Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
  • B65D85/50—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for living organisms, articles or materials sensitive to changes of environment or atmospheric conditions, e.g. land animals, birds, fish, water plants, non-aquatic plants, flower bulbs, cut flowers or foliage
  • B65D85/505—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for living organisms, articles or materials sensitive to changes of environment or atmospheric conditions, e.g. land animals, birds, fish, water plants, non-aquatic plants, flower bulbs, cut flowers or foliage for cut flowers

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a packaging for transporting and presenting bouquets of fresh cut flowers.
• the technical sector of the invention is that of the manufacture of receptacles, packaging or packages for living organisms or materials sensitive to changes in atmosphere or to atmospheric conditions, such as cut flowers, foliage, etc.
• the main application of the invention is the transport and presentation for the sale of cut flowers, in particular bouquets of fresh roses, while respecting the biological plant element, in order to guarantee customers flowers in the best possible state of conservation. It is known, in fact, that after their harvest, once separated from the rest of the plant, cut flowers have only the water that can be supplied to them and their own nutritive reserves to complete their growth and development.
• Ethylene which is one of the hormones of plant senescence: it is produced naturally by certain species during the flowering of their bud and can also come from outside (other plants, bulbs, fruits, tomatoes, motor combustion, factory, etc.); ethylene accelerates the cell degradation phenomena of sensitive species, even at low concentrations such as 0.5 ppm; it causes the flowers to wilt, their fall, buttons and leaves, discoloration .... Its production is auto catalytic. .
• Abscisissic acid or stress hormone (which could be responsible for the production of ethylene), triggered in the case of water stress, will cause the stomata to close to reduce evapotranspiration but will reduce the duration of the flower.
• flowers are generally transported dry or slightly moistened in impermeable sachets or in cotton fibers soaked in preservative which, however, do not prevent the entry of air in the stems; moreover, some of the companies, delivering to France or even to Europe, do not use refrigerated means of transport, and the flowers are stored in simple cardboard packaging boxes, these being fixed roughly by hooks crossing the cardboard and rubber bands; Certain companies include a sachet of conservation powder but the flowers having traveled dry have already undergone a vascular blocking.
• the flowers are transported by refrigerated trucks and stored in buckets filled with water, but only protected in transparent films, perforated or not: thus, often piled up and handled, they are damaged before a customer selects them to put them in their cart; put upright in a corner of it, they risk falling and being damaged by other packaging transported in the same cart, where they are dry anyway; they will remain so until they can be stripped and put back in a vase filled with water at the buyer's home.
• the objectives of the present invention are to be able to produce and offer a packaging for transporting and presenting bouquets of fresh cut flowers, meeting at least the following conditions: - respect for the plant biological element, the causes of accelerated wilting of which are recalled above, by providing protection against physico-chemical attack such as heat, cold, humidity, drying, etc. ; - respect for the biological plant element by providing protection against mechanical attack due to shocks, falls, compression, vibrations, etc., all along the circuit: from the florist or producer to the final place of the consumer ;
• the present invention provides a package of bouquets of fresh cut flowers, comprising an almost rigid envelope surrounding at least the flowered ends of said flowers.
• the packaging according to the invention comprises a tight and rigid vase capable of containing a liquid or gel capable of holding the cut ends of the stems of said hydrated flowers, and said envelope comprises at least, on the one hand, a funnel-shaped part. , the lower part of which cooperates with the upper part of the vase by means of connection, preferably reversible, and the upper part surrounds the flowered ends of said flowers, and on the other hand a protective cover for said flowered ends, which cover closes the large base of the upper part of the funnel-shaped envelope, and said envelope comprises in its said upper part at least one lateral closing / opening means.
• Said connecting means make it possible to secure and separate said envelope and said vase.
• they are reversible, that is to say that they make it possible to re-join the envelope and the vessel after detaching.
• This lateral opening means allows the bouquet of flowers to be released, avoiding any friction with the envelope, which is one of the main causes of damage to flowers, causing an ethylenic crisis leading to early senescence of the plant.
