EP0028299B1 - Package for liquids with pouring and air-inlet opening - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a pack for liquids made of cardboard, paper or the like, which is liquid-impermeable at least on the inside by a plastic coating and has on at least one side a double-walled partial area, the interior of which is connected to the inside of the pack, which is on its one partial wall has a graspable cardboard strip, a cut or perforation line is provided in the double-walled partial area, which delimits a tear-open opening, and close to it on the liquid side of the cut or perforation line has a hand-tearable weld seam, by means of which the two partial area walls are welded together in a liquid-tight manner.

It is known that milk, juices and water in such liquid packs are currently commercially available. The form of these known packages are polyhedra, in particular parallelepipeds, tetrahedra or cubes.

The way of production is different. A very practical way of producing the known cuboid packs is to form a tube, flatten, fill, cross-seal or separate the packages from the tube. Such packs have double cardboard strips on two opposite side walls and one end wall or on two opposite end walls and one side wall, which strips can be bent up and gripped if necessary.

With all packs, especially if they are intended for liquids, there is the general problem of tightness on the one hand and easy opening of the pack for emptying on the other hand. In this context, numerous opening devices have been developed and have already become known. As an example, reference is made to a known cuboid pack according to 'DE-A-25 20 569, on the opposite end walls of which double-walled triangular tabs are formed, the interior of which communicates with the interior of the pack. A double cardboard strip with a sealed seam extends to the outer tip of the triangular flaps, which are folded over to form the cuboid around an edge line between a narrow side wall and an end wall and fastened to the narrow side wall or the end wall by points. A perforation line, which is rectangular in plan view, is provided as the opening device of this known package in the upper end wall, which also extends a short distance down over the aforementioned edge line in the triangular lobes. To improve the liquid seal, a plastic cover strip is welded on the inside, at a distance from the perforation line. Within the perforation line, which is rectangular in plan view in the projection, there is a larger weld spot in the area of the edge line and at a distance from this at the end remote from the edge line at least one further smaller weld spot on which the plastic-coated carrier material web with the plastic material placed on the inside Cover strip is welded. This makes it possible, when the tearable plastic strip formed by the closed perforation line is torn off, to automatically expose holes at locations within the area of the tearable cardboard strip where the larger front opening is used as a pouring opening and the one or two smaller rear openings are used as air inlet openings. With this type of package, however, the end user has to carry out certain operations for tearing off an opening strip in order to open it.

A pack of the type described in more detail at the beginning is known from DE-A-2 208 891. The double-walled section, which has already been referred to as triangular tabs, is divided into two parts by the double cardboard strip running down the upper end wall and on the front side surface. A cut that breaks through both walls of this partial area creates a tearable double-walled section which is located completely in half of these divided partial areas. This tearable section does not protrude into or beyond the cardboard strip.

To open the known liquid pack, the user grasps this tearable section and tears it off completely along the cutting line. The weld seam providing the liquid seal can be broken open by tearing it up using the double cardboard strip.

The casting properties of an opening arranged at the edge of the double-walled triangular flap are obviously not particularly favorable and are also not easy for the user to understand, as is the case with an opening in the middle of a triangular flap. In addition, a piece of waste arises, which the user has to throw away in any case.

A similar package is known from DE-β-2 707 321, although there is no weld seam on the liquid side next to the cutting or perforation line. Instead of the cutting line, as provided for in the known package described last, a perforation line is used here, over which a plastic coating is drawn for sealing. With this pack, too, a certain area of the double-walled triangular flap is completely torn off when it is opened. This tear-off should be facilitated by the line of weakness, but is rather cumbersome because the double cardboard strip has to be torn.

The invention is based on the object of the known liquid pack according to DE-A-2 208 891 improve that the handling for the end user is easier, the pouring properties are improved and no pieces of waste arise during the opening process, which are to be thrown away separately from the package.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that further cut or perforation lines, each delimiting further tear-open openings, are provided and that each of the cut or perforation lines penetrates only one of the partial area walls, and that one on the other side of the cut or perforation line the non-tearable weld connecting the walls is attached. The solution according to the invention relates to all types of liquid packs in which the properties mentioned at the outset are given. For illustration purposes, however, reference is made to a cuboid pack which has two end walls with adjacent, double cardboard strips with a sealed seam and double-walled triangular tabs. However, the invention is expressly not restricted to this type of cuboid pack.

