WO2012019222A1

WO2012019222A1 - Improved protective packaging for bottles or other containers

Info

Publication number: WO2012019222A1
Application number: PCT/AU2011/001005
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chad Geoffrey Smith
Original assignee: Chad Geoffrey Smith
Priority date: 2010-08-13
Filing date: 2011-08-08
Publication date: 2012-02-16
Also published as: AU2011288965A1

Abstract

A single piece of a suitable material is provided to produce a foldable carton that is suitable for shipping and transporting a bottle. The novel design of the article provides an internal design that is adapted in a manner to enable a bottle placed therein to be suspended away from the inner surface of walls of the package, while at the same time providing sufficient protection to the bottle during transit of the package.

Description

IMPROVED PROTECTIVE PACKAGING FOR BOTTLES

OR OTHER CONTAINERS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to improved packaging of bottles, more particularly a single-piece of a sheet material e.g. cardboard that includes a plurality of strategically formed tabs and slots that permit folding of such into a protective package for transporting a bottle via post or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Every day, people around the world, place trust in the postage system to ensure their packages sent either domestically or internationally arrives safely at its intended destination. Even though sufficient care is taken by postal workers, customs workers or anyone in the delivery process of a package, damage to such or its contents is still a common occurrence. Unfortunately, this is especially the case when a bottle, such as a wine bottle or the like made from glass, is shipped using a postal or courier service.

A critical element that reduces the possibility of any damage occurring to the contents of a package during transit, is the packaging itself, and whether or not sufficient padding or dampening is provided to ensure the forces encountered do not cause breakage. In this regard, however, while prior art packages offer some protection to the bottle housed during transit, such packages commonly position the bottle in a manner that it is located immediately adjacent to an outer-wall of the package. As such, subsequent to the package being dropped during transit, little or no protection is afforded in some positions for the contents due to the lack of any shock absorbing properties of the package to forces encountered in a relevant direction.

For instance, a current packaging product that is made available by the Australian Post Service includes an inner section that is adhered to an outer section, where the inner section is adapted to accommodate various sizes of bottles. The inner section provides, in conjunction with the outer section, a shell of cardboard around the outer periphery of the bottle that it encases. While this design does include a section at the top and bottom of the container that extends from the base or tip of the bottle, respectively, the length of the bottle is only protected by a single or double sheet of cardboard.

Another problem with the above prior art is that it is generally comprised of a composite structure fabricated by adhering two or more separate pieces of cardboard together, which not only increases the manufacturing costs, but also can affect the ability to re-use and recycle the package. The construction of a package item using more than a single piece of material and using a suitable affixing mean (i.e. glue or the like) adds unnecessary weight to the package, and thus increases the costs of production and shipping to the consumer.

Another example of a presently available package is that disclosed in United States Patent No. 6,66,333 (hereinafter the '333 Patent) and United States Patent No.: 3,182,885 {hereinafter the '885 Patent). As shown in Figure 7 of the '333 Patent, while support members 12, 14, 16 and 18 are provided in the folded state to support the bottle, the strength of this configuration is minimal and cannot withstand repeated stress during transport. In particular, the support members 12, 14, 16 and 18 of the '333 Patent have little in the way of transverse strength and thus can crease and weaken significantly during transport. Likewise, the support members 50a, 60a and the like of the package disclosed in the '885 Patent has minimal strength, and thus has similar problems during transport. In addition to the above prior art examples, there are various prior art packages that are formed by moulded Styrofoam to house the bottle which is then placed in a cardboard box. This type of package is costly to manufacture, is bulky and requires a large amount of storage space. It also can not readily be recycled, which is of an increasing concern in present times.

As such, it would be desirable to provide a package for a bottle or like container, which is fabricated from a single sheet of suitable material without the need to adhere sections to one another, while at the same time being durable and providing sufficient protection to the bottle it encases. Moreover, it would be desirable if such package was easy to store, was re-useable and could be easily recycled.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to utilize a single piece sheet structure to produce a foldable carton that seeks to ameliorate prior art disadvantages in relation to transporting a bottle. More particularly, the design of the article provides an internal design that is adapted in a manner to enable a bottle placed therein to be suspended away from the surface of the inner walls of the package, while at the same time providing sufficient protection to the bottle during transit and/or storage. STATEMENT OF INVENTION

In one aspect, the invention resides in a self-contained package for transporting a bottle or other beverage container that is formed by folding a single sheet of suitable material including a plurality of tabs, wherein when the sheet material is folded inwardly towards its centre along preformed fold lines, the tabs form a pair of complementary cradles adapted to support and suspend the bottle or other beverage container, and wherein the pair of cradles come together to form a closed enclosure that firmly and protectively encases the bottle for transport and/or storage purposes.

