US3039245A - Method of packaging - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent 1 3,039,245 METHOD OF PACKAGING Robert M. Jones, Edgeworth, Pa. (441 Leet Road, Sewiekley, Pa.) No Drawing. Filed Dec. 21, 1959, Ser. No. 360,632 3 Claims. (CI. 53-14) This invention relates to the boxing or packaging of individual articles or a plurality of articles and, more particularly, to an improved packaging method in which the package is first formed by means of a relatively thin or lightweight or structurally inadequate wrapper and is thereafter coated either in local areas or overall with a resinous substance either with or without fibrous reinforcement for the purpose of imparting the desired strength, tear resistance andwear resistance to the package so that it can be handled thereafter and stored or shipped without disruption or breakage of the contents of the package.

One of the principal packaging means for handling, shipping or storage of articles consists of corrugated board or cartons or boxes made therefrom. The corrugated board is generally manufactured by paper manufacturers and sold in roll or sheet form; and in many instances when sold in sheet form, it is pre-creased for forming into suitable cartons. The partially completed cartons and boxes, in many instances, are formed and sold by the paper companies or by box manufacturers, and such boxes or cartons are generally formed to particular sizes and shapes to meet the packaging requirements of the purchaser. These boxes or cartons are formed of corrugated board of prescribed thickness or strength so as to meet the packaging requirements of the purchaser; and in many instances, these fiber board cartons constitute the sole packaging facility for the goods. In many instances, however, and despite the fact that corrugated board is manufactured in a wide variety of types, thicknesses and strength, it is necessary to provide other reinforcing means in order to provide a package adequate to withstand the rigors of handling, shipping and storage. In other instances, of course, the corrugated board itself possesses the requisite characteristics so that the cartons or packages do not require additional reinforcing.

in many instances, corrugated board has not been able to meet the strength and other requirements for certain types of packages and as a consequence, it has been used not as the primary packaging material but as a wrapper for the purpose of shielding the contents of the package. In such cases, other packaging materials have been required such as, for example, Wooden boxes which, of course, have appreciably greater strength. In other instances, thin wrappers rather than corrugated board have been used as a preliminary wrapper and the principal packaging material has been a wooden box or the like.

In still other instances, either light or heavy kraft papers and cardboards have been utilized to provide a package or a carrier for articles. In some instances, papers of this sort have been inadequate to carry the loads to which they are subjected and various expedients have been adopted in order to provide reinforcement for the packages. Even where corrugated board is used for certain types of packaging, it has been found necessary to utilize extremely heavy board or several plies of board in order to provide the necessary strength to carry the substantial loads involved and in order to withstand the wear and tear caused by rough handling.

One or the objectionable features of packagingvarious products in corrugated boxes is that sizeable inventories generally are required and a tremendous amount of space is necessary for the storage of the boxes either in assembled condition or in partially assembled condition.

3,039,245 Patented June 19, 1962 The present invention provides a method of packaging which permits the use of relatively lightweight packaging materials, which is cheaper than the packaging methods presently employed and which eliminates the necessity of maintaining large and bulky inventories of boxes or the like. My invention provides packages which, although initially formed from, relatively lightweight packaging materials, possess the requisite strength to permit them to be handled, stored or shipped. The method which I provide also has great flexibility in the sense that even though relatively lightweight packaging materials are employed, a wide range of strengths can be obtained. Generally speaking, my invention resides in taking the material, article or articles to be packaged and providing them with a lightweight wrapping and then coating that wrapping with a resinous material so as to impart the necessary strength and wear resisting properties to the package. In accordance with my invention, the resinous material may be used either alone or may be reinforced with fibers of various types such as glass fibers, mineral fibers, wood fibers or any other fibrous materials which will impart the desired tensile or impact strength to the package.

Referring more specifically to the packaging of a plurality or articles in accordance with my invention, the articles are gathered and arranged together as they come from a production line or they can be gathered and arranged in a suitable manner at any time after coming from the production line. Casing or loading machines which are well known in the art may be employed for the gathering and arranging of the package. By way of example, canned products can be gathered in lots and arranged in suitable rows. A similar layer can be placed on top of the first with or without separating means as industrys practice demands.

