DISPLAY PACKAGE FOR TEAT CUP LINERS

Abstract: A display package for a plurality of teat cup liners has a support structure (1) of a foldable sheet material comprising a plane wall portion (2), and a support flap (3), which hangs together with the wall portion (2) and is folded substantially transverse to the latter, the support flap (3) being provided with a plurality of recesses (12) situated aligned with each other. Each recess (12) has an extension, which is larger than the diameter of the tubular portion (25) of the teat cup liner but less than the diameter of the heat portion (26) of the teat cup liner. The tubular portions (25) of the teat cup liners extend through the recesses (12) and along the wall portion (2) substantially parallel with each other, so that the teat cup liners are supported by the support flap (3) and the wall portion (2), the head portions (26) abutting against the support flap (3). A transparent plastic foil (28) encloses the support structure (1) and the teat cup liners (25), the plastic foil being stretched against these, so that the support structure and the teat cup liners are kept fixed against each other by the plastic foil.

Description: Display package for beat cup liners The present invention relates to a display package for a plurality of teat cup liners, preferably four, each teat cup liner having an elongated tubular portion, which at one end adjoins a short head portion with a substantially larger trans- versal extension than the tubular portion. Conventionally, newly manufactured teat cup liners are usually packed in transparent plastic bags in batches of four teat cup liners. Such plastic bags are cheap in price, protect the teat cup liners against dirt and allow in some extent display of the packed teat cup liners for inspection of these without need for opening the bags. However, teat cup liners packed in bags have the disadvantage that they are completely unprotected against loads during transport and storage of the filled bags, which often gives rise to remaining deformations on the teat cup liners. Such deformations, especially if they occur on the thin wall parts of the teat cup liner, which are to be subjected to pulsating pressure, may jeopardize the function of the teat cup liners during milking. In addition, visible deformations on the teat cup liners, even if they are harmless per se, can result in purchase resistance of the consumer. Another disadvantage with teat cup liners packed in bags is that it is difficult for the consumer to quickly identify bags con- taining demanded teat cup liners, because of the fact that the bags with teat cup liners often are exposed in the shop among other similar bags containing other articles, and that the shapeless bag material forms unregular small creases, which give rise to reflections, so that the view into the bags is obstructed. It also occurs that newly manufactured teat cup liners are packed in carton cases, which completely enclose the teat cup liners. Such carton cases protect efficiently the teat cup liners against loads during transport and storage of the filled carton cases. However, carton cases are expensive, identify the teat cup liners poorly and prevent inspection of the packed teat cup liners in unopened carton cases. It is crue that the carton cases could be provided with windows of transparent plastic for displaying the content, which would however raise the price of the carton cases even further, without the content being particularly well visible after all. The object of the present invention is to provide a new display package of the kind here present, which efficiently exposes and identifies the teat cup liners, protects them against point loads and remaining deformations during transport and storage, allows inspection of the packed teat cup liners without need for opening the display package, and is relatively cheap in price. . A further object of the present invention is to provide a new display package with an attractive, distinct and selling appearance. These objects are achieved by means of a display package of the kind initially stated, which mainly is characterized in that a support structure of a foldable sheet material comprises a plane wall portion, and a support flap, which via a support flap fold hangs together with an edge of the wall portion and is folded substantially transverse to the wall portion, the support flap being provided with a plurality of recesses situated aligned with each other along the wall portion principally parallel to said edge; that each recess has an extension, which is larger than the transversal extension of said tubular portion but less than the transversal extension of said head portion; that the tubular portions of the teat cup liners extend through the recesses and along the wall portion substantially parallel to each other, so that the teat cup liners are supoored by the support flap, the head portions abutting against the outside of the folded support flap; and that a transparent plastic foil encloses the support structure and the teat cuo liners, the plastic foil being stretched against these, so that the support structure and the teat cup liners are kept fixed against each other by the plastic foil. Hereby, the advantage is obtained that the fragile portions of •' the teat cup liners are protected satisfactorily against. loads during transport and storage of the display packages. Since the teat cup liners are kept fixed side by side against the protec- ting