THERMAL AND/OR ACOUSTIC INSULATION PACKAGING
A package of thermal and/or acoustic insulation material has a carrying handle secured to its enveloping film. The carrying handle comprises a handle film having at least one incision which separates an attachment portion of the handle film which is secured to a portion of the surface of the enveloping film from an integral grip portion of the handle film which is configured to allow a user's hand to be inserted between the grip portion and the enveloping film to grip the package.
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This invention relates to packaging of thermal and/or acoustic insulation materials, and particularly to packaging which facilitates manual handling. It is particularly suitable for use with mineral wool insulation, for example glass wool or rock wool insulation.
Thermal and/or acoustic insulation tends to be bulky. For ease of handling individual packages of insulation are often assembled as a large package, for example of the type disclosed in WO 2004/103821. Such large packages are handled mechanically using appropriate mechanical handling equipment, for example using conveyor belts, packaging machinery, fork lift trucks and clamp trucks. Nevertheless, when individual packages of insulation are to be manipulated by hand, for example at the point of sale or during use of an individual package, their combined bulk and weight (often of the order of 8-16 kg) means that gripping an individual package by hand is not always convenient, especially if it is desired to grip more than one package at a time.
It is known to provide handles on individual packages of insulation to facilitate manual handling. For example:
- WO 93/21078A1 discloses a handle in the form of a film strip (6) secured to a film wrapping (3) which envelopes the mineral wool products. The handle (6) is secured on the outside of the package at a position where the film wrapping (3) overlaps itself and is arranged so that there is an opening formed between the strip (6) and the package.
- WO 01/10737A1 discloses a carrying handle for a mineral wool package in the form of a strip connected to the outside wrapping of the package by adhesive bonding or sealing, the connection being interrupted in at least one carrying region beneath which the user can grip.
- EP1798164A1 describes the problems of automatically attaching the handles disclosed in WO 01/10737A1 and proposes an alternative arrangement in which a handle 41 projects partially around the circumference of the packaging from the overlapping portion of the enveloping film.
None of these previously proposed arrangements has provided complete satisfaction. It is thus an aim of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement which combines practicality of use with appropriate ease and cost of manufacture.
According to one aspect, the invention provides a package of insulation material as defined in claim 1. According to another aspect, the invention provides a method of securing a carrying handle to a package of insulation material as defined in claim 10. The dependent claims define preferred and/or alternative embodiments.
In accordance with the aspect of the invention defined in claim 1, the carrying handle comprises a handle film having at least one incision which separates an attachment portion of the handle film which is secured to a portion of the surface of the enveloping film from an integral grip portion of the handle film which is configured to allow a user's hand to be inserted between the grip portion and the enveloping film to grip the package.
The invention is particularly suitable for use with rolls or batts or mineral wool insulation (including glass wool and rock wool) especially where the package is elongate, for example have a length in the range of 0.5 m to 1.5 m and a diameter (or width and depth) in the range 0.3 m to 0.5 m. In such packages, the insulation material is generally held in compression, for example by an enveloping film; this invention is particularly suited to such packages. The invention is particularly useful for smaller sizes of packages of insulation which configures to facilitate manual handling, for examples packages having a length in the range 0.5 m to 0.8 m, for example a length of about 0.6 m.
In one preferred embodiment, the handle film is provided in the form of a patch or label, for example in the form of a continuous roll of carrying handles. Such a format facilitates manufacture of the carrying handles and their automatic application to packages of insulation.
The handle film may comprise an extruded polymer; it may comprise a laminate of a plurality of films, preferably a cross laminate and more preferably a cross laminate of extruded polymer films. Such constructions provide good mechanical resistance for thin films. The handle film may comprise of or consist essentially of polyethylene.
The carrying handles may be secured to the surface of the enveloping film by an adhesive.
