Method for producing multipacks of containers by adhesively bonding the containers to one another

Abstract

A method for producing multipacks of containers includes placing adhesive spots on surfaces of the containers. At least two kinds of adhesives are used, both of which plastic melt adhesives that melt as a result of exposure to heat and that develop cohesion after cooling. After placing the adhesive spots, the containers are connected to each other using the adhesive spots so as to form a multipack.

Claims

1. A method for packaging containers, said method comprising producing multipacks of containers, wherein producing multipacks comprises selecting first and second adhesives that are plastic melt adhesives that melt as a result of exposure to heat and that develop cohesion after cooling, placing adhesive spots on surfaces of containers, wherein said adhesive spots comprise at least said first and second adhesives, and connecting said containers to each other using said adhesive spots, thereby forming said multipack, wherein a first container is at a periphery of said multipack and a second container is at an interior of said multipack, wherein placing adhesive spots on surfaces of containers comprises placing adhesive spots to cause said first container to bond to an adjacent container with a first adhesive strength, and causing said second container to bond to a neighboring container with a second adhesive strength, wherein said first adhesive strength is less than said second adhesive strength.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said first and second adhesives have different physical properties.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said first and second adhesives have different chemical properties.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said adhesive spots have different thicknesses.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said adhesive spots have different compositions.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said adhesive spots have different spatial extents.

7. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein each adhesive spot comprises said first and second adhesives.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said first and second adhesives define different zones of an adhesive spot selected from said adhesive spots.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said different zones adjoin one another.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said different zones form an archipelago of zones.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein said different zones form a preselected configuration.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said adhesive spots comprise a first subset and a second subset, wherein adhesive spots of said first subset are made only with said first adhesive and adhesive spots of said second subset are made only with said second adhesive.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein placing adhesive spots on surfaces of containers comprises placing die spots of adhesive in different vertical positions on a container.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein placing adhesive spots on surfaces of containers comprises placing die spots of adhesive in different circumferential positions on a container.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein placing adhesive spots on surfaces of containers comprises placing die spots of adhesive in different radial positions on a container.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein placing adhesive spots on surfaces of containers comprises placing die spots of adhesive in different axial positions on a container.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the said first and second adhesives have different adhesive strengths.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the said first and second adhesives have undergone differing preliminary treatments.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein said multipack is a filmless multipack.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein placing adhesive spots on surfaces of containers comprises placing said adhesive spots in a manner such that the adhesive strength between containers varies as a function of location of said containers within said multipack.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein placing adhesive spots on surfaces of containers comprises placing die spots of adhesive in different horizontal positions on a container.

22. A method for packaging containers, said method comprising producing multipacks of containers, wherein producing multipacks comprises selecting first and second adhesives that are plastic melt adhesives that melt as a result of exposure to heat and that develop cohesion after cooling, placing adhesive spots on surfaces of containers, wherein said adhesive spots comprise at least said first and second adhesives, and connecting said containers to each other using said adhesive spots, thereby forming said multipack, wherein said containers are arranged according to rows and columns in said multipack, wherein placing adhesive spots on surfaces of containers comprising placing said adhesive spots in a manner that causes an adhesive strength that connects rows to each other to be different from an adhesive strength that connects columns to each another.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from inspection of the following detailed description and the accompanying figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a multipack of containers produced in accordance with the method according to the invention,

(3) FIG. 2 shows the multipack according to FIG. 1, with a container detached and a close-up view of a multi-zonal adhesive spot, and

(4) FIGS. 3A and 3B show two principle methods for the application of the spot of applied bonding or adhesive agent during the realization of an alternative multipack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) FIGS. 1 and 2 show a multipack 1 having containers 2 joined to each other by adhesive spots 3. The resulting multipack 1 avoids the use of shrink wrap or film.

(6) The particular multipack 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a six-piece multipack because it has six containers 2. However, other numbers of containers 2 can be formed into a multipack 1.

(7) In some multipacks 1, the individual containers 2 are PET bottles. However, other types of containers can be used.

(8) The adhesive spots 3 are spots of bonding or adhesive agents that connect the individual containers 2 to one another. As used herein, adhesive refers to any bonding or adhesive agent. An adhesive spot 3 is made of one or more of these bonding or adhesive agents.

(9) For the customer's convenience, a multipack 1 has an optional carrying handle or carrying loop 4 having first and second ends that connect to opposed first and second containers 2 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In some embodiments, the carrying loop 4 is adhesively bonded to the containers 2.

(10) Each container 2 also has an alignment feature 5. These alignment features 5 are used by a container-processing machine as a basis for rotating individual containers 2 about their container axes so as to bring the adhesive spot 3 into the desired position.

