EP1417138B1

EP1417138B1 - A tamper-evident container, a blank for the container, a method of packing a product, a method of securing at least one product to a blank for a container

Info

Publication number: EP1417138B1
Application number: EP02727863A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Otto Carl MÜLLER; Willem Schalk Scholtz
Original assignee: WARTHOG TRUST
Current assignee: WARTHOG TRUST
Priority date: 2001-07-13
Filing date: 2002-05-10
Publication date: 2007-04-25
Anticipated expiration: 2022-05-10
Also published as: EP1417138A1; DE60219798D1; US20040194432A1; WO2003006335A1; DE60219798T2; ATE360582T1

Abstract

A container includes at least one product within the container, the product being secured in the container between an interior surface of the container and a layer of flexible material. The layer of flexible material is skin packaged over the product and adhered to the interior surface of the container by an adhesive. A blank for the container is provided. The blank has panels with a product secured to a panel with layer of flexible material. The invention also relates to a method of packing a product, a method of securing at least one product to a container and a packaging machine for skin packing the product.

Description

This invention relates to a tamper-evident container, to a blank for the container and to a method of packing a product.
European regulation ECE-R90 requires brake pads to be supplied in tamper-evident packaging.
One way of complying with this regulation is to pack the product in a standard box and then seal it by glueing the box closed. A part number and sometimes a small line drawing of the brake pad are then printed on the box. In most instances a generic drawing is printed on the box. However the contents of the box cannot be inspected or looked at until the tamper proof seal has been broken, in which instance the product cannot be sold again if the client is not satisfied with the product.
It is known in the industry that often incorrect brake pads are supplied to customers. Brake pads exist which are identical in every way except for their thickness. Thus a brake pad needs to be measured by a prospective customer, and the prospective customer often wants to superimpose his worn brake pad over a new brake pad to ensure they are identical before he is prepared to purchase the new brake pad.
The actual handling and tactile experience of a product during the buying process is important to ensure customer satisfaction.
Skin packaging methods, in which a flexible film is laid over a product on a sheet, are disclosed in WO 00/50313 and US 3835618.
According to the invention a container includes at least one product within the container, the product being secured in the container between an interior surface of the container and a layer of flexible material, the container being made of an air pervious corrugated board characterized in that the board is coated with an air impervious layer on its outer surface so that air could be drawn out from between the layer of flexible material and the interior surface of the corrugated board through the interior surface of the corrugated board and between flutes of the corrugated board when the product is secured in position.
The layer of flexible material is preferably skin packaged over the product and adhered to the interior surface of the container by an adhesive.
The container may be a box and the interior surface is preferably the surface of a base, sidewalls or lid of the box.
A product is preferably secured to each of the base, sidewalls and lid of the box.
The layer of flexible material is preferably transparent.
According to another aspect of the invention a blank for a container includes a base panel, sidewall panel and a lid panel, the blank having an upper surface and a lower surface, with at least one product being secured to the upper surface of one of the panels by a layer of flexible material which covers the product and is secured to the upper surface so that in a container erected from the blank the product is located within the container, the blank being made from an air pervious corrugated board, characterized in that the lower surface of the board is coated with an air impervious layer so that air could be drawn out from between the layer of flexible material and the upper surface of the corrugated board through the upper surface of the corrugated board and between flutes of the corrugated board when the product is secured to the upper surface of one of the panels.
The layer of flexible material is preferably skin packaged over the product and secured to the panel by an adhesive.
According to another aspect of the invention a method of packaging a product includes the steps of:

providing a corrugated board having an air pervious upper surface and a lower surface coated with an air impervious layer with flutes located between the upper and lower surfaces;
locating the product on the upper surface of the board;
locating a layer of flexible material over the product;
drawing air out from between the layer of flexible material and the upper surface of the board through the upper surface of the board and between the flutes of the board;
adhering the layer of flexible material to the board surrounding the product by an adhesive to secure the product to the board; and ,
forming the board into a container so that the product is located within the container.

The product is preferably secured to the board by skin packaging the layer of flexible material over the product and adhering the layer of flexible material to the board surrounding the product by an adhesive.
According to another aspect of the invention a method of securing at least one product to a blank for a container includes the steps of:

providing a blank for a container, the blank having an air pervious upper surface and a lower surface coated with an air impervious layer with flutes located between the upper and lower surfaces;
skin packaging a product to the upper surface of the board with a layer of flexible material by drawing air out from between the layer of flexible material and the upper surface of the board through the upper surface of the board and between the flutes of the board; and
adhering the flexible layer of material to the board surrounding the product.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a blank for a box with four brake pads secured to the blank by a transparent plastic sheet;
Figure 2 is a plan view of the blank without the brake pads and the transparent plastic sheet;
Figures 3a to 3e are perspective views showing how the box is erected from the blank of figure 1, with the brake pads omitted for the sake of clarity;
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view on line IV - IV of figure 3(e) showing the brake pads secured within the box;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a packaging machine;
Figures 6 to 11 are diagrammatic perspective views of the packaging machine showing how the brake pads are packaged onto the blank; and
Figure 12 is a cross-sectional side view on line XII - XII of figure 11.

