SE544468C2

SE544468C2 - Method for forming a cardboard container by sewing

Info

Publication number: SE544468C2
Application number: SE1950522A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Michael Andersson; Mugeni Nuamu
Original assignee: Michael Andersson; Mugeni Nuamu
Priority date: 2019-04-30
Filing date: 2019-04-30
Publication date: 2022-06-07
Also published as: EP3962723A1; EP3962723C0; EP3962723B1; WO2020221502A1; SE1950522A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method (S200) for forming a cardboard container (190). The method (S200) comprises: providing (S202) a web (110) of cardboard material, said web (110) having two opposing longitudinal edge portions (112, 114); helically winding (S204) the web (110); joining (S206) two adjacent longitudinal edge portions (156, 158) of the web (110) by sewing, thereby forming a cylinder (160) having a longitudinal extension; cutting (S208) a plurality of slits in the cylinder (160) by starting from a free edge portion (172, 173) of the cylinder (160), thereby forming flaps (182); and folding (S210) the flaps (182) along a direction (192) transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder (160), thereby forming a cardboard container (190).

Description

METHOD FOR FORNIING A CARDBOARD CONTAINER Technical fieldThe present invention relates to a method for forming a cardboard container.

Background of the invention ln today"s society, the transports of goods are increasing across theworld. One reason for this increase is due to the global nature of themanufacturing industry. For instance, it is common that productsmanufactured in one part of the world have their intended market in another.One example is that smartphones for the US and European markets aretypically made in Asia. A different, but related, reason for the increase of thetransport of goods is the growth of online shopping in many parts of the world.As a general trend, it is becoming more common for consumers to orderproducts from domestic and foreign online stores. ln short, very large volumesof transported goods are transported around the world on a daily basis.

An inherent part of the transport of goods is the packaging used forshipping. Typical packages are made of plastics or cardboard, and come indifferent sizes. The packages are often manufactured by cutting folding andgluing large sheets of material into a rectangular box.

Nowadays, large issues related to the worldwide transport of goods arebeing heavily discussed, for instance its impact on the environment. As isgenerally known, the transports as such cause large emissions of, forinstance, greenhouse gases. The transports of goods are therefore harmful tothe environment while being associated with high economical costs due to thelarge volumes of transported goods.

Thus, there is room for improvements in the art relating to theenvironmental impact and economical costs associated with the transport of goods.

Summarv of the invention ln view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide amethod for forming a cardboard container. lt is an object to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of theabove-identified deficiencies in the art and disadvantages and solve at leastthe above mentioned problem.

According to a first aspect a method for forming a cardboard containeris provided. The method comprises: providing a web of cardboard material,said web having two opposing |ongitudina| edge portions; helically winding theweb; joining two adjacent |ongitudina| edge portions of the web by sewing,thereby forming a cylinder having a |ongitudina| extension; cutting a pluralityof slits in the cylinder by starting from a free edge portion of the cylinder,thereby forming flaps; and folding the flaps along a direction transverse to the|ongitudina| extension of the cylinder, thereby forming a cardboard container.

By means of the present method, a cardboard container withoutstaples and/or glue is allowed. Thereby, a cardboard container with a reducedimpact on the environment is provided since the thread used for sewing caneasily be removed from the cardboard material and thereby improve therecyclability of the cardboard container. For instance, after removing thethread used for sewing, the cardboard material may be reused for a differentcontainer. lt may further reduce space requirements for waste handlingassociated with recycling, since a volume of the cardboard material mayeasily be reduced (e.g. by rolling up) when the thread has been removed (i.e.when adjacent |ongitudina| edge portions are no longer joined). The twoadjacent |ongitudina| edge portions of the web may be joined by sewing with apaper-based thread, a synthetic thread, and/or an organic thread. ln case thethread used for sewing is a paper-based thread, it does not need to beremoved prior to recycling the cardboard material, further improving therecyclability of the cardboard container.

A further advantage of the present method is that no glue or chemicalsare needed to be used when forming the cardboard container, thereby reducing an environmental impact associated with the cardboard container.The use of glue or chemicals when forming a cardboard container may assuch adversely affect the environment and/or aggravate recycling of thecardboard container.

