Method for digitally designing and manufacturing custom packaging for an article, means for carrying out said method, and resulting packaging

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for digitally designing and digitally manufacturing custom packaging for an article, which consists of performing the following operations: automatically determining the family of the article to which the article belongs; automatically determining the subfamily to which the article belongs according to the morphology of the article; evaluating the dimensions of the article; determining a packaging model whose internal volumetric space is capable of accommodating the article; identifying, locating, defining and quantifying preferred wedging areas; creating a 3D digital design of the packaging and its preferred wedging areas; digitally decomposing the packaging and its preferred wedging areas by creating different complementary elementary layers by digital slicing; reproducing the different layers by cutting a suitable material in sheet form to obtain a multi-layer structure, and then stacking and / or juxtaposing, positioning, assembling and fixing the different multi-layer structures to form the packaging.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] It is an object of the present invention to automatically and digitally design and manufacture custom packaging for an item.

[0002] Currently, a rapid growth in the shipment of goods is being witnessed, in particular due to the existence of mail order platforms for the resale of, for example, second-hand goods.

[0003] Generally speaking, it is preferable, and sometimes even necessary, to transport goods in packaging. When it comes to the transport of goods, a distinction should be made between two main categories: new goods and non-new goods.

[0004] The new item is packaged in the original packaging that is specifically designed for the item in question and therefore capable of meeting shipping requirements.

[0005] For other items, sometimes even new items, shipment by carrier requires that the item be packaged if the original packaging is not retained, or in some cases if the original or individual packaging is absent.

[0006] In practice, a box is required that is large enough to hold the items to be placed inside, and then the empty space is filled with cushioning products such as fillers and / or loose particles, which can be various materials such as polystyrene, paper, cardboard, or inflatable bags.

[0007] If the article is large and the voids to be filled are considerable, this may require large amounts of filler and / or padding, which represents additional costs and, above all, a questionable ecological balance that may be somewhat prohibitive today.

[0008] To illustrate the problem posed above, the example of shipping a bicycle can be taken, where the purpose could be, for example, to deliver a used bicycle to a buyer, or to send one's own bicycle, for example, to a holiday destination, or to send a bicycle for a competition.

[0009] First, when a bike is purchased new it is unwrapped and therefore does not have the original packaging, and second, packaging a bike in a box requires a large box, but not too large in order to stay within the specifications required by carriers, and also requires a significant amount of filler and / or cushioning material to fill the void.

[0010] Some have tried to solve this problem in the past, but without success. US Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 139171 describes a system for optimizing the production of packaging, which consists in evaluating the amount of cushioning material required, such as, in particular, wood, bubble wrap, inflatable bags, foam, cardboard, paper, plastic or molded pads, and reducing the amount of this filling and / or cushioning product without eliminating its use.

[0011] EP 2239210 describes a bicycle shipping box designed to accommodate different frame sizes or different types of bicycle frames, i.e. the packaging is the same regardless of the bicycle being packaged, but the fittings packed inside can be modified to accommodate different types of bicycle parts. The outer dimensions of the packaging are therefore fixed and designed to be as large as possible, making it impossible to optimize the overall size.

[0012] The present invention is not limited to packaging and shipping bicycles, another example use is shipping large tools that do not have their original packaging, but need to be packaged for shipping, such as, but not limited to, lawnmowers, brush cutters, chainsaws, etc.

[0013] The object of the present invention is to propose a method for digitally designing and producing custom packaging, which allows secure packaging of the items to be packaged, can be achieved automatically for most items that may be transported, avoids the use of fillers and / or cushioning materials and minimizes the material used, means for implementing said method, and the resulting packaging.

[0014] A method for digitally designing and digitally manufacturing packaging for an article, in accordance with the present invention, comprises the following operations: -recognizing the item to be packaged; - automatically determining the family of articles to which the article belongs; - automatically determining the subfamily to which the object belongs according to the morphology of the object, evaluating the dimensions of the object and determining a packaging model whose internal volume space can accommodate the object; - identifying, locating, defining and quantifying preferred wedging regions; - creating a 3D digital design of the packaging and its preferred wedging area; - digitally decomposing the packaging and its preferred wedging regions into different complementary elementary layers by digital slicing; - reproducing the different layers by cutting a suitable material in sheet form to obtain a multi-layer structure; - then stacking and / or juxtaposing, positioning, assembling and fixing the different multi-layer structures to form a package.

[0015] The method according to the invention allows for custom digital packaging, both wrapping and wedging, from sheet packaging material with no size limitations, thus eliminating the need to accumulate stock of crates in multiple formats.

[0016] This method does not require the entire article to be digitized, but rather only a portion of the article, ie, the preferred wedging area, to optimize wedging.

