AU598206B2

AU598206B2 - Containers

Info

Publication number: AU598206B2
Application number: AU63086/86A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Kenneth Neville Dorrington
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1985-10-01
Filing date: 1986-09-23
Publication date: 1990-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 2006-09-23
Also published as: JPS6294546A; GB2181410B; GB2181410A; GB8623158D0; AU6308686A

Description

59 8 2 0 (y COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (O RIG INAL) fcx. FOR OFFICE USE Application iumbor: Lodged: Class Int. Class 4_30s6186 Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority'.

Related Art: t Srjs dcurnent Cct~ aecis'49a~ s orc o TO BE COMPLVEE BY APPLICANT Kl-NtNEFH NL;VILLL DOM~iINMTN, Name of Applicant: 4 4 *444 4 I~ 4 4 44 444, o 44 4 44 40 44 4 4 0 40 1 o 4 0 44 44 Republic of South Africa.

Actual Inventor, Kenneth Neville Dorrington Address for Service: Wray Associates, Primary Industry I-ouse, 239 Adelaide Terrace, Perth, W.A. 6000 Complete Specification for the Invention entitled: "CO1'TAINE RS'I The following statement is a full desc~iption of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me

ABSTRACT

A sheet of material is provided for use in producing containers.It has a number of spaced apart overlapped longitudinal folds provided in the sheet, and attachment means for suitably holding the folds together for stiffening the sheets in longitudinal direction. The invention also covers a cylindrical sleeve for producing a container made of such a sheet and a container made thereof.

0 a o 0o 0 00 0 o a 0 S a4 0 00 0 0 1 QA a o 841 la FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to containers.

BACKGROUND TO INVENTION o Ig 056 It is known to construct containers, in particular for liquids, from various materials.

Where flexible sheet material is used, the problem is that such material often is weak in longitudinal direction and containers made therefrom collapse easily. However, if the thickness of the sheet material is increased the cost of the container is proportionately increased and this often makes such types of contaiders uneconomical.

It is an object of the invention to suggest a new type of container which will be relatively 15 economical to produce and be of satisfactory longitudinal strength.

o I 2 r r_ -Ll~sr~i- n i. _r SUMMARY OF INVENTION According to the invention, a sheet of material for use in producing sealable containers suitable for containing goods such as beverages, pastes, powders, granules or solids, which sheet of material comprises a continuous flexible sheet provided with a number of spaced apart substantially parallel longitudinal folds with overlapped longitudinal sections, each fold having two longitudinal edges and a longitudinal folding formation at each edge; and attachment means for suitably attaching the overlapped sections of each fold together by acting between its longitudinal folding formations for stiffening the sheet in longitudinal uolo direction.

o 15 The sheet may be made of plastics material or paper oo o o° sheet material or laminated material or metallized 0 no plastics or aluminium material.

The sheet also may be made of a lamination including oO.. sheets or films laminated together and made of the e 20 following: aluminium foil or LLDPE or PET, LDPE or PVDC coated PET.

o B o v i I-.

Also according to the invention, there is provided a cylindrical sleeve for producing a sealable container suitable for containing goods such as beverages, pastes, powders, granules or solids, which sleeve has two opposite open ends and which includes a continuous flexible sheet provided with a number of spaced apart substantially parallel longitudinal folds with overlapped sections; each fold having two longitudinal edges and a longitudinal folding formation at each edge; and attachment means for suitably attaching the overlapped sections of each fold together by acting between its longitudinal folding formations for stiffening the sheet in longitudinal direction.

The attachment means for attaching the overlapped folds together may include a weld or glue or a heatseal or a hotmelt, The sleeve may be of any suitable cross-sectional shape, such as substantially round cylindrical-shape or square-shape or rectangular shape or triangular shape.

The sleeve may be made of plastics material or paper material or laminated material or metallized plastics or aluminium material, -4v ^3 7

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i The sheet material may be made of a lamination including the sheets or films laminated together and made of the following: aluminium foil or LLDPE (Linear Low density Polyethylene) or PET (polyethyleneterepethalate) or LDPE (low density polyethylene) or metallized PET or metallized PP (Polypropylene) or PVdC (Polyvinyledene chloride) coated PET.

