Package of Enwrapped Articles

This invention relates generally to packaging and more particularly to a package wherein rolls of paper, such as rolls of toilet tissue or paper towel rolls, or enwrapped in flexible sheet wrapping material such as heat-sealable plastic film.

Toilet tissue and household paper towel are typically packaged in quantities of anywhere from two to twenty-four or more rolls. Packaging a quantity of rolls usually involves the use of premade bag, stuffing the bag with the rolls, and sealing the open end of the bag. In many instances where the package is large and relatively heavy, the premade bag has a handle for convenient carrying. There are drawbacks, however, to using premade bags. For example, premade bags generally have side seals on two sides, so that only two sides remain uninterrupted for full-side printing and advertisement. Moreover, the process involved in making, stuffing and then sealing a premade bag is relatively expensive.

Reference may be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,260,064 4,566,252, 4,535,587, 4,517,787, 4,050,216 and 3,027,263 for packaging generally in the field of this invention.

Among the several objects of this invention may be noted the provision of an improved package of the type referred to above which is formed from a single web of flexible sheet material formed into tube around articles to be enwrapped and sealed; the provision of such a package having only one side seal whereby three sides of the package are uninterrupted by seals for full-side printing thereon; the provision of such a package which may be formed with a handle for convenient carrying; the provision of such a package which is neat in appearance; the provision of such a package which is reinforced against tearing; the provision of such a package wherein such reinforcement is by means of one or more reinforcing strips for economical manufacture; and the provision of such a package which is conducive to an automatic wrapping process for economical manufacture.

Generally, a package of this invention comprises a wrapper formed from a single web of flexible sheet material formed into a tube having overlapping edge margins sealed together to form a single longitudinal seam for the tube lying substantially in the plane of one wall of the package, and a pair of end seals at opposite ends of the package, at least one end seal comprising end portions of two opposite walls of the tube sealed together in face-to-face relation in a plane extending longitudinally of the tube and generally at right angles to the plane of the overlapping edge margins forming said longitudinal seam.

Other objects and features will become in part apparent and will be in part pointed out hereinafter.

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a package of this invention for paper rolls and the like, portions of the package being broken away to illustrate its contents;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the package, with a portion of one side wall broken away;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of a second embodiment of the package incorporating a single reinforcing strip, portions of the front wall of the package being broken away to show the strip;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing a different package construction using two reinforcing strips; and

FIG. 7 is a horizintal section on line 7--7 of FIG. 6 showing the reinforcing strips.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, and first more particularly to FIG. 1-3, there is generally indicated at 1 a package of enwrapped articles such as rolls R of paper (e.g., rolls of toilet tissue or paper towel). As illustrated, the package 1 contains 12 rolls, four horizontal rows of three rolls each, but it will be understood that this number and the depicted arrangement may vary without departing from the scope of this invention.

In accordance with this invention, the package 1 comprises a wrapper generally designated 3 formed from a single web of flexible sheet material, such as heat-sealable plastic film (e.g., polyethylene film), formed into a tube around the rolls R, the wrapper being of generally rectangular cross section and thus having front, back and side walls designated 5, 7, 9 and 11, respectively. The tubular wrapper has overlapping edge margins 13a, 13b at one side of the package sealed (e.g., heat-sealed) together to form a single longitudinal seam 15 for the tube lying substantially in the plane of side wall 11 of the package.

The package 1 has a pair of end seals, one being an end seal 17 at the bottom of the package and the other being an end seal 19 at the top of the package. Each end seal is a fin seal comprising end portions of the front and back walls 5, 7 of the tubular wrapper sealed together in face-to-face relation in a plane exending generally longitudinally of the tube (vertically as shown in FIG. 1) and generally at right angles to the plane of the overlapping edge margins 13a, 13b of the tube forming longitudinal seam 15. The top end seal 19 extends endwise (upwardly as viewed in the drawings) from the package a distance sufficient to provide a handle with a hand hole 21 in it for convenient carrying of the package. The bottom end seal 17 extends downwardly from the package, but only a relatively short distance (which should be sufficient to provide a strong seal).

It will be observed that the wrapper 3, being formed from a single tube of wrapping material sealed in the manner described, has three uninterrupted walls available for full-panel printing, namely, the front and back walls 5, 7 and one side wall 9. Moreover, the handle is no wider than the width of the package, providing for a neat appearance. Also, the fact that the wrapper 3 is formed from a single web of wrapping material is more conducive to an automatic wrapping process for economical manufacture of packages 1.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is shown a package similar to the package 1 described above, the same reference numerals being used to describe corresponding parts of the package. The only difference in construction is the provision of a single reinforcing strip 25 which extends the length of the package on the inside of either the front wall 5 or back wall 7 (as illustrated, the strip is on the inside of the front wall) from one end seal 7 to the other 9. The strip has a width substantially less than the width of the wall 5 or 7 and is disposed generally centrally of the wall (i.e., generally midway between the side walls 9, 11 of the package). Opposite end portions of the reinforcing strip are sealed (e.g., heat-sealed) in with the end seals of the wrapper, the upper end of the strip having an opening therein in register with the hand hole 21. It will be understood that the strip 25 serves not only to reinforce the handle but also to carry part of the package weight. The strip is preferably of a tranparent material so that it does not interfere with the aesthetics of the package.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a package identical to the one described in FIGS. 4 and 5 (and thus the same reference numerals are used to identify corresponding parts), except that two reinforcing strips 25a, 25b are provided, one of which extends on the inside of the front wall 5 and the other of which extends on the inside of the back wall 7 to provide additional reinforcement to the package.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.