• the liquid can be absorbed by a solid substrate contained in the vase, such as a block of foam; in which the lower end of the flower stems can be pricked, especially during the phase of transporting the bouquet in its packaging.
• the lower part of the funnel-shaped envelope covers and follows the shape of an upper part of the vase, which has the same funnel shape as said lower part of the envelope.
• the small base of the lower part of the funnel-shaped envelope is smaller than the opening of the upper part of the vase. This juxtaposition of the lower part of the envelope and the upper part of the vase allows a stable junction of said envelope and said vase.
• said envelope consists of a precut sheet and not glued, comprising first non-parallel fold lines, so as to be able to obtain a funnel shape of polygonal section after folding and, if necessary, implementation of said means for lateral closure of said envelope.
• said means for closing / lateral opening of said envelope are constituted by cutouts in the form of a hook and / or notch on its lateral edges in the upper part of the envelope located above the vase. These lateral opening / closing means allow said envelope sheet to close on itself, in particular after folding and wrapping the flowers arranged in said vase, or the opening of said envelope.
• said vase comprises in its upper part hooking means or recesses which can cooperate respectively with recesses or hooking means in said lower part of said envelope to constitute the means of connection between said envelope and said vase.
• said connecting means between the envelope and the vase consist of recesses in the lower part of the envelope along the first ten non-parallel fold lines of the envelope, and projecting elements at level of the angles in the upper part of the vase in the form of a polygonal funnel, said projecting elements returning to said recesses of the envelope after folding thereof around the vase and implementation of said means for lateral closing of said envelope.
• said projecting elements are constituted by the corner corners of an upper parallelepiped part of said vase situated above said upper part of said funnel-shaped vase, and constituting the opening of said vase.
• said envelope comprises an upper part constituting an upper funnel and a lower part constituting a lower funnel, the inclination of the sides of the upper funnel relative to the central axis of the funnel being less than 1 inclination of the sides of the lower funnel relative to the same central axis of the funnels, said lower funnel of the envelope covering the upper part of the funnel-shaped vase.
• said cover consists of a cutout of one or more zones at the upper end of the sheet constituting said envelope and making it possible to cover the upper opening of the upper funnel of said envelope after folding.
• said sheet constituting said envelope comprises at its upper end one or more zones allowing, after folding, to constitute a handle.
• said vase consists of a sheet comprising fold lines making it possible to form by folding, from top to bottom:
• an upper opening of the vase • a first part in an upper funnel with polygonal section, the sides of the polygon narrowing from top to bottom, the small base of said upper funnel preferably being at a height of between half and four-fifths of the height of the vase, • a second part in the form of a lower funnel with a polygonal section, the sides of said polygon of said polygonal section increasing from top to bottom, and
• said base and said upper opening of the vase thus being of the same polygonal shape, the polygon in particular having three to six sides and preferably still being a regular polygon.
• said vase comprises a first parallelepipedal upper part delimited by the fold lines perpendicular to said first fold lines of said vase, situated above said part in the form of an upper funnel, and constituting the upper opening of the vase.
• the vase has a second parallelepipedal part corresponding to the lower part of said vase delimited by fold lines perpendicular to said first fold lines, located above said second part in the form of a lower funnel, and comprising the bottom of said vase.
• the precut sheet constituting said vase comprises cutouts and recesses forming four flaps in its lower part capable of forming said flat bottom of the vase after folding and / or gluing.
• the packaging according to the invention consists of two parts respectively constituting an envelope and a vase, said envelope and vase being able to be folded in a flattened form before their use.
• said cover comprises a carrying handle and its external shape is a polygon, and in particular of square or hexagonal shape.