A further advantage of the present method is that a length and a widthof the cylinder formed after helically winding the web of cardboard materialmay be set during the act of helically winding the web. Thereby defining thedimensions of the cardboard container to be formed, since the dimensions ofthe cardboard container is related to the length and the width of the cylinder.

A size of the cardboard container to be formed may relate to the lengthand/or the width of the cylinder.

A further advantage of the present method is that a size of thecardboard container to be formed may be varied in an easy manner, since thelength and the width of the cylinder may be set during the act of helicallywinding the web. Thereby a downtime related to changing dimensions ofcardboard containers to be formed may be reduced and/or negligible. Aplurality of cardboard containers having different dimensions may thereby beformed with a low downtime. Thus, a plurality of cardboard containers havingunique dimensions may thereby be formed with a low downtime.

A further advantage of the present method is that no glue need to becured when forming the cardboard container, thereby reducing a time relatingto forming the cardboard container.

The method may further comprise: determining a size of an object tobe contained in the cardboard container to be formed; and dimensioning across section of the cylinder to be formed based on the determined size of theobject, thereby allowing tailor making of the container with the purpose ofoptimizing an unused volume inside the cardboard container to be formed.

The wording "unused volume" should, within the context of thisapplication, be construed as a portion of the volume inside the cardboardcontainer which is not occupied by the object to be contained. This is alsoknown as "free volume". The object to be contained may comprise shock- absorbing material. The object to be contained may comprise filler material. Askilled person realizes that an amount of shock-absorbing material and/orfiller material comprised in the object to be contained may vary. For instance,clothing may need less shock-absorbing material for protection than anelectronic device, such as a smartphone.

An advantage associated with optimizing an unused volume inside thecardboard container to be formed is that a consumption of cardboard materialmay be reduced. A reduced consumption of cardboard material may in turnreduce associated economic costs and/or the environmental impact.

A further advantage associated with optimizing an unused volumeinside the cardboard container to be formed is that a volume of transportedgoods may be reduced. Economical costs and the environmental impactassociated with the volume of transported goods may thereby be reduced.

A further advantage associated with optimizing an unused volumeinside the cardboard container to be formed is that the amount of shock-absorbing material and/or filler material may be reduced. The amount ofshock-absorbing material may be reduced since there is no need to choosefrom a number of fixed-box sizes, as the size of the cardboard container to beformed is based on the size of the object to be contained.

The method may further comprise: forming a first set of crease lines inthe cardboard material, wherein the first set of crease lines is arranged toextend in a longitudinal direction of the cylinder; and folding the cylinder alongthe first set of crease lines, thereby providing the cylinder with a prismaticcross section as seen in a plane extending transverse to the longitudinalextension of the cylinder.

The first set of crease lines may substantially extend in a longitudinalextension of the cardboard container to be formed, i.e. as seen in a directionfrom a bottom to a top thereof.

An advantage of providing the cylinder with a prismatic cross sectionas seen in a plane extending transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder is that a defined shape of the cardboard container to be formed maybe allowed.

The first set of crease lines may be formed in the cardboard materialprior to or after helically winding the web of cardboard material.

An advantage associated with forming the first set of crease lines in thecardboard material prior to helically winding the web of cardboard materialinstead of after helically winding the web of cardboard material is that a lengthof each crease line may be reduced. A size of an apparatus configured toform the first set of crease lines may thereby be reduced.

The plurality of slits may comprise slits cut along the first set of creaselines.

An advantage of the plurality of slits comprising slits cut along the firstset of crease lines is that the prismatic cross section of the cylinder may bepreserved when folding the flaps. The cardboard container to be formed maythereby have a prismatic cross section corresponding to the prismatic crosssection of the cylinder.

The method may further comprise: forming a second set of creaselines in the cardboard material, said second set of crease lines extending in adirection transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder; whereby theflaps are configured to be folded along said second set of crease lines.

