Patent Publication Number: US-6658813-B2

Title: Apparatus and methods for packaging and distributing combinations of complementary containers

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/037,893, filed Oct. 23, 2001, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/922,976, filed Aug. 6, 2001 now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/618,194, filed Jul. 18, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,393. The subject matter disclosed herein is related to the subject matter disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/957,904, filed Sep. 21, 2001. The contents of each of the above-referenced patents and patent applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to apparatus and methods for packaging and distributing combinations of complementary containers. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is well known that consumers frequently associate certain snack foods and beverages with one another, and that consumers frequently consume snack foods and beverages in combination. For example, consumers might be inclined to eat peanuts when drinking beer, or to eat popcorn when drinking soda. To capitalize on this, the food and beverage industry has attempted to increase sales of both snack foods and beverages by tying sales of certain beverages to sales of snack food products that are often associated with those beverages. For example, the seller of popcorn might offer the popcorn purchaser a “cents-off” coupon that can be redeemed with the purchase of a case of soda, or the seller of peanuts might offer a peanut coupon to the purchaser of a case of beer. 
     Although this approach provides the beverage purchaser, for example, with an incentive to purchase the snack food, such an approach requires the purchaser to actually retrieve both the beverage and the snack food. The extra effort required to locate the additional item, and then carry it or place it into the shopping cart is often just enough to discourage the purchaser from making the additional purchase. Even if the snack food item is placed in reasonable proximity to the beverage, the consumer can still be dissuaded from buying both the snack food and the beverage by having to pick up and carry more than one item. 
     Occasionally, the beverage industry offers additional incentives to the purchaser in the form of promotional items (a.k.a. “premiums”). Such promotional items are typically free items that the seller gives to the buyer in exchange for the purchase of the beverages. Examples of such promotional items can include toys, tee shirts, videos, and the like. Like complementary snack food items, the premiums can be offered in separate packages, making it difficult or undesirable for the purchaser to carry both the multi-pack beverage carton and the premium. The premium could be shrink-wrapped, for example, or otherwise attached to the multi-pack beverage carton, but this approach results in an end-product that is difficult to mass-produce, palletize, store, transport, market, and display in large quantities because of its generally odd overall shape. That is, it is difficult to stack a large number of such packages because gaps between adjacent packages cause instability in the stack. 
     It would be advantageous, therefore, to manufacturers, bottlers, and merchandisers of multi-pack beverage cartons if products and methods were available that entice the consumer to purchase multi-pack cartons of beverage containers in combination with complementary items such as snack foods and promotional items, without requiring the consumer to select and carry separate items. Thus, there is a need in the art for apparatus and methods for packaging and distributing combinations of multi-pack beverage cartons and complementary containers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention satisfies these needs in the art by providing apparatus and methods for packaging and distributing combinations of multi-pack beverage cartons and complementary containers. A combined package according to the invention includes a multi-pack carton containing a plurality of beverage containers, combined in mutual abutment with one or more complementary containers. The beverage containers can be cans or bottles, and the multi-pack carton can contain at least six, or preferably twelve, beverage containers. The complementary containers can include a snack food, a promotional item, or any other such item that would entice a consumer to purchase the multi-pack beverage carton in combination with the complementary container. 
     A packaging material, which can be a transparent, polymeric, packaging material, such as shrink-wrap material or a band, at least partially surrounds both the multi-pack carton and the complementary container, thus holding the multi-pack carton and the container in mutual abutment. The combined package can also include an adhesive between the multi-pack carton and the container that holds a face of the multi-pack carton and a face of the container in mutual abutment. To increase package strength and to facilitate palletizing the combined packages, the surface areas of the faces can be approximately the same, and the combined package can have an overall shape that is generally rectanguloidal. 
     Apparatus according to the invention for manufacturing a combined package can include a conveyance system, and a packaging material applicator, such as a band applicator or shrink-wrap applicator. The conveyance system transports the multi-pack carton and the complementary container while they are positioned adjacent to one another. The applicator at least partially surrounds both the multi-pack carton and the complementary container with a packaging material that holds them in mutual abutment by applying the packaging material to both the multi-pack carton and the complementary container while they are positioned adjacent to one another. The applicator can include a heat source that shrinks the packaging material or fuses loose ends of the band material together to hold the multi-pack carton and the complementary container in combination. 
