Packaging containers

Abstract

A packaging container for the transit of consumer goods (402, fig. 4) comprises: outer walls 102a-d forming a void into which the goods can be placed; flexible retainer 104 secured to one or more of t

Description

27 09 23 Technical field 5 The invention relates to packaging containers. More specifically, the invention may relate to boxes for the transit of goods. In particular, the invention relates to, but is not limited to, containers for the transit of consumer goods by postal or courier networks. The invention also relates to blanks for such containers. 10 Background Consumer purchases over the Internet are increasing year-on-year and, as such, Internet retailers are dealing with higher and higher volumes of goods that must be packaged fortransit by post or courier. 15 The customer sees a number of benefits of online retail, most notably convenience of being able to complete purchases online and have the goods delivered to their door, without having to make a trip to a brick-and-mortar store. 20 However, when shopping online, the customer misses out on much of elements of the transaction. Online retailers are keen to improve the experience of customers when purchasing online and one way that this can be done is in ‘unboxing’, which is the point at which the customer opens the packaging in which their items have been placed fortransit. 25 A part of the unboxing experience may be improved for customers using their sense of smell. It is known for retailers to spray scent into packaging, for example. However, such fragrances fade overtime and may no longer be detectable by the customer during unboxing. Summary 30 Methods and apparatus disclosed herein are directed to solving one or more problems in the prior art, including those disclosed herein. According to the invention in an aspect, there is provided a packaging container for the transit 35 of consumer goods, the packaging container comprising: a plurality of outer walls forming a void into which the consumer goods can be placed; at least one flexible retainer secured to one or more of the outer walls at one or more points, the remainder of the flexible retainer 27 09 23 being free; and an adhesive coated on at least a portion of the flexible retainer, wherein the flexible retainer is configured to be folded such that the adhesive adheres to one or more of the plurality of outer walls and / or a further portion of the flexible retainer so as to retain the consumer goods in the void, and wherein the adhesive comprises microcapsules included a 5 scented material surrounded by an outer shell that is rupturable by a force required to pull the adhesive apart from the one or more of the plurality of outer walls and / or the furth portion of the flexible retainer. Optionally, the flexible retainer is configured to be scrunched to fill the one or more regions of 10 the void, and wherein the adhesive is configured to adhere to the one or more of the plurality of outer walls and / or the further portion of the flexible retainer when the flexible retainer is scrunched. Optionally, the flexible retainer is configured to be folded over the consumer goods, and 15 wherein the adhesive is configured to adhere to one or more of the outer walls to retain the consumer goods against the one or more outer walls. Optionally, the flexible retainer is secured to the one or more outer walls along at least one edge. 20 Optionally, the flexible retainer comprises a sheet of flexible material. Optionally, the sheet of flexible material comprises a sheet of paper-based material. 25 Optionally, the adhesive is applied only to one surface of the flexible retainer. Optionally, the adhesive is applied to at least two surfaces of the flexible retainer. Optionally, the adhesive is applied to at least a portion of one or more of the outer walls. 30 Optionally, the adhesive is a cohesive material. Optionally, the packaging container is a box having a base, at least three sidewalls and a lid. 35 Optionally, the flexible retainer is secured to one or more of the sidewalls and / or the base. 27 09 23 Optionally, the packaging container comprises a plurality of flexible retainers, each secured to one or more sidewalls and / or the base. Optionally, a free portion of the flexible retainer extends beyond a height of the sidewalls. 5 According to the invention in an aspect, there is provided a blank for a packaging container according to any disclosed above or elsewhere herein. 10 Brief description of the drawings Embodiments of the disclosed methods and apparatus will be described in detail below, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 15 Figures 1 and 2 are a schematic representations of a blank of a packaging container; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a packaging container; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a packaging container. Detailed Description 20 Generally, disclosed in this specification is a packaging container (and associated blank) for transit of consumer goods where the goods are retained within the packaging by a flexible retainer. The flexible retainer may be a sheet of flexible material, such as a paper-based material. The flexible retainer may have an adhesive applied to it so as to aid retention of the 25 goods in the packaging container. The adhesive may have microcapsules mixed into it before it is applied to the flexible sheet. The capsules may contain a scented material encased in an outer shell, which may be rupturable by pulling the adhesive away from a surface to which it is adhered. 