GB2418192A

GB2418192A - Packaging of duvets

Info

Publication number: GB2418192A
Application number: GB0420515A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Cotton
Original assignee: John Cotton Group Ltd
Current assignee: John Cotton Group Ltd
Priority date: 2004-09-15
Filing date: 2004-09-15
Publication date: 2006-03-22
Anticipated expiration: 2024-09-15
Also published as: WO2006030207A1; GB0420515D0; GB2418192B

Abstract

There is disclosed a method of packaging a duvet wherein the duvet is first folded in a concertina manner in a first direction, and then folded again in a concertina manner is a second direction perpendicular to the first, and the folded duvet is then compressed and seal wrapped in plastics sheeting so as to form an oblong package with six sides, at least the largest two of which are substantially flat. The package thus obtained is easy to stack for storage, transportation and display on shelves, and is economical.

Description

2418192 ... .....

PACKAGING AND PACKAGING METHOD FOR DUVETS

The present invention relates to packaging for duvets or continental quilts and the like, and more particularly to a method for packaging these articles.

Duvets and continental quilts (hereinafter simply "duvets") are generally packaged and presented for sale in one of two forms. They may be rolled into a cylindrical form and then sealed in a plastics bag, for example as disclosed in GB 2 204 015 or FR 2 684 648. This type of packaging, however, has the disadvantage that the packages do not have flat sides and cannot therefore be easily stacked, for example for storage, transport and retail display purposes. Accordingly, it has become more common to roll a duvet into a cylindrical bale, wrap this in plastics sheeting, and then to enclose this wrapped bale in a cardboard box with flat sides. This allows the packaged articles to be easily stacked, but increases the packaging cost and also the weight of the packages, which increases transport costs.

The present invention therefore seeks to address these problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of packaging a duvet, wherein the duvet is first folded in a concertina manner in a first direction, and then folded again in a concertina manner is a second direction perpendicular to the first, and the folded duvet is then compressed and wrapped so as to form an oblong package with six sides, at least the largest two of which are substantially flat.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a package comprising a duvet that has been first folded in a concertina manner in a first direction, and then folded again in a concertina manner is a second direction perpendicular to the first, and then compressed and wrapped, the package being oblong with six sides, at least the largest two of which are substantially flat.

::: ::e :. ::. es: . .. .. Age: "Substantially flat" is this context means that several packages can be stacked on top of each other with their largest sides facing, the stack being sufficiently stable so as to be self supporting.

Preferably, at least four and in some cases all six sides of the package will be substantially flat.

It is generally preferred that the duvet is folded in such a way that, when compressed, the duvet is generally symmetric in its dimensions. In some embodiments, this is best achieved by folding an even number of times in the second direction so that an equal number of folds is present on opposing sides of the bale, since the folds will generally be less compressible than the layers themselves. On the other hand, folding an odd number of times means that the two ends of the duvet after the first folding will be on the same side, thus taking up a space similar to that of a fold.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the duvet is first folded in the first direction so as to form a concertina with twelve layers and eleven folds. The duvet is then folded again in the second direction so as to form a concertina with eight layers and seven folds. It will be appreciated that each of the eight layers after the second folding will comprise the twelve layers of the duvet from the first folding, and thus the folded duvet will in fact have 96 layers in total. In this way, a double duvet, for example having dimensions of 2000mm by 1400mm and a thickness of approximately 30mm when unfolded, can be compressed into a bale having a length of 290mm, a width of 235mm and a height of 130mm, the bale having substantially flat sides when seal wrapped in plastics sheeting.

The folded duvet preferably undergoes significant compression before being wrapped. Typically, an unfolded duvet has a weight in the range 350g/m2 to 350g/m2. In a standard roll pack of the prior art, such a duvet may be rolled to a diameter of around 300mm and a height of 500mm, the compressed volume being around 0.035m3 and having a density in the range 26kg/m3 to 120kg/m3. By contrast, ::: ::e :. ::e ee: ë e- e.. ace: embodiments of the present invention provide a duvet that is compressed into a pack having typical dimensions of 235mm by 290mm by 120mm, a volume of around 0.008m3 and a density in the range 115kg/m3 to 514kg/m3. In preferred embodiments, the duvet is packed to a density of at least 150kg/m3, or at least five times the density of a normal rolled duvet. This high packing density is obtainable by way of the special folding technique provided by the present invention.

