Patent ID: 12258196

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The packaging insert provides an easy to assemble, sturdy paper-based packaging insert for use in the cosmetic industry. The packaging insert is advantageous over the prior art because it is biodegradable and considerably faster and more economical from concept to supply than plastic.

As used herein, the term paperboard broadly refers to a thick paper-based material; i.e., paper with an increased structural element. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker (usually over 0.30 mm, 0.012 in) than paper, and has certain superior attributes such as foldability and rigidity. In a non-limiting definition, paperboard is a paper with a grammage above 250 g/m2. Paperboard can be single- or multi-ply.

Paperboard can be easily cut and formed, is lightweight, and because it is strong, is used in packaging. Paperboard is sometimes referred to as cardboard, which is a generic, lay term used to refer to any heavy paper pulp-based board, however this usage is deprecated in the paper, printing and packaging industries as it does not adequately describe each product type. Paperboard can be corrugated (i.e., having a series of parallel ridges and furrows), or non-corrugated. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the paperboard is corrugated.

As used herein, “recyclable” refers to an ability and likelihood of a material to reacquire to be re-used, and thus acquire the properties it had in its original state. It is an alternative to “conventional” waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling can prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, thereby reducing energy usage, air pollution (from incineration), and water pollution (from landfilling). Paper based products are more easily and more likely than plastic to be recyclable, and thus beneficial in use from this perspective.

As used herein, “biodegradable” refers to a plant based composition which is compostable and capable of disintegrating into natural elements in a compost environment, leaving no toxicity in soil or water.

A GFP Envirotray is designed to protect objects within an outer container (box) from impact or abrasion. Packaging is made from paper board or fiber board, which can be corrugated or solid paper board. A horizontal portion (face) of folded board is cut with apertures to match the cross sectional plane of the object (product) to be retained just above its equator to facilitate good retention. The retention is accomplished by a slight deformation of the cut aperture which returns to its normal state upon the retained object passing through it just beyond its equator.

With reference now to the drawings,FIG.1shows a top plan view of a recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert10. A topside12is shown with an opposed bottomside14facing the opposite direction of topside12. Topside12includes apertures16designed to retain consumer goods (not shown inFIG.1) therein. Tray10is horizontally oriented with exterior and interior vertically extending members projecting in perpendicular orientation with respect to tray10from bottomside14as more clearly seen inFIG.3. Apertures16are recessed in from topside12in a shape mated to a preselected consumer good so that said consumer good is sized to fit snugly in aperture16.

With reference now toFIG.2of the drawings, packaging insert tray10is shown in exploded with view with box20into which it is inserted. Packaging insert10may be rectangular in shape as shown inFIG.2and fit snugly within a rectangular box20.

With reference now toFIG.3of the drawings, an exterior vertically extending members32and34are shown on either side of the rectangular shaped insert10. An interior vertically extending member36is also shown protruding from bottomside14of packaging insert10. Exterior vertically extending members32and34are comprised of parallel sidewalls38and40(for exterior vertically extending member32), and42and44(for exterior vertically extending member34), each of which are connected by bottom panels46and48perpendicularly oriented with respect to the sidewalls. An exterior vertically extending member, or sidewall38can also serve as a structural support along a perimeter of rectangular tray10. It is also seen that exterior vertically extending10members32and34, and sidewalls38and44form opposing sides of rectangular tray10.

Interior vertically extending member36also includes parallel sidewalls54and56, which form sidewalls of aperture, such as an interiorly situated aperture16shown inFIG.1. Horizontal flange58extends from parallel sidewall54and serves to attach it to tray bottomside14of tray10.

Sidewalls38and40can be attached to bottomside14of packaging insert10by reinforcement structure, or horizontal flange50. Similarly, sidewalls42and44are attached to bottomside14by reinforcement structure, or flange52. Reinforcement structures, or flanges50,52, and58also form a multilayer reinforcement structure on bottomside14.

With reference now toFIG.5of the drawings, it can be seen how a consumer good62, in this case cylindrically-shaped, is snugly fit into a mated aperture64. Aperture64has a depth66which is a length of just greater than a pre-selected dimension of consumer good62, such consumer good62can be snugly fit in aperture64. A halfway-point of a pre-selected dimension of consumer good62, in this case a cross-sectional diameter of a cylindrical object is shown at equator68of consumer good62. Taking a cross-section of consumer good62, equator68is a radius of the cross-section of the cylinder. Depth66is therefore sized according to fit consumer good62so that equator68is firmly situated in aperture64. As can be seen, the depth66of aperture64is just longer than the radius of consumer good62.

With further reference toFIGS.3and5, a vertical portion of the folded board (also known as packaging insert tray)10is cut to match the cross sectional plane perpendicular to the equator of the retained object in order to precisely control the position of the object within the aperture and maximize the contact area between holder and object to minimize possible damage to object. This vertical member is located inward from the end of the object by means of multiple consecutive folds, or horizontal flanges, in the board which eventually terminates by being glued or otherwise attached to the underside, or bottomside, of the face containing the apertures. There are a minimum of two vertical members (interior and exterior) originating from opposing sides of the face portion of the board and folding downward to start the sequence of folds. Vertical member42terminates at the first fold of vertical member54, and vertical member54terminates by being glued or attached by other means to the underside of vertical member42, this reinforces the face portion of tray10by producing a multilayer reinforcement.

