WO2006003443A1

WO2006003443A1 - Pack body for packaging of articles

Info

Publication number: WO2006003443A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/002632
Authority: WO
Inventors: André Philip WILKINS
Original assignee: Wilkins Andre Philip
Priority date: 2004-07-05
Filing date: 2005-07-05
Publication date: 2006-01-12
Also published as: GB0415048D0

Abstract

A pack body formed from a blank of sheet material to define either a container for articles or a sleeve for receiving a container for articles, the pack body being defined by a plurality of walls (12) which are connected to retain integrity of the pack body, the pack body including a removable panel (15) attached to one or more of said walls (12), said panel (15) carrying information on one face (16), said one face (16) being hidden from view when the panel is attached to said one or more walls, said panel being attached to said one or more walls (12), along a pair of opposed sides by detachment formations (18, 20, 24) formed in the sheet material, at least one of the detachment formations comprising a tearable strip (24).

Description

PACK BODY FOR PACKAGING OF ARTICLES

•The present invention relates to a pack body for packaging of articles.

Pack bodies are used in retailing for the packaging of a wide variety of articles; they tend to be of box-like form made from card or cardboard. They may also be in the form of a sleeve, formed from card or cardboard, which houses a container.

For retail promotional purposes it is desirable to provide vouchers which give an incentive for a purchaser to purchase a particular brand of product.

It is particularly advantageous if the promotional information is carried by the pack body but is hidden from view as it introduces an element of competition into the promotion when the product is being purchased.

According to a general aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pack body formed from a blank of sheet material to define either a container for articles or a sleeve for receiving a container for articles, the pack body being defined by a plurality of walls which are connected to retain integrity of the pack body, the pack body including a removable panel attached to one or more of said walls, said panel carrying information on one face, said one face being hidden from view when the panel is attached to said one or more walls, said panel being attached to said one or more walls, along a pair of opposed sides by detachment formations formed in the sheet material, at least one of the detachment formations comprising a tearable strip.

In one embodiment, both of the detachment formations comprise a tearable strip. In another embodiment, one of the detachment formations comprise a tearable strip and the other of the detachment foπnations comprise a line of weakness in the sheet material such as a line of perforations.

Preferably the pack body and panel are integrally formed from a single blank of said sheet material.

Preferably the panel is attached to said one or more walls such that on removal, said walls remain connected to maintain integrity of said pack body. This is particularly advantageous as it enables the panel to be removed at the point of sale without affecting the pack body's ability to retain the packaged articles.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a pack body formed from a blank of sheet material to define a sleeve for receiving a container for articles, the pack body being defined by a plurality of walls which are connected to retain integrity of the pack body, the pack body including a removal panel attached at one end to one of said walls so as to lie adjacent an internal face of said one wall and so be located internally of the sleeve, the panel being attached at its other end by a flap secured to an outer face of said one wall, said one end of the panel being attached to the said one wall via a detachment formation formed in said sheet material.

Various aspect of the present invention are herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figures Ia to Ie illustrate sequential steps for removal of a panel from a pack body according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a blank of sheet material for forming a pack body according to a first embodiment of the present invention which is a modification of the pack body shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of the pack body formed from the blank shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a blank of sheet material for forming a pack body according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of the pack body formed from the blank shown in Figure 4; Figure 6 is a blank of sheet material for forming a pack body according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 7 is a blank of sheet material for forming a pack body according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 8 is a blank of sheet material for forming a detachable panel according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention for attachment to a separate pack body;

Figure 9 is a schematic perspective view of the detachable panel of Figure 8 shown attached to a separate pack body.

Figure 10 is a blank of sheet material for forming a pack body according to a sixth embodiment of the invention;

Figures 11a to Hd illustrate sequential steps for removal of a panel from the pack body of Figure 10.

In Figure 1 there is shown a pack body 10 which is formed from a sheet material which is folded to define a plurality of interconnected walls 12 so as to create a container for articles. The articles may be any item which requires to be packaged for retail sale.

Secured to the walls 12 of the pack body is a removable panel 15. The removable panel 15 is attached along one pair of its opposed sides to walls 12 by detachable formations 18. In Figure 1, one of the detachable formations 18 is defined by a line of weakness 20 such as. for example, a line of perforations in the sheet material; the other detachable formation 18 is defined by a tearable strip 24. The tearable strip 24 is preferably formed by a pair of lines of weakness 26 in the sheet material; the lines of weakness 26 preferably each comprise a line of perforations in the sheet material. Adjacent to the tearable strip 24 is an anchorage strip 25 which is secured, preferably by a suitable adhesive, to the underlying side wall 12 of the pack body 10.

