Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PACKAGING AND METHOD OF USE
Technical Field
The present invention relates to packaging container having a chamber
comprising a
plurality of corresponding products, particularly a bespoke order of products.
Background and Prior Art
When products are manufactured in a factory a number of products are often
packaged together in a group for ease of handling. This is especially the case
if the
product being manufactured is relatively small, such as consumable products.
In particular, if a factory produces various varieties of a product, it is
typical to
package together a group of products of a single variety, as this is simpler
and more
cost-effective. For example, if it is a food product, then a group of products
of the
same flavour or recipe may be packaged together.
On occasion factories will provide variety-pack type packaging containing
different
varieties in a single group packaging. However such variety packs are
generally
intended for sale to a consumer and may themselves be packaged together in a
group packaging.
Such groupings can then be conveniently shipped to wholesalers or, more
recently,
to ecommerce shipping handlers.
Under normal circumstances a wholesaler would sell on the factory-packaged
grouping on to a retailer without interfering with the factory packaging. A
retailer
would then typically remove the products from the group packaging for sale.
However, shipping handlers may wish to provide a bespoke service to online
customers. In such a scenario the shipping handler removes the products from
the
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factory packaging before preparing a bespoke order and packaging the bespoke
order for delivery to the consumer.
In particular, for some types of products, shipping handlers may wish to offer
to the
public the possibility of choosing for themselves the mix of varieties they
would like
to be delivered to their home. In this case, the varieties ordered will be
selected by
the shipping handler according to the order and their bespoke order placed
into new
packaging and shipped to the consumer.
As the order is bespoke, the number of products to be packaged by the shipping
handler will inevitably differ from the number of products present in the
group
packaging.
In this case, the packaging from the factory which groups together products of
the
same variety is seen as no longer of any use to the shipping handler and is
discarded. The shipping handler then uses their own packaging to prepare the
bespoke order, and the packaging may be chosen based on the order size. This
is
wasteful of the factory group packaging.
For example in a typical pick-by-light system, the picking sequence starts at
the
beginning of a zone where the operator scans a bar coded address label
attached to
the shipping carton or tote. The display tells the operator which products to
pick and
how many of each.
The pick-to-light system that is widely used in industry causes a lot of
packaging
waste. This is because the packaging used from the factory is removed and
discarded before the product is placed into the pick-to-light racking. The
pickers then
use new packaging to pack the consumer order, often having different sized
boxes to
different order quantities e.g. a box for 5 products, a box for 10 products, a
box for
15 products etc.
W02011/32735 discloses transport packaging for producing a stackable display
packaging, wherein a portion of the packaging can be inserted into the
packaging.
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CA 2010833 discloses a combination shipper carton that can be rearranged to
provide slots within the container to accommodate dividers.
Summary of Invention
In a first aspect the invention relates to packaging container having a
chamber
wherein the chamber comprises a plurality of corresponding products sized such
that
a number of such products essentially completely fills the chamber, the
packaging
io comprising at least one removable portion dimensioned such that the at
least one
removable portion can be removed from the packaging, rearranged to adopt an
expanded form and placed within the chamber, having the effect of reducing the
volume of the chamber available for the products by n times the volume of a
contained product, where n is an integer, whilst retaining the feature that a
number of
such products essentially completely fills the chamber.
Thus, the invention provides that the packaging container can be essentially
filled
with a number of corresponding products and can be emptied and refilled with a
fewer number of corresponding products. The remaining space in the chamber is
taken up by the presence of the at least one removable portion. Thus the
packaging
container can be used to deliver a factory-packaged grouping to a shipping
handler.
The shipping handler can then empty the packaging container of its contents,
and
reuse the container to package a bespoke order, even when the order is for a
number of products which does not fill the packaging container.
By "essentially completely fills the chamber" is meant that a sufficient
number of
products would snugly fit within the packaging, leaving no freedom of movement
of
the contained products.
The term 'removable' means that the portion comprises features which enable
the
removal of the portion from the packaging container cleanly and neatly without
causing damage to the packaging or the removable portion, e.g. by pulling the
portion away from the body of the packaging.
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The invention is of particular applicability to the ordering of bespoke
consumer
products, such as coffee or tea products, preferably tea, e.g. stored in a
capsule for
extraction by a beverage machine.
It is preferred that each removable portion reduces the available volume by
from 1 to
30 products, more preferably from 1 to 14 products, most preferably from 2 to
6
products.
1.0 The packaging container may be made from a wide variety of materials
but is
typically made from cardboard and can adopt an essentially flat form for
storage.
The packaging container may take a variety of shapes and sizes, however,
typically
the chamber is cuboid.
The products may take a variety of shapes and sizes, however, typically the
products
are cuboid.
Preferably the removal of the removable portion does not alter the available
volume
of the chamber.
The removable portions preferably form at least a part of one side of the
packaging,
preferably a portion or the whole of a top face of the packaging. Preferably
the at
least one removable portion is each a flat sheet of cardboard comprising pre-
folds.
The packaging container may have any number of removable portions as is
necessary, however the present invention has been found to be particularly
effective
when the number of removable portions is from 1 to 4, preferably 2.
In one particular embodiment, there are two removable portions which between
them
form substantially an entire face of the packaging.
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The at least one removable portion is preferably attached to packaging by a
weakened region, preferably perforations.
A discussed, the packaging container contains a plurality of corresponding
products.
Therefore, in an initial preferred embodiment, the packaging is filled with a
plurality of
corresponding products. For example, this is the condition the packaging would
leave a factory and preferably would be all of the same variety.