Referring firstly to figures 1 to 3, a corrugated cardboard blank 10 has four brake pads 12 secured to it by a layer of transparent plastic sheeting or material 14. The brake pads 12 are secured to an upper surface 15 of the blank 10.
The blank 10 has a base panel 16, two sidewall panels 18 and a lid panel 20. The base panel 16 has endwall panels 22 extending from it. Each endwall panel 22 has an endwall panel locking flap 24 extending from it. Each endwall panel locking flap 24 has a locking lug 26 for location within a locking lug receiving aperture 28 when the blank 10 is erected to form a box 30.
Each sidewall panel 18 has sidewall panel flaps 32. The lid panel 20 has lid panel flaps 34, and an additional sidewall panel 36 which has its own sidewall panel flaps 38.
The corrugated cardboard from which the blank 10 is made has horizontally extending flutes 17, and is made of E-flute corrugated board. The upper surface 15 of the blank 10, which forms an interior surface 15 of the box 30, is air pervious. The lower surface of the blank 10, which forms the outer surface 19 of the box 30 is coated with an air impervious layer of lacquered ink or varnished ink.
Referring now to figures 5 to 11, a packaging machine 40 has a lid 42 with an aperture 44, and a clamp 46 for clamping a layer of transparent plastic material 48 over the aperture 44 to close the aperture 44. A base 50 containing a grid 52 is located below the lid 42.
The lid 42 has two spaced seals 54 (see figure 6) on its upper surface. The seals 54 surround the aperture 44 and ensure that an airtight seal is formed between the layer of plastic material 48 when the clamp 46 is in its clamping position.
Two trolleys 56 are mounted on a frame 58. Each trolley 56 carries a perforated plate 60 and a jig 62. The trolleys 56 can be moved between a loading position as shown in figures 5 and 6, and a packaging position as shown in figures 7 to 11.
A heater 64 is provided for heating a heat activated adhesive provided on the lower surface of the plastic material 48. The heater 64 is displaceable between a heating position (figure 8) in which it is located directly above the aperture 44 in the lid 42, and a retracted non-heating position.
A cutter 66 is provided for cutting the plastic material 44 to shape once the plastic material has been adhered to the blank 10. The cutter 66 is displaceable between a cutting position in which it locates within the aperture 44 in the lid 42 to cut the plastic material to shape, and an inoperative position in which it is located above the aperture 44.
The plastic material 48 is provided on a roll 68. The heat activated adhesive is applied to the lower surface of the plastic material in a strip having a width substantially the same as the length of the panels 16, 18 and 20 of the blank 10.
In use, the blank 10 is located on the perforated plate 60 within the template 62 whilst the trolley is in its loading position as shown in figure 6. The brake blocks 12 are positioned on the panels 16, 18 and 20 of the blank. The plastic material 48 is unrolled from the roll 68 to cover the aperture 44 as shown in figure 6.
Referring now to figure 7, the trolley 56 is moved to its packaging position above the base 50. The clamp 46 moves downwardly to its clamping position in which it clamps the layer of plastic material 48 onto the seals 54.
Referring now to figure 8, the heater 64 is moved to its heating position in which it heats the heat activated adhesive on the lower surface of the plastic material 48. The clamp 46 has an aperture 47 through which heat from the heater can pass to activate the adhesive. Once the heat activated adhesive has been activated by heat from the heater 64, the heater 64 is retracted to its non-heating position as can be seen from figure 9.
Referring now to figure 10, the base 50 moves upwardly and lifts the perforated plate 60 off the trolley 56. The base 50 continues to move upwardly until it forms an airtight seal against the bottom of the lid 42 as can be seen from figures 11 and 12. In this position air is withdrawn via a suction pipe 70 from a chamber formed between the base 50 on the one hand, and the lid 42 and the plastic material 48 on the other hand. The air is drawn through the air pervious upper surface of the blank 10 and out of the blank 10 between the flutes of the blank 10. This causes the plastic material 48 to be skin packaged or vacuum formed over the brake pads 12. The heat activated adhesive adheres to the exposed portions of the panels 16, 18 and 20 surrounding the brake pads 12.
The cutter 66 then moves downwardly to its cutting position in which it cuts the plastic material 48 away from the rest of the plastic material.
The base 50 is then lowered to lower the perforated plate 60 back onto its trolley 56. The trolley 56 is then moved to its loading position in which the blank 10 can be removed from the perforated plate 60 and erected into a box 30. The clamp 46 is also undamped so that the packaging process can be repeated using the second trolley whilst the first trolley is loaded.
The transparent plastic material 14 surrounding the brake pads 12 provides a tamper-evident seal. Although the invention has been described with reference to brake pads it will be appreciated that products other than brake pads could be packaged in the manner described herein.
If desired the box 30 can be collapsed so that the sealed brake pads 12 can be displayed to customers. In its collapsed configuration (figure 1) the blank 10 can be suspended from a hanging point for display purposes.
It will be noted that the plastic material 14 does not cover the entire upper surface 15 of the blank 10. The plastic material is adhered to, and covers, only those panels of the blank 10 on which the brake pads 12 are located. The plastic material 14 is relatively expensive and thus a cost saving is achieved by only applying the plastic material to that part of the blank 10 immediately surrounding the brake pads 12. The plastic material 14 does not cover the flaps 24, 32, 34 and 38 and neither does it cover the endwall panels 22 and the additional sidewall panel 36.
It will be appreciated that many modifications or variations of the invention are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

