Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
TITLE OF THE I~V~N110N 2 0 6 7 g ~ 4
IMPROVED PLEATED PACKAGING WRAPPER AND METHOD OF
WRAPPING OBJECTS USING THE SAME
BACKGROUND OF THE 1NV~N11ON
This invention pertains to a pleated packaging useful
for wrapping various objects, such as sandwiches, or other
foodstuff, and method of using the same.
Description of the Prior Art
In U.S. Patent No. 4,795,648 there is described a
packaging made from a thin sheet which is pleated and the borders
of its pleats are affixed to one another by various methods. The
pleats are knife pleats. The dimensions of the pleats are
selected to conform to the nature of the object to be packaged
and with the distance between the welds. The pleats are fixed
at the ends, and are free at the middle, such that when they are
opened up they form a hollow shape which is suitable for wrapping
round sandwiches and the like. The patent describes a method
enabling this type of shape to be obtained from a flat sheet by
making parallel knife pleats
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which give the folded wrapping a substantially planar
configuration that is bulked up by unfolding.
In U.S. Patent No. 5,188,265 issued February 23, 1993,
a more generalized structure is described for pleated packaging.
However, when the packaging constructed as described above was
tested, it was found there was some difficulty in using the
packaging to wrap certain objects especially if the objects were
fragile such as, for example, sandwiches. Thus wrapping fragile
objects required more training, and was time consuming.
Moreover, it was found that certain wrapping such as
for hamburgers require reinforcement to protect the hamburger
against crushing and to resist vertical forces.
SUMMARY OF THE lN V~N'LlON
It is an objective of the present invention to provide
a pleated packaging which is easier to use.
A further objective is to provide pleated packaging
which can be used to wrap fragile objects such as sandwiches,
tacos and other food stuff.
Yet a further object is to provide a packaging which
provides support and protection to the wrapped object so that the
object is not damaged while it is being carried.
Other objectives and advantages of the invention shall
become apparent from the following description.
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.
A packaging constructed in accordance with this invention
includes a pleated zone consisting of a series of parallel pleats
with a central region, and a straight zone dimensioned to fit at
least partially around the object. The object is first placed on
the straight zone, after which the pleated zone is expanded and
trained around the object to complete the packaging. The
straight zone may be made of a stiff material such as cardboard
to protect the object. The packaging of different shapes and
sized may be made to fit around hamburgers, tacos, etc.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of
the invention;
Figure 2 shows a round sandwich being wrapped using the
packaging of Figure l;
Figure 3 shows the sandwich of Figure 2 completely wrapped;
Figure 4 shows another embodiment of the invention for
wrapping a flat semi-circular object;
Figure 5 shows the packaging of Figure 4 partially
enveloping the object being wrapped;
Figure 6 shows the object of Figure 5 completely wrapped;
Figure 7 shows a third embodiment of the invention, in an
overlapped configuration;
Figure 8 shows the embodiment of Figure 7 in the open
configuration;
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Figure 9 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention with a
semi-rigid reinforcement band;
Figure 10 shows an isometric partial sectional view of a
sandwich wrapped in the packaging of Figure 9;
Figure 11 shows an alternate embodiment of the invention
combing the features of the embodiments of Figures 8 and 9;
Figure 12 shows a further embodiment of the invention;
Figure 13 shows yet another embodiment of the invention; and
Figure 14 shows schematically how the embodiment of Figure
13 is formed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to Figure 1, a packaging constructed in
accordance with this invention is generally a flat relatively
thin sheet composed of two zones 1 and 13. Zone 13 is generally
rectangular and is formed by taking a sheet of paper, or other
material, and folding it to form sequential pleats. Zone 13 has
a width 8 which in this embodiment is smaller than the dimension
4 of zone 1. Zone 1 is unpleated, or straight and is joined
adhesively or by other means to zone 13.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the packaging
consists of a layer of paper coated with a plastic material such
as polyethylene. Thus, zone 1 includes an upper layer or face 15
of polyethylene and lower layer or face 30 of paper.
In the embodiment of Figure 1, zone 1 is attached by using
an adhesive, or any other similar means, to the border section 14
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of zone 13, wherein the polyethylene layer lS of zone 1 contacts
the paper layer 16 of zone 13.
The dimensions 3 and 4 of zone 1 are selected so that zone 1
can at least partially cover the object to be wrapped. For
S example, Figure 2 shows a generally cylindrical object which may
be sandwich such as a hamburger 31, having a generally round top
with a diameter 10. Hamburger 31 is wrapped by first positioning
the packaging so that zone 1 is disposed peripherally around the
hamburger 31 with the polyethylene layer contacting the
hamburger. The zone 1 is then folded over the hamburger top 31
and bottom (not shown). The wrapping is completed by pulling on
the zone 13 longitudinally so that the pleats open at their
central region disposed adjacent to the side of the hamburger and
training zone 13 around the hamburger until the hamburger is
totally enclosed. The closed regions of the pleat form the top
12 of the wrapping, except for circular opening 11. At opening
11, the hamburger may be covered by the edges of zone 1.
It was found that the packaging shown in Figure 1 can be
used easier and faster then a packaging formed of a completely
pleated material. Moreover it is easier for the customer to hold
the hamburger using the straight, unpleated zone 1.
The embodiment of Figure 4 is similar to the previous
embodiment but it is made up of a single sheet composed of a
pleated zone 13 and a straight zone 9. In this embodiment, the
two zones 9, 13 have widths 7, 8 respectively which are
substantially the same. As discussed in U.S. Patent No.
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4,795,648, a pleated packaging is made from a sheet folded to
make pleats 13. The pleats are secured by two fixation bands, A
and B or other securing means. Advantageously, the embodiment of
Figure 4 can be made by first making a pleated sheet and then
opening the pleats before fixation bands A, B are applied.
