DE29608069U1 - Fluid-tight packaging with pull tab - Google Patents

Description

Copaco Society for
Packaging mbH & Co. KG
Friedrich-Koenig-Str. 35
55129 Mainz

Representative;

Kohler Schmid + Partner
Patent attorneys
Ruppmannstrasse 27

D-70565 Stuttgart

Fluid-thin packaging with pull-open bottle

The invention relates to a fluid-tight packaging made of a preferably one-piece blank made of composite material that is coated fluid-tight at least on the inside, with a tear-tab opening prepared by means of punching or scoring, the weakening line of which is preferably formed by a half-cut that only partially separates the wall of the packaging, so that the plastic coating on the inside remains undamaged.

Such a fluid-tight packaging is known, for example, from EP O 179 240 A2.

Packages of this type are used for liquid-tight or gas-tight packaging of fluid contents. A tear-open tab is provided for removing the contents from the package, which is usually located in the area of the top surface of the package. EP 0 179 240 A2 describes in detail a suitable tear-open tab opening on such packages made of plastic-coated composite material with a folded-over web seam closure, the web seam closure being located in an edge area of the top of an essentially cuboid-shaped package.

The disadvantage of such an arrangement is the relatively complicated structure of the required web seam. In addition, the cutting for the known packaging requires several spatially separated punchings, which must be positioned very precisely in relation to one another after the packaging has been erected in order to form a fluid-tight tear-open opening.

In contrast, the object of the present invention is to present a fluid-tight packaging of the type mentioned at the beginning, which is constructed much more simply in the area of the tear-tab opening and is considerably easier to handle in order to achieve absolute fluid tightness, whereby the tear-tab opening can be designed in such a way that after tearing open a considerably larger opening cross-section results than in the known packaging.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in a surprisingly simple and effective manner in that the fluid-tight coated composite material after unfolding

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the packaging is designed in a single layer in the area of the tear tab, in particular without adhesive or welded seams, the tear tab being positioned in a central area of the blank, from which a head area and/or part of a front or rear wall of the packaging is formed after the blank is unfolded.

By positioning the tear tab opening in a central area of the blank, the complicated web seam system can be dispensed with, so that no particular precision is required when erecting the packaging from the blank, in particular no exact relative positioning of adjacent seam parts. The central position of the tear tab opening in the area of the head surface also means that a considerably larger opening cross-section can be achieved after tearing.

Particularly preferred is an embodiment of the packaging according to the invention in which the tear-open tab opening extends at least almost over the entire top surface of the packaging as well as over parts of the front wall, preferably also over parts of the rear wall. This makes it possible in particular to achieve the maximum possible opening cross-section after the tear-open tab has been torn open.

To ensure the tightness of the resulting fluid-tight packaging, a further advantageous embodiment of the invention provides a sealing label on the inside that covers the weakening line of the tear-tab opening on all sides, which can preferably be glued, welded or sealed to the composite material. Even in the case of faulty punching and scoring, where the composite material in the area of the tear-tab opening

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If the packaging has a completely continuous perforation, such a sealing label can ensure the absolute fluid tightness of the packaging.

In an advantageous development of this embodiment, the sealing label consists of film material, preferably plastic film or metal film. Such film sealing labels, which may already be provided with adhesive material or whose coating can cause bonding by heating or using ultrasound, are generally available on the market.

Alternatively, in another development, the sealing label can be made of fluid-resistant coated paper. Such coated paper labels are particularly inexpensive to obtain.

The present invention also relates to a blank for a fluid-tight package of the type described above, which has fold lines for a U-shaped central folding of the package. Such a folding is known, for example, from EP 0 417 252 B1. In contrast to the packaging according to the invention, however, the known package described there has a permanent opening in the blank in the area of the tear-tab opening, which must be covered with a separate tab, which must be applied in a fluid-tight manner in the area around the opening before or after the blank is erected. Such problems do not occur from the outset with the present packaging according to the invention, while the advantages of central erection (center-fold method) can be fully utilized with the proposed blank.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the blank according to the invention is characterized in that a pre-scored or pre-punched press-in tab is provided on an edge section of the tear tab, the perforation line of which is partially identical to the weakening line of the tear tab opening. Such a press-in tab makes opening the packaging using the tear tab considerably easier.

A further development of this embodiment is particularly advantageous, in which the push-in tab is crescent-shaped. Such a crescent-shaped push-in tab can easily be pressed in with the thumb and the tear-off tab can then be torn open along its weakening line using the thumb and index finger.

