HUE034609T2 - Pack for a product having at least one hygroscopic free flowing solid - Google Patents

Description

Th·* invention, -relates to packaging for a product comprising at least one hygroscopic fiowabie solid, where the packaging has a sealable product bag made from a moistore~pe rateable material for the : a c c ommod a t i. ο π of the product:,:: :¾¾¾ transport container surrounding the product bag, and a desiccant which is arranged outside the product bag and Inside the transport container. lb the chemical or pharmaceutical industry,* hygroscopic flowabls solids, such as, for example, pulverulent substances, often have t-0 fee transported and Stored: before they are supplied for a use as intended, Numerous different types of packaging for this purpose are: known from practice. In the case of: many different types of packaging,:: the product or the Chamioai substance is introduced into a sealable product bag for protection against, contamination and subsequently introduced into a transport container, 'In*s transport container can be, for example, a drum or a crate,: I n the case of a product which either consists of a hygroscopic substance or comprises at least one hygroscopic component and is in pulverulent or granular or fiowabie form, the danger regularly exists that, due to moisture during the filling operation or subsequently during transport or storage, the product: clumps due to residual moisture, If an excessive amount of moisture reaches and enters the product over an extended period, the flow-ability of the product may be reduced or disappear completely and the product may cake, forming one or more large lumps.

In order to reduce the risk of clumping or caking of the product during transport and storage,; it is known to design the surrounding transport container to be moisture-tight and to seal It In a moisture-tight manner after filling with the product. However, it is nevertheless not possible to exclude the possibility of moisture entering the interior of the transport:: container during filling and in particular dur i πg successive removal of the product and consequent repeated opening and sealing of the transport container and resulting in clumping or caking of the hygroscopic product.

In order to avoid these disadvantageous effects of moi store present in the transport container, it. is known from practice to arrange a desiccant in the transport container, which absorbs and stores moisture present in the transport container. The desiccant is usual iy arranged in a bag idif dih: a plural it y of bags. These dealocant-fi lied desiccant bags are placed in the transport: container either before or after the product -filied product bag. WO 2003/004380 A2 describes a packaging in which a plurality of pockets filled with at desiccant are arranged in an interspace between the product bag and the transport container. However, it is not possible tii; exclude the possibility, in particular during movement and shaking of the transport container, for example due to transport, pif the desiccant pockets or de sicca nt bags leaving :thei:r initial position and accumulating: somewhere within fine transport container, causing further absorption of moisture to be concentrated in the region around the desiccant bags and making absorption of moisture by the desiccant bags id regions remote therefrom more difficult.

It is known fron practice that the desiccant bags are fixed in the region of a sealable opening of the productifà 1led product bag, for example by means of bands or loops. The effort necessary for this purpose is considerable. Although the desiccant bags can be arranged arid fixed in the region of the opening of the product-filled product bag, they cannot be arranged and fixed at any desired place in the product bag or within the transport container without major effort.

It is likewise known from practice to arrange a mo 1sture~permeabie a c c ommoda t i on device in the t tansport cor; ta ine r, in wh i eh a desiccant báb be arranged. ' Tpisi|ipbi: ' containers which have accommodâtion devices of this type, fbt: example in the form of small pockets dr mesh boxes, for the accommoda.tiοn cf a desiccant bag are described, for example in OS 6,102,198 and are complex and expensive to produce, Ths accommodation devices project into the interior of the transport containers and may under certain circumstances damage the product-*£11 led product bag. The transport container provided with these accommodation, devices must either have been intended for this purpose and produced correspondingly, or alternatively retrofitted with the accommodât ion devices. Besides the costs additionally arising for this purpose, it Is frequently regarded as a severe disadvantage that only corresponding transport containers are suitable for the transport of hygroscopic products and these have to fee kept ready in sufficient amount and separately from transport, containers without accommodation devices of this type.

It is therefore regarded as an object df thd present invention to design packaging for a product comprising at least one hygroscopic flowable solid, component in such a way that moisture dan be absorbed: ip the transport container inexpensively using dine simplest possible means and clumping or caking of the hygroscopic product can fee: reduced or prevented entirely.

