DESCRIPTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a protective package as defined in the preamble of claim 1, namely a protective package for use in shipping and/or transport of fragile products, such as glass bottles and the like.

For simplicity, the present disclosure is made by way of illustration and without limitation with particular reference to a protective package for containing glass bottles and providing such bottles with adequate protection from impacts and the like, the same considerations being intended to also refer to other types of products to be protected.

Background of the Invention Bottles for wine and spirits are known to be made of glass because, particularly for fine wines or liquors, the use of plastic bottles is not suitable, in view of avoiding deterioration or contamination of the organoleptic properties of the wine or liquor. Therefore glass bottles are typically used, in spite of the problems associated with glass, due to its fragility when subjected to impacts, for example during transport.

Furthermore, bottle fragility is currently a strong limitation to the possibility of shipping wine or liquor bottles, unless proper protective packaging with suitable features is used.

Therefore, there is the need of providing protective packaging that can provide effective protection to the bottles therein in case of accidental impacts or falls of the protective packaging.

Namely, wooden boxes having a plurality of receptacles defined therein are currently widely used, each receptacle being intended to accommodate a single bottle in spaced relationship to the other bottles, thereby preventing any contact between the bottles.

Also, the bottles are then retained in their respective housings by means of neck retainers, and artificial straw, corrugated cardboard sheets and the like are used to prevent any then providing the presence of synthetic straw, corrugated cardboard sheets and the like to prevent any critical impact transfer to the glass of each bottle. Nevertheless, these packages are not suitable to ensure full protection of the bottles therein if the box is not handled with due care during transport, because bottles can be often broken in the event of heavy impacts or if the package falls.

Plastic foam containers are also currently available, and ensure perfect supporting/bearing functions for the bottles positioned therein, relying on an adequate thickness, even of the order of 5 cm or more, to provide a protective layer capable of damping stresses and impacts and protecting bottle integrity.

Not considering aspects such as the considerable volume occupied by these packages, as well as the considerable volume of material to be disposed of after use of such packages, it should be noted that in the event of stronger impacts, such as, for example, those occurring when the package falls, due to direct contact between the protective package and the bottles therein, the integrity of the bottles cannot always be preserved, unless the thickness of the walls of such packages is increased to a large extent.

It should also be considered that for the above packages for glass bottles and the like, the need is strongly felt for a product that, in addition to being structurally and functionally effective, also affords easy disposal by being entirely recyclable and can be also easily manually compacted by the user after use, as is the case for cardboard containers.

These additional requirements explain why cardboard containers are still widely used, in spite of the poor protection they can impart to the bottles held therein.

Summary of the invention

This invention is based on the problem of designing a protective package that has such structural and functional characteristics as to fulfill the above needs, while obviating the above prior art drawbacks.

This problem is solved by a protective package according to claim 1.

Brief description of figures

Further features and advantages of the protective package of the present invention will result from the following description of one preferred embodiment thereof, which is given by way of illustration and without limitation with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

- Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a protective package of the invention in a partially open configuration, which is specifically defined by a container equipped with an inner partition for containing two bottles;

- Figure 2 illustrates a front perspective view of the inner partition inside said protective package;

- Figures 3 and 4 illustrate two perspective views of the inner partition of Figure 2 from two different viewpoints, somewhat above and somewhat below;

- Figures 5 and 6 illustrate perspective views of an internal spacer according to a first embodiment, from different angles;

- Figures 7 and 8 are perspective view of an internal spacer according to a second embodiment from different angles;

- Figure 9 is a plan view of a die-cut sheet from which the internal spacer of the protective package of Figure 1 is formed;

- Figures 10 to 12 show a possible folding sequence of the die-cut sheet of Figure 9 to form the inner partition of Figure 2 and Figure 13 shows a sectional view of a portion of the die-cut sheet of Figure 9.

Detailed description of invention

With reference to the accompanying figures, numeral 1 generally designates a protective package according to the invention which, in this example, is embodied by a package for containing glass bottles, not shown for simplicity.

According to the preferred embodiment, the protective package 1 is entirely made of a low-cost and recyclable material such as cardboard, corrugated paper or plastic, but other materials, such as wood and others, can also be used.

The protective package 1 comprises:

- a casing 2 comprising opposite side walls 5 and

- an inner partition 3 extending in a predetermined longitudinal direction X-X and inserted in said casing 2 to be laterally held between said opposite side walls 5.

Such inner partition 3:

- is retained in the protective package 2 by the opposite side walls 5 of the casing 2 and defines one or more distinct housings 6 (two in the illustrated embodiment) in the aforementioned longitudinal direction X-X, each able to house a respective glass bottle in a protected position. Advantageously : - each housing 6 of the aforementioned inner partition 3 has a hollow polygonal profile comprising sides 3a and corners 3b and

- along the aforementioned longitudinal direction (X-X), the inner partition 3 is laterally retained between said opposite side walls 5 of the casing 2 only at, or at most close to, the aforementioned corners 3b of the aforementioned hollow polygonal profile, wherein the housing 6 defined by each hollow polygonal profile is adapted to house a respective bottle by laterally contacting the surface of said glass bottle along said longitudinal direction X-X only at a portion of its sides 3a, preferably only at a middle portion of its sides 3a. Preferably, the aforementioned sides 3a of the aforementioned hollow polygonal profile are flat sides.

