US20110132976A1 - Protective wrappers for consumer products and methods of making - Google Patents

Abstract

A protective wrapper is provided that includes a film having a first sealed end, a longitudinal seal, and a second sealed end with a first height, as well as an opening mechanism. The opening mechanism includes a pair of protrusions extending outward from the first sealed end by a first height, a line of weakness extending inward from a starting point where the pair of protrusions meet, and a pair of indentations extending inward from the second sealed end. The first height of the pair of protrusions is equal to or less than the second height of the second sealed end.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• 1. Field of the Invention
• The present disclosure is related to protective wrappers for consumer products such as, but not limited to feminine care products. More particularly, the present disclosure is related to protective wrappers having easy to open structures and methods of making such wrappers.
• 2. Description of Related Art
• Feminine care products such as, but not limited to tampons, are typically made commercially available with protective wrappers. Wrappers provide protection of the consumer product (e.g., tampon) from being soiled prior to use. In the example of tampons, the wrapper is opened, the tampon is removed from the wrapper and inserted into the body. If the tampon has an applicator, the applicator will contact fluids from the user's body during insertion. The user must undesirably handle the used applicator prior to disposal after insertion. The wrapper and applicator are generally discarded separately.
• Tampon wrappers made of polypropylene that are currently available to consumers produce noise or sound upon a user tearing the wrapper to access the tampon. The noise may be heard by others, and, thus, does not allow the user to be discreet while using a tampon. However, materials other than polypropylene can be undesirably difficult to open.
• Some prior art wrappers have a perforated line to assist the user to open the wrapper. Many prior art wrappers merely print an indicator on the wrapper to indicate where this perforated line is to the user. Other prior art wrappers include a die cuts at the sealed end leading into the perforated line. Unfortunately, these die cut ends result in “chads” needing to be removed from the wrapper and generates excess waste and excess process steps.
• Accordingly, there is a need for protective wrappers for consumer products and methods of making that overcome, alleviate, and/or mitigate one or more of the aforementioned and other deleterious effects of prior art protective wrappers.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• The present disclosure provides a protective wrapper having an opening mechanism with one end cut to include one or more protrusions on a first end leading into a line of weakness and corresponding indentations on an opposite end that are hidden from view within the end seal.
• A protective wrapper for a consumer product, such as a tampon, is provided that includes a film having a first sealed end, a longitudinal seal, and a second sealed end with a first height, as well as an opening mechanism. The opening mechanism includes a pair of protrusions extending outward from the first sealed end by a first height, a line of weakness extending inward from a starting point where the pair of protrusions meet, and a pair of indentations extending inward from the second sealed end. The first height of the pair of protrusions is equal to or less than the second height of the second sealed end.
• A protective wrapper is also provided that includes a film having a first sealed end, a longitudinal seal, and a second sealed end. The wrapper further includes a pair of protrusions extending outward from the first sealed end, a line of weakness extending inward from a starting point where the pair of protrusions meet, and a pair of indentations extending inward from the second sealed end. The pair of indentations are hidden within the second sealed end so that the second sealed end has a continuous outer peripheral edge within which the pair of indentations are defined.
• A method of making a protective wrapper for a consumer product, such as a tampon, is provided. The method includes: cutting a sheet of film along a cut line to simultaneously form a pair of protrusions in a first sheet and a corresponding pair of indentations in a second sheet; repeating the cutting step so that at least the second sheet comprises the pair of protrusions and the corresponding pair of indentations; rolling the second sheet and forming a longitudinal seal to form a tube-like shape; inserting the consumer product in the a tube-like shape; and forming a second end seal at the indentations so that the corresponding pair of indentations are hidden within the second end seal.
• The above-described and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, drawings, and appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is a first side view of an exemplary embodiment of a protective wrapper for a consumer product according to the present disclosure in a sealed state;
• FIG. 2 is a second, opposite side view of the protective wrapper ofFIG. 1;
