Abstract:
A package of product units includes an entirely wrapped first product unit including a first product unit completely enveloped in a cover. An entirely wrapped second product unit (i) includes a second product unit completely enveloped in a cover and (ii) is disposed adjacent to the wrapped first product unit. A band disposed around the wrapped first product unit and the wrapped second product unit creates a secured product arrangement A wrapper completely envelopes the band, the wrapped first product unit, and the wrapped second product unit of the secured product arrangement to create a wrapped secured product arrangement, such that the wrapper directly contacts the band The wrapped secured product arrangement consists essentially of wrapped product units, the band, and the wrapper. The cover of the first product unit, the cover of the second product unit, the band, and the wrapper each comprises a plastic material.

Description:
CLAIM FOR PRIORITY 
     This non-provisional application is based upon U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/410,135, of the same title, filed Nov. 4, 2010. The priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/410,135 is hereby claimed and the disclosure thereof is incorporated into this application by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The subject matter disclosed herein relates to packaging goods, such as consumer goods. Previous packaging methods included using corrugated boxes or containers to package consumer goods. For example, a plurality of consumer goods may be packaged in a corrugated container fabricated from corrugated sheet products for shipping to a retailer and/or storage in inventory. The container consumes valuable material, energy, and personnel resources. In use, the consumer goods are placed on shelves, and the shipping container is discarded or recycled. 
     A packing method and apparatus that reduces the use of corrugated containers is desired. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect of the present invention, a method for packaging a product includes arranging a first product adjacent to a second product to define an arrangement, forming a band around the first product and the second product, and forming a protective wrapper, the protective wrapper at least partially enveloping the band, the first product, and the second product. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, a packaging system includes a first product and a second product, a band disposed around the first product and the second product, the first product disposed adjacent to the second product, and a shrinkable protective wrapper, the protective wrapper at least partially enveloping the band, the first product, and the second product. 
     In yet another aspect of the present invention, a sheet product and packaging arrangement includes a first group of rolled sheet products, the first group including at least two rolls of sheet products, a second group of rolled sheet products, the second group including at least two rolls of sheet products, a band disposed around the first group and the second group, and a protective wrapper, the protective wrapper at least partially enveloping the band, the first group, and the second group. 
     These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a roll of sheet product. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates another example of rolls of sheet products. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example of the roll that has been wrapped in a protective cover. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an example of the rolls that are individually wrapped in a protective cover. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an arrangement of rolls. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an alternate arrangement of the rolls. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of rolls that have been secured by a band. 
         FIG. 8A  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the arrangement of the rolls shown in  FIG. 7  that has been wrapped in a wrapper. 
         FIG. 8B  illustrates an alternate exemplary embodiment of the arrangement of the rolls shown in  FIG. 7  that has been wrapped in a wrapper. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an alternate arrangement of rolls. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates an alternate exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of products. 
         FIG. 11A  illustrates an alternate exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of rolls. 
         FIG. 11B  illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of rolls. 
         FIG. 12  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of plate products. 
         FIG. 13  illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of plate products. 
         FIG. 14  illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of sheet products. 
         FIG. 15  illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary method of packaging products. 
         FIG. 16  illustrates a block diagram of an alternate exemplary method of packaging products. 
     
    
    
     The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example, with reference to the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Previous packaging methods included disposing a plurality of products in a shipping container such as, for example, a corrugated box or shipping carton. The shipping container consumed material and energy resources. The exemplary methods and apparatus described below include embodiments that allow a plurality of products to be shipped and stored without the use of a shipping carton. 
     The term “sheet products” as used herein is inclusive of natural and/or synthetic cloth or paper sheets. Sheet products may include both woven and non-woven articles. There are a wide variety of nonwoven processes and they can be either wetlaid or drylaid. Some examples include hydroentagled (sometimes called spunlace), DRC (double re-creped), airlaid, spunbond, carded, paper towel, and meltblown sheet products. Further, sheet products may contain fibrous cellulosic materials that may be derived from natural sources, such as wood pulp fibers, as well as other fibrous material characterized by having hydroxyl groups attached to the polymer backbone. These include glass fibers and synthetic fibers modified with hydroxyl groups. Examples of sheet products include, but are not limited to, wipers, napkins, tissues, rolls, towels or other fibrous, film, polymer, or filamentary products. 
