Improvements in or relating to paint roller tube packaging

Abstract

A display packaging 10 for displaying a paint roller tube. The display packaging 10 comprises a hanging end member 14a that includes a hanging aperture 24 configured to be received by a hanger for dis

Description

This invention relates to a display packaging for displaying a paint roller tube. 5 It is known to manufacture and sell paint roller tubes separate to a paint roller device so that the paint roller tube can be replaced, e.g. because of wear of the paint roller tube or to use a different style or texture of paint roller tube for different painting tasks. It is understood that the paint roller tube is the tubular roller part which is rotatably secured to a paint roller device and is used to apply paint to a surface. Paint roller 10 tubes, especially when sold individually, are typically stored and displayed via a plastic bag. There is a need to provide a more environmentally friendly packaging solution for paint rollers. The solutions provided for by the invention will reduce the amount of packaging, 15 i.e. eliminate the need for a plastic bag, and, in some embodiments, be able to be made from a single piece of material (such as card). This will make the packaging easier to recycle and have less manufacturing steps to produce the packaging. Many paint roller tubes have a completely hollow core and an outer paint application 20 surface (which may be made from a fabric such as a polyester or polyamide, for example). In such paint roller tubes, a paint roller device would be inserted into the and through the hollow core to rotatably secure the paint roller tube to the paint roller device. Other rollers, typically those over a certain diameter, are fitted with end caps which each receive a pin or separate pins of a paint roller device. In such paint roller 25 tubes, the paint roller tube is rotatably secured to the paint roller device via the end caps. There is, therefore, a need to provide an environmentally friendly packaging solution for both types of paint roller tubes. 30 According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a display packaging for displaying a paint roller tube, the display packaging comprising an insert member having first and second end stops and an elongate body extending between the first and second end stops, the elongate body being configured to be received by the paint roller tube in use, and the first and second end stops each having a width wider than 35 the diameter of the paint roller tube to retain the paint roller tube on the elongate body and between the first and second end stops in use, wherein at least one of the first and second end stops incudes at least one folded portion that is foldable to reduce the width of the at least one of the first and second end stops to a width less than the 02 08 24 diameter of the paint roller tube so as to permit the paint roller tube to be slid over the at least one of the first and second end stops when it is in a folded position, the folded portion being capable of being unfolded into an unfolded position to define a width that extends wider than the diameter of the paint roller tube once the paint roller 5 tube is in situ, wherein the at least one of the first and second end stops includes two folding portions positioned on either side of the at least one of the first and second end stops, respective fold lines that define each of the folding portions being positioned on a respective folding portion, and being aligned to or beyond the width of the elongate body, the first and second end stops and elongate body being co-planar with one 10 another when the paint roller is in-situ, wherein respective connecting edges extending between the outer edge of the elongate body and outer edge of each of the first and second end stops are slanted. The two folding portions may be a mirror image of one another. 15 Each of the first and second end stops may include a folded portion. Optionally, the slant direction from the or each of the first and second end stops is towards the other of the first and second end stops. 20 The display packaging may further include a body support portion extending outwardly from the elongate body so as to increase the width of the elongate body at the body support portion to more than the width of the remainder of the elongate body but equal to or less than the width of the first and second end stops. 25 Preferably the insert member includes more than one body support portion. In an embodiment, the first end stop includes a hanging aperture configured to receive a hanging member for displaying the paint roller tube, the first end stop being 30 considered to be located at a top end of the insert member when the packaging is hung. At least the first end stop may include at least one folded portion. Optionally the elongate body and first and second end stops are integrally formed to 35 create a single piece insert member. The display packaging may further comprise a sleeve member configured to extend around the paint roller tube when in situ on the insert member. 