wall portion and the support flap, the teat cuo liners, the support structure and the plastic foil cooperate, so that the package will be particularly stiff and resistant to loads. In addition, the advantage is obtained that the teat cup liners can be inspected satisfactorily through the stretched plastic foil notwithstanding disturbing small reflections, which normally obstruct the view into ordinary transparent bags. The arranged localization of the teat cup liners side by side and enclosed by the stretched transparent plastic foil also creates a clear field of vision for the presumptive buyer, who quickly can identify the content of the display package, and an attractive appearance of the display package. Another advantage with the new display package is that the end surfaces of the head portions of the packed teat cup liners can be utilized as supporting surfaces, so that the display packages can be put directly on shelves with the content well exposed. When manufacturing teat cup liners, there is as a last step of manufacture the removal of so called burrs, which have arisen during the molding of the teat cup liners. Then the teat cup liners are packed. The removal of burrs is attended by one operator while another operator attends to the packing of the finished teat cup liners. The support structure of the new display package may advantageously be utilized as part of a transport device in such a way that the same operator, who feeds the machine for removal of burrs, also suspends the finished teat cup liners with the head portions upwards in the recesses of the support flaps of support structures, which by a transport device have been brought to a convenient vicinity to the last mentioned operator. Filled support structures can then be trans- ported further by said transport device directly to a machine for application of the transparent plastic foil. This will save ' one operator, which will mean the advantage that the production cost of the display package is reduced. The support flap is suitably limited outwards from the wall portion by an edge, which is broken by each recess, whereby an operator easily can insert the tubular portions of the teat cup liners into the recesses by moving the teat cup liners sideways substantially transverse to the wall portion. (Alternatively, an operator may move the tubular portions axially into the recesses. In this case the recesses may suitably be constituted by holes). To prevent that teat cup liners, which have been fitted in the recesses of the support flap, will loosen from the support flap before the teat cup liners and the support structure have been provided with the plastic foil, each, recess in the vicinity of the edge of a support flap is suitably formed with an extension parallel to the support flap fold, which is less than the trans- versal extension of the tubular portions of the teat cup liners in the vicinity of the head portions of the teat cup liners. According to a preferred embodiment of the display package according to the invention, the support flap is formed with such a limited extension from the wall portion that the support flap, at least between the outermost situated teat cup liners, does not abut with its edge against the plastic foil. Hereby, the plastic foil creates aesthetically attractive, unbroken saddle surfaces between adjacent head portions. Preferably, the support structure forms guide flaps, which hang together with the wall portion and are folded outwards from the latter to abutment against mutual sides of the tubular portion of each teat cup liner, so that the teat cup liners are fixed laterally. The invention will be explained more closely in the following with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an unfolded support structure for a display package according to the invention, figure 2 shows a display package according to the invention comprising the support structure according to figure 1 in folded shape and figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment of a display package according to the invention. The unfolded support structure 1 shown in figure 1 consists of a carton material and comprises a rectangular wall portion 2, a rectangular support flap 3, which via a straight support flap fold 4 hangs together with an edge 5 of the rectangular wall portion 2, a rectangular end flap 6, which via a straight end flap fold 7 parallel with the support flap fold 4 hangs together with an edge 8 of the wall portion 2, and a display flap 9 for information, which via a straight display flap fold 10 parallel with the end flap fold 7 hangs together with the end flap 6. With the expression "fold" is intended a fold line in the support structure formed by either indentations in the carton material, or perforations therein, or a combination of indenta¬ tions and perforations. The support flap 3 has an edge 11, which extends parallelly with the support flap fold 4 and which is broken by four recesses 12 in the support flap 3. The recesses 12 are situated aligned with each other at the same distance from the edge 5 of the wall portion 2 and have a substantially circular shape, each recess 12 having a less extension A in the vicinity of the edge 11 of the support flap than centrally in the recess, seen in direction parallelly with the edge 11. The two corners of the support flap 3 at the edge 11 are bevelled. The display flap 9 is provided with a circular hole 13, situated in front of one of the outermost recesses 12 