[0017] According to an additional feature of the digital design method according to the invention, determining the subfamily to which an article belongs according to its morphology consists in identifying commonalities and peculiarities and comparing them with previously performed morphological classifications.

[0018] According to another additional feature of the method according to the invention, the multi-layer structure is optimally distributed in the kit on one or more sheets.

[0019] The kit method optimizes the use of just the right amount of material with minimal waste.

[0020] According to another additional feature of the digital design method according to the invention, the wedging regions are made of separate elements.

[0021] According to another additional feature of the digital design method according to the present invention, prior to the 3D digital design operation of the packaging, an additional step is performed of identifying, locating and defining one or more protective areas for the article to be packaged.

[0022] According to another additional feature of the method according to the invention, the step of determining the packaging model is associated with an operation of selecting the packaging model from a selection obtained from the typological study.

[0023] According to another additional feature of the digital design method according to the invention, the operation of selecting the packaging model is followed by an operation of identifying possible areas of lower strength of the packaging, followed by an operation of modeling a reinforcement of the packaging making it possible to modify those possible areas of lower strength, then an operation of digitally decomposing said reinforcement into different complementary elementary layers by digital slicing and integrating the manufacture of said reinforcement with the manufacture of the packaging.

[0024] According to another additional feature of the digital design method according to the invention, prior to the cutting operation, an identification of each of the multi-layer structures is carried out and an assembly instruction manual is created.

[0025] Such an operation facilitates the assembly of the package, taking into account that the various parts which make up the package are numerous and may originate from several sheets.

[0026] The packaging data can also be stored electronically, for example for transmission to an assembly location that may be remote from the design location. It is also possible to store the data for reuse when an identical article is found for packaging, since this stored data can constantly change as part of the evolution of the article.

[0027] According to another additional feature of the digital design method according to the invention, the suitable material consists of cardboard or other bio-based recyclable sheet-like material.

[0028] According to another additional feature of the digital design method according to the invention, the different layers are joined to one another by gluing and / or by mutual locking and / or by locking with a locking key.

[0029] According to another additional feature of the digital design method according to the invention, during the cutting operation, openings are created to facilitate transport of the package.

[0030] Such cutouts may be formed in the packaging walls to allow for hand access.

[0031] According to another additional feature of the digital design method according to the invention, means are created for fastening the various elements together during the cutting operation.

[0032] For example, a tenon / mortise type system may be cut into the sheet or may be locked with a locking key, allowing for easy disassembly.

[0033] It should be noted that, particularly in the case of larger packages, it is planned to complete the manufacture of the package through a strapping operation, whether using one or more straps or adhesive tape, or possibly by shrink wrapping.

[0034] The invention also relates to means for implementing the digital design method according to the invention, comprising means for detecting and recognizing the article to be packaged, means for taking measurements of the article, computer means associated with one or more software programs for designing the packaging and digitally breaking the packaging into different complementary elementary layers by digital slicing, and means for transmitting to a sheet cutting means for the purpose of producing a kit.

[0035] According to an additional feature, the means for performing the method also comprises automated assembly means.

[0036] All the means used can of course be managed by a PLC.

[0037] Even if the assembly of the packages and the positioning of the articles to be packaged could be automated or robotized, for obvious cost reasons these operations are still performed manually.

[0038] However, it is conceivable that certain operations, such as the assembly of layers intended to form wedging means and / or reinforcing means, can be performed mechanically. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0039] The advantages and features of the digital design method and device according to the invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which show one non-limiting embodiment of the invention.

[0040] The following description is not limited to making packaging for bicycles, but can, of course, be applied to making packaging for other items.

[0041] The accompanying drawings are as follows: [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a model of a bicycle that is packaged using the digital design method according to the invention; [Figure 2A] 1A-1D are schematic perspective views showing successive steps of modelling the packaging to be produced; [Figure 2B] 1A-1D are schematic perspective views showing successive steps of modelling the packaging to be produced; [Figure 2C] 1A-1D are schematic perspective views showing successive steps of modelling the packaging to be produced; [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the packaging manufacturing steps, particularly the formation of a kit. [Figure 4] 11A-11C are schematic perspective views showing subsequent packaging construction steps; [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a bicycle being packaged; [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the completed package. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0042] With reference to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of a bicycle can be seen for which packaging is to be manufactured using the digital design method according to the invention.

