JPS6254698B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a disposable packaging container in which a container body made of a flexible laminated packaging material is integrally formed with a portion that serves as a spout portion whose outer end is separable. .

Disposable packaging containers, such as those for packaging milk, etc., are usually made of a flexible laminated material, which is lined on both sides with a thin layer of a liquid-tight, heat-sealable plastic material such as polyethylene. a carrier or base layer of paper coated with In the manufacture of packaging containers, the packaging material is first converted into a tube shape by sealing its longitudinal edges together in a leaktight manner. The tubes are then filled with the contents and the tubes are opened laterally by pressing the tubes together at even intervals using heated sealing jaws placed transversely to the tubes. a heat sealable layer disposed on the inside of the tube joins each side of the tube to form a fluid-tight lateral seal; be made to do. The simultaneous molding process gives the filled containers a final approximately parallelepiped shape, and each container is then separated from the other by cutting through the sealing area and closing the formed seal. The fins are bent so as to lean against the wall of the adjacent packaging container. During the molding process, the four corner ears, which are double walls, are also created. The corner ears are made of a material which, for geometrical reasons, cannot be used in the construction of a real parallelepiped container body. In order to keep them out of the way and without disrupting the correct parallelepiped shape, these flattened corner ears are folded over the surface of the adjacent packaging container. After this, the packaging container is completed.

In a similar manner, packaging containers of different shapes, such as, for example, tetrahedral packaging containers, can be manufactured. These are fabricated by having narrow transverse sections bent about 90 degrees relative to each other. A continuous line of packaging containers of the desired tetrahedral shape is thus formed directly, so that no further molding operations are required.

Both types of packaging containers are provided with perforation devices to facilitate the opening of the contents placed therein. Generally, a perforation device is created by delimiting a section of the wall of the packaging container by a perforation line in the form of a line of weakness or an indicator line, along which the material is plucked or severed. In tetrahedral shaped packages, such a spout hole is preferably provided in one of the corners of the package, while in parallelepiped packages, after one of the folded corner ears mentioned above has been pulled out. It serves as a spout and its outer end is separable along the perforation line.

Placing the spout hole described above at the outer end of the integral part of the packaging container forming the spout provides a well-focused and well-directed jet without spillage or dripping. But it makes it possible to reveal the contents. Due to the shape of the spout hole and the shape of the package, as well as due to the angle at which the package is tilted when emptying, disadvantages may occur in certain cases, however. These result from the need to continually replace the emptied volume with an equal volume of air. That is, air must enter through the spout hole at the same time that the emptying operation is being carried out. This inflow of air against the flow of the contents, especially in the case of a relatively narrow and long spout hole, causes the outflow of the contents to be stopped intermittently by the inflowing air, and a certain amount of air flows in. After that, the outflow may start again. This results in an uneven opening of the contents, commonly referred to as gurgling, and makes it difficult or impossible to empty the contents with a satisfactory concentrated spurt.

In a parallelepiped packaging container of the type described above, the problem described above can be solved by providing an air hole in the top of the packaging container which allows air to enter the top portion of the packaging while emptying is taking place. An attempt was made to resolve it. Although this type of packaging certainly eliminates the gurgling problem, it requires that each packaging be provided with two holes, which makes the manufacturing of the packaging considerably more complex and It becomes expensive. Providing two separate holes in each package also has disadvantages from a consumer perspective. This is because opening the packaging requires two separate actions: on the one hand, pulling out, shaping and opening the part of the packaging forming the spout, and on the other hand, unwrapping the packaging. This is because it is necessary to locate the air inlet hole located at the opposite end of the container and to open it, for example with the tip of a knife or by tearing off a strip blocking the air hole, a so-called pull-tab. be.

It would therefore be desirable to provide a disposable package having a spout aperture in the form of a spout, which does not suffer from the problems and inconveniences listed above.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a packaging container which is uncomplicated, easy to open and which can be emptied with a well-concentrated and well-directed jet.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable packaging container having a spout which allows a volume of air to enter the packaging upon emptying to eliminate gurgling.

Finally, another object of the invention is that it is easy to open;
It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaging container which can be further closed again without the need to separately open several holes.

