EP1785357B1 - Apparatus and method for the manufacture of easy-to-open shrink sleeve wrap packages - Google Patents
Apparatus and method for the manufacture of easy-to-open shrink sleeve wrap packages Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP1785357B1 EP1785357B1 EP05024393A EP05024393A EP1785357B1 EP 1785357 B1 EP1785357 B1 EP 1785357B1 EP 05024393 A EP05024393 A EP 05024393A EP 05024393 A EP05024393 A EP 05024393A EP 1785357 B1 EP1785357 B1 EP 1785357B1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- film
- segments
- weakness
- package
- shrink
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B26—HAND CUTTING TOOLS; CUTTING; SEVERING
- B26F—PERFORATING; PUNCHING; CUTTING-OUT; STAMPING-OUT; SEVERING BY MEANS OTHER THAN CUTTING
- B26F1/00—Perforating; Punching; Cutting-out; Stamping-out; Apparatus therefor
- B26F1/18—Perforating by slitting, i.e. forming cuts closed at their ends without removal of material
- B26F1/22—Perforating by slitting, i.e. forming cuts closed at their ends without removal of material to form non-rectilinear cuts, e.g. for tabs
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B61/00—Auxiliary devices, not otherwise provided for, for operating on sheets, blanks, webs, binding material, containers or packages
- B65B61/02—Auxiliary devices, not otherwise provided for, for operating on sheets, blanks, webs, binding material, containers or packages for perforating, scoring, slitting, or applying code or date marks on material prior to packaging
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B9/00—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, e.g. liquids or semiliquids, in flat, folded, or tubular webs of flexible sheet material; Subdividing filled flexible tubes to form packages
- B65B9/02—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material between opposed webs
- B65B9/026—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material between opposed webs the webs forming a curtain
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B26—HAND CUTTING TOOLS; CUTTING; SEVERING
- B26D—CUTTING; DETAILS COMMON TO MACHINES FOR PERFORATING, PUNCHING, CUTTING-OUT, STAMPING-OUT OR SEVERING
- B26D1/00—Cutting through work characterised by the nature or movement of the cutting member or particular materials not otherwise provided for; Apparatus or machines therefor; Cutting members therefor
- B26D1/0006—Cutting members therefor
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B26—HAND CUTTING TOOLS; CUTTING; SEVERING
- B26D—CUTTING; DETAILS COMMON TO MACHINES FOR PERFORATING, PUNCHING, CUTTING-OUT, STAMPING-OUT OR SEVERING
- B26D1/00—Cutting through work characterised by the nature or movement of the cutting member or particular materials not otherwise provided for; Apparatus or machines therefor; Cutting members therefor
- B26D1/0006—Cutting members therefor
- B26D2001/0033—Cutting members therefor assembled from multiple blades
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B26—HAND CUTTING TOOLS; CUTTING; SEVERING
- B26D—CUTTING; DETAILS COMMON TO MACHINES FOR PERFORATING, PUNCHING, CUTTING-OUT, STAMPING-OUT OR SEVERING
- B26D1/00—Cutting through work characterised by the nature or movement of the cutting member or particular materials not otherwise provided for; Apparatus or machines therefor; Cutting members therefor
- B26D1/0006—Cutting members therefor
- B26D2001/004—Cutting members therefor not rotating
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B26—HAND CUTTING TOOLS; CUTTING; SEVERING
- B26D—CUTTING; DETAILS COMMON TO MACHINES FOR PERFORATING, PUNCHING, CUTTING-OUT, STAMPING-OUT OR SEVERING
- B26D1/00—Cutting through work characterised by the nature or movement of the cutting member or particular materials not otherwise provided for; Apparatus or machines therefor; Cutting members therefor
- B26D1/0006—Cutting members therefor
- B26D2001/006—Cutting members therefor the cutting blade having a special shape, e.g. a special outline, serrations
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B26—HAND CUTTING TOOLS; CUTTING; SEVERING
- B26F—PERFORATING; PUNCHING; CUTTING-OUT; STAMPING-OUT; SEVERING BY MEANS OTHER THAN CUTTING
- B26F1/00—Perforating; Punching; Cutting-out; Stamping-out; Apparatus therefor
- B26F1/02—Perforating by punching, e.g. with relatively-reciprocating punch and bed
- B26F1/14—Punching tools; Punching dies
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for producing new shrink sleeve wrap packages comprising an easy-to-open tear strip defined by a peculiar pattern of perforations created across the width of the thermoplastic packaging material.
- an article to be packaged or a plurality of articles that are to be formed into a unit for distribution or transportation are conveyed by an automatic in-feed conveyor to a sleeve wrapping machine, wrapped up in a shrink film which is then transversely sealed into a tubular form and conveyed to a heat tunnel where the wrapping film will shrink to conform to the packaged article or plurality of articles, in the latter case holding them together in a tightly packed condition.
- Shrink sleeve wrapping can be used to individually package a single article, such as for instance any yarn holder in textile, such as bobbins, tubes and the like, or to combine two or more different articles that however need to be sold or at least distributed together, or to collate a plurality of the same article in a single unit. Since this last one is the most interesting application of shrink sleeve wrapping, in the following the apparatus and method of the present invention will be discussed in relation therewith, but this should not be interpreted as a limitation to the scope of the appended claims.
- shrink sleeve wrapping process There are essentially two main processes for shrink sleeve wrapping, i.e. a single roll shrink sleeve wrapping process, which can be considered a discontinuous process, and a two-rolls shrink sleeve wrapping process, which is a continuous process.
- a single sheet of shrink wrap film of suitable size is cut from a roll of film and is wrapped around the articles to be packaged, that are grouped together, with or without a supporting tray, to form a desired external configuration, thus forming a tube that covers the top, bottom and the leading and trailing sides of the collation, with the longitudinal edges of the film projecting beyond the other two side edges thereof.
