Adhesive and mechanically secured carded package

Abstract

A carded package including a base portion to which a heat shrinkable tube is adhesively affixed. The article is disposed within the tube and held on to the card by said tube. In one embodiment of the carded package, a pair of projections extend from the base portion of the card. Each projection holds a portion of the heat shrinkable tube to the base portion of the card to enhance the securement of the tube to the card. In another embodiment of the carded package, a projection is spaced from the tube and extends from the plane of the base portion of the card. The projection includes a hole therein into which a portion of the article is disposed to enhance the securement of the article to the card.

Description

The invention relates generally to article packaging and more particularly to carded packages.

There are generally five basic types of packages for holding articles therein. A first type of package, commonly called a "blister-pack" utilizes a thermo-formed plastic cup which is heat sealed onto a card or held between layers of a multi-layered card. A second type of package, commonly called a "skin-pack" utilizes the article as a mold by flowing a thermo-plastic heat shrinkable film on a card in a vacuum to immobilize the article. A third type of package, commonly called a "stretch-pack" utilizes a die-cut card with a molded plastic window therein, which card is folded over the article and the window is heat shrunk thereabout. A fourth type of package, commonly called a "header-board" package, is formed by disposing an article within a tube of heat shrinkable material and hanging same from a small header-board.

All of the aforenoted four packaging types suffer from one or more disadvantages, e.g., cost, accessability, strength, etc.

A fifth type of package, called a "carded package" is disclosed and claimed in co-pending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 138,056, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,002, issued Oct. 9, 1973, assigned to the assignee as this invention, and offers various advantages over the four previously noted package types. For example, the carded package can be readily produced at a low cost, it securely holds the article disposed therein, it readily accepts printing or descriptive material thereon and is capable of being mounted on a hook for display purposes. To that end, the carded package comprises an article, a card and a heat shrinkable tube. The tube includes an outside surface which is connected to the card by an adhesive material in contact with the card and the outside surface of the tube. The article is disposed within the tube.

While the carded package disclosed and claimed in the aforementioned co-pending application has proved satisfactory for its intended purposes, it had been found that the adhesive securement of the heat shrinkable tube to the card may in some cases be insufficient under heavy loading conditions, i.e. where a heavy article is disposed within the tube.

In U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 319,111 filed on Jan. 10, 1973, which application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 138,056 there is disclosed and claimed a carded package having improved tube securement means. To that end, the card includes a surface having plural perforations therein upon which an adhesive material is applied for increased securement thereto.

Notwithstanding the increased securement provided by the carded package as disclosed and claimed in the above noted continuation-in-part application, it has been found that with a few types of articles packaged therein pilferage of the articles from the carded package can be accomplished by grasping the article and pulling the article and its surrounding heat shrinkable tube from the card to which the tube is adhesively affixed.

Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to provide a reasonably pilfer-proof carded package.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means in a carded package for increasing the securement of the article in the package.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide means in a carded package for increasing the securement of the article in the package by increasing the securement of the heat shrinkable tube to the card.

It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a carded package with increased securement of the article in the package via additional article holding means.

These and other objects of this invention are achieved by providing in a carded package comprising a card, a heat shrinkable tube adhesively affixed to the card and an article disposed within the tube and secured to the card by the tube. The package also includes a first projection extending from the card and in contact with the article. The projection enhances the securement of the article to the card.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carded package in accordance with one aspect of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2a is an enlarged sectional view of the portion of the carded package shown within area 1a in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the carded package shown in FIG. 1 during an initial step in the process of forming said package;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the carded package shown in FIG. 3 at a subsequent step in the process of forming it;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the carded package shown in FIG. 4 immediately prior to the insertion of the article in the heat shrinkable tube; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a carded package in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a carded package in accordance with this invention; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the carded package shown in FIG. 7 during an initial step in the process of forming said package.