     The apparatus can also include a first conveyor that transports the multi-pack carton and provides the multi-pack carton to the conveyance system, and a second conveyor that transports the complementary container and provides the complementary container to the conveyance system. The first conveyor and the second conveyor meet at a junction adapted to position the multi-pack carton and the complementary container adjacent to one another. An adhesive sprayer can be used to apply an adhesive to at least one of the multi-pack carton and the complementary container to hold the multi-pack carton and the complementary container in mutual abutment. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings an embodiment that is presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed. 
     FIG. 1 depicts a preferred embodiment of a beverage package according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 depicts apparatus for packaging beverages. 
     FIG. 3 depicts apparatus according to the present invention for packaging combinations of multi-pack beverage cartons and complementary containers. 
     FIGS. 4A and 4B depict a preferred embodiment of a beverage package according to the present invention that is particularly suitable for stacking. 
     FIG. 5 depicts another preferred embodiment of a beverage package according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 depicts an alternative embodiment of apparatus according to the present invention for packaging combinations of multi-pack beverage cartons and complementary containers. 
     FIGS. 7A and 7B depict alternate embodiments of a combined package according to the invention that are particularly suitable for stacking. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 depicts a preferred embodiment of a beverage package  10  according to the present invention. As shown, package  10  comprises a multi-pack carton  12  and a complementary container  14 . Multi-pack carton  12  contains a plurality of beverage containers  22 , which can be, for example, cans, bottles, or the like. Carton  12  can be made of cardboard, or any other suitable material, and can include artwork, trademarks, or other attractive design work to enhance the appeal of the product. Preferably, multi-pack carton  12  contains twelve cans of a beverage such as soda, beer, water, or the like. 
     Generally, container  14  contains an item that is complementary to the beverage. That is, container  14  will serve as an inducement to the consumer to purchase the multi-pack carton  12 . Container  14  can be a snack food container that contains a snack food, such as popcorn, peanuts, pretzels, or potato chips, for example. Alternatively, container  14  can contain a promotional item or “premium,” such as a toy, tee shirt, video, or the like. Container  14  can be a bag, box, or canister, for example, though container  14  is preferably a box. 
     A packaging material  16  at least partially surrounds both multi-pack carton  12  and container  14 , and thus holds multi-pack carton  12  and container  14  in combination against one another, i.e., in mutual abutment. Preferably, packaging material  16  is a sheet of transparent material, such as a sheet of transparent polymeric material commonly known as “shrink-wrap,” for example. It should be understood that the packaging material applies a constrictive force to both the multi-pack carton and the complementary container to hold the multi-pack carton and complementary container in mutual abutment. 
     It is preferred that packaging material  16  is transparent so that the consumer can see both multi-pack carton  12  and container  14 , though it may be desirable to use colored or printed packaging material to further enhance the marketing appeal of combined package  10 . The combined package  10  can then be offered for sale as a single product or stock keeping unit (SKU), and labeled with a single product identifier, such as a universal product code (UPC). 
     Apparatus and methods according to the present invention for manufacturing combinations of multi-pack beverage cartons and complementary containers will now be described. FIG. 2 depicts a top view of apparatus that can be used in a typical bottling operation. As shown, empty beverage containers  22 ′ are transported via a conveyor  50  to be filled as they pass through a filling station  52 , which comprises a plurality of filling tubes  53 . Once filled, individual beverage containers  22  can be packaged into multi-pack cartons  12 . Although any number of beverage containers can be packaged into a multi-pack carton, multi-pack cartons  12  typically contain six, twelve, or twenty-four beverage containers. For purposes of the present invention, it is preferred that multi-pack cartons  12  contain twelve beverage containers  22 . Multi-pack cartons  12  can then be transported via a conveyor  54  to be “palletized” (i.e., stacked on pallets  57 ) at a palletizing area  56 . 
     FIG. 3 depicts a preferred embodiment of apparatus  100  according to the invention for manufacturing combinations of multi-pack beverage cartons and complementary containers. As shown, conveyor  54  can include a switch  58  so that multi-pack cartons  12  can either continue along conveyor  54  to palletizing area  56  (not shown in FIG.  3 ), or be switched off via a conveyor  102  to a packaging area  60 . Alternatively, conveyor  102  can be separate from conveyor  54 , with multi-pack cartons  12  being loaded onto conveyor  102  from a remote location (not shown). 