30 In this way, after the flexible retainer is used to retain consumer goods in the packaging container, a scent may be released from the capsules as the consumer unboxes their goods and tears the paper away from whatever it has become adhered to during packing and transit. Figures 1 and 2 show a blank 100 for a packaging container, which may be constructed from 35 card or any other suitable material. The blank 100 comprises outer walls. In this case, the outer walls include sidewalls, a base and a lid. The blank 100 comprises four sidewall sections 102a-d. In Figure 1, three sidewall sections 102b-d are have a flexible retainer 104 secured 27 09 23 to them, which is split into first and second discrete sections 104a-b. The sidewall sections 102a-d become the sidewalls of the containerwhen the blank 100 is formed into the container. Each of the sidewall sections 102a-d is connected to at least one other sidewall section 102a-d by way of a foldable seam. 5 The blank 100 also comprises four base sections 106a-d. Each of the base sections 106a-d is joined to a corresponding sidewall section 102a-d by way of a foldable seam. When forming the blank 100 into a container, this allows the base sections 106a-d to be folded 10 to form a base of the container at right angles to the sidewall sections 102a-d. The blank 100 also comprises four top or lid sections 108a-d. Each of the top sections 108a-d is joined to a corresponding sidewall section 102a-d by way of a foldable seam. 15 When forming the blank 100 into a container, this allows the top sections 108a-d to be folded to form a top or lid of the container at right angles to the sidewall sections 102a-d. In exemplary container blanks 100, one or more ofthe top sections 108a-d may comprise a securing means for securing the lid of the box in a closed position. The securing means may comprise an adhesive in the form of a peel and seal strip. One or more ofthe top sections 108a-d may 20 comprise an opening means to facilitate easy opening ofthe box. The opening means may comprise a rip strip comprising a tab that may be pulled by a user and a strip configured to rip open the containerwhen the tab is pulled. The blank 100 may be a crashlock / autolock base blank configured to form a container. It is 25 noted that the blank for the packaging container shown in Figures 1 and 2 is exemplary and need not limit the scope of the invention. In other arrangements, the packaging container may be an alternative type or configuration of box. Additionally, the packaging container need not be a box at all and may, for example, be an envelope, which may be constructed from card and / or paper based materials. 30 The exemplary flexible retainer 104 comprises a plurality of discrete sections 104a-b. Each discrete section 104a-b is fixed to at least one sidewall section 102a-d ofthe blank 100. In the exemplary blank of Figure 1, a first discrete section 104a is fixed to two sidewall sections 35 102b, 102c and a second discrete section 104b is fixed to one sidewall section 102d. The plurality of sidewall sections 102a-d to which the flexible retainer 104 is fixed comprises at least two opposing sidewall sections. That is, the exemplary flexible retainer 104 is fixed to at 27 09 23 least two sidewall sections 102a-d that will form opposing sidewalls of the container when the blank 100 is formed into a container. The discrete sections 104a-b of the flexible retainer 104 may be secured to the plurality of 5 sidewall sections 102a-d by an adhesive 110, although other methods may be used. The discrete sections 104a-b of the flexible retainer 104 are fixed to the plurality of sidewall sections 102a-d at a base region of the sidewalls. In alternative exemplary blanks, the discrete sections 104a-b may be fixed to one or more of the base sections 106a-d of the blank 100. That is, the flexible retainer 104 may be fixed to the plurality of sidewall sections 102a-d at a 10 region near the base sections 106a-d. This allows the flexible retainer 104 to be folded or scrunched over an item within the container. The discrete sections 104a-b of the flexible retainer 104 have an adhesive material applied to at least a portion of at least one side. For example, the flexible retainer may be a sheet of 15 flexible material. At least a portion of one side of the sheet of flexible material may be coated with an adhesive. The adhesive may comprise a cohesive material, which only adheres to itself. In some arrangements, an adhesive coating may be applied opposite surfaces of the discrete 20 sections 104a-b of the flexible retainer. That is, the first discrete section 104a has a adhesive material applied to a first (e.g. an inner) surface 112 and the second discrete section 104b has an adhesive material applied to a second (e.g. a outer) surface 114, or vice-versa. This may allow blanks 100 to be stacked without the adhesive of adjacent blanks adhering. 25 As used herein, the term "cohesive material" encompasses materials that adhere to themselves but substantially not to other materials. For example, if an inner surface of the flexible retainer 104 is coated with a cohesive material, then that cohesive material will adhere to other features of the blank 100 also coated with the cohesive material. The cohesive material will not adhere to features of the blank not coated with the same cohesive material, 30 such as the sidewall, base and top sections. In some arrangements, the adhesive may not be a cohesive material (as defined above). For example, the adhesive material may be configured to adhere only to any material, or to one or more specific other materials. 35 As shown in Figure 2 by the vertical arrows, the flexible retainer 104 may be fixed to one or more of the sidewall sections 102a-d by placing the flexible retainer 104 on the sidewall 27 09 23 sections 102a-d and securing with adhesive 110. Other methods of securing the flexible retainer 104 to the outer walls of the packaging container, such as by stapling, are also within the scope of this disclosure. At least a portion of the flexible retainer 104 is free and is not fixed to the blank 100. In the exemplary blank 100 of Figure 1, a strip of adhesive in a range 5 from 1 cm to 2cm thick is used to fix the flexible retainer 104 to the blank 100. The remainder of the flexible retainer 104 is not secured to the blank 100 and is therefore free. The adhesive material may be applied to substantially all of the corresponding surface 112, 114 of each discrete section 104a-b of the flexible retainer 104. In other arrangements, the 10 adhesive material may be applied to an upper portion of the surface 112,114. In other exemplary blanks, the flexible retainer 104 may be formed of a single section. In such arrangements, first and second portions of the flexible retainer 104 may have adhesive 15 material applied to opposing surfaces. That is, a portion of the flexible retainer 104 may have the adhesive coated on an inner surface, and a further portion of the flexible retainer 104 may have the adhesive material coated to an outer surface. Further, in other exemplary blanks, a third discrete section of flexible retainer 104 may be applied to the remaining sidewall section 102a. In such arrangements, a cohesive material may be applied to the same surface as the 20 second discrete section 104b, the outer surface 114 in the example of