In another aspect, the invention resides in a self-contained package for transporting a bottle or other beverage container that is formed by folding a single sheet of suitable material, wherein the single sheet of suitable material includes:

a plurality of preformed fold lines to facilitate folding of the sheet to form a plurality of distinct sections or panels;

at least two pairs of supporting tabs provided in at least two of the distinct sections or panels; and

at least two pairs of overlying tabs provided in at least two of the distinct sections or panels;

wherein when the material is folded inwardly along the preformed fold lines, each of the pairs of supporting tabs abuts and reinforces one of the overlying tabs to form a pair of cradles specially adapted to support and suspend the bottle or other beverage container; and

wherein the pair of cradles are capable of coming together in opposed configuration to form a closed protective package encasing the bottle. Preferably, in all embodiments the sheet material is a cardboard, or any other sheet material that is capable of being folded while at the same time maintaining its structural integrity.

Preferably, in all embodiments the at least two pairs of supporting tabs and at least two pairs of overlying tabs are capable of being popped out and pivot along pre-formed frangible seams.

More preferably, the sheet material also includes a neck support tab, wherein when the material is correctly folded said tab is configured to support the neck of the bottle.

Preferably, the size of the sheet, the pairs of supporting tabs and the pairs of overlying tabs are dimensioned and shaped in accordance with the size of the bottle that the folded package is intended to encase.

In another aspect of the present invention, a package insert for a bottle is provided that is formed by folding a single sheet of suitable material, wherein the single sheet of suitable material includes:

a plurality of preformed fold lines to facilitate folding of the material, the fold lines forming a plurality of distinct sections or panels;

at least two pairs of supporting tabs provided in at least two of the distinct sections; at least two pairs of overlying tabs provided in at least two of the distinct sections; and one or more securing means configured to latch the folded structure together; wherein when the material is folded inwardly along the preformed fold lines each of the pairs of supporting tabs abuts and reinforces one of the pairs of overlying tabs to form a pair of cradles specially adapted to support and suspend the bottle; and

wherein the pair of cradles are capable of coming together in opposed configuration to form a closed protective package encasing the bottle that is sized whereby a plurality of package inserts can be tightly grouped inside another container.

Preferably, the sheet material is cardboard, or any other flat material that is capable of being folded while at the same time maintaining its structural integrity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order for the invention to be better understood reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a flat cardboard sheet sized and cut in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a flat cardboard sheet sized and cut in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention, where the neck recess portion has a number of additional features to enable the package to accommodate bottles of different length and size;

Figure 3 is a section view of a partially folded cardboard sheet of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a partially folded cardboard sheet of Figure 1 showing the internal structure or cradle that supports the bottle during transport;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the completely folded package of the cardboard sheet shown in Figure 1 that is ready for shipping;

Figure 6 is a plan view of a flat cardboard sheet sized and cut in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the completely folded package of the cardboard sheet shown in Figure 6 that is ready for insertion into a larger packaging item;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a larger box including a plurality of the packaging inserts shown in Figure 6 and7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, a self-contained package for a bottle (100) is provided (shown in Figures 1-5 of the accompanying drawings). Self-contained in this instance is meant to refer to a package that is intended to be used as a single unit and not in conjunction with any further packaging (i.e. a box or the like). For instance, the self-contained package of the present invention is suitable to be used for, but not limited to, posting a bottle through regular or courier postal services or safely transporting a bottle that is bought from a store or to be given as a gift.

Referring now to Figure 1 in further detail, a single sheet of a suitable material that is substantially rectangular in shape and in an unfolded state is provided. In a preferable embodiment the suitable material for use in the present invention can be a single sheet of cardboard, a reinforced sheet of cardboard, or any other material that is capable of being folded while at the same time retaining its structural integrity. In the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, however, the suitable material is a substantially rectangular sheet of cardboard (10), and thus such will be used below to further exemplify the preferred aspects of the present invention. Those skilled in the art would readily appreciate the size of the sheet of suitable material is not overly limited, as such would depend largely on the size/s of the bottle it is intended to encase when folded correctly in accordance with the present invention.