This object is achieved in accordance with the invention in that a drying wrapping, made from a moi s tűre ~ i mpe me able material, which can be laid subsequently in a transport container that is already present and which surrounds the product bag containing the product is arranged in the transport container, and in that the desiccant is arranged on an inside of the drying wrapping facing the product bag containing the product. Due fed the use of a drying wrapping, the arrangement of the desiccant inside the transport container or in the vicinity of the product bag containing the product can be pre-speci f led independently of the product bag used for the accommodation of the product: and independently of the transport container. Expensive and complex modifications of the transport container are not necessary. It. is equally unnecessary to attach the desiccant to the product bag or .in the closure region of the pfaÉue:h: .bag after the spibbuefsofoag has p#e|l:i: f i11 ed with the and the product. , b The :i|ise :fof :;;;|il|:|||:h|| wrapping wh||bfo: ·#||ι. sufosequent.1 y be placed in ah...... transport, container which is already present enables the transport containers |y^h|l;|i:| ape S: already pidseilt to foe retrofitted and illiëd Iqf the Irihspprtf: .df hyqr oscopi c pr oducts , Since the drying wrapping pep 1::¾ used with various transport: containers, existing distribution systems with the corresponding transport: containers can fce retained unchanged. The additional cost for ::he acquisition and use oliphe drying wrapping is extremely low. ibe drying trapping: can he designed to be re-usable and can remain ltd §hé prdnppOift: container fiter....... IN product bag ::dpbtaib:|ng the product if removed, so that the drying wrapping continues to be available for re-use of the transport container. It is likewise possible to produce and intend the drying wrapping for a single use and to design it as a disposable product.

The use or a product bag which consists of a moisture—permeable material enhances the action of the desiccant. Should residues of moisture be present in the product bag or in the product located therein or accumulate after opening and re-sealing of the product bag, this moisture is transported through the moisture-permeable product bag: into the interspace between the product bag and the surrounding drying: wrapping, where it can foe absorbed and bound by the desiccant. .

According to an embodiment of the inventive idea, it is provided that the desiccant is arranged in at least one desiccant bag which: is fixed to an inside of the drying wrapping. Desiccant bags of :hh;is: type pc|^epb:i|:|iyi|nlf:||iexpegs|yg|y; available Jp numerous variants and shapes for different desiccants, The desiccant ha# can fce fixed to the drying wrapping simply and reliably, for ex.amp.le by welding, adhesive bonding or sewing, A plurality of desiccant bags are advantageously fixed to the drying wrapping at a separation from one another in order to favour the absorption of moisture by the desiccant located in the desiccant bags and in order to prevent the desiccant from concert trat i ng in a small region within the transport container and the moisture not being absorbed or only being absorbed to a small extent in other regions. «irticuläfiy simple and effective fixing of the desiccant bags to the "drying· wrapping bad be achieved in thdb the. dfe leesif: one desiccant bag is covered and fixed fey a moi s t ur e ~pe rraeabi e covering on the inside of cite drying wrapping. The moisture-permeabls covering may be perforated and made from the same moisture ·· impermeable material the dr y ing wrapping, If: the drying wrapping consists, for example, of a fi|m> the desiccant bags can be arranged in pockets produced by multiple turning-over and subsequent fixing, or adhesive bonding or welding gf the pockets of the dr y ing wr a pping f o rmed Inkthid:.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the inventive idea, it is provided that the drying wrapping is matched to the shape of the transport container. The drying wrapping can be placed in the interior of the transport container and can form an inner lining pf the.....transport container. Due to the mar..chines of the drying wrapping to the shape of the transpose container, the arrangement, of the drying wrapping in the transport container or relative to the transport container can be pre-speeifled and the position df the desiccant bags fixed t.o the drying wrapping in the interior Or d.n. the walls of the transport container can thus be pre~dstermined. Due to the drying wrapping lying against, the transport, container, the filling of the transport container with the product bag which is itself filled with the product does not become more difficult, ft: is likewise conceivable and advantageous for individual: " applications for the drying wrapping to be matched to the shape of the product: bag. The product-filled product bag can then foe introduced into the drying wrapping, with the arrangement, of the desiccant or the individual desiccant bags relative to the filled i prqiitddfc bag foeing! :i:: |j| ghhia way, a highly uniform '|i:isi|:ilibutidn of I ^ ó.ri ithl ipfodüct|>ba:||iih^ t nus ...... immediate vicinity of the product can also toe ensured for. the case where the filled product bag only occupies a part-region of the transport container and its position and shape -within the transport container frequently change during transport.

