illustrated as being made from a generally rectangular blank of material, it may of course be made from a shaped blank. For example the first portion of the hanger may be wider or narrower than the second portion to suit the particular hanger required. Moreover, the edges of the hanger need not be parallel, but may be shaped to give a desired visual effect.

Claims

Claims 1. A hanger arrangement comprising a hanger and an article to be

suspended by the hanger, said hanger comprising a sheet of flexible material having a first portion for engaging a hanger support and a second portion wrapped around and under said article for supporting said article.

2. A hanger arrangement as claimed in claim I wherein the hanger comprises a sheet plastics material.

3. A hanger arrangement as claimed in claim I or 2 wherein the second portion of the hanger extends a substantial portion around the article.

4. A hanger arrangement as claimed in claim 3 wherein the second portion of the hanger extends substantially completely around the article.

5. A hanger arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the first portion of the hanger comprises a second ply of material.

6. A hanger arrangement as claimed in claim 5 wherein the second ply of material is formed by a portion of the hanger folded back on itself.

7. A hanger arrangement as claimed in claim 5 wherein the second ply of material is formed from a separate member.

8. A hanger arrangement as claimed in claim 5, 6 or 7 wherein the second ply of material is adhesively secured on the first portion.

9. A hanger arrangement as claimed in claim 8 wherein a surface of the first portion of the hanger is provided with an adhesive coating for receiving the second ply of material.

10. A hanger arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the second portion of the hanger is adhesively secured to the article.

11. A hanger arrangement as claimed in claim 10 wherein a surface of the second portion is provided with an adhesive coating which bonds the hanger to the article as the second portion of the hanger is being wrapped around the article.

12. A hanger arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein an entire surface of the sheet material is provided with an adhesive coating.

13. A hanger arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the hanger comprises a frangible line of weakness to allow the article to be separated from at least a portion of the hanger.

14. A hanger arrangement as claimed in claim 13 wherein the frangible line of weakness is provided between the first and second portions of the hanger.

1 5. A hanger arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the second portion of the hanger forms a label for the article.

16. A hanger arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the article is generally tubular or cylindrical.

17. A hanger arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the article has removable closure and the second portion of the hanger is arranged so as to extend over at least part of the closure.

18. A hanger arrangement as claimed in any claim 17 wherein the second portion of the hanger comprises a frangible line of weakness which, when broken, allows the closure to be removed from the article.

19. A hanger arrangement as claimed in any claim 18 wherein the line of weakness is generally aligned with the junction of the removable cap and article body.

20. A hanger arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the first hanger portion is provided with an opening for receiving a hanger support.

21. A hanger comprising a first section for engagement with a hanger support, a second portion for attachment to an article, and a frangible line of weakness formed between the first and second portions.

22. A hanger as claimed in claim 21 wherein a surface of the hanger is provided with an adhesive coating.

23. A hanger as claimed in claim 21 or 22 wherein the second portion of the hanger forms a label for an article.

24. A hanger as claimed in any of claims 21 to 23 wherein the second portion of the hanger comprises a frangible line of weakness. extending transversely to the line of weakness between the first and second portions.

25. In combination, a hanger and an article secured thereto, said hanger having a portion detachable from the article and a portion which remains attached to the article, said portion which remains attached to the article forming a label for the article.