Preferably, the single sheet of cardboard includes a plurality of distinct parallel sections (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30) that are formed by transverse fold lines (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40) pre-created thereon, as are indicated in the figures by the broken lines. These transverse fold lines are provided to facilitate correct folding of the single sheet of a suitable material into the folded state shown best in Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings, and the partially folded state shown in Figures 3 and 4. While in this preferred embodiment the transverse fold lines are pre-formed on the sheet material, as indicated above, those skilled in the art would contemplate that such could also be represented by simple lines drawn on the sheet material to provide guidance to the user where to fold the sheet material so as to arrive at the completely folded package ready for shipping purposes.

Referring once again to Figure 1, parallel sections (20) and (30), which are the respective distal end sections of the cardboard sheet (10), also include supporting tabs (50, 51, 52 and 53) that are pivotable along their respective fold lines (54, 55, 56 or 57) due to preformed frangible seams (60 and 61). As discussed below in further detail, when the cardboard sheet (10) is folded in accordance with the present invention, as best shown in Figures 3 and 4, supporting tabs (50, 51, 52 and 53) abut with corresponding overlying tabs (70, 71, 72 or 73) of parallel sections (22) and (28) to suspend the mid to lower portion of the bottle (100).

Those skilled in the art would readily appreciate that the transverse measurements of the supporting tabs (50, 51, 52 and 53) and overlying tabs (70, 71, 72 or 73) are not overly critical to the working of the present invention. However, in a preferred embodiment, the transverse measurements of the supporting tabs (50, 51, 52 and 53) and overlying tabs (70, 71, 72 or 73) are dimensioned so that such provide sufficient support to the mid to lower portion of the bottle (100) that the package is intended to encase, as is shown figuratively in Figures 3 and 4.

In addition to overlying tabs (70, 71, 72 or 73), parallel sections (22) and (28) of the cardboard sheet (10) also each include a base support section (80) and a neck support tab (90) that are pivotable along their respective fold lines (81 and 91) due to preformed frangible seams (82) and (92), respectively. Preferably, each base support section (80) and neck support tab (90) includes a protrusion member (110) that is configured to each engage a respective slot (111) that has been pre-formed in the distal end sections (20) and (30). This latter construction prevents each base support section (80) and a neck support tab (90) from moving out of its placement when the package is in the folded or partially folded state.

In a preferable embodiment, the neck support tab (90), when the package is in the folded state, forms a neck support recess (95) that is provided to support the most distal portion of the neck of the bottle (100), as is best shown in Figure4. This feature of the present invention, while not being bound by theory, ensures that the weight of the bottle (100) can be evenly distributed in the package. In order for a single package to be adjustable and thus accommodate a range of differing bottle sizes, it is contemplated that a plurality of seams (112), as shown in Figure 2, can be provided to ensure that the longitudinal length of the recess (95) when the package is in the folded state can be adjusted according to the length of bottle to be placed in the package. Moreover, as is also shown in Figure 2, frangible sections (113) can be provided, so as to provide a means for the neck support recess (95) to accommodate larger bottles when desired. It will be appreciated that Figure 2 shows an identical configuration to the package shown in Figure 1, but with the inclusion of the aforementioned features to be adapted for large bottles and neck sizes. In order to proceed from the unfolded state (shown in Figure 1) to the folded or partially folded state shown in Figures 3-5, the distal end sections (20) and (30) of the cardboard sheet (10) are folded inward in the same way so as to provide two symmetrical halves that each act to support and encase substantially half of the bottle (100). As is shown best in Figures 3 and 4, each of the supporting tabs (50, 51, 52 and 53) abut with a corresponding overlying tab (70, 71, 72 or 73) so as to form a cradle structure that suspends the contour of the bottle (100) away from the walls of the package, as is represented by arrows A and B in Figure 3. In this manner, the relationship between the supporting tabs and its respective overlying tab significantly increases the strength of the cradle structure. Specifically, if only one of the latter elements was provided it is likely that such would bend under the force applied thereto by the weight of the bottle when placed therein and thus fail to provide sufficient protection to the bottle during transit. As such, the significantly strengthened cradle structure of the present invention formed by the relationship between supporting tabs and its respective overlying tab ensures that the bottle is maintained in a suspended state at all times during transit.