• FIG. 3 is a side view of the protective wrapper ofFIG. 2 in an opened state;
• FIG. 4 is side view of the protective wrapper ofFIG. 2 in a re-sealed state; and
• FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a method according to the present disclosure of making the protective wrapper ofFIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
• Referring to the figures and, in particular, toFIGS. 1 and 2, a first exemplary embodiment of a protective wrapper according to the present disclosure is shown and is generally represented byreference numeral10. Advantageously,protective wrapper10 includes anopening mechanism12 that allows an easy to grasp and easy to view mechanism for opening the wrapper. For ease of discussion,protective wrapper10 is discussed herein by way of example in use with a tampon. Of course, it is contemplated by the present disclosure forprotective wrapper10 to find use with any consumer product.
• Protective wrapper10 is made from one or more sheets of film material that are configured to protect the consumer product and, in the example where the consumer product is a tampon, to produce a minimal noise or sound upon a user tearing the wrapper to access the tampon. It is contemplated by the present disclosure forwrapper10 to be formed of polyethylene, polypropylene, or any material sufficient to protect the product inside and, when necessary provide for discrete opening by minimizing noise upon opening.
• Wrapper10 is made of one or more sheets of film material having at least alongitudinal seal14, afirst end seal16, and asecond end seal18 providing the body of the wrapper between the end seals with a generally tube-like shape20.Seals14,16, and18 can be formed in any desired manner such as, but not limited to, adhesive seals, heat seals, knurled seals, and combinations thereof.
• Advantageously,opening mechanism12 includes twograsping protrusions22, a line ofweakness24, and two hidden indentations26 (shown inFIG. 1), which correspond in size and shape to the grasping protrusions for reasons that will be explained in detail herein below.
• Protrusions22 can have any desired shape, such as, for example, a polygonal shape, a semi-circular shape, or combinations thereof. Importantly,protrusions22 extend afirst height28 abovefirst end seal16 that is equal to or less than asecond height30 ofsecond end seal16. In this manner,protrusions22 can be hidden from the view of the user withinsecond end seal16. Thus, the user clearly sees the end ofwrapper10 that hasprotrusions22 as being the end from which the wrapper should be opened. In other words, since the user can not seeindentations26 withinsecond end seal18, the user is not confused whether wrapper should be opened fromfirst end seal16 orsecond end seal18.
• In some embodiments,protrusions22 identifies the end of thewrapper10, when used with atampon34, that upon opening thewrapper10 exposes aplunger end32 of the tampon therein, allowing the user to avoid contact with thebarrel end36 before use.
• In some embodiments,first height28 may be in a range between about 3.6 millimeters (mm) to about 4.4 mm, and, preferably, between about 3.8 millimeters to about 4.2 millimeters, with about 4.0 millimeters being most preferred, or any subranges therebetween.
• Line ofweakness24 can be defined withinwrapper10 by any desired method. For example, line ofweakness24 can be, for example, a plurality ofperforations40 defined withinwrapper10. Sincewrapper10 has generally tube-like shape20, the wrapper, when sealed atend seals16,18, includes two walls, namely a front wall42 (FIG. 1) and a rear wall44 (FIG. 2). It is contemplated by the present disclosure for line ofweakness24 to be defined in one or bothwalls42,44.
• Line ofweakness24 begins at astarting point46 whereprotrusions22 meet and extends throughfirst end seal16 longitudinally along tube-like shape20 apredefined length48 to anend point50.Length48 can, in some embodiments, be in a range of between about 78 millimeters to about 85 millimeters, and, preferably, is about 81 millimeters.
• Length48 is, in some embodiments, less than theoverall length52 ofwrapper10. In this manner,protrusions22 provide a lead-in to line ofweakness24 so that the user can easily tearopen wrapper10 along the line of weakness withend point50 of the line of weakness acting as a natural stopping mechanism, which makes it more difficult to tear the wrapper past the end due to the natural tear resistance of the polyethylene material.
• As shown inFIG. 3, the user may tear wrapper10 along line ofweakness24 fromstarting point46 toend point50 to split the wrapper into afirst portion54 and asecond portion56 to open the wrapper. Thus, when used withtampon34,opening mechanism12 and polyethylene material ofwrapper10 allow the user to open the wrapper easily and with reduced noise over the prior art tampon wrappers, such as tampon wrappers made of polypropylene material.
