US3217462A

US3217462A - Method of and apparatus for making packages

Info

Publication number: US3217462A
Application number: US213803A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Ridley Watts
Original assignee: American Packaging Corp
Current assignee: Nordson Corp
Priority date: 1962-07-31
Filing date: 1962-07-31
Publication date: 1965-11-16
Anticipated expiration: 1982-11-16

Description

Nov. 16, 1965 R. WATTS, JR

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING PACKAGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 31, 1962 'IOOII" FIG. 5

INVENTOR. RIDLEY WATTS JR.

ATTORNEY Nov. 16, 1965 R. WATTS, JR 3,217,462

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING PACKAGES Filed July 31, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. RIDLEY WATTS JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,217,462 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKENG PACKAGES Ridley Watts, .lr., Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The American Packaging Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of ()hio Filed July 31, 1962, Ser. No. 213,803 21 Claims. (Cl. 5330) This invention relates to packaging and more particularly to the manufacture of the class of package in which an article is encased within a plastic covering and the plastic is supported by a decorative and supporting card.

In United States application for patent Serial Number 97,907 filed March 23, 1961, now Patent NO. 3,053,023 issued September 11, 1962, there is a disclosure of a novel and improved process for manufacturing packages. In addition, there is a disclosure there of a novel and improved package, which package now forms the subject matter of a divisional patent application Serial Number 213,804 filed July 31, 1962. This application is a continuation-in-part of the earlier case.

In present day merchandising, many articles are packaged in separate units. Retail p oducts are often package-d in separate units in order to show the product attractively against a display background, which can contain art-Work, illustrations of use, trademark, and price. Packages for separate units facilitate self service sales, serve as protection in shipment and deter pilferage.

In packages which accomplish this type of display, each unit of articles to be sold is mounted on an individual display card. This unit is covered with a transparent plastic material which fixes it to the display card. A number of types of package have been developed which fall in this general class of display package. Presently, the two most popular types are known as skin packaging and bubble packaging (sometimes referred to as blister packaging). Shrink packages are another type falling within this general class.

In bubble packaging a cup, contoured to the shape of the product, is molded from relatively heavy plastic film. This cup, known as a bubble or blister, provides a cavity of sufficient size to receive the product to be displayed. The bubble is formed with a peripheral flange so that it can be attached to a display card, either by heat sealing to the face of an adhesive treated card or by being held within a folding card containing an aperture which permits the bubble to protrude from the face of the card while gripping it by its flange.

Bubble packaging is costly for several reasons. One of these is that a rather high-grade and heavy gauge transparent plastic material is required because the bubble must be relatively rigid. Another reason is that bubbles are bulky and, thus, expensive to ship and store because of the excessive space required. In addition, the process of packaging a product in a bubble package is relatively slow and time-consuming.

Bubble packaging is further limited because the bubble must be large enough to accommodate the largest product within a tolerance range. Thus, for example, one cannot package light bulbs because the smallest bulbs falling within the permissible tolerance range will not be supported in a manner which will protect the product against excessive breakage.

The more recently developed skin packaging is more economical than bubble packaging for many product but it, too, has certain inherent drawbacks. With the most common form of skin packaging, an adhesive is applied to the front of a card. The adhesive, after it has dried, is perforated. The article film is then vacuum drawn down over the article and onto the card to simultaneously e ce form a protective covering over the article and bond the plastic sheet to the face of the display card.

Since, in skin packaging, the heat softened film is drawn down over the article itself, an article which has sharp corners, projections, or undercuts will cause the film to puncture. For this reason it is only possible to skin package relatively smoothly contoured products. Another disadvantage of skin packaging is that a rather substantial amount of processing equiment is required. A manufacturer wishing to skin package its product must either make an inordinate investment in packaging equipment or it must ship its products to a custom packager.

