METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PACKAGING A PRODUCT

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and packing system for producing a package for a product to protect the product, during transportation or storage. The method includes digitizing the product so as to form a virtual key form and determining geometric data. The virtual key form is laminated according geometric data in order to form stratoconception layers. Then, the sheet material is cut into packaging layers corresponding the stratoconception layers, and the packaging layers are stacked to form a package for the more stable protection of the product. The packing system includes the product, package and shipping container.

Claims

1. A method for packaging a product, said method comprising: digitizing a product so as to form a virtual key form; determining geometric data of said virtual key form, said geometric data being comprised of three dimensional contours corresponding to a surface of the product, said surface being defined by a complete surface area of the product; laminating said virtual key form based on geometric data into stratoconception layers, each stratoconception layer having a respective three dimensional contour corresponding to a portion of said surface of the product aligned with the respective stratoconception layer; cutting sheet material corresponding to each stratoconception layer so as to form a respective sheet material layer; and stacking each sheet material layer so as to form a package.

2. The method for packaging, according to claim 2, further comprising the step of: numbering each stratoconception layer so as to form a numbered layer in a sequence for each stratoconception layer, wherein the step of stacking further comprises the step of: supplying each sheet material layer according to a corresponding numbered layer so as to form each numbered sheet material layer; assembling each numbered sheet material layer according to said sequence.

3. A packing assembly for transportation, comprising: a package formed according to the method of claim 1; a product having a surface, said surface being defined by a complete surface area of the product, wherein said product is enclosed within each sheet material layers, and wherein a number of sheet material layers corresponds to a number of stratoconception layers; and a shipping container, said package with said product within each sheet material layer being housed in said shipping container.

4. The packing assembly, according to claim 3, each sheet material layer being comprised of recyclable material.

5. The packing assembly, according to claim 3, further comprising: a positioning means between adjacent sheet material layers.

6. The packing assembly, according to claim 3, further comprising: a plurality of recesses in at least one sheet material layer so as to receive accessories within each recess.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first digitized product, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first digitized product and virtual key form, according to FIG. 1.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the stratoconception layers of embodiments of the present invention for the first digitized product of FIG. 1.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the stratoconception layers being stacked in order, according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0024] FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the sheet material layers, according to FIG. 1, stacked from the bottom in FIG. 5 and stacked from the top in FIG. 6.

[0025] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of second digitized product, according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the second digitized product and virtual key form, according to FIG. 7.

[0027] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the stratoconception layers of embodiments of the present invention for the second digitized product of FIG. 7.

[0028] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of sheet material layers, according to FIG. 7.

[0029] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a shipping container, according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a packing system, according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a prior art conventional package.

[0032] FIGS. 14A, B, C, and D are schematic views of the prior art layers (FIGS. 14A and 14B) and the stratoconception layers (FIGS. 14C and 14D) of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] The present invention is a method for producing a package for the protection and/or transportation of a product. The steps for forming the package are integrated into a method with digitization of the product, which includes a step of laminating a virtual key form of the product from the digital definition of the product. The step of laminating defines dimensions of each layer of actual sheet material to be cut for the package. Then, the cutting is carried out for sheet material layers followed by the stacking of the sheet material layers to form a real package.

[0034] The package according to the invention can be formed at the same time as the product itself, such as being formed from the initial computer aided design (CAD) file. Alternatively, the package can be formed after digitization of the physically produced product, such as retro-design by scanning the product.

[0035] This method uses the digital definition of the product (such as a digital scan obtained by digitization or by digital profile created in CAD) to digitally produce, using automatic software, the laminated stratoconception of the package. This package is then produced from sheets of selected material and using an appropriate cutting means.

[0036] FIGS. 1-6 show an embodiment of a first virtual model 1 of the product to be packaged. The first virtual model 1 is digitized as a result of a scan of an actual product or the CAD file of a product to be created. The virtual key form 2 is formed based on the digitized product, so that geometric data of the virtual key form 2 can be determined. In particular, the three dimensional contours corresponding to the surface of the product are determined for the virtual key form 2. The complete surface area of the product from all orientations corresponds to the surface of the virtual key form 2 for a perfect enveloping fit of the virtual key form 2 to the product.

