GB2472434A

GB2472434A - Packaging material for protecting articles

Info

Publication number: GB2472434A
Application number: GB0913724A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Martin Husband; Adam Clark
Original assignee: Smurfit Kappa Corrugated UK Ltd
Current assignee: Smurfit Kappa Corrugated UK Ltd
Priority date: 2009-08-06
Filing date: 2009-08-06
Publication date: 2011-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 2029-08-06
Also published as: GB2472434B; GB0913724D0

Abstract

A packaging material 1 comprises a plurality of cells 7 having walls formed from foldable sheet material. At least some of the cell walls are provided with deformable projections 9 which in use engage and restrain an article to be protected. The packaging material may be erected, collapsed or as separate components for assembly and the cells may be formed from an array of intersecting first and second elongated members.

Description

A Packaging Material

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a packaging material, more particularly to a readily recyclable and'or reusable packaging material.

Introduction

It is widely known in the art that in order to prevent damage to articles particularly fragile articles such as glass or electronic products from sudden knocks or vibration during transport, storage or even handling, the article is packaged in a protective packaging material. The protective packaging material may act to cushion the article from any sudden impact or vibration during transport and/or provide some degree of resilient restraint to the article within a container or outer packaging material. There are numerous protective packaging materials on the market and these range from moulded polystyrene foam (otherwise known as Styrofoam�) inserts to a more universal type packaging material such as bubble wrap. The former is made from expandable polystyrene beads that are held together with a resin. Typically, the article is sandwiched between polystyrene foam layers, each being specifically shaped or moulded to match the external profile of the article before being housed in an outer corrugated box. The expandable polystyrene foam is soft enough to absorb sudden knocks or vibrations during transport but rigid enough to maintain its shape convenient for transport or handling. However, moulded expanded polystyrene packaging materials are generally tailored to the protection of products having one particular shape and would be unsuitable for providing protection to other articles of a different size and shape.

As a result, disposal of Styrofoam� has been of concern in many countries and in recent years has been recognised as a significant cause of environmental pollution. In an attempt to provide a re-usable packaging material for articles irrespective of their size and shape, it is known to place the article to be shipped in a box and fill the empty voids around article with loose filler material made from expanded polystyrene beads or other shapes made from expanded polystyrene or other foamed or lightweight plastics materials. These act as cushioning and restraining material. However, excessive vibration during transit can cause the filler material to settle and compact by filling unoccupied void spaces in the box thereby causing areas of the article to become vulnerable to damage from any sudden knocks.

Disposal or recycling of such loose packaging'filler materials is itself problematic.

A more universal type of protective packaging involves the use of packaging material comprising an air cell cushion. The air cell cushion has one or more air cells formed by combining and bonding a plurality of plastic films or sheets by heat and pressure, ultrasonic welding or the like, and trapping air in the cell(s). A commonly encountered air cell cushion in the packaging industry is bubble wrap comprising regularly spaced, air filled approximate hemispheres which act like individual cushioning "pillows". In use, the article to be transported is wrapped in one or more layers of the air cell packaging material. The greater the number of layers used to wrap the article, the more protection offered by the air cell packaging material. However, in order to obtain the maximum protection available from such air cell type packaging material it is essential that the article is completely wrapped around with the packaging. Elongated parts or complex shaped parts are often difficult to wrap properly with bubble wrap, and therefore, the ends of the part are prone to impact damage during transport. Although reusable, air cell type packaging material is relatively expensive, labour intensive and requires a certain degree of skill to package. Re-use and recycling remains problematic.