The handle film may be provided with an adhesive at its attachment portions, preferably a contact adhesive which does not require heat activation. In one embodiment the face of the handle film adapted to be placed in contact with the enveloping film of the package is provided with an adhesive at both the attachment portion and the grip portion, with the adhesive present at the grip portion being rendered totally or partially non-adhesive, for example by being coated with a non-adhesive layer or covering and/or being deactivated using an adhesive kill, for example a varnish coating. Such a configuration facilitates the adaptation and use of standard, mass produced self adhesive films for the carrying handles.
The handle film may be provided on a carrier film adapted to facilitate its manipulation and/or application to the packaging. For example, where the handle film carries an adhesive adapted to participate in securing the carrying handle to the packaging, the handle film may be provided with a release film covering the adhesive which is adapted to be removed to permit adhesion of the handle film to the package; this may be a release paper, for example a silicone coated backing paper.
The use of incision(s) to define an attachment portion and a grip portion of the carrying handle facilitates manufacture of the carrying handles from standard, mass produced films in a single, simple supplementary manufacturing operation. Alternatively or additionally, the use of incisions facilitates embodiments in which the grip portion is defined in a central portion of the handle film surrounded or substantially surrounded by the attachment portion of the carrying handle; such a configuration provides a large surface area for the attachment portion which facilitates secure attachment to the enveloping film of the package and assists in providing an even distribution of forces to the enveloping film when the package is lifted or handled using the grip portion.
The incision(s) may be stamped or die cut in the handle film. Rip stops may be provided as a prolongation of the incisions, for example a curved or arced prolongation.
The carrying handle may have:
-
- a length greater than about 150 mm, 180 mm, 200 mm or 220 mm; and/or
- a length less than about 350 mm, 320 mm, 300 mm or 280 mm; and/or
- a width greater than about 50 mm, 75 mm or 100 mm; and/or
- a width less than about 160 mm or 140 mm.
One preferred size for the carrying handle is a length of about 250 mm and a width of about 120 mm; such a size provides a good combination of available surface area for the attachment portion and the grip portion of the carrying handle whilst being easily manipulated during automatic application to a package and without requiring excessive amounts of material. The carrying handle may be substantially rectangular.
The carrying film may have a thickness greater than 80 μm or 100 μm and/or less than 200 μm or 170 μm
Where the grip portion is provided as a elongate portion in the form of a strip, it may have a width greater than 25 mm and/less than 50 mm; it may have a length greater than 90 mm and/or less than 150 mm.
In particularly advantageous embodiments of the invention an enveloping film of low thickness (for example 35 to 70 μm) is used, with the configuration of the carrying handle being arranged to provide adequate resistance (to allow the package to be carried and handled using the grip portion without ripping of the carrying handle) and suitable force distribution to the enveloping film (to avoid ripping of the enveloping film when the carrying handle is used).
Preferably, the carrying handle lies flat against the surface of the packaging; this helps to avoid the risk of snagging, for example when the package is handled by mechanical handling equipment. Particularly where the packaged insulation material is resiliently deformable, for example if the package is a package of mineral wool insulation, the user may insert his or her hand or fingers between the grip portion and the enveloping film by pushing against and slighting deforming the insulation material so as to grip the grip portion.
The handle film may be transparent; this provides that advantage of allowing the carrying handle to be positioned over the enveloping film without obscuring any markings or information printed on the enveloping film. This facilitates the manufacturing process as the enveloping film need not be designed specially to receive a carrying handle (so that the same enveloping film can be used for packages provided or not provided with carrying handles) and it avoids the necessity of aligning the position of the carrying handle with a specific position around the periphery of the package.
The handle film may be configured to allow it to be applied to the package using part of the mechanism of a label printer and/or label applicator. Label printers and/or label applicators are commonly used in the packaging process for insulation materials and a method in which a label printer and/or label applicator is used to apply the carrying handle to the package has the advantage of allowing standard equipment, often pre-existing equipment at a manufacturing line, to be used to apply a carrying handle. The handle film, and any carrier film when present, may pass through the print head of a label printer/applicator in the process of applying the carrying handle to the package. It is advantageous if the thickness of the handle film (including any carrier film) is less than 300 μm, preferably less than 250 μm or 220 μm, to facilitate such a possibility.