These and other objects have been achieved by the present invention. That is, in the present invention, in a disposable packaging container in which a part that becomes a spout part whose outer end is separable is integrally formed with a container body made of a flexible laminated packaging material, the spout part The part that becomes the spout has two separate passages, an outflow passage and an air passage, both of which extend from the interior of the container to the outer end of the part that becomes the spout. It is characterized by the fact that

Preferred embodiments of the packaging container according to the invention further have the features defined in the dependent claims.

Two embodiments of packaging containers according to the invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the attached schematic drawings. The schematic drawings illustrate only those parts necessary for understanding the invention.

The packaging container shown in Figure 1 has four approximately rectangular side walls 1 (only two of which are visible in the drawing) and two likewise approximately rectangular end walls 2.
(only one of which is visible in the drawing). The packaging container was made into a tube,
Made of a flexible, inherently relatively stable, web-like laminate, the tubes are flattened and sealed in narrow lateral areas at uniform intervals. When cut transversely along said narrow area, a cushion-shaped packaging container is obtained having sealing fins at each top and bottom end. The top and bottom ends of the packaging container are then erected and said sealing fins, designated 3, extend across each end wall 2, in order to give the packaging container an approximately parallelepiped shape. extends across the direction. Due to the molding of the packaging container, the sealing fins 3 are bent against the material surface with which they are connected.

In the molding process necessary to transform the generally cushion-shaped packaging container into the parallelepiped shape shown, four convex triangular, double-walled corner ears 4 are formed. (Only one of them is visible in the figure.) The corner ears 4 are folded around the edge of the straight wall and
It is connected to the parallelepiped-shaped packaging container body along the edge of the wall, and is fixed to the wall of the packaging container by heat sealing. 1st
An ear 4, which can be seen in the figure, is located at one of the upper ends of the packaging container and serves as a spout when the contents placed in the packaging container are to be emptied. For this purpose, there is no seal between the corner ear 4 and the side wall of the packaging container, and the corner ear 4 is pulled out to the position shown in FIG. In this position the outer end of the ear 4 is cut or removed along the perforation line 5 so that the spout 6 forms an outflow passageway 7 formed by pulling out and shaping the corner ear 4. formed at the outer end. The corner ear part 4 forming the spout part is
An air passage 8 is further provided outside the outflow passage 7 and extends substantially parallel to the outflow passage 7. The outer end of the air passage 8 opens to the outside together with the spout 6 when the outer corner of the corner ear 4 is torn off. The air passage 8 extends through the part of the sealing fin 3 arranged on the upper end wall 2 of the packaging container and terminates inside the packaging container, as will be explained in more detail below.

FIG. 3 shows a portion of the first embodiment of the packaging container according to the invention in an enlarged side view, ie the upper corner portion in which the corner ear 4 forming the outflow channel is located is shown. There is. The corner ears 4 are shown in a position in which they are pulled away from the side wall 1 to which they are connected and drawn out and shaped in preparation for opening the packaging container, so as to form an outflow channel. has been done. However, the packaging has not yet been opened, ie the outer end of the corner ear 4 delimited by the perforation line 5 has not yet been torn off. FIG. 3 reveals how the sealing fin 3 located on the upper end wall 2 of the packaging container extends beyond the corner ear 4 and intersects the perforation line 5. The perforation line 5 may consist either of a weakened line in the material or a visible line indicating the appropriate location for stripping or cutting. If said perforation line 5 is constituted by a weakened line of the material, such as a perforation line passing through a carrier or base layer of the material, the perforation line located on the sealing fin 3 The upper end of 5 may coincide with a recess 9 provided in said fin 3 to facilitate the initiation of tearing.

The sealing fin part 3 consists of two material layers,
The two material layers are interconnected along a sealing line 10 which extends over the entire width of the packaging container. This sealing line 10 is relatively narrow and further extends along the upper edge of the sealing fin 3, ie along the free edge of the fin 3. Another sealing wire 11 is the corner ear part 4
The sealing fin 3 starts from the end of the sealing fin 3 disposed at ends at a certain distance from the end of the The sealing line 11 extends substantially parallel to the sealing line 10 and the sealing fin 3. However, the sealing line 11 extends along the base line 12 of the sealing fin 3. That is, it extends along the opposite side of the fin 3 from the sealing line 10 so that a relatively wide area of the fin 3 that is not sealed is obtained between the sealing lines 10 and 11. This area is air passage 8
form. This air passage 8 extends between the two oppositely placed material layers of the packaging container forming the sealing fin 3 and is delimited on the one hand by a sealing line 10 and on the other hand by a sealing line 11. There is. Since the sealing line 11 is considerably shorter than the sealing fin 3, the air passage 8 formed will end inside the packaging container near the center of the sealing fin 3. The sealing line 11 typically has a length approximately twice that of the corner ear 4 or spout, thus creating a considerable space for the rear end of the air passage communicating with the interior of the packaging container. Summer.

