Packaging material, packaging, method for providing packaging material

Abstract

A method for providing packaging material is provided. The method includes feeding a web of packaging material through a packaging material processing unit; determining a target position of the packaging material; and controlling a printing unit to print an RFID antenna at the target position, wherein the material for printing the RFID antenna is a conductive substance. A packaging material and a package are also provided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging material, in particular to a packaging laminate for forming individual packaging containers for enclosing liquid food contents. More particularly, the present invention relates to such a packaging material and a method for providing a packaging material with an RFID tag. Background Art

[0002] Packaging materials are used in various industries. A packaging material particularly suitable for forming a packaging container for liquid foods is provided in the form of a laminate comprising a bulk layer of paper or paperboard and an outer liquid-tight layer of thermoplastic. In order to make the packaging container airtight, in particular oxygen-tight, for example for the purpose of aseptic packaging and packaging of milk or juice, the laminate in these packaging containers usually comprises at least one additional layer, most commonly an aluminium foil.

[0003] On the inside of the laminate (i.e. the side facing the food content filled packaging container produced from the laminate), there is an innermost layer applied to the aluminum foil, which innermost layer of the inside may consist of one or more partial layers, including a heat-sealable thermoplastic polymer, such as an adhesive polymer and / or a polyolefin. In addition, on the outside of the bulk layer, there is an outermost heat-sealable polymer layer.

[0004] The packaging containers are usually produced by modern high-speed packaging machines of the type which form, fill and seal packages or containers from a coil or from a preformed blank of packaging material. Thus, the packaging containers can be produced by reforming a coil of laminated packaging material into a tube by welding the innermost and outermost heat-sealable thermoplastic polymer layers together so that the two longitudinal edges are joined to each other in a lap joint. The tube is filled with the desired liquid food and then divided into individual packages by repeated transverse sealing of the tube at a predetermined distance from each other below the level of the contents in the tube. The packages are separated from the tube by cuts along the transverse seals and given the desired geometric shape, usually a parallelepiped or cuboid, by folding along the prepared crease lines in the packaging material.

[0005] The advantage of this continuous tube forming, filling and sealing packaging method concept is that continuous high-speed packaging can be carried out, which has a great impact on cost efficiency.

[0006] Typically, several thousand packages can be produced per hour. For example, A3 / High Speed ​​Machine( A3 / speed) can produce about 15,000 packages per hour (family-size packaging containers of 0.9 liters and above) and about 24,000 packaging containers per hour (single-serving packaging). Packaging containers for sensitive liquid foods (such as milk or juice) can also be made from sheet blanks or prefabricated blanks of laminated packaging materials. The packaging is produced from a tubular blank of a folded-flat packaging laminate, which is first erected to form an open tubular container unit (container capsule), one of whose open ends is closed by folding and heat-sealing an integral end panel. The container unit thus closed is filled with the food in question (such as juice) through its open end, and then the open end is closed by further folding and heat-sealing the corresponding integral end panel. An example of a packaging container produced from sheet and tubular blanks is a conventional so-called gable top package. There are also packages of this type with a molded top and / or a screw cap made of plastic.

[0007] Known packaging laminates are usually produced from a web of paper or paperboard by a converting process. If such a barrier film is required, one or more adhesive layers of a laminating material, usually low-density polyethylene (LDPE), can be applied to permanently bond the aluminium foil web to the paper or paperboard web. The paper or paperboard web is provided with a liquid-tight coating of polyethylene, usually low-density polyethylene (LDPE), on both sides and then wound onto a finished packaging reel for onward conveying and handling to a packaging machine. Moreover, the converting process runs very fast, for example up to 400 m / min.

[0008] It has been proposed to provide packaging materials with printed images representing some information which can be read later and used for traceability or authentication. These can be printed onto the packaging material during the conversion process or as it is conveyed through a packaging machine, or printed onto a layer of the packaging material. Examples of printed images are bar codes and two-dimensional codes, such as QR codes.

[0009] Prior art successfully allows unique information to be added to different sections of packaging material, in particular when specific sections of packaging material are used to form individual packaging containers. However, these images must be visible for correct reading, which requires specific inks and a specific contrast relative to the packaging material decoration. Another way to provide unique information for packaging materials is to use magnetic markings, whereby magnetic field markings can carry complex data. Such complex data can, for example, contain a unique code, according to which the coil can be identified, and also parts of the coil. The complex data can also provide location information, instructions for finishing of the packaging container, etc.

