[0001] The invention relates to packaging with a block-shaped foodstuff-product, in which
packaging a blank of a film-shaped packaging material having at least one layer is
folded in an wrapping direction forming an overlapping region around four successive
side of the block-shaped foodstuff-product and folded over two parallel, opposite
lying sides, whereby for the purpose of opening the packaging the film-shaped packaging
material can be separated along a tearing strip by pulling on a pull-off flap starting
from the overlapping region in a direction opposite that of one of the wrapping directions.
[0002] Conventional packaging of a block or cubic-shaped foodstuff-product such as e.g.
stock cubes, has a gold-lacquered or colour-printed aluminium foil as the outside
and a paper layer as the inside of the packaging. Between the aluminium foil and the
paper layer is a thin layer of wax. Heating the packaged cube results in the wax melting
and diffusing through the paper, causing the overlapping parts of the packaging film
to stick together.
[0003] Document
WO-A-01/25109 makes known a plastic film for packaging cube-shaped products such as soup cubes.
The plastic film made of a polyolefin, preferably of oriented polyethylene (OPE) or
oriented polypropylene (OPP), is characterised by way of ease of folding. The plastic
film may be metallised on one side and may be provided with an adhesive or sealing
layer, which e.g. is provided only where it is required. Further, a coloured layer,
if desired with an outer lacquer coating, may be provided on the plastic film.
[0004] A packaging film used for stock cubes, known from
EP-A-0 870 695, comprises a film that is polyolefin-based, on the outside of which a cold-sealing
layer is provided at predetermined places. The inner side of the polyolefin film is
provided with an anti-stick coating. If necessary, the polyolefin film may be metallised
in order to create a barrier layer against the passage of oxygen.
[0005] A packaging film for cube-shaped products on the basis of a polyolefin film is also
known from
EP-A-0 990 596.
[0006] In particular in the case of small cubes, it is not always easy for the packaging
film which is wrapped tightly around the product and is folded against the sides of
the product, to lie properly at its free edge in the overlapping region.
[0007] In
DE 20 2004 004 105 U1, in order to solve the problem of opening, a form of packaging made up of a single
layer plastic film is disclosed having a tearing strip of tear-proof material that
is attached to the plastic film and runs over four successive sides in the direction
that the plastic film is wrapped. In order to open the packaging, the tearing strip
is gripped at a free tab which is attached to the tearing strip and is pulled in the
direction opposite the direction in which the plastic film is wrapped. As a result
the plastic film tears along the longitudinal edge of the tearing strip which is attached
to the plastic film and divides the packaging in two parts.
[0008] The object of the invention is to provide a form of packaging of the kind described
at the start with a simple opening system that is cost favourable to manufacture.
[0009] That objective is achieved by way of the invention in that the - at least one - layer
of the film-shaped packaging material is of a support material with at least one polymer
film that is oriented in the direction of wrapping and the tearing flap is formed
by a part of the packaging material in the overlapping region, whereby the tearing
flap with side-limiting edges define the breadth of the tearing strip that can be
torn out of the packaging film in the direction of orientation of the polymer film.
[0010] The tearing strip which according to the invention is integrated in the packaging
material results, therefore, solely from the appropriate choice of packaging material.
[0011] The oriented polymer film may be monoaxial or biaxial oriented. Essential is the
direction of orientation of the polymer film with respect to the spatial orientation
of the product to be packaged or the correlation of the orientation with the direction
of wrapping, which in packaging machines normally coincides with the direction in
which the strip-shaped packaging material runs or perpendicular to this.
[0012] Preferred material for the oriented polymer film is a polyolefin, in particular polypropylene
(PP) or high density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), polystyrene
(PS), polycarbonate, polyvinylchloride (PVC) or polyacetate (PLA).
[0013] The substrate material may be solely of the monoaxial or biaxial oriented polymer
film. The substrate material may also be a multi-layer film of a monoaxial or biaxial
oriented polymer film with direction of orientation in the direction of wrapping,
and a paper layer, an aluminium foil or another oriented polymer film.