Skin packaging is also a difiicult operation. Slight variations in temperature, humidity, porosity of board, oven heat, and film can cause package failures. Many manufacturers have abandoned skin packaging or refused to use it because of the difliculty of making dependable packages.

Shrink packaging is accomplished by stretching a shrinkable plastic film, while heat softened into an oversized mold to form a product pouch. This pouch cannot be pre-forrned because of the inherent tendency of the plastic used to return to its original flattened condition. Accordingly, the article is positioned in the Pouch immediately after the pouch is formed and the card is folded and sealed. The film is then heated to shrink it into tight abutment with the product. Cost, the complexity of manufacturing and complex equipment required, loading, and assembly are all drawbacks which limit the use of shrink packages.

In addition, shrink packages are highly susceptible to Warpage and puncturing because the film will continue to shrink whenever it becomes warm. Shipping in hot weather, display under a light and other everyday situations can cause this warpage and puncture.

The roducts which can be packaged with skin and shrink packages are limited because the product is contacted, in each case, by the film when it is hot and soft. Both are not suitable for soft deformable products because in both the plastic is drawn and stretched over the product with sufficient force to distort the product. The product must, then, be a composition which will both not be bonded to the film and not distort under these conditions. For example, attempts have been made to manufacture skin passages with polyethylene film. The use of polyethylene films has been limited because of its highly adhesive characteristics. Many products cannot be skin packaged with polyethylene because the polyethylene would become bonded to the product itself. There are other reasons why these attempts to use the polyethylene have never been fully satisfactory. One is that polyethylene tends to cause the display board to curl. Another is that polyethylene film is relatively highly susceptible to tearing when heat softened and drawn over a product.

According to the teaching of the parent application a plastic film is adhered to the back of a pre-cut and printed card. With the preferred process taught in that application the film is drawn through an aperture in the card and against a mold to form an article receiving pocket in the film. This pocket is contoured in the shape of the product to be packaged. Subsequently, a product is inserted in the pocket, the card is folded on itself and the plastic i bonded to itself to seal the card closed with the article contained in it.

The package of the parent application is designed for manufacture by a package manufacturer and shipment to the product manufacturer Who inserts the product and seals the package. According to this system the investment in tooling and equipment of the product manufacturer is maintained at a minimum and, at the same time, an improved and superior package is obtained. To effect economies in shipment of the packages and to perrnit minimum storage, the formed pocket is flattened prior to shipment. The article, when inserted in the pocket, is used to redistend the pocket to its contoured shape, and preferably to slightly tension the pocket.

With this invention the card is first printed and cut to size. When the card is cut, one or more product receiving apertures are formed. Next, when required, an adhesive is applied to a face of the card and allowed to dry. The adhesive is preferably one which dries so that it is not adhesive to the touch when cooled, but is thermoplastic and may be heated to assume an adhesive condition.

Subsequently, the cards are fed, side to side in abutting relationship, along a conveyor. A heat source is provided to heat soften a portion or portions of the adhesive when adhesive is used. The heat portions circumscribe the product receiving apertures. Each heated portion of the adhesive has a size appropriate for the width of the plastic to be applied. A strip of plastic from a roll is then continuously applied to each heat softened portion of adhesive on the abutted cards. This plastic application may be a laminating process in which case rolls are used to firmly adhere the plastic to the card. When the card is made without adhesive the film is bonded to the card with heat and pressure.

After the plastic has been bonded to the card the pockets are formed. In the pocket formation, again, a heat source is used so that only the plastic in the area of the pocket is heated. This heated plastic is then forced against a mold contoured to the shape of the article to be packaged. Once the pocket has cooled the cards are stripped from the mold and packed for shipment.

According to one method of practicing the invention the cards and plastic with the pockets formed may be rolled and shipped as a roll. According to another method of practicing the invention the cards may be severed into separate packages, stacked and shipped in that manner. In either event a novel and improved technique for separating the cards from one another after the plastic strip has been applied is utilized.