Also preferred is an embodiment of the blank according to the invention in which the tear tab opening has a shape that tapers towards the end on both sides at least at one end. This makes it considerably easier to tear the tab open and requires much less effort, since there is a relatively low tear resistance in the tearing direction.

A particularly advantageous development of this embodiment is one in which a push-in tab is positioned on the edge section of the tear-tab opening that has the shape tapering to the end on both sides. This allows the advantages of the two embodiments mentioned above to be combined.

In order to vary the shape of the packaging according to the invention, at least some of the fold lines can be

convex or concave. This means that packaging shapes other than cuboid can be achieved.

Finally, in a further advantageous embodiment, the blank according to the invention consists of pre-punched or pre-scored cardboard material, which is provided with a subsequently applied plastic coating on the side that later forms the inside of the fluid-tight packaging according to the invention. The subsequent application of the plastic coating after punching or scoring ensures the tightness of the corresponding perforation or weakening lines.

A method for producing a fluid-tight packaging of the type described above is advantageous in which the blank is provided with a fluid-tight coating in an erecting and filling machine, preferably immediately before the erecting process, on the side that will later form the inside of the erected packaging in the area of its perforation, scoring or cutting lines. In this way, the corresponding cutting lines can be sealed and sealed shortly before filling, which reliably prevents fluid contents from penetrating the cardboard material in the area of the cutting lines.

Further advantages of the invention emerge from the description and the drawing. Likewise, the features mentioned above and those listed below can be used individually or in combination in any desired way. The embodiments shown and described are not intended to be exhaustive.

They are not to be understood as a list, but rather as examples for the description of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the drawing and is explained in more detail
of an embodiment is explained in more detail. They show:

Fig. 1 an embodiment of a blank according to the invention
for the central erection of a fluid-tight
Packaging with tear tab opening in flat condition;

Fig. 2 shows the embodiment according to Fig. 1 in a pre-broken state along the longitudinal fold lines;

Fig. 3a the beginning of the central erection of the blank
according to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3b shows the erection process of Fig. 3a after about half of the unfolding;

Fig. 3c shows the unfolding process according to Figs. 3a and 3b shortly before sealing the side seams;

Fig. 4 shows a packaging according to the invention with a tear-tab opening, which was erected from a blank according to Fig. 1 in an erection process according to Figs. 3a to 3c and then sealed;

Fig. 5a shows a further embodiment of a blank according to the invention with concave longitudinal fold lines in flat
condition; and

Fig. 5b shows a cut-out from Fig. 5a.

inventive packaging.

Fig. 1 shows a one-piece blank for producing a fluid-tight packaging according to the invention for holding preferably liquid or pasty, but generally also powdery or granular products. The flat, essentially rectangular blank has a front wall 1 and a rear wall 2, which are separated by a head surface 3 positioned in the central part of the blank. The head surface 3 is delimited by transverse fold lines 4a and 4b and by longitudinal fold lines 5a and 5b. The front wall 1 is delimited by the longitudinal fold lines 5a and 5b and by the transverse fold lines 4b and 4e. The rear wall 2 is delimited by the longitudinal fold lines 5a and 5b and by the transverse fold lines 4a and 4d.

A tear tab 12 for creating a subsequent tear tab opening in the finished packaging extends in the central area of the blank over most of the head surface 3 as well as over an adjacent part of the front wall 1. This results in a particularly large opening cross-section of the tear tab opening after the tear tab 12 has been torn open. To prepare the tearing process of the tear tab 12, a press-in tab 13 is provided, the perforation line of which is partially identical to the weakening line of the tear tab 12, with the press-in tab being hinged to the front wall 1 at the other end in a bendable manner. To improve handling, the press-in tab 13 is designed in a crescent shape.

The edge section of the tear tab 12, on which the push-in tab 13 is positioned, runs diagonally on both sides towards the push-in tab 13 so that when the tear tab is torn open

tab 12 a lower tear resistance occurs in the tear direction.

In order to further increase the achievable tear tab opening, in embodiments not shown in the drawing, the tear tab 12 can also extend over parts of the rear wall 2 adjacent to the head surface 3.

At the two opposite ends of the blank shown in Fig. 1, a first bottom surface 6a is delimited by the longitudinal fold lines 5a and 5b as well as by the transverse fold lines 4c and 4d, while a second bottom surface 6b, which comes to lie parallel to the first bottom surface 6a in the erected state of the packaging, is delimited by the longitudinal fold lines 5a and 5b as well as by the transverse fold lines 4e and 4f.