04 06 24 The sleeve member may be integrally formed with the insert member. According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a paint roller tube for display comprising: 5 a display packaging as described hereinabove, and a paint roller tube cooperating with the display packaging. A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 10 Figures la and lb show a display packaging for displaying a paint roller tube according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows the display packaging of Figure la and Figure lb in use with a paint roller tube; Figures 3a, 3b and 3c show the display packaging of Figure la and Figure lb 15 with additional body support portions; Figure 4 shows an alternative display packaging; and Figure 5 shows the display packaging of Figure 4 with the addition of interference ridges. 20 A display packaging 10 according to an embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures la to 3c. The display packaging 10 is intended to be used with a paint roller tube 18 which has an entirely hollow core. It will be understood that the paint roller tube 18 has an inner 25 diameter (i.e. the hollow core) and an outer diameter (i.e. defined by the outer surface such as the outer fibre or foam). The display packaging 10 includes an insert member 12 that has first and second end stops 14a, 14b and an elongate body 16 that extends between the first and second 30 end stops 14a, 14b. In other sections of this application, the first end stop 14a may be referred to as a hanging end member 14a. As will be explained in more detail below (and as shown in Figure 2), the hanging end member 14a is configured to be secured at one end of a 35 paint roller tube 18 (i.e. via the paint roller tube being held between the hanging end member 14a and the second end stop 14b in this embodiment). 04 06 24 The elongate body 16 is inserted into the hollow core of a paint roller tube 18 in use (see Figure 2). Therefore, the elongate body 16 must have a width Wb that is less than the inner diameter of the paint roller tube 18, and must have a length that is at least the length of the paint roller tube 18 so as to allow the elongate body 16 to be 5 inserted into and along the length of the paint roller tube 18. Typically, there are standard sizes of paint roller tubes 18 and so a skilled person could readily size the elongate body 16 to suit the size of the paint roller tube 18 with which the display packaging 10 is going to be used. 10 The first and second end stops 14a, 14b each have a width We that is wider than at least the inner diameter of the paint roller tube 18. A shown more clearly in Figure 2, the first and second end stops 14a, 14b each have a width We that is wider than the inner diameter of the paint roller tube 18 but narrower than the outer diameter of the paint roller tube 18. In this way, the first and second end stops 14a, 14b do not extend 15 outwardly from the outer surface of the paint roller tube 18 and so do not take up more space than the paint roller tube 18. In other embodiments, the first and second end stops 14a, 14b may instead have a width We that is wider than the outer diameter of the paint roller tube 18 so that they 20 each extend past the width of the paint roller tube 18. However, care must be taken to ensure that, when the or each end stops 14a, 14b are folded to allow the paint roller tube 18 to be slid over the or each end stop 14a, 14b (as described in more detail below), that the size and shape of the folded portion does not prevent the insertion of the display packaging 10 into the paint roller tube 18. 25 The elongate body 16 and the first and second end stops 14a, 14b cooperate to retain the paint roller tube 18 onto the elongate body 16 and between the first and second end stops 14a, 14b when the elongate body 16 is inserted into the paint roller tube 18 (see Figure 2). 30 To get the paint roller tube 18 onto the elongate body 16, the first end stop 14a includes a pair of folding portions 20 that are each folded to reduce the width We of the first end stop 14a to a width less than the inner diameter of the paint roller tube 18 (see Figure lb). This allows the paint roller tube 18 to be slid over the first end stop 35 14a when it is in the folded position. Moreover, the folding portions 20 are capable of being unfolded into an unfolded position (i.e. a substantially flat position, as shown in Figures la and 2) to define a 04 06 24 width that extends wider than the diameter of the paint roller tube 18 once the paint roller tube 18 is in situ on the elongate body 16. It will be understood that in the unfolded position, the width defined by the folding portions 20 is substantially the same as the width We of the first end stop 14a. However, depending on how the folding 5 portions 20 are unfolded (and, in some instances, how many times they have been folded and unfolded) will depend on how well the folding portions 20 are able to be flattened. Therefore, the width defined by the folding portions 20 being in the unfolded position after they have been folded into the folded position may be slightly less than the width We of the first end stop 14a. 10 In this embodiment, fold lines 22 that define each of the folding portions 20 are aligned with the width Wb of the elongate body 16, and so the pair of folding portions 20 are folded to reduce the width We of the first end stop 14a to the width Wb of the elongate body 16. In other embodiments, the reduced width might be somewhere between the 15 width We of the first end stop and the width Wb of the elongate body 16. The folding portions 20 in this embodiment are a mirror image of one another. In other embodiments, this may not be the case, e.g. the folding portions 20 may each have a different shape to one another and / or may be offset from the centre of the elongate 20 body 16. In the embodiment shown, only the