With this technique a thin heat source is used. Heat is applied to the plastic film along the juncture line of two adjacent cards. When the heat has softened the plastic along this thin line, the two cards are pulled apart. This very cleanly and neatly severs the plastic leaving the adjoining cards separated with neat evenly trimmed plastic along their edges. Thus, the plastic tends to contract somewhat along the severed edge thereby resulting in a neat separation free from loose ends or stringers.

When the cards are separated prior to shipment an other novel technique is often employed. The cards are folded along a score provided for this purpose and bonded in a limited area adjacent the score. This bonding in a limited area provides a partial sealing of the two halves of the card together immediately adjacent the fold. This maintains the card in a folded position while permitting it to be spread for insertion of the product during packaging. Thereafter, the inherent resiliency of the card will close the package sufliciently to maintain the product in the package until a complete card seal is effected.

A card seal is usually effected by heating the inner face of the mating card faces and applying pressure to effect a heat seal. As this heat seal is effected, the plastic is bonded to itself and the adhesive in areas not covered by the plastic is bonded to itself so that a firm seal is obtained even if, for example, the plastic covers only a strip down the center of the card.

The described laminating process with an adhesive not only maintains all of the features of the parent case, but in addition provides several outstanding features. The plastic sheet is never heated other than in the pocket area, except in the final heat sealing operation. Thus, the plastic is applied to a Warm adhesive, but the plastic itself is cool at the time of bonding the plastic to the card. With this technique no lineal stresses are set up. That is, there is no tendency to stretch or shrink the plastic and, therefore, the usual problem of the plastic demonstrating a memory and tending to shrink back to another size is avoided. By avoiding this memory, so-called card curl is' completely eliminated, not only in the finished package but also in the cards as they are processed. The cards then, with the plastic adhered to them remain flat. Among other factors this contributes to proper seating of the cards on the molds and therefore better dimensional control of the pockets.

Another feature of the invention is that plastic is obviously saved by providing a relatively thin strip or strips. Even though limited amounts of plastic are used a full edge-to-edge seal of the card halves is still obtained.

Further, clean and neat severing of the plastic so that there is absolutely no waste is obtained without cutting. There is no danger of cutting a card to which the plastic has been applied. This permits the cards to be printed and pre-cut in the appropriate finished size. There is no problem of locating the card with plastic attached on a rule die, or the like, for cutting plastic and cards together. Thus, card waste is held to a minimum and plastic waste is substantially eliminated. At the same time a highly efiicient system is provided which lends itself well to an automated high speed production.

An additional feature of this system is that it lends itself well to either relatively small production runs or long continuous production runs with equal facility. This system is highly efficient, then, for both relatively small lots or for fully automated production.

The invention also permits low cost cards to be sent to a customer in a finished condition ready for packaging, which cards do not require substantial space for storage, require nothing more than some simple heating and sealing means for effecting a seal after a product has been inserted and which are not susceptible to damage from heat, cold or rough handling during shipment or storage. In addition, the finished product is one which lends strength and rigidity to the product being packaged, protecting it well from pilferage and/ or breakage. Further, the finished product provides an attractive display to assist in point of purchase displays and impulse buying.

In the past a principal problem with plastic carded packages has been in the provision of a package which permits the purchaser to remove the product easily. It has now been discovered that with the present process this problem can be overcome by controlling the thickness of the film in the pocket and the shape of the card around the product aperture. It is also possible to provide the reverse and strengthen the pocket to make the product more difiicult to remove when, for example, the product is heavy. The thickness of the film can be controlled by the control of heat and pressure as the pocket is formed. The inner surface of the card around the perimeter of the aperture is selectively either rounded or caused to be a shear edge depending on whether one wishes to facilitate or inhibit the removal of the product.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved process and apparatus for making packages and packaging articles.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the process wherein strips of plastic are applied to a plurality of cards;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the device as seen in the plane indicated by the line 22 of FIGURE 1 showing the application of the plastic film to the cards;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic sectional View of the mechanism for separating one card from another after the plastic has been applied to the cards;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the apparatus for forming the product receiving pockets;

FIGURE 5 is a view corresponding to FIGURE 4 of the apparatus with the card itself serving as a template;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a package with the product being inserted;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a finished package;

FIGURE 8 is an end elevational view of a package partially sealed and ready for receiving a product;

FIGURE 9 is an exploded view of a product being inserted in a partially sealed package; and,

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a pocket and adjacent portion of a card.