Referring now to the various figures of the drawing wherein like reference characters refer to like parts, there is shown in FIG. 1 an improved carded package 20. Package 20 basically comprises a card 22, a heat shrinkable tube 24 and an article 26 disposed within said tube. The heat shrinkable tube serves to hold the article disposed therein onto the card.

Although the article shown in FIG. 1 is a bottle, it is to be understood that the article can be any type of merchandise.

The card 22 is a generally flat member formed of a base portion 28 (shown in FIG. 3) and a flap portion 30 (shown in FIG. 3) folded over the base portion and coextensive therewith.

In the embodiment shown, the card is composed of a piece of cardboard upon which printing may be applied. However, the card may be formed of various other materials such as plastics, metals, etc.

The heat shrinkable tube can be formed of either a seamless or a seamed band of material, such as polyvinyl chloride, which shrinks upon the application of heat thereto. The heat shrinkable tube may be transparent to permit visibility of the merchandise disposed therein or may be translucent or opaque in varying colors. Furthermore, the heat shrinkable tube may include printing thereon.

For reasons to be considered later, the heat shrinkable tube includes a pair of semicircular recesses 31, cut out of opposed peripheral edges of the tube.

The heat shrinkable tube is affixed to the card via an adhesive 32 applied on the surface of a portion 34 of base 28. The surface may, if desired, be perforated in accordance with the teachings of the above noted copending application, to thereby enhance the securement of the tube to the card.

The flap portion 30 of the card 22 includes a window 36 therein. The window is rectangular in shape and includes four sides, namely, 38, 40, 42 and 44. The window is disposed over the portion 34 of the base when the flap 30 is folded on top of the base. When arranged in this manner, tube 24 is enabled to pass through the window 36 to project away from the plane of the card 22 such that the article 26 can be disposed therein.

In accordance with one aspect of this invention, additional mechanical securement means are provided to hole the tube securely on the card. To that end, a pair of members 46 and 48 project into the window 36 from its opposed top and bottom sides 38 and 40, respectively, and lie in the plane of flap 30.

The projections 46 and 48 are arranged to be disposed on top of the portion of the tube which is adhesively affixed to the base. This arrangement interposes a portion of the heat shrinkable tube between the projection and the base thereby providing additional mechanical securement for the tube.

In the sectional views of FIGS. 2 and 2a, there is shown the manner which projection 48 holds tube 26 onto card 22, which is the same as the manner which projection 46 holds the tube onto the card.

As can be seen, tube 24 is affixed to base 28 via adhesive 32. The flap 30 of card 22 is disposed on top of the base 28 of the card and is connected in that position by an adhesive (not shown). The portion of the heat shrinkable tube which is affixed to the base by adhesive 32 is interposed between projections 46 and 48 and the base 28.

Tube 24 extends through window 36 and projects away from the card 22 to enable article 26 to be disposed therein.

Once the article is disposed within the tube, heat is applied to the tube to cause it to shrink around the article to hold the article tightly therin. The heat shrinking step can be carried out in various ways known in the art including the use of a heat gun or a conventional heat tunnel.

When the tube 24 has shrunk around the article 26, the article is forced into an abutting relationship with projections 46 and 48. This action forces projections 46 and 48 into intimate contact with the portion of the heat shrinkable tube disposed thereunder, thereby firmly securing the tube to the card.

In order to remove the article from the card, the article must be pulled with sufficient force to not only tear the adhesive away from the base portion of the card but also to tear the projections from the flap of the card which is contiguous therewith. It should be noted at this point that the projections cannot bend from the plane of the card to enable the portion of the tube disposed thereunder to slip out when the article is pulled away from the card since the bottle is held firmly against the projection by the heat shrunk tube.

As should be appreciated from the above disclosure, the projections 46 and 48 serve as additional means to ensure that pilferage of the article from the package is rendered significantly more difficult.

FIGS. 3 through 5 show the arrangement of the heat shrinkable tube and the card during successive steps in the production of the carded package 20 prior to the insertion of the article 26 therein. To that end, FIG. 3 shows the card 22 with the flap 30 folded back. When arranged in this manner, the heat shrinkable tube can be readily affixed to the portion 34 of the card's base 28 by adhesive 32.