An advantage associated with the flaps being configured to be foldedalong said second set of crease lines is that the prismatic cross section of thecylinder may more easily be preserved when folding the flaps. The cardboardcontainer to be formed may thereby more easily have prismatic cross sectioncorresponding to the prismatic cross section of the cylinder.

The method may further comprise: cutting the cylinder in the directiontransverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder.

An advantage associated with cutting the cylinder in the directiontransverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder is that dimensions ofthe cardboard container to be formed may be adjusted. Adjusting the dimensions of the cardboard container to be formed may thereby furtheroptimize an unused volume inside the cardboard container to be formed.

A further advantage associated with cutting the cylinder in the directiontransverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder is that a plurality ofcardboard containers may be formed from the cylinder. For example, thecylinder may be continuously formed according to the present method, andthe cylinder is cut in cylinders having predetermined lengths. The cylindershaving the predetermined lengths may subsequently be formed to cardboardcontainers.

The slits may be cut from two opposing free edge portions of thecylinder.

The cutting of the slits may be made after cutting the cylinder in thedirection transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder.

An advantage of cutting slits from two opposing free edge portions ofthe cylinder is that flaps may be formed on two opposing free edge portions ofthe cylinder. An essentially uniform size of the cardboard container in adirection transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder may therebybe allowed.

The flaps may form the bottom and the top of the cardboard container.

The two adjacent longitudinal edge portions may be sewn to form anoverlap joint.

An advantage associated with the two adjacent longitudinal edgeportions being sewn to form an overlap joint is that a structural integrity and/ora rigidity of the cardboard container may be adjusted by adjusting the overlap.

The web of cardboard material may be continuously fed from a roll ofcardboard material while providing the web with a predetermined width bycutting.

An advantage associated with continuously feeding the cardboardmaterial from a roll of cardboard material while providing the web with apredetermined with by cutting is that the width of the web may be varied.

A width of the web may be adapted to a length of the cylinder, andwherein a ratio between the length of the cylinder and the width of the webmay be larger than 1.

The wording "length of the cylinder" should, within the context of thisapplication, be construed as a length of a cylinder which is to be formed to acardboard container. As described previously, an initial overlong cylinder maybe cut in the direction transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder,thereby forming a cylindrical packaging blank which is to be formed to thecardboard container.

An advantage associated with a ratio between the length of thecylinder and the width of the web larger than 1 is that it may increase astructural integrity and/or a rigidity of the cardboard container to be formed.

The method may further comprise: perforating the cardboard material,thereby forming tear lines in the cardboard material.

An advantage associated with forming tear lines in the cardboardmaterial is that the tear lines may simplify opening of the cardboard containerto be formed after use.

A further advantage associated with forming tear lines in the cardboardmaterial is that the formed cardboard container may be split in a plurality ofindividual pieces when the cardboard container is discarded, thereby reducinga volume of the discarded cardboard container. A reduced volume of thediscarded cardboard container may be beneficial when, for instance,transporting the discarded cardboard container to a recycling facility.

A further advantage associated with forming tear lines in the cardboardmaterial is that other functions, such as handles, holes etc., may be formed.For instance, handles may be formed in the cardboard container bypushing/pulling cardboard material surrounded by tear lines in to/out of thecardboard container.

A further scope of applicability of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the detailed description given below. However, it should beunderstood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred variants of the present inventive concept, are given byway of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within thescope of the inventive concept will become apparent to those skilled in the artfrom this detailed description.

Hence, it is to be understood that this inventive concept is not limited tothe particular steps of the methods described or component parts of thesystems described as such method and system may vary. lt is also to beunderstood that the terminology used herein is for purpose of describingparticular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. lt must benoted that, as used in the specification and the appended claim, the articles"a", "an", "the", and "said" are intended to mean that there are one or more ofthe elements unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example,reference to "a unit" or "the unit" may include several devices, and the like.Furthermore, the words "comprising", "including", "containing" and similar wordings do not exclude other elements or steps.

Brief description of the drawinds The above and other aspects of the present invention will now bedescribed in more detail, with reference to appended drawings showingembodiments of the invention. The figures should not be considered limitingthe invention to the specific embodiment; instead they are used for explainingand understanding the invention.