In an attempt to overcome the above problems, EP0748747 (Hewlett Packard Company), teaches a reusable shipping container assembly for providing protection to a multitude of articles irrespective of their shape and size. The container assembly comprises a semi-rigid rectangular corrugated box having a top wall, a bottom wall and side walls. Within the corrugated box is placed a number of flexible foam cushions, opposed surfaces of which are convoluted so that articles to be protected can be clamped between the cushions. In use, the part to be shipped is sandwiched between each pair of the convoluted fonn cushions such that the "interlocking" fingers provided by the convoluted surface mate and provide some frictional side restraint against lateral shock impacts. To provide ftirther support to the article, the convoluted foam cushions are enclosed in a cushioned sleeve having a rectangular cross section. The cushioned sleeve is adapted to enclose the convoluted foam cushions on four sides and to maintain the interlocking convoluted foam cushions in place during shipping. However, despite the re-usability of such packaging material with a range of articles irrespective of shape and size, the use of foam material such as polyurethane foam would mean that manufacturing such packaging material can be relatively expensive, labour intensive, and requires the use of certain chemicals which in some cases are deemed hazardous and not environmentally friendly if discarded. Such costs can represent a significant proportion of the costs for shipping the item. Moreover, the packaging material is bulky and would occupy a lot of space if stored for re-use or transported.

A re-usuable packaging material is thus required to properly support, restrain and/or provide protection to an article against any sudden knocks during transport or handling, which is re-usable to provide protection for a wide range of articles irrespective of shape or size, and which is environmentally friendly and can be stored neatly without occupying a significant amount of space.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides, erected or collapsed or as separate components for assembly, a packaging material comprising a plurality of cells having walls formed from foldable sheet material, at least some of the cell walls being provided with deformable projections which in use engage and restrain an article to be protected. Preferably, at least some of the projections, and more preferably all of the projections, when un-deformed, each extend substantially co-planar to and outward of an associated cell wall. More preferably, the plurality of cells define a first layer and the plurality of deformable projections define a second layer, the first layer being more rigid than the second layer. Similarly to the convoluted surface taught in EP0748747 (Hewlett Packard Company), the plurality of projections serve to provide a "nesting" area for any article placed within the second layer.

Projections in contact with the article deform and conform to the external shape of the article. The remaining un-deflected projections provide a surrounding wall around the periphery of the article thereby restraining the article against any external shock impacts and preventing it from moving about excessively within external packaging. As a result, the packaging material of the present invention is re-usable for a wide range of other articles irrespective of their shape. Moreover, numerous loose articles can be placed into a single piece of the packaging material and are effectively encapsulated by the deformable projections and protected. The deformability of the projections also provides shock absorbing characteristics to cushion the article from any sudden impacts.

On the other hand, the plurality of cells in the first layer serves to cushion the packaging material from larger knocks or bumps and to maintain the general structural integrity of the packaging material during transport. The articles to be protected are positioned exterior of the cells, among the (deformed) projections. Preferably, the cells are formed by an array of intersecting first and second elongated members. Preferably, the first and second elongated members are arranged generally parallel to one another in respective sets. Forming cells from the elongated members in this way, allows the packaging material of the present invention to be collapsible for ease of storage and transport even with the elongated members assembled.

Preferably, the first and/or second elongated members are slotted for interengagement with each other. This allows the packaging material of the present invention to be easily assembled in a way which does not require any skilled labour or can be done using relatively standard automated machinery generally used for assembly of carton divisions, thereby reducing the cost to manufacture the packaging material. Alternatively, the packaging material of the present invention can be presented in a disassembled state for assembly at the point of use.

Preferably, the first and second elongated members are pivotable relative to each other when interengaged. This allows the packaging material to be easily erected from a collapsed state with little effort. More preferably, the first and second elongated members intersect at right angles when in an erect state.

The second elongated members may comprise resiliently deformable projections. Preferably, the deformable projections are integrally formed with the second elongated members. More preferably, the first and the second elongate members are each formed as a unitary blank e.g. of foldable paperboard. This enables the components of the packaging materials to not only be fabricated from low cost materials as opposed to the use foam material as taught in EP0748747 (Hewlett Packard Company) but also die cut from a single sheet of paperboard etc. further reducing the cost to manufacture. Moreover, environmentally friendly materials such as re-cycled materials can be used to fabricate the packaging material of the present invention, which itself is readily recyclable through readily available channels already well established for paper and paperboard products. In comparison to foam type packaging material, the material used to fabricate the present packaging material is recyclable so reducing any environmental concerns of disposal of the packaging material.

