ENVIROTRAY INSERT FOR PROTECTING AN OBJECT WITHIN AN OUTER CONTAINER

Abstract

Provided herein is a recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert for holding consumer goods in place within the packaging. In an embodiment, the recyclable packaging insert holds consumer goods which are cosmetics. A GFP Envirotray is designed to protect objects within an outer container (box) from impact or abrasion. Packaging is made from paper or fiber board, corrugated or solid paper board.

Claims

1. A recyclable packaging and biodegradable insert for holding consumer goods in place within packaging.

2. The recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert of claim 1 wherein said consumer goods are cosmetics or other similar products.

3. The recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert of claim 1 wherein said insert is comprised of solid paper board or corrugated paper board.

4. The recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert of claim 1 wherein said insert is a horizontally layered construction designed to secure said consumer goods efficiently and ergonomically.

5. A recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert for retaining a consumer good in place within outer packaging comprising a tray with a topside and a bottomside, said topside comprising at least one aperture for retaining said consumer good therein, and said bottomside comprising an exterior vertically extending member and an interior vertically extending member, said exterior vertically extending member and said interior vertically extending members combining to form a multilayer reinforcement structure on said bottomside.

6. The recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert of claim 5 wherein said tray is horizontally oriented with said exterior vertically extending member and said interior vertically extending member each projecting substantially perpendicularly from said bottomside of said tray.

7. The recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert of claim 5, and said topside is a substantially planar surface and said at least one aperture is recessed in from said planar surface in a mated shape to secure a selected consumer good.

8. The recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert of claim 7 wherein said mated shape of said at least one aperture has a depth which is a length just greater than half of a selected dimension of said selected consumer good which is placed in said at least one aperture.

9. The recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert of claim 5 wherein said exterior vertically extending member forms a structural support along a perimeter of said packaging insert.

10. The recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert of claim 9 wherein said packaging insert is a rectangle and two exterior vertically extending members are located on opposing sides of said rectangle

11. The recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert of claim 5 wherein said interior vertically extending member forms a sidewall of said at least one aperture.

12. The recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert of claim 5 wherein said exterior vertically extending member is affixed to said bottomside of said packaging insert by horizontal flanges extending from said exterior vertically extending member.

13. The recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert of claim 12 wherein said interior vertically extending member is affixed to said horizontal flanges by second horizontal flanges extending from said interior vertically extending member and creating a layered structure on said bottom side of said insert.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] FIG. 1 shows an overview perspective of a packaging insert of the present invention.

[0013] FIG. 2 shows an exploded overview perspective of the packaging insert of the present invention, including consumer goods and a container into which the insert is utilized.

[0014] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the packaging insert of the present invention.

[0015] FIG. 4 shows another perspective view of the packaging insert of the present invention.

[0016] FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing showing how consumer goods are placed in the packaging insert of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The packaging insert of the present invention provides an easy to assemble, sturdy paper-based packaging insert for use in the cosmetic industry. The packaging insert is advantageous over the prior art because it is biodegradable and considerably faster and more economical from concept to supply than plastic.

[0018] As used herein, the term paperboard broadly refers to a thick paper-based material; i.e., paper with an increased structural element. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker (usually over 0.30 mm, 0.012 in) than paper, and has certain superior attributes such as foldability and rigidity. In a non-limiting definition, paperboard is a paper with a grammage above 250 g/m.sup.2. Paperboard can be single- or multi-ply.

[0019] Paperboard can be easily cut and formed, is lightweight, and because it is strong, is used in packaging. Paperboard is sometimes referred to as cardboard, which is a generic, lay term used to refer to any heavy paper pulp-based board, however this usage is deprecated in the paper, printing and packaging industries as it does not adequately describe each product type. Paperboard can be corrugated (i.e., having a series of parallel ridges and furrows), or non-corrugated. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the paperboard is corrugated.

[0020] As used herein, “recyclable” refers to an ability and likelihood of a material to reacquire to be re-used, and thus acquire the properties it had in its original state. It is an alternative to “conventional” waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling can prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, thereby reducing: energy usage, air pollution (from incineration), and water pollution (from landfilling). Paper based products are more easily and more likely than plastic to be recyclable, and thus beneficial in use from this perspective.

[0021] As used herein, “biodegradable” refers to a plant based composition which is compostable and capable of disintegrating into natural elements in a compost environment, leaving no toxicity in soil or water.

[0022] A GFP Envirotray is designed to protect objects within an outer container (box) from impact or abrasion. Packaging is made from paper board or fiber board, which can be corrugated or solid paper board. A horizontal portion (face) of folded board is cut with apertures to match the cross sectional plane of the object (product) to be retained just above its equator to facilitate good retention. The retention is accomplished by a slight deformation of the cut aperture which returns to its normal state upon the retained object passing through it just beyond its equator.