As illustrated in the figures, the sizes of layers and regions areexaggerated for illustrative purposes and, thus, are provided to illustrate thegeneral structures of embodiments of the present invention. Like referencenumerals refer to like elements throughout.

Figure 1A illustrates a section of a web of cardboard material.

Figure 1B illustrates a roll of cardboard material.

Figure 1C illustrates a first set of crease lines formed in the cardboard material.

Figure 1D illustrates an object to be contained in the cardboardcontainer to be formed.

Figure 1 E illustrates a helically wound web of cardboard material.

Figure 1F illustrates a cylinder formed by two adjacent longitudinaledge portions of the web having been joined by sewing.

Figure 1G illustrates the cylinder with a plurality of slits.

Figure 1H illustrates a cylinder with a prismatic cross section as seenin a plane extending transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder.

Figure 1l illustrates a formed cardboard container.

Figure 2 is a block scheme of a method for forming a cardboard container.

Detailed descriptionThe present inventive concept will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to Fig. 1A-1l and Fig. 2, in which currently preferredvariants of the inventive concept are shown. This inventive concept may,however, be implemented in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the variants set forth herein; rather, these variants areprovided for thoroughness and completeness, and fully convey the scope ofthe present inventive concept to the skilled person.

The cardboard container to be formed in illustrated in the figures is arectangular box. The cardboard container may thereby have a bottom, a top,and sidewalls. lt is to be understood that the bottom, the top, and thesidewalls of the container refers to separate sides of the cardboard container,and are therefore relative terms. A skilled person realizes that the actualshape of the cardboard container to be formed may vary, and knows how toadapt the description accordingly.

Figure 1A illustrates a section 100 of a web 110 of cardboard material.The web 110 has two opposing longitudinal edge portions 112, 114. The web110 has a first longitudinal edge portion 112 and a second longitudinal edgeportion 114. The web 110 of cardboard material may be cut in a direction 102 transverse to the extension of the longitudinal edge portions 112, 114 of saidweb 110. The web 110 of cardboard material may have a predeterminedlength along the longitudinal edge portions 112, 114 of said web 110. Theweb 110 of cardboard material may have a predetermined width 116 alongthe direction 102 transverse to the longitudinal edge portions 112, 114 of saidweb 110.

Figure 1B illustrates a roll 120 of cardboard material. As is exemplifiedin Fig. 1B, the web 110 of cardboard material may be fed continuously fromthe roll 120 of cardboard material in a feeding direction 122. The web 110may be provided with a predetermined width by cutting. The cardboardmaterial fed from the roll 120 may be cut by a cutter 124 as exemplified inFig. 1B. The cutter 124 may comprise a cutting blade. A position of the cutter124 may be varied in a direction transverse to the feeding direction 122,thereby the width 116 of the web 110 provided by cutting may be adjusted.

A first set of crease lines 132 may be formed in the cardboard material,as exemplified in Fig. 1C. The first set of crease lines 132 may be arranged toextend in a longitudinal direction of a cylinder 160 to be formed, asexemplified in Fig. 1F. ln other words, the first set of crease lines 132 may bearranged at an angle relative to a direction transverse to the longitudinal edgeportions 112, 114. The cardboard material may be perforated, therebyforming tear lines 134 in the cardboard material, as exemplified in Fig. 1C.The cardboard material may be perforated by intermittent cutting. Thecardboard material may be perforated by sewing without a thread.