[0014] A hot-sealable coating, arranged if desired on the inner side of the support material,
may be e.g. a hot-melt or wax coating, or a polymer which is polyethylene-based.
[0015] A barrier layer against passage of gases, vapours, moisture, flavours, odours and/or
substances causing smells, which may if desired be arranged on the support material,
may be in the form of a metal foil e.g. made of aluminium. Other suitable materials
for barrier layers are e.g. films of plastics such as polyvinylidenchloride (PVDC)
or ethylvinylalcohol (EVOH), or a layer of ceramic materials, such as e.g. silicon
oxide or aluminium oxide or nitride, which are deposited in vacuum on the substrate
material as a thin layer e.g. in the region of 10 - 500 nm. Examples of further barrier
layers are metallic layers e.g. of aluminium, which are deposited on the support material
by sputtering.
[0016] In the present case metallising is a particularly suitable way of providing the substrate
material, and thus the packaging material, with barrier action properties that prevent
the passage of fluids, gases, vapours, water vapour, aromas, odours and/or substances
causing smells. Metallising also protects the contents from the harmful effects of
light. A preferred form of metallising employs aluminium which is deposited on the
plastic film by sputtering or deposition in vacuum to a thickness of approximately
10 nm to around 2 µm.
[0017] A useful protective layer for the metallised coating is a lacquer with a nitrocellulose-based
lacquer. At the same time, this first protective lacquer layer serves as substrate
for printing. In this case the printing is likewise preferably provided with a nitrocellulose-based
lacquer.
[0018] The printing on the plastic film bearing a metallised coating and a first protective
lacquer layer may be performed using all known printing methods, e.g. typography,
offset-printing, flexoprinting, screen printing, helio-gravure and copper-plate printing,
but also by laser printing, inkjet, electrophotographic and magnetographic printing.
The choice as to which method of printing is to be used depends on the desired quality
of print, on the prevailing technical conditions and the number of copies to be made.
The second protective lacquer layer protects the printed image.
[0019] A preferred hot-sealing layer is made up of a lacquer that is based on copolymers
of ethylene and vinylacetate or vinylacetate and vinylchloride.
[0020] The packaging material according to the invention is produced in roll form. The packaging
material is uncoiled from the roll and cut into individual sheets of film. In a special
facility - which in the case of soft cubes may be in the form of a piston - the sheets
of film which form the packaging material for each individual block or cube to be
packaged, are folded against the sides of the block, whereby the film is pressed against
two opposite sides and overlaps on itself. The packaged block or cube is then transported
to a hot-sealing facility where the hot-sealing is carried out, fixing the film together
in a permanent manner.
[0021] Further advantages, features and details of the invention are revealed in the following
description of preferred exemplified embodiments and with the aid of the drawing,
which shows schematically in
- Fig. 1
- a perspective view of a cube-shaped product wrapped in a film-shaped packaging material;
- Fig. 2
- a vertical section through the packaged, cube-shaped product in Fig. 1 along line
I - I;
- Fig. 3 - 6
- various versions of tearing flaps.
[0022] Cube-shaped packaging 10 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a film-shaped packaging material
14 wrapped over four consecutive sides A, B, C, D of a cube-shaped product 12. The
packaging material 14 overlaps on one side - in the drawing side A. In this region
of overlap the inner side of the packaging material 14 lying facing the product lies
on its outer side. On the overlapping part, the packaging material is shown in the
form of a tearing flap 16. The tearing flap 16 becomes part of the tearing strip 30
which is integrated in the packaging material and runs round the packaging. On the
sides E, F of the cube-shaped product (12) which are not wrapped, the packaging material
is folded over these sides.
[0023] Shown in Fig. 2 by way of example is the make-up of the packaging material 14 and
the shape of the join in the region of overlap. The packaging material 14 comprises
a single or multi-layer support material 18 which is provided with a sealable coating
20 on the inside facing the cube-shaped product 12. The outer side of the support
material 18 is printed on and/or coated with a layer of lacquer 20. In the region
of overlap, instead of printing 22 or a cover layer 24 on the outer side of the packaging
14, there is a region 26 which can be sealed onto the sealable coating 20 on the inside
of the overlapping part 26 and an anti-stick layer 28 which cannot be sealed onto
the coating 20 on the overlapping part, this in order to form the tearing flap 16.