The above description shows that the packaging container according to the invention has a part forming a spout, which part has two separate channels, namely an outflow channel with a relatively large cross section and an air channel with a small cross section. , both passages are shown extending from the interior of the packaging container towards the spout area, ie the outer end of the ear 4. On the other hand, the outflow passage is spout 6
and widens immediately inside the packaging container body and communicates with and into the packaging body. The air channels 8 provided in the fin 3 extend a certain distance into the packaging container, for example a distance of 1/3 of the length of the sealing fin 3. As a result, when the packaging container is tilted to empty the contents via the spout 6, air can flow into the packaging container through the air passage 8 without obstruction. This is because the rear end of the air channel 8 will then protrude into the packaging container on the free side of the contents. This spout design has been found to work well in practice. Moreover, the problem of so-called gurgling, or gurgling flow, mentioned in the opening section has been completely eliminated. The spout hole can be made relatively small without any problem so that a well-focused and easily directed jet is formed upon emptying.

The asymmetrical sealing of the sealing fins 3 because the sealing line 11 ends inside the packaging container is a feature of the above-mentioned embodiments, but from this fact, it may occur during the manufacturing of the packaging container. The stress is now concentrated at a point at the end of the sealing wire, instead of being distributed over the entire length of the fin as in the prior art. This stress concentration is undesirable. This is because this increases the risk of breakage and leakage.

As explained in the introduction, the production of packaging containers of the type described above is carried out continuously by refurbishing and cutting filled packaging material tubes.
Although the packaging container can be oriented in several different ways relative to the packaging material tube, in the more commonly used method the packaging container is oriented relative to the packaging material tube in several different ways. Formed to lie horizontally. In other words, the sealing fin containing the air passageway is formed by the longitudinal sealing fin of the packaging material tube. In this case, the air passage requires accurate overlapping maintenance. This is because the sealing lines forming the air passages must be precisely placed within each packaging container.

The above-mentioned problems are solved by a second embodiment of the device according to the invention, which will be explained below with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows a second, somewhat modified embodiment of the device according to the invention, corresponding to FIG.

4, in which the same reference numerals as in the above-mentioned drawings are used, the sealing line 11 in this embodiment, unlike that in the above-mentioned embodiment, extends along the entire length of the sealing fin 3. , and intersects the perforation line 5 in the same way as the sealing line 10. The sealing line 11 is substantially along the baseline 12 of the fin portion 3, in other words, both sealing lines 1
It extends along the opposite side of the fin 3 with respect to the sealing line 10 so that a relatively wide area of the fin 3 that is not sealed is obtained between 0 and 11. This region forms an air passage 8. This air passage 8 extends between the two oppositely placed material layers of the packaging container forming the sealing fin 3 and is delimited on the one hand by a sealing line 10 and on the other hand by a sealing line 11. There is. The air channel thus formed extends over the entire width of the packaging container and is further provided with air holes 14 which communicate the air channel with the interior space of the packaging container body.

The discontinuity or air hole 14 is preferably located where the spout communicates with the package body. This position allows air to pass through the air passage 8 without obstruction when the packaging container is tilted to empty the contents via the spout 6.
It has been found that the air can be reliably flowed into the packaging container through the air holes 14. This is because the air holes 14 will then open on or adjacent to the free surface of the inner contents of the packaging container.

The sealing line 11 extends over the entire length of the sealing fin portion 3,
Because it extends over the entire width of the packaging container, stress concentration problems as well as the risk of shearing are both eliminated. This is because the forming forces are now distributed over the entire length of the sealing wire 11. Negligible stress concentrations that may still occur due to discontinuities for the air holes 14 on the sealing line 11 are also reduced by another preferred embodiment of the invention. ing. That is, in that other embodiment, the sealing wire 1 is bent at each discontinuous end in the direction of the air passage 8, so as to prevent any stress concentration that would initiate shearing. has been done.