first end stop 14a includes the folding portions 20. This means that the paint roller tube 18 is slid over the first end stop 14a when the folding portions 20 are folded, and along the elongate body 16 until it reaches the 25 second end stop 14b. The folding portions 20 are then flattened to their unfolded position to retain the paint roller tube 18 in place between the first and second end portions 14a, 14b. The paint roller tube 18 would likewise be removed from the packaging 10 by folding the folding portions 20 again and sliding the paint roller tube 18 back over the first end stop 14a. 30 In other embodiments, both of the first and second end stops 14a, 14b may include one or more folding portions 20. In this way, the paint roller tube 18 could be slid over or removed from the elongate body 16 via either the first or second end stops 14a, 14b. Moreover, the number, positioning and shape of the folding portions 20 may 35 differ at each of the first and second end stops 14a, 14b. As shown more clearly in Figure la, a connecting surface 23 that extends between each side of the elongate body 16 and the respective first and second end stops 14a, 14b is slanted. The slant direction Ds from each first and second end stop 14a, 14b to the respective side of the elongate body 16 is towards the other one of the first and second end stop 14a, 14b. In other words, the slant direction Ds of the connection surface 23 at the first end stop 14a goes from the first end stop 14a to the respective 5 side of the elongate body 16 in a direction towards the second end stop 14b. In the orientation shown in Figure la, this is slanted in the downwards direction. The opposite is true for the slant direction of the second end stop 14b which is slanted in the upwards direction (i.e. towards the first end stop 14a). 10 When the paint roller tube 18 is in situ on the packaging 10, the connecting surfaces 23 slant towards the adjacent end of the paint roller tube 18 and, preferably, abut the adjacent end of the paint roller tube 18. This helps to retain the paint roller tube 18 in place. 04 06 24 15 The first end stop 14a includes a hanging aperture 24 that is shaped and sized to receive a hanging member (such as a standard shop fixture) for hanging display of the paint roller tube 18. Such a hanging aperture 24 may be a standard Euroslot shaped hanger tab (as shown in Figures la and lb). The first end stop 14a is the end which is located at the top end of the packaging 10 when the packaging 10 is hung via the 20 hanging aperture 24. Although it is preferred that the end stop 14a, 14b with the hanging aperture 24 is the one also with the folding portions 20, this may not be the case and it may be the end stop 14a, 14b positioned at the bottom of the packaging 10 which includes the folding portions 20 (or, as explained above, both end stops 14a, 14b may have folding portions 20). 25 In this embodiment, the insert member 12 is a single piece insert member 12 (i.e. the elongate body 16 and first and second end stops 14a, 14b are integrally formed with one another). Moreover, preferably the insert member 12 is made from card. The fold lines 22 may be created in the insert member 12 by any suitable means, such as by 30 scoring, pre-folding, perforations or a combination thereof. As shown in Figure 2, the packaging 10 further includes a sleeve member 26 that is configured to extend around the paint roller tube 18 when it is in situ on the insert member 12. The sleeve member 26 may also be integrally formed with the insert 35 member 12. The sleeve member 26 may instead be separately secured to the insert member 12. The sleeve member 26 may be secured around the paint roller tube 18 by any suitable means, such as adhesive, an adhesive tape (such as Sellotape™) or mutually engageable attachment portions that are formed by the sleeve member 26. 04 06 24 Turning to Figures 3a, to 3c, the insert member 12 may further include one or more body support portions 28. Different example configurations of such body support portions 28 are shown in Figures 3a to 3c. The body support portions 28 extend 5 outwardly from the elongate body 16 so as to increase the width Wsof the elongate body 16 to more than the width Wb of the remainder of the elongate body 16 (i.e. the portions of the elongate body 16 which do not have the body support portions 28), but less than the width We of the first and second end stops 14a, 14b. In this way, the body support portions 28 do not interfere with the insertion of the elongate body 16 10 into the paint roller tube 18 but provide additional structural integrity to the insert member 12 and provide support to the paint roller tube 18. Preferably the width Ws of the body support portions 28 is very slightly less than the inner diameter of the paint roller tube 18. 