[0043] Before this modeling, preliminary operations are performed, namely, recognizing the object to be packaged, determining the family of objects to which it belongs, and identifying the subfamily within that family into which it can be classified. Since the method is suitable for all types of objects, it is necessary to narrow down the possibilities beforehand. Thus, once the bicycle is recognized and the search is limited to the bicycle family, the subfamily is automatically determined by a morphological investigation: racing bicycle, mountain bike or city bike. The dimensions of the bicycle can then be evaluated. This operation is performed after the subfamily search operation, since some measurements may be more important than others.

[0044] The automatic determination of the subfamily determined by morphological studies is important because it makes it unnecessary to take a large number of measurements: in fact, by identifying the subfamily, this can be limited to a small number of measurements, mainly related to the frame and / or delicate technical parts.

[0045] 1 shows a model of a bicycle 1, showing a rear wheel 10, a front wheel 11, a saddle 12, handlebars 13, a crankset 14, a derailleur 15 (if included) and a front fork 16. According to the invention, in the case of a bicycle, it is envisaged that the bicycle is at least partially disassembled, in which case the front wheel 11 is disassembled.

[0046] All these elements are represented by a solid designed to contain them, so that free space can be used for wedging.

[0047] It should be noted that the bicycle frame is not modelled as it is necessarily smaller than the wheels and its thickness is negligible compared to the lateral dimensions of, for example, the crankset.

[0048] The next step, as shown diagrammatically in Figure 2A, is to model the wedging area of ​​the bicycle based on known subfamily data and actual measurements. In this example, this essentially involves creating a base 2 of a certain thickness, including a groove 20 for receiving the rear wheel 10, a groove 21 for receiving the removed front wheel 11, and a recess 22 for receiving the free end of the bicycle fork 16.

[0049] It should be noted that the base 2 also features structural elements designed to reinforce the package, consisting of spacers 23 designed to be positioned laterally to support the side walls (not shown) of the package.

[0050] Also formed is an element 3 for fastening the saddle 12, which in this case includes a groove 30 for receiving the stem (not shown) of the saddle 12, which may optionally include a groove for receiving at least one wheel (e.g. the front wheel 11), and which has lateral dimensions suitable for providing support for the side walls (not shown) of the packaging, preventing the latter from collapsing.

[0051] 2B, involves modeling the side walls 4 and the lateral support elements 40 distributed around the periphery. Together with the spacers 23 and the elements 3, these transverse elements 40 provide anti-collapse measures in the lateral direction.

[0052] The next step, shown in FIG. 2C, consists of modelling the peripheral wall 5 attached to the wall 4, or more precisely the side surface 50 constituting the peripheral wall 5, while the next step, not shown, consists of creating a second side wall, which in this case may be identical to side wall 4.

[0053] These various models also determine the location and number of openings 41 in wall 4 and openings 51 in wall 5 designed to form handles for carrying the package.

[0054] It should be noted that, to speed and ease assembly, both wall 4 and the adjacent wall may be provided with slot-type openings into which tongues 52 at the edges of side walls 50 may be inserted to allow interlocking assembly, as shown in FIG. 2C.

[0055] After modeling the entire packaging, the various parts to be manufactured are digitized, i.e. on the one hand, flat parts such as the walls, on the other hand parts with a certain volume, such as the base 3 and the elements 30, the wedging areas. The flat parts are digitized to determine their contours, whereas the volume parts are decomposed by digital slicing into different complementary elementary layers, so that these volume parts can be reproduced by stacking these complementary elementary layers.

[0056] Once the packaging is digitally disassembled, the individual components are arranged into one or more kits with the aim of optimizing and maximizing the use of the materials used.

[0057] This material is essentially cardboard and is packaged in sheets 6, as shown in figure 3. This figure shows such cardboard sheets or sheets 6 arranged on a cutting table 7 equipped with multi-axis cutting means, which make it possible to trace and cut the cardboard sheets or sheets 6 according to a kit 60 to produce flat elements 61 for assembly.

[0058] Of course, the method is not limited to the use of cardboard sheets, it is entirely possible to choose other materials that can be packaged in sheets, preferably, but not limited to, bio-based and / or recyclable.

[0059] It should be noted that, prior to or simultaneously with this cutting operation, it is possible to mark the various parts of the kit 60, for example by printing, in order to identify the elements 61 during assembly.

[0060] Furthermore, the cutting table 7 is supplied with sheets 6 stored in racks to allow continuous production.

[0061] Referring now to FIG. 4, there can be seen in schematic form the operation consisting of stacking elements 61 forming the layers of the bulky part of the packaging, these elements being assembled and fixed by operations such as, but not limited to, gluing.

[0062] It should also be noted that depending on the packaging being produced, it may be necessary to perform one or more creasing operations on a particular element 61 that is intended to contain one or more folds.

[0063] FIG. 5 shows the steps of the operation of packaging a bicycle 8 packaged in a packaging 9 resulting from the assembly of various elements 61 from a kit 60 .