For many applications' or products, it already sufficient for a few. desi ccant bags to be ar ranged in t he transport con ta;, ne r. In these cases, it may be advantageous for the desi ccant only t.c be arranged in a region of the drying wrapping facing an opening of the transport container. During filling of the transport container, an unused volume usualiy remains in the region cl the opening of the transport container. After sealing of the transport container, air, which generally has a moisture content, is located in this voiurne. The arrangement of the desiccant in this region facilitates effective dehum idi f tea Lion of the air pfeseiit in fb® transport container. In addition, fresh and moist air flows into the transport container each time the transport container 1¾ opened, for example for successive and gradual removal of the pfödudlo fhis air accumulates in the region close to the open!ng, where; lit can be effectively dehumidified.

In particular in the case where high air humidity is expected of in the case of a particularly moisture-endangered product, it m&t be advantageous to arrange the desiccant distributed over the entire inside of the drying wrapping, In this way, for -example-, h relatively large number of desiccant bags can be fixed to th® drying wrapping distributed at regular or alternatively irregulaf separations pverl the insidslldfif thejfdfylng w#gpplnt;i>: Irrespective o f the shape of the product-f il1ed product bag and indopendenfiÿ of the amount 1:¾ product Ifemllhihg : it t:hd transport container after partial removal, it can thus be ensured that a plurality of desiccant bags are arranged at a separation from one another in h the vicinity

In order to support dehumidification of the product located in the product baa, it is provided that the product bag is· a textilé nonwoven evade from thermally welded high density polyethylene (HOPE) fibres. A nonwoven material of this type is already extensively employed in practice. Besides high permsability to moisture and air, the advantageous properties»- of a nonwoven material of this type also include high -ear strength and straightforward use together with, numerous hygroscopic products: from: the chemical industry op pharmaceutical: industry, A particular ly inexpensive and at the same: t i me effective arid mo i s c u V e imp e rme a b 1 a drying wrapping: consists 0¾ a: tinin polyethylene wrapping or film, or comprises a thin polyethylene wrapping of this type as coating or individua 1 layer of the drying wrapping. With a view to simple and inexpensive production, the individual desiccant bags are covered and fixed by a covering oh;: toe inside of the drying: wrapping, where this covering may likewise; consist of a thin polyethylene film, which is moisture·" permeable owing to a perforation.

The invention is explained in greater detail with reference to a plurality of illustrative embodiments, which are depicted in the drawing, in which :

Fig:, 1 shows a sectional view of packaging witn a transport container, with a drying wrapping arranged in the transport container, and with a product"filled product bag,

Fig, 2 shows.....m Í|bMib»aÍ: giëw of another packaging in whibh the drying :wràppl||fïiu|Îd:^MI ΜΙ$ closely agaixvst the product- f i. i J. e d p r od u c c b a g, a nd

Fig. 3 s. Slow s a sectional view of yet another ei«bodim©xit of packaging, in which the drying wrapping lying against the transport container has a plurality of desiccant bags which are iiiiL^üilfiMi Éhé drying wrapping by a perforated covering.

Packaging 1, depicted by way of example in Fig, 1, has a sealable .....:iij|tb|d§t bag. 1:,1 whig!- is :^^^;ί^^;ΐ£3!ί!:!^:|ΐ:ί|ΙΙίΙ;ί8;ϊϊ^;!^:;^1·0:ΐ^ρί>^.«1^ :|ίί;·εο:<1··Λ<3Ί; y 3y The product bag 2. t..ur'-eît^p«airrniya.lnXfy nonwoven material Trade from high déh|l|'|''':::líll:|'éthÍl©tie .....íBDPH;} fibres. The hygroscopic product 3 can he,: for example, a chemical substance which is required for the production bf end products id thé chemical dP iPhafttaceutibail: industry.

Thé' sealable product bag M is arranged i.n. a transport container 4 surrounding the product bag 2. The transport container 4 has a drum-1.1 lie basic body 5, :whldhi bin: b|:.....sealed by means of d .1 id. The transport container $, -ebnéféhd of %, mo r s t n ,r e - i mp e r me a fo 1 e matériái; for example polyethylene. The fid 6 cars be arranged and fixed on the basic body 5 ip a moisture-tight manner by addii:Iona 1 sealing elements 7 i n order to seal the transport container 4 in a moisture-tight -manner. If it appears necessary, the sealed transport container A can additionally be provided with a tamperproof seal, for example in the form of a lead seal 8. A drying wrapping 10 matched to the shape of the transport container 4 i s arranged in an interior 9 of the transport container 4 . The drying wrapping 10 con s r s t s o t y:: thin pc· 1 y -- e thyiene f i im and la; ................designed: tibsibé moisture ·· impermeable . ; A piltfa lityi hifi desiccant bags 13 are adhesively bonded t# the...... inside 11 of the drying wrapping 10 in a region 12 of the drying wrapping 10 facing the lid. 6 of the transport container 4 on an inside il of the drying wrapping 10 facing the product bag 2 with the product 3 located therein. The desiccant bacfs 13 contain a suitable desiccant 14, for example silica gel or zeolites, anhydrous sodium su.l fans o r m a g n e s i u m sbiifiaté·

