Package making – Methods – Plural covers
Reexamination Certificate
1996-07-24
2001-03-27
Kim, Eugene (Department: 3721)
Package making
Methods
Plural covers
C053S399000, C053S578000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06205750
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a method for packaging of bulk goods into a unit-load package and more particularly to a method for packaging bulk goods into an unit-load package comprising an inner package and an outer package surrounding the inner package, as well as the unit-load package itself. A unit-load package or sack for bulk goods is commonly referred to in the art as a flexible intermediate bulk container.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For packaging, storage, and transportation of bulk goods, box packages or other packages of rigid construction are used, which are placed on a base (usually a pallet). The box packages consist of boxes of corrugated board. The box of corrugated board is, as a rule, provided with an inner sack into which the bulk goods are placed. When filled with the bulk goods, such a package has a quadrangular shape, i.e., the shape of the paperboard box, and thus utilizes the transportation base maximally, even though the package as such is expensive.
Unit-load sacks are also used for packaging, storage, and transportation of bulk goods. A unit-load sack is less expensive than a box package, but its drawback is its round shape when filled, whereby it utilizes the transportation base less efficiently than a box package does. It is understood in the art that bulk goods do not have a specific shape in bulk, such as grains, fertilizers and other granular materials. Thus, unit-load sacks bulge when filled and do not retain any definite shape.
In prior art related to the invention, U.S. Pat. No. 3,670,880 (Burleson et al.) shows an arrangement wherein paperboard receptacles are filled with flexible products and then a stack of the paperboard receptacles is surrounded by a heat-shrinkable plastic outer covering. The paperboard receptacle is made of a multilayer corrugated board and protects the flexible products from moisture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,335 (Yourgalite et al.) shows a stretch wrapping operation wherein there are two layers that are tightly wrapped around the articles through a banding process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,951 (Everman et al.) shows a method in which an inner sack is formed from a reel of inner sack blanks, placed inside a paperboard box, filled when it is in the paperboard box and the both the inner sack and the paper board box are closed. By retaining the inner sack in the rigid paperboard box, the inner sack does not bulge upon its filling with the bulk goods.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for packaging of bulk goods into a resilient package which, when fulled, obtains a substantially quadrangular shape and in which, as the base, it is possible to use standard pallets (e.g. EUR, FIN pallets). In this way, it is possible to combine the maximal utilization of space by a box package with the favorable cost of a resilient package. At the same time, the recycling of the used package can be arranged better, because no sorting of different materials is required, but the resilient package is recycled as such, and the standard pallet is returned to circulation. In the case of a box package constituted by different materials, it is necessary to separate the box, the inner sack, and the base, and the recycling must be arranged through three separate systems.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for packaging of such bulk goods into a resilient package whose inner friction is very low.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method for packaging bulk goods into an intermediate flexible bulk container.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method for packaging bulk goods into an intermediate bulk container which is formed from a single type of material, e.g., plastic, to enable easy recycling of the container after use.
The method in accordance with the invention for packaging of bulk goods into a unit load package or flexible intermediate bulk container is characterized in that:
(a) an inner package made of a resilient material is placed on a base,
(b) the inner package is provided with a reinforcement structure separate from the inner package or integral therewith,
(c) the inner package is filled with bulk goods, whereby, during the filling, the inner package obtains substantially a form of a definite shape, such as a parallelepiped, as a result of the presence of the reinforcement structure in the interior of the inner package, and
(d) the inner package and the base are surrounded with an outer package of plastic material, whereby a stable transportation package is formed.
The flexible intermediate bulk container produced by the method in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the inner package is an inner sack made of a flexible material and provided with a reinforcement structure, which sack has been placed on a base for the time of filling with bulk goods, preferably by suspending or supporting it above the base and that the outer package is an outer package which is made of a plastic material and which surrounds the inner package tightly and gives it adequate stability.
Whether the reinforcement structure is separate from or integral with the inner package, it is situated in the interior of the inner package and serves to support the inner package upon filling of the inner package with bulk goods, which have no specific shape, to thereby form an upright structure. For example, the inner package is most often provided with a parallelepiped shape upon filling. The reinforcement structure is designed to prevent the inner package from bulging outward upon filling with the bulk goods. More particularly, the reinforcement structure can be designed to connect at least opposed inner faces of the sides of the inner package to prevent movement of one side relative to the opposite side and thus prevent bulging of the inner package upon filling with bulk goods.
In the method of the invention, it has been realized to use a unit-load package, i.e., a flexible intermediate bulk container, which comprise an inner package made of a flexible inexpensive material and a surrounding outer package, which gives the unit-load package adequate robustness during use and transport. As the flexible material of the inner package whose rigidity is relatively low, for example, plastic films, paper, or fabrics can be used. For the time of the filling with bulk goods, the resilient package is suspended or supported above a suitable base, such as a pallet. After the filling with bulk goods, the inner package, which is provided with an appropriate reinforcement structure, is bound to the base, e.g., by means of a tightening foil so that a robust unit, i.e., a unit-load package or intermediate bulk container, is formed. The width of the tightening foil is not an essential factor. The width of the tightening foil may be a conventional width, such as about 500 mm, but, as the tightening foil, it is also possible to use even a lull-width tightening foil of a width equal to the height of the entire inner package. Instead of a tightening foil, it is, of course, also possible to use a tightening hood or a shrinking hood.
As noted above, the reinforcement structure may be a separate reinforcement structure connected to specific portions of the inner package, e.g., interior faces of the sides of the inner package, or a part of the inner package may operate as a reinforcement structure at the same time, i.e., an integral or unitary formation of an inner package having a reinforcement structure.
It is a characteristic of the intermediate bulk container or unit-load package in accordance with the invention that the inner package of the unit-load package must endure the strains imposed during the filling stage and that the measure of the circumference of the inner package filled with bulk goods should not increase substantially during the filling stage. It should be noticed that, during the filling, the inner package may become somewhat wider, i.e., change its shape and receive a q
Koskinen Erkki
Stenmark Tom
Kim Eugene
Steinberg & Raskin, P.C.
UPM-Kymmene Oy
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