- the leading edge of the sheet will then be overlapped by the trailing edge, typically on the bottom of the package, i.e., underneath the collation, and be sealed thereto. This occurs before the collated package enters into the heated shrink tunnel or preferably at the same time.
- any sealing system and preferably any heat-sealing system can suitably be employed, while in the latter case it will be the pressure created by the weight of the products in combination with the high temperature reached in the heated shrink tunnel to give the overlapped transverse seal.
- the film will shrink tightly around the collated products with the projecting longitudinal edges collapsing against the side edges of the collation thus creating, in a film thickened area, the so-called " bullseyes" , i.e. openings that are typically used for gripping, sufficiently large to allow introduction of the fingers of one hand and sufficiently resistant to allow raising the collated package and moving it without any rupturing.
- the shrink film is fed from two different rolls, an upper roll and a lower roll.
- a first transverse seal joins the leading edges of said two films, a collation of products is then pushed against said transverse seal pulling both films to wrap up the collation and a second transverse seal is then created behind the collation at the same time as a transverse cut to severe the sealed package from the film webs and the front transverse seal between the leading edges of the next package.
- the loosely wrapped up package is then conveyed to a heated shrink tunnel to complete the packaging process as seen for the single roll system.
- one of the main problems is to obtain a package that besides keeping the articles together in a tightly manner as a self-contained unit may also make them easily accessible and removable from the package, if and when desired, by the application of an appropriate force, in a relatively simple, effective, and non time consuming manner without requiring the use of cutting devices that may adversely affect the packaged articles and/or create a safety problem if not used correctly.
- collated packages containing tear strips defined by perforations that can be torn when the articles are to be removed are known in the prior art. This is typically achieved by applying perforations to the film in its running direction, i.e. parallel with the edges of the film web.
- packages known in the art suffer from certain inadequacies. In most of the cases in fact tearing of the strip produces a weakening of the whole package and usually allows only a few of the packages to be released easily from the shrink sleeve while keeping the remaining articles within the package.
- EP-A-794125 describes a method for the manufacture of an easy-to-open shrink package by creating a tear strip defined by weakening lines wherein the length of the weakness segments as well as the distance between them is purposely set to weaken with greater intensity certain specific sections of the weakening lines, in particular those at the extreme edges of the film used in the wrapping process. This may result in the premature failing of the openings feature and definitely rules out the continued portability of the package after opening.
- the first object of the present invention is a method for the manufacture of an easy-to-open shrink sleeve wrapped package wherein the package contains a tear strip defined by a close sequence of pairs of mutually diverging weakness segments created transversally in the film web, i.e., created in a direction that is at 90 degrees to the direction of movement of the film, wherein
- the second object of the present invention is the device that is used for the creation of the transversal tear strip, as defined in the first object, the third object is the machine for shrink sleeve wrapping that incorporates said device, and the fourth object is said machine for shrink sleeve wrapping that further incorporates an applicator which affixes a lift tab label to the final shrink package.
- Figure 1 is a plan view of the packaging film comprising a tear strip with a specific pattern of perforations created in accordance to the present invention
- Figure 2 is a prospective view of a shrink sleeve wrapped package with the tear strip according to the embodiment of Figure 1 obtained by the process of the invention
- Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c are plan views of different alternative slits created at the tear strip starting position
- Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of the two rolls shrink sleeve wrapping process including the step of creating the tear strip
- Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the perforating device which is used in the process of Figure 4 to create the tear strip;
- Figure 6 shows cross-sectional views of an exemplary knife used in the process and device of the invention
- 10 is the film web
- the arrow indicates the longitudinal direction in which film 10 is moved
- 11 indicates the easy-to open strip which is created and defined by the sequence of pairs of mutually diverging weakness segments, 12,12', across the film web.
- the film as known in the art is typically made of a mono- or multi-layer thermoplastic material, and is flexible enough to be used in a wrapping process, it is heat-sealable, as in the shrink wrapping process it is normally heat-sealed either to itself, in the single roll process, or to another thermoplastic film, in the two roll process, and it is a shrink film, i.e., it shrinks at least in the longitudinal direction when heated to the temperature reached in a conventional heat shrink tunnel, so as to tightly cling to the packaged articles.
- Shrink films for shrink sleeve wrapping applications have a thickness generally comprised between about 12 and about 150 ⁇ m, depending on the type, weight and number of articles to be packaged.
- suitable shrink films have a thickness preferably comprised between about 35 and about 120 ⁇ m. They might be cold- or solid-state oriented films, i.e., films obtained by extrusion or co-extrusion, followed by a quenching step, a reheating to a temperature below the melting temperature of the thermoplastic material employed and a bi-axial or preferably mono-axial stretching.
- a thickness generally comprised between about 12 and about 150 ⁇ m, depending on the type, weight and number of articles to be packaged.
- suitable shrink films have a thickness preferably comprised between about 35 and about 120 ⁇ m. They might be cold- or solid-state oriented films, i.e., films obtained by extrusion or co-extrusion, followed by a quenching step, a reheating to a temperature below the melting temperature of the thermoplastic material
- Typical thermoplastic materials employed in shrink sleeve wrapping processes are polyolefins, and in particular ethylene homo- or co-polymers and propylene homo- or co-polymers.
- the tear strip 11 is the area of film surface comprised between the sequence of pairs of weakness segments 12,12'.
- the two weakness segments making up each pair are symmetrically positioned with respect to a transverse axis passing between them and are diverging with respect to said axis.
- the various pairs still indicated in the drawings with the numerals 12,12', have preferably the same shape and the same size, diverge in the same direction, i.e., the direction of tearing, and are sequenced, one over the other, across the film width.