According to a preferred embodiment, the aforementioned flat sides 3a of said hollow polygonal profile have a weakened middle portion 9 to increase the flexibility of said straight sides 3a at their middle portion.

This arrangement can increase the deformability of the housing 6. This is useful in case of impacts or stresses to prevent the bottle contained in the housing 6 from affecting the integrity of the housing itself.

According to the illustrated embodiment, each housing 6 of the inner partition 3 defines a tubular element which:

- extends in the aforementioned axial direction

X-X,

- is internally hollow and

- is laterally closed by these sides 3a.

Preferably, as seen in cross section, each housing 6 of said inner partition 3 has a hollow polygonal quadrilateral profile formed by the aforementioned sides 3a and the aforementioned corners 3b.

More preferably, as seen in cross-section the aforesaid hollow polygonal profile assumes a square shape.

As confirmed by construction tests, the square cross-section of the hollow polygonal profile imparted the greatest rigidity to the protective package 1.

According to the illustrated embodiment:

- the casing 2 comprises a parallelepiped body with side walls extending in said longitudinal direction X-X between a bottom and an upper end, basically a common cardboard box with opening and closing flaps at its upper end and

- the inner partition 3 is fitted, preferably slightly forced, into said parallelepiped body, to be inscribed in said casing 2 with the aforementioned corners 3b of the hollow polygonal profile in contact with the side walls of said casing 2.

According to the illustrated embodiment, as seen in a sectional plane orthogonal to the aforementioned longitudinal direction X-X, the sides 3a of the inner partition 3 are inclined by an angle of 45° with respect to the side walls of the body of said casing 2.

Therefore, as a result of the above configuration, the inner partition 3 is supported by the side walls 5 of the box which forms the casing 2 only at its corners 3b, without touching the side walls 5 with its sides 3a, whereas these sides 3a contact the wall of the bottle supported therein, and preferably only the middle portion of these sides 3a contacts the bottle.

This affords two advantages:

- the first advantage is that the stresses that act upon the casing 2 from the outside are not transferred, or are transferred to a negligible extent, to the bottles contained in the housings 6, because the stresses that act upon a side wall are transferred to the opposite side wall not only through the casing but also through the walls 3a of the inner partition 3, namely in the direction of the thickness of these walls 3a, which are inclined with respect to the side walls of the casing 2 and act as a transfer bridge and

- the second advantage can be identified in that each bottle is laterally supported only by the side walls 3a of the inner partition 3 which act as elastic suspension elements.

Therefore, the above advantages can be achieved because the inner partition 3 is laterally retained between the opposite side walls 5 of the casing 2 only at, or at most close to the aforementioned corners 3b and because the bottle contacts the inner partition 3 only at its sides 3a, preferably at a middle portion of its sides 3a.

According to the illustrated embodiment, the inner partition 3 comprises two distinct housings 6 but an inner partition with a single housing or, according to a further alternative, a number of housings 6 equal to a multiple of two, for example four, six or more.

If the inner partition comprises two housings 6, or a multiple of two of these housings, said housings 6 of said inner partition 3 are placed side by side/joined together and contact each other only at respective shared or proximate corners 3b as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 3b.

According to Figure 3 it results that, for the first corner 3b in common between a first housing 6 and a second housing 6, at least a first side 3a of said first housing 6 and a first side 3a of said second housing 6 converge into said first corner 3b in common are connected and coplanar with each other and in mutually extending relationship to form a stiffening member such as a stiffening rib, of said inner partition 3.

More preferably, the aforementioned at least one first side 3a of said first housing 6 and the aforementioned at least one first side 3a of said second housing 6 converging into said common corner

3b are formed of one piece into a single flat wall which acts as a continuous stiffening rib in said inner partition 3.

As best explained from the description hereinafter, this flat wall is in the central position of the die cut sheet 10 (see Figure 9).

Preferably, referring to the aforementioned first corner 3b in common between said first housing 6 and said second housing 6, a second side 3a of said first housing 6 and a second side 3a of said second housing 6 converging into said first corner 3b in common are also coplanar with each other and in mutually extending relationship and are structurally constrained at said first corner 3b in common, are coplanar with each other and in mutually extending relationship with respect to said first corner 3b in common.

Furthermore, the protective package 1 comprises locking means 7, 8 located at opposite longitudinal upper and lower ends respectively, of the housings 6 of the inner partition 3.

These locking means 7, 8 can lock the position assumed by a glass bottle in the longitudinal direction X-X, thereby preventing it from moving along this direction.

According to a preferred embodiment, the inner partition 3 is entirely formed by successive folding steps from a single die-cut sheet 10 having a series of fold-in lines and/or cuts, specially sized and arranged in the die-cut sheet 10.

