AU2001100585A4 - Improvements relating to pourers for packaged goods - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention title: Improvements relating to pourers for packaged goods The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: dxbm M0111049263v1 150830 23.11,2001 IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO POURERS FOR PACKAGED GOODS Field of the invention The invention relates to pourers for cartons which contain pourable non-liquid goods.

Background to the Invention A large number of products are supplied to consumers in packaging from which the product is poured by the consumer as needed. Such 'pourable' products might include granular material, such as washing detergents, pelleted material such as snail bait pellets, or food and drink, such as breakfast cereals, milk or orange juice.

According to one particular type of prior packaging which has been used for example in milk or juice cartons, there is a pouring mechanism which involves unsticking the flaps at the top of the carton, pushing them outwards to form a spout (or 'pourer') to direct the milk or juice as it exits the carton. Such packages require that the pourer mechanism be integrally formed during production of the package rather than after it has been filled. In addition, it has been found that it can be difficult to achieve a sufficient seal on closing the pourer to prevent leakage of contents. This is particularly the case where the package is old and thus it has become soft. In addition, these type of pourers do not have the ability to be, or become adapted to be child safe in the sense of restricting the ability of young children to open them.

According to another prior type of packaging which has been used for example in snail bait packages, there is provided a tab which is integrally formed in the exterior of the packaging.

Such tabs may be created by perforating the packaging material during manufacture so as to define the tab which can be depressed or removed when the consumer is ready to use it. The pourer mechanism of such packages has in some cases been created by the shape of the aperture through which the contents must exit. Such packages require that the pourer mechanism be integrally formed during production of the package rather than after it has been filled. In addition, it has been found that it can be difficult to achieve a sufficient seal on closing the pourer to prevent leakage of contents. This is particularly the case where the package is old and thus the cardboard in the tab has become soft. In addition, these type of pourers do not have the ability to be, or become adapted to be child safe in the sense of restricting the ability of young children to open them.

A further prior type of package which has been used for example in juice containers, has a plastic pourer with a screw-top cap which protrudes from the side of a carton. The pourer has sometimes been provided with a seal which sits under the cap and must be peeled off before use. Such cartons require that the pourer mechanism be included in the package during production of the package rather than after it has been filled.

In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date: part of common general knowledge; or known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.

Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a pourer for a folded cardboard carton suitable for containing pourable non-liquid goods, the pourer comprising an attachment base defining an opening to receive pourable non- liquid goods from the carton, the attachment adapted to be located on an outer surface of the carton without perforating the carton in an area immediately beneath the opening, a pouring spout having a pouring passageway extending between the opening of the base and an outlet in the spout, and a child safe lid, wherein the pourer is attachable to the carton after the carton has been filled and sealed against leakage of the pourable non-liquid goods.

By providing a pourer which is attachable to the carton after the carton has been filled and sealed against leakage of the goods (without thereby creating an aperture through which the goods can escape), it is possible to create an easily attachable and tamper evident pourer which can be used on present cartons for a variety of pourable non-liquid goods. In particular, by adding the pourer to the carton after it has been filled and sealed, it is possible to provide a tamper evident opening with the carton. An observer will be able to readily ascertain whether 3 there has been tampering by looking for breaks in the carton, especially in the vicinity of the pourer.

The lid enables the carton to be re-sealed against leakage of goods by closing the outlet of the pourer. This might be particularly important where containment assists in maintaining quality of the goods (for example for food), or where the goods are toxic (such as snail bait). Preferably, the pourer and lid comprise corresponding screw threads to enable screw-top fastening. Such a fastening mechanism will greatly assist the ease of use of the lid and pourer. Obviously, other arrangement are possible such as a snap on or push on lid. The lid is child safe in the sense of restricting the ability of young children to open it. The child safe mechanism may be any suitable known mechanism. One typical arrangement requires that the lid be pushed down towards the pourer and concurrently rotated in order to release it.

As indicated, the attachment base of the pourer attaches to the outside of the carton. This increases the ease of attachment of the pourer to the carton. It is essential to the invention that the base when attached does not perforate the carton in an area immediately beneath the opening so that the pourable goods do not have the ability to escape from the carton (even just into the pourer) whilst applying the pourer or until the consumer is ready to open the carton.

This assists in the safe handling of toxic or perishable goods by minimising the exposure of such goods to the person applying the pourer to the carton. Such a pourer may take on a variety of configurations. For example, the base may be additionally provided with anchors which locate the pourer on the carton (such as tabs which are subsequently tucked into slots formed in the carton). Alternatively, the base may be glued to the carton.