Once the heat shrinkable tube 24 is adhesively affixed to the card, the flap portion 30 is folded over and on top of the base portion 28 as shown in FIG. 4 and is glued in place, thereby sandwiching the heat shrinkable tube therebetween, i.e., between the base 28 of the card and a portion of the flap 30 contiguous with the sides 42 and 44 of window 36 and between the base of the card and the respective projections 46 and 48. The dotted line in FIG. 4 represents the position of the heat shrinkable tube 24 under flap 30.

Once the flap 30 of the card is glued onto the base, the card is passed under a machine whereupon a portion of the tubing is pulled through window 36 to project away from the plane of the card. The cut out recesses 31 expedite the withdrawal of the tubing by preventing the projections from impeding the tubing portion as it is withdrawn.

In FIG. 5 there is shown the condition of card 22 and the tube 24 once the tube has been pulled through the window. As can be seen therein, the tubing 24 remains adhesively connected to the base 28 at portion 32. Furthermore, a portion of the tubing which is adhesively connected to the base remains disposed under projection 46 and another portion of the tube which is adhesively connected to the base remains disposed under projection 48. The remaining portion of the tube projects out of the window 36.

Once card 22 and tube 24 are arranged as shown in FIG. 5, the article is disposed therein and heat is applied to shrink the tube around the article (as previously discussed) to thereby complete the carded package 20.

In FIG. 6 there is shown another embodiment of the carded package in accordance with this invention. As can be seen therein, carded package 50 basically comprises a card 52, a heat shrinkable tube 54 and an article 56 disposed within the tube. The heat shrinkable tube serves to hold the article disposed therein on the card. To that end, an adhesive material (not shown) is provided between a portion of the surface of the card and a portion of the outside surface of the tube. The portion of the card upon which the adhesive is provided may be perforated in accordance with the teachings of the aforementioned continuation-in-part application.

Although the article 56 shown in FIG. 6 is a pliers, it is to be understood that the article can be any type of elongated merchandise.

The card 52 is a generally flat member which in the embodiment shown is a piece of cardboard and upon which printing may be applied. However, like the card 22 of carded package 20, card 52 of package 50 may be formed of various other materials such as plastics, metals, etc. Furthermore, the heat shrinkable tube can be formed of either a seamless or a seamed band of material which shrinks upon the application of heat and may be transparent to permit visibility or may be translucent or opaque. Further still the heat shrinkable tube 54 may include printing thereon.

As can be seen in FIG. 6, a U-shaped slit 58 is provided in card 52 spaced from tube 54. The portion of the card 52 bounded by the slit is bent out of the plane of the card to form a projection or flap 60. Flap 60 includes a pair of apertures 62 therein. The apertures are provided to hold portions of the article disposed therein so as to provide additional mechanical securement for the article. To that end, the ends of handles 64 of plier 56 are disposed within apertures 62.

As should be appreciated, in order to remove the pliers from the carded package 50, it is not only necessary to tear the heat shrinkable tube 54 from the card to which it is adhesively affixed but it is also necessary to tear the handles of the pliers out of the apertures 62 in flap 60. By spacing flap 60 away from tube 54, very little gripping room is provided to enable the pliers to be ripped off the card via its handles.

Carded package 50 is completed in the following manner: An unshrunk piece of heat shrinkable tubing 54 is adhesively affixed to card 52. Flap 60 is then bent out of the plane of the card. The head of the pliers is inserted in the unshrunk heat shrinkable tube 54 and each of the plier handles is inserted in the respective apertures in flap 60. The tubing is then shrunk by the application of heat thereto, thereby completing the carded package.

Flap 60 may include as many or as few apertures therein as required depending upon the shape of the article to be held in the package. For example, if the carded package contains a screwdriver, flap 60 need only have a single aperture therein through which aperture a portion of the screwdriver's shaft extends.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of carded package 66, which is another embodiment of this invention.