Referring now to the drawings a plurality of cards are shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, and individual cards in the other figures. These cards are generally designated as 10. Each of these cards is a supporting and display card for a unit to be packaged. Each card 19 has an outer message bearing and decorated face 11 and an opposite inner face or back 12. In the disclosed arrangement the back of the card is scored at 13 midway between its ends to facilitate the subsequent folding of the card 10. A pair of

product receiving apertures

14, 15 are formed in the two halves of the card defined by the center score 13. These

product apertures

14, 15 are, in the arrangement shown, of comparable size and oriented such that when the card is folded along the score 13 the apertures will be mated and aligned for peripheral snug receipt of a product.

In formation of a package the first step, of course, will be printing the cards. Next an adhesive is applied to the inner face 12 of each of the cards 10. Preferably, this adhesive is one which dries to a hard surface so that it can be handled without adhering to anything. It is preferably a solvent base thermosensitive lacquer. The adhesive should heat soften at a temperature which will not heat the plastic film to a softening point or excessively heat the card. In addition, the adhesive should not be heat softenable in storage or shipment, nor when the finished card is on display. Finally the cards are cut. These steps are effected in any of the well known and commercially accepted methods.

After the adhesive has been applied to the cards, the cards are positioned on a suitable support and fed therealong from left to right as seen in FIGURE 1. The cards pass under a heater 18 which is positioned above the support. A template 19 equipped with apertures 20 is positioned between the heater and the cards to mask the heat and confine its application to two strips, in the application shown. With this construction heat softening of the adhesive is confined to strips each of a width corresponding to the width of strips of plastic film 23 which are to be applied. The width of the strips of plastic film 23 and therefore of the heating apertures 20 will be sufficient to provide strong peripheral support for the plastic around each of the

product apertures

14, 15.

After a strip of adhesive has been heat softened, the cards are fed through a pair of laminating rolls 24, 25. The strips of plastic 23 supplied by rolls 26 mounted on a mandrel 126 are also fed between the laminating rolls so that the plastic is firmly bonded to the cards. Where the film used is highly susceptible to distortion by heat at relatively low temperatures the film may be cooled prior to the laminating to permit bonding without causing internal stresses or the like in the film. With this process it is possible for the first time to laminate polyethylene and similar film to card stock. The key to this process is maintaining the film sufficiently cool prior to the laminating that the heat absorbed during the laminating would not set up stress which causes card curl or damage to the film.

The next step in the proces will depend upon which of two preferred techniques are followed. One technique is to form product receiving pockets, coil the cards while still adhered together by the plastic strips 23 and ship them to the product manufacturer. At the manufacturers plants the cards will be separated and products inserted. The preferred sequence, however, is that disclosed in the drawings and here again the sequence may vary. One may either separate the cards and then form the pockets, or form the pockets and then separate the cards. The former alternative will be described, it being recognized that the order of these steps may be reversed.