The carrying handle may carry printed information adapted to be visible to a purchaser or user of the package; such information may be printed on to the carrying handle as part of the process of applying the carrying handle to the package (for example where the carrying handle passes through the print head of a label printer) and/or may be provided on the handle film in a separate step. Particularly where the handle film is transparent, a printed indication may be used to facilitate identification of the grip portion.
Particularly when the carrying handle is adapted to be applied to the package using a label applicator, the handle film and/or any carrier film may include a visual marking indicating the position of the leading and/or training edge of a carrying handle. For example, where carrying handles are provided on a roll, a marking, for example in the form or a machine readable line running across part or all of the width of the roll may be used to provide an indication of the position of the carrying handle. Particularly when the handle film is transparent, such a visual marking may be provided on any carrier film.
Preferably, a package in accordance with the invention is provided with a single carrying handle. Such an arrangement provides the desired functionality whist minimising additional packaging materials and costs. Nevertheless, in some embodiments, a plurality of carrying handles may be provided as part of each package, such multiple carrying handles be spaced axially along the length of the package and/or circumferentially around the perimeter of the package.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the package comprises two axially aligned rolls of mineral wool insulation encased by a circumferential enveloping film which is provided with a circumferential perforation, weakness or rip cord at an axial position corresponding to abutting ends of the axially aligned rolls. Individual carrying handle attached to the external circumference of the package on the enveloping film, each at a position corresponding to a central position along the length of each respective mineral wool roll, facilitae handling both of the entire package and of each individual roll when separated from the package.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:
In the arrangement shown in
In the
The embodiment of a carrying handle 43 shown in
In this embodiment the handle film 41 is transparent and is provided with a visual indication 49 in the form of a printed message readable by the user.
The handle film 41 is provided with an adhesive layer over the entire surface intended to be secured to the enveloping film of the package, the adhesive at the position of the grip portion 45 being “killed” by a varnish coating applied to this portion. The total thickness (handle film+adhesive+varnish+ink) is about 170 μm. The carrying handles are provided on a carrier film provided by a glassine backing paper liner (not shown) having a thickness of about 60 μm. The total thickness of the carrying handles and the carrier film is thus less than 250 μm.
The carrying handles may be provided in the form of a continuous roll 50 as illustrated schematically in
In the embodiment of a carrying handle 63 shown in
The
Claims
1. A package of insulation material comprising:
- thermal and/or acoustic insulation material at least partially surrounded by an enveloping film and
- a carrying handle configured to facilitate manual handling of the package, wherein
- the carrying handle comprises a handle film having at least one incision which separates (i) an attachment portion of the handle film which is secured to a portion of the surface of the enveloping film from (ii) an integral grip portion of the handle film which is configured to allow fingers of a user to be inserted between the grip portion and the enveloping film to grip the package.
2. The package of insulation material according to claim 1, wherein the at least one incision comprises a rip stop at its ends.
3. The package of insulation material according to claim 1, wherein the attachment portion of the handle film forms the periphery of the handle film and the grip portion is positioned entirely within this periphery.
4. The package of insulation material according to claim 3, wherein the grip portion comprises an elongate portion of the interior area of the handle film separated from the peripheral attachment portion of the handle film by a pair of spaced incisions in the handle film.
5. The package of insulation material according to claim 1, wherein the width of the carrying handle is in the range of 10 cm to 14 cm and the length of the carrying handle is in the range of 16 cm to 30 cm.
6. The package of insulation material according to claim 1, wherein the package has a length in the range of 0.5 m to 1.3 m and a weight in the range of 5 kg to 10 kg.
7. The package of insulation material according to claim 1, wherein the insulation material is selected from glass wool and rock wool.
8. The package of insulation material according to claim 1, wherein the carrying handle extends only partially around the perimeter of the package.