The packaging material of the present invention may be used in the form of first and second sheets arranged such that at least a portion of the deformable projections from the first packaging material sheet and the second packaging material sheet face each other. For example, the first sheet of packaging material may serve as a bed to protect one side of the article. The second sheet of packaging material directly opposite the first packaging material sheet serves to protect the opposite side of the article and act as a sort of "clamp" to hold the article securely in place. As the deformable projections from both the first and the second sheets of packaging material are pressed against each other, they deform to provide a cavity in which the article is securely nested. The deformed projections and the surrounding un-deformed projections co-operate to restrain the article against excessive movement in an outer container, and to cushion the article against shock and vibration. Any number of sheets of the packaging material of the present invention can be used to wrap the article, e.g. vertically disposed on top of each other and/or disposed laterally around one or more sides of the article. In all cases, portions of the packaging material are preferably disposed directly opposite each other such that at least a portion of the deformable projections co-operate and serve to securely "clamp" the article to protect it from lateral shocks. Alternatively, the packaging material can be physically wrapped around the article, much like bubble wrap, and if necessary, tied with a tether or adhesive tape.

Preferably, a package is provided comprising a box housing the packaging material of the present invention, e.g. a standard corrugated box having sidewalls, four bottom flaps forming the bottom wall when folded and four top flaps forming the top wall when folded or a separate top lid. This not only secures the packaging material around the article to be shipped but also provides additional cushioning to the article against any shocks.

Specific Description

Further features and aspects of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the packaging material of the present invention, assembled and erected to form a sheet.

Fig. 2a and 2b are plan views of the components making up the packaging material of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of an arrangement of the packaging material for packaging an article in an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 4 shows steps (a) -(d) for packaging an article according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The packaging material 1 of the present invention shown in Fig. 1 can be considered to form a first layer 3 and a second layer 5, each layer offering a different level of protection to an article to be shipped. The first layer 3 comprises a plurality of cells 7 and the second layer 5 comprises a plurality of projections 9 extending from walls of the cells 7 in a direction parallel to the cell axis x. The cells 7 are formed by an array of intersecting first and second elongated members 11, 12 (see Fig. 2a and 2b). The first 11 and second 12 elongated members are each formed as a unitary blank. To keep manufacturing costs low, the blank elongated members can be die cut from a single sheet or respective single sheets. When assembled, the first 11 and second 12 elongated members define walls of the cells 7. The cells 7 formed by the intersecting first 1 land second 12 elongated members serve to provide a relatively rigid layer 3 in comparison to the plurality of the projections in the second layer 5, to absorb the knocks and vibrations imparted to the packaging material during shipping.

Each cell 7 behaves like an air cell cushion to absorb the bulk of the energy from external knocks, e.g. crushing on impact to absorb the energy of a heavy blow.

In the particular embodiment, the first 11 and second 12 elongated members are each slotted at 14 for interengagement with each other so that in an erected state as shown in Fig. 1, the elongated members 11, 12 intersect at rights angles. For assembly with the second elongated members 12, the first elongated members 11 are inverted from the orientation shown in Fig. 2b and the slots of the respective members are interengaged so that slot regions a' of each second member 12 are occupied by unslotted portions b' of each first member 11; and similarly slots 14 of members 11 are occupied by unslotted regions c' of members 12. In the particular embodiment, the slots 14 are formed as cut-outs for locking the first and second elongated members 11, 12 together. The shape of the slots 14 can be any conventional form to lock the first and second elongated members 11, 12 together. Although it is preferable to have slots in both the first and second elongated members to maintain the structural integrity of the packaging material, sufficient interengagement between both elongated members can be achieved by having cut-outs in either the first or the second elongated members.