The fully erected pack body 10, including the removable panel 15, is shown in Figure Ia. This is the condition of the pack body 10 at the point of retail sale.

The panel 15 carries information on its face 16, which as seen in Figure Ia is hidden from view. The information will normally comprise text and/or illustrations printed onto the face 16 prior to erection of the pack body 10.

To remove the panel 15 from the pack body 10, the purchaser first removes the tearable strip 24 (Figures lb,c) and then subsequently removes the panel 15 by detachment along the line of weakness 20.

It will be appreciated that it is not until the tearable strip 24 is fully or partially removed that the purchaser is able to read the information carried on face 16 of the panel 15. Accordingly, the strip 24 also provides a tamper evident feature whereby the seller of the pack body is able to determined whether the purchaser has attempted to read the hidden information on the panel 15 prior to purchase. It will be noted that, as illustrated in Figure 1 e. after removal of the panel

15, walls 12 remain interconnected and so maintain integrity of the pack body 10. This is advantageous as it means that removal of the panel 15 may be done at the point of sale without destruction of the pack body 10.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 , the tearable strip 24 is positioned so as to overlie a side wall of the pack body with the anchorage strip 25 being secured to that side wall.

The embodiment shown in Figures 2 and 3 is similar to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 except that the tearable strip 24 is arranged to overlie the top wall 12 of the pack body 10 and the anchorage strip 26 is secured to the top wall.

A blank 100 for forming the erected pack body 10 of Figure 3 is illustrated in Figure 2. The blank 100 is a single blank formed from a suitable sheet material such as card or similar foldable material.

The blank 100 includes a bottom wall forming panel 110, a first side wall forming panel 112, a top wall forming panel 114, a second side wall forming panel 116, a detachable panel 15, a tear strip 24 and anchorage strip 25.

The bottom wall forming panel 110 is provided with a side anchorage flap 120 which in the erected pack body 10 underlies and is secured, preferably by a suitable adhesive, to the second side wall forming panel 116.

The bottom wall and top wall forming panels 110, 114 are each provided with end wall forming panels 125 which in the erected pack body 10 overlap and are preferably secured to one another by a suitable adhesive to define end walls of the pack body 10. Each of the first and second side wall forming panels 112, 116 are preferably provided with end flaps 127 which in the erected pack body 10 underlie the end wall forming panels 125 and secure to prevent collapse of the pack body 10.

The panels are separated by fold lines 130 formed in the sheet material, for example by scoring; the line of weakness 20 also serves as a fold line for enabling the panel 15 to be folded relative to the second side wall forming panel 116 so as to overlie the top wall forming panel 114.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 6, the removable panel 15 is secured to the walls of the pack body 10 along three of its sides. In this embodiment, a pair of detachable strips 24 and anchorage strips 25 are provided along opposed end sides of the panel 15. The detachable strips 24 overlie respective end wall forming panels 125 with the anchorage strips 25 being secured thereto. In addition, the panel 15 is attached along one of its longitudinal sides by a line of weakness 20.

Accordingly with the embodiment of Figure 6, both strips 24 have to be removed prior to the panel 15 being separated from the pack body 10 along line of weakness 20.

The embodiment illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 is an example of a pack body 10 used as a sleeve for receiving a container, such as for example a sealed container containing pre-prepared food. The blank of Figure 4 is assembled in a similar manner to the blank of Figure 2.

The blank shown in figure 7 is an example of an alternative way of forming a pack body 10 to that illustrated in Figure 2. In Figure 7, the panel 15 is shown as being attached by the line of perforations 20 to an end wall forming panel 125 instead of the second side wall forming panel 116 (as shown in Figure 2). In addition, the tearable strip 24 and anchorage strip 25 are arranged to overlie the opposed end wall forming panel.

The blank shown in Figure 8 comprises a panel 15 which is attached along one side to a further anchorage strip 28 via the line of weakness 20. The line of weakness 20 also serves as a fold-line to enable strip 28 to be folded relative to the panel 15.

One of the lines of weakness 26, viz. 26a defining the tearable strip 24 is also formed to define a fold-line.