Figure 1D illustrates an object 140 to be contained in a cardboardcontainer 190 to be formed. The size of the object 140 to be contained in thecardboard container 190 to be formed may be determined. The object 140 tobe contained may comprise shock-absorbing material. The object 140 to becontained may comprise filler material. A skilled person realizes that aplurality of objects may be contained in the cardboard container 190 to beformed, and that a size of the plurality of objects may be determined. The sizeof the plurality of objects may depend on an arrangement of the plurality of 11 objects. The plurality of objects may comprise shock-absorbing materialand/or filler material.The web 110 of cardboard material is helically wound as shown in Fig. 1E. The web 110 of cardboard material may be helically wound about afirst axis 152. The first axis 152 may be substantially parallel to thelongitudinal extension of the cylinder. The web 110 of cardboard material maybe wound around a mandrel (not shown in the figures). A size of the mandrelmay be adjustable. The helically wound web of cardboard material has anouter surface 154 and an inner surface 155. The helically wound web ofcardboard material has two adjacent longitudinal edge portions 156, 158. Thetwo adjacent longitudinal edge portions 156, 158 comprises a first adjacentlongitudinal edge portion 146 and a second adjacent longitudinal edge portion148. The two adjacent longitudinal edge portions 156, 158 of the helicallywound web of cardboard material correspond to the two opposing longitudinaledge portions 112, 114 of the web 110 of cardboard material shown in Fig. 1A. The helically wound web of cardboard material has a cross sectiontransverse to the first axis 152. A skilled person realizes that the cross sectionof the helically wound web of cardboard material may be determined duringwinding. The cross section of the helically wound web of cardboard materialmay relate to the size of the mandrel. ln its easiest form, the cylinder mayhave an elliptical cross section. The cylinder may have other cross sections,e.g. triangular, quadriangular, or polyangular. The cross section of thecylinder may be based on a cross section of the mandrel. The cross sectionof the cardboard container 190 to be formed may relate to the cross section ofthe cylinder. The cross section of the helically wound web of cardboardmaterial may be set based on the size of the object 140 to be contained in thecardboard container 190 to be formed. ln Fig. 1F, the two adjacent longitudinal edge portions 156, 158 of the web 110 have been joined by sewing, thereby forming a cylinder 160 having alongitudinal extension. A stitch 164 related to joining the two adjacentlongitudinal edge portions 156, 158 by sewing is explicitly pointed out in 12 Fig. 1F. However, it is to be understood that, even though not explicitlyreferenced in the figures, there is a plurality of stitches related to joining thetwo adjacent longitudinal edge portions 156, 158 by sewing. The two adjacentlongitudinal edge portions 156, 158 of the web 110 may be joined by sewingwith a paper-based thread, a synthetic thread and/or an organic thread. Thelongitudinal extension of the cylinder 160 may be parallel to the first axis 152in Fig. 1E. For illustrative purposes, the helical winding of the web 110 ofcardboard material (Fig. 1E) and the joining of two adjacent longitudinal edgeportions 156, 158 of the web 110 (Fig. 1F) are shown in two separate figures,however the two steps may be performed simultaneously. The first set ofcrease lines 132 may be aligned to extend in a longitudinal direction of thecylinder 160 as exemplified in Fig. 1F.

A cross section of the cylinder 160 may correspond to the crosssection of the helically wound web of cardboard material. The cross section ofthe cylinder 160 may be dimensioned based on the determined size of theobject 140, thereby allowing tailor making of the cardboard container 190 tobe formed with the purpose of optimizing an unused volume inside thecardboard container 190 to be formed. ln other words, the cardboardcontainer 190 to be formed may be large enough to accommodate the object140 in Fig. 1D, while reducing an unused volume inside the cardboardcontainer 190 to be formed. ln case the cardboard container 190 to be formedis to contain a plurality of objects, it is to be understood that the cross sectionof the cylinder 160 may be dimensioned based on the determined size of theplurality of objects. The size of the plurality of object may depend on thearrangement of the plurality of objects.

The two adjacent longitudinal edge portions 156, 158 may be sewn toform an overlap joint 166. The overlap joint 166 may comprise one or moreparallel lines of stitches. The line of stitches may be a straight line of stitches.The line of stitches may be a zig-zag line of stitches. Other patterns of the lineof stitches may be possible. The overlap of the overlap joint 166 may vary.For instance, the overlap joint 166 may gradually change into a butt joint. An 13 adhesive may be present on a portion of the web 110 of cardboard material.Heat may be applied to the web 110 of cardboard material while sewing,thereby activating the adhesive present on the web 110 of cardboardmaterial. The adhesive may seal the overlap joint 166. The adhesive may bea hot-melt adhesive.