     In general sheet products are thin in comparison to their length and breadth and exhibit a relatively flat planar configuration and are flexible to permit folding, rolling, stacking, and the like. The sheet product may have perforations extending in lines across their width to separate individual sheets and facilitate separation or tearing of individual sheets from a roll or folded arrangement at discrete intervals. Individual sheets may be sized as desired to accommodate the many uses of the sheet products. For example, perforation lines may be formed every thirteen inches, or other defined interval, to define a universally sized sheet. Multiple perforation lines may be provided to allow the user to select the size of sheet depending on the particular need. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a roll of sheet product (roll)  100 . The roll of sheet product  100  may include a cylindrical core in the center of the roll  100 . Alternate embodiments, however, may not necessarily include a cylindrical core.  FIG. 2  illustrates another example of rolls of sheet products  200 . The rolls  200  have a shorter cylindrical height than the roll  100  and are arranged so as to be stacked on-end. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an example of the roll  100  (of  FIG. 1 ) that has been wrapped in a protective cover  302 . The protective cover  302  envelopes the roll  100 . The protective cover  302  may be formed from any suitable material such as, for example, a plastic or a fibrous sheet product. The protective cover  302  may be transparent, translucent, or opaque, and may include graphics or text printed on the protective cover  302 .  FIG. 4  illustrates an example of the rolls  200  (of  FIG. 2 ) that are individually wrapped in a protective cover  402 . The protective cover  402  is similar to the protective cover  302  (of  FIG. 3 ) described above. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an arrangement of the rolls  100  (of  FIG. 1 ). In this regard, three rolls  100  are arranged in-line and are packaged in a protective cover  502 . In the illustrated embodiment, the protected cover  502  may be fabricated from, for example, a plastic or fibrous sheet product material that may be transparent, translucent, or opaque. In an alternate embodiment, the wrapped arrangement of the roll  100  that includes the protective cover  302  (of  FIG. 3 ) may be incorporated into the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 5  such that each roll  100  may be individually wrapped in a protective cover  302 . The wrapped rolls  100  may then be arranged in-line, and subsequently wrapped in the protective cover  502 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an arrangement of the rolls  200  (of  FIG. 2 ) that are stacked on-end and arranged in-line in a similar manner as the rolls  100  of  FIG. 5 . The illustrated arrangement of the rolls  200  is wrapped in a protective cover  602  that is similar to the protective cover  502  (of  FIG. 5 ). In an alternate exemplary embodiment, the rolls  200  may be individually wrapped in the protective cover  402  (of  FIG. 4 ) prior to wrapping the rolls  200  in the protective cover  602 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of rolls  100  that have been secured by a band  702 . In the illustrated embodiment, the rolls  100  have been arranged and wrapped in a similar manner as the rolls  100  of  FIG. 5  described above. Thus, the rolls  100  have been arranged in-line and wrapped in groups of three rolls. Five of the groups of rolls  100  are arranged and secured by the band  702 . The band  702  may be formed from, for example, a plastic material that may have elastic properties. The band  702  exerts a compressive force on the arrangement of rolls  100 , securing the rolls  100  in the illustrated arrangement. In the illustrated embodiment, an example of a longitudinal axis of the rolls  100  is shown by the line  707 , and edges of the band  702  define a plane illustrated by the lines  709  and  711 . The band  702  is arranged circumferentially about the rolls  100 , such that the plane defined by the lines  709  and  711  is arranged substantially orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the roll  100  (shown by the line  707 ). In the illustrated embodiment, the band  702  is formed from two rectangular strips  703  and  705  of material that are connected together at opposing seams  701  (only one seam shown in  FIG. 7 , the other seam being hidden from view on the opposite side of the arrangement of rolls), using a connecting process such as, for example, a plastic heating, welding, or bonding process. In alternate embodiments, the band  702  may be formed from a single strip having opposing ends connected together with a single seam  701 . The material that forms the band  702  may be printed with graphic or textual markings in, for example, the regions  704 , prior to forming the band  702 . The process used to connect the strips  703  and  705  of material is operative to form the seams  701  without appreciably deforming the band  702  (except, in some embodiments, in the regions proximate to the seams  701 ). Thus, the connecting process does not deform the regions  704  that may include graphical, opaque regions, or textual markings in the regions  704 . The process may also index the orientation of the strips  703  and  705 , such that the arrangement of the regions  704  remains uniform as subsequent bands  702  are formed in mass production. Though the illustrated embodiment includes five groups of three rolls  100 , alternate arrangements may include, for example, any number of groups of three rolls  100  or any number of groups of rolls  100  having any number of rolls  100  per group. The dimensions and shape of the regions  704  of illustrated embodiment are shown for illustrative purposes. The regions  704  may be any shape or size including covering any or all areas of the band  702 . 