Accordingly, as schematically illustrated in Figure 9, the blank of Figure 8, can be folded about lines 20, 26a such that strips 28, 25 may be arranged to overlie and be secured to opposed side walls 50 of a separately erected container 52.

In Figures 10, 11 there is illustrated a sixth embodiment 400.

In embodiment 400, the bottom wall is formed by two overlapping bottom wall forming panels HOa₅ HOb which in the erected pack body are secured together, preferably by adhesive to define a sleeve (see Figure 1 Ia).

The panel 15 is attached by an anchorage panel 115 to an end of the top wall forming panel 114. The panel 15 is attached to the anchorage panel 115 by a detachment formation 18 preferably in the form of a line of perforations 20.

The opposite end of the panel 15 is attached via a fold line 130b, to a securance flap 140. When erecting the pack body 400, panel 15 and anchorage panel 115 are folded about fold line 130a such that the face 16 of panel 15 lies in face to face contact with panel 114. The flap 140 is then folded about fold line 130b to overlie the opposite face of the wall panel 114.

The flap 140 is then secured in face to face contact with the wall panel 114, preferably by adhesive.

Preferably this is achieved by providing panel 114 with a series of apertures 214 which are covered by the anchorage panel 115. Adhesive is then applied to the surface of the panel 115 exposed by apertures 214. Flap 140 is then secured by the adhesive in apertures 214.

In use, the panel 15 is removed as illustrated in Figures 11a to Hd, viz. the flap 140 is first lifted and moved out of face to face contact with top wall panel 114 (Figure l ib). The flap 140 is then pulled (in the direction of arrow Pl with top wall panel 114 (Figure 1 Ib). The flap 140 is then pulled (in the direction of arrow P2 in Figure 1 Ic) to tear the panel 15 free along line of perforations 20 (Figure l id).

One or more aspects/embodiments of the invention in combinations are within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A pack body formed from a blank of sheet material to define either a container for articles or a sleeve for receiving a container for articles.

2. A pack body according to claim 1, wherein the pack body is defined by a plurality of walls which are connected to retain integrity of the pack body, the pack body including a removable panel attached to one or more of said walls, said panel carrying information on one face, said one face being hidden from view when the panel is attached to said one or more walls, said panel being attached to said one or more walls, along a pair of opposed sides by detachment formations formed in the sheet material, at least one of the detachment formations comprising a tearable strip.

3. A pack body according to claim 2, comprising two opposing tearable strips and a further detachment formation on a non-opposing side.

4. A pack body according to claim 2, wherein both of the detachment formations comprise a tearable strip.

5. A pack body according to claim 2, wherein one of the detachment formations comprise a tearable strip and the other of the detachment formations comprise a line of weakness in the sheet material such as a line of perforations.

6. A pack body according to claim 2, wherein the pack body and panel are integrally formed from a single blank of said sheet material.

7. A pack body according to claim 2, wherein the panel is attached to said one or more walls such that on removal, said walls remain connected to maintain integrity of said pack body.

8. A pack body according to claim 2, wherein the tearable strip is comprised on a side wall of the pack body.

9. A pack body according to claim 2, wherein the tearable strip is comprised on a top wall of the pack body.

10. A pack body according to claim 2, wherein the panel comprises one or more fold lines to allow the panel to be folded over corners of a formed container or sleeve.

11. A pack body according to claim 10, wherein a tearable strip is formed from one of the fold lines.

12. A pack body according to claim 1, wherein the pack body is formed from a blank of sheet material to define a sleeve for receiving a container for articles, the pack body being defined by a plurality of walls which are connected to retain integrity of the pack body, the pack body including a removal panel attached at one end to one of said walls so as to lie adjacent an internal face of said one wall and so be located internally of the sleeve, the panel being attached at its other end by a flap secured to an outer face of said one wall, said one end of the panel being attached to the said one wall via a detachment formation formed in said sheet material.

13. A pack body according to claim 12, wherein the detachment formation is a line of perforations.

14. A pack body according to claim 12, wherein the panel and the flap are separated by a fold line, to allow the panel/flap to be folded around said one wall.

15. A pack body according to claim 12, wherein the detachment formation is spaced apart from said one wall.

16. A pack body according to claim 12, wherein the detachment formation is spaced apart from said one wall to define a spacing, the spacing providing an adhesion surface to adhere the flap to said spacing through apertures in said one wall.

17. A blank of sheet material for a pack body according to any preceding claim.