The overlap joint 166 may comprise two layers of cardboard material.The overlap joint 166 may comprise a plurality of layers of cardboard material.A structural integrity and/or a rigidity of the cylinder 160, and thereby of thecardboard container 190 to be formed, may relate to the number of layerscomprised in the overlap joint 166.

The structural integrity and/or the rigidity of the cylinder 160 may berelated to a distance between sewn joints. For a small distance between sewnjoints, the structural integrity and/or the rigidity of the cylinder 160 may beadversely affected, since the cardboard material is perforated when joints aresewed. The distance between the sewn joints may be adapted to the width116 of the web 110 such that the structural integrity and/or the rigidity of thecylinder 160 may be optimized.

The width 116 of the web 110 may be adapted to a length of thecylinder 160. A ratio between the length of the cylinder 160 and the width 116of the web 110 may be larger than 1.

As exemplified in Fig. 1F, a second set of crease lines 162 may beformed in the cardboard material, said second set of crease lines 162extending in a direction transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder160. Flaps 182 (described in relation to Fig. 1G) may be configured to befolded along said second set of crease lines 162.

The cylinder 160 exemplified in Fig. 1F, may be cut in the directiontransverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder 160, resulting in thecylinder 160 shown in Fig. 1G. The cylinder 160 may be cut along a firstcutting line 168 and/or a second cutting line 169. The cylinder 160 may be cutin the direction transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder to formstraight edges. The cylinder 160 may be cut in the direction transverse to the 14 longitudinal extension of the cylinder to form perpendicular flaps 182. Thecylinder 160 may be cut in the direction transverse to the Iongitudinalextension of the cylinder 160 to form a cylinder having a predeterminedlength. The cylinder 160 having the predetermined length may be formed to acardboard container 190.

A plurality of slits in the cylinder 160 are cut starting from a free edgeportion 172, 173 of the cylinder 160, thereby forming flaps 182 as exemplifiedin Fig. 1H. The plurality of slits may comprise slits cut along the first set ofcrease lines 132.

The flaps 182 may be configured to be folded along said second set ofcrease lines 162.

The slits may be cut from two opposing free edge portions 172, 173 ofthe cylinder 160, as exemplified by the cylinder in Fig. 1G.

The cylinder 160 may be folded along the first set of crease lines 132.The cylinder 160 may thereby be provided with a prismatic cross section asseen in a plane extending transverse to the Iongitudinal extension of thecylinder 160. ln the example shown in Fig. 1H, the cylinder 160 has flaps 182formed by cutting the cylinder 160 from the free edge portion 172, 173. Theflaps 182 may comprise a first set of opposing flaps 184 and/or a second setof opposing flaps 186. The first and second sets of opposing flaps 184, 186may comprise two or more flaps 182. lt is to be understood that flaps 182 maybe formed on only one free edge portion 172 of the cylinder 160. ln case flaps182 are formed on only one free edge portion 172 of the cylinder 160, theother free edge portion 173 of the cylinder 160 may be closed. The other freeedge portion 173 may be sealed by pressing a top free edge portion 174 in adirection towards a bottom free edge portion 176. The top free edge portion174 and the bottom free edge portion 176 may be joined. The top free edgeportion 174 and the bottom free edge portion 176 may be joined by sewing.

The cardboard container 190 is formed, as illustrated in Fig. 1l, byfolding the flaps 182 along a direction 192 transverse to the Iongitudinalextension of the cylinder 160. The cardboard container 190 may be a folded cardboard container. The cardboard container 190 may be formed by erectingthe cylinder 160 to form the cardboard container 190. The object 140 to becontained may be packaged in the cardboard container 190. The cylinder 160may be stored and/or transported prior to forming the cardboard container190. Thus, the cylinder 160 may be a container blank which may be formed tothe cardboard container 190 at a later point in time. The object 140 to becontained may be packaged at the later point in time. The cardboardcontainer 190 may be stored or transported prior to packaging the object 140to be contained.

A longitudinal extension of the formed cardboard container 190 mayrelate to the length of the cylinder 160. The longitudinal extension of thecardboard container 190 may be a height of the cardboard container 190. Thecardboard container 190 may have a bottom, a top, and sidewalls. The heightof the cardboard container 190 may be a distance between the bottom andthe top of the cardboard container 190. The bottom and/or top of thecardboard container 190 may be formed by the flaps 182.