[0010] Despite the above solutions, there is still a need for improved methods to allow a unique identifier to be assigned to each packaging container and to enable the resulting packaging container to communicate with external devices. In particular, there is a need for improvements in unique identifiers that provide advantages in terms of shelf management, logistics optimization and improved connected recyclability chains. Summary of the invention

[0011] The object of the present invention is to at least partially overcome one or more of the above limitations of the prior art. In particular, one object is to provide a method for producing packaging material, wherein an RFID tag is printed onto the packaging material in-line (i.e. during transportation of the packaging material through a converting process or through a packaging machine).

[0012] According to a first aspect, a method for providing packaging material is provided. The method comprises feeding a packaging material web through a packaging material handling unit; determining a target position of the packaging material; and controlling a printing unit to print an RFID antenna at the target position. The material for printing the RFID antenna is a conductive substance, in particular a carbon-based substance, and even more in particular a graphene-based substance.

[0013] The use of graphene-based materials offers a number of advantages. First, the RFID antenna can be printed very thinly, which allows compatibility with the high-speed operation of today's packaging material handling units. Second, the material may not contain metal particles that are less compliant with food safety regulations. Third, it has been demonstrated that the RFID antenna can be printed on a traveling web of packaging material using a standard printing unit, such as an inkjet unit.

[0014] The graphene-based conductive substance may be an ink, which further allows standard ink application techniques to be used.

[0015] The graphene-based conductive material may include graphene or graphene oxide in one or more layers. Preferably, the arrangement of the graphene material is in the range of 1 to 20 layers.

[0016] The graphene-based conductive substance may include a dispersion of graphene or graphene oxide flakes, which provides convenient processing and application to the RFID antenna.

[0017] The packaging material handling unit may be a packaging material conversion unit or a packaging machine configured to form, fill and seal packaging containers. The method is therefore very versatile, since the RFID antenna may be printed onto the packaging material when the packaging material is produced or during the production of the packaging container.

[0018] The step of controlling the printing unit to print the RFID antenna at the target location may further include printing one or more resonant circuits adjacent to the antenna. By doing so, an RFID antenna without an RFID chip may be used because the resonant circuit can be tuned to a unique frequency.

[0019] The method may further comprise coating the one or more resonant circuits with a substance configured to change the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit. Thus, such a resonant circuit may be made sensitive to environmental conditions and may be tailored to provide information if such environmental conditions are altered.

[0020] The method may further comprise attaching an RFID chip to the antenna. Improved functionality of the RFID tag is thereby achieved.

[0021] The target position of the RFID antenna can be determined relative to one or more features of the packaging material. This enables precise positioning of the RFID antenna, which can be used for machine registration or other machine operations that require specific positioning.

[0022] The packaging material may include a plurality of layers that together form a laminate that is configured to store liquid food contents when the packaging material is formed into a packaging container, and the RFID antenna may be printed on one of the layers. Thus, the RFID antenna may not necessarily be printed on the outer layer of the packaging material (and thus be visible), but it may be embedded in the laminate to improve protection of the RFID antenna.

[0023] According to a second aspect, there is provided a packaging material comprising a plurality of layers which together form a laminate configured to store liquid food contents when the packaging material is formed into a packaging container. The packaging material comprises at least one RFID antenna which is printed when a web of the packaging material is fed through a packaging material handling unit, and wherein the RFID antenna is formed of a graphene-based conductive substance.

[0024] The target position of the RFID antenna may be fixed relative to one or more features of the packaging material.

[0025] The packaging material may further include at least one resonant circuit location adjacent to the RFID antenna, wherein the resonant frequency is formed by a graphene-based conductive substance.

[0026] The packaging material may further include an RFID chip attached to the RFID antenna.

[0027] According to a third aspect, there is provided a package formed from the packaging material according to the second aspect.

[0028] Furthermore, the RFID tag may be recycled along with the packaging.

[0029] Other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which:

[0031] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a packaging machine.

[0032] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the conversion unit,

[0033] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the packaging material,

[0034] Figure 4 is a plan view of the packaging material,

[0035] Figure 5 and Figure 6 is a top view of the RFID antenna, and

[0036] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a method for providing packaging materials. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] refer to Figure 1 , shows a packaging machine 10 configured to form, fill and seal packaging containers. The packaging machine 10 typically comprises a plurality of successive stations for converting a flat web 20 of packaging material into closed packages 30.

[0038] The web-like packaging material 20 is loaded into the packaging and filling machine 10. The unwound packaging material 20 is continuously conveyed through various stations to prepare the packaging material for forming, filling and sealing. Such stations may, for example, include a longitudinal strip applicator and a sterilizing unit (not shown).

