Abstract
A stock of a protective packaging material comprises foamed polysaccharide material. It is suggested that the stock comprises a plurality of essentially and generally flat panels each having at least a straight side edge, wherein adjacent panels are connected to each other at their common straight side edges by means of a hinge portion and are folded relative to each other such that they form a stack of essentially parallel panels.
Claims
1. A stock of a protective packaging material comprising foamed polysaccharide material, comprising a plurality of essentially and generally flat panels each having at least a straight side edge, wherein adjacent panels are connected to each other at their common straight side edges by means of a hinge portion and are folded relative to each other such that they form a stack of essentially parallel panels.
2. The stock of claim 1 wherein the flat panels are quadrangular.
3. The stock of claim 1 wherein the panels comprise a plurality of corrugations.
4. The stock of claim 3 wherein the plurality of corrugations is parallel to a side edge of the panel.
5. The stock of claim 3 wherein the plurality of corrugations is not parallel to any of the side edges of the panel.
6. The stock of claim 1 wherein at least one hinge portion comprises a depression, preferably by a cut, which at least regionally has a depth (D1) which is smaller than the thickness (D2) of the panels.
7. The stock of claim 6 wherein it comprises at least a first panel connected to a second panel by means of a first hinge portion comprising a first depression and a third panel connected to the second panel by means of a second hinge portion comprising a second depression, the first depression being oriented in an opposite direction than the second depression.
8. The stock of claim 1, wherein the panels are formed by a layered structure comprising a first layer comprising a 3D foamed polysaccharide material and a second 2D layer to which the first layer is attached.
9. The stock of claim 8, wherein the first layer of a panel comprises a plurality of discrete 3D foamed polysaccharide material patches in a side by side arrangement and/or in a stacked arrangement.
10. The stock of claim 8, wherein the layered structure comprises a third 2D layer, the first layer being arranged between the second and the third layers.
11. The stock of claim 8, wherein at least one of the second and the third layers comprises a paper or cardboard material.
12. The stock of claim 8, wherein the hinge portion is formed by at least one of the second and third layer.
13. The stock of claim 1 wherein it comprises at least a first panel connected to a second panel by means of a first hinge portion and a third panel connected to the second panel by means of a second hinge portion, wherein the first and the second hinge portions are arranged at adjacent side edges of the second panel.
14. A method for manufacturing a protective packaging product, comprising the following steps: providing a first stock of a first protective packaging material according to claim 1; providing a second stock of a second protective packaging material according to claim 1; unfolding the first protective packaging material to a first continuous layer and the second protective packaging material to a second continuous layer; laminarily attaching the second layer to the first layer.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the first layer and the second layer are arranged relative to each other such that the hinge portions between the panels of the first layer are not at the same position as the hinge portions between the panels of the second layer.
16. A protective packaging product manufactured by the method of claim 1 wherein the first layer comprises first corrugations with a first longitudinal axis and the second layer comprises second corrugations with a second longitudinal axis, the first longitudinal axis and the second longitudinal axis being not parallel to each other.
17. A protective packaging product manufactured from a protective packaging material provided by the stock of claim 1.
18. The protective packaging product of claim 17, wherein it comprises a shaped recess in adjacent panels forming a cavity adapted to receive an article to be protected when the adjacent panels are folded upon each other.
Description
[0028] FIG. 1 a schematic sectional side view of a stock of protective packaging material comprising a stack of zigzag folded protective packaging material comprising a foamed polysaccharide material;
[0029] FIG. 2 a schematic perspective view of a portion of the protective packaging material of FIG. 1 when partially unfolded;
[0030] FIG. 3 a schematic perspective view similar to FIG. 2 of a portion of a further embodiment of a protective packaging material when partially unfolded;
[0031] FIG. 4 a cross sectional view along line IV-IV of FIG. 3;
[0032] FIG. 5 a schematic view from above onto a panel type protective packaging product comprising a foamed polysaccharide material;
[0033] FIG. 6 a schematic cross-section through a portion of the protective packaging material of FIG. 1 showing hinge portions between adjacent panels;
[0034] FIG. 7 a schematic cross-section of a further embodiment of panels of a protective packaging material having a first 3D core layer and a second and a third 2D cover layer;
[0035] FIG. 8 a cushioning pad using 3 panels of the protective packaging material of FIG. 1;
[0036] FIG. 9 a schematic perspective view of a portion of a further embodiment of a protective packaging material which may be provided by a stock as shown in FIG. 1;
[0037] FIG. 10 a schematic perspective view of a box type protective packaging product in an intermediate fold state formed by the protective packaging material of FIG. 9;
[0038] FIG. 11 a 3D volume cushioning system formed by a plurality of panels using the protective packaging material of FIG. 3;
[0039] FIG. 12 a portion of the protective packaging material used for forming the 3D volume cushioning system of FIG. 11 in partially unfolded condition;
[0040] FIG. 13 two stacks of zigzag folded protective packaging material when used for providing a two-layer protective packaging product as shown in FIG. 5;
[0041] FIG. 14 a schematic perspective view of a portion of a further embodiment of a protective packaging material which may be provided by a stock as shown in FIG. 1;
[0042] FIG. 15 a schematic cross-section of a further embodiment of a panel of a protective packaging material having a first 3D core layer and a second and a third 2D cover layer;
[0043] FIG. 16 a schematic cross-section of a further embodiment of a panel of a protective packaging material having a first 3D core layer and a second and a third 2D cover layer; and
[0044] FIG. 17 a schematic cross-section of a further embodiment of a panel of a protective packaging material having a first 3D core layer and a second and a third 2D cover layer.