The cardboard container 190 may be sealed by joining the flaps 182.The flaps 182 may be joined by applying adhesives and/or adhesive tape.The flaps 182 may be joined by sewing. The flaps 182 may be joined bysewing with a paper-based thread, a synthetic thread and/or an organicthread.

Figure 2 is a box scheme of a method S200 for forming a cardboardcontainer 190. The method S200 comprises: providing S202 a web 110 ofcardboard material, said web 110 having two opposing longitudinal edgeportions; helically winding S204 the web 110; joining S206 two adjacentlongitudinal edge portions 156, 158 of the web 110 by sewing, therebyforming a cylinder 160 having a longitudinal extension; cutting S208 a pluralityof slits in the cylinder 160 by starting from a free edge 172, 173 portion of thecylinder 160, thereby forming flaps 182; and folding S210 the flaps 182 alonga direction transverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder 160, thereby forming a cardboard container 190. 16 The step of helically winding S204 the web 110 and joining S206 twoadjacent longitudinal edge portions 156, 158 of the web 110 by sewing maybe performed simultaneously.

The method S200 may further comprise: determining S212 a size of anobject 140 to be contained in the cardboard container 190 to be formed; anddimensioning S214 a cross section of the cylinder 160 to be formed based onthe determined size of the object 140, thereby allowing tai|or making of thecontainer 190 with the purpose of optimizing an unused volume inside thecardboard container 190 to be formed.

The unused volume may be optimized such that cardboard container190 is large enough to contain the object 140. The unused volume may beoptimized such that cardboard container 190 is large enough to contain theobject 140 and shock-absorbing material. The unused volume may beoptimized such that cardboard container 190 is large enough to contain theobject 140 and filler material.

The method S200 may further comprise: forming S216 a first set ofcrease lines 132 in the cardboard material, wherein the first set of creaselines 132 is arranged to extend in a Iongitudinal direction of the cylinder 160;and folding S218 the cylinder 160 along the first set of crease lines 132,thereby providing the cylinder 160 with a prismatic cross section as seen in aplane extending transverse to the Iongitudinal extension of the cylinder 160.

The plurality of slits may comprise slits cut along the first set of creaselines 132.

The method S200 may further comprise: forming S220 a second set ofcrease lines 162 in the cardboard material, said second set of crease lines162 extending in a direction transverse to the Iongitudinal extension of thecylinder 160; whereby the flaps 182 are configured to be folded along saidsecond set of crease lines 162.

The method S200 may further comprise: cutting S222 the cylinder 160in the direction transverse to the Iongitudinal extension of the cylinder 160. 17 The slits may be cut from two opposing free edge portions 172, 173 ofthe cylinder 160.

The two adjacent longitudinal edge portions 156, 158 may be sewn toform an overlap joint 166.

The web 110 of cardboard material may be continuously fed from a roll120 of cardboard material while providing the web 110 with a predeterminedwidth by cutting.

A width 116 of the web 110 may be adapted to a length of the cylinder160, and wherein a ratio between the length of the cylinder 160 and the width116 of the web 110 may be larger than 1.

The method S200 may further comprise: perforating S224 thecardboard material, thereby forming tear lines 134 in the cardboard material.

The person skilled in the art realizes that the present inventive conceptby no means is limited to the preferred variants described above. On thecontrary, many modifications and variations are possible within the scope ofthe appended claims.

For example, the first set of crease lines 132 are describes as beingformed prior to joining two adjacent longitudinal edge portions 156, 158 of theweb 110 by sewing. However, a skilled person realizes that the order may bereversed, or that a first portion of the first set of crease lines 132 may beformed prior to joining two adjacent edge portions 156, 158 of the web 110and a second portion of the first set of crease lines 132 may be formed afterjoining two adjacent edge portions 156, 158 of the web 110.