After the articles have been arranged in any suitable configuration, they may be wrapped with a thin, inexpensive wrapper which may be ordinary krait paper or the like. Instead of kraft paper or thin cardboard, relatively thin corrugated board may be used; but in any event, the primary wrapper will be of such character as to lack the necessary strength and wear resistance for the handling, shipping or storing of the package. Even such thin materials as plastic foils and the like can be used as the preliminary wrapper. This preliminary wrapping or packaging may be done by hand or by any of the wrapping machines commonly use in the art. Although, in most instances, the entire peripheral area of the goods or articles to be packaged will be covered, this is not necessarily so in all instances; but in any event, this preliminary wrapping should be coextensive with the coverage desired for the finished package.

After this preliminary wrapping is completed, the wrapping is then coated with a resinous substance. This coating should cover the surface of the wrapper and should be of such character as to impart the desired strength, rigidity and wearing qualities to the package. The resinous coating and the preliminary Wrapping may be of such character that the resinous coating adheres to the surface of the preliminary wrapping although, in many instances, it will be desirable to utilize a preliminary wrapping and a resinous substance which are of such character that the resinous substance will impregmate the preliminary wrapping. For example, if the preliminary wrapping is a kraft paper or even a cloth, the resinous substance will impregnate the paper or cloth to some extent. However, it will be desirable in most instances to utilize materials which are of such character that the resinous substance will not penetrate the preliminary wrapping to a sufiicient'extent to contaminate in any way the contents of the package. The coating may be applied in any convenient manner such as by spraying.

As has already been indicated, there are various applications where the entire preliminary wrapping need not be coated with the substance resinous as sufficient strength can be imparted to the package by coating selected areas such as the corner portions or edge portions of the package.

Resins have been defined as organic materials which can be easily molded or shaped by mechanical or chemical action to give tough, non-crystalline substances that are solid at ordinary temperature. As so defined, any resin may be used in some applications of my invention. However, it is preferable to use a resin which is liquid or can be placed in a liquid condition at temperatures of approximately 40 to 90 F. and will coagulate and harden at approximately the same temperatures. Various thermosetting resins may be used provided, of course, that the time and temperature required for setting are relatively low. Thermoplastic resins also may be employed provided that the packages on which they are used will not be subjected to temperatures sufiiciently high to render the resinous material tacky or of insufiicient strength. Any quick-setting resin may be used irrespective of Whether the setting is accomplished by polymerization or other chemical action or by volatilization of a solvent or other carrier. I have found that the polyester resins are especially useful in carrying out my invention.

As indicated above, it is frequently desirable in order to get the requisite strength to use fibers for reinforcing the resinous coating. I have found that Fiberglas is exceptionally good for this purpose and that small strands of Fiberglas can be sprayed on the wrapper at the same time that the resin is sprayed or otherwise applied to the wrapper. For example, a double-nozzle spray gun may be used for this purpose. In addition to glass fibers, Dacron, rayon or any cellulosic fibers can be employed.

As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the thickness of the coating will vary over a wide range depending upon the strength desired in the package, the type of resin used, the fibers, if any, employed, and the nature of the contents. I have found that a coating of approximately of an inch is satisfactory for certain applications utilizing a polyester resin With Fiberglas reinforcement.

While I have described a presently preferred process embodying my invention, it should be understood that my invention may be otherwise practiced within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of packaging which comprises the steps of forming a package by enclosing the material to be wrapped in a primary wrapper of light weight flexible packaging material having insufiicient strength to resist wear during handling and shipping, and thereafter coating at least a part of the primary wrapper with a mixture of resinous material and fibrous material, coagulating and hardening said resinous material to reinforce the outer surface of said package by increasing the strength of said primary wrapper snfliciently to resist wear during handling and shipping, said coating of resinous material and fibrous material imparting rigidity to said coated portion of said primary wrapper.

2. A method of packaging as set forth in claim 1 in which said resinous material partially impregnates said primary wrapper so that said resinous material adheres to said primary wrapper duing handling and shipping.

3. A method of packaging which comprises the steps of gathering the items to be packaged, Wrapping the gathered items with a primary wrapper of relatively light weight packaging material to form a package, said package Wrapped with said primary wrapper having insuflicient strength to resist wear during shipping and handling, and thereafter spraying said primary wrapper simultaneously with a resinous material and a fibrous material, coagulating and hardening said resinous material to provide a rigid external surface to said package, said resinous material and fibrous material imparting strength, rigidity and wearing qualities to said primary wrapper so that said primary 'wrapper has suflicient strength to resist wear during handling and shipping, said resinous material being liquid 'begin able to coagulate and harden at approximately the same temperatures.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS at approximately 4090 F. and also-