Preferably, the die-cut sheet 10 is made of a corrugated board comprising a sandwich structure consisting of three flat layers 30 interleaved with two respective corrugated layers 31 (see Figure 13).

The use of corrugated cardboard to form the inner partition 3 of the protective packaging results in a product that has a very low cost and also has a very light weight, is easily disposable by being recyclable and, above all, is very strong for the use for which the protective package 1 is intended.

It should be understood that, as used herein, "fold-in line" generally refers to cuts, half-cuts or fold-cuts required to obtain a 90°, 180° or the like ply orientations between two contiguous portions connected by a fold-in line.

For a plastic die-cut sheet, the above term can be used, for instance, to designate a thinner line which acts as a hinge connection element between two portions to allow one portion to rotate relative to another.

As mentioned above, the inner partition 3 is preferably formed by successive folding steps from a single die-cut sheet 10 with fold-in lines 19 extending in said longitudinal direction.

In the die-cut sheet 10 the following can be identified:

- a lower edge 11 and an opposite upper edge 12 spaced apart in said longitudinal direction X-X and

- a first side edge 13 and an opposite second side edge 14 spaced apart in a transverse direction perpendicular to said longitudinal direction X-X.

Preferably, the aforementioned weakened middle portions 9 of the flat sides 3a of the inner partitions 3 are obtained by forming serpentine through cuts in the desired positions of the punched sheet 10.

It shall be noted in this respect that, that for each tubular element that forms a housing, such weakening portions 9 may be provided only on two opposite sides 3a, but such weakening portions may be also provided on all the sides 3a or may not be provided at all.

It shall be noted that the aforesaid serpentine through notches have been illustrated in Figure 10 and in other figures, whereas they have not been illustrated in Figures 1 to 8 for simplicity. As mentioned above, according to the preferred embodiment as shown in the figures, the inner partition comprises two separate housings 6 for containing two respective glass bottles.

These housings 6 are advantageously obtained by folding and rolling the aforementioned die-cut sheet 1, according to the sequence as shown in Figures 10 to 12, until the aforementioned first side edge 13 and said second side edge 14 reach a middle portion of said die-cut sheet 10.

At said middle portion, the die-cut sheet 10 comprises a central slot 18 which is intended for engagement (as shown in Figures 2 to 4) both by a respective end tab 15 of the first side edge 13 and by a respective end tab 16 of the second side edge 14.

The engagement of the side tabs 15 and 16 in the central slot 18 can define a restrained joint (removable as needed) whereby the die-cut sheet 10 may remain in the double tubular shape as shown in Figures 1 to 4.

As shown in the figures, in particular in figures 10 to 12, from the aforementioned first side edge 13 and the aforementioned second side edge 14 the die-cut sheet 10 is folded and rolled in the same direction of rolling with respect to the central slot

18, to thereby form two tubular housings 6 connected to each other at one corner 3b only, passing through said central slot 18, as shown in Figures 1 and 3.

Preferably, in each portion between a side edge 15, 16 and the central slot 18, the aforementioned die-cut sheet (10) comprises three distinct equally- spaced fold lines 19.

Preferably :

- the aforementioned end tab 15 of first side edge 13 has a length, as measured in the longitudinal direction X-X, that is smaller than the length, as measured in the longitudinal direction X-X, of the end tab 16 of the second side edge 14 and

- said central slot 18 comprises a first part whose extent in said axial direction X-X corresponds to the length of said end tab 15 of said first side edge 13 and a second part whose extent in said axial direction X-X corresponds to the length of said second end tab 16 of said second side edge 14.

According to one embodiment, not shown, the inner partition comprises a single housing formed by folding and rolling a die-cut sheet, substantially corresponding to one half of the aforementioned die- cut sheet 10, for a first side edge to reach the opposite second side edge, wherein said opposite side edges have a respective tab and a corresponding slot, allowing said die-cut sheet to keep a single tubular shape.

According to the illustrated embodiment, the die-cut sheet 10 comprises additional cuts and fold lines 20, astride said fold lines 19 proximate to the lower edge 11, whereby said lower locking means 8 are formed.

According to this embodiment, these lower locking means 8 are thus defined by flaps of the die- cut sheet, which are folded toward the interior of each housing 6 to create a support base for the bottom of the bottle at the lower end of each housing 6.

It shall be understood that the aforementioned lower locking means 8 may be also formed in other manners, for example by interference fit of a cross shaped element formed with corrugated cardboard in the housing 6, or by locking or fitting another element in the housings 6.

Likewise, the upper locking means 7 can be formed of one piece with the housing 6 or may consist of elements fitted or locked therein, such as the bottle neck retainer as shown in Figures 5 and 6 or the neck retainer as shown in Figures 7 and 8.

The above description clearly shows that the protective package of the invention fulfills the aforementioned requirements, while obviating the above prior art drawbacks.

Those skilled in the art will obviously appreciate that a number of changes and variants may be made to the protective package as described hereinbefore to meet specific needs, without departure from the scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims.