Method for manufacturing a package with a simple handle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a packaging comprising the stages consisting in producing a packaging which is open at its upper end and then in sealing the upper part of the packaging along a leaktight sealing line so as to constitute a top band with the upper end of the packaging, characterized in that the method comprises a supplementary stage consisting in folding said top band down towards the bottom of the packaging and in fixing it onto the packaging so as to form a handle. The invention also proposes a packaging produced by such a method, characterized in that it has a folded-down top band forming a handle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a national stage filing of PCT/EP02/03321 filed on Mar. 1, 2002, claiming priority to FR 01 02 791 filed Mar. 1, 2001.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The invention relates generally to the field of packaging. More precisely, the invention relates to a method for manufacturing a packaging comprising the stages consisting in producing a packaging which is open at its upper end and then in sealing the upper part of the packaging along a leaktight sealing line so as to form a top band with the upper end of the bag.

[0003] The invention also relates to a packaging produced by such a method.

[0004] The invention applies specifically, in a particularly advantageous manner, to the manufacture of packaging for flowable substances, and a preferred application of the invention is the manufacture of packaging for animal feed in the form of a flowable substance (dry dog food or cat food, for example).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Packaging used for packaging flowable substances is, in a known embodiment, produced from sheets of a flexible material, such as plastic or, alternatively, from cardboard or paper which may be coated with a varnish or covered with a film forming an airtight and/or moisture-proof barrier.

[0006] In a known manner, a packaging is formed by shaping one or more sheets so as to form a bag, which is open at its upper end.

[0007] The packaging is then filled with its contents (dry petfood, for example), and then the opening left unclosed at its upper part is sealed (for example by means of a weld line) so as to guarantee the leaktight nature of the packaging.

[0008] For technical reasons linked to industrial devices for filling bags, a strip of material, which thus constitutes a top band and the upper end of which may itself be sealed for finishing reasons, must be left above the leaktight weld line.

[0009] In order to make it possible to facilitate transportation of the packaging, the solution adopted for this type of packaging consists generally in attaching handles to the top band thus formed (in the case of paper packaging), or in cutting out openings in the top band to form a handle (in the case of a plastic packaging).

[0010] A paper packaging manufactured according to such a method of the prior art is shown in FIG. 1a, in which the packaging 1a comprises a lower part 10a which encloses contents and which is sealed by a weld line 11a guaranteeing the leaktight nature of the lower part.

[0011] In FIG. 1a, the packaging 1a comprises a front face 101a and a rear face 102a, which are connected by two side gussets.

[0012] FIG. 1a also shows the top band 12a formed by the upper part of the packaging located above the weld line 11a, and also the handles 13a and 13a′ attached to the top band.

[0013] FIG. 1b shows a packaging, which is also manufactured according to a method of the prior art, said packaging 1b being made from plastic.

[0014] Like the packaging of FIG. 1a, the packaging 1b comprises a lower part, referenced 10b, which encloses contents and which is sealed by a weld line 11b.

[0015] In the case of a packaging made from plastic, such as the packaging 1b, it is generally chosen to make an opening 13b, forming a handle, in the top band 12b which surmounts the weld line 11b.

[0016] In order to strengthen the top band around the opening 13b forming the handle, a reinforcement element 15b is added around the opening 13b.

[0017] The top of the top band is, moreover, closed by a second weld line 14b which closes the upper end of the top band 12b and thereby improves the finishing of the packaging.

[0018] Although known solutions such as those described above are generally regarded as satisfactory, it will nevertheless be noted that they require the provision of supplementary material to form the handles of the packaging or the top-band reinforcement. A cost is associated with this addition.

[0019] Also, in mass-production environments, it would be advantageous to eliminate, or at the very least to reduce, this supplementary cost.

[0020] Moreover, the attached handles of paper packaging may tear through the effect of the weight of the filled packaging. To avoid this drawback, it may be necessary to give a specific size to the handles and/or the sheets forming the actual packaging, which also involves an extra cost.

[0021] The object of the invention is to mitigate these drawbacks by proposing a method for manufacturing a packaging comprising the stages consisting in producing a packaging which is open at its upper end and then in sealing the upper part of the packaging along a leaktight sealing line so as to constitute a top band with the upper end of the packaging, characterized in that the method comprises a supplementary stage consisting in folding said top band down towards the bottom of the packaging and in fixing it onto the packaging so as to form a handle.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0022] Preferred but non-limiting aspects of the method according to the invention are as follows:

[0023] the top band is folded down and then fixed on fixing regions of the packaging via corresponding regions of the top band located close to its two lateral edges, in order to form, together with the central part of the top band, a cavity forming a handle;

[0024] said fixing is produced by welding or by adhesive bonding;

[0025] said fixing regions are located above said leaktight sealing line;

[0026] a finishing sealing line is also produced at the end of the top band;

[0027] the top band is folded down along a line located between the leaktight sealing line and the finishing sealing line;

[0028] an opening is made in the hollow of the handle.