The later side parts of the packaging are formed by side surfaces 7a, 7b, 7c and 7d, which are delimited in the cut by the longitudinal fold lines 5b, 5d and the transverse fold lines 4a, 4d or the longitudinal fold lines 5b, 5c and the transverse fold lines 4b, 4e, or the longitudinal fold lines 5a, 5c and the transverse fold lines 4a, 4d, or the longitudinal fold lines 5a, 5c and the transverse fold lines 4b, 4e.

The cross fold line 4c, together with the edge adjacent to it, delimits an edge area 8a. Likewise, at the opposite end of the cut, the cross fold line 4f, with the edge closest to it, delimits another edge area 8b. The longitudinal fold line 5c, with the edge adjacent to it, delimits an edge area 8e in the upper half of the cut together with the cross fold lines 4a and 4d and in the lower half of the cut together with the cross fold lines 4b and 4e

an edge surface 8f; the longitudinal fold line 5d on the opposite side finally delimits with the edge adjacent to it in the upper half of the blank together with the cross fold lines 4a and 4d an edge surface 8c and in the lower half of the blank together with the cross fold lines 4b and 4e an edge surface 8d. During the subsequent sealing, the edge surfaces 8c, 8d, 8e, 8f are sealed against each other either by gluing or welding after the blank has been erected around the cross fold lines 4a and 4b, so that apart from a filling opening in the area between the edge surfaces 8a and 8b, an otherwise completely closed interior of the folded blank is created. After the product has been filled into the packaging, the edge surfaces 8a and 8b are then finally sealed together so that the contents are hermetically sealed.

In order to form a first head flap 10a and to facilitate unfolding in the later head area of the packaging, in the blank shown in Fig. 1, a first diagonal fold line 9a and a second diagonal fold line 9b are provided in the area delimited by the transverse fold lines 4a, 4b and the longitudinal fold lines 5b, 5d, which converge at a point on the longitudinal fold line 5d. Likewise, on the other side of the blank, two diagonal fold lines 9c and 9d are provided, which also converge at a point on the longitudinal fold line 5c and which, together with the longitudinal fold line 5a, delimit a second head flap 10b.

In the four corner areas of the blank according to the invention shown in Fig. 1, four later bottom mirror flaps 11a, 11b, lic and lld are formed by the longitudinal fold lines 5b, 5d and the transverse fold lines 4c, 4d or the longitudinal fold lines 5a, 5c and the transverse fold lines 4c, 4d or the longitudinal fold lines 5a,

5c, and the transverse fold lines 4e, 4f or the longitudinal fold lines 5b, 5d and the transverse fold lines 4e, 4f. The areas of the later head flaps 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d are each divided into two halves by a diagonal fold line 9e or 9g or 9h or 9f running towards the respective corner of the blank. As with the head flaps 10a, 10b and the associated diagonal fold lines 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d, this makes it easier to erect the packaging from the blank into its later final shape.

In Fig. 2, the blank according to the invention, shown flat in Fig. 1, is shown in a pre-broken state along the longitudinal fold lines 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d. This pre-breaking makes it easier to later erect the packaging before the filling process.

Figures 3a to 3c show the unfolding process of the blank according to the invention shown flat in Figure 1. In Figure 3a, the blank, which is initially standing vertically in front of the viewer, is slightly folded away from the viewer around the two transverse fold lines 4a and 4b. Figure 3b shows a state in which the folding around the two transverse fold lines 4a and 4b has already progressed so far that the front wall 1 and the rear wall 2 are parallel to each other. Finally, in Figure 3c, folding has taken place around the longitudinal fold lines 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d, each by approximately 90°. In this state, the edge surfaces 8d and 8f visible in Figure 3c can be glued, welded or otherwise sealed to the edge surfaces 8c and 8e, which are parallel from below. In addition, the head tabs 10a and 10b can be folded over and also welded or glued to their corresponding support surfaces on the packaging.

Finally, Fig. 4 shows the spatial final shape of the inventive packaging, unfolded from the inventive blank according to Fig. 1 in accordance with Figures 2 and 3a to 3c and then filled and finally sealed. The second head flap 10b visible in Fig. 4 is glued to the side surfaces 7c and 7d and the edge surface 8f, which is also visible, is glued to the side surface 7c via the no longer visible edge surface 8e in order to prevent it from sticking out annoyingly from the filled package. The other edge surfaces and head and bottom flaps, which are not visible in Fig. 4, are also glued to the corresponding outer surfaces of the packaging.

As shown in Figures 5a and 5b, at least some of the fold lines of the blank may deviate from the straight shape and may be convex or concave, for example.