[0064] The parts of the bicycle 8 are visible: rear wheel 80, front wheel 81, saddle 82, handlebars 83, crankset 84 and derailleur 85, as well as frame 86, front fork 87 and seat post 88.

[0065] Packaging 9 has the same features as the model packaging, and FIG. 5 shows a base 90 having a groove 91 for receiving the rear wheel 80, a groove 92 for receiving the front wheel 81 when disassembled, and a recess 93 for receiving the free end of the fork 87, which is shaped like a groove parallel to grooves 91 and 92 so as to hold the fork 87 in a position rotated by 90° and thus orient the handlebars 83 longitudinally.

[0066] The packaging 9 also includes a wedging element 94 designed to form a spacer and including a recess 95 that spans the saddle 82 , which may also include a groove that engages the saddle post 88 .

[0067] 6, there can be seen the completed package 9 having two outer walls 96 and 97, a peripheral wall 98, and a carrying handle 99. Although not shown here, a final strapping operation ties the assembly together prior to shipping.

[0068] All the above mentioned operations are of course controlled by dedicated software and form part of a complete continuous digital chain.

Claims

1. 1. A method for digitally designing and manufacturing custom packaging (9) for an item (8), comprising the following operations: - recognizing the item (8) to be packaged; - automatically determining the family of items to which said item (8) belongs; - automatically determining the subfamily to which said item (8) belongs according to the shape of said item, assessing the dimensions of said item and determining a packaging model whose internal volume space is capable of containing said item; - Identifying, locating, defining and quantifying the wedging area (2, 3); - creating a 3D digital design of said custom packaging and said wedging area (2, 3); - digitally decomposing said customized packaging and said wedging area (2, 3) into different complementary elementary layers by digital slicing; - reproducing said different complementary elementary layers by cutting operations in the material packaged in sheets (6) to obtain a multi-layer structure (61); - then stacking and / or juxtaposing, positioning, assembling and fixing said different complementary base layers (61) to form said custom packaging (9); 3. A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of digitally designing and manufacturing according to claim 1, characterized in that the determination of the subfamily to which the article (8) belongs as a function of its morphology consists of identifying commonalities and peculiarities and comparing them with previously performed morphological classifications.

3. 3. A method for digitally designing and manufacturing according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the multi-layer structure (61) is distributed in a kit (60) on one or more sheets (6).

4. 2. A method for digitally designing and manufacturing according to claim 1, characterized in that the wedging areas (2, 3) consist of independent elements.

5. 10. The digitally designing and manufacturing method of claim 1, characterized in that, prior to the custom packaging 3D digital design operation, an additional step is performed of identifying, locating, and defining one or more protective areas of the item to be packaged.

6. 2. The method of digitally designing and manufacturing according to claim 1, characterized in that the step of determining the packaging model is associated with an operation of selecting the packaging model from a selection obtained from a typological study.

7. 7. The digitally design and manufacturing method of claim 6, wherein the operation of selecting the packaging model incorporates an operation of identifying any areas of lower strength of the packaging model, followed by an operation of modeling reinforcements of the packaging model that allows the areas of lower strength to be modified, and then an operation of digitally decomposing the reinforcements into different complementary elementary layers by digital slicing and integrating the manufacturing of the reinforcements with the manufacturing of the packaging model.

8. 2. The method of digitally designing and manufacturing according to claim 1, characterized in that, prior to the cutting operation, each of the multi-layer structures (61) is identified and assembly instructions are generated.

9. 2. The digitally designing and manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the suitable material consists of cardboard or other recyclable and bio-based material.

10. 2. The digitally designing and manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that the different complementary base layers are joined to one another by gluing and / or interlocking and / or keylocking operations.

11. 2. The digitally designing and manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that during the cutting operation an opening (99) is created to facilitate transport of the custom packaging (9).

12. 2. A method for digitally designing and manufacturing according to claim 1, characterized in that during the cutting operation means (52) are created for fastening the various elements together.

13. 10. An apparatus for implementing the digitally design and manufacturing method of claim 1, comprising: means for detecting and recognizing the item (9) to be packaged; means for taking measurements of the item (9); computer means associated with one or more software programs for designing the custom packaging (9) and digitally breaking down the custom packaging into various complementary elementary layers by digital slicing; and means for transmitting the sheets (6) to means (7) for cutting in order to create kits (60).

14. 14. A device for implementing the digitally designing and manufacturing method according to claim 13, characterized in that the means for implementing the method also comprise automated means for assembling the custom packaging (9).

15. Custom packaging (9) characterized in that it is digitally designed and produced according to the method of claim 1.

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