15 As shown in Figure 3a, there may be a pair of body support portions 28 that extend only along a short length of the elongate body 16 and on either side of the elongate body 16. The body support portions 28 are shown located at the top end (i.e. towards the first end stop 14a) but may instead be located at the second end of the elongate body 16 or somewhere in between. Moreover, the body support portions 28 may be 20 staggered on either side of the elongate body 16 so that the portions 28 in a given pair are not aligned with one another. As shown in Figure 3b, there may be two pairs of body support portions 28 that extend only along a short length of the elongate body 16 on either side of the elongate body 25 16, and with each pair being located at either end of the elongate body 16 (i.e. one pair towards the first end stop 14a and the other pair towards the second end stop 14b). Again, the body support portions 28 may be located at one end and somewhere in between, and the pairs may be staggered on either side of the elongate body 16. Moreover, there may be further pairs of body support portions 28, e.g. another pair 30 positioned in the middle of the elongate body 16. As shown in Figure 3c, there may be a pair of body support portions 28 that extend along a long length of the elongate body 16 on either side of the elongate body 16. The body support portions 28 may extend along a majority of the elongate body 16. 35 In each embodiment shown in Figures 3a to 3c, the body support portions 28 are positioned spaced from the or each first and second end stop 14a, 14b so that there is a gap between the or each first and second end stop 14a, 14b and the adjacent body 04 06 24 support portion 28. This is preferred so that the body support portions 28 do not interfere with the folding of the folding portions 20 or the insertion of the elongate body 16 into the paint roller tube 18. However, the body support portions 28 may be located at or closer to the or each first and second end stop 14a, 14b. 5 The first end stop 14a further includes an outwardly facing surface 30 that is visible when the paint roller tube 18 is in situ with the packaging 10, and is sized and shaped to have enough space for displaying merchandising information thereon (see Figure 2). 10 An alternative display packaging 100 is shown in Figures 4 and 5. The alternative display packaging 100 is intended to be used with a paint roller tube 102 that has end caps 104. At least one of the end caps 104 of the paint roller tube 102 includes an attachment portion 106. 15 The display packaging 100 includes a hanging end member 110 that includes an attachment portion 112. The attachment portion 112 is configured to be secured to a mutually engageable attachment portion 106 (i.e. formed in one of the end caps 104) of the paint roller tube 102. In this way, the hanging end member 110 is considered 20 to be secured at one end of the paint roller tube 102. As shown in Figure 4, the attachment portion 112 of the hanging end member 110 is an elongate threaded member 114, and the attachment portion 106 of the paint roller tube 102 is a threaded hole 108. The threaded hole 108 is formed in one of the end 25 caps 104 of the paint roller tube 102. Therefore, the elongate threaded member 114 of the hanging end member 110 is screwed into the threaded hole 108 of the end cap 104 so as to affix the hanging end member 110 to the paint roller tube 102 (i.e. via the end cap 104). 30 The attachment portion 112 of the hanging end member 110 may instead be the threaded hole 108 and the attachment portion 106 of the paint roller tube 102 may instead be the elongate threaded member 114. Moreover, the mutually engageable attachment portions 112, 106 may take any other suitable form. 35 The threaded hole 108 may also be used for attachment of pins of a paint roller device when the paint roller tube 102 is being used for painting. Both of the end caps 104 of the paint roller tube 102 may include the attachment portion 106. The paint roller tube 102 may include only a single end cap 104 solely for the purpose of securing the 04 06 24 paint roller tube 102 to the hanging end member 110. The end cap 104 may be configured to be removeable from the paint roller tube 102, and be reinserted into the paint roller tube 102 so as to be reused for hanging the paint roller tube 102 (e.g. for drying the paint roller tube 102). 5 The hanging end member 110 further includes a hanging aperture 24, as previously described in relation to Figures 1 to 3c. The hanging end member 110 is located at the top end of the packaging 100 when the paint roller tube 102 is hung via the hanging aperture 24. 10 The packaging 100 needs only a single hanging end member 110. However, a second hanging end member 110 may be secured to the opposite end of the paint roller tube 102 so that the paint roller tube 102 can be hung from either end. Moreover, depending on whether a standard end cap 104 of the paint roller tube 102 can be used or whether 15 a specialist end cap 104 must be used with the hanging end member 110, the packaging 100 may be considered to include one or more end caps 104 which are selectively inserted into the a hollow paint roller tube 102. The hanging end member 110 further includes an outwardly facing surface 30 that is 20 visible when the paint roller tube 202 is in situ with the packaging 100, and is sized and shaped to have enough space for displaying merchandising information thereon. The hanging end member 110 is a single piece and may be formed from card, plastics, metal or any other suitable material. 25 As shown in Figure 5, the end cap 102 may further include a series of interference ridges 109 located on the outer surface of the end cap 102. The interference ridges 109 protrude slightly from the outer surface of the end cap so that they abut the inner surface of the paint roller tube 102 to provide a tight and secure fit of the end cap 102 30 to the paint roller tube 102. The interference ridges 109, as shown, extend between the top and bottom ends of the end cap 102. Moreover, the ridges 109 may be angled. In other examples, the ridges may take any other suitable form. 02 08 24