The basic idea of the invention resides in the fact that it is possible with very simple tools at the point of the pack where the double-layered part is located, i.e. the triangular flap, to make a cut line in one of the two part area walls lying one above the other and then, or particularly advantageously even simultaneously, to make a weld seam next to it. Due to the weld seam, the two partial area walls lying one above the other, in particular the triangular walls, are welded to one another in a liquid-tight manner. As a result, openings that can be prepared in a surprisingly simple manner can be created in any form in one and / or the other partial area wall by the following measures: When opening the package prepared in the manner described, one grabs the cardboard strip that is attached to at least one of the partial area walls, and pulls it up in the direction of a specified marking. As a result, tensile or compressive forces are exerted on the weld seam next to or on the weld seams next to the cutting lines in a very specific way. The cut can be made by the measures according to the invention in such a way that the weld seam which caused the liquid seal is broken open for opening. Another, e.g. The weld seam located on the side of the partial area wall opposite the cutting line then ensures that the part of the material layer hanging thereon remains attached to the opposite partial area wall, which is opposite the cutting line and is not cut through. In this way, an opening can be achieved perfectly and easily in any form.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the cut or perforation line surrounds the tear opening as an endless line, the non-tearable weld seam being located within the area delimited by the endless cut or perforation line. In this embodiment, it is readily conceivable that the weld seam and / or the cutting line can also be provided as a self-contained circle, oval, closed square, polygon or the like in the area where one partial area wall lies above the other in which Box pack especially in the double-walled triangular tab. It is important according to the invention if the cut line essentially only penetrates a partial area wall in order to ensure that the opposite wall remains liquid-tight. If one arranges a weld seam within the endless cutting line, one achieves in this way that when the two partial area walls are pulled apart, the inner area gets stuck on the opposite wall without a cutting line, while the above-mentioned cutting line causing the liquid seal is broken open.

Depending on where the cutting line and weld seam or weld seams are arranged, it is very easy to provide an air inlet hole next to the conventional pouring openings or instead of the conventional pouring opening, a novel pouring opening or both combined.

The cutting line explained at the beginning can either be described as an uninterrupted, i.e. continuous cutting line, or imagine as a cutting line along which the cut cardboard carrier web has stopped on small sections. This interrupted cutting line is referred to below as the perforation line. It is understood that the advantages described above can also be achieved when using a perforation line instead of a continuous cutting line. Depending on the type of package, it may be more appropriate to improve the seal compared to easy tearing by first perforating the cardboard backing material, then coating it and then applying the welds described next to the perforation lines. The person skilled in the art will have to clarify from case to case whether it is more expedient to use a perforation line or a continuous cutting line.

The invention is expediently further embodied in that a plurality of self-contained cutting or perforation lines are provided in one of the double-layered sub-area walls to form a plurality of pouring openings, and one or two self-contained cutting or perforation lines are provided in the other sub-area wall to form air inlet openings are. At the This embodiment can, for example, arrange the multiplicity of circular cut lines in the lower triangular wall as a plurality of pouring openings, while one or two air inlet openings are provided on the upper, ie, the triangular wall extended in the direction of the double-walled triangular lobe. The usual thing will be to provide only a larger opening in the lower triangle wall as a pouring opening. In certain embodiments, however, it may be more expedient to provide a plurality of small circular openings instead of a large one as a pouring opening. The sum of the small openings is designed in such a way that a sufficient liquid jet with a "salt spreader" effect is achieved.

A special and further development of the invention, which has already been mentioned several times in the above explanations, is characterized in that the cut or perforation line in the lower section wall, which is not provided with the double cardboard strip, runs from one folded edge to the other across the section wall. If you think of the double-walled triangular flaps of a parallelepipedic pack folded up into the plane of the upper end wall and then think of the pack from below, you can see the perforation or cutting line in the triangular wall without double cardboard strips, which is conveniently from a folded edge to the other runs across the triangular lobe as a section wall. It does not matter whether the cutting line has the shape of an arc with a constant radius or with a different radius, the shape of a straight line or several straight lines at an angle to each other. In this case, the double-walled triangular flap is divided into two areas by the perforation or cut line and the weld seam arranged next to it: the one area that lies more towards the pack, which is connected to the inside of the pack, and the other, that to the outside tip area of the triangular tab, which remains closed in a liquid-tight manner due to the narrow weld seam with respect to the interior of the pack. When the double cardboard strip is gripped, the latter will tear open the weld seam that seals against the liquid and thus create a pouring opening.