[0037] The method includes laminating the virtual key form 2 into stratoconception layers 3. The geometric data defines stratoconception layers based on length, width, thickness (height), contour, rotation, hollow portions, manufacturing process, additional placements 4, and arrangement of those additional placements. The additional placements 4 may fit accessories, preservation products, such as dehumidifying agents, detection elements, and identifications to be packaged with the product.

[0038] Stratoconception layers 3 are layers with an inherent length, width, and thickness as any layer. However, the stratoconception layers 3 are not purely based on geometric data, as in the prior art. Just as stratoconception in the product manufacture relied on geometric data and structural stress and the manufacturing process, stratoconception for package manufacture relies on more than geometric data. It is necessary to determine a stratoconception layer 3 with the additional determinations for safe and more stable protection of the product.

[0039] FIGS. 14A and 14B show schematic views of the layers of the prior art. The use of geometric data alone results in the problem shown in FIG. 14B. When the product has an axis of rotation, the reliance on geometric data is not sufficient to address the protection of the product. A product, such as a ball point pen or a high end thermometer, would not be stabilized. The layers have an arbitrary thickness, which may or may not address the complete surface area and the relevance of the complete surface area.

[0040] FIGS. 14C and 14D show schematic views of the stratoconception layers 3 of the present invention. The stratoconception layers 3 also have length, width, and thickness individually. However, each length, width, and thickness is determined by geometric data in addition to contour, rotation, hollow portions, manufacturing process, and additional placements 4. The orientation of the product in FIG. 14C is possible with the method of the present invention, and the orientation of the product matches the orientation in FIG. 14A of the prior art. However, the stratoconception layers 3 are different because the stratoconception layers 3 account for the geometric data and preventing rotation. FIG. 14B shows a further example of stratoconception layers 3 with consideration of the hollow portions. The preferred orientation of the product may be the orientation of FIG. 14D, such as a sensitive thermometer requiring fluid in a hollow interior to remain in a reservoir on one side of the thermometer. The stratoconception layers 3 account for this different orientation and the stable maintenance of this orientation. Although the prior art of FIG. 14B can reach the same orientation, there is no stabilization or support of the orientation, such that the product would freely rotate, upsetting the fluid in the thermometer.

[0041] Additionally, the manufacturing process may further determine the stratoconception layers 3. FIGS. 14C and 14D show the standardization of the layer thickness for easier machining of a uniform sheet material. The geometric data itself cannot lead to these stratoconception layers 3. The limitations of the manufacturing process are common considerations, but the additional modification is the consideration of limitations of the manufacturing process in view of the stratoconception, i.e. geometric data in addition to contour, rotation, hollow portions, manufacturing process, and additional placements 4.

[0042] Embodiments of the method of the present invention further include the step of cutting sheet material into sheet material layers 5. The sheet material layer 5 corresponds to a stratoconception layer 3. The sheet material layer 5 is the physical manifestation of the digital stratoconception layer 3. The material selected for the sheet material includes cardboard or other recyclable material, for example a natural-fiber-based material. It is of course possible to use a non-recyclable material in a sheet form, such as sheet polystyrene. Furthermore, the step of cutting the sheet material can be concurrent with the manufacture of the product. Since the stratoconception layers 3 are digital based on the virtual key form 2, the sheet material layers 5 can be formed before, during, or after the actual product is formed.

[0043] The next step is stacking the sheet material layers 5 to form a package 6. FIGS. 3-6 show the package 6 formed by stacking the sheet material layers 5i in FIGS. 4-5 and individual sheet material layers 5.sub.1, 5.sub.2, 5.sub.3, 5.sub.4, 5.sub.5, and 5.sub.6 in FIG. 3. The product 8 in FIG. 4 can be placed in the package 6, which can be further placed inside a packing system, such as a shipping container or box (reference numeral 7 in FIG. 11 as an example). The product 8 is shown as a mechanical casing 8.