Alternatively, the slots 14 may be formed with "LOKFAST" (RTM) barbs and apertures for locking the first and second elongated members together as taught in GB225969 (ASSI Packaging (UK) Limited), e.g. one the elongated members can be formed with barbs for interengagement with corresponding apertures formed in the other elongated member. In the particular embodiment, the first and second elongated members 11, 12 are pivotable relative to each other when interengaged. This enables the packaging material to be assembled from a collapsed (flattened) state to an erect state with little effort or skill. In the particular embodiment, shown in Fig. 1, the elongated members 11, 12 intersect at substantially right angles when in an erect state. Moreover, the collapsed state allows the packaging material of the present invention to be easily transported or stored without occupying very much space.

In comparison to the first layer 3, the second layer 5 provides a "nesting" area or "soft" cell area for any article placed thereon. The "nesting" area is provided by the plurality of projections 9 extending from the cells 7. In the particular embodiment, the projections 9 are in the form of interengaging fingers and are integrally formed with the second elongate member 12, e.g. formed as a unitary blank with the second elongate member. For a moderately sized article such as glass bottles and wine glasses (see Fig. 4), the height (width) of the first elongated member 11 is approximately 36mm and the height (width) of the second elongated member 12 is extended to a height of approximately 75mm by the projections 9.

Equally, the length of the elongated members for a moderately sized article is approximately 330mm for the second elongated member and approximately 365mm for the first elongated member. The projections 9 are deformable so as to conform to or mould around the external shape of any article placed thereon and thereby laterally restrain and protect the article from any sudden shocks. Thus in use, when an article is pressed in the second layer 5 the projections 9 in contact with the article deform and the remaining un-deflected projections particularly those around the periphery of the article provide a wall to restrain or hold the article nested therein from lateral movement (see Fig. 4). The defomability of the projections 7 also provide a "soft" cell zone for absorbing shocks imparted to the packaging material.

In one embodiment of the present invention, at least one sheet of packaging material 1 can be physically wrapped around the article to be shipped, so that the projections 7 in contact with the exterior surface of the article deform and the remaining un-deflected projections "interlock" thereby securely clamping the article in place within the packaging material. If necessary, the wrapped packaging material can be tied using a tether or an adhesive tape. In another example, at least two sheets of packaging material 1 can be placed directly opposite each other so that a portion of their projections face each other to form a "packaging set" 16.

In the particular embodiment shown in Fig. 3, a second packaging material sheet 1 a is disposed immediately above a first packaging material sheet lb but in an inverted orientation so that their projections 9 face each other. The projections 9 from the first packaging material sheet lb "interlock" with the projections 9 from the neighbouring second packaging material sheet 1 a. In the particular embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the projections from the first packaging material sheet serve as a "bed" to protect the bottom part of an article 17 whereas the projections 9 from the second packaging material sheet directly opposite the first packaging material serve to protect the top part of the article and act as a sort of "clamp" to restrain the article against any lateral shock impacts etc. When sandwiched between the projections 9 from the first and second packaging material sheets 1 a, lb, the projections 9 conform to and encapsulate the article to provide a cushioned nest thereby restraining the article from movement during shipping until the packaging materials sheets are separated by a customer or end user. However, the packaging material set 16 is not restricted to two packaging material sheets as shown and any number of sheets, lengths, portion or pieces of the packaging material can be used to wrap around the article 17. For example, at least four packaging material sheets can be used to wrap the article, i.e. a set above and below the article and another set at either side of the article. However, in all cases, the deformable projections of the packaging material "interlock" and thereby restrain the article from any lateral movement.

One or more packaging material lengths or pieces according to the present invention can be held clamped against the article by means of a tether or adhesive tape wrapped around the packaging material. Alternatively and more desirable is to house the packaging material in a box 18, 19 (see Fig. 3), e.g. a standard corrugated cardboard box having four top flaps forming the top wall when folded and four bottom flaps forming the bottom wall when folded or alternatively box having a bottom wall and side walls and a separate top lid. In the particular embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the packaging material set 16 together with the article 17 is housed in an outer corrugated box 18, with lid 19. The outer box not only helps to securely maintain the packaging material wrapped around the article but provides additional cushioning to the article.

