Package making – Methods – Forming or partial forming a receptacle and subsequent filling
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-09
2001-02-13
Kim, Eugene (Department: 3721)
Package making
Methods
Forming or partial forming a receptacle and subsequent filling
C493S008000, 36
Reexamination Certificate
active
06185912
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to a process for the manufacture of a blank of sheet material to be folded into a box for the storage of one or more items.
It is well known to manufacture boxes for items out of blanks of cardboard or other flexible sheet material. The blanks are cut from large sheets of material by means of knives, lasers or other cutting means, under the control of suitable means such as a computer. These blanks are often designed by means of Computer Aided Design (“CAD”) software, so that when folded they will create the desired design of box, and so that there is efficient use of the sheet material.
Boxes are frequently used as secondary packaging for a number of consumer items such as packages of foodstuffs, cleaning products and so forth which already have primary packaging. These items may themselves contain a number of units which are also wrapped. For example, a consumer may purchase a bag which contains a number of wrapped chocolate bars.
It is becoming increasingly common for boxes to be used not only for the storage and transport of items but also for their display. Boxes containing a number of units may be placed on supermarket shelves. They may serve as dispensers for the units and may be used to advertise the nature of the goods. This has meant that the purchasers of boxes, such as supermarket chains, are becoming increasingly concerned about the appearance of boxes and their functionality in terms of serving as dispensers where appropriate. These requirements have to be combined with basic functional requirements concerned with storage and transport, such as strength, the ability to be stacked, the ease of handling by workers and so forth.
It has therefore become necessary to make it easier to match these various requirements.
According to the present invention there is provided a process for the manufacture of a blank of sheet material to be folded into a box for the storage or transport of one or more items, comprising the steps of:
providing digitally stored details identifying a number of different types of item;
providing digitally stored details of a predetermined number of basic shapes of box, including at least one visual representation of each shape;
providing digitally stored relationships between the types of item and the basic shape or shapes suitable for the different types;
providing digitally stored details of basic designs of box which are based on the basic shapes, including at least one visual representation of each design;
entering details to identify one of the types of item;
where desired entering additional parameters concerning the type of item and/or the requirements of the box;
displaying a visual representation of the or each basic shape of box related to the type of item, taking into account any additional parameters entered;
selecting a basic shape of box;
where desired entering further parameters concerning the requirements of the box;
displaying a visual representation of the or each basic design of box based on the selected basic shape, taking into account any further parameters entered;
selecting a basic design of box;
creating a final design of box from the selected basic design;
generating and digitally storing information representing a two dimensional blank of sheet material to be folded to form the final design of box; and
using that digitally stored information to control cutting means to cut the blank from a sheet of material.
The process of the invention allows a box to be manufactured based on the requirements of the end use of the box, rather than by selecting a box from an existing library of box design types, such as the “Fefco” standard, which may limit the routes for manufacture, erection or filling/closing of the box, including the type of machinery used and hence the cost, or indeed the suitability of the box to its end use. When using such known libraries the box design type is already prescribed, and any modification to rectify the foregoing limitations requires a change in design type, i.e. a further library selection, which is again entirely dependent on the skill and experience of the box designer to make a well informed decision. This is generally the current way box manufacture is specified. However, according to the invention, the box design to be manufactured may be specified largely automatically with reference only to the requirements of end use. Thus, manufacture of the box design may be achieved more quickly, more reliably and without depending on highly skilled and experienced input. In this way, entirely novel box constructions may be manufactured for a particular purpose.
In this manner it is possible to manufacture a blank which when folded will meet the requirements of the user of a box in terms of appearance and functionality.
The invention is particularly relevant in the manufacture of blanks for boxes which will be used as secondary packaging of consumer items which already have primary packaging, and which may be used to display or dispense the items. However, the process is also relevant to the packaging of single large items for example.
The system will store information concerning the standard types of item likely to be encountered. This may comprise information relating to the product concerned, such as food, beverages, cosmetics, cleaning products and so forth, and information about the form of the primary packaging such as can, bottle, or sachet and plastics, glass or metal. Initially a user of the system can be presented with information on e.g. a computer monitor which will enable the type of item to be selected. Text and/or graphical representations may be used. Once the user has defined the type of item and, optionally, any additional information such as a particular problem in terms of fragility or a particular need in terms of storage of boxes, the system will display the available types of basic box shape. Thus, on a computer monitor there could be provided pictures of the available shapes, or perhaps pictures of all shapes with the inapplicable ones greyed-out or the applicable ones highlighted. There could be a single picture of each shape, or a series of pictures. If desired, a moving three-dimensional animation could be used to display a shape from a number of angles.
When a basic shape is selected, further information may be entered if desired. This may concern how the boxes are to be stacked, the amount of protection required for the items and so forth. There are then made available for display a number of basic designs of box which follow the basic shape and meet the requirements. Representations of these designs may show flaps, if desired lids, fold lines, removable panels and so forth, taking into account that they are to be manufactured from blanks. From these basic designs it is possible to go to the appropriate blank on a design screen such as a computer monitor, generally using a CAD package.
The CAD package may be used for the final design, taking into account further requirements, dimensions and other parameters. This final design work will generally be carried out on a representation of the blank. The resultant information concerning the design will be stored digitally and then used to control cutting means in the manufacture of the blank.
In a typical installation, the process may involve a computer database, a presentation front end for selecting shapes and designs of box, and a CAD package for creating the final design of blank. These functions may be combined in one workstation, or involve a number of workstations which may be networked. By using e.g. object linking and embedding, it is possible to go from a basic shape on a presentation package to a design in a design database, and then to a CAD package for a selected design.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3948152 (1976-04-01), Nolan et al.
patent: 4817005 (1989-03-01), Kubota
patent: 4875187 (1989-10-01), Smith
patent: 5980440 (1999-11-01), Mitman et al.
patent: 0 402 475 A1 (1990-12-01), None
patent: 2 712 999A1 (1995-06-01), None
Chuang, S.H. et al., “Feature Decomposition from Solid Models for Automatic Fl
Artois August
Brus Lars Georg Howald
Renman Magnus
Wouters Wim
Kim Eugene
SCA Packaging Limited
Testa Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP
LandOfFree
Process for the manufacture of a packaging blank 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 the manufacture of a packaging blank, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Process for the manufacture of a packaging blank will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2594319