• In another embodiment shown inFIG. 4,first portion54 andsecond portion56 may be tied into aknot58 to form a closed volume, thereby facilitating disposal of a used consumer product, such as a tampon applicator and/or applicator plunger, therein. Thus, after splittingwrapper10 along line ofweakness24 toend point50 to definefirst portion54 andsecond portion56, the user may place a used consumer product, such as the tampon applicator and/or applicator plunger, into the wrapper and tie the first and second portions with the used tampon applicator and/or applicator plunger therein. In this manner, the user is provided with a sanitary method of storing used consumer products, such as the tampon applicators and/or applicator plungers, in the closed volume ofwrapper10.
• An exemplary embodiment of amethod60 of making theprotective wrapper10 according to the present disclosure is described with reference toFIG. 5. Again, for ease of discussion,method60 of makingprotective wrapper10 is discussed herein by way of example in use withtampon34. Of course, it is contemplated by the present disclosure formethod60 to find use with any consumer product.
• Method60 includes a first step in which a sheet offilm62 is cut alongcut lines64 to simultaneously formprotrusions22 in a first or leadingsheet66 andindentations26 in a second or trailingsheet68. The sheet offilm62 is advanced through the first cutting step so that the first or leadingsheet66 and the second or trailingsheet68 both includeprotrusions22 andindentations26.
• Advantageously,protrusions22 andindentations26 can be formed in a single step without requiring any scrap material to be removed from the manufacturing equipment, leading to an easier to manufacture wrapper.
• It should be recognized thatmethod60 is described by way of example as havingprotrusions22 cut in first or leadingsheet66 andindentations26 cut in second or trailingsheet68. Of course, it is contemplated by the present disclosure formethod60 to be configured so thatprotrusions22 are cut in second or trailingsheet68 andindentations26 are cut in first or leadingsheet66.
• In some embodiments, the first step ofmethod60 further provides line ofweakness24 toprotective wrapper10 simultaneous to or sequentially to the cutting alongcut line64. Here, wrapper is laid open instead of being formed into tube-like shape20. Thus,front wall42 and arear wall44 are illustrated for ease of analysis as being separated byphantom lines70 in leadingsheet66. During this embodiment ofmethod60,front wall42 and/orrear wall44 can be modified to include line ofweakness24.
• When bothfront wall42 andrear wall44 include line ofweakness24, the lines are positioned in the front and rear walls so that, once the sheet offilm62 is formed into tube-like shape20, the lines of weakness are aligned with one another. Alternately, when onlyfront wall42 orrear wall44 includes line ofweakness24, the line is positioned in the front or rear wall so that, once the sheet is formed into tube-like shape20, the line of weakness is aligned withstarting point46 betweenprotrusions22.
• Method60 further includes a second step in which the sheet offilm62 is rolled over to form tube-like shape20 and a third step in whichlongitudinal seal14 is formed to secure the sheet of film in the tube-like shape.
• In some embodiments ofmethod60, line ofweakness24 can be defined inprotective wrapper10 during the third step. Here, tube-like shape20 can be flattened and line ofweakness24 can be defined throughfront wall42 and/orrear wall44.
• Method60 further includes a fourth step in which a consumer product, such astampon34, is inserted into the tube-like shape20 ofwrapper10. In some embodiments,tampon34 is inserted intowrapper10 so thatplunger end32 of the tampon isproximate protrusions22 and barrel end36 is remote from the protrusions. Of course, it is contemplated by the present disclosure fortampon34 to be inserted intowrapper10 in any desired orientation.
• Method60 also includes a fifth step in which first and second end seals16,18 are formed thereby sealing the consumer product, such astampon34, inside ofwrapper10. Although illustrated having both end seals16,18 formed after insertion of the consumer product such astampon34, it is contemplated by the present disclosure for one of the end seals to be formed before the insertion of the consumer product with the other of the end seals being formed after insertion of the consumer product.
• Sincemethod60forms indentations26 before formation ofsecond end seal18 and forms the indentations with thefirst height28 equal to or smaller than thesecond height30 of the second end seal, the indentations can be concealed or hidden from the user within the second end seal. As used herein, the terms “concealed” or “hidden” shall mean thatsecond end seal18 ofwrapper10 has an continuous outerperipheral edge72 within which indentations26 are defined. The continuous outerperipheral edge72 is present because, after definingsecond end seal18,indentations26 withinfront wall42 not visible since they are against and hidden byrear wall44.
• It should also be noted that the terms “first”, “second”, “third”, “upper”, “lower”, and the like may be used herein to modify various elements. These modifiers do not imply a spatial, sequential, or hierarchical order to the modified elements unless specifically stated.
• While the present disclosure has been described with reference to one or more exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed as the best mode contemplated, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (18)

