Packaging wrapper for flat items adapt to be stacked on one another

Abstract

 A description is given of a wrapper (1) for packaging a collection of identical thin, flat objects (2m) stacked parallel to each other, which comprises: a) a containment bag (3) of flexible packaging material able to contain inside itself the said objects (2m) stacked parallel to each other, against whose external lateral surfaces it presses, the containment bag (3) being open at at least one end (3e), and having an axial length greater than the length (L) of the stack (4) of the said objects (2m), in such a way as to end, at the said at least one open end (3e), in a ring-like part (5) projecting beyond the said stack (4); and b) a length of adhesive tape (6) applied to the external surface of the said containment bag (3) all the way along its length (L) parallel to the longitudinal axis (Z-Z) of the said stack (4) of objects and ending in a portion (6r) that covers an area of the said ring-like part (5).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to the technological field of packaging wrappers, and more specifically those which are used for the packaging of collections of thin, flat objects stacked together.

[0002] Such objects may be discoidal in shape, as in the case of lids designed to be fitted to cans for the packaging of food or drinks, or may have other, less regular shapes (right-angled prism, rhomboid, etc.).

[0003] In their packaging for storage and transport, these objects are stacked parallel to each other so that they occupy as little space as possible, and are then covered with containment bags which, by clinging more or less elastically against their external lateral walls, keep them rigidly in the desired position.

[0004] When it is time to use these objects, e.g. in order to assembly them with others as in the case of drinks or food containers, the worker breaks open the said containment bags, immediately releasing all the objects which come out in a chaotic, disordered manner, making it necessary to rearrange them first as appropriate for the subsequent operations.

[0005] In the specific case of certain lids with an integral ring opener for forming into cans, which by their construction have significant elasticity in the axial direction, the action of opening a containment bag in which they have been held causes the lids to fly out in a violent and extremely disorderly manner, and before they can be used in the subsequent processing stages the worker must first set about the unpleasant task of rearranging them, losing much time and patience in the process.

[0006] The inventor of the present invention has devised a packaging wrapper that does not have the disadvantages described above: the wrapper in question is instead provided with a system which enables it to be opened gradually so that it is possible to control the number of objects released step by step and therefore use them immediately, without any prior rearranging of them, in the subsequent working stages in which they are involved, as for example in their assembly with other parts in order to form cans.

[0007] The subject of the present invention is therefore a packaging wrapper as described in the preamble to the appended Claim 1, characterized by the matter set out in the characterizing part of the same claim.

[0008] A more detailed description will now be given of a preferred illustrative embodiment of a wrapper according to the invention, in the course of which reference will also be made to the appended drawings, which show:

• in Fig. 1 a perspective view of the abovementioned illustrative embodiment of a wrapper according to the invention;
• in Fig. 2 an enlarged plan view of the open end only of the wrapper of Fig. 1; and
• in Fig. 3 an enlarged longitudinal section through the end part only of the wrapper of the previous figures on which an adhesive tape is applied.

[0009] On considering Figs 1 and 2, it will be observed that a wrapper 1 made in accordance with the present invention consists of a containment bag 3, of a packaging material such as paper or a heat-shrink polyolefin resin, of the type named Cryovac®, depending on the elasticity which it is desired to give it.

[0010] The said containment bag 3 is used to wrap up the thin, flat objects 2m (discoidal in the case illustrated), after they have first been stacked parallel to each other in the axial direction so as to occupy the least space possible.

[0011] After the above packaging operation has been carried out, the containment bag 3 presses radially with a desired pressure on the external lateral surfaces of the said object 2m, keeping them rigidly in the desired position.

[0012] The containment bag 3 has an axial length greater than the length L of the stack (4) of objects 2m arranged as explained above, so that it ends at an open end 6r (usually the other end is closed) with a ring-like part 5 which projects beyond the said stack 4.

[0013] In the preferred embodiment considered here, two cuts T1, T2 are inserted into this ring-like part 5 (see here also Fig. 3), parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axis Z-Z of the said stack 4, separated by a distance D. If the material of the wrapper 1 has little tearing strength, these cuts may also be omitted.