       FIG. 8A  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the arrangement of rolls  100  (shown in  FIG. 7 ) above that has been wrapped in a wrapper  802 . The wrapper  802  envelopes the rolls  100  and the band  702 . The wrapper  802  is formed from a plastic material that may be heated to shrink the wrapper  802  around the rolls  100  and the band  702 . The wrapper  702  may be formed from, for example, a tubular shaped plastic material that is arranged about the rolls  100  and the band  702 . The wrapper  802  may be transparent or translucent and may, or may not include graphic or textual markings printed on the wrapper  802 . If a heating process is used to shrink the wrapper  802 , the heating process shrinks the wrapper  802 , without appreciably shrinking or deforming the band  702 . Thus, the graphical and textual markings on the band  702  remain formed and intact, and may be legible and visible through a transparent wrapper  802 . The shrinking of the wrapper  802  in the illustrated embodiment forms orifices  804  that may expose portions of the band  702 . In the illustrated embodiment, although a single orifice  804  is shown, another orifice  804  has been formed on the opposing side of the arrangement (not shown in the  FIG. 8A ). The orifice  804  may aid in allowing heat to dissipate from the heating process (that shrinks the wrapper  802 ). The dissipation of the heat via the orifice  804  reduces the possibility of undesirably deforming the band  702  while shrinking the wrapper  802 . The illustrated embodiment includes a line of perforations  801  that may be formed to assist a user in manually removing the wrapper  802  without using a cutting tool, for example. In the illustrated embodiment, the line of perforations  801  intersects the orifice  804 . In alternate embodiments, however, the line of perforations  801  may be arranged in any suitable manner. 
     The wrapper  802  may be formed from a material having desirable friction properties to, for example, increase the ease in handing a packaged product. In this regard, the wrapped product may be handled in a variety of automated or semi-automated systems such as conveyer belts, shoots, and rollers. A plurality of packaged products may be grouped together and moved using gripping type lift devices. It is desirable for the wrapper  802  to have a surface with a coefficient of friction that meets design parameters, for example, to allow motive rollers to propel a package or a lift device to grip multiple packages with less slippage between packages than a wrapper  802  having a lower coefficient of friction. 
       FIG. 8B  illustrates an alternate exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of rolls  100 . In this regard, the rolls  100  are arranged and secured by the band  702 . The banded rolls  100  are disposed on a rigid or semi-rigid sheet or pad  806  that may include, for example, a corrugated material. The wrapper  802  is formed around the rolls  100 , the band  702 , and the pad  806  in a similar manner as discussed above. The pad  806  or a similar arrangement may be included in any of the discussed embodiments. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an arrangement of rolls  200  that is similar to the arrangement of rolls illustrated in  FIG. 8A . In this regard, the rolls  200  are stacked on-end, grouped and wrapped in a wrapper  602 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . The rolls  200  are grouped as illustrated, secured by a band  702 , and wrapped in a wrapper  802 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of products  1001  that are rectangular prism-shaped and secured by a band  702 , and wrapped in a wrapper  802  in a similar manner as described above. Though the illustrated embodiments include cylindrical and rectangular prism-shaped products, the methods and embodiments described above may be used for products having any variety of shapes. In an embodiment, each product  1001  is a stack of paper napkins oriented such that the band  702  wraps around outer surfaces of the arrangement of products  1001  to securely hold the arrangement. 