A further example is that the second set of crease lines 162 may beformed prior to joining two adjacent longitudinal edge portions 156, 158 of theweb 110 by sewing. ln such case, the second set of crease lines 162 areformed such that the second set of crease lines 162 will extend in a directiontransverse to the longitudinal extension of the cylinder 160 after joining twoadjacent longitudinal edge portions 156, 158 of the web 110 by sewing.

A further example is that the cylinder may be formed to a flow pack. lnsuch case, the cylinder may be cut in the direction transverse to the 18 Iongitudinal extension of the cylinder. The two open ends of the cylinder maybe closed by sewing a top portion a bottom portion of each open end of thecylinder. Prior to joining a first and/or a last of the two open ends of thecylinder, the object to be contained may be placed inside the cylinder. lt is to be understood that a single overlong cylinder may be formed toa plurality of flow packs. A plurality of objects may be inserted into theoverlong cylinder, and each of the plurality of flow packs may be formed byjoining a top portion with a bottom portion of the cylinder on sides of each ofthe plurality of objects. The plurality of flow packs may be separated intoseparate flow packs by cutting the cylinder. Thereby, a plurality of packagedflow packs is formed from a single overlong cylinder.

Additionally, variations to the disclosed variants can be understood andeffected by the skilled person in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method (S200) for forming a cardboard container (190), themethod (S200) comprising: providing (S202) a web (110) ofcardboard material, said web (110)having two opposing longitudinal edge portions (112, 114); helically winding (S204) the web (110); joining (S206) two adjacent longitudinal edge portions (156, 158) of theweb (110) by sewing, thereby forming a cylinder (160) having a longitudinalextension; cutting (S208) a plurality of slits ïjijn the cylinder (160) by startingfrom a free edge portion (172, 173) of the cylinder (160), thereby formingflaps (182); and folding (S210) the flaps (182) along a direction (192) transverse to thelongitudinal extension of the cylinder (160), thereby forming a cardboard container (190).

2. The method (S200) according to claim 1, further comprising: determining (S212) a size of an object (140) to be contained in thecardboard container (190) to be formed; and dimensioning (S214) a cross section of the cylinder (160) to be formedbased on the determined size of the object (140), thereby allowing tailormaking of the container (190) with the purpose of optimizing an unusedvolume inside the cardboard container (190) to be formed.

3. The method (S200) according to claim 1 or 2, furthercomprising: forming (S216) a first set of crease lines (132) in the cardboardmaterial, wherein the first set of crease lines (132) is arranged to extend in alongitudinal direction of the cylinder (160); and folding (S218) the cylinder (160) along the first set of crease lines(132), thereby providing the cylinder (160) with a prismatic cross section as seen in a plane extending transverse to the Iongitudinal extension of thecylinder (160).

4. The method (S200) according to claim 3, wherein the plurality ofslits (181) comprises slits cut along the first set of crease lines (132).

5. The method (S200) according to any of the preceding claims,further comprising: forming (S220) a second set of crease lines (162) in the cardboardmaterial, said second set of crease lines (162) extending in a directiontransverse to the Iongitudinal extension of the cylinder (160); whereby the flaps (182) are configured to be folded along said second set of crease lines (162).

6. The method (S200) according to any preceding claims, furthercomprising: cutting (S222) the cylinder (160) in the direction transverse to theIongitudinal extension of the cylinder (160).

7. The method (S200) according to any preceding claims, whereinthe slits (181 13 are cut from two opposing free edge portions (172, 173) of thecylinder (160).

8. The method (S200) according to any preceding claims, whereinthe two adjacent Iongitudinal edge portions (156, 158) are sewn to form an overlap joint (166).

9. The method (S200) according to any preceding claims, whereinthe web (110) ofcardboard material is continuously fed from a roll (120) ofcardboard material while providing the web (110) with a predetermined widthby cutting.

10.a width (116) ofthe web (110) is adapted to a length of the cylinder (160), andwherein a ratio between the length of the cylinder (160) and the width (116) of The method (S200) according to any preceding claims, wherein the web (1 10) is larger than

11. The method (S200) according to any preceding claims furthercomprising: perforating (S224) the cardboard material, thereby forming tear lines(134) in the cardboard material.