     In any event, conveyor  102  transports multi-pack cartons at predefined intervals from one another (i.e., there is a predefined distance between successive cartons on conveyor  102 ). Similarly, a second conveyor  104  transports containers  14  at predefined intervals from one another. Conveyors  102  and  104  meet at a junction  106 , where they can continue side-by-side (.e., adjacent to one another). More preferably, conveyors  102  and  104  end at junction  106  where a third conveyor  108  begins. Thus, junction  106  can be adapted to cause the multi-pack carton and the complementary container to come into mutual abutment. The intervals between containers  14  should be set so that multi-pack cartons  12  and containers  14  arrive at junction  106  concurrently. Preferably, multi-pack cartons  12  and containers  14  are oriented on their respective conveyors  102 ,  104  so that when multi-pack cartons  12  and containers  14  meet at junction  106 , multi-pack cartons  12  and containers  14  abut against one another as shown. 
     Thus, at junction  106 , carton  12  and container  14  are positioned relative to one another such that face  12   a  of carton  12  is in abutment with face  14   a  of container  14  (see FIG.  1 ). To facilitate the packaging process, container  14  is preferably configured such that face  14   a  of container  14  has a length  14   l  that is approximately the same as a corresponding length  12   l  of face  12   a  of multi-pack carton  12 . More preferably, to facilitate palletizing the combined packages, face  14   a  of container  14  also has a width  14   w  that is approximately the same as a corresponding width  12   w  of face  12   a  of multi-pack carton  12 . Thus, in a preferred embodiment, face  12   a  has approximately the same surface area as face  14   a.    
     FIG. 4A depicts a preferred embodiment of a beverage package according to the present invention that is particularly suitable for palletizing. As shown, the overall shape of package  10  is rectanguloidal. Such a rectanguloidal shape facilitates palletizing and display of a plurality of such packages because the packages  10  can be stacked next to or on top of one another, in any orientation, without significant gaps between adjacent packages (see FIG.  4 B). Carton  12  and container  14  can be sized, shaped, and positioned relative to one another such that faces  12   b ,  12   c ,  12   d , and  12   e  of carton  12  can be generally coplanar with faces  14   b ,  14   c ,  14   d , and  14   e , respectively, of container  14 . Because any number of such combined packages can be stacked in any orientation, a combined package having a generally rectanguloidal shape is preferred as it facilitiates the manufacture, transportation, storage, display and marketing of the combined package. 
     It is desirable that the positions of multi-pack carton  12  and container  14  remain as fixed as possible relative to one another before and during the application of the packaging material. To accomplish this, as shown in FIG. 3, an adhesive sprayer  110  can be used to apply an adhesive either to face  12   a  of carton  12  or face  14   a  of container  14 . When carton  12  and container  14  come into contact at junction  106 , the two will be adhered together, and thus, carton  12  and container  14  can be maintained in mutual abutment as they continue along conveyor  108 . 
     Preferably, conveyor  108  carries multi-pack carton  12  and container  14  into a wrap applicator  114  that places a sleeve or wrap of shrink film around carton  12  and container  14  in combination. Preferably, wrap applicator  114  accomplishes this through a series of stretch rollers that cover the combined package with complete 360 degree coverage, leaving only a “bullseye” opening  16   a  (see FIG. 1) on each end. A heater  116  then heats the shrink film to cause it to shrink into tight, surrounding engagement with carton  12  and container  14 . 
     Preferably, wrap applicator  114  and heater  116  are parts of a shrink wrap machine  115 , also known as a “heat shrink tunnel.” After it has been shrunk, packaging material  16  contains multi-pack carton  12  and snack food container  14  in combination, with only the bullseye openings at each end remaining after combined package  10  has passed through heat shrink tunnel  115 . Packages  10  can continue along conveyor  108 , to a location (not shown) where they can be palletized or otherwise unloaded for storage and shipment. 
     FIG. 5 depicts another preferred embodiment of a beverage package  20  according to the present invention. As shown, packaging material  26  can be a strap, belt, belly band, or any other configuration that wraps around four sides of the combined package  20 , thereby holding multi-pack carton  12  and container  14  in mutual abutment. Preferably, packaging material  26  is made from a transparent or translucent polymeric material, though it may be desirable to use colored or printed packaging material to further enhance the marketing appeal of combined package  20 . As shown, the packaging material  26  can include a handle  28 , via which the combined package  20  can be lifted. Additional description of belly-bands can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,919,260 and 4,269,308, the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIG. 6 depicts a preferred embodiment of apparatus  200  for manufacturing combined food and beverage packages  20  according to the present invention. As shown, conveyor  54  can include a switch  58  so that multi-pack cartons  12  can either continue along conveyor  54  to palletizing area  56 , or be switched off via conveyor  102  to a packaging area  60 . Alternatively, conveyor  102  can be separate from conveyor  54 , with multi-pack cartons  12  being loaded onto conveyor  102  from a remote location (not shown). 