• the packaging according to the invention is preferably of regular shape and symmetrical with respect to a vertical axis, and can be installed on a support comprising a base having cells of which the internal shape cooperates with the external shape of the lower part of the vase and the axes of said envelopes, corresponding to those of the packages, are arranged relative to each other and in particular at least three by three, at a distance equal to the diameter of the circle inscribed and tangent to the external shape of the lid of said packages: thus, and all the more so if the lids of the packages are polygons of three, four or six sides, they will come to bear and nest against each other at the manner of a mosaic; their wedging is thus perfectly ensured, not only at their base due to the maintenance of the vases in the cells of the base, but also at the level of the upper parts of the funnels, which corresponds to the large base of these and which are held together against others.
• the present invention therefore also relates to a display and packaging packaging comprising a base having cells whose internal shape cooperates with the external shape of the bottom of said vase and said cells are arranged with respect to each other so that the sides of the covers of the various adjacent packages, the vases of which are inserted into the said cells, wedge against each other.
• the flared shape of the envelope allows the circulation of cold air during their transport and storage in refrigerated cells: the ideal storage temperature for flowers is indeed included between 2 and 5 ° C, except for tropical flowers such as orchids, in order to slow down the metabolic process of senescence and limit the evaporation of water by the stomata; this also avoids temperature differences which cause condensation on the flowers and promote the development of Botrytis.
• the packaging according to the invention makes it possible, by using it from the pre-refrigeration cell, not to break the cold chain, and the vase integrated into the packaging makes it possible to keep the ends of the cut stems in a liquid. or a gel, thus avoiding dry transport.
• the vase may be made of cardboard preferably having mechanical strength qualities in the wet state and provided with a sealed inner bag, in particular made of polyethylene capable, more preferably, of retaining the water which will be poured into said vase.
• the vase according to the invention makes it possible to add an antiseptic with acidifier to the aqueous medium and, in addition, to avoid water stress, it promotes the circulation of the raw sap in the xylem and of the elaborate sap (product of photosynthesis) in the phloem.
• an antiseptic with acidifier to the aqueous medium and, in addition, to avoid water stress, it promotes the circulation of the raw sap in the xylem and of the elaborate sap (product of photosynthesis) in the phloem.
• such a vase once the funnel and lid part removed, allows the user to arrange the flowers immediately without the need to search for another vase, and without suffering for the plant.
• the envelope allows, by its shape, to protect the flower buds as well as the petals, leaves and stems, on the one hand from handling and, on the other hand from any mechanical shock during transport and in store; this shape respects the volume of the leaves and buds from the bottom of the leafless stems to the flowering end; it can be transparent and ribbed or perforated or wavy, and allows the circulation of air from top to bottom in order to avoid the development of Botrytis.
• said packaging must be porous at least at the level of the lid, and in priority from the inside to the outside, in order to protect the flowers from external gases, such as cigarette smoke, exhaust gas, fruits and vegetables nearby, while allowing plant respiration.
• gases such as cigarette smoke, exhaust gas, fruits and vegetables nearby
• the cover is rigid and can be transparent like the envelope, so that the customer can see what he is buying.
• the cover also allows: - to close the packaging to protect the most delicate part of the flower, namely its button,
• the present invention indeed corresponds to a quality approach by providing a solution to a need for plant preservation and by contributing to the overall quality approach undertaken by horticulture professionals, from the operator to the distributor: the present invention is therefore not just packaging.
• the present invention is therefore not just packaging.
• Figures 1 to 3 illustrate a first exemplary embodiment.
• Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the packaging according to the invention.
• Figures 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e are simplified top views of a packaging assembly according to the invention, whose covers and upper parts are of different regular polygonal shapes and arranged vertically in cells of a common ground.
• Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of a display assembly also allowing the transport of packaging on bases, according to the invention.
• Figures 4 to 6 illustrate a second embodiment.
• Figures 4 and 7 show the constituent sheets of the unfolded envelope.
• Figures 5 and 8 show the leaves of the vase unfolded.
• Figures 6 and 9 show packages of Examples 2 and 3.
• Figures 7 to 9 illustrate a third embodiment.