(11) In FIG. 2, one container 2 has been removed from the multipack 1 to reveal the locations of the adhesive spots 3. It can be seen that adhesive spots are placed so that every container has one or more adhesive spots 3 that face its adjacent containers. The adhesive spots 3 can be found on the belly, on the head, or near the base of a container 2. It is of particular importance that each point of contact between two containers 2 in a multipack 1 have an adhesive spot thereon, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

(12) FIGS. 1 and 2 show a paired arrangement in which a container 2 has a pair of adhesive spots 3 at its head or, respectively, at its belly and near its base. In some cases, an adjacent container 2 does not have any adhesive spot 3 at all. In other cases, the two adhesive spots are on different containers 2. For example one container 2 has the adhesive spot 3 on the head side and an adjacent container 2 has an adhesive spot 3 on its base.

(13) In some embodiments, it is useful for the adhesive spot 3 to made from least two adhesives. The enlarged portion of FIG. 2 shows an adhesive spot 3 formed by first and second adhesives that define first and second zones 3, 3 of the adhesive spot 3. The different adhesives have different physical or chemical properties.

(14) In the embodiment show, the first and second zones 3, 3 of the adhesive spot 3 are spaced apart to form an archipelago of zones 3, 3 arranged in a preselected configuration. However, in other embodiments, the zones 3 3 are contiguous, and thus do not form adhesive islands within the spot 3.

(15) In the illustrated embodiment, the zones 3, 3 are arranged like the spots in a standard five-spot die from a pair of dice used in a typical casino for such games as craps. The arrangement features a centered first zone 3 and four second zones 3 that define vertices of a square centered about the first zone 3.

(16) In the configuration shown, the first zone 3 is made of a first adhesive having a high adhesive strength. In contrast, the second zones 3 are made of a second adhesive having an adhesive strength that is lower than that of the first adhesive. This arrangement enables a container 2 to be easily detached from the multipack 1, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

(17) In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, the adhesive spots 3 and any zones 3, 3 thereof are arranged in horizontal planes that are coplanar. In this situation there is the further possibility of applying the individual adhesive spots 3, 3, 3 inside the multipack 1 in different positions on the container 2, as indicated in FIGS. 3A and 3B. These can be placed in the same horizontal plane, in different vertical positions, or in different positions in relation to a longitudinal axis of the container 2.

(18) Each container 2 has a container axis that defines a cylindrical coordinate system for that container 2. Adhesive spots 3 can be applied anywhere on the surface of that container 2 at any axial coordinate and at any circumferential coordinate defined by the cylindrical coordinate system.

(19) FIGS. 3A and 3B show containers 2 arranged in rows and columns in a multipack 1. Although only four containers are shown, it will be understood that a multipack is in effect a container lattice for which the arrangement shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B forms a primitive cell that is tiled to form the lattice. Thus, the description of FIGS. 3A and 3B is applicable to any subset of four containers in a larger multipack 1.

(20) The multipack 1 consists of a first container, a second container, a third container, and a fourth container arranged to form vertices of a square. The first and second containers define a top row, the third and fourth containers define a bottom row, the first and third container define a left column, and the second and fourth containers define a right column. A first set of adhesive spots 3 joins the left and right columns of containers 2 and a second set of adhesive spots 3 joins the top and bottom rows of containers 2.

(21) A convenient way to refer to the different circumferential coordinates of the adhesive spots 3, 3 in FIGS. 3A and 3B is by reference to different positions on a clock face.

(22) In FIG. 3A, each container in the left column has an adhesive spot 3 at the three o'clock position, whereas each container in the right column has an adhesive spot 3 at the nine o'clock position. These spots 3 hold the two columns together.

(23) Additional spots 3 hold the top row to the bottom row. In particular, the second container, which is in the top row and right column, has an adhesive spot 3 at the five o'clock position while the fourth container, which is in the bottom row and the right column, has an adhesive spot 3 at the one o'clock position. Meanwhile, the first container, which is in the top row and left column, has an adhesive spot 3 at the seven o'clock position and the third container, which is in the bottom row and left column, has an adhesive spot 3 in the eleven o'clock position.

(24) An alternative way to describe the circumferential coordinates of the adhesive spots 3, 3 is by identifying an inter-spot angle formed by a first line that extends from the first adhesive spot 3 to the container axis, and a second line that extends from the second spot 3 to the container axis. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A, these inter-spot angles are all obtuse angles. In contrast, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3B, the second adhesive spots 3 have been interchanged so that the resulting inter-spot angle becomes acute.

(25) In some embodiments, the adhesive strength that connects columns to each other can differ from that connecting rows to each other. This affects the manner in which one would separate containers from the multipack 1. For instance, if the adhesive strength connecting columns to each other is the greater of the two, it will be easier to separate one row at a time from the multipack 1. Conversely, if the adhesive strength connecting rows to each other is the greater of the two, it will be easier to separate one column at a time from the multipack 1.

(26) This difference between adhesive strengths is suggested in FIGS. 3A and 3B by showing adhesive spots 3, 3 that have different thicknesses, with the second adhesive spots 3 being noticeably thicker than the first adhesive spots 3. Having first and second sets of adhesive spots 3, 3 with different adhesive strengths can be executed in different ways, for example by using different adhesive materials or different configurations of adhesive materials within a spot, or by pre-treatment of the adhesive material.