Retention locks specific to crimped or heat sealed tubes (such as toothpaste or creme). Tubes are difficult to retain on the crimped or heat sealed end due to their structural weakness and variation in dimension. This lock accommodates the sealed end of the tube by providing a slot for the edge to slip into and engages the tube at its seal (crimp) in the lateral direction and beyond the seal in the longitudinal direction.

Vertical flaps70folded upwards from substrate to engage the top of outer container in order to prevent contact between retained objects and outer container.

Assembly locks designed to retain the shape of the packaging to facilitate inserting product into the package and inserting completed assembly into outer package. The locking is accomplished by means of flap70being tucked into cavity72and preventing the folded section from returning to its flat state.

Retention tabs designed to enhance the holding strength of the interference fit of the aperture by providing additional pressure and coverage.

Referring now toFIGS.6aand6b-8, there is shown another embodiment of packaging insert, referred to generally with reference number100. Similar to the packaging insert previously described, the packaging insert100is formed of a flat pattern (seeFIG.9discussed below) of paper board, folded and adhesive applied to portions of the folded body, as necessary.

The packaging insert100, when fully folded and adhered, if necessary, includes a main panel103having a top surface102. The top surface102having first and second apertures104a,104bconfigured to accept a container101a,101b, such as perfume, cosmetics and the like. The number of apertures is not limited to two and can be one or more than two. Further, although the apertures are shown to mimic a shape of the container retained therein, the shape of the aperture is not so limited and can be a general shape for retaining the container, such as a rectangular shape that retains a portion of the container while having a clearance around other portions (such as around a cap of the container).

The packaging insert further includes first and second tubular structures106a,106bdisposed at opposing ends108a,108bof the packaging insert100. Each tubular structure having an outer wall110a,110bfolded from the top surface102, a bottom wall112a,112bfolded from the side walls110a,110b, and a return wall114a,114bfolded from the bottom walls112a,112bto return toward an inner surface116of the top surface102. Such folds can be such that adjacent walls are perpendicular to each other, however, the configuration of the packaging insert is not limited to such perpendicular arrangement between adjacent walls. The return walls114a,114bcan fold to further extend across the lower surface116to provide a laminated bridge118that extends between the first and second tubular structures106a,106band can further fold to extend across the return wall of the other tubular structure. For example, return wall114bcan fold to form panel115bto form part of the laminated bridge118and panel115bcan further fold to form panel117bto extend next to return wall114a. Further, portions of platform panel130(described below) other than the platforms128can extend along the bottom surface116towards wall110bto form part of the laminated bridge118. As discussed below with regard toFIGS.9-11, the return wall114acan also fold and extend to form platforms128.

The packaging insert includes first and second end caps120a,120bfolded to cover opposing ends122a,122b. The first and second end caps120a,120bcan have one or more tabs124(seeFIGS.9-11) for securing the first and second end caps120a,120bto the openings formed by the first and second tubular structures at their respective opposing ends122a,122b.

One or both of the return walls114a,114bcan include a cradle126for supporting the container in the aperture. A platform128is provided within the apertures104a,104bto mask an open corrugation of the cradle126and the cavity within the aperture104a,104b, such as where a clear container is retained in the apertures104a,104b. The platform128can not only improve overall appearance but also enhance structural integrity. The platform128can be used for rectangular cross section bottles but can also be used with cylindrical bottles by using a rectangular shaped cradle126. The platform128can enhance the structure enough to where a form fitting cradle is not critical.

A first cradle126for each of the apertures104a,104bis formed by cut-outs119a,119bwhen return wall is folded along crease121relative to panel115band a second cradle126for each of the apertures104a,104bis formed when panel115bis folded along crease123relative to panel117b.

Additionally referring toFIGS.9-12, the platform128is formed by a platform panel130, which is an extension of the return panel114afolded along the bottom surface116along crease line132and forcing the platform to hinge along crease lines134,136and138. That is, the platform128is formed by cutting an appropriate shape from the platform panel on less than all sides of such shape such that the platform126remains attached to the platform panel130and then the platform126is folded along crease lines formed between the platform126and the sides that remain attached to the platform panel130. Such shape can mimic the shape of the corresponding aperture104a,104b. The fold along crease lines134and136form platform support140. The portion of the platform panel from the bottom wall112ato the crease line132forms the return wall114a. The length of platform support140from the top surface102to the platform128and the distance between crease lines138and132control the offset of the platform128from the platform panel130. Furthermore, the length of the platform128within the aperture104a,104bcan be shortened or lengthened by adjusting the corresponding length of the bottom wall112a. Although the length L of the platform128shown inFIG.7is less than the corresponding length of the aperture, the length of the bottom panel112acan be adjusted such that the platform128has a substantially same length as the aperture.

Further with regard toFIGS.6aand6b-12, the top surface102of the packaging insert is opposite to the exposed surface142of the platform128. Therefore, the paperboard used to form the flat panel inFIG.9can have a surface116(corresponding to the bottom surface of the folded body) of a first color and an opposite surface (forming the exposed surface142of the platform128) of a second color different from the first color. Additionally or alternatively, the opposite surface, or only a portion thereof forming the exposed surface142of the platform128, can have indicia formed therein, such as by printing. Such indicia can be textual or pictorial, such as a company name and/or logo.

EXAMPLES

The packaging insert is further exemplified, but not limited, by the following representative examples, which are intended to illustrate the invention and are not to be construed as being limitations thereto.

A packaging insert is made by designing, die cutting and subsequently folding and gluing as needed to obtain desired characteristics.

Thus, while there have been described what are presently believed to be preferred embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art will realize that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as fall within the true scope of the invention.