• a package 1 comprises in a known manner, an almost rigid envelope 3 surrounding at least the flowered ends of the fresh cut flowers 5; moreover, according to the invention, it comprises a tight, rigid vase 2 with a flat bottom, containing liquid or gel capable of maintaining the cut ends of said flowers in an aqueous medium, preferably with a bactericide: its total height h can be for example 25 cm for flowers such as roses 50 cm high, and its internal diameter of 6 to 10 cm, knowing that the stems of flowers 5 are preferably held together in said vase 2, by a link at the top of the leafless part of their stem.
• the diameter of said vase 2, as well as its height h, are defined so as to provide physical support to the stems supporting the weight of the buttons and of the flowers, as a function of the length of said stems; its shape can be round or polygonal, such as hexagonal like the top cover 4 of the package 3: it must be waterproof and can be made of transparent or opaque rigid plastic, such as polystyrene, sealed cardboard or metal, etc. Its weight must be calculated to ensure a good balance with the bouquet of flowers 5 which must be able to be maintained vertically alone.
• the base 2 2 of said vase can be ballasted according to the materials used, in such a way that, for example for a vase with a height h, of 25 cm, accommodating twenty flowers such as roses of
• said envelope 3 which is therefore also rigid, comprises at least one part in the form of a funnel diverging towards the top in the position of transport, storage and presentation of the flowers, and whose shape of the small base 3, lower corresponds to that of the upper part 2, open from the vase 2, and that of the large base located at the part upper surrounds the flowered ends of said flowers 5: its internal dimensions must be greater by about 2 cm compared to those of the bouquet 5 which is housed and protected therein.
• said envelope 3 comprises a rigid upper cover 4 for protecting said flowered ends; which cover 4 is porous, essentially and as can also be the funnel 3, from the inside to the outside of the volume of the packaging, and closes the large base 3 2 of the upper part of the envelope 3 funnel-shaped.
• the envelope 3 is of regular shape and symmetrical with respect to a vertical axis.
• FIG. 3 a common base 7 with several packages, and having cells 9, the internal shape of which cooperates with the shape exterior of the vessel 2 of each package, the axes of said cells 9 being arranged at least three by three at a distance equal to the diameter of the inscribed circle and tangent to the exterior shape of the cover 4.
• the latter is of polygonal shape at most six sides and even preferably hexagonal, which allows the support of each package 1 against six other adjacent packages, as shown in Figure 2e, each corner of the hexagon of the cover being common to three adjacent packages.
• the shape of the cover could also be a square according to Figure 2a, a triangle according to Figure 2b or simply a circle according to Figures 2c and 2d.
• the position of the vases 2 wedged in the cells 9 of the base 7 will be noted.
• Said base 7 can be made of compacted polystyrene or cardboard or rigid plastic and is preferably the size of the loading platforms for the transport devices, that is to say for example 124 cm x 53.5 cm; its height h 2 is 8 cm maximum and can be reduced depending on the stability of the entire package comprising the cover 4, the funnel 3 and the vase 2, and enclosing the water 6 and the flowers 5
• These bases 7 can be arranged on shelves 1 1 supports of a display 10, shown in Figure 3, allowing on the one hand the transport of packaging 1 through a lower base 12 made as, or using, a standard pallet , either of dimensions 100 x 120 cm or 80 x 80 cm, and on the other hand their sale in store, without requiring to move the packaging individually; such a display which therefore also acts as transport packaging, can be made of wood, and can be dismantled to possibly be recovered and reused; it can be of the order of 180 to 190 cm in height and comprises vertical uprights 13 on which three shelves 1 1 are fixed, for example, defining four loading levels
• This display can be of external shape recalling that of the packages 1, that is to say on the one hand with an upper part which flares, like the funnel 5 of the packages 1, and on the other hand with a section identical horizontal, such as for example hexagonal, as shown in FIG. 3 if the packages 1 are also hexagonal.
• the lower part of the display 1 1 also flares downwards, forming a narrower belt at the level of the middle shelf 1 1 3 , in order to have good stability and a larger storage area for the packages 1, than the consumer can then catch through the openings 14 accessible between the uprights 13.