[0023] With reference now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of a recyclable and biodegradable packaging insert 10 of the present invention. A topside 12 is shown with an opposed bottomside 14 facing the opposite direction of topside 12. Topside 12 includes apertures 16 designed to retain consumer goods (not shown in FIG. 1) therein. Tray 10 is horizontally oriented with exterior and interior vertically extending members projecting in perpendicular orientation with respect to tray 10 from bottomside 14 as more clearly seen in FIG. 3. Apertures 16 are recessed in from topside 12 in a shape mated to a preselected consumer good so that said consumer good is sized to fit snugly in aperture 16.

[0024] With reference now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, packaging insert tray 10 is shown in exploded with view with box 20 into which it is inserted. Packaging insert 10 may be rectangular in shape as shown in FIG. 2 and fit snugly within a rectangular box 20.

[0025] With reference now to FIG. 3 of the drawings, an exterior vertically extending members 32 and 34 are shown on either side of the rectangular shaped insert 10. An interior vertically extending member 36 is also shown protruding from bottomside 14 of packaging insert 10. Exterior vertically extending members 32 and 34 are comprised of parallel sidewalls 38 and 40 (for exterior vertically extending member 32), and 42 and 44 (for exterior vertically extending member 34), each of which are connected by bottom panels 46 and 48 perpendicularly oriented with respect to the sidewalls. An exterior vertically extending member, or sidewall 38 can also serve as a structural support along a perimeter of rectangular tray 10. It is also seen that exterior vertically extending members 32 and 34, and sidewalls 38 and 44 form opposing sides of rectangular tray 10.

[0026] Interior vertically extending member 36 also includes parallel sidewalls 54 and 56, which form sidewalls of aperture, such as an interiorly situated aperture 16 shown in FIG. 1. Horizontal flange 58 extends from parallel sidewall 54 and serves to attach it to tray bottomside 14 of tray 10.

[0027] Sidewalls 38 and 40 can be attached to bottomside 14 of packaging insert 10 by reinforcement structure, or horizontal flange 50. Similarly, sidewalls 42 and 44 are attached to bottomside 14 by reinforcement structure, or flange 52. Reinforcement structures, or flanges 50, 52, and 58 also form a multilayer reinforcement structure on bottomside 14.

[0028] With reference now to FIG. 5 of the drawings, it can be seen how a consumer good 62, in this case cylindrically-shaped, is snugly fit into a mated aperture 64. Aperture 64 has a depth 66 which is a length of just greater than a pre-selected dimension of consumer good 62, such consumer good 62 can be snugly fit in aperture 64. A halfway-point of a pre-selected dimension of consumer good 62, in this case a cross-sectional diameter of a cylindrical object is shown at equator 68 of consumer good 62. Taking a cross-section of consumer good 62, equator 68 is a radius of the cross-section of the cylinder. Depth 66 is therefore sized according to fit consumer good 62 so that equator 68 is firmly situated in aperture 64. As can be seen, the depth 66 of aperture 64 is just longer than the radius of consumer good 62.

[0029] With further reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, a vertical portion of the folded board (also known as packaging insert tray) 10 is cut to match the cross sectional plane perpendicular to the equator of the retained object in order to precisely control the position of the object within the aperture and maximize the contact area between holder and object to minimize possible damage to object. This vertical member is located inward from the end of the object by means of multiple consecutive folds, or horizontal flanges, in the board which eventually terminates by being glued or otherwise attached to the underside, or bottomside, of the face containing the apertures. There are a minimum of two vertical members (interior and exterior) originating from opposing sides of the face portion of the board and folding downward to start the sequence of folds. Vertical member 42 terminates at the first fold of vertical member 54, and vertical member 54 terminates by being glued or attached by other means to the underside of vertical member 42, this reinforces the face portion of tray 10 by producing a multilayer reinforcement.

[0030] Retention lock specific to crimped or heat sealed tubes (such as toothpaste or creme). Tubes are difficult to retain on the crimped or heat sealed end due to their structural weakness and variation in dimension. This lock accommodates the sealed end of the tube by providing a slot for the edge to slip into and engages the tube at its seal (crimp) in the lateral direction and beyond the seal in the longitudinal direction.

[0031] Vertical flaps 70 folded upwards from substrate to engage the top of outer container in order to prevent contact between retained objects and outer container.

[0032] Assembly locks designed to retain the shape of the packaging to facilitate inserting product into the package and inserting completed assembly into outer package. The locking is accomplished by means of flap 70 being tucked into cavity 72 and preventing the folded section from returning to its flat state.

[0033] Retention tabs designed to enhance the holding strength of the interference fit of the aperture by providing additional pressure and coverage.

Examples

[0034] The present invention is further exemplified, but not limited, by the following representative examples, which are intended to illustrate the invention and are not to be construed as being limitations thereto.

[0035] A packaging insert of the present invention is made by designing, die cutting and subsequently folding and gluing as needed to obtain desired characteristics.

[0036] Thus while there have been described what are presently believed to be preferred embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art will realize that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as fall within the true scope of the invention.