When the cards are to be separated first they are fed to a separating station shown schematically in FIGURE 3. Here a suitable support 30 is provided. The support 30 holds the cards 10 which are connected together by the film 23. The cards are indexed under a heater 31 and a template 33. The template 33 has a slit 34 positioned such that a juncture 32 of two adjoining cards is immediately below the slit 34. Once the plastic at this juncture line has been heated the cards are simply pulled apart causing the plastic to separate. The phantom showing of one of the cards in FIGURE 3 demonstrates the right hand card being pulled away from the remaining card. With this technique a very clean and neat separation of the plastic film is effected, where it is wanted, along the edge of the card. Because of the carefully confined heated line, and because of an inherent tendency of plastic to contract when heated, there are no ragged edges or stringers, but rather a sharp and neat severing is obtained. This is true even though there may be a space between the cards. How large this space may be will depend on the plastic, its gauge and the like. Successful clean separations have been made with as much as A3" or more between adjacent cards.

Next the separated card with the adhered film is positioned on a mold platen 50, FIGURE 4. The platen has a plurality of pocket forming mold cavities 51 formed in it. The card is positioned with the

product apertures

14, 15 oriented over these mold cavities 51. A heater 52 is positioned above the plastic. In FIGURE 4 another apertured template 53 is provided with apertures of a size designed to transmit heat only to that portion of the plastic which one wishes to heat. Thus, the heater will heat only that plastic which is stretched across the aperture 14, as viewed in FIGURE 4. The surrounding plastic is masked off by the template to protect the surrounding plastic from heat. In FIGURE 5 the template 53 is omitted and the card is inverted to serve as its own template.

Once the plastic in the area of the

apertures

14 and 15 is heat softened, a vacuum is created in manifold 56 to create a pressure differential to force the plastic down into the cavities 51. Alternately pressure or a combination of pressure and vacuum are used. The plastic is cooled sufiiciently to set the pockets in their formed shape with each contoured to at least a portion of the product to be packaged. Each pocket is set in this manner so that the pocket is free of internal stresses and will retain this shape even if it subsequently becomes warm. In the FIGURE 5 arrangement the pocket-s are formed inside out and subsequently pushed through the apertures.

The facility with which a product is removed from the package is controlled during die cutting of the card and during the pocket forming steps of the process. If one wishes to make a package with a pop-out feature, the card stock is positioned face up on the bed of a die cutter. The product apertures are out then from front to back to form a shear edge at 60 which surrounds the aperture and is on the back 12 of the card, FIGURE 10. Through control of the thickness of the plastic in a ring shaped area 61 adjacent to this shear edge, the strength of the pocket is controlled. If one wishes a strong pocket the die cutting is reversed to provide a rounded corner rather than a shear edge.

The thickness of the film in the area 61 of FIGURE 10 is controlled by controlling the heat and pressure. If one wishes a pop-out package the aperture in the pocket template 53 is enlarged to expose the area 61 to heat. If one wishes a stronger package the aperture is made smaller to mask this area 61.

When a thin area 61 is formed adjacent the shear edge 60 a so-called pop-out package is obtained. Pressure applied to the film in one pocket will cause the other pocket to rupture in the area 61 thereby removing the product from the package.

When it is desired to provide a thin film the pocket technique disclosed in FIGURE 4 produces the best results. If the desire is to strengthen the pocket then the inside out technique disclosed in FIGURE 5 produces the best results.

The unit to be packaged may be either a single article or a group of articles which are sold together as a unit such as, for example, a pencil and a supply of lead. In the drawings the pictured illustrative product is a roll of tape 35 shown in FIGURES 6, 7 and 9. Since the roll of tape is of cylindrical configuration, the

apertures

14, 15 are each circular and sized to snugly encase the roll of tape. In addition, the pockets formed, designated by the

numerals

33, 34 are each contoured to a shape of about one-half of the roll of tape so that when the package is finished, as shown in FIGURE 7, the tape is snugly encased within the pockets extending them outwardly and preferably slightly tensioning them, and the tape is also snugly encased within the

apertures

14, 15.