A further reduction or distribution of stress concentrations at the discontinuities in the seal line 11 forming the air holes 14 can be achieved in accordance with the present invention. In this case, a portion of the sealing line 11 adjacent to the discontinuous portion has a lower sealing force than the remaining sealing line. Preferably, the sealing force is gradually decreased in the direction of the discontinuity.
This can be achieved by lowering the sealing temperature and/or by reducing the sealing pressure, and in practice it is also possible to separate the laminated layers bonded by the sealing line 11 from each other. It is ensured that said stresses are not concentrated at the end points of the sealing wire, but are absorbed over a considerable length of the sealing wire, which effectively reduces the risk of shearing.

In certain cases, such as due to the stiffness or other properties of the material chosen for the manufacture of the packaging container, it may be necessary to modify the above-described embodiments of the packaging container according to the invention. When a relatively hard material is used, the two material layers forming the sealing fins also form an unsealed area between the two sealing lines 10, 11, in other words the air passage 8 is The regions where they are formed and where the air holes 14 are located will also tend to lean against each other. In order to solve this problem and to ensure that the working portion of the air passage 8 has a sufficiently large cross-sectional area, both sealing lines 10 and 11 as shown by the dashed line 13 in FIGS. Preferably, each of the two material layers forming the sealing fin 3 is provided with an intervening fold line. The two crease lines 13 are stamped by a creasing tool from the inside of the material, i.e. from the inside of the two opposing layers of packaging material, to form impression marks before flattening and sealing the sealing fin 3. It is turned on by being applied. The fold line 13 will thus be located on the concave side of the sealing fin 3 facing towards the opposite material layer.
The fold line 13 ensures that the two material layers are somewhat separated from each other between the two sealing lines 10, 11 and defines the working part of the air passage 8 extending between the spout and the interior of the packaging container. Allow free space to be created to form. The fold line 13 extends approximately parallel to the two sealing lines 10, 11 and at a point midway between them, and thereafter extends downwardly into the interior of the packaging container, perhaps at an angle. In other words, the fold line 13 is along the active part of the air passage.

Even after the packaging container has been stored for a long period of time, the air channels 8 arranged in the sealing fin 3 are closed when the corner ears 4 are pulled out and the packaging container is opened.
In order to ensure that the sealing fin 3 obtains the desired shape, it may in some cases be necessary to form the air passage 8 also with a flexible member attached to the inside of the sealing fin 3. The flexible member separates the layers of material of the sealing fin from each other so that the air passages have the desired cross-sectional area and shape. Such flexible members may, for example, be constructed of double-walled strips of plastic material of the type that tend to regain their original shape even after a long period of time. Good too. (Plastics with memory, in other words cross-linked plastics, are well known to those skilled in the art.) It is also conceivable to insert flexible tubes or the like into the sealing fins.

The device according to the invention can also be used for packaging containers of the type without a sealing fin or with a sealing fin that does not extend over the part forming the spout. . In such a case, an air passage cannot, of course, be formed in the sealing fin, but a separate air passage must be formed instead, in which case the air passage-forming member is attached to the packaging container. It is disposed within the packaging container so as to extend from the inside toward the portion forming the spout portion and through it. This air passage forming member is, for example, an elongated strip of material connected to the inside of the material of the packaging container along two sealing lines extending along the edge of the packaging container. A passage may be formed therein. In this way the air passage is formed by the strip of material cooperating with the inside of the packaging container. In this embodiment, the air passage is, of course, provided with a tube made of thin flexible plastic material located inside the package, so that when the package is tilted to empty the package, the space above the free liquid level inside the package is closed. It may also be formed by allowing the tube to communicate with the surrounding atmosphere.