It will be appreciated that there may be more than one opening in the base. In this case, the base when attached should not perforate the carton in the area immediately beneath each opening.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the pourer is adapted for automated application to the carton after the carton has been filled. In the simplest form of this embodiment, the attachment base of the pourer has a flat surface defining an aperture through which pourable non-liquid goods may enter the pouring spout. A suitable automated process is 4 used to apply glue at the appropriate location(s) and place the pourer on the carton at the desired location. It will be appreciated that other forms of this embodiment are possible.

According to another embodiment, the attachment base is adapted to be attached to a plurality of surfaces on the carton. For example the base may be shape so it may be located on two surfaces at a corner of the carton. Similarly, the attachment base may be adapted to attach to three surfaces, or four. This embodiment increases the strength of the attachment and thereby the integrity of any seal or child safe mechanism. In particular, child safe capping mechanisms usually require a significant degree of force to disengage the cap. This force is often applied in a downwards direction. By being adapted to attach to one or more surfaces on the carton, the attachment base provides much greater support for the sides of the box which would otherwise tend to collapse. Typically, the opening will be located on only one of these surfaces though it is conceivable in certain situations that the opening may span over more than one surface.

According to a second aspect of this invention, there is provided a container suitable for containing pourable non-liquid goods comprising a folded cardboard carton to contain the goods, and a pourer according to any one of the described embodiments attached to the carton wherein the carton has an outlet portion for egress which is tamper evident. For example, a tamper-evident portion on the carton may consist of a weakened section of the carton which is aligned with the opening in the base of the attached pourer. However, any suitable tamper evident mechanism can be used. As described above, an observer may check to see if the container has been previously opened by looking down the passageway of the pourer to see if ther tamper evident area has been disturbed (for example there may be breaks in the weakened section in the carton). Where there is a weakened section it may consist of lines of weakness formed in the cardboard material. These lines of weakness can be formed by scoring or partial perforation of the cardboard material. Alternatively, a rip off tab may be present.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a process for packaging pourable non-liquid goods in a folded cardboard carton comprising the steps of: forming an area of weakness in the carton, filling the carton with the goods; closing the package so as to seal it against leakage of the goods therein; and attaching a pourer of the type disclosed herein according to the invention so as to align the area of weakness in the carton with the opening in the attachment base of the pourer wherein at least step is automated.

By attaching a pourer to the carton after it has been sealed against leakage of the goods without thereby creating an aperture through which the goods can escape, it is possible to create a carton with an easily attachable and tamper evident pourer. In particular, by adding the pourer to the package after it has been filled and sealed, it is possible to provide a tamper evident opening into the package. An observer will be able to readily ascertain whether there has been tampering by looking for disturbances in the integrity of the carton, such as breaks in it, especially in the vicinity of the pourer.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will now be further explained and illustrated by reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of a pourer according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the pourer of Figure 1 demonstrating the lip depicted by the broken line in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end view of the pourer of Figure 1 with a lid and demonstrating an end view of the lip.

Figure 4 is a plan view of another embodiment of a pourer according to the present invention.

Figure 5 is a side view of the pourer of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an end view of the pourer of Figure 4 with a lid.

Figure 7 is a plan view of another embodiment of a pourer according to the present invention.

Figure 8 is a side view of the pourer of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is an end view of the pourer of Figure 7 with a lid.

Figure 10 is a plan view of another embodiment of a pourer according to the present invention.

Figure 11 is a side view of the pourer of Figure 10 demonstrating the 2 lips depicted by the broken lines in Figure Figure 12 is an end view of the pourer of Figure 10 with a lid and demonstrating an end view of one of the lips.

Figure 13 is a plan view of another embodiment of a pourer according to the present invention.

Figure 14 is a side view of the pourer of Figure 13 demonstrating the lip depicted by the broken line in Figure 13.

6 Figure 15 is an end view of the pourer of Figure 13 with a lid and demonstrating an end view of the lip.

Figure 16 is a plan view of another embodiment of a pourer according to the present invention.

Figure 17 is a side view of the pourer of Figure 16.

Figure 18 is an end view of the pourer of Figure 16 with a lid.

Figure 19 is a plan view of another embodiment of a pourer according to the present invention.

Figure 20 is a side view of the pourer of Figure 19.

Figure 21 is an end view of the pourer of Figure 20 with a lid.