9. The package of insulation material according to claim 1, wherein the package comprises: first and second axially aligned rolls of mineral wool insulation encased by a circumferential enveloping film, the circumferential enveloping film being provided with a circumferential weakness at an axial position corresponding to abutting ends of the axially aligned rolls;
- a first carrying handle attached to the external circumference of the package on the enveloping film at a first side of the circumferential weakness and at a position corresponding to a central position along the length of the first mineral wool roll; and a second carrying handle attached to the external circumference of the package on the enveloping film at a second side of the circumferential weakness and at a position corresponding to a central position along the length of the second mineral wool roll.
10. The package of insulation material according to claim 1, wherein the carrying handle is spaced around the perimeter of the package from an overlap portion of the enveloping film by at least 120°.
11. A method of securing a carrying handle to a package of insulation material comprising thermal and/or acoustic insulation material, comprising the steps of: wherein the carrying handle is provided on a continuous roll of carrying handles and is fed through at least part of a label printer/label attachment mechanism as part of the process of securing the carrying handle to the package.
- at least partially surrounding the insulation material with an enveloping film; and
- securing a carrying handle configured to facilitate manual handling of the package to a portion of the enveloping film,
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the roll of carrying handles is provided with a visual marker adapted to identify the position of individual label handles on the roll of carrying handles.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the roll of carrying handles comprises a carrier film comprising a release film supporting the carrying handles.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the combined thickness of the release film and the label handles is in the range of 120 μm to 300 μm.
15. A method of securing a carrying handle to a package of insulation material comprising thermal and/or acoustic insulation material, comprising the steps of: wherein the carrying handle is provided on a continuous roll of carrying handles and is fed through at least part of a label printer/label attachment mechanism as part of the process of securing the carrying handle to the package, and wherein the package is a package according to claim 1.
- at least partially surrounding the insulation material with an enveloping film; and
- securing a carrying handle configured to facilitate manual handling of the package to a portion of the enveloping film,
16. A method of securing a carrying handle to a package of insulation material comprising thermal and/or acoustic insulation material, comprising the steps of: wherein the carrying handle is provided on a continuous roll of carrying handles and is fed through at least part of a label printer/label attachment mechanism as part of the process of securing the carrying handle to the package, and wherein the package is a package according to claim 3.
- at least partially surrounding the insulation material with an enveloping film; and
- securing a carrying handle configured to facilitate manual handling of the package to a portion of the enveloping film,
17. A method of securing a carrying handle to a package of insulation material comprising thermal and/or acoustic insulation material, comprising the steps of: wherein the carrying handle is provided on a continuous roll of carrying handles and is fed through at least part of a label printer/label attachment mechanism as part of the process of securing the carrying handle to the package, and wherein the package is a package according to claim 4.
- at least partially surrounding the insulation material with an enveloping film; and
- securing a carrying handle configured to facilitate manual handling of the package to a portion of the enveloping film,
18. A method of securing a carrying handle to a package of insulation material comprising thermal and/or acoustic insulation material, comprising the steps of: wherein the carrying handle is provided on a continuous roll of carrying handles and is fed through at least part of a label printer/label attachment mechanism as part of the process of securing the carrying handle to the package, and wherein the package is a package according to claim 6.
- at least partially surrounding the insulation material with an enveloping film; and
- securing a carrying handle configured to facilitate manual handling of the package to a portion of the enveloping film,
19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the package has a length in the range of 0.5 m to 0.8 m.
20. A method of securing a carrying handle to a package of insulation material comprising thermal and/or acoustic insulation material, comprising the steps of: wherein the carrying handle is provided on a continuous roll of carrying handles and is fed through at least part of a label printer/label attachment mechanism as part of the process of securing the carrying handle to the package, and wherein the package is a package according to claim 7.
- at least partially surrounding the insulation material with an enveloping film; and
- securing a carrying handle configured to facilitate manual handling of the package to a portion of the enveloping film,
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 28, 2011
Publication Date: Jun 27, 2019
Applicant: KNAUF INSULATION SPRL (Vise)
Inventor: Cyrille Lerat (Mont-Saint-Guibert)
Application Number: 13/990,253