[0039] For filling, the packaging material 20 is converted into a tube and conveyed into the aseptic chamber 12, thereby ensuring that the liquid food fills the tubular packaging material with a sterile atmosphere. For example, the packaging material 20 is gradually converted with a forming ring to form a tube.

[0040] The tubular packaging material 20 is longitudinally sealed, and the liquid food is filled into the tubular packaging material 20 through the filling tube 14. Finally, the transverse sealing unit 16 provides closure of the tubular packaging material so that the closed upper end is formed at the same time as the bottom end of the tubular packaging material 20 is closed. The sealing unit 16 also performs transverse cutting to separate the finished package 30 from the tubular packaging material 20. The cut package 30 can be further folded and sealed to obtain its final shape, such as a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

[0041] The packaging machine 10 is further provided with a printing unit 50 arranged close to the packaging material web 20 as it is conveyed through the packaging machine 10. Preferably, the printing unit 50 is arranged at a position where the web of packaging material 20 is flat, ie before tube formation.

[0042] The printing unit 50 is connected to the control unit 52 such that the printing unit 50 is configured to print the RFID antennas 100 at different locations as the web of packaging material 20 travels through the packaging machine 10. The RFID antennas 100 are preferably printed using a graphene-based conductive substance.

[0043] However, other conductive substances can also be used; in particular, conductive inks can be used to print RFID antennas. Conductive inks can be carbon-based (e.g., graphene or carbon nanotubes), metal nanoparticle-based (e.g., AG, Al), or organic (e.g., SigmaAldrich's Plexcore OC AQ-1250). Although metal nanoparticle-based inks are easy to use and commercially available, carbon-based substances may still be preferred due to their compatibility with liquid food packaging.

[0044] The printing unit 50 is shown as an elongated body extending across the entire width of the packaging material 20. However, it should be understood that the printing unit 50 may be implemented in many different shapes and sizes, so long as it is capable of printing the RFID antenna 100 onto the packaging material 20.

[0045] In this embodiment, the printing unit 50 is arranged to print the RFID antenna 100 on the outer surface of the packaging material 20; depending on the material used for printing, the printing unit 50 may also be arranged to print the RFID antenna 100 on the inner surface of the packaging material 20.

[0046] The RFID antenna 100 is positioned at a fixed position or a predetermined position of the packaging material 20. Figure 4As explained, the packaging material 20 has features such as crease lines that allow the printing unit 50 and associated control unit 52 to accurately position the printed RFID antenna 100 at its desired position relative to these features, so that the RFID antenna 100 is also accurately positioned on the final package 30. The same is true when the RFID chip is applied by a chip applicator, wherein the control unit 52 (or any other control unit configured to control the operation of the chip applicator) is configured to accurately control the position of the RFID chip relative to the RFID antenna.

[0047] Thus, the RFID antenna 100 may be applied to the packaging material 20 as the packaging material 20 is conveyed through the packaging machine 10 .

[0048] exist Figure 2 , in which an RFID antenna 100 is printed onto the packaging material 20 already during the production of the packaging material 20 , ie before the packaging material 20 is fed to the packaging machine 10 .

[0049] exist Figure 2 , an example of a packaging material conversion unit 40 is shown. Although the packaging material conversion unit 40 is based on the concept of pre-laminating an aluminum foil coil 21 supplied from a magazine reel 41 onto a thermoplastic material 22 supplied by an extruder 42, it should be noted that the embodiment presented here can also be particularly applicable to refrigerated product packaging materials without aluminum foil. Figure 2 The example should be considered as an option only. In fact, for the technical solution described herein, a less complex and metal-free packaging material may even be more preferred.

[0050] The production of packaging material 20 continues, so that the aluminum foil coil 21 is released from the magazine reel 41 and guided on the roller 43, and on another roller 45 arranged downstream to contact with the cooling roller 44, which is in contact with the roller 43 and rotates synchronously with it. At the same time, a continuous film 22 of molten or semi-molten thermoplastic material (for example polyethylene) is extruded by the extruder 42, and the plastic film is guided into the so-called roller gap (i.e. the contact point between the roller 43 and the cooling roller 44). In this case, the molten or semi-molten thermoplastic film 22 will be contained between the surface of the cooling roller 44 and the aluminum foil coil 21, so that a plastic-aluminum foil laminate is formed. 23.