• Such displays thus having the shape of a diabolo can be transported by refrigerated semi-trailer trucks which can receive 48 for support pallets 12 of dimensions 80 x 80 cm or 26 for 12 pallets of dimensions 100 cm x 120 cm.
• Said envelope comprises the funnel 3 and the cover 4, and comprises at least one lateral opening 8 2 and a connecting means 8, removable between the base 3, of the funnel and the upper part 2, of the vase 2: the packaging then comprises two parts, two materials and two openings, the funnel 5 and the cover 4 with its handle constituting a sort of flange in the form of a flat mushroom with side closure 8,; the connecting means 8, can be an adhesive strip for example.
• This mode of realization requires two opening systems, one, upper, to place the flowers in the vase 2 during their packaging, and the second so that the customer, once at home, can easily remove the packaging 3 from vase 2, by separation of the lateral opening 8 2 and the connecting means 8,.
• the envelope 3 consists of a precut sheet and not glued 10, made of transparent plastic material comprising first non-parallel longitudinal fold lines lli, so as to be able to obtain a funnel shape with polygonal section after folding and implementation of said lateral closing means 83 of said envelope.
• Said sheet comprises cutouts in the form of a hook 8 2 and / or a notch 83 on its lateral edges 10 1 , 10 2 in the upper part 3 2 of the envelope located above the vase, so as to allow the closure on it. same of said envelope sheet, or the opening of said envelope.
• the envelope comprises an upper part 3 2 constituting an upper funnel and a lower part 3 constituting a lower funnel, the inclination of the sides of the upper funnel 3 2 relative to the central axis of the funnel being less than the inclination of the sides of the lower funnel 3, relative to the same central axis of the funnels, said lower funnel 3, covering an upper part 2, of the funnel-shaped vase.
• the precut sheet 10 constituting the envelope comprises second fold lines 11, perpendicular to said first non-parallel fold lines, these second fold lines delimiting said upper 3 and lower 3 parts of the envelope, and said lower part 3 of the envelope comprises recesses 13 along said first or second fold lines, or bellows obtained by fold lines not parallel to said first and second fold lines, along and around those -ci, so as to allow to form by folding a lower funnel 3, of increased inclination relative to the upper funnel 3 2 of said envelope.
• the vase consists of a flat cutout shaped like a folding case thanks to a bonding tab: it includes at least four main faces. This element is made of cardboard and is open at the top to allow the passage of flower stems. The element of this vase element has the particularity of narrowing at a point of its height (approximately 2/3 of its height) so as to produce a size around which comes to be put in place and to join the upper envelope.
• the vase consists of a precut sheet and precast at its lateral ends 23, 24 butted together, comprising:
• first parallel longitudinal fold lines 16 making it possible to form by folding a base constituting the flat bottom of the vase and an upper opening of the vase corresponding to the upper end of the vase, said base and said upper opening of the vase thus being of the same shape polygonal, and:
• the diamond-shaped openings 16 are completely hollowed out or else include cardboard shutters delimited by alternating cuts allowing the folding of "bellows" at each angle.
• Said vase comprises at the base of its upper part 2, in the form of a funnel, recesses or notches 18 which can cooperate with lugs 19 respectively at the lower part 3, of said envelope, to contribute to the connection between said envelope and said vase when said legs 19 are inserted into said recesses or notches 18.
• the connecting means between said envelope and said vase comprise hooks 12, recesses or notches 12, produced by cutouts on the lateral edges of the sheet 10 constituting said envelope in the lower part 3, of said envelope covering the upper part 2, in the funnel of said vase, hooks 12, and / or recesses 12, or notches which cooperate so as to allow the closure on itself of said envelope sheet and the clasping of the upper part 2, of the vase after folding of the 'envelope and wrapping of said upper part 2, of said vase.