Figures 1 and 2. At least part of the flexible retainer 104 (in whatever form) may extend beyond an upper limit of the blank 100. That is, the flexible retainer 104 may extend beyond the top sections 108a-d. The flexible retainer 104 may have a depth greater than the depth of the sidewall sections 25 102a-d. The flexible retainer may have a depth greater than the depth of the sidewall sections 102a-d plus the top sections 108a-d combined. It is noted that relative terms such as upper, lower, inner and outer are used herein to aid description of the exemplary blanks and containers and need not limit the scope of the claimed 30 invention. In particular, the terms inner and outer may refer to the inner and outer faces of a constructed packaging container and the terms upper and lower may refer to the top and base of a constructed container. In exemplary blanks, the blank 100 itself may be formed from cardboard. Specifically, the 35 blank 100 may be formed from corrugated cardboard or solid board. In exemplary blanks, the flexible retainer 104 may comprise a sheet of flexible material, such as paper, card or a plastics 27 09 23 material. In exemplary blanks, the cohesive material may comprise a synthetic or nonsynthetic glue. Figure 3 shows a fully constructed packaging container 300. In the exemplary container 300 5 the flexible retainer 104 is shown positioned on the second, third and fourth sidewall sections 102b-d and extending to the upper limit of the corresponding top sections 108b-d. The first discrete section 104a is positioned on the second and third sidewall section 102b-c and the second discrete section 104b is positioned on the further sidewall section 102d. There is no significant amount of flexible retainer positioned on the first sidewall section 102a, however 10 an amount of the flexible retainer may come at least partially around the sidewall section 102d by the length of the glue flap 116, as shown in Figure 3. Because the cohesive material is on opposite surfaces of the first and second discrete sections 104a-b, when the flexible retainer is folded over an item within the container 300 the cohesive 15 material of the first discrete section 104a faces the cohesive material of the second discrete section 104b. For example, the first discrete section 104a may have cohesive material on an inner surface and the second discrete section 104b may have cohesive material on an outer surface. An item is placed into the container 300. Then the second discrete section 104b may be folded over the item first, such that the cohesive material is facing upwards and the 20 first discrete section 104a is folded over the item and the second discrete section 104b, such that the cohesive material is facing downwards. Therefore, a higher proportion of cohesive material from each discrete section is in contact with the cohesive material of the other section. In some arrangements, the item placed in the packaging container may have a volume that is 25 less than the volume available for the item within the container. In such circumstances, the flexible retainer may be scrunchable to fill the excess volume. As used herein, the terms ‘scrunch’ and ‘scrunchable’ referto the feature of the flexible retainer 104 that allows it to be screwed up and to, at least partially, retain its screwed up form. This 30 feature may be provided, for example, by a paper based flexible retainer 104. This allows the flexible retainer 104 to fill a volume as air-filled voids are created between the surfaces of the scrunched flexible retainer. The flexible retainer 104 may be configured such that when it is scrunched it is, to some degree, biased towards returning to its original, flat state. The scrunched flexible retainer will therefore provide resilience to compression. This resilience 35 may allow it to be biased against the outer walls of the packaging container when placed therein. This retains any goods to be transported within the packaging container. 27 09 23 In other exemplary packaging containers, there may be a single flexible retainer in a single section. In other exemplary arrangements, the outer walls of the packaging container may comprise the walls of an envelope. 5 In other arrangements, and as shown in Figure 4, the flexible retainer 400 may have an adhesive applied to one side so that it may retain the goods 402 against an internal surface of the packaging container. In such arrangements, the flexible retainer 400 may be secured to a base or sidewall of the packaging container. The adhesive may be applied to an inner surface 404 of the flexible retainer. The goods to be transported may be placed on a base (or 10 sidewall) of the container. The flexible retainer may be configured to be folded overthe goods to be transported with the adhesive facing the base of the container and / or facing a corresponding surface of the flexible retainer 400. Accordingly, the flexible retainer 400 may be adhered to the base like a patch covering the goods. In some examples, the adhesive may be a cohesive material and the base may also be covered with the cohesive material. 15 The adhesive may be prepared such that it includes microcapsules. For example, a process such as microencapsulation may be used. The microcapsule may contain a scented material, such as a scented liquid. The scented liquid may have a scent associated with the goods transported in the packaging container. For example, when transporting beauty products, the 20 scent may be of one of the products themselves, or a fragrance of the same or a similar brand. In another example, when transporting food products, a scent may be used that evokes the taste of the product. Other fragrance-goods combinations may be envisaged and are within the scope of this disclosure. 25 The microcapsules may be small spheres that contain the scented fluid. The walls or shell of the microcapsules may be configured to rupture under a force required to tear the flexible retainer from whatever it is adhered to by the adhesive. The walls or shell may comprise ethyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, gelatine and / or sodium alginate, although other examples are possible. 30 It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed systems and methods. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosed systems and methods. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary 35 only, with a true scope being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