[0051] The core layer web 24 of paper or paperboard is unwound from another magazine reel 46 and guided on the roller 45 to contact the cooling roller 44. With the help of the second extruder 47, a continuous plastic film 25 is extruded between the second roller 45 and the cooling roller 44, in which case the discharged plastic film 25 of polyethylene will be contained between the aluminum foil side of the formed plastic-aluminum foil laminate 23 and the core layer 24. By compression between the second roller 45 and the cooling roller 44, the core layer 24 and the laminate 23 are combined to form a composite packaging material laminate 20. In addition to the above-mentioned conversion process, an outer layer 26 of plastic material and an inner layer 27 of plastic material can also be added to form the packaging material 20.

[0052] As reference Figure 1 As described above, the printing unit 50 may be arranged at various positions in the packaging material conversion unit 40. Figure 2 Multiple printing units 50 are shown in FIG. 1 , but it should be understood that it may be necessary to have only one printing unit 50 at a location.

[0053] For example, the printing unit 50 may be arranged such that the RFID antenna 100 is printed on the outside of the core layer 24 before lamination, or is printed on the inside of the core layer 24 before lamination. Figure 2 Other possible positions of printing unit 50 are shown.

[0054] An example of the resulting packaging material 20 is shown in Figure 3 Depending on the position of the printing unit 50 during the conversion process, the RFID antenna 100 can be arranged at any interface between the different material layers: on the outside of layer 27, between layers 27 and 22, between layers 22 and 21, between layers 21 and 25, between layers 25 and 24, between layers 24 and 26, or on the outside of layer 26.

[0055] Now turn to Figure 4 , shows an example of a packaging material 20. The packaging material 20 is provided in the form of a continuous roll, for example, Figure 1 The packaging machine 10 shown uses the web thus comprising a series of sections 28, each section 28 being subsequently used to form an individual package 30. Figure 4 In FIG. 2 , two sections 28 are shown. Each section 28 has a plurality of fold lines 29 , and each section 28 is also provided with an RFID antenna 100 printed by a printing unit 50 .

[0056] Therefore, it can be obtained from Figure 1 The position downstream of the printing unit 50 will Figure 4 Remove the packaging material 20, or Figure 2 After the packaging material conversion unit 40 is completed, Figure 4The packaging material 20 is removed.

[0057] exist Figure 5 , an example of a graphene-based RFID antenna 100 is shown. In addition to the antenna 100, an RFID chip 110 is mounted to the antenna 100. The RFID chip 110 may be mounted at any time after the RFID antenna 100 is printed. Figure 6 , another example of a graphene-based conductive RFID antenna 100 is shown. Here, the RFID antenna 100 does not necessarily have to be connected to the RFID chip, but one or more resonant circuits 120 are also printed near the antenna 110. Preferably, these resonant circuits 120 are also printed by the printing unit 50 and using the same graphene-based conductive substance. Since each resonant circuit 120 will absorb energy, there will be energy losses at the resonant frequency in the antenna response. In the example shown with 16 resonant circuits, if all resonant circuits are unique, there are 2 16 combinations that can be used for digital data representation.

[0058] The printed RFID antenna 100 will thus form an RFID tag or form part of an RFID tag. Conventionally, an RFID tag consists of two parts: the antenna 100 and the chip 110. The RFID antenna 100 in the context of this specification is a planar conductor formed of a graphene-based material and having a specific shape. On the other hand, the chip 110 is a small (e.g., 0.5 mm) 2 By printing the antenna 100 directly on the packaging material 20, there is no need for an additional production step of manufacturing the RFID tag on a dedicated substrate that then needs to be applied to the final packaging material. The graphene-based conductive substance used to print the RFID antenna 100 is preferably in the form of an ink, allowing the use of standard equipment (e.g., inkjet technology equipment). The graphene-based conductive substance includes graphene or graphene oxide in one or more layers. Preferably, the graphene-based conductive substance includes a dispersion of graphene or graphene oxide flakes, so that the graphene-based substance can be printed and the resulting RFID antenna 100 is formed by the conductive distribution of the graphene-based material.

[0059] As described above, graphene-based conductive ink also enables the antenna 100 to be printed directly on the packaging material 20 in the conversion unit 40. One advantage of using graphene-based substances for printing is that the thickness of the antenna 100 can be greatly reduced compared to using metallic inks. In addition to this, graphene is superior in terms of food safety compatibility.

[0060] In the case of connecting the antenna 100 to the RFID chip 110, the chip 110 is preferably applied and connected to the antenna 100 after printing.

[0061] As referenced above Figure 6 As suggested, the proposed printing technology also allows the use of chipless RFID. In this embodiment, the antenna 100 is not connected to any chip, thereby enabling more efficient and rapid production of integrated RFID technology devices.