     In any event, conveyor  102  transports multi-pack cartons  12  at predefined intervals from one another (i.e., there is a predefined distance between successive cartons on conveyor  102 ). Similarly, a second conveyor  104  transports containers  14  at predefined intervals from one another. Conveyors  102  and  104  meet at a junction  106 , where they can continue side-by-side. More preferably, conveyors  102  and  104  end at junction  106  where a third conveyor  108  begins. Thus, junction  106  can be adapted to cause the multi-pack carton and the container to be positioned adjacent to one another (e.g., to come into mutual abutment). The intervals between containers  14  should be set so that multi-pack cartons  12  and containers  14  arrive at junction  106  concurrently. 
     Preferably, multi-pack cartons  12  and containers  14  are oriented on their respective conveyors  102 ,  104  so that when multi-pack cartons  12  and containers  14  meet at junction  106 , multi-pack cartons  12  and containers  14  abut against one another as shown. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, wherein the overall shape of the combined package  20  is to be generally rectangular, multi-pack cartons  12  and containers  14  are oriented on their respective conveyors  102 ,  104  so that when they meet at junction  106 , they are plumb with one another (i.e., the corresponding faces are generally co-planar as described above). It is anticipated that the combined package will be stronger if the faces are oriented in such a generally co-planar arrangement. This additional strength is desirable as it provides stability for transportation. 
     Thus, at junction  106 , carton  12  and container  14  are positioned relative to one another such that face  12   a  of carton  12  is in abutment with face  14   a  of container  14  (see FIG.  5 ). It is desirable that the positions of multi-pack carton  12  and snack food container  14  remain as fixed as possible relative to one another before and during the application of the packaging material. To accomplish this, as shown in FIG. 6, an adhesive sprayer  110  can be used to apply an adhesive either to face  12   a  of carton  12  or face  14   a  of container  14 . When carton  12  and container  14  come into contact at junction  106 , the two will be adhered together, and thus, carton  12  and container  14  can be maintained in mutual abutment as they continue along conveyor  108 . 
     Conveyor  108  carries multi-pack carton  12  and container  14  into a band applicator  214  that places a plastic strap, belt, or belly-band around carton  12  and container  14 , thereby holding them in mutual abutment. Preferably, band applicator  214  includes a band roller  215 . Band roller  215  is a roller or spool onto which a string of belly band material is wound. As the packages pass through band applicator  214 , band roller  215  rotates and the belly band material unwinds from the spool  215 . The belly band  26  is wrapped around the multi-pack beverage carton  12  and the complementary container  14  as they are held in mutual abutment. The belly band  26  is cut off of the spool  215 , and the loose ends of the band  26  are fused together, via a heater, laser, or other such heat source  216 , thereby holding the multi-pack carton  12  and complementary container  14  in mutual abutment to form the combined package  20 . 
     Alternatively, the belly-band  26  can be wrapped around the multi-pack carton  12  and complementary container  14  like a rubber band. The heat source  216  can be used to shrink the belly band  26  snugly onto the multi-pack carton  12  and complementary container  14 , thereby forming the combined package  20 . Packages  20  can continue along conveyor  108 , to a location (not shown) where they can be palletized or otherwise unloaded for storage and shipment. 
     FIGS. 7A and 7B depict alternate embodiments of a combined package  30  according to the invention that are particularly suitable for stacking. As shown, package  30  includes a multi-pack beverage carton  12 , a first complementary container  32 , and a second complementary container  34 . Such embodiments are particularly useful in applications wherein the seller of the combined package is desirous of marketing more than one complementary item with the beverage. For example, such an embodiment would be useful to sell beer, tortilla chips, and salsa as a single combined package. The complementary containers  32 ,  34  can be disposed such that each is adjacent to the multi-pack carton  12 , as shown in FIG. 7A, or such that the first container  32  is adjacent the multi-pack carton  12  and the second container  34  is adjacent the first container  32 , as shown in FIG.  7 B. Alternatively, the multi-pack carton  12  can be situated between the complementary containers  32 ,  34 . It is contemplated that the combined package  30  can include any number of multi-pack beverage cartons and any number of complementary containers. In any event, the multi-pack carton  12  and complementary containers  32  and  34  are preferably sized and shaped such that the overall shape of the combined package is generally rectanguloidal. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous changes and modifications may be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention and that such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such equivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.