Package making – Methods – Forming or partial forming a receptacle and subsequent filling
Patent
1994-02-17
1998-07-07
Gorski, Joseph M.
Package making
Methods
Forming or partial forming a receptacle and subsequent filling
29 171, 29 172, 53411, 425396, 425398, B65B 4704
Patent
active
057750602
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates in general to the formation of wrappers (or coverings) of thin sheet materials and has been developed with particular attention to its possible use for producing wrappers for confectionery products such as, for example, chocolate eggs.
In this field of application, reference to which should not, however, be interpreted in a limiting sense, there is generally a problem in fitting the shape of the wrapper (which typically is made of thin sheet material such as, for example, aluminium foil) to the shape of the product to be wrapped. The product may include one or more rounded portions or may be wholly constituted by such portions; for example, it may be a chocolate egg constituted by two complementary portions each of which has a rounded shape; the same can also be said of generally spherical products and the like.
Up to now, two different solutions have been used to form wrappers of thin sheet material for such products.
The first solution, the use of which predominates widely in industry, is that of taking the generally flat sheet material and wrapping it around the product to be wrapped by means of automatic or semi-automatic equipment which copies the sequence of steps which would be carried out by a human operator.
This solution is certainly satisfactory for many applications, particularly when the wrapping sheet is uniform in appearance (for example, a sheet of silvered or gilded aluminium) so that the random or pseudo-random distribution of folds formed in the sheet when it is wrapped around the product has no particular relevance; the distribution of folds may thus actually help to make the appearance of the wrapped product more pleasing, at least in some cases. If pictures, drawings or wording are applied to the wrapper, however, the situation is more difficult; in this case, the formation of folds in the wrapping sheet may detract from a general appreciation of the graphic symbols and, at least in some cases, may make the wording applied to the wrapper practically illegible.
Another solution which is documented, for example, by Italian patent 651,202, German patent 598,113, and also German patent 1,784,647 provides for the sheet wrapper to be preformed before it is applied to the product to be wrapped so that it assumes beforehand a shape which exactly fits the product to be wrapped. The preforming of the sheet material can be controlled precisely so as to limit, if not completely eliminate, the formation of folds, thus preventing the problems cited above. This solution has found considerable success, particularly with plastics wrapping materials, for which the preliminary forming operation can be effected by heating the material so as to soften it and then forming it by various moulding techniques.
The application of this solution to metal wrapping sheets, typically aluminium foil, however, appears more difficult. In practice, it is found that the technique of preforming metal foil can be used successfully only with materials of a certain thickness (for example, a few tenths of a millimeter, as is the case with some aluminium foil wrappers used for some pharmaceutical products, such as suppositories, or for making trays for holding products).
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,748,889 disclosed a method and a die assembly for pleating a thin sheet of material, which permits the workpiece to be gathered and stretched by means of a progressive deformation which minimises the risk of tearing and splitting the material.
Without wishing to be bound to any particular theory in this connection, one has reason to believe that the chances of success with this technique are linked essentially to the use of materials of thicknesses such that the wrapper or covering can be preformed by a drawing process, that is, with a certain stretching of the material, without causing tears.
When the material of the wrapper is thin, however, (as in the case of aluminium foil of the order of 10-20 .mu. thick) it is practically impossible to preform the foil (for example, to give it a dished shape like
REFERENCES:
patent: 511392 (1893-12-01), White
patent: 2059292 (1936-11-01), Taylor
patent: 2133357 (1938-10-01), Mazer
patent: 2605504 (1952-08-01), Feldman
patent: 2664593 (1954-01-01), Larson
patent: 3144974 (1964-08-01), Eichner et al.
patent: 3251319 (1966-05-01), Kaupert et al.
patent: 3444589 (1969-05-01), Bowin
patent: 3491573 (1970-01-01), Tennison, Sr.
patent: 3748889 (1973-07-01), Miller et al.
patent: 3800497 (1974-04-01), Pearson
patent: 4246223 (1981-01-01), Patterson
patent: 4707899 (1987-11-01), Singer
patent: 5014536 (1991-05-01), Saunders
patent: 5174146 (1992-12-01), Heurteboust et al.
Gorski Joseph M.
Soremartec S.A.
LandOfFree
Process for forming wrappers of thin sheet materials and a devic does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Process for forming wrappers of thin sheet materials and a devic, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Process for forming wrappers of thin sheet materials and a devic will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1194068