[0062] Several shapes can be printed near the antenna 100 using the same graphene-based conductive ink. These shapes act as resonators, and depending on their geometry they are characterized by capacitance, inductance, and resonant frequency. By printing unique shapes, this also brings the possibility of printing chipless RFID tags with unique spectral characteristics. Thus, RFID identification of packaging (or packaging material) can be performed without any integrated circuit on the packaging material by simply utilizing graphene-based substances and the ability to print them directly on the packaging material.

[0063] In one embodiment, the chipless RFID antenna 100 can be improved by adding sensing functionality. Figure 6 Starting with the embodiment of the present invention, the characteristic parameters of these resonant circuits can be configured to change according to some environmental variables. As an example, one of the resonant circuits 120 can be covered with a polymer ink that is configured to sublime when the temperature of the packaging material 20 rises above 10° C. If this happens, the capacitance of the resonant circuit 120 will change, and the resonant frequency will also change accordingly. In other words, this method is preferably used for cold chain monitoring of the package 30.

[0064] Now turn to Figure 7 , a method 200 for providing a packaging material 20 will be described. The method 200 includes: a first step 202 of feeding a web of the packaging material 20 through a packaging material processing unit; a step 204 of determining a target position of the packaging material 20; and a step 206 of controlling a printing unit 50 to print an RFID antenna 100 at the target position, wherein the material for printing the RFID antenna 100 is a graphene-based conductive substance.

[0065] The step 206 of controlling the printing unit 50 to print the RFID antenna 100 may also include the step 208 of printing one or more resonant circuits 120 near the antenna 100 .

[0066] Optionally, the method 200 may include a step 208 of coating one or more of the resonant circuits 120 with a substance configured to change the resonant frequency of the resonant circuits 120 .

[0067] Furthermore, the method 200 may optionally include a step 210 of attaching an RFID chip to the antenna 100 .

[0068] From the above description, although various embodiments of the invention have been described and shown, the invention is not restricted thereto but may also be implemented in other ways within the scope of the subject matter defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for providing a packaging material, the method comprising: feeding a web of packaging material through a packaging material handling unit; determining a target location for the packaging material; as well as controlling a printing unit to print an RFID antenna at the target position, wherein a material used to print the RFID antenna is a conductive substance; Wherein, controlling the printing unit to print the RFID antenna at the target location includes: printing one or more resonant circuits near the antenna; Wherein, the method further comprises: coating the one or more resonant circuits with a substance, wherein the substance is configured to change the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the conductive substance is a carbon-based substance. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the conductive substance is a graphene-based substance. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the graphene-based conductive substance is ink.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the graphene-based conductive substance comprises graphene or graphene oxide in one or more layers.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the graphene-based conductive substance comprises a dispersion of graphene or graphene oxide flakes.

7. The method according to any of the preceding claims 1-4, wherein the packaging material handling unit is a packaging material conversion unit or a packaging machine configured to form, fill and seal packaging containers.

8. The method of any of the preceding claims 1-4, further comprising attaching an RFID chip to the antenna.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 1-4, wherein the target position is determined relative to one or more features of the packaging material.

10. The method of any one of the preceding claims 1-4, wherein the packaging material comprises a plurality of layers which together form a laminate configured to store liquid food contents when the packaging material is formed into a packaging container, and wherein the RFID antenna is printed on one of the layers.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the RFID antenna is printed on an outer layer of the packaging material.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the RFID antenna is embedded in the packaging material.

13. A packaging material (20) comprising a plurality of layers (21-27) which together form a laminate, the laminate being configured to store liquid food contents when the packaging material (20) is formed into a packaging container (30), wherein the packaging material (20) comprises at least one RFID antenna (100) which is printed when a web of the packaging material (20) is fed through a packaging material processing unit (10, 40), wherein the packaging material further comprises at least one resonant circuit (120) located near the RFID antenna (100), the at least one resonant circuit (120) being coated with a substance which is configured to change the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit.

14. The packaging material according to claim 13, wherein the RFID antenna (100) is formed of a graphene-based conductive substance.

15. The packaging material of claim 13, wherein a target position of the RFID antenna (100) is fixed relative to one or more features (29) of the packaging material (20).

16. The packaging material according to any one of claims 13-15, wherein the resonant circuit (120) is printed using a graphene-based conductive substance.

17. The packaging material according to any one of claims 13 to 15, further comprising an RFID chip (110) connected to the RFID antenna (100).

18. A package (30) formed from the packaging material (20) according to any one of claims 13 to 17.

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