Fig. 4 shows a series steps (a) -(d) for packaging an article in an embodiment of the present invention. Firstly, as shown in step (a), one of the packaging material sheets lb is placed in a box 18 such that its flat base containing the cells rests against the bottom of the box 18 and the upper exposed surface provides a bed of deformable projections 9. In step (b) several articles can be packaged in a single package, each separated by intervening cushioning projections 9. The articles 17, in this case a bottle of wine and wine glasses, are each loosely placed on the bed of projections 9 causing the projections in contact with each article to deform. A second packaging material sheet 1 a is placed on top of the first packaging material sheet lb such that the articles 17 are sandwiched between the packaging material sheets and a portion of the projections from each of the first and second packaging sheets face each other (step (c)). By pressing the top packaging material sheet 1 a towards the bottom packaging material sheet lb, the projections in contact with the article deform and thereby serve to "clamp" the articles within their cushioned nest until the box 18 is opened by a customer or end user. The surrounding un-deflected projections provide a restraining wall around the article thereby securing the article against any lateral movement. The resiliency of the projections may allow the packaging material of the present invention to be re-used for packaging other articles irrespective of their shape and size. Finally, at step (d), a top lid 19 is placed on the box to complete the package. The arrangement of the packaging material is not restricted to that shown in Fig. 4 and other arrangements of the packaging material sheets around the article are permissible.

As discussed above, the elongated members 11, 12 forming the packaging material of the present inventions can be die-cut from a single sheet of material, such as paperboard, more particularly from re-cycled materials. Re-cycled materials include paperboard and even plastics. To achieve different "densities" of projections in the resulting packaging material, they may be provided on elongate members 11 as well as the elongate members 12. They may project from one or both major faces of the packaging material sheet. A projection need not be associated with each cell wall formed by each member 12 (or 11), again to vary the density of the projections. The length, width and/or shape of the projections can vary on a given elongate member and/or between different elongate members, e.g. to achieve a given overall force/deformation characteristic for the projection layer of an assembled sheet.

Claims

Claims 1. Erected or collapsed or as separate components for assembly, a packaging material comprising a plurality of cells having walls formed from foldable sheet material, at least some of the cell walls being provided with deformable projections which in use engage and restrain an article to be protected.
2. A packaging material as claimed in Claim 1, wherein at least some of the projections, when undeformed, each extend substantially co-planar to and outward of an associated cell wall.
3. A packaging material as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of cells defines a first layer and the plurality of deformable projections defines a second layer, the first layer being more rigid than the second layer.
4. A packaging material as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said cells are formed by an array of intersecting first and second elongated members.
5. A packaging material as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the first and second elongated members intersect at right angles when in an erect state.
6. A packaging material as claimed in Claim 4 or 5, wherein the first and/or second elongated members are slotted for interengagement with each other.
7. A packaging material as claim in any of claims 4 to 6, wherein the first and second elongated members are pivotable relative to each other when interengaged.
8. A packaging material as claimed in any of Claims 4 to 7, wherein the first and second elongated members are arranged substantially parallel to one another in respective sets.
9. A packaging material as claimed in any of Claims 4 to 8, wherein the second elongated members comprise said deformable projections.
10. A packaging material as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the deformable projections are integrally formed with said second elongated members.
11. A packaging material as claimed in any of the Claims 4 to 10, wherein the first and the second elongated members are each formed as a unitary blank of foldable paperboard.
12. A packaging material as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the packaging material is collapsible to a flattened state.
13. A packaging material as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the packaging material is fabricated from recycled material.
14. A packaging material set comprising a first and a second piece or sheet of packaging material as defined in any of the preceding claims, and arranged such that at least a portion of the deformable projections from the first and second packaging material piece or sheet face each other.
15. A package comprising a container housing a packaging material as defmed in any of the claims ito 13.
16. A package comprising a container housing a packaging material set as defined in Claim 14.
17. A package as claimed in claim 15 or 16, wherein the container is a corrugated paperboard box.
18. Packaging material as defined in any of the preceding claims, substantially described herein with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.
19. A packaging material set as defined in claim 14 and substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
20. A package as defined in any of claims 15 -17, substantially described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.