In the second embodiment, the position of the air hole 14 is not critical to the function of the air passage in both heights and can be allowed to vary within a relatively wide range. Therefore, by making the sealing line 11 repeatedly discontinuous (with the intention of eliminating the need for precise overlapping retention and simplifying manufacturing), a large number of air holes are provided, so that one air hole is always convenient. It is possible to define the distance between each other as the positions will be. Such sealing line 1
The design of No. 1 totally eliminates the need for accurate overlay maintenance. This is because, irrespective of the position of the air hole relative to the spout, the most conveniently located air hole will always function in a satisfactory manner. As a result, the packaging container can be formed at any desired position along the packaging material tube without adversely affecting the functioning of the air passages. This is a great advantage because it eliminates expensive and material-consuming precise overlay holding.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention has been described in connection with the well-known parallelepiped-shaped packaging container, it will of course be clear from what has been said above that the invention can be used, for example. Various packaging containers of different shapes can also be used, such as packages or drums or tetrahedral shapes and packaging with or without appropriately placed sealing fins. The important point is simply that the principle of the invention is that the packaging container has a part forming a spout, which part is characterized in that it has two separate passages, an outflow passage and an air passage.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a packaging container according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the packaging container of FIG. 1 in an opened state, and FIG. 3 is a first embodiment of the present invention. 4 is an enlarged side view of a certain part of the packaging container, showing the state after the corner ear forming the spout has been pulled out but before the packaging container is actually opened; FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a packaging container according to a second embodiment of the present invention, corresponding to FIG. 3. FIG. 3... Sealing fin part, 4... Corner ear part (part forming the spout part), 5... Cutting line, 6...
Spout, 7...Outflow passage, 8...Air passage, 1
0,11... Sealing line, 13... Crease line, 14...
...Air hole.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A disposable packaging container in which a container body made of a flexible laminated packaging material is integrally formed with a part that becomes a pouring spout whose outer end is separable. The part 4 which becomes the spout has two separate passages, namely an outflow passage 7 and an air passage 8, both passages 7 and 8 leading from the inside of the packaging container to the part which becomes the spout. A packaging container that extends to the outer end. 2. The outer end of the portion 4 serving as the spout portion is separable along a perforation line 5, and the perforation line 5 intersects the outflow passage 7 and the air passage 8. A packaging container according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. The part 4 of the packaging container serving as the spout has a sealing fin 3 formed by two layers of packaging material placed opposite each other; the air passage is located within 3;
A packaging container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: 4. The two layers of the sealing fin 3 are connected by two elongated sealing lines 10 and 11,
The air passage 8 is formed between the sealing lines 10 and 11, and one of the sealing lines 10 extends over the entire length of the sealing fin. The other 11 faces towards the interior of the packaging container and terminates at a distance from the distal end of the sealing fin 3 with respect to the spout. range 3rd
Packaging containers listed in section. 5 the sealing line 1 provided on the sealing fin 3
0 and 11 are approximately parallel to each other and also to the sealing fins 3, and each layer of packaging material is provided with a fold line 13 located between the sealing lines 10 and 11; Packaging container according to claim 4, characterized in that the concave side of the fold line (13) faces towards the layer of packaging material opposite the sealing fin (3). 6 The air passage 8 is formed by a flexible member attached to the inner side of the sealing fin 3, and the flexible member connects the seal to form the air passage 8. A packaging container according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the layers of packaging material of the fin portion (3) are separated from each other. 7. The packaging container has an elongated member attached to the inside of the packaging material, the elongated member protruding into the portion 4 serving as the spout, and
7. A packaging container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the air passageway (8) is formed in cooperation with the packaging material. 8. The air passage 8 is formed by a flexible tube attached to the inside of the packaging container, according to any one of claims 1 to 7. packaging container. 9. The air passage 8 extends over the entire width of the packaging container, and is provided with an air hole 14 that communicates the air passage 8 with the internal space of the container body. A packaging container according to claim 1. 10 The air passage 8 is formed in the sealing fin 3 formed by several material layers and the sealing line 1 connecting the several material layers.
1 from the interior of the packaging container body, furthermore the sealing line 11 is provided with a discontinuity for creating the air hole 14. A packaging container according to claim 9. 11. The packaging container according to claim 10, wherein the sealing line 11 is bent toward the air passage 8 on either side of the discontinuous portion. 12. The fold line 13 extending through the air passage 8 extends through the discontinuity provided in the sealing line 11. The packaging container according to item 11. 13. According to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the air passage 8 is provided with several air holes 14 arranged at intervals. packaging container. 14. Claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the portion adjacent to the discontinuous portion has a lower sealing force than the remaining portion of the sealing line. Packaging containers described in any of the following. 15. The packaging container according to claim 14, wherein the sealing line 11 has a sealing force that decreases toward the discontinuous portion.