1. A protective wrapper for a consumer product, comprising:

a film having a first sealed end, a longitudinal seal, and a second sealed end with a first height;

an opening mechanism having a pair of protrusions extending outward from said first sealed end by a first height, a line of weakness extending inward from a starting point where said pair of protrusions meet, and a pair of indentations extending inward from said second sealed end, wherein said first height of said pair of protrusions is equal to or less than said second height of said second sealed end.

2. The protective wrapper ofclaim 1, wherein said line of weakness comprises a plurality of perforations.

3. The protective wrapper ofclaim 1, wherein said pair of protrusions have a shape selected from the group consisting of a polygonal shape, a semi-circular shape, and any combinations thereof.

4. The protective wrapper ofclaim 3, wherein said pair of indentations have a corresponding shape to said shape of said pair of protrusions.

5. The protective wrapper ofclaim 1, wherein the consumer product comprises a tampon and wherein said first sealed end defines a plunger end of the protective wrapper and said second sealed end defines a barrel end of the protective wrapper.

6. The protective wrapper ofclaim 1, wherein said line of weakness extends inward from said starting point to an ending point to define a predetermined length, said predetermined length being less than an overall length between said first and second end seals.

7. The protective wrapper ofclaim 1, wherein said film comprises polyethylene film.

8. A protective wrapper for a consumer product, comprising:

a film having a first sealed end, a longitudinal seal, and a second sealed end;

a pair of protrusions extending outward from said first sealed end;

a line of weakness extending inward from a starting point where said pair of protrusions meet; and

a pair of indentations extending inward from said second sealed end, said pair of indentations being hidden within said second sealed end so that said second sealed end has a continuous outer peripheral edge within which said pair of indentations are defined.

9. The protective wrapper ofclaim 8, wherein said line of weakness comprises a plurality of perforations.

10. The protective wrapper ofclaim 8, wherein said pair of protrusions have a shape selected from the group consisting of a polygonal shape, a semi-circular shape, and any combinations thereof.

11. The protective wrapper ofclaim 10, wherein said pair of indentations have a corresponding shape to said shape of said pair of protrusions.

12. The protective wrapper ofclaim 8, wherein the consumer product comprises a tampon and wherein said first sealed end defines a plunger end of the protective wrapper and said second sealed end defines a barrel end of the protective wrapper.

13. The protective wrapper ofclaim 8, wherein said line of weakness extends inward from said starting point to an ending point to define a predetermined length, said predetermined length being less than an overall length between said first and second end seals.

14. The protective wrapper ofclaim 8, wherein said film comprises polyethylene film.

15. A method of making a protective wrapper for a consumer product, comprising:

cutting a sheet of film along a cut line to simultaneously form a pair of protrusions in a first sheet and a corresponding pair of indentations in a second sheet;

repeating said cutting step so that at least said second sheet comprises said pair of protrusions and said corresponding pair of indentations;

rolling said second sheet and forming a longitudinal seal to form a tube-like shape;

inserting the consumer product in said a tube-like shape; and

forming a second end seal at said indentations so that said corresponding pair of indentations are hidden within said second end seal.

16. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising forming a first end seal at said pair of protrusions.

17. The method ofclaim 15, wherein said first sheet is a leading sheet or a trailing sheet.

18. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising defining a line of weakness in the sheet of film from a starting point where said pair of protrusions meet.

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