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
  • B65D75/00—Packages comprising articles or materials partially or wholly enclosed in strips, sheets, blanks, tubes or webs of flexible sheet material, e.g. in folded wrappers
  • B65D75/04—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in single sheets or wrapper blanks
  • B65D75/06—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in single sheets or wrapper blanks in sheets or blanks initially folded to form tubes
  • B65D75/12—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in single sheets or wrapper blanks in sheets or blanks initially folded to form tubes with the ends of the tube closed by flattening and heat-sealing
• • 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
  • B65D75/00—Packages comprising articles or materials partially or wholly enclosed in strips, sheets, blanks, tubes or webs of flexible sheet material, e.g. in folded wrappers
  • B65D75/04—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in single sheets or wrapper blanks
  • B65D75/20—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in single sheets or wrapper blanks in sheets or blanks doubled around contents and having their opposed free margins united, e.g. by pressure-sensitive adhesive, crimping, heat-sealing, or welding

Definitions

• the present invention relates to packaging, and in particular to improved packaging for packaging generally block-shaped food products.
• the present invention is also directed to a method of packaging such food products.
• Such known wrappers comprise a sheet of flat, foldable material.
• the sheet is often rectangular and has an inner surface directed to the food product and an outer surface.
• the outer surface may be printed on or otherwise be provided with information for the consumer.
• An adhesive or a pressure sealable and re-sealable coating is applied to the inner surface of the sheet.
• the sheet is folded about the product so that an inner portion encloses the top, bottom, side and end surfaces of the product.
• the sheet is sufficiently long that it extends beyond the front and rear surfaces of the product and opposing inner surfaces of the sheet are brought into contact to form seals along the front and rear edges of the package.
• the inner surfaces of side portions of the sheet are also brought into contact to form a fin seal along the length of the package.
• the known package forms a fully sealed package for the product, which is substantially gas and moisture impervious.
• the material from which the sheet is made is quite tough, the known package can be difficult to open.
• EP 1 288 139 Al An alternative proposal to the problem of opening the known packaging has been proposed in EP 1 288 139 Al.
• the adhesive or pressure sealable and re-sealable coating is only applied to the inner surface in a frame-shape sealing portion surrounding the inner portion.
• the frame-shaped sealing portion has opposing end portions and opposing side portions.
• the sheet is also provided with a flap adjacent each of the side portions.
• the flaps project from an outer edge of the longitudinal fin seal. Both the inner and outer surfaces of the flaps are accessible such that they can be grasped by a consumer and pulled apart to open the package in a similar manner to the tabs. Because the flaps are the same thickness as the remainder of the sheet, this arrangement does not tend to jam in conventional packaging machinery. However, the flaps have been found to be not entirely satisfactory to consumers as a means of opening of the packaging.
• a package for packaging a generally block-shaped food product comprising a sheet of foldable packing material having an inner surface and an outer surface, the sheet having an inner portion for enclosing the top, bottom, side, and end surfaces of the product, a frame-shaped sealing portion enclosing the inner portion for sealing the package and comprising opposing end portions and opposing side portions, the sheet being folded around the product such that the inner portion encloses the block-shaped product with the inner surface of the sheet directed towards the product, the inner surfaces of the two side portions of the frame-shaped sealing portion abutting one another to form a longitudinal seal, and opposing inner surface regions of the end portions of the frame-shaped sealing portions abutting each other to form seals along respective ends, in which, a flap portion is provided along one side of the sheet adjacent an outer edge of the respective side portion of the frame-shaped sealing portion, and an outer edge region of the other side of the sheet is folded inwardly to form a tab,
• the outer edge region of the other side of the sheet may be sealed to an opposing region of the sheet, inner face to inner face, to hold the tab in position.
• the seals may be formed by means of a sealing composition applied to the inner surface of the sheet within the sealing portion.
• the sealing composition may also be applied to the inner surface of the outer edge region of the other side of the sheet.
• the sealing composition may be applied to the inner surface of the sheet on the other side, from the respective side portion substantially up to the side edge of the sheet.
• no sealing composition is applied to the inner surface of the flap.