Further according to the invention, a sealable container suitable for containing goods such as beverages, pastes, powders, granules or solids includes a cylindrical sleeve having two opposite open ends and comprises a continuous flexible sheet provided with a number of spaced apart substantially parallel 15 longitudinal folds with overlapped sections; each fold 0 having two longitudinal edges and a longitudinal folding formation at each edge; attachment means for suitably attaching the overlapped sections of each fold together by acting between its longitudinal folding 0""o 20 formations for stiffening the sheets in longitudinal direction; and an end closure member joined to at least 0 0 one open end of the cylindrical sleeve and being sealed thereto.

*0 0a The container may be in the form of a can adapted for containing liquid, eg. beverages.

The container may have a reinforcement lug on one side through which a pouring member can be inserted into it.

Yet further according to the invention, a method of i producing a sealable container suitable for containing ,4 :i goods such as beverages, pastes, powders, granules or

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solids, the method including the steps of folding a i continuous flexible sheet, having two free longitudinal 1 0 sides, along a number of spaced apart folding lines between the free longitudinal sides for forming substantially parallel spaced apart folds, each fold having overlapped longitudinal sections and two longitudinal edges; of formin, a longitudinal folding formation at each edge; of attaching the overlapped sections of each fold together by acting between its longitudinal formations by attachment means for suitably holding the folds together for stiffening the g sheets in longitudinal direction; of joining the free longitudinal sides of the sheet together so as to form I an elongated tubular sleeve; of cutting the elongated tubular sleeve transversely into suitable lengths to form separate shorter tubular sleeves having two opposite open ends; of closing one open end of such LZ C F- i-1- -I shorter tubular sleeve by means of an end member sealed thereto so as to form a container; of filling goods, such as beverages, pastes, powders, granules or solids, via the remaining open end into the container; and o:; closing the remaining open end by means of an end cap and sealing it thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

In the drawings there is shown in o Figure 1 a side view of a first embodiment of a sheet 0 of material in layflat form in accordance with the 0 invention; °o Figure 2 on a larger scale, an end view of part of the sheet seen along arrow II in Figure 1: oo Figure 3 a view of the sheet of material of Figure 1 0o h o900 showing the folded sections before being joined 0o oo 6a 0 0 o U 0 e 0 0tua d together; Figure 4 on a larger scale, an end view of a folded section seen along arrow IV in Figure 3; Figure 5 a side view of a second embodiment of a sheet of material in layflat form in accordance with the invention; Figure 6 on a larger scale, an end view of part of the sheet seen along arrow VI in Figure Figure 7 on a larger scale, an end view of a folding section folded from the sheet material illustrated in Figures 5 and 6; Figure 8 a view of t.he sheets of Figures 1 to 7 showing the joining of the longitudinal free ends of a sheet intermediate between two folding sections; Figure 9 a view corresponding to Figure 8 but showing the joining of the longitudinal free ends 7 I 3 of the sheets to define a folding section; Figure 10 on a reduced scale, a view of an elongated sleeve produced from the sheets illustrated in Figures 1 to 9, when in layflat form Sand prior to cutting into sections; Figure 11 a perspective view of a container constructed of a folded cylindrical body made from the sheet material illustrated in the preceding drawings; Figure 12 on a larger scale, a sectional end view 0 0 o of the lid and wall connection seen along arrows 0 g o0 XII-XII in Figure 11; aa o o .o Figure 13 a plan view of the container of Figure 11 seen along arrow XIII in Figure 11; 15 Figure 14 a plan view of another cross-sectional shape of a container; 0 0 40 Figure 15 a plan view of a further o0 0 Sr -8

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cross-sectional shape of a container; Figure 16 a plan view of yet another cross-sectional shape of a container; Figure 17 a perspective view of a container corresponding to the container illustrated in Figure 11 but having a reinforced lug for the fitting of a pouring nozzle; and Figure 18 on a larger scale, a sectional view through part 6f the container and the lug along the arrows XVIII-XVIII in Figure 17.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In Figures 1 to 4 a first embodiment of a sheet material 10 in accordance with the invention is r shown. The sheet of flexible material 10 has longitudinal edges 12, 14. Between the edges 12, 14 °substantially parallel longitudinal folding lines are provided in pairs as shown so as to S" define folding sections 32...38. These folding 9 L ~-~ALIsections, when folded over, are respectively held together by suitable means, which may involve glueing, welding, heat-sealing or by any other suitable means.