Once the package is in the partially folded state, as shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings, in order to completely fold the package, each respective half that supports the bottle (100) is folded towards one another in order to arrive at a completed closed structure shown in Figure 5. To maintain the fully folded state of the package, any known means to secure the two halves together can be employed. In a preferred embodiment, shown in Figure 5, a piece of adhesive tape (150) can be used.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, a package insert for a bottle (100) is provided (shown in Figures 6-8 of the accompanying drawings). Package insert in this instance is meant to refer to a package that is intended to be placed alongside a plurality of package inserts in a larger package. For instance, a plurality of package inserts in accordance with the present invention can be placed in a box (as shown in Figure 8), so that more than a single bottle can be safely distributed or transported. As shown in Figure 6 a single sheet of a suitable material (210) , preferable a single sheet of cardboard, is provided and includes a plurality of distinct parallel sections (220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, and 228) that are formed by transverse fold lines (231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, and 238) pre-created thereon, as are indicated in the figures by the broken lines.

As also described in relation to the first embodiment of the present invention, the second preferable embodiment of the present invention includes supporting tabs (250, 251, 252 and 253) abut with a corresponding overlying tab (270, 271, 272 or 273), which when the package is in the folded state act in the same way to suspend the bottle (100). However, in the second embodiment of the present invention the supporting tabs are provided inward from the respective overlying tabs toward the centre of the sheet of cardboard, as is shown best in Figure 6. This is to ensure that when in a folded state securing means (300) can be used to latch the folded structure together, as shown best in Figure 7. As shown in Figure 6, the securing means (300) are provided in parallel sections (222) and (226) and are pivotable along their respective fold lines (232 and 237) due to pre-formed frangible seams (301).

As was discussed above in relation to the first embodiment of the present invention, the relationship between the supporting tabs and its respective overlying tab included in the second embodiment of the present invention also significantly increases the strength of the cradle structure. VARIATIONS

It will of course be realised that while the foregoing has been given by way of illustrative example of this invention, all such and other modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as is herein set forth.

In the specification the terms "comprising" and "containing" shall be understood to have a broad meaning similar to the term "including" and will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. This definition also applies to variations on the terms "comprising" and "containing" such as "comprise", "comprises", "contain" and "contains".

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A self-contained package for transporting a bottle or other beverage container that is formed by folding a single sheet of suitable material including a plurality of tabs, wherein when the sheet material is folded inwardly towards its centre along preformed fold lines, the tabs form a pair of complementary cradles adapted to support and suspend the bottle or other beverage container, and wherein the pair of cradles come together to form a closed enclosure that firmly and protectively encases the bottle for transport and/or storage purposes.

2. A self-contained package for transporting a bottle or other beverage container that is formed by folding a single sheet of suitable material, wherein the single sheet of suitable material includes:

at least two pairs of overlying tabs provided in another at least two of the distinct sections or panels;

wherein when the material is folded inwardly along the preformed fold lines, each pair of supporting tabs abuts and reinforces one of the overlying tabs to form a pair of cradles specially adapted to support and suspend the bottle or other beverage container; and wherein the pair of cradles are capable of coming together in opposed configuration to form a closed protective package encasing the bottle.

3. The self-contained package of any of claims 1 and 2, wherein the sheet material is a cardboard or any other sheet material that is capable of being folded while at the same time maintaining its structural integrity.

4. The self-contained package of any of claims 1, 2 and 3, wherein the sheet material is a cardboard.

5. The self-contained package of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the at least two pairs of supporting tabs and at least two pairs of overlying tabs are capable of being popped out and pivot along pre-formed frangible seams.

6. The self-contained package of any one of claims 1-5, wherein sheet material also includes a neck support tab, wherein when the material is correctly folded said tab is configured to support the neck of the bottle.

7. A package insert for a bottle is provided that is formed by folding a single sheet of suitable material, wherein the single sheet of suitable material includes:

at least two pairs of supporting tabs provided in at least two of the distinct sections; at least two pairs of overlying tabs provided in at least two of the distinct sections; and one or more securing means configured to latch the folded structure together;

wherein when the material is folded inwardly along the preformed fold lines each of the pairs of supporting tabs abuts and reinforces one of the pairs of overlying tabs to form a pair of cradles specially adapted to support and suspend the bottle; and

8. The package insert of claim 7, wherein the sheet material is cardboard, or any other flat material that is capable of being folded while at the same time maintaining its structural integrity.

9. The package insert of claim 8, wherein the sheet material is cardboard.