• the tab may be positioned adjacent an outer edge of the longitudinal seal or it may be spaced from the outer edge of the longitudinal seal by a flap region. In one embodiment no sealing composition is applied to the inner surface of the inner portion.
• At least some of the seals are formed by welding.
• a method of packing a generally block-shaped food product by means of a package comprising: a. positioning the food product on the inner surface of the sheet in the inner portion; b. folding the sheet around the product so that the product is enclosed by the inner portion of the sheet and the inner surfaces of the side portions of the seal portion are brought into abutment; c. forming the longitudinal seal along the abutting area; d. bringing opposing inner surfaces of the end portions of the sealing portion into abutment; e. forming end seals in the abutting areas.
• the method may comprise folding the longitudinal seal, the tab and flap around a fold line at the border of the inner portion and one of the side portions.
• Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of the inner surface of a sheet for forming a package in accordance with the invention
• Figure 2 shows the sheet of Figure 1, which one side edge folded over to form a tab
• Figure 3 is a schematic lateral cross section view through a package in accordance with the invention, shown on an enlarged scale;
• Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a finished package in accordance with the invention;
• Figures 5 and 6 are views similar to those of Figures 1 and 2 but showing an alternative embodiment of a sheet for forming a package in accordance with the invention.
• Figure 1 shows schematically a flat sheet 10 of foldable material for forming a package 11 in accordance with the invention.
• the sheet can be made of any foldable material suitable for packaging food products.
• the material is substantially moisture and gas impervious.
• the sheet may be made of a paper based material, flexible films, one or more polymers, or a metallic foil.
• the sheet may also be a laminated sheet comprising layers of different materials, including any those mentioned above in any suitable combination.
• the sheet comprises an orientated polypropylene (OPP) laminate.
• OPP orientated polypropylene
• the sheet may be made from any of the materials discussed in the prior art patent applications discussed above, details of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
• the sheet 10 has an inner surface 12 (shown in Figures 1 and 2) and an outer surface 14.
• the sheet has an inner portion 16 for enclosing the top, bottom, side, and end surfaces of a block-shaped food product.
• the food product may be a confectionery product and in particular a snack type confectionery product such as a chocolate bar.
• Surrounding the inner portion 16 is a frame-shaped sealing portion 18
• the frame-shaped sealing portion is coated on the inner surface of the sheet with a sealing composition that enables a seal to be formed when opposing inner surface regions of the sealing portion 18 are contacted together during fabrication of the package.
• the composition may be a pressure sensitive coating which forms a seal upon the application of moderate pressure without the need to apply additional heat.
• the coating may be a sealable and re-sealable wax-like composition. Such a composition can be pealed apart to open the packaging but will re-seal if the surfaces are brought back into contact to re-close the package.
• the seal formed when the package is re-closed need not be as strong as the initial seal but will be sufficient to prevent the opposing surfaces from falling apart without the application of at least a minimal force to separate them.
• the sealing composition could, for example, be a pressure sensitive cold-seal adhesive or a self- adhesive thermoplastic material.
• the sealing composition may be a temperature sensitive adhesive.
• the sealing composition may be any of those disclosed in the prior art patent applications discussed above, details of which are also hereby incorporated by reference.
• the longitudinal and/or the end seals may be welded without a sealing composition. Welding can be carried by any suitable means and may involve heating the material in the sealing portion under pressure so that the opposing surfaces melt and fuse together to form a welded seam.
• the end seals may be welded seals and the longitudinal seal may be formed by means of a peelable and re-sealable composition applied to the material.
• the frame-shaped sealing portion has a two opposing end portions 20, 22 and two opposing side portions 24, 26.
• the sheet When being applied to a food product, the sheet will be fed into a packaging machine in the direction of arrow A in Figure 1.
• the end portion 20 can be considered a front end portion and the end portion 22 can be considered a rear end portion.
• the corresponding ends of the product may also be considered as a front and rear end respectively.
• the terms "front” and “rear” and “side” are used herein in relation to the direction of feed but should not be regarded as limiting.
• the front and rear portions 20, 22 extend from respective front and rear edges of the inner portion 16 to the front and rear edges of the sheet 10 itself. Along one side of the sheet (the left as shown in Figures 1 and 2) the sheet extends beyond the outer edge of the side portion 26 to form a flap 28 on which no sealing composition is applied.