- said tear strip 11 will have a minimum width, given by the minimum distance between each pair (a), and a maximum width, given by the maximum distance (b) between each pair.
- the value of (a) will be chosen in such a way to give a tear strip that can be easily grasped by hand and is sufficiently resistant not to break during the tearing-off.
- a typical value for (a) would thus be in the range 1.5 to 4 cm, preferably 2 to 3 cm.
- the weakness segments of each pair will not be parallel but mutually diverging. Preferably they will be slightly diverging, wherein, as used herein, this will mean that the angle between the two lines of which the segments are part will not be higher than 30°, typically comprised between 5° and 20°.
- the maximum distance (b) will thus depend, for a given angle, on the length of each pair of segments.
- the length of segments 12 and 12' is comprised between about 3 and about 7 cm, preferably between about 4 and about 6 cm, and more preferably around 5 cm.
- the angle between segments 12 and 12' and the length thereof will then dictate the width of the receiving slots for the perforator blades shown in figure 5 (slots 44 and 45 in the stationary backing 43).
- the weakness segments are obtained by perforating the film.
- the perforations in said segments after shrinking, can have the shape of circular holes but perforations with an elongated dash-like shape are preferred. They should be arranged in sufficient proximity to one another linearly to permit the shrunk wrap film to open along the perforations upon application of a reasonable manual force.
- dash-shaped perforations from about 2 to about 5 mm long, separated by a similar length, would generally provide the desired easy tearing of the strip 11.
- Figure 1 illustrates how each pair of weakness segments ends before the beginning of the next pair.
- the distance (d) between the terminal edge of one pair of weakness segments and the next pair is small enough to allow conjunction between the two as a result of tear extending from the end of the opened pair of weakness segments to the next pair when tearing of the strip is continued. Said distance (d) however should not be too small as in such a case it would be difficult to control the force required to break the desired number of pairs of weakness segments.
- said distance will thus be comprised between at least about 0.5 and about 3.0 cm, preferably between about 0.6 and about 2.8 cm and more preferably between about 0.7 and about 2.5 cm.
- the perforations do not reach the edges of the web and preferably they are sufficiently distant therefrom that it will be possible to grip and move the end shrunk package by the bullseye openings without risking the inadvertent rupture of the package.
- the film web will be perforated in such a way that a tear strip will be present only on one surface of the end shrunk package.
- the tear strip will be centered on one surface of the end package, generally the top surface, leaving an area of from about 3 to about 10 % of the package width, on each edge, non perforated.
- 13 represents a typical slit that links the starting edges of the first pair of weakness segments 12,12'.
- the aim of slit 13 is to create a starting position for the tear strip 11 or even a pull tab that facilitates opening. Once one finger has been inserted into the slit and it is thus possible to grasp the film, it would be sufficient to apply an upwardly and outwardly directed force thereto to cause the desired pairs of weakness lines to break, thus forming a tear strip of the desired length from the starting position, and thus be able to selectively remove only some of the packaged articles while maintaining the remaining ones within the self-contained unit.
- the shape of the slit is such to ensure that it severs the film transversely between the two starting perforations of the first pair of weakness segments.
- Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c illustrate different possible shapes of the slit 13.
- the slit has the shape of an inverted V while in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3b the slit is slightly concave.
- the slit 13 is slightly concave and its edges 13a and 13b extend beyond the transverse weakening segments. This configuration of the slit 13 will facilitate the complete opening of the package when and if this is desired. Other shapes may however be easily envisaged.
- the package illustrated in Figure 2 contains an array of articles indicated by numeral 22.
- the tear strip is obtained by a sequence, in this example, of five pairs of weakness segments 12,12'.
- a slit 13 co-joins the two segments of the first or top pair.
- Part of the surface of said label or tape-like member 14 facing the package surface comprises an adhesive, such as a pressure-sensitive adhesive and is indicated in Figure 2 as 14a. Said part is secured to the surface of the package covering and closing the slit 13 that defines the tear strip starting position, while the non adhesive part of the label or tape-like member 14, indicated in Figure 2 as 14b, covers the non perforated edge of the package beyond slit 13.
- the label or tape-like member 14 provides extension means for pulling the tear strip from the starting position created by slit 13 when desired and also serves the purpose of preventing the slit 13 from being accidentally pulled. It is preferably suitably colored or printed to give to the end user a clear indication of the presence of a tear strip and of the direction of tearing to be applied.
- 17 is the side bullseye opening formed in the end shrunk package 10.
- Figure 4 schematically illustrates the method according to the present invention that provides for the creation of the tear strip with the above indicated pattern by perforating the shrink film, across the film width, before the wrapping step.
- 21 is an in-feed conveyor where the articles to be packaged 22 are grouped together in the desired configuration and moved to face the wrapping films.
- the upper shrink wrap film 25 is unwound from an upper film roll 24 and delivered through a plurality of dance bars 26 which create film tension to the perforating unit 27, that will be described in detail in connection with Figure 5 .
- the lower shrink wrap film 29 is delivered from the lower film roll 28.
- a lowering heat-sealing jaw 30 and fixed position sealing jaw pad 31 create the rear transverse seal 15 of one package and the front transverse seal 16 of the next package and severe, by means of a blade or knife positioned in-between the two sealing bars and parallel thereto, the two packages.
- the array of articles 22 on the edge of conveyor 21 is then pushed by pusher 23 against the sealed films as soon as the sealing jaw 30 opens up, and is transferred to adjacent conveyor 32, pulling with it the upper and the lower films.
