MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS

**Definition:** This place covers:

The following general guidance can be applied in this subclass:

Main groups B65B1/00 - B65B17/00 relate to general aspects of packaging, wrapping, bundling and closing of packages.

Main groups B65B19/00 - B65B29/00 relate to the packaging, wrapping or bundling of articles/materials with special problems.

Main group B65B31/00 relates to the packaging under special atmospheric conditions.

Main group B65B33/00 relates to packaging by applying removable/strippable coatings.

Main groups B65B35/00 - B65B39/00 relate to the feeding of material to be packaged.

Main groups B65B41/00 - B65B45/00 relate to the feeding/supporting of the wrapping material/container.

Main groups B65B47/00 - B65B53/00 and B65B61/00 relate to operations preformed on the wrapping material/container.

Main group B65B63/00 relates to auxiliary operations performed on the article/material to be packaged.

Main group B65B55/00 relates to preserving/sterilising.

Main groups B65B57/00 - B65B59/00 and B65B65/00 relates to the control/adaptation/details of the packaging machine.

Main group B65B67/00 relates to manual packaging.

Main group B65B69/00 relates to unpacking.

Machines, apparatus, or methods of general application for packaging individual articles, groups of articles or quantities of material in solid, pulverulent, liquid, semi liquid or mixed solid and liquid form including mainly the following operations:

Machines, apparatus, or methods adapted for packaging articles or materials presenting special problems or for special packaging operations e. g. packaging of specially shaped articles, of fragile, sensitive, tacky objects or of all sorts of foodstuffs.

Machines, apparatus, or methods adapted for packaging of articles or materials in packages that can have an additional function e. g. packaging of tea in tea-bags or of food intended to be cooked in the package.

Machines, apparatus, or methods adapted for packaging of articles or materials under special atmospheric or gaseous conditions.

Filling aerosol containers with propellants.

Packaging articles by applying removable e.g. strippable coatings.

Details of, auxiliary devices applied to, or auxiliary measures taken in, machines, apparatus, or methods

- relating to the articles or materials to be packed:

- relating to the containers, packages or receptacles in association with packaging:

- relating to the machines, apparatus, or methods themselves:

Apparatus or devices facilitating manual packaging operations.

Sack holders.

Unpacking of articles or materials.

**Limiting references (this place does not cover):** - Bundling and pressing devices for cigars -> A24C1/44 - Devices for tensioning and securing binders adapted to be supported by the article or articles to be bound -> B25B25/00 - Applying closure members to bottles jars, or similar containers; -> B67B1/00 , B67B3/00 , B67B5/00 , B67B6/00 - Concurrent cleaning, filling and closing of bottles -> B67C7/00 - Emptying bottles, jars, cans, casks, barrels or similar containers -> B67C9/00

**Glossary:** - Packaging: Should be understood as including mainly the following operations: - Filling portable containers or receptacles with materials or small articles to form packages; - inserting articles, or groups of articles, into containers or receptacles; - closing filled containers or receptacles otherwise than by metal-, glass-, or wood-working operations; - enclosing, or partially enclosing, articles or quantities of material, in sheets, strips, blanks, webs, or tubes of thin flexible material, e.g. wrapping; - bundling articles, e.g. holding articles together in groups by applying string or wire;- attaching articles to cards, sheets, or webs. - Package: Is used to mean the end product of a packaging operation, e.g. a filled and closed container, an article enclosed in a wrapper, a group of articles held together by string or wire, a crate of bottles. - Materials: Is to be understood as embracing matter, or masses of articles, which are to be packaged, as distinct from separate or individual articles. - Container/Receptacle: An individual structure comprising a barrier for confining its content, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, jars. - Wrapper: A wrapper can refer both to the wrapping material as such, e.g. in form of a strip or a sheet of flexible material, as well as to the finished flexible structure for containing the product.When a wrapper is used as an alternative to a container in the titles of B65B , it is to be understood as a more flexible structure than the container. - Wrapping material: Blanks, sheets, and webs (see definition below). - Blanks: Sheets pre-cut and creased for being folded into an individual container. - Strips/Sheets: Individual pre-cut sections of flexible material used for forming a single container or for producing a single package. - Webs: Continuous sections of flexible material used for partially or wholly enclosing the contents before separating the so formed package from the web supply.