[0045] In the following detailed description functionally equivalent elements and regions are designated with the same reference numerals. For the sake of clarity not in all figures all possible reference numerals are shown. Moreover, reference numerals with or without indices a, b, c, . . . sometimes are used interchangeably. The indices a, b, c, . . . are mainly used where it appears to be helpful to distinguish between specific elements or portions.
[0046] In FIGS. 1 and 2, a stock of protective packaging material is generally designated with reference numeral 10. It comprises a stack 12 of protective packaging material 14. The protective packaging material 14 comprises foamed polysaccharide material, for example a starch foam, and therefore is biodegradable and recyclable. Other polysaccharide materials are cellulose, lignin, pullulanes, alginates, chitin, chitosanes, natural rubbers, rosinic acid, dextrin or proteins such as gluten, zein, casein, collagen, gelatin, phospholipids, caseins and their derivatives such as for example esters or ethers. Additives can be added, such as biodegradable polymers as PVA (polyvinyl Alcohol), Fatty Acid, polyhydroxyalcanoates (PHA), and/or polyactic acid (PLA).
[0047] The stack 12 is formed by a plurality of essentially and generally flat panels 16 each having an essentially quadrangular, namely rectangular shape with four straight side edges 18a-d. Adjacent panels 16a/16b and 16b/16c are connected to each other at their common straight side edges 18b and 18d, respectively, by means of respective hinge portions 20a and 20b, and are folded relative to each other such that they form the stack 12 as shown in FIG. 1.
[0048] In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the panels 16 have an essentially smooth surface. In contrast hereto, in the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, the panels 16 comprise a plurality of corrugations 22 providing a wave shape structure to the panels 16. The corrugations 22 can be formed when the protective packaging material is manufactured by extrusion through an extrusion nozzle. In the present exemplary embodiment, a longitudinal axis 24 of the corrugations 22 is essentially parallel to the side edges 18a and 18c of each panel 16.
[0049] In another exemplary embodiment which is shown in FIG. 5, a panel type protective packaging product 26 is shown which is formed using a web type protective packaging material 14 from a stack 12 as shown in FIG. 1. The panel 16 comprises two layers 14a and 14b of the web type protective packaging material 14 superposed to each other, as will be explained in further detail further below. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the upper layer 14a of protective packaging material 14 comprises a plurality of first corrugations 22a (solid lines) with a first longitudinal axes 24a, and the lower layer 14b of protective packaging material 14 comprises a plurality of second corrugations 22b (dashed lines) with a second longitudinal axis 24b. As can easily be seen from FIG. 5, the first longitudinal axis 24a and the second longitudinal axes 24b are not parallel to each other and are not parallel to the side edges 18a and 18c of the panel 16.
[0050] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary embodiment of the hinge portions 20 connecting the panels 16a-c of the web type protective packaging material 14. The hinge portions 20a-b may be formed by a depression 28a-b, preferably by a cut, which may be provided by ultrasonic cutting. The extension D1 of the depressions 28a-b is more than approximately half of the thickness D2 of the protective packaging material 14, in the present exemplary embodiment even more than approximately of the thickness D2.
[0051] As can be seen from FIG. 6, a first panel 16a is connected to a second panel 16b by means of a first hinge portion 20a formed by a first depression 28a. A third panel 16c is connected to the second panel 16b by means of a second hinge portion 20b formed by a second depression 28b. The first depression 28a is oriented in an opposite direction (downwardly) than the second depression 28b (upwardly).