• the sheet 10 also extends laterally outwardly from the outer edge (indicated by dashed line 30) of the other side portion 24 by a distance that is greater than the width of the flap 28.
• the sealing composition is applied to the inner surface right up to the side edge of the sheet itself.
• An outer edge region 32 of the sheet is folded inwardly about line 34 to form a tab 36, as shown in Figure 2.
• the inner surface of the outer edge region 32 is brought into contact with the inner surface of an opposing region of the sheet 10 to form a seal to hold the tab 36 in position.
• the sealing composition applied to the inner surface of the side portion 24 of the frame-shaped sealing portion is still exposed between the inner edge 38 of the tab 36 and the inner portion 16.
• the tab 36 is wider than the flap 28 but this need not be the case and the flap 28 and tab 36 could be the same width or the flap 28 could be wider than the tab 36.
• the food product is positioned substantially centrally within the inner portion 16 so as to contact the inner surface of the sheet.
• the sheet 10 is then folded around the food product so that the inner surfaces of the side portions 24, 26 contact one another as shown in Figure 3.
• a seal 40 is then formed between the two side portions, typically by the application of a moderate pressure.
• the front and rear portions 20, 22 of the sealing portion over hang the front and rear ends of the product respectively and are folded back over themselves so that opposing regions of the inner surface of the front and rear portions are in contact.
• Front 42 and rear 44 seals are formed, typically by the application of a moderate pressure to the front and rear sealing portions.
• the product is now sealed inside the package 12 by virtue of the front 42, rear
• the longitudinal seal 40, the flap 28 and the tab 36 are folded over to one side or the other so as to lie generally parallel to the surface of the product as illustrated in Figure 4.
• the longitudinal seal, flap and tab may be folded about a fold line at the border of the inner portion and one of the side portions so that either tab 36 or the flap 28 is uppermost.
• an embossed pattern may be applied to all or part of the tab 36 and/or the flap 28.
• the package 12 is formed in a form-fill-seal (FFS) packaging machine and the sheet 10 is preferably provided as part of a continuous roll of sheets (roll-fed) fed into the machine in the direction of arrow A.
• the material is folded about each product in turn so that opposing longitudinal edge regions of the material are brought into contact and bonded together to form the longitudinal seam, opposing regions of the material at either end of the product are brought into contact and bonded to form the transverse end seams and the material is cut to separate the package from the remainder of the film.
• a sealing composition may be pre-applied to the sheets or roll or it may be applied during formation of the package.
• the tab 36 may also be pre-formed before the sheets are wound on to the roll or it may be formed as part of the package formation process. Typically, the tab 36 will be formed before the sheet is folded around the food product but it can be formed at any stage in the packaging process.
• the tab 36 may be formed by welding the opposing regions of the sheet together.
• the sealing composition is not applied continuously from the side portion 26 to the outer edge of the sheet 10. Rather there is gap between the outer edge 30 of the side portion 26 and an area 46 of sealing composition applied to the inner surface of the sheet to form the tab 36. In this case, when the outer edge region 32 of the sheet is folded inwardly to form the tab 36, the inner end 38 of the tab 36 is spaced from the outer edge of the side portion 26. Thus, in the completed package 12, a small flap portion 48 is formed between the outer edge of longitudinal seal 40 and the tab 36.
• the sheet 10 is rectangular and is suitable for packaging a rectangular block-shaped food product.
• the shape and dimensions of the sheet 10 can be varied to suit the shape and dimensions of the product which could be a square generally block-shaped product, for example.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Packging For Living Organisms, Food Or Medicinal Products That Are Sensitive To Environmental Conditiond (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)

Priority Applications (6)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=39048155

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (2)

Citations (5)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 2007
  • 2007-12-14 GB GBGB0724474.2A patent/GB0724474D0/en not_active Ceased
• 2008
  • 2008-12-12 PL PL08861837T patent/PL2222573T3/pl unknown
  • 2008-12-12 WO PCT/GB2008/004100 patent/WO2009077724A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2008-12-12 US US12/745,577 patent/US20110017811A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-12-12 AU AU2008337338A patent/AU2008337338B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2008-12-12 EP EP08861837A patent/EP2222573B1/en not_active Not-in-force
  • 2008-12-12 ES ES08861837T patent/ES2391137T3/es active Active
  • 2008-12-12 CA CA2708099A patent/CA2708099C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (5)

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