Packing unit, shipping unit and a method of manufacturing a packing unit

Abstract

A packing unit having a group of packages filled with a liquid product which have a bottom wall and two opposite side walls. The packages in their upright position have an upwardly tapering shape, and are so arranged that each package has a side wall facing a bottom of the packing unit. The packages are stacked one over another in a plurality of layers with a plurality of packages in each layer, have an alternative orientation in a first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction of the packages of an individual layer having a uniform orientation in the first or the second direction, and have a plastic film cover made of a web of plastic film material which has been joined together along four or fewer elongate sealing portions for forming the plastic film cover. A shipping unit and a method of manufacturing are also provided.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a packing unit comprising a group of packages filled with a liquid product which are of the collapsible type and comprise a bottom wall and two opposite side walls, which packages in their upright position have an upwardly tapering shape.[0002]The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing the packing unit and a shipping unit comprising packing units of the kind stated by way of introduction.BACKGROUND ART[0003]In the food industry it is common for packages that hold liquid foodstuffs to be packed in boxes for further distribution or storage.[0004]Traditional packages used in the food industry are made of rigid packing materials such as paperboard. Packages of this kind can be manufactured with a shape such that they are stackable, for example, and capable of carrying a load. This means that they can be easily packed in larger units by arranging them side-by-side and on top of each other, for example on a pallet or in...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]According to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a packing unit comprising a group of packages filled with a liquid product which are of the collapsible type and comprise a bottom wall and two opposite side walls, which packages in their upright position have an upwardly tapering shape, characterised in that the packages are so arranged that each package has a side wall facing a bottom of the packing unit, the packages are stacked one over another in a plurality of layers with a plurality of packages in each layer, said packages having an alternating orientation in a first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction and the packages of an individual layer having a uniform orientation in the first or the second direction, and a plastic film cover which at least partly surrounds the group of packages for providing dimensional stability to the packing unit, the plastic film cover being made of a web of a plastic film material which has been joined together along four or fewer elongate sealing portions for forming said plastic film cover.

[0046]According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing packing units, comprising the steps of arranging a group of packages filled with a liquid product which are of the collapsible type and comprise a bottom wall and two opposite side walls, which packages in their upright position have an upwardly tapering shape, stacked one over another in a plurality of layers with a plurality of packages in each layer such that the packages have an alternating orientation in a first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction, the packages of an individual layer having a uniform orientation in the first or the second direction and the packages being arranged such that each package has a side wall facing a bottom of the packing unit, at least partly surrounding the packages with a plastic film cover and providing the plastic film cover with four or fewer seals in order to provide dimensionally stability to packing unit, the plastic film cover being made of a web of plastic film material which is joined together along four or fewer elongate sealing portions for forming said plastic film cover.

Problems solved by technology

Such packages are made of a flexible plastic film material, which means that the packages do not have the same rigid quality as the package type discussed above.

It is a problem that collapsible packages cannot be stacked one over another, for example prior to transport.

When transporting such boxes vibrations and forces acting on the packages during transport can cause wear to the packages.

In some cases such wear, especially in combination with the formation of folds in the packaging material, can cause leakage of the package contents.

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