- Conveyor 32 then brings the separated package 18 to a suitably heated shrink tunnel 33 where the loose tube of shrink film wrapping the array of products in package 18 shrinks and tightly clings to the products giving the end shrunk package 10, with the side bullseye openings 17.
- the end package is then removed through an out-feed conveyor 34 and if desired it is transported on suitable conveyoring 35 to a position where an applicator 36 (schematically represented) applies thereto the pull to open label 14, to complete the process.
- an applicator 36 (schematically represented) applies thereto the pull to open label 14, to complete the process.
- the applicator 36 is sufficiently distant from the shrink tunnel 33, e.g. from about 1 to about 4 m, to allow partial cooling of the package to take place before application of the label.
- the applicator 36 could be closer to the shrink tunnel 33 but in such a case a cooling fan or anyway a cooling system should preferably be provided between the two.
- the perforation process that occurs in the perforating unit 27 is an intermittent process (while the unwinding of film 25 from the roll 24 is a continuous process) and coincides with the closing cycle of the sealing jaw 30 to the sealing jaw pad 31 that makes the sleeve wrap around the articles to be packaged.
- FIG. 5 illustrates in detail perforating unit 27.
- the upper film 25 delivered through the dance bars 26 is intermittently clamped between two clamps 40 and 41, where the upper parts 40a and 41 a move downward in a direction perpendicular to the film web against corresponding lower stationary parts 40b and 41 b to trap the film.
- a perforating device 42 is positioned above the film web between the two upper clamps 40a and 41 a. Once the film has been clamped, the perforating device lowers against a stationary backing 43 and creates the specific pattern of perforations described above. Clamping occurs along the whole width of the film web or at least along that width of the film web that will be perforated.
- Clamping can occur simultaneously by lowering and pressing both upper clamps at the same time or the upstream clamp 40 may be actioned first and the downstream one 41 immediately after, to further tension the film between the two clamps.
- the distance between the two upper clamps should be sufficient to allow the easy vertical movement of the perforating device 42 between them but not much larger than that.
- pneumatic clamps are typically employed and are generally preferred, any other type of clamps, e.g., hydraulic, oleodynamic, electric, or spring actuated clamps, may be suitably employed.
- the lower stationary backing 43 will contain cavities positioned in such a way to allow lowering of the knife into the backing to the desired extent thus creating the desired perforation pattern. While said cavities in the lower stationary backing may correspond precisely to the design of the knife, a better flexibility can be obtained by the use of a stationary backing 43 with two separate parallel channels, 44 and 45, positioned at a distance equal to or lower than the minimum distance (a) of each pair of weakness segments, where each of said channels has a suitable depth as well as a width suitable to receive the set of knives that create one of the two sequences of parallel weakness segments of the tear strip.
- 46 indicates a dancing roll that is secured to the perforating unit frame by fixing one or both of its ends in one or respectively two slots 47.
- the position of said dancing roll 46 can be varied, by raising or lowering it along side slots 47, whenever an adjustement of the positioning of the tear strip on the package surface is required.
- Figure 6a is a cross-sectional view of the knife 50 used for the creation of the pair of weakness segments of Figure 6b
- Figure 6c is a front view of the same knife.
- the cutting edge of the knife 50 is serrated with narrow teeth of the same size and triangular sharpened shape.
- the knife will engage with the film in the perforating device and generally penetrate into the film by from about 20 to about 70 % of the teeth height (from the cutting edge to the valley).
- the size of the teeth is then suitably selected so as to obtain perforations in sufficient proximity to one another linearly to permit the shrunk wrap film to open along the perforations upon tearing.
- dash-shaped perforations are used to create the weakness segments, the perforations will preferably be from about 2 mm to about 5 mm long and separated by a similar unperforated length.
- the perforations can be made by using a perforating unit device as described above or alternatively a rotary cutter where a knife capable of providing the desired perforation pattern is slideably mounted thereon or is integral thereto.
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Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for producing new shrink sleeve wrap packages comprising an easy-to-open tear strip defined by a peculiar pattern of perforations created across the width of the thermoplastic packaging material.
- Typically in shrink sleeve wrapping, an article to be packaged or a plurality of articles that are to be formed into a unit for distribution or transportation, are conveyed by an automatic in-feed conveyor to a sleeve wrapping machine, wrapped up in a shrink film which is then transversely sealed into a tubular form and conveyed to a heat tunnel where the wrapping film will shrink to conform to the packaged article or plurality of articles, in the latter case holding them together in a tightly packed condition.
- Shrink sleeve wrapping can be used to individually package a single article, such as for instance any yarn holder in textile, such as bobbins, tubes and the like, or to combine two or more different articles that however need to be sold or at least distributed together, or to collate a plurality of the same article in a single unit. Since this last one is the most interesting application of shrink sleeve wrapping, in the following the apparatus and method of the present invention will be discussed in relation therewith, but this should not be interpreted as a limitation to the scope of the appended claims.
- There are essentially two main processes for shrink sleeve wrapping, i.e. a single roll shrink sleeve wrapping process, which can be considered a discontinuous process, and a two-rolls shrink sleeve wrapping process, which is a continuous process.
- In the former method a single sheet of shrink wrap film of suitable size is cut from a roll of film and is wrapped around the articles to be packaged, that are grouped together, with or without a supporting tray, to form a desired external configuration, thus forming a tube that covers the top, bottom and the leading and trailing sides of the collation, with the longitudinal edges of the film projecting beyond the other two side edges thereof. The leading edge of the sheet will then be overlapped by the trailing edge, typically on the bottom of the package, i.e., underneath the collation, and be sealed thereto. This occurs before the collated package enters into the heated shrink tunnel or preferably at the same time. In the former case any sealing system and preferably any heat-sealing system can suitably be employed, while in the latter case it will be the pressure created by the weight of the products in combination with the high temperature reached in the heated shrink tunnel to give the overlapped transverse seal. In the heated shrink tunnel, the film will shrink tightly around the collated products with the projecting longitudinal edges collapsing against the side edges of the collation thus creating, in a film thickened area, the so-called " bullseyes" , i.e. openings that are typically used for gripping, sufficiently large to allow introduction of the fingers of one hand and sufficiently resistant to allow raising the collated package and moving it without any rupturing.