A container (30) including at least one product (12) within the container, the product being secured in the container between an interior surface (15) of the container and a layer of flexible material (14, 48), the container being made of an air pervious corrugated board (10) characterized in that the board is coated with an air impervious layer on its outer surface (19) so that air could be drawn out from between the layer of flexible material and the interior surface of the corrugated board through the interior surface of the corrugated board and between flutes (17) of the corrugated board when the product is secured in position.
A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the layer of flexible material (14, 48) is skin packaged over the product and adhered to the interior surface (15) of the container by an adhesive.
A container as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the container (30) is a box and the interior surface (15) is the surface of a base (16), sidewalls (18) or lid (20) of the box.
A container as claimed in claim 3, wherein a product (12) is secured to each of the base (16), sidewalls (18) and lid (20) of the box.
A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the layer of flexible material (14, 48) is transparent.
A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the flexible material (14, 48) extends over only a portion of the interior surface (15) of the container.
A container as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4,wherein the box has flaps over which the flexible material (14, 48) does not extend.
A blank (10) for a container (30) including a base panel (16), sidewall panel (18) and a lid panel (20), the blank having an upper surface (15) and a lower surface (19), with at least one product (12) being secured to the upper surface of one of the panels by a layer of flexible material (14, 48) which covers the product and is secured to the upper surface so that in a container erected from the blank the product is located within the container, the blank being made from an air pervious corrugated board, characterized in that the lower surface of the board is coated with an air impervious layer so that air could be drawn out from between the layer of flexible material and the upper surface of the corrugated board through the upper surface of the corrugated board and between flutes (17) of the corrugated board when the product is secured to the upper surface of one of the panels.
A blank as claimed in claim 8, wherein the layer of flexible material (14, 48) is skin packaged over the product (12) and covers the panel, and wherein the layer of flexible material is secured to at least one of the panels by an adhesive.
A blank as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the flexible material (14, 48) extends over only a portion of the upper surface (15) of the blank.
A blank as claimed in claim 8, claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the panels have flaps over which the flexible material (14, 48) does not extend.
A method of packaging a product (12) including the steps of:
providing a corrugated board (10) having an air pervious upper surface (15) and a lower surface (19) coated with an air impervious layer with flutes (17) located between the upper and lower surfaces;

locating the product on the upper surface (15) of the board;

locating a layer of flexible material (14, 48) over the product;

drawing air out from between the layer of flexible material and the upper surface of the board through the upper surface of the board and between the flutes of the board;

adhering the layer of flexible material to the board surrounding the product by an adhesive to secure the product to the board; and

forming the board into a container (30) so that the product is located within the container.
A method of securing at least one product (12) to a blank (10) for a container (30) including the steps of:
providing a blank for a container, the blank having an air pervious upper surface (15) and a lower surface (19) coated with an air impervious layer with flutes (17) located between the upper and lower surfaces;

skin packaging a product to the upper surface of the board with a layer of flexible material (14, 48) by drawing air out from between the layer of flexible material and the upper surface of the board through the upper surface of the board and between the flutes of the board; and

adhering the flexible layer of material to the board surrounding the product.