The folded duvet may be compressed by using appropriate machinery having a compression head and a platform for the folded duvet. The folded duvet is located on the platform, and an empty wrapper, for example a plastics wrapper, with one open end is provided at the compression head. The compression head is moved down onto the folded duvet such that the top of the folded duvet stack enters the wrapper, and then continues to compress the duvet stack until it is entirely contained within the wrapper. The open end of the wrapper is then sealed so as to provide the finished package.

Machines for compressing and seal wrapping compressible articles are known, for example, from US 5,979,145 and US 6,708,465 (the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated into the present application by reference), and are outside the scope of the present application.

The particular double concertina folding technique of the present invention is particularly advantageous in that it results in a generally oblong package.

The seal wrapped package may have a weld line or other weakened section on at least one edge of the package so as to facilitate opening of the package without the need for sharp tools which might damage the duvet. A weakened section or weld line may conveniently be formed on two opposed edges.

e e ä . e- e.e are: For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how it may be carried into effect, reference shall now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 shows a duvet folded in a first direction; FIGURE 2 shows a duvet folded in a second direction; and FIGURE 3 shows a finished package of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a duvet 1 that has been folded in a concertina manner in a first direction, for example along its length, so as to have twelve layers 2 with eleven folds 3.

Figure 2 shows the folded duvet of Figure 1 rotated through 90 and folded in a concertina manner in a second direction perpendicular to the first. Five layers 4 with four folds 5 are shown here. It will be seen that each of the layers 4 comprises the twelve layers 2 from the first fold.

Figure 3 shows a package 6 comprising a plastics sheet 7 seal wrapped around the folded duvet of Figure 2. The package 6 has six sides, with the two largest sides 8, 9 being substantially flat. Two of the other sides 10, 11 are provided with weld lines 12 that allow for easier opening of the package 6 without the need for sharp tools.

The package 6 may optionally be provided with an integral carrying handle in a manner known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The preferred features of the invention are applicable to all aspects of the invention and may be used in any possible combination.

::: ::e .. ::. es: ë e. .e ace: Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the words "comprise" and "contain" and variations of the words, for example "comprising" and "comprises", mean "including but not limited to", and are not intended to (and do not) exclude other components, integers, moieties, additives or steps. s

Claims

::: ::. :. ::. ee: ee. .. e.. age: CLAIMS: 1. A method of packaging a

duvet, wherein the duvet is first folded in a concertina manner in a f rst direction, and then folded again in a concertina manner is a second direction perpendicular to the first, and the folded duvet is then compressed and wrapped so as to form an oblong package with six sides, at least the largest two of which are substantially flat.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first folding comprises an even number of parallel folds.
3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first folding comprises an odd number of parallel folds.
4. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the second folding comprises an even number of parallel folds.
5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second folding comprises an odd number of parallel folds.
6. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the oblong package is provided with at least one weld line or other weakened section on at least one side thereof.
7. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the duvet is compressed to a density of at least 1 50kg/m3.
8. A package obtained by the method of any preceding claim.
9. A package comprising a duvet that has been first folded in a concertina manner in a first direction, and then folded again in a concertina manner is a second :: :. eve::. * ce: As, e, direction perpendicular to the first, and then compressed and wrapped, the package being oblong with six sides, at least the largest two of which are substantially flat.
10. A package as claimed in claim 9, wherein the duvet is folded an even number of times in the first direction.
11. A package as claimed in claim 9, wherein the duvet is folded an odd number of times in the first direction.
12. A package as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the duvet is folded an even number of times in the second direction.
13. A package as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the duvet is folded an odd number of times in the second direction.
14. A package as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the package is provided with at least one weld line or other weakened section on at least one side thereof.
15. A package as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the package is provided with an integral carrying handle.
16. A package as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 15, wherein the duvet is compressed to a density of at least 1 50kg/m3.
17. A method of packaging a duvet, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.
18. A package comprising a duvet, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.