[0024] The sealable region 26 provided on the outside of the packaging material 14 and the
anti-stick layer 28 are deposited there in order to delimit the printing 22 or cover
lacquer layer 24 in the case of register printing and, on the one hand, enable tight
sealing of the inside of the packaging material to its outside as well as the possibility
to grasp the tearing flap 16 in order to open the packaging.
[0025] The support material 18 may e.g. be a monoaxial or biaxial oriented polymer film
with a direction of orientation lying in the direction of wrapping the four consecutive
sides A, B, C, D. The support material 18 may also be a multi-layer film made up of
a monoaxial or biaxial oriented polymer film with direction of orientation in the
direction of wrapping and a layer of paper, an aluminium foil or also another oriented
polymer film.
[0026] The hot-sealing coating on the inside of the support material 18 may e.g. be a hot-melt
or wax coating or a polyethylene-based polymer layer.
[0027] Figures 3 to 6 show various types and arrangements of tearing flaps 16. The broken
lines indicate that the tearing strips 16 are not sealed to the underlying packaging
material 14, which in that region is provided with an anti-stick layer 28 as in Fig.
2.
[0028] In Fig. 3 the tearing flap 16 is provided in the middle between both sides E, F of
the product 12 which is covered by the folded over packaging material 14. Edges 17,
delimiting the tearing flap 16 at the sides, define a breadth e of tear-off strip
30 of polymer film employed as packaging material that can be removed from the packaging
material in the direction of wrapping. As aids to initiating and propagating the opening
tear lines, the side-limiting edges 17 of the tearing flap 16 extend over a short
distance opposite that of the direction of wrapping in the form of cut lines 32, in
the packaging material in the direction of orientation of the polymer film lying in
the direction of wrapping.
[0029] In Fig. 4 the tearing flap 16 is, as in Fig. 3, arranged in the middle between the
two sides E, F of the product 12 enclosed by the folded packaging material 14. Instead
of the cut lines 32, tearing-aid notches 34 - in the direction of the polymer film
orientation lying in the direction of wrapping - are provided at the transition of
the side-limiting edges 17 of the flap 16 to the packaging material 14. Here, as a
further aid to tearing for the strip 30, which can be removed from the packaging material
14 in the direction of orientation of the polymer film support material 18, two lines
of perforation 36 which correspond to the cut lines 34 in Fig. 3 are arranged parallel
to each other at a distance corresponding to the breadth e of the tearing strip 30
that can be removed from the packaging material 14.
[0030] The tearing flap 16 shown in Fig. 5 corresponds to the tearing flap 16 in Fig. 4,
whereby here the notches 34 to help initiate tearing, at the transition from the side-limiting
edges 17 of tearing flap 16 to the packaging material 14 in the orientation direction
of the polymer lying in the direction of wrapping, are arranged so far apart that
the tearing strip 30 that can be removed from the packaging material 14 in the direction
of orientation of the polymer film which lies in the direction of wrapping, extends
almost over the whole breadth of the product 12, with the result that on removing
the tearing strip 30 from the packaging material, almost the whole of the product
is exposed.
[0031] In the version shown in Fig. 6 two tearing flaps 16a, 16b are arranged a distance
apart, close to the two sides E, F of the product 12 with the folded packaging material
14. Each of the tearing flaps 16a, 16b exhibits the features of the tearing flap 16
in Fig. 4. As aid to tearing, also here, notches 34a, 34b are provided at the transition
of the side-limiting edges 17a, 17b of tearing flaps 16a, 16b to the packaging material
14 are provided, in the direction of orientation of the polymer film lying in the
direction of wrapping, these in order to help initiate tearing and lines of perforation
36a, 36b as aids to propagate the tears, viz., for each of the tearing strips 30a,
30b that can be removed from the packaging material 14. The result is, therefore,
two independent possibilities for opening the packaging.