- In the two-rolls process, the shrink film is fed from two different rolls, an upper roll and a lower roll. A first transverse seal joins the leading edges of said two films, a collation of products is then pushed against said transverse seal pulling both films to wrap up the collation and a second transverse seal is then created behind the collation at the same time as a transverse cut to severe the sealed package from the film webs and the front transverse seal between the leading edges of the next package. The loosely wrapped up package is then conveyed to a heated shrink tunnel to complete the packaging process as seen for the single roll system.
- In both processes one of the main problems is to obtain a package that besides keeping the articles together in a tightly manner as a self-contained unit may also make them easily accessible and removable from the package, if and when desired, by the application of an appropriate force, in a relatively simple, effective, and non time consuming manner without requiring the use of cutting devices that may adversely affect the packaged articles and/or create a safety problem if not used correctly.
- In most of the applications furthermore it would be highly preferable to have an easy-to-open package that may make the packaged products selectively accessible and removable by the application of an appropriate force, while the remainder of the package still may be treated as a self-contained unit. This would in fact allow selective removal of only some of the packaged articles, e.g., a number sufficient to fill in the shelves of a shop, while the package containing the others can still be moved as a single unit.
- Collated packages containing tear strips defined by perforations that can be torn when the articles are to be removed are known in the prior art. This is typically achieved by applying perforations to the film in its running direction, i.e. parallel with the edges of the film web. However the packages known in the art suffer from certain inadequacies. In most of the cases in fact tearing of the strip produces a weakening of the whole package and usually allows only a few of the packages to be released easily from the shrink sleeve while keeping the remaining articles within the package.
- When more sophisticated systems are devised that could solve this problem, then the apparatuses required and the manufacturing methods involved are quite elaborated and not easily, if at all, retrofittable, making them non-applicable on an industrial scale.
- It is therefore an object of the present invention to address this problem and provide a method and apparatus for the manufacture of an improved easy-to-open shrink package that can be easily applicable on industrial scale. It is another specific object of the present invention to provide a device that can be used to retrofit the existing shrink sleeve wrapping machines with the aim at manufacturing improved easy-to-open shrink sleeve wrapped packages.
EP-A-794125 - The first object of the present invention is a method for the manufacture of an easy-to-open shrink sleeve wrapped package wherein the package contains a tear strip defined by a close sequence of pairs of mutually diverging weakness segments created transversally in the film web, i.e., created in a direction that is at 90 degrees to the direction of movement of the film, wherein
- a. the mutually diverging weakness segments have the same or substantially the same shape and size, and diverge in the same direction,
- b. there is distance between the terminal edge of one pair of weakness segments and the next pair, and
- c. said sequence of pairs of mutually diverging weakness segments does not reach the edges of the film.
- The second object of the present invention is the device that is used for the creation of the transversal tear strip, as defined in the first object, the third object is the machine for shrink sleeve wrapping that incorporates said device, and the fourth object is said machine for shrink sleeve wrapping that further incorporates an applicator which affixes a lift tab label to the final shrink package.
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Figure 1 is a plan view of the packaging film comprising a tear strip with a specific pattern of perforations created in accordance to the present invention; -
Figure 2 is a prospective view of a shrink sleeve wrapped package with the tear strip according to the embodiment ofFigure 1 obtained by the process of the invention; -
Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c are plan views of different alternative slits created at the tear strip starting position; -
Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of the two rolls shrink sleeve wrapping process including the step of creating the tear strip; -
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the perforating device which is used in the process ofFigure 4 to create the tear strip; -
Figure 6 shows cross-sectional views of an exemplary knife used in the process and device of the invention; - With reference to
Figure 1 , 10 is the film web, the arrow indicates the longitudinal direction in whichfilm 10 is moved, 11 indicates the easy-to open strip which is created and defined by the sequence of pairs of mutually diverging weakness segments, 12,12', across the film web. The film as known in the art is typically made of a mono- or multi-layer thermoplastic material, and is flexible enough to be used in a wrapping process, it is heat-sealable, as in the shrink wrapping process it is normally heat-sealed either to itself, in the single roll process, or to another thermoplastic film, in the two roll process, and it is a shrink film, i.e., it shrinks at least in the longitudinal direction when heated to the temperature reached in a conventional heat shrink tunnel, so as to tightly cling to the packaged articles. Shrink films for shrink sleeve wrapping applications have a thickness generally comprised between about 12 and about 150 µm, depending on the type, weight and number of articles to be packaged. For most of the conventional shrink sleeve wrapping applications, suitable shrink films have a thickness preferably comprised between about 35 and about 120 µm. They might be cold- or solid-state oriented films, i.e., films obtained by extrusion or co-extrusion, followed by a quenching step, a reheating to a temperature below the melting temperature of the thermoplastic material employed and a bi-axial or preferably mono-axial stretching. Preferably and more conveniently - Typical thermoplastic materials employed in shrink sleeve wrapping processes are polyolefins, and in particular ethylene homo- or co-polymers and propylene homo- or co-polymers. The