Fig. 5a shows an embodiment of the blank according to the invention in the flat, spread-out state, in which the longitudinal fold lines 5a ¹ and 5b ^!, which run straight in sections, split in the area of the rear wall 2', starting with the crossing point at the transverse fold line 4d', into two curved fold lines 15a, 25a and 15b, 25b, which meet again at the transverse fold line 4a ¹ and each enclose an area 3 5a and 35b respectively. The longitudinal fold lines 5a ¹ and 5b ^! also split. in the area of the front wall I ¹ from the transverse fold line 4b' into curved fold lines 15a ¹ and 25a ¹ or 15b ¹ and 25b' to meet again at the transverse fold line 4e', enclosing the surfaces 3 5a' or 35b ¹ with each other.

The erected from the flat blank according to Fig. 5a

The packaging according to the invention is shown three-dimensionally in Fig. 5b. As can be seen, due to the curved course of the fold line sections 15a, 15a ¹ , 15b, 15b', 25a, 25a ¹ , 25b and 25b', the outer contour of this embodiment of the packaging according to the invention is concave in the region of the surfaces 35a, 35a ¹ , 35b and 35b ¹ .

Of course, by using different shapes of fold lines, the most varied end shapes of the packaging can be achieved when cutting according to the invention.

The fluid-tight packaging according to the invention preferably consists of cardboard material that is plastic-coated at least on its inside, whereby the weakening line of the tear tab 12, prepared by means of a punch or scoring, is formed by a half-cut that only partially cuts through the wall of the packaging, so that the plastic coating on the inside remains undamaged. However, in embodiments not shown in the drawing, the weakening line of the tear tab opening can be covered on all sides on the inside with a sealing label to ensure tightness, which can preferably be glued, welded or sealed to the composite material. The sealing label can consist of film material, preferably plastic film or metal film, or even of a fluid-resistant coated paper.

Additionally or alternatively, the blank can, according to the invention, consist of pre-punched or pre-scored cardboard material, which is provided with a subsequently applied plastic coating on the side that later forms the inside of the fluid-tight packaging.

In a possible method for producing the fluid-tight packaging according to the invention, the blank is provided with a fluid-tight coating in an erecting and filling machine immediately before the erecting process on the side that will later form the inside of the erected packaging in the area of its perforation, scoring and cutting lines in order to reliably prevent the penetration of moist filling material into the cardboard material.

Claims (12)

Protection claims 1. Fluid-tight packaging made from a preferably one-piece blank made from a composite material that is at least fluid-tightly coated on the inside, with a tear-off tab opening prepared by means of punching or scoring, the weakening line of which is preferably formed by a half-cut that only partially separates the wall of the packaging, so that the plastic coating on the inside remains undamaged, characterized, that the fluid-tight coated composite material is designed in a single layer in the area of the tear tab (12) after the packaging has been unfolded, in particular without adhesive or welded seams, the tear tab (12) being positioned in a central area of the blank, from which a head surface (3; 3') and/or part of a front wall (1; 1') or rear wall (2; 2') of the packaging is formed after the blank has been unfolded. 2. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the tear-tab opening extends at least almost over the entire top surface (3; 3') of the packaging and over parts of the front wall (1; 1'), preferably also over parts of the rear wall (2; 2'). 3. Packaging according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a sealing label is provided on the inside, covering the weakening line of the tear-tab opening on all sides, which is preferably glued, welded or sealed to the composite material. 4. Packaging according to claim 3, characterized in that the sealing label consists of film material, preferably of plastic film or metal film. 5. Packaging according to claim 3, characterized in that the sealing label consists of fluid-resistant coated paper. 6. Blank for a fluid-tight package according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the blank has folding lines for a U-shaped central folding of the package. 7. Blank according to claim 6, characterized in that a pre-scored or pre-punched press-in tab (13) is provided on an edge section of the tear tab (12), the perforation line of which is partially identical to the weakening line of the tear tabs (12). 8. Blank according to claim 7, characterized in that the press-in tab (13) is crescent-shaped. 9. Blank according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the tear tab (12) has a shape tapering obliquely towards the end on both sides at least at one end. 1.0. Blank according to claim 9 and one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that the push-in tab (13) is positioned on the edge section of the tear-open tab (12) with the shape tapering obliquely towards the end on both sides. 11. Blank according to one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that at least some of the fold lines (15a,
25a, 15a ¹ , 25a ¹ , 15b, 25b, 15b ¹ , 25b ¹ ) of the cutting
are convex or concave. 12. Blank according to one of claims 6 to 11, characterized in that the blank is made of pre-punched or
pre-scored cardboard material, which has a subsequently applied plastic coating on the side that will later form the inside of the fluid-tight packaging.