       FIG. 11A  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of rolls  100  that are individually wrapped in a protective cover  302 , as described above in  FIG. 3 . The rolls  100  are arranged in rows  1101   a - 1101   d . The rows  1101   a  and  1101   b  are secured by a band  702   a  and the rows  1101   c  and  1101   d  are secured by a band  702   b . The banded products are arranged adjacent to each other and wrapped in a wrapper  802  in a similar manner as described above. 
       FIG. 11B  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of rolls  100  that are individually wrapped in a protective cover  302 , as described above with respect to  FIG. 3 . The rolls  100  are arranged in rows and secured by bands  702   a  and  702   b  in a similar manner as discussed above with respect to  FIG. 11A . The rows secured by the band  702   b  are stacked onto the rows secured by the band  702   a . The stacked rolls are wrapped in a wrapper  802  in a similar manner as described above. 
       FIG. 12  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of tableware products  1202 . The tableware products  1202  may include, for example, paper, plastic, foam, or alternate material formed in the shape of a plate, a bowl, a platter, a tray, or other type of tableware. The tableware products  1202  are packaged in groups that are wrapped in protective covers  1203 . A band  1204  that is similar to the band  702  (of  FIG. 7 ) secures the arrangement of the tableware products  1202 . The arrangement of tableware products  1202 , and the band  1204 , are wrapped in a wrapper  802  in a similar manner as described above. 
       FIG. 13  illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of tableware products  1202 . The tableware products  1202  are arranged in two rows. The band  1204  secures the arrangement of the tableware products  1202 . The arrangement of tableware products  1202  and the band  1204  are wrapped in a wrapper  802  in a similar manner as described above. 
       FIG. 13  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of tableware products  1202 . The tableware products  1202  are arranged in two rows. The band  1204  secures the arrangement of the tableware products  1202 . The arrangement of tableware products  1202  and the band  1204  are wrapper  802  in a similar manner as described above. 
       FIG. 14  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an arrangement of sheet products that may include, for example, stacked sheets of paper packaged in a paper or plastic protective cover  1402 , resulting in a rectangularly prism-shaped product package  1404 . The packages  1404  are arranged in two slacks  1403   a  and  1403   b  that are secured by a band  702  and wrapped in a wrapper  802  in a similar manner as described above. 
       FIG. 15  illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary method of packaging products such as, for example, rolls of sheet products similar to the rolls  100  and  200  described above. In this regard, in block  1502 , at least two products are arranged in a group. A band similar to the band  702  (of  FIG. 7 ) is formed around the group in block  1504 . In block  1506 , a wrapper similar to the wrapper  802  (of  FIG. 8A ) is formed around the banded group. The formation of the protective cover may Include, for example, applying heat to the protective cover to reduce the surface area of the protective cover (i.e., shrink the protective cover via a shrink-wrap process) and forming a line of perforations similar to the line  801  (of  FIG. 8A ). 
       FIG. 16  illustrates a block diagram of an alternate exemplary method of packaging products such as, for example, rolls of sheet products similar to the rolls  100  and  200  described above. In this regard, in block  1602 , each product unit is wrapped in a protective cover. A product unit may include one or more products such as, for example, an individual roll  100  (of  FIG. 3 ) that is wrapped in the protective cover  302 , or an arrangement of rolls similar to the arrangement of  FIG. 5 , with a plurality of rolls  100  wrapped in a protective cover  502 . In block  1604 , at least two wrapped product units are arranged in a group. A band similar to the band  702  (of  FIG. 7 ) is formed around the group in block  1606 . In block  1608 , a second protective cover (similar to the wrapper  802  of  FIG. 8A ) is formed around the banded group. The formation of the second protective cover may include, for example, applying heat to the second protective cover to reduce the surface area of the second protective cover (i.e., shrink the second protective cover) and forming a line of perforations similar to the line  801  (of  FIG. 8A ). 
     Though the embodiments described above include a variety of packaged products, a variety of other products may be packaged in similar manners as described above. For example, canned food stuffs or other types of products having different shapes or characteristics may be packaged as described above. 
     While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.