WO2000050313A1

WO2000050313A1 - Skin-pack wrapping

Info

Publication number: WO2000050313A1
Application number: PCT/DK2000/000070
Authority: WO
Inventors: Niels Kyllesbeck; Palle HØGFELDT
Original assignee: Dana Green 2000 AS; Dana Grenn AS
Current assignee: Dana Green 2000 AS; Dana Grenn AS
Priority date: 1999-02-22
Filing date: 2000-02-22
Publication date: 2000-08-31
Anticipated expiration: 2001-08-22
Also published as: DK199900076U3; AU2658500A

Abstract

The invention relates to a package of the skin packing type. In packages of this type, the object or objects to be packaged are placed on a carrying sheet of paperboard or a similar product permeable to air. The carrying sheet including the object is covered by a plastics film which is shrunk around the object while being almost laminated to the carrying sheet externally around the object. This takes place by a shrinking process in which the film is heated, and in which the underside of the carrying sheet is subjected to vacuum. The film used is usually transparent so that the object is visible in the skin packing. The invention is characterized in that the carrying sheet is punched in a shape intended for folding into a closed spatial package, e.g. a carton or a box. It is ensured hereby that the object encapsulated between the carrying sheet and the film are present internally in a closed package, e.g. a closed box, while the objects are fixed to the inner sides of the box. The objects are visible when the lid on the box is opened.

Description

Skin-pack wrapping

The invention relates to a package of the skin packing type. In packages of this type, the object or objects to be packageα are placed on a carrying sheet of paperboard or a similar paper-like or cardboard-like product perme- able to air. The carrying sheet including the object/objects are then covered by a plastics film, which is shrunk around the object/objects while being almost laminated to the carrying sheet externally around each object. This takes place by a shrinking process in which the film is heated to a temperature at which the film is plastic. In this state, the underside of the film is subjected to vacuum, whereby the film is pulled tightly down against the upper side of the carrying sheet and against the object. The plasticity of the film causes the film to conform to the object, thereby achieving the intended tight encapsulation of the object between the carrying sheet and the film. This encapsulation also causes the object to be fixed relative to the carrying sheet. The film used is usually transparent, and the object is ac- cordmgiy freely visible in the skin packing. This is an aαvantageous property which is utilized inter alia for commercial purposes.

The object of the invention is to combine the advantages of the mentioned skin packing method with known forms of spatial packages of the cardboard article type (boxes, cartons, wrappers and wraps), i.e. closed spatial packages in which the packaged objects are protected in an encapsulated way.

The novelty of the invention is that the carrying sheet is punched in a shape intended for folding into a closed spatial package form, such as a carton, a box, a wrapper or a similar package form of a type known per se. Expedi- ently, the package is arranged such that the skin film and thereby the ooject or oiojects packaged in the sun packing face inwards m the spatial package after its foldmg-up, so that the object/objects is/are encapsu- lated in the package and thereby achieves/acnieve an optimal protection.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the carrying sheet is punched in a shape suitable for the package form concerned after the skin packing process, i.e. after the object/objects has/have been encapsulated tetween me carrying sheet and the film as described. Concurrently with the contour punching, bending lines are created

(e.g. by suitable stamping) m the sheet, so that it is prepared for folding into the intended spatial package form.

The use of the above-mentioned novel technique m connection with the prior art provides the best possible pro- tection of the packaged product m a very rational and low-cost manner. The object or objects are present fixed to the inner sides of the spatial package after it nas been folded up, so that the objects are prevented from moving about in the package and thereby damage each other. When the package is opened, which may e.g. take place by lifting the lid of a box-shaped package or oy opening the closing flaps on a carton, the object/objects is/are freely visible thanks to the transparent f_lm which has been shrunk around the objects. That is, tne objects may be viewed m the package without the package being broken. This property is of great importance inter alia in connection with various forms of sales packages in which the packaged product must be capable of being displayed without the package being broken. An example may be a product consisting of several single parts which have oeen packaged together. The individual parts of the set may then be viewed and inspected visually merely by opening the package carton or box, i.e. without it being necessary to break the package (the skin packing) . This impedes theft of extremely costly single parts from the packing, and provides the certainty that the set is complete at any time. Another example may be spare parts packaged set-wise, where it is important partly that the set is kept together and that it is possible to check visually that the set is complete, partly that the spare parts are protected optimally against e.g. external impacts. The package according to the invention is second to none for packaging tasks of this type.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, windows are punched in the package sheet before the skin packing process is carried out, i.e. before the skin packing film is shrunk down over the carrying sheet. The transparent skin packing sheet will hereby create closed, but still transparent windows in the package. These windows can impart an intended display effect to the package, where the packaged product is visible from the outside. Window packages of this type are unique in being very simple and rational to manufacture, so that also the price may be kept at a favourably low level compared to known forms of corresponding packages.