in the support flap ' 3, seen in direction transverse to the edges 5 and 8. Centrally in the display flap 9, there is a suspension hole 14. The display flap 9 is formed with two short side edges 15, 16, which extend convergingly towards each other from the end flap 6 and via curved edge portions 17, 18 adjoins a long side edge 19, whlrh extends parallelly with the display flap fold 10. In the vicinity of the edge 8 of the wall portion 2, there are four guide flaps 20 cut in the wall portion 2. The guide flaps 20 are situated in front of respective recesses 12, seen in direction transverse to the edge 5, and hang together with the wall portion 2 via folds 21, which extend parallelly with the support flap fold 4. Each guide flap 20 is formed with an edge 22, which forms a recess for reception of a teat cup liner when the guide flap 20 is folded outwards from the wall portion 2. Between the two middle guide flaps 20, there is a hole 23 for reception of a suspension hook. In figure 2, there is shown packed teat cup liners 24 of the kind having an elongated tubular portion 25 with circular cross- section, which at one end adjoins a short head portion 26 with circular cross-section and with a substantially larger diameter than the tubular portion 25. With the support flap 3 in a folded state substantially trans¬ verse to the wall portion 2, the teat cup liners 24 are inserted into the recesses 12 by displacing the teat cup liners sideways substantially transverse to the wall portion 2. Hereby, each recess 12 is shaped with an extension, which is larger than the diameter of the tubular portion 25 of the teat cup liner but less than the diameter of the head portion 26 of the teat cup liner. The distance A of each recess 12 is less than the ■ diameter of each tubular portion 25 in the vicinity of the head portion 26. The tubular portions 25 of the teat cup liners extend through the recesses 12 and along the wall portion 2, the head portions 26 abutting against the support flap 3. The guide flaps 20 are folded outwards from the wall portion 2, so that the tubular portions 25 abut against the edges 22, whereby the portions 25 are laterally fixed. Only two of the four guide flaps 20 are shown in figure 2. The end flap 6 and the display flap 9 are folded so that the display flap 9 extends from the end flap 6 a distance across the teat cup liners. However, the display flap 9 is dimensioned, such that a substantial part of the teat cup liners 24 are not covered by the display flap 9. In case that the teat cup liners are of that kind, which com¬ prises a radially enlarged portion 27 in the vicinity of the headless end of the teat cup liner, such a portion 27 of one of the teat cup liners will be exposed through the recess 13 in the display flap 9. In this case, the guide flaps 20 can suitably be placed inside and against the enlarged portion 27, such that they fix the teat cup liners sideways as well as lenghtwise. A transparent plastic foil 28 encloses completely the support structure 1 and the teat cup liners 24. The plastic foil 28 is shrinked so that it is tightened around the support structure 1 and the teat cup liners 24. Hereby, these will be fixed relative to each other. Alternatively, at the application of the plastic foil this may be stretched against the support structure 1 and the teat cuo liners 24 instead of being shrinked. The plastic foil, thus tightened, creates aesthetically attractive curved surfaces, which substantially lack reflection creating creases, whereby the teat cup liners 24 are clearly exposed. The support flap 3 is also formed with such a limited extension from the wall portion 2 that the support flap 3 between the teat cup liners 24 does not abut with the edge 11 against the plastic foil 28. Hereby, the plastic foil 28 forms unbroken saddle surfaces (in figure 2 indicated by means of the lines 29 and 30) between adjacent head portions 26. Alternatively, the display package shown in figure 2 may be further stiffened by means of side flaps, which are arranged hanging together with the edges of the wall portion 2, which extend parallelly with the teat cup liners. Such side flaps are to be folded outwards from the wall portion 2 towards the teat cup liners and suitably attached to the support flap 3 and the end flap 6 for instance by locking flaps or by glue. Such an arrangement of side flaps should mean an improved stiffening of the display package and an improved protection of the teat cup liners against exterior loads, but a deteriorated exposure of the teat cup liners and a more expensive package. In figure 3, there is shown an alternative display package for teat cup liners 24 of the same kind as the one shown in figure 2. Also this display package is provided with a plastic enclosure, even if this is not shown in the figure. The support structure 1 in this embodiment has a support flap 3, which is provided with recesses 12 in the form of holes with a closed outline. When packing the teat cup liners 24, the tubular portions of the teat cup liners are inserted through these holes. By forming the display package in this way the display flap 9 may be arranged hanging together with the support flap 3, the display flap 9 being folded against the tubular portion 25 of the teat cup liners 24. Hereby, a saving in material can be made corresponding to the end flap 6 shown in figure 1. Of course, this display flap 9 may be combined with and supplemented by a display flap of the kind shown in figures 1 and 2.

