A protective sleeve for a container

Abstract

Protective sleeves for protecting containers such as wine, spirit or champagne bottles are described. The sleeves are formed from a quantity of a composite material primarily composed of cork; and the protective sleeves are shaped to fit around a container to protect it from breakage.

Description

[0001] A PROTECTIVE SLEEVE FOR A CONTAINER

[0002] Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to the field of protective packaging for containers and specifically relates to an eco-friendly protective sleeve for wine, spirit or champagne bottles.

[0004] Background to the Invention

[0005] Wines, spirits and champagnes are typically packaged in glass bottles rendering them prone to breakage. The risk of breakage is particularly high when transporting individual wines or spirits when travelling. It is especially common to purchase wines, spirits or champagnes when travelling such as at duty free shops which are commonly found at airports, ports and other travel precincts, as well as among other wine & liquor producers or distributors.

[0006] Solutions have been offered to protect individual bottled by inserting them into various types of protective sleeves. One type of sleeve takes the form of an inflatable plastic wrapper. The wrapper includes chambers which can be filled with air to create a protective cushion around the bottle. Another solution wraps a plastic or synthetic foam mesh around the bottle.

[0007] Plastic-based or plastic-based composite packaging solutions are incompatible with present day shifts towards more eco-friendly business practices. There is a desire to implement packaging which has a lower overall environmental impact.

[0008] It has been tried to develop protective sleeves made of corrugated cardboard. However, these have been found to be of insufficient strength, are not moisture resistant, and once used on a bigger shaped bottle they lose their shape and cannot be reused for other bottles. There remains a need to provide improved protective sleeves for use with wine, spirit and champagne bottles.

[0009] Summary of the Invention

[0010] In a first aspect the present invention provides a protective sleeve for protecting containers such as wine, spirit or champagne bottles. The sleeve is formed from a quantity of a composite material primarily composed of cork; and wherein the protective sleeve is shaped to fit around a container to protect it from breakage.

[0011] The sleeve may be formed from a sheet of the composite material.

[0012] Two opposite edges of the sleeve may be joined together in use.

[0013] One of the opposite edges of the sleeve may include a plurality of engaging elements which engage with a plurality of openings in the other opposite edge to join the opposite edges together.

[0014] The sleeve may be provided with a pattern of slits which can open up to enable the sleeve to expand to accommodate containers of various diameters.

[0015] The pattern of slits may define a plurality of planar regions, and when the sleeve expands by the slits opening up at least some of the planar regions rotate out of the plane of the sheet of material to thereby increase the effective thickness of the protective sleeve.

[0016] The sleeve may further include a quantity of a non-toxic adhesive substance based on polyvinyl acetate.

[0017] In a second aspect the present invention provides a method of producing a protective sleeve according to the first aspect of the inventions, the method including the steps of: punching one or more sheets of material to form a number of flat sleeve blanks.

[0018] The method may further include the step of punching slits into the sleeve to allow the sleeve to expand in use.

[0019] The method may further include the step of joining opposite edges the sleeve blank together.

[0020] The edges of the sleeve may be joined by a plurality of engaging elements provided on one edge of the blank which engage with a plurality of openings provided on the opposite edge.

[0021] The edges of the sleeve may be joined using a non-toxic adhesive substance based on polyvinyl acetate.

[0022] The edges of the sleeve may be joined using stitches.

[0023] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0024] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0025] Figure 1 is a plan view of a cut out blank of a sleeve for protecting wine, spirits and champagne bottles;

[0026] Figure 2 shows a sleeve formed from the blank of figure 1 in use protecting a bottle;

[0027] Figure 3 shown an alternative embodiment of a sleeve;

[0028] Figure 4 shows the sleeve of figure 3 in use protecting another bottle;

[0029] Figure 5 shows another alternative embodiment of a sleeve; and Figure 6 shows another embodiment of a sleeve protecting another bottle.

[0030] Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

[0031] Referring to figure 1, a protective sleeve 10 is shown. The sleeve is shown in the form of a flat blank which has been formed by being punched out from a large sheet of composite cork material.

[0032] Cork is a natural material produced from the cork oak tree (Quercus Suber) and is in abundant supply. It is a type of bark (suberose parenchyma) that can be harvested from a live cork oak tree in a sustainable way. Peeling the bark off the cork oak tree does not damage or kill the tree. Cork tree bark can be harvested off a single tree for as long as 200 years. Cork is a renewable source of material, captures carbon during growth, and is otherwise emissions free. The inventor has realised that composite cork composite material can be fashioned into a sleeve which provides breakage protection for wine, spirit and champagne bottles.

[0033] Composite cork is formed by preparing a mixture of cork particles or granules and a glue, such as PVA glue. The mixture is then compressed into a desired shape. Composite cork can be roll-formed to produce continuous rolls of flat composite material.

[0034] The sleeve 10 includes opposite edges 12 and 16. Edge 12 includes a plurality of engaging elements in the form of hooks 14. Edge 16 includes a plurality of openings in the form of slots 18. The hooks 14 can be engaged in the slots 18 to join the opposite edges 12, 16 together.