Any number of folding lines may be provided and the numbers of folds overlapping will determine the longitudinal strength of the container incorporating such flexible material.

As a further example of an embodiment in accordance with the invention, a sheet 40 is illustrated in Figure 5 where, between the longitudinal edges 42, 44, groups of substantially parallel folding lines with more folding lines than those in Figure 1 are provided. Here the folding lines 46...76 are grouped together in groups of four so as to define folding sections 78...84.

When folded together, as illustrated in Figure 6, a double folding section of higher strength is obtainable. The folding sections are held together by glueing, etc. as mentioned with reference to 10 Figures 1 to 4.

Referring to Figure 8 one possibility of joining the end edges 12 and 14 (or 42 and 44) is shown.

In this case the edges are overlapped so as to provide an intermediate joining section 86 between the folding sections 38 and 32 (or 78 and 84).

However, as shown in Figure 9 it is possible to have a folding line 88 adjacent the edge 14, 44 and a folding line 90 adjacent the edge 12, 42 so as to define a folding section 92, which can be in place of one of the folding sections 32...38 (or 78...84) as illustrated in Figure 1 or Figure 2 or be in addition thereto.

a By joining the end longitudinal edges 12, 14 or 42, 44 together as explained above, an elongated tubular sleeve is formed. Such a sleeve is provided 4 4 in layflat form 94 as illustrated in Figure OIl 0 4 40 Thereafter the sleeve 94 is cut into cylindrical sections 96.1, 96.2...96.n. Each of these sections 96.n is intended eventually to be erected 0 i 11 f into a cylindrical body for constructing a container which is to be filled.

Referring now to Figure 11, a container 100 is shown which is constructed from one of the sleeves 96.1. The container 100 is closed off at its ends by means of the end caps 102 and 104. The end caps 102, 104 are made of rigid material, such as metal, plastics, paper, board or plastics or foiled covered paper or board, or any laminated combination thereof.

Figure 12 shows a sectional view through one end cap 104. As is illustrated the sheet 10 is constructed of a lamination consisting of an inner layer 106 made of LLDPE, a layer of aluminium foil 108 laminated thereto, a film of PET 110 laminated to the aluminium foil and an outer layer 112 of LDPE laminated to the layer 110. The cap 104 is constructed of a lamination having an inner layer 114 made of LDPE or LLDPE and an outer layer 116 of aluminium foil laminated thereto. The cap 102 has the same construction.

12 The caps 102 and 104 are suitably joined to the sheet 10, eg. by heat-sealing, glueing, welding or the like.

The caps 102, 104 can also be constructed of three layers comprising of an outer layer of aluminium foil, an inner layer of LLDPE and an intermediate layer of PET.

In Figures 13 to 16 various cross-sectional shapes of containers are shown. The container 100 in 10 Figure 13 has a square cross-sectional with straight corner sections.

44 S' In Figure 14 the container 118 is also of a square-shape in cross-section but the corners are rounded off.

0 4 A triangular cross-sectional shape container 120 is illustrated in Figure 15. Here the corners are constructed by means of straight folding sections.

13 The container 122 of Figure 16 has a polygonal (here hexagonal) shape with straight folding sections at its corners.

When filled with liquid (eg. beverages) the contents can be poured from the respective containers by rupturing a side wall or an endcap of the container. However, another alternative is to provide a reinforced section where a pouring spout can be fitted to the container. One example is illustrated in Figures 17 and 18. Here with container 124 has a reinforcement lug 126 glued or otherwise sealed at 128 to the outer wall 130 of the container. A weakened area is provided at 132 'through which a pouring spout 134 may be inserted 44 for allowing liquid to be poured from the a; container.