Claims: Claims 1. A display package for a plurality of teat cup liners (24), preferably four, each teat cup liner having an elongated tubular portion (25), which at one end adjoins a short head portion (26) with substantially larger transversal extension than the tubular- portion, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n - that a support structure (1) of a foldable sheet material com- prises a plane wall portion (2), and a support flap (3), which via a support flap fold (4) hangs together with an edge (5) of the wall portion and is folded substantially transverse to the wall portion, the support flap (3) being provided with a plurality of recesses (12) situated aligned with each other along the wall portion substantially parallel with said edge, - that each rece ' ss (12) has an extension, which is larger than the transversal extension of said tubular portion (25) in the vicinity of said head portion (26), but less than the trans- versal extension of said head portion (26), - that the tubular portions (25) of the teat cup liners extend through the recesses (12) and along the wall portion (2) substantially parallel with each other, so that the teat cup liners (24) ' are supported by the support flap (3) and the wall portion (2), the head portions (26) abutting against the outside of the folded support flap, and - that a transparent plastic foil (28) encloses the support structure (1) and the teat cup liners (24), the plastic foil being stretched against these, so that the support structure and the teat cup liners are kept fixed against each other by the plastic foil. 2. A display package according to claim 1, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d i n that the support flap (3) is limited outwardly from the wall portion (2) by an edge (11), which is broken by each recess (12), the tubular portions (25) of the teat cup liners being insertable into the recesses by displacing the teat cup liners sideways substantially transversely to the ' wall portion. 3. A display package according to claim 2, c h a r a c - t e r i z e d i n that in the vicinity of the edge (11) of the support flap, each recess (12) is formed with an extension (A) parallel with the support flap fold (4) being less than the transversal extension of the tubular portions (25) of the teat cup liners in the vicinity of the head portions (26) of the teat cup liners. 4. A display package according to claim 2 or 3, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d i n that the support flap (3) is formed with such a limited extension from the wall portion (2) that the support flap, at least between the outermost situated teat cup liners (24), does not abut with its said edge (11) against the plastic foil (28), whereby the plastic foil forms unbroken saddle surfaces (29, 30) between adjacent head portions. 5. A display package according to any of claims 1-4, c h ¬ r a c t e r i z e d i n that the support structure (1) forms guide flaps (20), which adjoin the wall portion (2) and are folded outwardly from this to abutment against mutual sides of each tubular portion (25) of the teat cup liners, so that the teat cup liners (24) are fixed sideways. 6. A display package according to any of claims 1-5, c h a ¬ r a c t e r i z e d i n that the support structure (1) com¬ prises an end flap (6), which via an end flap fold (7) parallel with the support flap fold (4) adjoins a further edge (8) of the wall portion (2) and is folded outwardly from the wall portion towards the teat cup liners (24), and a display flap (9) for information, which via a display flap fold (10) parallel with the end flap fold (7) adjoins the end flap (6) and is folded towards the teat cup liners. 7. A display package according to claim 6, in which each teat cup liner (24) in the vicinity of its headless end is provided with a radially enlarged portion (27), c h a r a c t e r i - z e d i n that the display flap (9) extends across the radially enlarged portions (27) of the teat cup liners, the display flap being provided with at least one recess (13) forming a window situated such that a radially enlarged portion of one teat cup liner is exposed. 8. A display package according to any of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the plastic foil (28) is shrinked around the support structure (1) and the teat cup liners (24). 9. A display package according to any of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the support structure (1) consists of carton material.

Inventors: STENSTROEM LENNART, STENSTROEM, LENNART
Applicants: ALFA LAVAL AGRI INT, ALFA-LAVAL AGRICULTURE INTERNATIONAL AB
Application year: 1989
Main classification: B65D73
IPC codes: B65D71