[0035] The sleeve is provided with a pattern of slits 20 which define planar regions 22 between the slits. The slits 20 can open up to enable the sleeve to expand to accommodate containers of various diameters. A stack of blank sleeves 10 can be stored for use at a retail counter or the like and are assembled into shape for use on demand. The sheet or material from which the blank sleeve 10 is punched is preferably about 1.5mm thick. The sleeve blank 10 measures 189 x 194mm, allowing 26 blanks to be punched from a square metre of sheet material.

[0036] Referring to figure 2, to use the sleeve 10 to protect a bottle 100, the edges of the sleeve 12, 16 are first joined together by engaging the hooks 14 with the slots 18 to form a tube-like shape. This sleeve 10 is then brought down around the neck of an upright standing bottle 100 and pulled down to conform around the outside of the main body of the bottle. This causes the slits 20 to open up to allow the sleeve to elastically deform, expanding to conform with and grip the bottle. At the same time, the expansion of the slits causes some of the planar regions 22 to rotate out of the plane of the sleeve. The rotation of the planar segments enhances the cushioning effect provided by the sleeve 10.

[0037] Once encased in the sleeve 10, the bottle 100 is protected from breakage that may otherwise arise due to collisions with other bottle or items during transit.

[0038] Referring to figure 3, in another embodiment of sleeve 50 the hooks and slots are omitted. Instead, the opposite edges 12, 16 of the sleeve are overlapped and secured together with PVA glue. In this embodiment the sleeves are glued into a tube shape at the time of production and are folded flat and stacked for later use.

[0039] Referring to figure 4, sleeve 50 is shown in use with a bottle 200. It can be seen that the bottle 200 of figure 4 is of smaller diameter than the bottle 100 of figure 2. A folded sleeve 50a is also shown.

[0040] Referring to figure 5, another alternative embodiment of a sleeve 60 is shown. This sleeve differs from sleeve 50 in that the opposite edges of the sleeve are joined together by row of stitches 62 using cotton thread. In order to secure the edges together the sleeve is folded with both edges on top of each other and is run under a sewing machine. This embodiment provides a strong eco-friendly joining without the use of any glue. Referring to figure 6, another embodiment of a sleeve 70 is shown in use with another shape of bottle 300. In this embodiment a 90- 100cm long cord of composite cork is prepared in a spiral / helix shape. The sleeve is used by placing around the neck of the bottle and sliding down the body of the bottle. The spiral shape expands to accommodate the bottle and the sleeve 70 grips against the outer surface of the bottle.

[0041] All of the sleeves 10, 50, 70 are expandable to accommodate all common bottle sizes. The sleeves 10, 50, 70 are not single use items. After transit the sleeves can be removed from their bottles and stored for subsequent use at a later date or recycled.

[0042] The sleeves could be used by duty free shops at airports as well as among other wine & liquor producers or distributors.

[0043] It can be seen that embodiments of the invention have at least one of the following advantages:

[0044] • Stores flat.

[0045] • More robust, expandable and more moisture resistant than corrugated cardboard.

[0046] • Can be reused several times.

[0047] • Cost effective.

[0048] • Simple to manufacture.

[0049] • Can be manufactured carbon neutrally.

[0050] • 100% harmless to the environment

[0051] • Can be branded.

[0052] • Can be recycled and repurposed / remanufactured

[0053] • Can be dyed using natural vegetable colours

[0054] Any reference to prior art contained herein is not to be taken as an admission that the information is common general knowledge, unless otherwise indicated. Finally, it is to be appreciated that various alterations or additions may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A protective sleeve for protecting containers such as wine, spirit or champagne bottles: the sleeve is formed from a quantity of a composite material primarily composed of cork; and wherein the protective sleeve is shaped to fit around a container to protect it from breakage.

2. A protective sleeve according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve is formed from a sheet of the composite material.

3. A protective sleeve according to claim 2 wherein two opposite edges of the sleeve are joined together in use.

4. A protective sleeve according to claim 3 wherein one of the opposite edges of the sleeve includes a plurality of engaging elements which engage with a plurality of openings in the other opposite edge to join the opposite edges together.

5. A protective sleeve according to any preceding claim wherein the sleeve is provided with a pattern of slits which can open up to enable the sleeve to expand to accommodate containers of various diameters.

6. A protective sleeve according to claim 5 wherein the pattern of slits defines a plurality of planar regions, and when the sleeve expands by the slits opening up at least some of the planar regions rotate out of the plane of the sheet of material to thereby increase the effective thickness of the protective sleeve.

7. A protective sleeve according to any preceding claim wherein the sleeve further includes a quantity of a non-toxic adhesive substance based on polyvinyl acetate.

8. A method of producing a protective sleeve according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the method including the steps of: punching one or more sheets of material to form a number of flat sleeve blanks.

9. A method according to claim 8 further including the step of punching slits into the sleeve to allow the sleeve to expand in use.

10. A method according to claim 8 further including the step of joining opposite edges the sleeve blank together.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein the edges of the sleeve are joined by a plurality of engaging elements provided on one edge of the blank which engage with a plurality of openings provided on the opposite edge.

12. A method according to claim 10 wherein the edges of the sleeve are joined using a non-toxic adhesive substance based on polyvinyl acetate.

13. A method according to claim 10 wherein the edges of the sleeve are joined using stitches.

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