4 4 t4 o 44 4 44 4 4a I 14

Claims

2. A sheet of material as claimed in claim 1, which is made of plastics material or paper sheet material or laminated material or metallized plastics or aluminium material. o. 3. A sheet of material as claimed in claim 1, which is made of a lamination including sheets or films laminated together and made of the following: aluminium foil or LLDPE or PET or, LDPE or PVDC coated PET. '4 15 t
4. A sheet of material for use in producing containers substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to d as illustrated in Figure 1 or Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.
5. A cylindrical sleeve for producing a sealable container suitable for containing goods, such as beverages, pastes, powders, granules or solids, which sleeve has two opposite open ends and which includes a continuous flexible sheet provided with a number of P 10 spaced apart substantially parallel longitudinal folds Swith overlapped sections, each fold having two longitudinal edges and a longitudinal folding formation at each edge; and attachment means for suitably attaching the overlapped sections of each fold together by acting between its longitudinal folding formations for stiffening the sheet in longitudinal direction.
6. A sleeve as claimed in claim 5, in which the attachment means for holding the overlapped folds i t gether includes a weld or glue or a heatseal or a hotmelt.
7. A sleeve as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, which is of any suitable cross-sectional shape, such as 16 F L-7> Ii substantially round cylindrical-shape or square-shape or rectangular shape or triangular shape.
8. A sleeve as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 7, which is made of plastics material or paper material or j 5 laminated material or metallized plastics or aluminium Smaterial.
9. A sleeve as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 8, which is made of a lamination including sheets or films laminated together and made of the following: aluminium foil or LLDPE or PET or LDPE or PVDC coated PET. ,j 10. A cylindrical sleeve for producing a container ii substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 11 or any one of Figures 13 to 16 of the accompanying schematic drawings.
11. A sealable container suitable for containing goods, such as beverages/ pastes, powders, granules or solids, which includes a cylindrical sleeve having two opposite open ends and comprising a continuous flexible sheet provided with a number of spaced apart substantially parallel longitudinal folds with overlapped sections; each fold having two longitudinal 17 f^ Ik i Z ~i I- edges and a longitudinal folding formation at each edge; attachment means for suitably attaching the overlapped sections of each fold together by acting between its longitudinal folding formations for stiffening the sheets in longitudinal direction; and an end closure member joined to at least one open end of the cylindrical sleeve and being sealed thereto.
12. A container as claimed in claim 11, which is in the form of a can adapted for containing liquid, eg. beverages.
13. A container as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12, which has a reinforcement lug on one side through which Fa pouring member can be inserted into it.
14. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying schematic drawings. A method of producing a sealable container suitable for containing goods, such as beverages, pastes, powders, granules or solids, which includes the steps of folding a continuous flexible sheet, having two free longitudinal sides, along a number of spaced apart folding lines between the free longitudinal sides for forming substantially parallel spaced apart folds, 18 o., each fold having overlapped longitudinal sections and two longitudinal edges; of forming a longitudinal folding formation at each edge; of attaching the i overlapped sections of each fold together by' acting between its longitudinal folding formations by attachment means for suitably holding the folds together for stiffening the sheets in longitudinal direction; of joining the free longitudinal sides of the sheet together so as to form an elongated tubular sleeve; of cutting the elongated tubular sleeve transversely into suitable lengths to form separate shorter tubular sleeves having two opposite open ends; of closing one open end of such shorter tubular sleeve by means of an end member sealed thereto so as to form a container; of filling goods, such as beverages, pastes, powders, granules or solids, via the remaining open end into the container; and of closing the remaining open end by means of an end cap and sealing it thereto.
16. A method of producing a container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 11 or Figure 17 of the accompanying schematic drawings. DATED this FIFTEENTH day of MARCH 1990. SKENNETH NEVILLE DORRINGTON Applicant. Wray Associates, Perth, Western Australia, Patent Attorneys for Applicant. 19 AIT