[0014] On the external surface of the containment bag 3, and all the way along its length, a length of adhesive tape 6 is then applied. The tape 6 may for example be made of a plastic and has a width Q equal to the distance between the cuts T1, T2 and parallel to the said longitudinal axis Z-Z of the stack 4 of the objects 2m, in such a way that this length of tape ends with a portion 6r which exactly covers the area of the said ring-like part 5 that lies between the said cuts T1, T2. (The adhesive tape 6 may also have a width Q that is less than the said distance between the cuts T1, T2: this embodiment is not shown in the drawings). The adhesive tape may also have a width Q greater than the distance T1, T2 in order to guarantee that the pack is even more secure.

[0015] If now in this area the adhesive tape 6 and the underlying wall 3P of the containment bag 3 are grasped and pulled in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 1, the containment bag will be torn along two lines of breakage which start at the said two cuts T1, T2 and follow the two opposite edges of the adhesive tape 6 stage by stage as the said pulling force represented by the arrow A proceeds. (In the embodiment in which the cuts are not present, the containment bag 3 tears along two lines of breakage which nonetheless more or less follow the two opposite edges of the adhesive tape 6).

[0016] However, in the case in which the distance D between the cuts T1 and T2 is less than the width Q of the tape, the tearing of the bag occurs at the cuts T1 and T2, whereas in the overlapping part of the tape there will be detachment between the bag and the lateral surfaces of the tape.

[0017] If the worker stops pulling at a particular point, the lines of breakage will stop in this position, and only those objects that are "downstream" of the abovementioned point will escape from the wrapper 1.

[0018] By pulling gradually and stopping from time to time according to requirements, it is possible to release whatever number of objects are thought necessary at any time from the wrapper 1, and they can be handled without any sense of frustration and in perfect order, there being no need to resort to any additional rearranging before other operations can be proceeded with.

[0019] The result desired by the inventor has thus been achieved with a very simple and inexpensive solution.

[0020] The depth P of the two cuts T1, T2 described earlier can be varied to suit circumstances and as a function of the tear strength of the material of the containment bag 3. This depth P may therefore be less than the thickness S of the walls of the containment bag 3, as illustrated in Fig. 3, or equal to it (which embodiment is not shown).

[0021] Each of the cuts T1, T2 may also be continuous or intermittent.

[0022] The adhesive tape 6 may be of any of the known types for similar applications, e.g. of plastic, while the containment bag 3 may be made from any of the flexible packaging materials known to those skilled in the art, of which paper and Cryovac® may be cited as examples.

Claims

1. Wrapper (1) for packaging a collection of identical thin, flat objects (2m) stacked parallel to each other, characterized in that it comprises: a) a containment bag (3) of flexible packaging material able to contain inside itself the said objects (2m) stacked parallel to each other, against whose external lateral surfaces it presses, the containment bag (3) being open at at least one end (3e), and having an axial length greater than the length (L) of the stack (4) of the said objects (2m), in such a way as to end, at the said at least one open end (3e), in a ring-like part (5) projecting beyond the said stack (4); and b) a length of adhesive tape (6) applied to the external surface of the said containment bag (3) all the way along its length (L) parallel to the longitudinal axis (Z-Z) of the said stack (4) of objects and ending in a portion (6r) that covers an area of the said ring-like part (5).

2. Wrapper according to Claim 1, in which, on the said ring-like part (5) projecting beyond the said stack (4), two cuts (T1, T2) are inserted parallel to the longitudinal axis (Z-Z) of this stack (4) and separated from one another by a distance (D), and the said length of adhesive tape (6) has a width (Q) less than or equal to that between the said two parallel cuts (T1, T2) and is applied to that area of the said ring-like part (5) which lies between these.

3. Wrapper according to one of the previous claims, in which the said containment bag (3) is cylindrical so as to contain inside itself a stack (4) of objects (2m) of discoidal shape.

4. Wrapper according to one of the previous claims, in which the said containment bag (3) is made from heat-shrink polyolefin resin.

5. Wrapper according to one of Claims 1, 2 and 3, in which the said containment bag (3) is made from packaging paper.

6. Wrapper according to one of the previous claims, in which the said adhesive tape (6) is made of plastic.

7. Wrapper according to one of the previous claims, in which the depth (P) of the said two parallel cuts (T1, T2) is less than the thickness (5) of the walls of the said containment bag (3).

8. Wrapper according to one of Claims 2 to 6, in which the depth (P) of the said parallel cuts (T1, T2) is equal to the thickness (S) of the walls of the said containment bag (3).

9. Wrapper according to either of Claims 7 and 8, in which each of the said parallel cuts (T1, T2) is intermittent.

Drawing