Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Packaging and Method for Packaging
Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to packaging, and in particular to improved
packaging for packaging generally block-shaped food products. The present
invention
is also directed to a method of packaging such food products.
Background to the Invention
It is known to package generally block-shaped food products, such as
chocolate bars and other snack type confectionery products, in a wrapper that
is
fabricated from a material that is substantially gas and moisture impervious,
in order
to maintain the freshness of the product.
Such known wrappers comprise a sheet of flat, foldable material. The sheet is
often rectangular and has an inner surface directed to the food product and an
outer
surface. The outer surface may be printed on or otherwise be provided with
information for the consumer. An adhesive or a pressure sealable and re-
sealable
coating is applied to the inner surface of the sheet. The sheet is folded
about the
product so that an inner portion encloses the top, bottom, side and end
surfaces of the
product. The sheet is sufficiently long that it extends beyond the front and
rear
surfaces of the product and opposing inner surfaces of the sheet are brought
into
contact to form seals along the front and rear edges of the package. The inner
surfaces
of side portions of the sheet are also brought into contact to form a fin seal
along the
length of the package.
The known package forms a fully sealed package for the product, which is
substantially gas and moisture impervious. However, because the material from
which
the sheet is made is quite tough, the known package can be difficult to open.
To address this problem, it has been proposed in GB 1, 107, 200 A to provided
tabs along each of the sides of the sheet by folding the side edges of the
sheet inwardly
and sealing them in position. When the package is formed, the tabs project
from an
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outer edge of the longitudinal fin seal. The inner and outer surfaces of the
tabs are
accessible by a consumer, who can grasp the tabs and pull them apart to open
the
package by pealing apart the longitudinal fin seal. However, it has been found
that the
tabs, which are of double thickness when compared to the remainder of the
sheet, tend
to jam when used in conventional packaging machinery.
An alternative proposal to the problem of opening the known packaging has
been proposed in EP 1 288 139 Al. In this arrangement, the adhesive or
pressure
sealable and re-sealable coating is only applied to the inner surface in a
frame-shape
sealing portion surrounding the inner portion. The frame-shaped sealing
portion has
opposing end portions and opposing side portions. The sheet is also provided
with a
flap adjacent each of the side portions. In the finished packaging, the flaps
project
from an outer edge of the longitudinal fin seal. Both the inner and outer
surfaces of the
flaps are accessible such that they can be grasped by a consumer and pulled
apart to
open the package in a similar manner to the tabs. Because the flaps are the
same
thickness as the remainder of the sheet, this arrangement does not tend to jam
in
conventional packaging machinery. However, the flaps have been found to be not
entirely satisfactory to consumers as a means of opening of the packaging.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved packaging for a
generally block-shaped product which overcomes or at least mitigates the above
problems.
It is a particular object of the invention to provide a package for a
generally
block-shaped product which is conveniently opened and which can be applied to
the
product using conventional packaging machinery.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of packaging a
generally block-shaped food product.
Summary of the Invention
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a
package
for packaging a generally block-shaped food product, the package comprising a
sheet
of foldable packing material having an inner surface and an outer surface, the
sheet
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having an inner portion for enclosing the top, bottom, side, and end surfaces
of the
product, a frame-shaped sealing portion enclosing the inner portion for
sealing the
package and comprising opposing end portions and opposing side portions, the
sheet
being folded around the product such that the inner portion encloses the block-
shaped
product with the inner surface of the sheet directed towards the product, the
inner
surfaces of the two side portions of the frame-shaped sealing portion abutting
one
another to form a longitudinal seal, and opposing inner surface regions of the
end
portions of the frame-shaped sealing portions abutting each other to form
seals along
respective ends, in which, a flap portion is provided along one side of the
sheet
adjacent an outer edge of the respective side portion of the frame-shaped
sealing
portion, and an outer edge region of the other side of the sheet is folded
inwardly to
form a tab, the inner and outer surfaces of the flap portion and the tab being
accessible.
The provision of a tab along one side edge of the packaging in combination
with a flap along the other side edge has been found to provide a particularly
convenient means for opening the package. Rather surprisingly, it has also
been found
that having a tab along one side of the sheet only does not result the sheet
becoming
jammed when used with conventional packaging machinery to form the package.
The outer edge region of the other side of the sheet may be sealed to an
opposing region of the sheet, inner face to inner face, to hold the tab in
position.
The seals may be formed by means of a sealing composition applied to the
inner surface of the sheet within the sealing portion.
The sealing composition may also be applied to the inner surface of the outer
edge region of the other side of the sheet. In which case, the sealing
composition may
be applied to the inner surface of the sheet on the other side, from the
respective side
portion substantially up to the side edge of the sheet.