[0032] A packaging material 14 may e.g. as in Fig. 2 the following structure, from the outside
to the inside:
24 protective lacquer layer of nitrocellulose lacquer, 2.0 ± 1 g/ m2
22 printing e.g. by helio or flexographic printing
18 monoaxial or biaxial oriented polymer film of
- polypropylene, 25 to 45 µm, with a density of 0.40 - 0.60 gm/m2, or
- high density polyethylene, 25 - 45 µm, or
- polyacetate, 15 - 40 µm
hot-sealing lacquer, produced by deposition of 2.0 ± 1 g/ m2 of a lacquer on the basis of
- copolymers of ethylene and vinylacetate or
- copolymers of vinylacetate and vinylchloride or
- acrylic-based lacquer.
[0033] If desired, a 10 nm to 2 µm thick barrier layer of aluminium may be deposited in
vacuum on the polymer film 18, or an approx. 6 - 12 µm thick aluminium foil.
1. Packaging with a block-shaped foodstuff-product (12) in which packaging a blank of
a film-shaped packaging material (14) having at least one layer is wrapped in a wrapping
facility forming an overlapping region around four successive side areas (A, B, C,
D) of the block-shaped foodstuff-product (12) and folded over two parallel, opposite
lying sides (E, F), whereby for the purpose of opening the packaging, the film-shaped
packaging material (12) can be separated along a tearing strip (30) by pulling on
a pull-off flap (16) starting from the overlapping region in a direction opposite
that of the wrapping direction,
characterised in that,
the - at least one - layer of the film-shaped packaging material (14) is a support
material (18) with at least one polymer film that is oriented in the direction of
wrapping and the tearing flap (16) is made from a part of the packaging material (14)
in the overlapping region, whereby the tearing flap (16) with edges (17) delimiting
the sides defines the breadth (e) of the tearing strip (30) that can be torn out of
the packaging film (14) in the direction of orientation of the polymer film.
2. Packaging according to claim 1, characterised in that the oriented polymer film is monoaxial oriented.
3. Packaging according to claim 1, characterised in that the oriented polymer film is biaxial oriented.
4. Packaging film according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterised in that, s an aid to initiating and propagating tearing, the side-limiting edges (17) of the
tearing flap (16) are in the form of cut lines (32) extending into the packaging material
(14) running in the direction of orientation of the polymer, which lies in the direction
of wrapping, this in the extension of the side-limiting edges (17) in the direction
opposite the direction of wrapping.
5. Packaging according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterised in that as aid to initiating tearing at the transition of the side-limiting edges (17) of
the tearing flap (16) to the packaging material (14) notches (34) are arranged in
the direction of orientation polymer film lying in the wrapping direction.
6. Packaging according to claim 5 characterised in that, as an aid to propagating tearing via the tearing strip (30) which is removable from
the packaging material (14) in the direction of orientation of the polymer film employed
as support material (18), two perforation lines (36) are arranged parallel to each
other following on from the delimiting edges (17) of the tearing flap (16).
7. Packaging according to one of the claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the oriented polymer film is a polyolefin, in particular polypropylene (PP) or high
density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate,
polyvinylchloride (PVC) or polyacetate (PLA).
8. Packaging according to one of the claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the packaging material may have a barrier layer against the passage of gases, vapours,
water vapour, aromas, odours and/or substances causing smells.
9. Packaging according to claim 8, characterised in that the barrier layer is a metal foil, in particular an aluminium foil.
10. Packaging according to claim 8, characterised in that the barrier layer is a metallising layer of aluminium.
11. Packaging according to claim 8, characterised in that the barrier layer is a plastic film of polyvinylidenchloride (PVDC) or an ethyl-vinyl-alcohol-copolymer
or a 10 - 500 nm thick layer of ceramic material deposited in vacuum, preferably silicon
oxide or aluminium oxide.
12. Packaging according to one of the claims 1 to 11, characterised in that the packaging material comprises a hot-sealing layer in the form of a lacquer which
is based on copolymers of ethylene and vinylacetate or vinylacetate and vinylchloride
or is acrylic-based.