Figure 22 is a plan view of another embodiment of a pourer according to the present invention.

Figure 23 is a side view of the pourer of Figure 22.

Figure 24 is an end view of the pourer of Figure 22 with a lid.

Figure 25 is a plan view of one example of a carton to which a pourer according to the present invention has been attached.

Figure 26 is a side view of the carton of Figure Figure 27 is an end view of the carton of Figures 27 with a lid.

Description of preferred embodiment Figures 1 to 3 depict a pourer 10 which defines an aperture 20 for allowing egress of goods from a carton(not shown). Pourer 10 has an attachment base 30 which comprises a square plate which can be glued onto the carton. It can be seen that attachment base 30 has a lip which is adapted to attach to a second surface on the carton. The pourer 10 has a screw thread 50 to engage with a corresponding screw thread on lid It will be appreciated that a pourer and corresponding lid according to the present invention can be embodied in a number of ways. Figures 4 to 24 are intended to merely represent examples of the possible embodiments. Specific attributes of some of these embodiments will now be discussed. In these figures, as in Figures 25 to 27, like numerals are assigned for like components.

In figures 4 to 6, anchors 70 extend from the base 30. These each have an arrow head which is designed to penetrate the carton to anchor the pourer 10 into position. Importantly the anchors 7 are spaced from aperture 20 so that pourable non-liquid goods in the carton do not leak into the aperture In figures 7 to 9, the base 30 is minimised so as to maximise the range of locations that the pourer 10 may be situated on the carton.

In figures 10 to 12, two lips 40 and 45 extend downwardly from the base 30 to define a channel having a width which approximates the width of a carton. Therefore this pourer 10 will straddle the width of the carton.

In figures 13 to 15, a pourer 10 very similar to that shown in figures 1 to 3 is shown except that the base 30 is rectangular.

In figures 16 to 18, the rectangular base 30 is not provided with any anchors or lips thereby allowing the pourer 10 to be located anywhere on the carton which has a surface corresponding to at least that of rectangular base In figures 19 to 21, a pourer 10 very similar to that shown in figures 16 to 18 is shown except that the base 30 is square.

In figures 22 to 24, a pourer 10 very similar to that shown in figures 16 to 18 is shown except that the base 30 is circular.

Figures 25 to 27 depict a carton 100 according to the present invention onto which a pourer according to the present invention has been attached. Pourer 10 defines an aperture 20 for allowing egress of goods from carton 100. Pourer 10 has an attachment base 30 which comprises a circular plate which has been glued onto carton 100. The pourer 10 has a screw thread 50 to engage with a corresponding screw thread on lid 60. Carton 100 has a weakened section 110 which is aligned with the opening in base 30 corresponding to aperture 20 of pourer An observer may check to see if carton 100 has been previously opened by looking down the passageway of pourer 10 to see if there are any breaks in weakened section 110 in the carton.

The word 'comprising' and forms of the word 'comprising' as used in this description do not limit the invention claimed to exclude any variants or additions.

8 While it has been convenient to describe the invention herein in relation to particularly preferred embodiments, it is to be appreciated that other constructions and arrangements are also considered as falling within the scope of the invention. Various modifications, alterations, variations and or additions to the construction and arrangements described herein are also considered as falling within the ambit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (4)

1. A pourer for a folded cardboard carton suitable for containing pourable non-liquid goods, the pourer comprising: an attachment base defining an opening to receive pourable non- liquid goods from the carton, the attachment adapted to be located on an outer surface of the carton without perforating the carton in an area immediately beneath the opening, a pouring spout having a pouring passageway extending between the opening of the base and an outlet in the spout, and a child safe lid wherein the pourer is attachable to the carton after the carton has been filled and sealed against leakage of the pourable non-liquid goods.

2. A pourer according to claim 1, wherein it is adapted for automated application to the carton after the carton has been filled.

3. A pourer according to either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the attachment base is adapted to be attached to a plurality of surfaces on the carton.

4. A container suitable for containing pourable non-liquid goods comprising a folded cardboard carton to contain the goods, and a pourer according to any one of the preceding claims. A process for packaging pourable non-liquid goods in a folded cardboard carton comprising the steps of: forming an area of weakness in the carton; filling the carton with the goods; closing the package so as to seal it against leakage of the goods therein; and attaching a pourer according to any one of claims 1 to 3 so as to align the area of weakness in the carton with the opening in the attachment base of the pourer wherein at least step is automated. STANMER PTY LTD 23 November 2001