In one embodiment, no sealing composition is applied to the inner surface of
the
flap.
The tab may be positioned adjacent an outer edge of the longitudinal seal or
it
may be spaced from the outer edge of the longitudinal seal by a flap region.
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In one embodiment no sealing composition is applied to the inner surface of
the
inner portion.
In an alternative embodiment, at least some of the seals are formed by
welding.
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a
method
of packing a generally block-shaped food product by means of a package in
accordance with the first aspect, the method comprising:
a. positioning the food product on the inner surface of the sheet in the
inner portion;
b. folding the sheet around the product so that the product is enclosed by
the inner portion of the sheet and the inner surfaces of the side portions
of the seal portion are brought into abutment;
c. forming the longitudinal seal along the abutting area;
d. bringing opposing inner surfaces of the end portions of the sealing
portion into abutment;
e. forming end seals in the abutting areas.
The method may comprise folding the longitudinal seal, the tab and flap
around a fold line at the border of the inner portion and one of the side
portions.
Detailed Description of the Invention
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example
only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure I is a schematic plan view of the inner surface of a sheet for forming
a
package in accordance with the invention;
Figure 2 shows the sheet of Figure 1, which one side edge folded over to form
a tab;
Figure 3 is a schematic lateral cross section view through a package in
accordance with the invention, shown on an enlarged scale;
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Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a finished package in accordance
with the invention;
Figures 5 and 6 are views similar to those of Figures 1 and 2 but showing an
alternative embodiment of a sheet for forming a package in accordance with the
5 invention.
Figure 1 shows schematically a flat sheet 10 of foldable material for forming
a
package 11 in accordance with the invention. The sheet can be made of any
foldable
material suitable for packaging food products. Preferably, the material is
substantially
moisture and gas impervious. For example, the sheet may be made of a paper
based
material, flexible films, one or more polymers, or a metallic foil. The sheet
may also
be a laminated sheet comprising layers of different materials, including any
those
mentioned above in any suitable combination. In one embodiment, the sheet
comprises an orientated polypropylene (OPP) laminate. The sheet may be made
from
any of the materials discussed in the prior art patent applications discussed
above,
details of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The sheet 10 has an inner surface 12 (shown in Figures 1 and 2) and an outer
surface 14. The sheet has an inner portion 16 for enclosing the top, bottom,
side, and
end surfaces of a block-shaped food product. The food product may be a
confectionery
product and in particular a snack type confectionery product such as a
chocolate bar.
Surrounding the inner portion 16 is a frame-shaped sealing portion 18
(indicated with cross hatching in Figures 1 and 2). The frame-shaped sealing
portion
is coated on the inner surface of the sheet with a sealing composition that
enables a
seal to be formed when opposing inner surface regions of the sealing portion
18 are
contacted together during fabrication of the package. The composition may be a
pressure sensitive coating which forms a seal upon the application of moderate
pressure without the need to apply additional heat. The coating may be a
sealable and
re-sealable wax-like composition. Such a composition can be pealed apart to
open the
packaging but will re-seal if the surfaces are brought back into contact to re-
close the
package. The seal formed when the package is re-closed need not be as strong
as the
initial seal but will be sufficient to prevent the opposing surfaces from
falling apart
without the application of at least a minimal force to separate them. The
sealing
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composition could, for example, be a pressure sensitive cold-seal adhesive or
a self-
adhesive thermoplastic material.
Alternatively, the sealing composition may be a temperature sensitive
adhesive. The sealing composition may be any of those disclosed in the prior
art
patent applications discussed above, details of which are also hereby
incorporated by
reference.
In a further alternative embodiment, the longitudinal and/or the end seals may
be welded without a sealing composition. Welding can be carried by any
suitable
means and may involve heating the material in the sealing portion under
pressure so
that the opposing surfaces melt and fuse together to form a welded seam. For
example, the end seals may be welded seals and the longitudinal seal may be
formed
by means of a peelable and re-sealable composition applied to the material.
The frame-shaped sealing portion has a two opposing end portions 20, 22 and
two opposing side portions 24, 26. When being applied to a food product, the
sheet
will be fed into a packaging machine in the direction of arrow A in Figure 1.
With
reference to the direction of feed, the end portion 20 can be considered a
front end
portion and the end portion 22 can be considered a rear end portion. The
corresponding ends of the product may also be considered as a front and rear
end
respectively. For the sake of convenience, the terms "front" and "rear" and
"side" are
used herein in relation to the direction of feed but should not be regarded as
limiting.
