NZ234652A

NZ234652A - Plastics-paper laminate with writable plastics layer

Info

Publication number: NZ234652A
Application number: NZ23465290A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Alexander Charles Wood; Edward Albert Christiansen
Original assignee: Conform New Zealand Ltd
Priority date: 1990-07-25
Filing date: 1990-07-25
Publication date: 1994-04-27
Also published as: AU8133091A

Description

234652 Patents Form No 5 Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Number: 234652 Date: 25th July 1990 "FURNITURE PACKAGING LAMINATE" We, Conform New Zealand Limited, a New Zealand Company, of 6 Mahunga Drive, Mangere, Auckland, New Zealand, hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- 051561.M3 234052 Referring to Fig 1, the packaging laminate comprises a first surface layer 12 of writable plastics, a second surface layer 14 of paper and an enclosed layer 16 of plastics cushioning material. The first surface layer 12 of writable plastics is preferably talc filled polyethylene but may be another polyolefin or polyolefin 5 copolymer containing talc or another filler to enable the film to be readily and substantially indelibly endorsed on its surface by pen, markers, stickers or stamps. Such a film is disclosed in our New Zealand patent application number 229492.

The second surface layer 14 of paper is preferably a soft tissue like paper when the 10 packaging laminate of the invention is intended to wrap items of furniture requiring maximum protection against scuffing and abrasion. A suitable paper is a bathroom grade toilet tissue in the range having a mass of 10 to 30 grams per square metre (gsm) and particularly in the range of 17 to 24gsm. Where protection of packaged items is required in which maximum protection against abrasion is not a critical 15 factor, thicker, more tear resistant papers ranging up to 80gsm may be advantageously selected for the second surface layer 14. Such thicker papers when included in the laminate 10 provide increased stiffness along with increased combined tear and puncture resistance.

The enclosed layer 16 is a plastics cushioning material which includes a bubble or cushion shape embossed layer 17 laminated to a flat base layer 18. The air cushions 19 are enclosed by layer-to-layer lines of contact 21. All lines of contact are securely bonded thereby entrapping air in the air cushions 19, these being in an array of discrete uniformly sized cushions. Such cushioning material on its own is 25 known as "Bubble Pak" or "Polybubble". One or more flexible foamed polyethylene layers would also be suitable as the cushioning material of invention.

In Fig 1 the paper layer 14 is intimately bonded to the flat base layer 18 of the cushioning material by thermal lamination. The bond achieved in this case is made by 30 heating the polyolefin flat base layer 18 and applying sufficient pressure between the layers to force the softened polyolefin into physical interengagement with the fibrous surface of the paper. In a similar manner the writable plastics surface layer 12 is bonded to the cushioning material by a melt softening and pressure process to cause the layer 12 to bond at the points of contact with the crests 22 of 35 the air cushions in the array. Alternatively, an adhesive may be used by applying the adhesive to either or bolh surfaces to be joined and then bringing the surfaces into contact and allowing the adhesive to dry or cool as the case may be.

Claims

23 4 6 S ■> What we claim is:

1. A flexible multi-layered laminate of plastics and paper comprising a first surface layer of plastics material that can be written on, an enclosed layer of plastics cushioning material and a second surface layer of paper, the said surface layers being bonded to opposite faces of the cushioning material.

2. A laminate as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second surface layer is a soft tissue paper having a mass of 10 to 30 grams per square metre.

3. A laminate as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the plastics cushioning material comprises a pair of plastics films enclosing air filled cushions between the film.

4. A laminate as claimed in claim 3 in which the pair of plastics films consist of a flat backing layer and an embossed layer.

5. A laminate as claimed in claim 4 further including an adhesion promoting layer between the plastics cushioning material and one of the surface layers.

6. A laminate as claimed in claim 5 in which the adhesion promoting layer is disposed between the embossed layer and the paper layer.

7. A laminate as claimed in claim 6 in which the adhesion promoting layer is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene and olefin copolymers.

8. A laminate as claimed in claim 7 in which the adhesion promoting layer is 20 to 40 microns in thickness.

9. A flexible multi-layered laminate of plastics and paper substantially as described with reference to the accompanying illustrations. CONFORM NEW ZEALAND LIMITED Barney Sullivan Quality Systems Engineer Rheem New Zealand Limited for John Ban- Division Manager Conform New Zealand Limited - 5 -