[0052] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 7 the panels 16 of the protective packaging material 14 are formed by a sandwich material comprising a first layer 30 comprising a 3D foamed polysaccharide material, a second 2D layer 32 and a third 2D layer 34, which are attached by means of an adhesive to the first layer 30. The adhesive may be provided by means of a polysaccharide coating or by means of a polyethylene coating or by means of a biodegradable film such as PBAT. A polysaccharide coating may comprise or essentially be made of starch or microcrystalline cellulose fibers. The second and/or third layers 32 and 34 preferably are paper weldable, for example by ultrasonic welding. Furthermore, the second and/or third layers 32 and 34 may comprise a printed surface optic, such as a logo, use information, a QR code providing information about the manufacturer of the protective packaging material, of the shipping company, and/or of the manufacturer of the object which is protected by the protective packaging material 14 One of the second and third 2D layers 32 and 34 or second and third 2D layers 32 and 34 may comprise a paper or cardboard material. With the first layer 30 providing a core 30 and comprising a foamed polysaccharide material, more preferably starch, the adhesive may be starch, too, which may be obtained by simply applying moisture to the core 30.
[0053] FIG. 8 shows an application example of three panels 16 of the inventive protective packaging material 14. It may be noted that the protective packaging material 14 may be of the type as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in FIGS. 3 and 4, in FIG. 5 or in FIG. 7. The three panels 16 are folded upon each other in a zigzag manner such that, seen from the side, as in FIG. 8, the panels 16 form approximately a Z. The three panels 16 are received within a closed pouch 36, for example a paper bag. The poach 36 with the three panels 16 inside forms a protective packaging product 26 in the form of a cushioning pad. Since the three panels 16 are still connected to each other by means of the hinge portions 20, they cannot move inside the pouch 36, which allows the cushioning properties of the protective packaging product 26 to be reliably provided in a variety of conditions. It is to be noted that, of course, in other examples the protective packaging product 26 may comprise more are less than three panels 16.
[0054] In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 9, the protective packaging material 14 comprises a first panel 16a connected to a second panel 16b by means of a first hinge portion 20a. A third panel 16c is connected to the second panel 16b by means of a second hinge portion 20b. In contrast to the embodiments of FIGS. 1-3, in the embodiment of FIG. 9 the first hinge portion 20a and the second hinge portion 20b are arranged at adjacent side edges 18c and 18d of the second panel 16b. This may result in a box type protective packaging product 26 having a plurality of unitarily connected panels 16a-e, as is shown in FIG. 10.
[0055] In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 11 and 12, a protective packaging product 26 is manufactured from a protective packaging material 14 according to FIG. 3 provided by a stock 10 as shown in FIG. 1. The protective packaging product comprises a shaped recess 38 in adjacent panels 16a-e forming a cavity adapted to receive an article 40 to be protected when the adjacent panels 16a-e are folded upon each other.
[0056] A method for manufacturing the protective packaging product 26 of FIG. 5 is now explained with reference to FIG. 13. Two stocks 10a and 10b with stacks 12a and 12b of zigzag folded protective packaging material 14a and 14b are provided. The protective packaging materials 14a and 14b are then unfolded in order to form a first continuous layer 42a and a second continuous layer 42b. By means of a spray nozzle, which is symbolized by arrow 44, water is sprayed onto the lower surface of the upper continuous layer 42a and the upper surface of the lower continuous layer 42b. Then the layers 42a and 42b are laminarily attached to each other forming the protective packaging product 26 of FIG. 5. As can be seen from FIG. 13, the first layer 42a and the second layer 42b are arranged relative to each other such that the hinge portions 20a between the panels 16a of the first layer 42a are not at the same position as the hinge portions 20b between the panels 16b of the second layer 42b.
[0057] FIG. 14 shows a further embodiment of two adjacent panels 16a and 16b which are connected to each other by means of a hinge portion 20. While both panels 16a and 16b have the same width, the lengths are different from each other. Both panels 16a and 16b are formed by layered structures 45, each comprising a first 3D layer 30a and 30b, respectively, comprising a 3D foamed polysaccharide material having corrugations 22. The first 3D layers 30a and 30b are provided by a plurality of discrete 3D foamed polysaccharide material patches 46a-e, which are arranged in a side by side arrangement relative to each other and which are spaced from each other. Both panels 16a and 16b further comprise a same and unitary second layer 32 to which the first layers 30a-b with their patches 46a-e are attached. As can be seen from FIG. 14, the hinge portion 20 is solely formed in the second layer 32.
[0058] FIG. 15 shows a further embodiment of a panel 16 which is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 7. As can be seen from FIG. 15, the hinge portions 20 are solely formed in the second and third layers 32 and 34.
[0059] FIG. 16 shows a further embodiment of a panel 16 which is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 7. As can be seen from FIG. 16, the hinge portions 20 are formed by the first, second and third layers 30-34. To this effect, the first layer 30 normally comprising the corrugations 22 is compressed at the location of the hinge portions 20 such that it is essentially flat without any congregation at the location of the hinge portions 20.
[0060] FIG. 17 shows a further embodiment of a panel 16 which is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 7. As can be seen from FIG. 17, the first layer 30 comprises a plurality of foamed polysaccharide material patches 46a-c. While the patches 46b and 46c are in a stack arrangement relative to the patch 46a, they are in a side-by-side arrangement relative to each other.