The front and rear portions 20, 22 extend from respective front and rear edges
of the inner portion 16 to the front and rear edges of the sheet 10 itself.
Along one side
of the sheet (the left as shown in Figures 1 and 2) the sheet extends beyond
the outer
edge of the side portion 26 to form a flap 28 on which no sealing composition
is
applied.
The sheet 10 also extends laterally outwardly from the outer edge (indicated
by
dashed line 30) of the other side portion 24 by a distance that is greater
than the width
of the flap 28. On this side of the sheet, the sealing composition is applied
to the inner
surface right up to the side edge of the sheet itself. An outer edge region 32
of the
sheet is folded inwardly about line 34 to form a tab 36, as shown in Figure 2.
The
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inner surface of the outer edge region 32 is brought into contact with the
inner surface
of an opposing region of the sheet 10 to form a seal to hold the tab 36 in
position.
With the tab 36 formed, the sealing composition applied to the inner surface
of the
side portion 24 of the frame-shaped sealing portion is still exposed between
the inner
edge 38 of the tab 36 and the inner portion 16. In this embodiment, the tab 36
is wider
than the flap 28 but this need not be the case and the flap 28 and tab 36
could be the
same width or the flap 28 could be wider than the tab 36.
To form the package 12, the food product is positioned substantially centrally
within the inner portion 16 so as to contact the inner surface of the sheet.
The sheet 10
is then folded around the food product so that the inner surfaces of the side
portions
24, 26 contact one another as shown in Figure 3. A seal 40 is then formed
between the
two side portions, typically by the application of a moderate pressure. With
the sheet
folded about the food product, the front and rear portions 20, 22 of the
sealing portion
over hang the front and rear ends of the product respectively and are folded
back over
themselves so that opposing regions of the inner surface of the front and rear
portions
are in contact. Front 42 and rear 44 seals are formed, typically by the
application of a
moderate pressure to the front and rear sealing portions.
The product is now sealed inside the package 12 by virtue of the front 42,
rear
44 and longitudinal 40 seals. As shown in Figure 3, the flap 28 and tab 36
project
outwardly beyond the outer edge of the longitudinal seal 40. Because no
sealing
composition is applied to the flap 28 or the outer surface of the tab 36, the
two remain
separated so that a consumer can grasp them and pull them apart to open the
package.
For neatness, the longitudinal seal 40, the flap 28 and the tab 36 are folded
over to one side or the other so as to lie generally parallel to the surface
of the product
as illustrated in Figure 4. The longitudinal seal, flap and tab may be folded
about a
fold line at the border of the inner portion and one of the side portions so
that either
tab 36 or the flap 28 is uppermost.
To further assist a consumer in opening the package, an embossed pattern may
be applied to all or part of the tab 36 and/or the flap 28.
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The package 12 is formed in a form-fill-seal (FFS) packaging machine and the
sheet 10 is preferably provided as part of a continuous roll of sheets (roll-
fed) fed into
the machine in the direction of arrow A. The material is folded about each
product in
turn so that opposing longitudinal edge regions of the material are brought
into contact
5 and bonded together to form the longitudinal seam, opposing regions of
the material at
either end of the product are brought into contact and bonded to form the
transverse
end seams and the material is cut to separate the package from the remainder
of the
film.
Where a sealing composition is used to form the seals, it may be pre-applied
to
10 the sheets or roll or it may be applied during formation of the package.
The tab 36
may also be pre-formed before the sheets are wound on to the roll or it may be
formed
as part of the package formation process. Typically, the tab 36 will be formed
before
the sheet is folded around the food product but it can be formed at any stage
in the
packaging process. The tab 36 may be formed by welding the opposing regions of
the
15 sheet together.
In an alternative embodiment illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the sealing
composition is not applied continuously from the side portion 24 to the outer
edge of
the sheet 10. Rather there is gap between the outer edge 30 of the side
portion 24and
an area 46 of sealing composition applied to the inner surface of the sheet to
form the
20 tab 36. In this case, when the outer edge region 32 of the sheet is
folded inwardly to
form the tab 36, the inner end 38 of the tab 36 is spaced from the outer edge
Of the
side portion 24 Thus, in the completed package 12, a small flap portion 48 is
formed
between the outer edge of longitudinal seal 40 and the tab 36.
Various changes and modifications may be made to the above described
25 package without departing from the scope of the present invention as
defined in the
claims. For example, in the embodiments illustrated, the sheet 10 is
rectangular and is
suitable for packaging a rectangular block-shaped food product. However, the
shape
and dimensions of the sheet 10 can be varied to suit the shape and dimensions
of the
product which could be a square generally block-shaped product, for example.