tear strip 11 is the area of film surface comprised between the sequence of pairs ofweakness segments 12,12'. The two weakness segments making up each pair, are symmetrically positioned with respect to a transverse axis passing between them and are diverging with respect to said axis. The various pairs, still indicated in the drawings with thenumerals 12,12', have preferably the same shape and the same size, diverge in the same direction, i.e., the direction of tearing, and are sequenced, one over the other, across the film width. Therefore saidtear strip 11 will have a minimum width, given by the minimum distance between each pair (a), and a maximum width, given by the maximum distance (b) between each pair. The value of (a) will be chosen in such a way to give a tear strip that can be easily grasped by hand and is sufficiently resistant not to break during the tearing-off. A typical value for (a) would thus be in the range 1.5 to 4 cm, preferably 2 to 3 cm. As anticipated, the weakness segments of each pair will not be parallel but mutually diverging. Preferably they will be slightly diverging, wherein, as used herein, this will mean that the angle between the two lines of which the segments are part will not be higher than 30°, typically comprised between 5° and 20°. The maximum distance (b) will thus depend, for a given angle, on the length of each pair of segments. Generally the length ofsegments 12 and 12' is comprised between about 3 and about 7 cm, preferably between about 4 and about 6 cm, and more preferably around 5 cm. The angle betweensegments 12 and 12' and the length thereof will then dictate the width of the receiving slots for the perforator blades shown infigure 5 (slots 44 and 45 in the stationary backing 43). - The weakness segments are obtained by perforating the film. The perforations in said segments, after shrinking, can have the shape of circular holes but perforations with an elongated dash-like shape are preferred. They should be arranged in sufficient proximity to one another linearly to permit the shrunk wrap film to open along the perforations upon application of a reasonable manual force. By way of example, dash-shaped perforations, from about 2 to about 5 mm long, separated by a similar length, would generally provide the desired easy tearing of the
strip 11. -
Figure 1 illustrates how each pair of weakness segments ends before the beginning of the next pair. The distance (d) between the terminal edge of one pair of weakness segments and the next pair is small enough to allow conjunction between the two as a result of tear extending from the end of the opened pair of weakness segments to the next pair when tearing of the strip is continued. Said distance (d) however should not be too small as in such a case it would be difficult to control the force required to break the desired number of pairs of weakness segments. Typically said distance will thus be comprised between at least about 0.5 and about 3.0 cm, preferably between about 0.6 and about 2.8 cm and more preferably between about 0.7 and about 2.5 cm. - As illustrated in
Figure 1 the perforations do not reach the edges of the web and preferably they are sufficiently distant therefrom that it will be possible to grip and move the end shrunk package by the bullseye openings without risking the inadvertent rupture of the package. In a most preferred embodiment, illustrated inFigure 2 , the film web will be perforated in such a way that a tear strip will be present only on one surface of the end shrunk package. Preferably the tear strip will be centered on one surface of the end package, generally the top surface, leaving an area of from about 3 to about 10 % of the package width, on each edge, non perforated. - In
Figure 1 , 13 represents a typical slit that links the starting edges of the first pair ofweakness segments 12,12'. The aim ofslit 13 is to create a starting position for thetear strip 11 or even a pull tab that facilitates opening. Once one finger has been inserted into the slit and it is thus possible to grasp the film, it would be sufficient to apply an upwardly and outwardly directed force thereto to cause the desired pairs of weakness lines to break, thus forming a tear strip of the desired length from the starting position, and thus be able to selectively remove only some of the packaged articles while maintaining the remaining ones within the self-contained unit. The shape of the slit is such to ensure that it severs the film transversely between the two starting perforations of the first pair of weakness segments.Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c illustrate different possible shapes of theslit 13. In one embodiment, illustrated inFigure 3a , the slit has the shape of an inverted V while in the embodiment illustrated inFigure 3b the slit is slightly concave. In the preferred embodiment illustrated inFigure 3c , theslit 13 is slightly concave and its edges 13a and 13b extend beyond the transverse weakening segments. This configuration of theslit 13 will facilitate the complete opening of the package when and if this is desired. Other shapes may however be easily envisaged. - The package illustrated in
Figure 2 contains an array of articles indicated bynumeral 22. The tear strip is obtained by a sequence, in this example, of five pairs ofweakness segments 12,12'. A slit 13 co-joins the two segments of the first or top pair. In saidFigure 2 there is also an adhesive label or tape-like member 14. Part of the surface of said label or tape-like member 14 facing the package surface comprises an adhesive, such as a pressure-sensitive adhesive and is indicated inFigure 2 as 14a. Said part is secured to the surface of the package covering and closing theslit 13 that defines the tear strip starting position, while the non adhesive part of the label or tape-like member 14, indicated inFigure 2 as 14b, covers the non perforated edge of the package beyondslit 13. The label or tape-like member 14 provides extension means for pulling the tear strip from the starting position created byslit 13 when desired and also serves the purpose of preventing theslit 13 from being accidentally pulled. It is preferably suitably colored or printed to give to the end user a clear indication of the presence of a tear strip and of the direction of tearing to be applied. In saidFigure 2 , 17 is the side bullseye opening formed in the end shrunkpackage 10. -