27 09 231. A packaging container for the transit of consumer goods, the packaging container comprising:5 a plurality of outer walls forming a void into which the consumer goods can be placed;at least one flexible retainer secured to one or more of the outer walls at one or more points, the remainder of the flexible retainer being free; andan adhesive coated on at least a portion of the free remainder of the flexible retainer, wherein the flexible retainer is configured to be folded such that the adhesive adheres 10 to one or more of the plurality of outer walls and / or a further portion of the flexible retainer so as to retain the consumer goods in the void,and wherein the adhesive comprises microcapsules including a scented material surrounded by an outer shell that is rupturable by a force required to pull the adhesive apart from the one or more of the plurality of outer walls and / or the further portion of the flexible 15 retainer.

2. A packaging container according to claim 1, wherein the flexible retainer is configured to be scrunched to fill the one or more regions of the void, and wherein the adhesive is configured to adhere to the one or more of the plurality of outerwalls and / orthe further portion 20 of the flexible retainer when the flexible retainer is scrunched.

3. A packaging container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flexible retainer is configured to be folded over the consumer goods such that the adhesive adheres to one or more of the outer walls to cover the consumer goods and retain them against the one or more 25 outer walls.

4. The packaging container of any preceding claim, wherein the flexible retainer is secured to the one or more outer walls along at least one edge.30 5. The packaging container of any preceding claim, wherein the flexible retainercomprises a sheet of flexible material.

6. The packaging container of claim 5, wherein the sheet of flexible material comprises a sheet of paper-based material.

357. The packaging container of any preceding claim, wherein the adhesive is applied only to one surface of the flexible retainer.27 09 238. The packaging container of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the adhesive is applied to at least two surfaces of the flexible retainer.5 9. The packaging container of any preceding claim, wherein the adhesive is applied to atleast a portion of one or more of the outer walls.

10. The packaging container of any preceding claim, wherein the adhesive is a cohesive material.1011. The packaging container of any preceding claim, wherein the packaging container is a box having a base, at least three sidewalls and a lid.

12. The packaging container of claim 11, wherein the flexible retainer is secured to one or 15 more of the sidewalls and / or the base.

13. The packaging container of claim 11 or 12, comprising a plurality of flexible retainers, each secured to one or more sidewalls and / or the base.20 14. The packaging container of any of claims 11 to 13, wherein a free portion of the flexibleretainer extends beyond a height of the sidewalls.

15. A blank for forming a packaging container for the transit of consumer goods, the blank comprising:25 a plurality of outer walls for forming a void into which the consumer goods can beplaced;at least one flexible retainer secured to one or more of the outer walls at one or more points, the remainder of the flexible retainer being free; andan adhesive coated on at least a portion of the flexible retainer,30 wherein the flexible retainer is configured to be folded such that the adhesive adheresto one or more of the plurality of outer walls and / or a further portion of the flexible retainer so as to retain the consumer goods in the void,and wherein the adhesive comprises microcapsules including a scented material surrounded by an outer shell that is rupturable by a force required to pull the adhesive apart35 from the one or more of the plurality of outer walls and / or the further portion of the flexible retainer.

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