Alternatively, the packaging may be made from a single sheet by
not forming the pleats in zone 9 at all. The packaging of Figure
4 may have, for example, an overall length and width in the range
of 5.86"-6.25". The pleated zone 13 may consist of about 10-12
pleats, each pleat being formed by two sheet folds having a width
of 0.58" and 0.39" respectively.
The embodiment of Figure 4 is particularly suited for
wrapping relatively flat, semicircular objects, such as a taco.
As shown in Figure 4, a taco 6 is first placed on the top half of
zone 9. Zone 9 is formed so that its length exceeds the length 5
of the taco 6. The whole packaging is then folded over to
partially cover the taco, as seen in Figure 5. Preferably the
width 7,8 of the packaging is smaller than the width of the taco.
In the configuration of Figure 5, a portion of the taco thus
extends above the packaging. The taco is then finally wrapped by
pulling longitudinally on zone 13 as indicated in Figure 5 by
arrow L and then training zone 13 around the taco 6 and zone 9 as
indicated by arrow M. The final closed wrapping is shown in
Figure 6.
The packaging of Figures 4-6 has the same advantages as the
wrapping of Figures 1-3, except that it is more suitable for
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tacos. More specifically, a customer can easily remove the zone
13 and use the remaining zone 9 to hold the taco during eating.
In the embodiment of Figures 7 and 8, zones 13, 1' are
adhesively secured along border 17 with the polyethylene layer 15
facing the polyethylene layer 13' of zone 13. Before an object
is wrapped in this packaging, the two zones are unfolded as shown
in Figure 8. The object is then placed on zone 1' and zone 13 is
then wrapped around the object as in the previous embodiment.
The embodiment of Figures 9 and 10 is composed of a pleated
zone 13 and a straight, unpleated zone 18 which may be secured to
zone 13 in a manner similar to zone 15 in Figures 7, 8. While
pleated zone 13 is made of a relatively thin film which is easily
pleated, zone I8 is made of stiffer material, such as cardboard
coated with a plastic material. The width 19 of zone 18 is
selected to correspond to the height of the object to be wrapped.
Moreover, while zone 13 expands in its central region in length
while it is being opened, the length of zone 18 remains the same.
Thus prior to wrapping, the zone 18 is longer than zone 13. As
shown in Figure 10, the packaging of Figure 9 is wrapped around a
hamburger 24 so that zone 18 is disposed peripherally around the
side of the hamburger. In this manner zone 18 forms a protective
wall within the wrapping for the hamburger to protect it from
vertical forces.
The various embodiments of the invention may be combined.
For example, in Figure 11 the composite packaging consists of a
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pleated zone 26 similar to zone 13 in the previous embodiments,
a first straight or unpleated zone 25 similar to zone 15 in
Figure 8, and a second straight, unpleated zone 27 similar to
zone 18 in Figure 9.
Importantly, the packaging described herein requires
less paper. For example, the embodiment of Figure 1 requires 25~
less paper than a fully pleated packaging. Moreover, this
configuration further results in substantial savings in
manufacturing since pleating of the straight zone is not
required.
Figure 12 shows yet another embodiment of the invention
wherein a wrapper is formed of a zone 32 without pleats and a
zone 33 with pleats, said two zones 32, 33 having the same width
8. The pleats of zone 33 are fixed by fixation bands 31 made,
for example, of paper. The bands are glued, or affixed by other
similar means to both the first and the back faces of the pleated
and the unpleated zones. Preferably, the bands 31 are folded
back to form longitudinal unpleated zones 34. The edges of the
pleats, which may be sharp, are thus protected by bands 31. This
embodiment is easy to manufacture in a continuous strip.
As another embodiment of the invention in Figure 13,
a double wrapping is shown including a pleated sheet 70 with
fixation bands 72 and a strip 74 disposed in the central region
of sheet 70. Strip 74 may consist, for example, of a band of
paper coated on the top surface 76 with aluminum foil.
Preferably, the strip 74 is secured to a straight sheet and then
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both sheets are pleated simultaneously. For example, if the top
surface 78 of sheet 70 and the bottom surface of strip 74 are
plastic coated then the two components can be easily welded by
application of heat.
S The strip 74 makes the wrapping resistant to stains, for
example from sauces if the wrapping is used for a hamburger.
Moreover, the strip also acts as a thermal barrier to maintain
the central region of the wrapped article warm. Usually this
central region of the wrapped article is warmer than its top or
bottom. If strip 74 is made slightly thicker than sheet 70, it
reinforces the sheet 70 against creasing and protect the wrapped
article in the vertical or transversal direction. An advantage
of this latter embodiment is that when the double wrapping is
discarded it does not create more voluminous refuse than a
single-ply wrapping.
As shown in Figure 14, the double wrapping may be formed by
providing a first roll of paper 80 having a top surface 82 coated
with polyethylene, and a second roll of paper 84 coated on the
bottom surface with polyethylene, and coated on top surface 88
with aluminum foil. The two strips from the two rolls are
positioned in contact with each other by a pressure roller 92 and
then welded together by using a sealing roller 94. Thereafter
the joined strips are pleated to result in a pleated product 96.
Product 96 is then cut to size as at 98.
In the Figures all the pleated regions zones are shown as
being formed of parallel, symmetrical pleats. Of course, it
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should be understood that other types of pleats may be used.
It should be understood that in all these embodiments
due to the semi-rigid nature of the material of the packaging,
once the pleated zone 1 is fully extended by opening the central
portions of the pleats, as shown in Figures 3, 6 and 10, the
pleated zone 1 retains its extended shape.
Numerous modifications may be made to this invention
without departing from its scope as defined in the appended
claims.
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