After the pockets have been formed, the card is preferably folded along the score 13 to bring the two portions of the inner face 12 into abutment with one another. A partial heat seal is then effected in the area designated by the numeral 65 in FIGURES 8 and 9. This partial heat seal will be confined to an area between the fold and the

pockets

33, 34. The partial heat seal maintains the card in a folded position as shown in FIGURE 9 while permitting the halves of the card to be spread in the manner depicted in FIGURE 9. When the manufacturer is prepared to insert the product 35 into the package, the halves of the card are spread as shown in FIGURE 9 and the product is inserted. The halves of the package are then released to allow the inherent resiliency of the card to close retaining the product Within the pockets.

This technique has a number of very definite advantages. Witth the product so inserted in the package it is shielded and protected during handling thereby minimizing the usual dangers of breakage or the like from a product falling out of a partly formed package. It permits the product and partially formed package to be transferred and handled toegther rather than the usually essential technique of folding and completing the sealing immediately after the product has been loaded. Perhaps more important is that it greatly facilitates the final heat seal by the manufacturer. There is no problem of folding the card over and restraining it in a folded condition until a seal has been effected. Rather, the card remains in a position where it is readily sealed. Further, a more effective seal is assured since there is no tendency for the card to attempt to separate widely against the action of the seal or overly stressing a newly formed seal before it has completely cooled and hardened.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. The process of making packages comprising;

(a) cutting card stock to provide a plurality of apertured cards;

(b) applying an adhesive to the back of said cards;

(c) allowing the adhesive to dry;

((1) positioning the cards with their edges in abutment with one another;

(e) moving the positioned cards past a heat station and heating a strip of said adhesive on each such card with such strip surrounding the aperture in each such card;

(f) applying a strip of plastic to the heat softened strip of adhesive while the adhesive is still hot to bond the plastic strip to each such card;

(g) positioning each such card on a mold;

(h) separating the cards from one another;

(i) forming a product receiving pocket in the area of each such card aperture by heating the plastic in such area and thereafter applying a pressure differential to it to distend it against the mold and form a pocket;

(j) cooling each pocket and setting it in its molded condition while its card is still positioned on the mold;

(k) stripping each card from the mold;

(l) at least partially flattening such pocket;

(m) thereafter inserting a unit in each pocket to redistend the pocket to its molded shape with the unit snugly encased therein; and,

(n) thereafter sealing each card to maintain the unit in the pocket.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the heat source used to heat the film in the area of the pocket is a masked heat source whereby to confine the application of heat to the plastic film to the area formed into the pocket.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein each card is folded and partially sealed prior to step insertion of a unit in each pocket.

4. The process of making packages comprising;

(a) die cutting card stock to provide a plurality of apertured cards;

(b) applying an adhesive to the back of said cards;

(0) allowing the adhesive to dry;

(d) positioning the cards with edges in abutment with one another and moving the positioned cards past a heag station while heating said adhesive on each such car (e) applying plastic film to the heat softened adhesive while the adhesive is still hot to bond the plastic film to each such card;

(f) heating the plastic film near the adjacent edges of the cards with a masked heat source;

(g) separating the cards from one another by pulling them apart while the plastic film is still hot;

(it) positioning one such card on a mold;

(1) forming a product receiving pocket in said one card by heating the plastic in such area with another masked heat source and thereafter applying a pressure differential to it to force the heated plastic in such area against the mold;

(j) cooling the pocket and setting it in its molded condition while the one card is still positioned on the mold;

(k) stripping the card from the mold and at least partially flattening the pocket; and,

(l) thereafter inserting a product in the pocket to redistend the pocket to its molded shape with the product snugly encased therein and sealing the card to maintain the product in the pocket.

5. The process of claim 4 wherein the film adjacent the perimeter of the aperture of said one card is formed to a different thickness than the remainder of the pocket.

6. The process of claim 4 wherein said one'card is folded and partially sealed prior to step insertion of a product in the pocket.