Figure 4 schematically illustrates the method according to the present invention that provides for the creation of the tear strip with the above indicated pattern by perforating the shrink film, across the film width, before the wrapping step. In saidFigure 4 , 21 is an in-feed conveyor where the articles to be packaged 22 are grouped together in the desired configuration and moved to face the wrapping films. The uppershrink wrap film 25 is unwound from anupper film roll 24 and delivered through a plurality of dance bars 26 which create film tension to the perforatingunit 27, that will be described in detail in connection withFigure 5 . The lowershrink wrap film 29 is delivered from thelower film roll 28. A lowering heat-sealingjaw 30 and fixed position sealingjaw pad 31 create the reartransverse seal 15 of one package and the fronttransverse seal 16 of the next package and severe, by means of a blade or knife positioned in-between the two sealing bars and parallel thereto, the two packages. The array ofarticles 22 on the edge ofconveyor 21 is then pushed bypusher 23 against the sealed films as soon as the sealingjaw 30 opens up, and is transferred toadjacent conveyor 32, pulling with it the upper and the lower films.Conveyor 32 then brings the separatedpackage 18 to a suitablyheated shrink tunnel 33 where the loose tube of shrink film wrapping the array of products inpackage 18 shrinks and tightly clings to the products giving the end shrunkpackage 10, with theside bullseye openings 17. The end package is then removed through an out-feed conveyor 34 and if desired it is transported onsuitable conveyoring 35 to a position where an applicator 36 (schematically represented) applies thereto the pull to open label 14, to complete the process. In such a case it is preferred that theapplicator 36 is sufficiently distant from theshrink tunnel 33, e.g. from about 1 to about 4 m, to allow partial cooling of the package to take place before application of the label. Alternatively theapplicator 36 could be closer to theshrink tunnel 33 but in such a case a cooling fan or anyway a cooling system should preferably be provided between the two. - The perforation process that occurs in the perforating
unit 27 is an intermittent process (while the unwinding offilm 25 from theroll 24 is a continuous process) and coincides with the closing cycle of the sealingjaw 30 to the sealingjaw pad 31 that makes the sleeve wrap around the articles to be packaged. Alternatively it would also be possible to use reciprocating sealing jaws, where both the upper and the lower jaws move one towards the other. -
Figure 5 illustrates indetail perforating unit 27. In said unit theupper film 25 delivered through the dance bars 26 is intermittently clamped between twoclamps upper parts 40a and 41 a move downward in a direction perpendicular to the film web against corresponding lower stationary parts 40b and 41 b to trap the film. A perforating device 42 is positioned above the film web between the twoupper clamps 40a and 41 a. Once the film has been clamped, the perforating device lowers against astationary backing 43 and creates the specific pattern of perforations described above. Clamping occurs along the whole width of the film web or at least along that width of the film web that will be perforated. Clamping can occur simultaneously by lowering and pressing both upper clamps at the same time or theupstream clamp 40 may be actioned first and thedownstream one 41 immediately after, to further tension the film between the two clamps. The distance between the two upper clamps should be sufficient to allow the easy vertical movement of the perforating device 42 between them but not much larger than that. While pneumatic clamps are typically employed and are generally preferred, any other type of clamps, e.g., hydraulic, oleodynamic, electric, or spring actuated clamps, may be suitably employed. - In correspondence with at least the perforating device 42, the lower
stationary backing 43 will contain cavities positioned in such a way to allow lowering of the knife into the backing to the desired extent thus creating the desired perforation pattern. While said cavities in the lower stationary backing may correspond precisely to the design of the knife, a better flexibility can be obtained by the use of astationary backing 43 with two separate parallel channels, 44 and 45, positioned at a distance equal to or lower than the minimum distance (a) of each pair of weakness segments, where each of said channels has a suitable depth as well as a width suitable to receive the set of knives that create one of the two sequences of parallel weakness segments of the tear strip. - In
Figure 5 , 46 indicates a dancing roll that is secured to the perforating unit frame by fixing one or both of its ends in one or respectively twoslots 47. The position of saiddancing roll 46 can be varied, by raising or lowering it alongside slots 47, whenever an adjustement of the positioning of the tear strip on the package surface is required. -
Figure 6a is a cross-sectional view of theknife 50 used for the creation of the pair of weakness segments ofFigure 6b , whileFigure 6c is a front view of the same knife. The cutting edge of theknife 50 is serrated with narrow teeth of the same size and triangular sharpened shape. The knife will engage with the film in the perforating device and generally penetrate into the film by from about 20 to about 70 % of the teeth height (from the cutting edge to the valley). The size of the teeth is then suitably selected so as to obtain perforations in sufficient proximity to one another linearly to permit the shrunk wrap film to open along the perforations upon tearing. Typically when dash-shaped perforations are used to create the weakness segments, the perforations will preferably be from about 2 mm to about 5 mm long and separated by a similar unperforated length. - When the single roll shrink sleeve wrapping process is employed, the perforations can be made by using a perforating unit device as described above or alternatively a rotary cutter where a knife capable of providing the desired perforation pattern is slideably mounted thereon or is integral thereto.
Claims (15)
- A method of manufacturing an easy-to-open shrink sleeve wrapped package comprising wrapping up a plurality of products in a shrink thermoplastic film (10) and submitting the obtained sleeve to a heat shrinking step to give a tight package, wherein the package comprises a tear strip (11) defined by a close sequence of mutually diverging weakness segments (12,12'), created by perforating across the film width before the wrapping step, to facilitate opening of the package, said method being characterized in thata. the mutually diverging weakness segments have the same or substantially the same shape and size, and diverge in the same direction,b. there is a distance between the terminal edge of one pair of weakness segments and the next pair, andc. said sequence of pairs of mutually diverging weakness segments does not reach the edges of the film.
- The method of claim 1 wherein the perforation is carried out intermittently while the film web is clamped and kept tensioned.
- The method of claim 2 wherein the film is clamped on either side of the perforating device and closely thereto.
- The method of claim 2 wherein the perforation of the film web is synchronized with the sealing cycle of the sleeve wrapping process.
- The method of any of the preceding claims wherein the perforations are in sufficient proximity to one another linearly to permit the shrunk wrap film to open along said perforations upon application of a reasonable manual force.
- The method of any of the preceding claims wherein the perforations have an elongated dash-like shape.
- The method of any of the preceding claims wherein the starting edges of the first pair of mutually diverging weakness segments are joined by a slit to define the tear starting position.