In principle, the present invention may be worked in com- bmation with all previously known forms of skin packing methods. An environmentally particularly suitable method is the one Known from DK Patent No. 170527, m which the carrying sheet is provided with a regular pattern of stamped depressions in which adhesive is applied. The plastics film is pulled down into the depressions during the shrinking process, so that the adhesive in the depressions causes the desired lamination (cohesion) between the film and the carrying sheet. The lamination method makes it possible to separate the film completely from the carrying sheet when the package is opened. The packaging materials can hereby be collected separately for re-use.

The invention and particularly advantageous embodiments and details of it will be explained more fully below with reference to the figures of the drawing, in which

fig. 1 shows a carrying sheet intended for a spatial package form according to the invention, shown with associated packaging objects after the sheet and the objects have been provided with a skin packing film shrunk thereon,

fig. 2 shows the same in cross-section along the line A-A in fig. 1,

fig. 2a shows an enlarged section of the same,

fig. 3 shows the carrying sheet m a subsequent process step m which the sheet is punched in a shape (contour punching + stamped bending lines) intended for folding into a carton,

fig. 4 shows the carrying sheet after folding into a carton, which is seen from above with open closing flaps,

fig. 5 shows the same carton with closed closing flaps, fig. 6 shows the carton seen obliquely from the side with open closing flaps, and

fig. 7 shows a corresponding carton or box provided with a transparent window.

In the embodiment shown in figs. 1-6 of the drawing, the package essentially consists of a carrying sheet 1 and a transparent film layer 2. The objects arranged m the package are designated E. The objects E are placed on the rectangular carrying sheet (fig. 1) in a pattern suitable for the purpose. After shrinking of the film 2 thereon, the carrying sheet is punched into the shape shown in fig. 3, m which the carrying sheet (including the film) is provided with various sides 3, closing flaps 4 and bending lines 5 intended for folding into a box-shaped carton 6 (figs. 4 and 5) m a manner known per se. The folded carton 6 is shown in perspective with open closing flaps 4 in fig. β. The bending lines 5 are produced by stamping the material.

The enlarged section m fig. 2a shows how an object E is tightly encapsulated between the carrying sheet 1 and the skin packing film 2, the film having been shrunk down over the object and the carrying sheet a heated, plastic state and using vacuum as described above. Fig. 7 shows a box 7 where a window 9 has been punched in the lid 8. This window, which is punched before the film 2 is shrunk over the objects and the carrying sheet, will be covered by a layer of tightly stretched film 2 during the skin packing process. Since a transparent film is used, an intended display effect is achieved, which consists m making the objects in the box visible. Packages of this type are especially suitable as sales packages, since the display effect has a favourable influence on the sales.

The invention is not restricted to the embodiment shown in the drawing and described above. Other comibinations of materials, other configurations of details and other constructive solutions for the individual components of the package are conceivable within the scope of this invention, just as the use of the package may conceivably be expanded to other fields than the stated one.

Claims

P a t e n t C l a i m s

1. A package of the skin packing type, wherein an object (E) is placed on a carrying sheet (1) of paperboard or a similar cardboard-like material permeable to air, and wherein the carrying sheet including the object is covered by a plastics film (2) which is shrunk down around the object while being almost laminated to the carrying sheet externally around the object by a shrinking process in which the film is heated to a plastic temperature and, in this state, is pulled down against the front side of the carrying sheet by a process in which the underside of the carrying sheet is subjected to vacuum, c h a r a c - t e r i z e d in that the carrying sheet (1) is punched in a shape intended for folding into a spatial package form, such as a carton, a box, a wrapper or a similar package form of a type known per se.

2. A package according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the skin packing film (2) and thereby the object or objects (E) packaged in the skin packing face inwards in the spatial package (6) after its folding.

3. A package according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the carrying sheet (1) is punched in the shape adapted to the package form concerned after the skin packing process, i.e. after the object/objects (E) has/have been encapsulated between the carrying sheet (1) and the film (2) as described, and bending lines (5) are provided in the sheet, e.g. by suitable stamping, simultaneously with the punching, so that the sheet is prepared for folding into the intended spatial form.

4. A package according to claims 2 and 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the carrying sheet (1) is provided with one or more punched windows (9) or similar openings or recesses before the skin packing process, and that these windows serve as transparent view openings in the package (7) after its folding into a spatial form, said windows being covered during the skin packing process by skin packing film (2) which serves as transparent "glass" in the windows.

5. A package according to one or more of claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the skin packing is of the type known per se wherein the carrying sheet is pro- vided with a regular pattern of stamped depressions in which adhesive is applied, and wherein the plastics film is pulled down into the depressions during the shrinking process so that the adhesive in the depressions causes the desired lamination (cohesion) between the film and the carrying sheet (DK Patent No. 170 527) .