Claims

1. A display packaging for displaying a paint roller tube, the display packaging comprising an insert member having first and second end stops and an elongate body 5 extending between the first and second end stops, the elongate body being configured to be received by the paint roller tube in use, and the first and second end stops each having a width wider than the diameter of the paint roller tube to retain the paint roller tube on the elongate body and between the first and second end stops in use, wherein at least one of the first and second end stops incudes at least one folded portion that 10 is foldable to reduce the width of the at least one of the first and second end stops to a width less than the diameter of the paint roller tube so as to permit the paint roller tube to be slid over the at least one of the first and second end stops when it is in a folded position, the folded portion being capable of being unfolded into an unfolded position to define a width that extends wider than the diameter of the paint roller tube 15 once the paint roller tube is in situ, wherein the at least one of the first and second end stops includes two folding portions positioned on either side of the at least one of the first and second end stops, respective fold lines that define each of the folding portions being positioned aligned to or beyond the width of the elongate body, the first and second end stops and elongate body being co-planar with one another when the 20 paint roller is in-situ, wherein respective connecting edges extending between the outer edge of the elongate body and outer edge of each of the first and second end stops are slanted.

2. A display packaging according to Claim 1 wherein the two folding portions are 25 a mirror image of one another.

3. A display packaging according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein each of the first and second end stops includes a folded portion.30 4. A display packaging according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the slantdirection from the or each of the first and second end stops is towards the other of the first and second end stops.

5. A display packaging according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 further including a 35 body support portion extending outwardly from the elongate body so as to increase the width of the elongate body at the body support portion to more than the width of the remainder of the elongate body but equal to or less than the width of the first and second end stops.02 08 246. A display packaging according to Claim 5 wherein the insert member includes more than one body support portion.

7. A display packaging according to any one of Claims 1 to 6 wherein the first end5 stop includes a hanging aperture configured to receive a hanging member for displaying the paint roller tube, the first end stop being considered to be located at a top end of the insert member when the packaging is hung.

8. A display packaging according to Claim 7 wherein at least the first end stop 10 includes at least one folded portion.

9. A display packaging according to any one of Claims 1 to 8 wherein the elongate body and first and second end stops are integrally formed to create a single piece insert member.1510. A display packaging according to any one of Claims 1 to 9 further comprising a sleeve member configured to extend around the paint roller tube when in situ on the insert member.20 11. A display packaging according to Claim 10 wherein the sleeve member isintegrally formed with the insert member.

12. A paint roller tube for display comprising:a display packaging according to any preceding claim, and25 a paint roller tube cooperating with the display packaging.

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