7. The process of making a package comprising:

(a) cutting a pair of apertures in a supporting card with the card at the perimeter of each aperture on the face being rounded and on the back being formed into a shear edge;

(b) adhering plastic film to one surface of the card to cover each aperture;

(c) forming a pocket in the film in the area of each of said apertures while controlling the thickness of the plastic in a portion of the area adjacent the perimeter of the aperture such that the thickness of the film in such adjacent area is thinner than the thickness in the remainder of the pocket;

(d) folding the card;

(e) inserting a unit in the pockets;

(f) sealing the card to itself to maintain it in a fully folded condition with the unit in the pockets; and,

(g) removing the unit from the pocket by pressing on one pocket to cause the unit to press against the other pocket and thereby separate the film in the other pocket in the portion of the area of thinner film.

8. The process of manufacturing a package with a display card having an aperture therein and a plastic film bonded to the back of the card and covering the aperture comprising;

(a) distending an area of the film through the aperture to provide a product receiving pocket;

(b) folding the card to bring portions of the back into abutment with one another with a part of one of the portions across the aperture; and,

(c) effecting a partial seal between the two card portions in an area between the aperture and the score.

9. The process of manufacturing a package with a display card having an aperture therein and a plastic film bonded to the back of the card and covering the aperture comprising;

(b) folding the card to bring portions of the back into abutment with one another;

(c) effecting a partial seal between the two card portions in an area between the aperture and the score;

(d) spreading the unsealed parts of the card portions;

(e) inserting a unit through the aperture and into the pocket while the parts are spread;

(f) releasing the parts to allow them to return to their original condition; and,

(g) thereafter effecting a seal between the two card portions and circumscribing the aperture whereby to complete the package and maintain the unit in the pocket.

10. The process of manufacturing a package with a display card having a pair of apertures therein and plastic film bonded to the back of the card and covering the apertures comprising;

(a) distending areas of the film through each aperture to provide product receiving pockets;

(b) folding the card along a score to bring portions of the back into abutment with one another and the apertures into alignment with one another;

(c) elfecting a partial seal between parts of the two card portions in an area between the apertures and the score;

(d) spreading the unsealed parts of card portions and inserting a unit through the aperture and into the pocket while the parts are spread;

(e) releasing the spread parts to allow them to return to their original condition with the unit in the pockets; and,

(f) thereafter effecting a seal between the two card portions and circumscribing the apertures whereby to complete the package and maintain the unit in the pocket.

11. The process of manufacturing a package with a display card having two sections, one section having an aperture therein and a plastic film bonded to the back of 10 the one card section and covering the aperture, said process comprising:

(b) bringing portions of the backs of the two card sections into abutment with one another with a part of the other of the sections across the aperture;

(0) effecting a partial seal between the two card sections in an area between the aperture and the edges of the sections;

(d) subsequently placing a product in the pocket; and,

(e) thereafter effecting a seal between the sections surrounding the pocket and retaining the product therein.

12. The process of making a package comprising:

(a) cutting an aperture in a supporting card with the card at the perimeter of the aperture on one surface being rounded and on the other surface being formed with a peripheral projection;

(b) adhering a film of plastic to one surface of the card to cover the aperture;

(c) forming a pocket in the film in the area of said aperture while controlling the thickness of the plastic in a selected portion of the pocket in an area adjacent the perimeter 'of the aperture; and

(d) said portion being thin and weakened and thinner than the film on the back of the card.

13. The process of claim 12 wherein the weakened portion of the area is formed in abutment with the peripheral projection and the latter is a shear edge.

14. The process of making a package comprising:

(0) forming a pocket in the film in the area of said aperture while controlling the thickness of the plastic in a selected portion of the pocket in an area adjacent the perimeter of the aperture; and

(d) said portion being thicker than the remainder of the pocket and formed in abutment with the rounded perimeter.