Like carded package 20, carded package 66 basically comprises a card 68, a heat shrinkable tube 70 and an article 72 disposed within the tube. The heat shrinkable tube serves to hold the article disposed therein into the card.

Although the article shown in FIG. 7 is a bottle, it is to be understood that the article can be any type of merchandise.

As can be seen in FIG. 8, the card is a generally flat member formed of a base portion 74, a first flap portion 76 folded over said base portion and including a pair of tabs 78 in the plane of the flap defining a window 80 therebetween and a second flap portion 82 folded over the ends of the tabs to complete the window 80.

On the embodiment shown, the card is composed of a piece of cardboard upon which printing may be applied. However, the card may be formed of various other materials such as plastics, metals, etc.

The heat shrinkable tube can be formed of either a seamless or a seamed band of material, such as polyvinyl chloride, which shrinks upon the application of heat thereto. The heat shrinkable tube may be transparent to permit visibility of the merchandise disposed therein or may be translucent or opaque in varying colors. Furthermore, the heat shrinkable tube may include printing thereon.

The heat shrinkable tube is affixed to the card via an adhesive 84 applied on the surface of a portion of base 74. The surface may, if desired, be perforated in accordance with the teachings of the above noted copending application, to thereby enhance the securement of the tube to the card.

As can be seen, when flap 82 is folded over the ends of tabs 78, a rectangular window 80 is formed thereby. The window is disposed over the portion of the base to which the tube 70 is adhesively connected via adhesive 84.

Window 80 includes a pair of projecting members 86 and 88 which project into the window 80 from flap portions 76 and 82, respectively.

The members 86 and 88 of carded package 66 act in the same manner as members 46 and 48 of carded package 20 to provide additional mechanical securement for the tube 70 to the card 68.

The production of the carded package 66 is accomplished in the following manner: The adhesive 84 is provided on a portion of base portion 74 of card 68. The heat shrinkable tube is then applied to said adhesive and is affixed thereto. Flap 78 is thereafter folded over the base portion 74 of card 68 to the position shown in FIG. 8, wherein projection 76 of flap 78 overlies a portion of the tube 70 which is affixed to the base portion of the card. The remaining portion of the tube 70 is pulled outside of window 80. Flap 82 is then folded down so as to overlie the ends of tabs 78 and enable projection 88 to overlie another portion of the tube which is affixed to the base portion of the card.

Once the card 68 and tube 70 are arranged as described immediately above, the article is disposed therein and heat is applied to shrink the tube around the article. This action forces the article into an abutting relationship with the projections 86 and 88 and thus forces said projections into intimate contact with the portion of tube 70 disposed thereunder, thereby firmly securing the tube 70 to the card 68 and completing carded package 66.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate our invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

Claims

We claim:

1. In a carded package comprising a card, a heat shrinkable tube adhesively affixed to the card and an article disposed within the tube and secured to the card by the tube, the improvement comprising first and second projections extending from the card and in contact with the article for enhancing the securement of the article to the card by enhancing the securement of the tube to the card, said tube including a first portion which is interposed between the first projection and the card and a second portion interposed between the second projection and the card, said projections being integral with the card, said card comprising a base portion to which said tube is adhesively affixed and one flap portion folded over said base portion, said flap portion including a window into which said first and said second projections extend such that the first portion of the tube is interposed between the first projection and said base portion and the second portion of the tube is interposed between the second projection and said base portion.

2. The carded package of claim 1, wherein said first and said second projections extend from said one flap portion.

3. The carded package as specified in claim 1 wherein the tube includes a pair of recesses cut out of the periphery of the tube.

4. The carded package as specified in claim 3 wherein said recesses are disposed over said projections.

5. The carded package as specified in claim 1 additionally comprising another flap portion, said one flap portion including a pair of tabs defining said window therebetween, said first projection extending from said first flap portion into said window, said other flap portion overlying said tabs with said second projection extending from said other flap into said window.