- The method of claim 7 wherein a partially adhesive label or tape-like member is applied, with the adhesive part, over the slit.
- The method of claim 8 wherein the partially adhesive label or tape-like member is a linerless label.
- A unit 27 for perforating a film for shrink sleeve wrapping applications to create therein an easy-to-open tear strip, which unit comprises a perforating device 42, equipped with a knife 50 with teeth arranged to create a sequence of pairs of mutually diverging weakness segments, having the same or substantially the same shape and size, diverging in the same direction, and being sequenced, one over the other across the film width, with a distance between the terminal edge of one pair of weakness segments and the next pair, said knife 50 not reaching the edges of the film web, an opposite stationary backing 43, carved with two channels 44, 45, of suitable size to receive the knife, and, close to the perforating device 42, an upstream clamp 40 and a downstream clamp 41 to block and tension the film web during perforation, so that perforation is carried out intermittently across the film web.
- The unit of claim 10 wherein the clamps 40 and 41 are pneumatic clamps.
- A shrink sleeve wrapping machine comprising means for unwinding the packaging film(s), means for wrapping the unwound film(s) loosely around the articles to be packaged, means for transverse sealing and cutting off the loosely wrapped up packages and means for heating them to shrink the loose sleeve around the articles, said machine being characterized in that it further comprises a perforating unit 27 as in any of preceding claims 10 and 11 positioned between the film(s) unwinding means and the wrapping means.
- The shrink sleeve wrapping machine of claim 12 which further comprises an applicator 36 of a partially adhesive label or tape-like member positioned downstream the heating means.
- The shrink sleeve wrapping machine of claim 13 wherein the partially adhesive label or tape-like member is a linerless label.
- The shrink wrapping machine of claim 14 which is a two rolls shrink sleeve wrapping machine.
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP05024393A EP1785357B1 (en) | 2005-11-09 | 2005-11-09 | Apparatus and method for the manufacture of easy-to-open shrink sleeve wrap packages |
AT05024393T ATE494227T1 (en) | 2005-11-09 | 2005-11-09 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING EASY-TO-OPEN SHRINK PACKAGING |
DE602005025778T DE602005025778D1 (en) | 2005-11-09 | 2005-11-09 | Apparatus and method for making easy-open shrink-wrap packages |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP05024393A EP1785357B1 (en) | 2005-11-09 | 2005-11-09 | Apparatus and method for the manufacture of easy-to-open shrink sleeve wrap packages |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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EP1785357A1 EP1785357A1 (en) | 2007-05-16 |
EP1785357B1 true EP1785357B1 (en) | 2011-01-05 |
Family
ID=35977400
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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EP05024393A Not-in-force EP1785357B1 (en) | 2005-11-09 | 2005-11-09 | Apparatus and method for the manufacture of easy-to-open shrink sleeve wrap packages |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
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EP (1) | EP1785357B1 (en) |
AT (1) | ATE494227T1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE602005025778D1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2454476A (en) * | 2007-11-07 | 2009-05-13 | Michael John Gordon | Perforated wipes |
NL2005579C2 (en) * | 2010-01-14 | 2011-01-18 | Label Line B V | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING A PRODUCT AND A PACKED PRODUCT. |
MX2016010944A (en) | 2014-02-28 | 2016-11-11 | Kimberly Clark Co | Easy open bundled packaged goods. |
US20190031382A1 (en) * | 2017-07-26 | 2019-01-31 | Alain Cerf | Cooling Holes for Film Wrapped Articles |
US20200055652A1 (en) | 2018-08-17 | 2020-02-20 | Niagara Bottling, Llc | Perforated case pack top panel |
CN114148563B (en) * | 2021-12-14 | 2023-02-14 | 广州益普包装技术有限公司 | Automatic four-side bag sealing machine integrating packaging |
Family Cites Families (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
SE392084B (en) * | 1972-10-03 | 1977-03-14 | Tetra Pak Int | ASSEMBLY THAT WHEN SHRINKING MOVEMENT OF FOREMAL REPLACES AN OPENING DEVICE IN THE FORM OF A RIP STRIP |
AT384410B (en) * | 1984-03-27 | 1987-11-10 | Neusiedler Ag | PACKING FOR A STACK OF PAPER SHEETS AND METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION THEREOF |
US4852442A (en) * | 1988-03-30 | 1989-08-01 | Pottorff Earl T | Self-sharpening perforator for plastic film |
US5492041A (en) * | 1994-04-06 | 1996-02-20 | Valkanov; Rossen I. | Pneumatic equipment for synchronous piercing of slits |
IT1285557B1 (en) * | 1996-02-08 | 1998-06-18 | Baumer Srl | METHOD TO OBTAIN AT LEAST ONE OPENING TEAR BAND IN HEAT-SHRINKABLE PACKAGING USING SHEET SECTIONS |
US5771662A (en) * | 1996-06-28 | 1998-06-30 | Douglas Machine Limited Liability Company | Apparatus and methods for producing shrink wrap packaging |
DE19750429A1 (en) * | 1997-11-14 | 1999-05-20 | Gerro Plast Gmbh | Bottle or container with removable sleeve |
EP1074481A1 (en) * | 1999-07-22 | 2001-02-07 | The Procter & Gamble Company | A flexible bag having a tear off band for easy opening |
-
2005
- 2005-11-09 DE DE602005025778T patent/DE602005025778D1/en active Active
- 2005-11-09 AT AT05024393T patent/ATE494227T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 2005-11-09 EP EP05024393A patent/EP1785357B1/en not_active Not-in-force
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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DE602005025778D1 (en) | 2011-02-17 |
EP1785357A1 (en) | 2007-05-16 |
ATE494227T1 (en) | 2011-01-15 |
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