Portable packaging device and method for forming individually packaged articles

• US 20020170275A1
• Filed: 12/07/2001
• Published: 11/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Original Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Inventors: Berrizbeitia, Jose Mauricio, Sinigaglia, Stefano Michele, Cassoni, Robert Paul, Salman, Nabil Enrique, Ibarra, Pablo, Bouthilet, Andrew Lloyd
• Granted Patent: US 7,395,646 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 53/459
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 67/1277 for dispensing flexible tubular material gathered up in the shape of a ring
• CPC Class Codes: B65F 1/062 having means for storing or dispensing spare bags
• CPC Class Codes: B65F 2240/132 Diapers

Abstract

An article packaging device for packaging articles within a tubular sheet. The article to be packaged is inserted into and enclosed within a length of tubular sheet, and separated from the remaining length of tubular sheet and the device to form the closed individually packaged article. The packaging device is designed to be portable, convenient, lightweight and easily maintained. A thermoplastic, vapor-impermeable tubular sheet having adhesive on one surface can provide an airtight seal that is especially effective when the device is used to package waste-containing disposable adsorbent articles, such as soiled diapers, for disposal. An apparatus for forming the tubular sheet into a layered pack of pleats having an adhesive material positioned on at least one surface.

Claims

1. An article packaging device comprising:

an inlet end,

an outlet end,

a body formed by an inner core having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, and a passageway therebetween,

a casing comprising a casing wall around the body, the casing joined to the body with a storage space between them,

a tubular sheet within the storage space, the tubular sheet dispensable through a dispensing opening between the body and the casing and into the inlet opening of the inner core, and

a means for gathering the tubular sheet and separating the packaged article from a trailing portion of the tubular sheet and the device.

2. The article packaging device according to claim 1, wherein the separating means comprises a cutting means for cutting through the trailing portion of the tubular sheet to form a packaged article.

3. The article packaging device according to claims 1, wherein the tubular sheet includes an adhesive.

4. The article packaging device according to claim 1, wherein the separating means comprises at least one separable region of the tubular sheet, whereby the tubular sheet can be separated at the separable region more easily than elsewhere on the tubular sheet.

5. The article packaging device according to claim 1, wherein the tubular sheet includes a leading portion, a trailing portion and an inner surface, the inner surface comprising an adhesive material, whereby the leading portion and the trailing portion can be closed about at least one article located therebetween with the adhesive material, thereby forming a packaged article.

6. The article packaging device according to claim 1, wherein the tubular sheet comprises a three-dimensional film having an inner surface that comprises a plurality of recessed pressure sensitive adhesive sites and a plurality of collapsible protrusions that serve as stand-offs to prevent premature sticking of the adhesive sites to a target surface until a force sufficient to collapse the protrusions has been applied to the opposed surface of the film.

7. The article package device according to claim 6, wherein the article to be packaged is a waste-filled disposable absorbent article.

8. The article packaging device according to claim 1, wherein the inlet opening is circular or oval.

9. The article packaging device according to claim 1, wherein the passageway is curved.

13. The article packaging device of claim 1, wherein the tubular sheet is in a layered stack.

14. The article packaging device according to claim 1, wherein the tubular sheet comprises a three-dimensional film having an inner surface that comprises a plurality of recessed pressure sensitive adhesive sites and a plurality of collapsible protrusions that serve as stand-offs to prevent premature sticking of the adhesive sites to a target surface until a force sufficient to collapse the protrusions has been applied to the opposed surface of the film.

16. The article packaging device of claim 1, wherein the tubular sheet is in a layered stack.

10. A method for manually forming a packaged article, comprising the steps of:

providing a packaging device including an inlet end, an outlet end, a passageway and a tubular sheet having a leading portion;

dispensing the leading portion into the passageway,

gathering and closing the leading portion to form a receiving pouch within the passageway,

inserting an article to be packaged into the receiving pouch through the inlet end, then in any sequence,

gathering the trailing portion behind the article, thereby forming an individually packaged article,

closing the gathered trailing portion, and

separating the packaged article from the tubular sheet at the closed gathered trailing portion.

11. An article packaging device comprising:

an inlet end,

an outlet end,

a body formed by an inner core having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, and a passageway therebetween,

a casing comprising a casing wall around the body, the casing joined to the body with a storage space between them, and

a tubular sheet with two surfaces within the storage space, comprising an adhesive disposed on at least one surface, the tubular sheet dispensable through a dispensing opening between the body and the casing and into the inlet opening of the inner core.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the packaged article can remain closed at an ambient temperature of 35°

C. with an internal differential pressure of about +20 mm Hg or more.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the packaged article can remain closed at an ambient temperature of 3520 C. with an internal differential pressure of about +20 mm Hg or more.

18. The article packaging device according to claim 15, wherein the tubular sheet comprises a three-dimensional film having an inner surface that comprises a plurality of recessed pressure sensitive adhesive sites and a plurality of collapsible protrusions that serve as stand-offs to prevent premature sticking of the adhesive sites to a target surface until a force sufficient to collapse the protrusions has been applied to the opposed surface of the film.

20. The apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising an indexing means whereby the distance between the pickup position and the deposit position is maintained substantially constant.

15. An article packaging device comprising:

an inlet end,

an outlet end,

a body formed by an inner core having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, and

a passageway therebetween,

a casing comprising a casing wall around the body, the casing joined to the body with a storage space between them, and

a tubular sheet with two surfaces within the storage space, comprising an adhesive disposed on at least one surface, the tubular sheet dispensable through a dispensing opening between the body and the casing and into the inlet opening of the inner core, and

the device having a compact dimension of a height along a vertical axis less than 20 centimeters and a width along a horizontal axis of less than 17 centimeters.

19. An apparatus for forming a pleated layered pack of a tubular sheet with an outer surface, and adhesive on a tubular sheet inner surface, the apparatus comprising:

a central mandrel having a mandrel base end, and a central mandrel axis,

a plunger capable of movement along the central mandrel axis between a forward position and a base position, the plunger having a tubular sheet receiving end, a plunger forward end, a plunger base end, the forward end having an outer ring having a diameter, the outer ring conformed to engage the outer surface of the tubular sheet when the plunger moves from a forward position toward a base position, whereby the tubular sheet is engaged by the outer ring and pulled toward the base position and formed into a pleat,

a reciprocating means having a connector affixed to the plunger, for reciprocating the plunger along the axis of the central mandrel between the forward position and the base position, and

a pleat retaining means to restrain movement of a pleat, whereby the outer ring does not engage the tubular sheet when the plunger moves from the back position to the forward position.