• the vase therefore includes:
• funnel part 2 greater in polygonal section whose sides of the polygon will shrink from top to bottom, the small base of said funnel 2, upper of the vase preferably being at a height between half and two thirds of the height vase,
• a third funnel-shaped portion 2 2 lower with a polygonal section, the sides of said polygon of said polygonal section increasing from top to bottom,
• a second parallelepipedal part 2 corresponding to the lower part of said vessel delimited by fold lines perpendicular 20 2 to said first fold lines 16.
• the precut sheet constituting said vase comprises cutouts and recesses 22 in its lower part 24 forming four flaps 21 constituting said flat bottom of the vase after folding or gluing.
• a first step consists in engaging together the two hooks 12. located in the lower part of the envelope on the rear face, thus arranging a panel which will be contiguous to the 'one of the four shots above the size of the vase.
• Two other side panels located in the lower part of the envelope are provided with said half-moon tabs 19 which are inserted in said corresponding openings 18 arranged at the narrowest point of the size of the vase, thus blocking any possibility of descent of the envelope in relation to the vase.
• the cover 4 is constituted by a cutout or a zone delimited by notches or recesses 13, and third fold lines 11, , said cutout or said zone being produced at the upper end of the sheet constituting said envelope and allowing to cover the upper opening of the upper funnel 3 2 of said envelope after folding.
• the sheet constituting said envelope has at its upper end two zones 15, 15 2 delimited by fold lines 1 1 2 , 1 1 4 comprising hooks 15 4 and notches 15 3 allowing after folding of said zones one on the 'other and cooperation of said hooks and notches to form a handle.
• the sheet constituting the envelope has in its upper part fold lines perpendicular 1 1 2 to said first fold lines 1 1, which delimit said upper funnel 3 2 obtained by folding along said first lines folding 1 1 ,, and said areas of the cover 4 and said handle.
• the vase incorporates the main characteristics of the model from Example 2, except that the size has been raised as high as possible (approximately 4/5 of the height from the base), so as to be able to clear all around from the upper perimeter a horizontal parallelepiped pediment of only 1 to 2 cm in height, each corner of which forms a cardboard point which is used to secure the vase with the envelope.
• the bellows allowing the section of the case to be tightened up to the waist are simpler because they consist of a single retractable bellows panel, this bellows panel is obtained by folding along the fold lines not parallel 16 and 17 between two triangle-shaped openings 16,.
• the upper envelope is made, as in the previous example, from a transparent plastic sheet, grooved, cut and not glued. As in the previous example, the folds 11, the main faces are oblique with respect to each other, so as to be able to produce a flared, funnel-shaped shape for the envelope.
• the envelope consists of a single funnel shape and no longer two funnels of different inclinations, as in the previous example.
• the lower end of the envelope no longer comprises a hook making it possible to secure the base of the envelope with the vase, but comprises openings 19 produced symmetrically at the base of each of the oblique folds 11,. These openings 19 are used during the establishment of the envelope around the vase to allow the corners of the upper parallelepipedal part of the vase to emerge from the cutout of the envelope, thus securing the envelope with the vase.

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• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Toxicology (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Evolutionary Biology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Marine Sciences & Fisheries (AREA)
• Botany (AREA)
• Zoology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Packging For Living Organisms, Food Or Medicinal Products That Are Sensitive To Environmental Conditiond (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)
• Agricultural Chemicals And Associated Chemicals (AREA)
• Cartons (AREA)

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• 1998
  • 1998-11-02 FR FR9813901A patent/FR2785269B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1999
  • 1999-10-28 AU AU63475/99A patent/AU6347599A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1999-10-28 EP EP99950868A patent/EP1127018B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-10-28 AT AT99950868T patent/ATE231465T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1999-10-28 JP JP2000579512A patent/JP2002528353A/ja active Pending
  • 1999-10-28 DE DE69905068T patent/DE69905068T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-10-28 WO PCT/FR1999/002636 patent/WO2000026117A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 1999-10-28 ES ES99950868T patent/ES2190258T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-10-28 US US09/830,397 patent/US6672002B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

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