IE54063B1

IE54063B1 - Package with added product

Info

Publication number: IE54063B1
Application number: IE243982A
Authority: IE
Original assignee: Mead Packaging Ltd
Priority date: 1981-10-09
Filing date: 1982-10-08
Publication date: 1989-06-07
Also published as: IE822439L

Description

PACKAGE WITH ADDED PRODUCT This invention relates to packaged articles to be accompanied by a different product, for example a promotional gift or a product which is to be used in conjunction with the packaged articles.

The inclusion of a promotional item with a package is of course well known, but there is often the problem of adequately securing it to the package so that it is not accidentally or deliberately removed before purchase. With closed packages, such as cartons, the item can sometimes be included within the carton,· but there is more of a problem with packages which have a more open structure.

According to the present invention there is provided a package comprising a collated set of articles enclosed and retained in an open-ended sleeve of flexible or foldable sheet material, and a different product mounted on a card and enclosed in the sleeve together with said articles and retained in the sleeve by said articles.

The card preferably lies in a plane parallel to a wall of the sleeve which extends over said articles, the card being shaped so as to receive portions of said articles whereby it is retained in a sleeve of foldable sheet material.

Xn one embodiment the articles are bottles with their necks projecting through openings in tbe top »all of the sleeve, the card having apertures to receive the necks of the bottles. The apertures are preferably at the edges of the card.

In another embodiment the articles are bottles, the top of the sleeve extending over the tops of the bottles, said card having apertures wholly within the card, and portions of the card around the apertures being deflected upwardly by the placing of the card on the necks so as to engage under the caps or enlarged portions at the tops of the bottles.

In order that the invention may be more clearly -2understood, various embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of package, Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a card and associated product used with the package of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of an alternative form of card and associated product.

Referring to the drawings, and firstly to Figs. 1 and 2; the package comprises a set of six bottles 10 collated into two rows of three and enclosed, in known manner, in an open-ended sleeve 12 (shown in dot-dash lines). The sleeve may be made from foldable carton board, and comprises a top panel 14, a bottom panel 16 and two side panels 18. The bottles rest on the bottom panel 16 and their necks project through apertures 20 in the top panel 14. The bottles are held tightly by the sleeve.

A separate card 22 has a generally rectangular outline, but its edges are cut-away at 24 to provide six cut-outs, four at the corners of the card and two mid-way along the longer sides. Secured to the card is a separate item to be included with the pack. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, this takes the form of a manually-operable beer head producing device 26. It can be secured to the card by any suitable means, but preferably this is done by a skin packaging technique in which the product 26 is placed on the card and a heated, softened thermoplastic film is applied over the product and the card so that it drapes around the product and adheres to the surface of the card. This is preferably done while the card is still in a fully rectangular form, and the cut-outs 24 are then made, cutting through both the film and the card layer simultaneously.

The card with its attached product is placed, as shown in Fig. 1, between the bottles prior to enclosing them in the sleeve 12. The necks of the bottles are received in the -3cut-outs 24, and the card is thus locked within the package in a plane parallel to that of the top panel 14.

Fig. 3 shows an alternative form of card 28 to which the promotional product, in this case a bottle-opener 30, is secured in a similar fashion. Instead of cut-outs at the edges, however, apertures 32 are cut from within the area of the card to receive the necks of the bottles. The card is provided with two parallel hinge lines 34 defining a pair of lateral strips which can be folded downwardly, as indicated on one side of the card in Fig. 3, and tonguelike extensions 36 of each strip extend initially into the cut-outs 32 so that they project upwardly above the surface of the card when the strips 33 are folded downwardly. In this position the tongues 36 can engage under the caps 37 of the bottles 10 to locate the card. In this embodiment the packaging sleeve will wholly surround the bottles, i.e. the necks will not project through apertures in the top panel of the sleeve.

As an alternative method of enclosing a product-bearing card within the package, the card may be inserted in a vertical plane transverse to the sleeve between two adjacent pairs of bottles.

The packaging sleeve may instead be made of a flexible film material which may be shrinkable.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A package comprising a collated set of articles enclosed and retained in an open-ended sleeve of flexible 5 or foldable sheet material, and a different product mounted on a card and enclosed in the sleeve together with said articles and retained in the sleeve by said articles.

2. A package according to claim 1 wherein the card lies 10 in a plane parallel to a wall of the sleeve which extends over said articles, the card being shaped so as to receive portions of said articles whereby it is retained in a sleeve of foldable sheet material. 15

3. A package according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the articles are bottles with their necks projecting through openings in the top wall of the sleeve, the card having apertures to receive the necks of the bottles. 20

4. A package according to claim 3 wherein the apertures are at the edges of the card.

5. A package according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the articles are bottles, the top of the sleeve extending over 25 the tops of the bottles, said card having apertures wholly within the card, and portions of the card around the apertures being deflected upwardly by the placing of the card on the necks so as to engage under the caps or enlarged portions at the tops of the bottles.

6. A package substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.