In this embodiment, the chamber of the packaging container preferably
comprises
from 4 to 100 products, preferably from 6 to 50, more preferably from 10 to
30, prior
to reduction of volume. This number of products means that a bespoke order for
any
number of products can be more easily met by the reduction in volume provided
by
the removable portions.
It has been found that the present invention is particularly effective when
the
products are cuboid and are sized such that a number of such products
essentially
completely fill the chamber.
Therefore in a subsequent preferred embodiment, the packaging is filled with a
combination of a plurality of corresponding products and at least one
removable
portion in its expanded form. Preferably the products comprise a number of
different
varieties, for example a number of different tea types.
In a preferred embodiment each removable portion can take the form of more
than
one expanded form, preferably two expanded forms, each expanded form reducing
the volume of the chamber by a different amount. In a particularly preferred
embodiment, each removable portion is capable of adopting a first expanded
form
having the volume of 2 products and a second expanded form having the volume
of
4 products.
In a second aspect, the invention relates to a method of preparing a package
of
bespoke products to a consumer who has placed a bespoke order, the method
involving
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a. obtaining a package as described herein containing a plurality of
products,
b. removing a number of products from the package,
c. adding a number of varieties of product fewer in number than were
removed in step b, to the packaging according to the bespoke order.
d. removing at least one removable portion from the packaging,
e. rearranging the removed portion to adopt an expanded form and
placing it in the packaging so as to take up the difference in volume
between the number of products removed and the number of products
added.
Detailed description of the invention
The invention will now be illustrated by way of example and with reference to
the
following figures, in which:
Figure 1 is an image of a packaging container according to the present
invention
comprising a plurality of corresponding products.
Figure 2 is an image of the packaging container shown in figure 1 wherein a
panel
has been removed.
Figure 3 is an image of the packaging shown in figure 2 wherein a second panel
has
been removed.
Figure 4 is an image of the packaging container of figure 3 with the removed
panels
nearby.
Figure 5 is an image of the packaging container of figure 4 wherein the
products
have been removed and one removed panel has been rearranged.
Figure 6 is an image of the packaging container of figure 5 wherein the
rearranged
panel has been placed in the packaging container.
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Figure 7 is an image of the packaging container of figure 6 wherein a
plurality of
corresponding products have been placed in the packaging container.
Figure 8 is an image of the packaging container of figure 7 wherein a new
cover is
added to provide a sealed package.
Figure 9 is a schematic representation in plan, of a packaging container
containing a
plurality of corresponding products.
Figure 10 is a schematic representation in plan, of a packaging container
containing
16 corresponding products and wherein a rearranged packaging element has been
added.
Figure 11 is a schematic representation in plan, of two packaging containers
containing 12 corresponding products and wherein one or two rearranged
packaging
elements have been added.
Figure 12 is a schematic representation in plan, of a packaging container
containing
10 corresponding products and wherein a rearranged packaging element has been
added.
Figure 13 is a schematic representation in plan, of a packaging container
containing
8 corresponding products and wherein two rearranged packaging elements have
been added.
Turning to the figures, as shown in figure 1, at a tea factory, capsules
containing tea
are packaged into cuboid packages 1 or cartons, each containing a number of
capsules of tea of the same type. 16 such cuboid cartons are placed within a
cuboid
packaging 2 or case, according to the present invention, in two adjacent
columns of
8 packages. For example, the packaging could contain 16 packages, each of
which
contains 12 capsules of tea, all 12x16 capsules being of the same tea type. As
can
be seen the 16 packages essentially completely fills the chamber of the
packaging,
as none of the packages is free to move within the packaging.
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The case lid is closed but not sealed/ taped. The case is then placed on a
pallet and
sent to the packer.
At the packer the packer removes the case from the pallet and 'peels off' the
perforated lid flaps 4, 6 from the case and saves them for later, as shown in
figures 2
to 4. The case is then placed into the back of the pick-to-light racking, with
the
product still in the case (saves time and minimises handling of the product).
lo When a bespoke order is taken, at the front of the pick-to-light
racking, the picker
uses an empty case (previously emptied) as shown in figure 5 and picks the
different
flavours of tea according to the consumer order.
If the consumer orders 16 cartons then no adaptation of the case is required
as the
case is originally sized for 16 cartons. The consumer can order in multiples
of 2 from
8 to 16 cartons eg. 8, 10, 12, 14, 16.
To fill the void/ space in the case, the picker reuses the previously removed
lid flaps
4,6 and folds them along the pre perforated lines and inserts into the case.
As shown
in figure 5 the lid flaps 4,6 have specific perforation so the they can be
folded to fill
the void of 4 or 2 cartons. As shown in figure 5 and 6 one flap has been
folded to
take up the volume of four cartons of tea.
As shown in figure 7, the 12 cartons of the bespoke order fill the remaining
volume of
the packaging. When the order is finished a new, premium lid is placed over
the case
as shown in figure 8 and is banded together, along with the consumer address
label,
ready to be sent to the consumer. Thus, the packaging has retained the feature
that
a number of such products, in this case 12, essentially completely fills the
chamber
of the packaging.
According to this arrangement, all possible orders from 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16
can be
accommodated. Figure 9 shown an arrangement where the order is for 16 cartons,
Figure 10 is for 14 cartons, figure 11 shows two different possible
configurations for
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12 cartons, figure 12 shows a configuration for 10 cartons and figure 13 shows
a
configuration for 8 cartons. In each case, all of the available volume of the
packaging
is taken up by a combination of product 1 or expanded flaps 4,6.
