Adhesive Patch And Method Of Use In A Packaging System

Abstract

An adhesive patch and method of use thereof for forming a plurality of stackable items into a vertically stacked load are described. The method may include delivering an aligned stack of items positioned on a pallet for eventual transportation while minimizing the misalignment of the stackable items.

1 . An adhesive patch for application to the outer surface of multiple packaging units having cohesive and adhesive strength that is sufficient to connect, align and hold packaging units together, the patch comprising:
 a non-water soluble adhesive on a first major surface having an adhesive strength sufficient to hold the packaging units together where the adhesive strength is equal to or greater than the cohesive strength of the packaging unit surfaces; and   a non-adhesive second major surface disposed on a side opposite side the first major surface.   
     
     
         2 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , further comprising a sensor device to detect exposure of a shipment to extreme temperatures, radiation, moisture. 
     
     
         3 . The adhesive patch of  claim 2 , wherein the sensor device is embedded within the adhesive patch. 
     
     
         4 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , further comprising embedded electronic components for scanning, detecting, product counting or similar purposes. 
     
     
         5 . The adhesive patch of  claim 4 , wherein the embedded sensor device is a radio frequency identification (RFID) sensor. 
     
     
         6 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1  having a diameter of at least about 0.3-20 inches. 
     
     
         7 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1  having a surface area of about 0.09-400 inches 2 . 
     
     
         8 . An assembly of packaging boxes arranged for transport comprising:
 a first unitized cube of four boxes in stacked side-by side alignment forming an intersection at the abutting four corners of the four boxes; and   a first adhesive patch located on the proximal side of the intersection of the four corners, a second adhesive patch located on the distal side of the intersection of the four corners.   
     
     
         9 . The assembly of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a second unitized cube of four boxes in stacked side-by side alignment forming an intersection at the abutting four corners of the four boxes;   a third adhesive patch located on the proximal side of the intersection of the four corners of the second unitized cube;   a fourth adhesive patch located on the distal side of the intersection of the four corners of the second unitized cube; and   the first unitized cube and the second unitized cube placed in adjacent side-by side alignment on a pallet forming an interface between the first unitized cube and the second unitized cube.   
     
     
         10 . The assembly of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a fifth adhesive patch located on the proximal side of the interface between the first unitized cube and the second unitized cube; and   a sixth adhesive patch located on the proximal side of the interface between the first unitized cube and the second unitized cube.   
     
     
         11 . A method for stacking a plurality of stackable items onto a pallet comprising:
 (a) placing four boxes in stacked side-by side alignment having an intersection at the abutting four corners of the four boxes;   (b) placing a first adhesive patch at the proximal side of the intersection of the four corners; and   (c) placing a second adhesive patch at the distal side of the intersection of the four corners to form a first unitized cube.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 (d) forming a second unitized cube by placing four additional boxes in stacked side-by side alignment forming an intersection at the abutting four corners of the four boxes;   (e) placing a third adhesive patch at the proximal side of the intersection of the four corners of the second unitized cube; and   (f) placing a fourth adhesive patch of  claim 1  at the distal side of the intersection of the four corners of the second unitized cube.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 (g) placing the first unitized cube and the second unitized cube in adjacent side-by side alignment on a pallet forming an interface between the first unitized cube and the second unitized cube;   (h) placing a fifth adhesive patch at the proximal side of the interface between the first unitized cube and the second unitized cube, and   (i) placing a sixth adhesive patch at the proximal side of the interface between the first unitized cube and the second unitized cube.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising:
 (j) repeating steps a) through i) to create a pallet load of unitized cubes; 
 (k) stacking the pallet load directly on top of each other to form vertical columns such that the corners of the boxes are stacked on top of each other from box to box; and 
 (l) repeating step k) until the full desired height of the pallet load is achieved. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising placing an adhesive patch on any non-edge forming interface between two or more boxes not already connected. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising placing an adhesive patch at the interfaces between two or more boxes for only the two layers of cubes closest to the pallet. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising placing an adhesive patch on any columns of boxes internal to the outer layer of boxes on the pallet on which adhesive patches are placed. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising placing an adhesive patch at the interfaces between two or more boxes on the top of the topmost layer of adjacent boxes stacked on the pallet. 
     
     
         19 . The adhesive patch of  claim 1 , wherein the non-adhesive second major surface optionally includes at least one of product information and branding information.