SHIPPING PACKAGE AND METHOD FOR ITS FABRICATION

EMBALLAGE D'EXPEDITION ET METHODE DE FABRICATION

English Abstract

2101528 9213781 PCTABS00014
The invention concerns a shipping package (1) and a method for
fabricating said package, said package (1) being comprised of a
transportation pallet (2) and a flexible container (6) attached to
said pallet. The pallet (2) belonging to the shipping package is
advantageously comprised of two shaped plates (3, 4) and of one or
more support elements (5). The flexible container (6) and the
parts belonging to the pallet (2) are entirely made of materials
that can be processed in a pulper such as paper and cardboard,
whereby the package can be either safely disposed of by biological
degradation or by recycling of the package material in the package
fabrication process.

Claims

WO 92/13781 PCT/FI92/00028
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A shipping package (1), characterized in that the
package is entirely made of a material suitable for
processing in a pulper and that said package (1) is
comprised of a pallet (2) and a flexible container (6)
attached to said pallet.
2. A shipping package (1) as defined in claim 1, charac-
terized in that the bottom of the flexible container (6) is
attached to the pallet (2).
3. A shipping package (1) as defined in claim 1 or 2,
characterized in that the bottom of the flexible container
(6) is also attached to the corners of the foldable halves
of the pallet (2) or at least essentially close to said
corners.
4. A shipping package (1) as defined any foregoing claim,
characterized in that said shipping package (1)
incorporates one or more support elements (5), which are
inserted in one or more channels (7) of the pallet (2) for
the purpose of supporting the shipping package (1).
5. A shipping package as defined in any foregoing claim,
characterized in that the flexible container forming a part
of the shipping package (1) is a flexible intermediate bulk
container having a volume of 500...1500 1.
6. A shipping package as defined in any foregoing claim,
characterized in that the weight rating of said package (1)
is in excess of 1000 kg.
7. A method for fabricating a shipping package (1), char-
acterized in that said package (1) is comprised of a pallet
(2) and a flexible container (6) attached to said pallet
(2) and that said flexible container (6) is formed from a

WO 92/13781 PCT/FI92/00028
hose and that said pallet (2) is advantageously formed from
two shaped plate blanks (3, 4) and from one or more support
elements (5), which are inserted to one or several channels
(7) for the reinforcement of the shipping package (1).
8. A method as defined in claim 7, characterized in that
the parts belonging to said shipping package (1) are
attached to each other by stapling and/or gluing.

Description

W O 92/13781 2 ~ O 1 a ~ ~ P~-r/FI9~/00028
SHIPPING PACKA OE AND METHOD FOR ITS FABRICATION
The present invention relates to a shipping package and a
method for fabricating said package.
The importance of packaging has grown with the expansion of
industrial production. The package does not anymore serve as
a mere wrapper of the product, but rather, new requirements
are poqed every day for the performance of the package. The
development of packaging is principally guided by the
application of the package as well as the needs and
restrictions set by the product to be packaged. The former of
these factors forces the development of packaging technology
toward a more dedicated package and improvement of its
specific properties. Such a development is, for instance, a
shipping package which must offer easy handling, high
durability and rigidity. However, the own weight of the
shipping package should be as light as possible, and the
storage space requirements of the empty package should be
minimized. A noteworthy aQpect is also therein that the major
share of packages being disposable one-time use items
themselves, their disposal and possible recycling must be
considered, which necessitates aiming toward improved
environmental compatibility of the package.
Conventionally known shipping package~ are different kinds of
cardboard boxes and special packages developed thereof for
specific needs. Reference is made to prior-art technology in
SE patent publication 212,705, SE publications 366,958,
7801330-7 and 8103510-7 for laying open a patent, and FR
patent publication 7526072. A common property of the above-
mentioned packages of conventional technology is the
application and development of a cardboard box into a
shipping package. In addition to that, known from the prior
art techniques is the fabrication of fabric-based flexible
intermediate bulk containers, FIBCs, made of natural or
plastic-fiber woven material in volumes from 500 to 1500 l.
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W092/13781 PCT/Fl92/00028
2~ i2~ ~
An FIBC is assembled from parts cut in different ways from
the woven material by sewing the FIBC together using corner
stiffeners, support belts, etc. The fabric-based container
body can also be fabricated by weaving it as, for example, a
braided hose which is then cut and sewn to form the
container. The above-described steps often lead to
implementations with a complicated structure resulting in
additional manufacturing costs of the package.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the
above-described drawbacks. The characterizing propertie~ of
the shipping package and method for its fabrication are
disclosed in the enclosed claims. The implementation
according to the invention achieves above all a lightweight
yet stiff structure featuring a weight rating in excess of
1000 kg. The structure according to the invention is approx.
15...30 % lighter than a similarly rated shipping package
made using conventional techniques. Furthermore, the package
according to the invention is uncomplicated and advantageous
to fabricate. The pallet of the shipping package is assembled
from shaped plates and advantageously reinforced with support
elements which are inserted in channels specially designed
into the pallet. The flexible intermediate bulk container
forming a part of the shipping package is fabricated in a bag
machine and its bottom essentially covers the upper surface
of the pallet belonging to the shipping package, said flexi-
ble container having a total volume of approx. 500...1500 1.
Said flexible container and the parts belonging to the trans-
portation pallet are advantageously combined into the ship-
ping package by stapling and/or gluing the parts together.
The essentials of the invention are that the package inentirely made of materials that can be processed in a pulper
such as paper and cardboard, whereby the package can be
either safely disposed of by biological degradation or by
recycling of the package material in the package fabrication
process. The shipping package according to the invention
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WO92/13781 2 ~ s3 ~ r ~ PCT/F192/00028
offers particular benefits such as, for inqtance,
compatibility with waste treatment processes in which the
shipping package can be safely disposed of along with other
waste. Furthermore, the shipping package is advantageously
usable for the transportation and storage of dry bulk
material such as powdered or granulated products. The
integral pallet form~ a lifting platform for the shipping
package that qimplifies the handling of the shipping package
and thus facilitates the use of different types of lifting
equipment such as a fork lift, pallet lift, etc.
In the following the invention is examined in greater detail
with the help of an exemplifying embodiment by making
reference to attached drawings, in which
Figure l shows an advantageous embodiment of the package
according to the invention,
Figure 2 shows the cross section of the package according to
the invention.
Fabricated from a paper and cardboard-based material that can
be processed in a pulper, the shipping package shown in Fig.
l comprises a pallet 2 and a flexible container 6. The pallet
2 is advantageously formed from two shaped plates 3 and 4,
complemented with support elements 5 for the reinforcement of
the shipping package l. The bottom of the pallet 2 is
produced by shaping the plate 3 so that channels 7 are formed
for the insertion of the support elements 5, which also act
as the feet of the shipping package l. The ends of the plate
3 are folded over the channel 7 to form a cover ll. To
provide a ground clearance eqsentially equal to pallet area,
between the channels 7 is formed an area 9 that can
accommodate the forks of a lifting equipment such as a fork
lift or pallet lift. The plate 4 is folded to form the upper
surface of the pallet 2 so that elevated walls 8 are formed
to the upper surface of the pallet 2 for the purpose of
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WO92/13781 PCT/F192/00028
2 ~ a ~ 4
supporting the flexible container 6 and, between the walls 8
is formed the top plane 10 of the pallet 2 to which plane the
flexible container 6 is attached.
Figure 2 shows the cross section of the pallet 2 illustrating
the manner in which the support elements 5 are in-Qerted to
the channels 7 of the pallet 2 (only the center channel 7 is
shown in the diagram). The support element~ 5 can be placed
; in de~ired order in the channels 7 either vertically or
horizontally with respect to the shipping package l, whereby
the length of the support element 5 is determined by the
manner of insertion.
For those versed in the art it is evident that the different
embodiments of the invention are not limited by the example
; package described above, but instead, can be varied within
the claims of the invention.
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Representative Drawing