[0029] The invention also proposes a packaging produced by such a method, characterized in that it has a folded-down top band forming a handle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Other aspects, objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon reading the following description of an embodiment of the invention given with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0031] FIGS. 1a and 1b show packaging produced in accordance with methods of the prior art;

[0032] FIGS. 2a to 2c are diagrammatic representations of stages in the method according to the invention, in which a packaging is shown in section during these various stages; and

[0033] FIG. 3 shows a packaging produced in accordance with the method of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0034] With reference, now, to FIGS. 2a to 2c, a packaging 2 comprises a lower part 20, which is formed, in a manner known per se, from one or more flexible sheets.

[0035] Each sheet may be made from any type of material customarily used for such an application (plastic, coated cardboard or paper, or multi-layer composite sheet).

[0036] The lower part 20 of the packaging is intended for receiving contents C poured into the packaging via the upper opening 200 (FIG. 2a) which is defined by the upper parts of the walls 201 and 202 of the packaging (which correspond to the front and rear faces of the packaging).

[0037] After filling the packaging with the contents C, the air remaining inside the lower part of the packaging is extracted in order to prevent oxidation of the contents C.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 2b, the upper parts of the walls 201 and 202 are then joined and a sealing line 21 is produced (for example, by welding) in order to assemble these parts and to protect the lower part of the packaging against air and moisture. The sealing line 21 runs over the entire width of the packaging (in a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIGS. 2a to 2c).

[0039] A top band 22 is thus formed above the sealing line 21. This top band may be equipped, at its end, with an additional weld (24) for finishing reasons.

[0040] According to the invention, and as shown in FIG. 2c, this top band is then folded down in a direction generally parallel to the sealing line 21 so as to bring the end line of the top band 220 towards the bottom of the packaging, on one side of said packaging.

[0041] This end line of the top band is then fixed onto the wall 201 of the packaging in at least two fixing regions of this wall 201 which are located on either side of the middle of the packaging (in FIG. 2c, which is a section perpendicular to the end line of top band 220, a single fixing region 25 is shown).

[0042] The fixing regions are preferably located in the top band, above the sealing line 21.

[0043] With reference, now, to FIG. 3, the packaging 2 is shown once the operations described above have been carried out.

[0044] It will be seen in this figure that the end line 220 of the top band does not extend along a line that is strictly rectilinear and parallel to the sealing line 21.

[0045] This top-band end line is, in fact, fixed to the part 201 of the packaging only by two regions of the top band which are located at the respective lateral edges of the top band and fixed to corresponding fixing regions 25a and 25b of the packaging which are located close to the lateral edges of the packaging.

[0046] Fixing to the regions 25a and 25b may be achieved by any means known per se (welding or adhesive bonding, in particular).

[0047] In addition, the central part of the folded-down end of the top band 22 thus forms a cavity P in which a user's hand can be inserted in order to lift the packaging and carry it. The cavity P thus forms a handle in a particularly simple and economical manner.

[0048] The location of the fixing regions on the packaging may vary, as may their number. It will thus be possible to fix the top band to the packaging at a plurality of fixing regions, the important thing being to provide at least one cavity forming a handle with the folded-down top band.

[0049] It will be noted that the method according to the invention makes it possible to make advantageous use of the surplus material forming the top band in order to produce a handle.

[0050] Furthermore, this method does not require the attachment of handles onto the packaging, which makes it possible to save on taw material and to make the use of the packaging more secure.

[0051] If the top band 22 includes a finishing weld 24, the top band will be folded down preferably along a line located between the sealing weld line 21 and said finishing weld line.

[0052] The cavity of the folded-down top band 20, forming the handle, extends preferably over a significant part of the width of the packaging 2.

[0053] Compared with the case of the known packaging in FIG. 1, this configuration also makes it possible to achieve better distribution of the load supported over the width of the packaging. This results in the handle having better tear strength.

[0054] In a variant embodiment of the method according to the invention, an opening is made through the top band in the hollow of the handle P so as to allow the passage of the user's fingertips through the top band. This arrangement enables those with long fingernails not to be impeded when grasping the packaging.

[0055] Other variant embodiments of the method described may be implemented. For example, the packaging may be produced by adhesive bonding, welding or any other fixing process. The application of the method according to the invention is not limited to animal feedstuff packaging, but also relates to the manufacture of any type of packaging, which has a top band and has to be carried.

Claims

1. Method for manufacturing a packaging comprising the stages consisting in producing a packaging which is open at its upper end and then in sealing the upper part of the packaging along a leaktight sealing line (21) so as to constitute a top band (22) with the upper end of the packaging, characterized in that the method comprises a supplementary stage consisting in folding said top band (22) down towards the bottom of the packaging and in fixing it onto the packaging (2) so as to form a handle (P).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the top band (22) is folded down and then fixed onto fixing regions (25a, 25b) of the packaging via corresponding regions of the top band located close to its two lateral edges, in order to form, together with the central part of the top band, a cavity (P) forming a handle.

3. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said fixing is produced by welding or by adhesive bonding.

4. Method according to one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that said fixing regions are located above said leaktight sealing line (21).

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a finishing sealing line (24) is also produced at the end of the top band.

6. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the top band is folded down along a line located between the leaktight sealing line (21) and the finishing sealing line (24).

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an opening is made in the hollow of the handle (P).

8. Packaging (2) produced by a method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a folded-down top band (22) forming a handle.