[0044] FIGS. 1-6 present a first embodiment of the method and system of the present amendment with the product having a mechanical casing 8. FIG. 3 represents six different shapes of sheet material layers 5 as cardboard layers. After stacking and snap fitting to each other at stamping 9, the package 6 can be assembled. The sheet material layers 5 can also be positioned relative to each other by holes of the stamping 9 into which positioning and fixing inserts can be inserted. In this case, the sheet material layers 5 can be self-supporting. The sheet material layers 5 can also be held by the outer packing, which is then used to position and to hold the stack of sheet material layers 5.

[0045] FIGS. 3-4 further show that certain sheet material layers 5.sub.1 may be solid, while other sheet material layers 5.sub.2 may have different dimensions, including a main cut to accommodate the mechanical casing 8 of a product. Other sheet material layers 5.sub.3, 5.sub.4 may include drill holes for the positioning of spindles, while other sheet material layers 5.sub.5, and 5.sub.6 are shown with additional placements 4 for holding accessories.

[0046] In some embodiments, the method includes numbering each stratoconception layer 3 so that each stratoconception layer 3 is a numbered layer in a sequence. The step of stacking will further include supplying each sheet material layer according to a corresponding numbered layer, so each sheet material layer becomes a numbered sheet material layer. Then the numbered sheet material layers are assembled into the package 6 according to the sequence. The sequence can be displayed on a screen or printed on paper for instructions to assemble the package 6. The sequence includes the relative order according to which the numbered sheet material layers must be stacked so that the product can be positioned in the package 6.

[0047] As the figures show, the outer contours of the sheet material layers 5i are not necessarily straight or polygonal. The package 6 advantageously replaces a package of the prior art (see FIG. 13) produced from injection-molded polystyrene, which requires costly toolage and makes the package difficult to recycle.

[0048] FIGS. 7-12 show the method for a different product, a computer screen. The product 10 is shown in FIG. 7 as computer screen, and the virtual key form 12 based on digitizing the product 10 or based on a CAD file of the product 10, is shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 9 shows the stratoconception layers 13. The sheet material layers 15i of FIG. 10 are stacked into the package 16. The package 16 is shown with a cavity in which the product 10 can be housed and immobilized. Since the outer shape of the sheet material layers 15i is rectangular, the final package 16 is parallelepipedal and can be housed with the product 10 in a shipping container or box 17. The package 16 and box 17 can be determined at the same time as the virtual key form 12 and the stratoconception layers 13 by lamination. The box 17 can be selected from existing stored standard models.

[0049] The following comparative table reveals the main benefits of the method and of the product according to the invention.

TABLE-US-00001 Conventional package Criteria (Example in FIG. 13 Inventive package Production Product packaged in series Product custom-packaged capacity production to order Recycling Difficult because of the 100% recycled polystyrene, 40% recycled Client type Retail industry Manufacturers of parts with high added value Reactivity Low (high costs and lead High (no toolage design) times) Flexibility Lacks flexibility because of Very great flexibility, No the production time, costs, toolage design, Flexibility and studies (toolage, of the digital line design office, etc.)

[0050] The benefits of the stratoconception layers also include: [0051] taking into account the dimensions of existing containers and boxes for the packing system; [0052] compatibility with existing products without CAD files; [0053] identifying the stratoconception layers to facilitate assembly; [0054] considering limitations of manufacturing processes, such as rapid micromilling, 5-axes laser, water jet, and hot wire cutting, dimensions of the sheet material layers being selected to offer the benefit of being very close to the exact shape of the product; [0055] selecting the material composition of the sheet material layers to encompass the product as precisely as possible; and [0056] direct and automatic production of the package for the product simply from the digital definition of the product.

[0057] Embodiments of the present invention include the packing assembly of FIG. 12 for transportation. The package 16 is formed according to the method, and the product 12 is enclosed within each sheet material layers of the package 16. The number of sheet material layers corresponds to a number of stratoconception layers. The shipping container 17 houses the package 16 with the product 10 within each sheet material layer. The sheet material layers can be recyclable. There can also be a positioning means between adjacent sheet material layers, such as the stamping 9 as snaps or spacers. There can also be a plurality of additional placements 4 or recesses in at least one sheet material layer so as to receive accessories within each recess.

[0058] The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof. Various changes in the details of the illustrated construction can be made without departing from the true spirit of the invention.