Moisture present in the free interior 9 of the transport, container 4 is absorbed and bound by the desiccant 14 in the desiccant bags 13/ which ere arranged in this region 1.2 of: the drying wrapping 10. If residues of moisture áré present .in the product. 3, these are transported through the product, bag 2 into the interior. 9 or. the transport container 4, -which is then dry, -where they are likewise absorbed and bound by the desiccant 14.

In the ease of the illustrative embodiment, depicted in Fig. 3, fhd shape of the drying wrapping 10 is matched to the shape- of the product bag 2, so that the drying wrapping 10 surrounds and lies closely against the filled product bag 2. A plurality of desiccant bags IS,, each of which contain a portion of the desiccant 1-1, ere attached to the inside 11 of the drying wrapping 10 at regular separations. The product bag 2 and the product 3 located therein are accordingly evenly dehumidified from all sides. The shape of the surrounding transport container 4 is unimportant i n this variant of thé packaging 1.

In the case o? the i 11 ustrative eislbodiment depicted in Fig , 3,. the shape of the drying wrapping 10 is matched to the shape of the transport contaiho-r 4, so. that the drying wrapping 10 forms a lining of the side walls and base of the transport container. The dryings w.trappista 10 can be placed iin the transport container 4 before the introduce ion of the product bag 2 and does not hinder ehe subsequent introduction of the product bag 2, even in a state already dlf|. tip product. The drying wrapping 10 has desiccant bags 1-,, each cc;nt«inrng a portion of the desiccant 14, distributed over its side surfaces 15. Each individual desiccant bag 13 is covered by a covering 16 comprising a section of a polyethylene film matched thereto, and is fixed to the aide surface 15 of the drying wrapping 10. The individual coverings 16 are each provided with a perforation 1?, so that the coverings are moisture-permeable in spite of the moisture-imperrasable material polyethylene .

The present description will enable the person skilled in the art ::11 :¾ b ipptψ :: ; JppíssSíiippht1¾., 'ppppt ehphSp^ without further comments, it is therefore assumed that a persor; skilled in the art. will be able to utilise the above da script ion in the broadest ...........iS:C:ppp!lli

For better understanding and in order to illustrate the invention, examples which fail within the scope of protection of the present invention: are given in the drawings Big. r, Fig. r and Fig< -·. in addition, the embodiments depi-i-^ y(i&amp;y exisr. in modified variants. Owing to the general validity of the inventive principle described,: the examples shown in the drawings are therefore not suitable for reducing the edcpe or protection of the present Invention to these:: alone.

Claims (7)

8ΖΛ ΒΛ FEATURES 1 A package (1) for a product (3) comprising at least one loosening free-flowing solid, wherein the package (1) comprises a lockable product spout (2) from a moisture-absorbing material for receiving the product (3), the transport container (4) surrounding the product socket (2) and a drying agent (14), which is disposed outside the product bag (2) and inside the transport container (4), characterized in that the transport container (4) is retrofitted an in-line drying container (10), which can be invested in a transport container (4) already present, is provided with a moisture barrier material that surrounds the product socket (2) with the product (3) and that the drying agent (14) is the tea bag (10) of the tea bag. (2) is turned towards the inside of it; Packaging (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the drying agent (14) is arranged in at least one drying agent bag (13), which is fixed on the inner side (11) of the drying casing (10). Packaging (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the at least one desiccant bag (13) is covered by a damping gauge (17) and secured on the side of the b * is $ (11). Packaging according to claim 3, characterized in that the wet cover (I?) Is perforated, Packaging (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dryer (s) is adapted to the shape of the product bag (2) *. Packaging according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the drying casing (10) is adapted to the shape of the product container (4). Packaging (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drying agent (14) is disposed only in one half of the opening (12) of the container (4) of the drying casing (10). Packaging (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drying agent (1.4) is distributed over the inner side (11) of the drying casing (10). Packaging (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the product bag (2) for picking up the article (3) is a textile fiberglass of thermally welded high density polyethylene (BDPE) fibers. Packaging (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drying casing (10) comprises or comprises a thin polyethylene casing.