15. The process of laminating a plastic film to a paper card comprising;

(a) applying a heat softenable bonding material to one surface of the card;

(b)heat softening the bonding material to a temperature above the minimum :bonding temperature but below a temperature which will cause stresses in the film;

(c) laminating a plastic film to the heat softened material with the plastic immediately prior to the bonding material being at a temperature sufficiently cool to permit the formation of the bond without internal, film shrinking, stresses being formed in the film; and,

((1) allowing the bonding agent to cool by absorbing heat energy in the card to adhere the film to the card.

16. The process of claim 15 wherein the mate-rial is a solvent base material and the material is dried on the card prior to the heat softening.

17. The process of claim 15 wherein the film is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature prior to the laminating step and is at such cooled temperature at the commencement of the laminating step.

18. The process of claim 15 wherein the plastic film is polyethylene.

19. The process of claim 15 wherein portions of the card in areas other than the area wherein the material is softened are masked to maintain the card in a relatively cool condition.

20. The process of claim 15 wherein the card is maintained at a temperature below that of the bonding material during the heating step whereby to absorb heat and cool the bonding material.

11 21.. The process of claim 15 wherein the laminating 2,989, 7 step is performed with unheated rolls. 2,990,875 3,053,023 References Cited by the Examiner 3,060,075 UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 3 832 1,938,910 12/1933 Keller 93-61 X 2,075,178 3/1937 Copernan 53-27 X 2,497,212 2/1950 Donofrio 53-30 X 2,728,703 12/1955 Kiernan'et a1. 10 2,893,295 7/1959 Magill 93-36 2,953,814 9/1960 Mumford 264-92 X 2,984,161 5/1961 Cook et a1. 93-36 X Groth 53-22 Samuels et al 156-498 X Watts 53-30 Kincaid 156-510 Crane 53-30 Swezey 53-30 X OTHER REFERENCES High Speed Stretch Film Card Packs, Modern Packaging, March 1961 issue, pp. 110-112.

FRANK E. BAILEY, Primary Examiner.

TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Examiner.

Claims

1. THE PROCESS OF MAKING PACKAGES COMPRISING; (A) CUTTING CARD STOCK TO PROVIDE A PLURALITY OF APERTURED CARDS; (B) APPLYING AN ADHESIVE TO THE BACK OF SAID CARDS; (C) ALLOWING THE ADHESIVE TO DRY; (D) POSITIONING THE CARDS WITH THEIR EDGES IN ABUTMENT WITH ONE ANOTHER; (E) MOVING THE POSITIONED CARDS PAST A HEAT STATION AND HEATING A STRIP OF SAID ADHESIVE ON EACH SUCH CARD WITH SUCH STRIP SURROUNDING THE APERTURE IN EACH SUCH CARD; (F) APPLYING A STRIP OF PLASTIC TO THE HEAT SOFTENED STRIP OF ADHESIVE WHILE THE ADHESIVE IS STILL HOT TO BOND THE PLASTIC STRIP TO EACH SUCH CARD; (G) POSITIONING EACH SUCH CARD ON A MOLD; (H) SEPARATING THE CARDS FROM ONE ANOTHER; (I) FORMING A PRODUCT RECEIVING POCKET IN THE AREA OF EACH SUCH CARD APERTURE BY HEATING THE PLASTIC IN SUCH AREA AND THEREAFTER APPLYING A PRESSURE DIFFERENTIAL TO IT TO DISTEND IT AGAINST THE MOLD AND FROM A POCKET; (J) COOLING EACH POCKET AND SETING IT IN TIS MOLDED CONDITION WHILE ITS CARD IS STILL POSITIONED ON THE MOLD; (K) STRIPPING EACH CARD FROM THE MOLD; (L) AT LEAST PARTIALLY FLATTENING SUCH POCKET; (M) THEREAFTER INSERTING A UNIT IN EACH POCKET TO REDISTEND THE POCKET TO ITS MOLDED SHAPE WITH THE UNIT SNUGLY ENCASED THEREIN; AND (N) THEREAFTER SEALING EACH CARD TO MAINTAIN THE UNIT IN THE POCKET.