It is particularly expedient according to the invention if the cut or perforation lines in the lower partial wall are arranged at a lateral distance from the double cardboard strips arranged in the upper partial wall. Here the advantage of the above-mentioned arrangement of the plurality of self-contained cutting lines is clearly formed. It is understood that the distribution of many small openings can be done better than the arrangement of a single large opening. One can see the many small openings in desired areas in the lower part wall, i.e. in the bottom wall of the triangular lobe. Other areas can remain without small openings and without cutting lines at all. If such an area without openings lies in the lower triangular wall in the area in which the double cardboard strip is located in the upper triangular wall, then the welding can be carried out better. In other words, the reason why, preferably in the lower triangular wall under the cardboard strip, there are no cut lines with the narrow weld seams arranged on both sides thereof, is that the difficulties in welding are eliminated when the double cardboard strip is raised. Where the double cardboard strip is attached to the upper end wall, there is a narrow gap at which the counter-pressure jaws have a bad effect, so that the introduction of the narrow weld seams on both sides next to the cutting lines is difficult to apply properly and tightly.

Due to the inventive arrangement of the cutting lines with the weld seams arranged next to them, this is done at a distance next to the cardboard strip, so that the liquid-tight welding is guaranteed with certainty and is not disturbed by the difficult to apply back pressure or the double cardboard strip.

The special advantage of the opening is that the cutting line and weld seam are only introduced after the packaging has been filled and closed. This results in considerable simplifications in terms of machine technology. Understandably, the machine for forming, filling, closing (by welding) and separating the pack need not be burdened with additional machine elements for producing an opening device. Rather, the latter can take place in a downstream station, in which the double-walled partial area is preferably not yet folded down, folded over and fastened around the edge line between the upper end wall and side wall of the cuboid-shaped pack, but e.g. protrudes laterally in the plane of the upper end wall. Then the machine parts for inserting cutting lines and weld seams can intervene particularly easily and effectively.

Further advantages, features and possible applications of the present in- ^f dung will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.

• Figur 1 die mit Ausgieß- und Lufteintrittsöffnung versehene erste Ausführungsform der Flüssigkeitspackung im dichten Zustand für den Transport und die Lagerung,
• Figur 2 die Packung der Fig. 1 mit hochgestelltem Dreiecklappen zum Vorbereiten des Öffnungsvorganges,
• Figur 3 die Ansicht der geöffneten Packung nach der Ausführungsform der Fig. 1 und 2,
• Figur 4 eine Seitenansicht auf die geöffnete Packung beim Ausgießen,
• Figur 5 eine ähnliche Ansicht wie Fig. 3, jedoch von oben gesehen,
• Figur 6 eine Schnittansicht entlang der Linie D-D der Fig. 5,
• Figur 7 eine Draufsicht auf die Packung gemäß Zustand der Fig. 2,
• Figur 8 eine Schnittansicht entlang der Linie C-C der Fig. 7,
• Figur 9 bis Fig. 11 Ansichten der Packung mit hochgestelltem Dreiecklappen entsprechend der Darstellung der Fig. 2 und 7, jedoch von unten gesehen und mit jeweils verschiedenen Ausführungsformen von Ausgießöffnungen,
• Figur 12 eine Querschnittsansicht entlang der Linie B-B der Fig. 10 und
• Figur 13 eine Querschnittsansicht entlang der Linie A-A der Fig. 9.

Show it:

• 1 shows the first embodiment of the liquid pack provided with a pouring and air inlet opening in the sealed state for transport and storage,
• Figure 2 shows the pack of Fig. 1 with hochge triangular cloth to prepare the opening process,
• 3 shows the view of the opened package according to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2,
• FIG. 4 shows a side view of the opened package during pouring,
• FIG. 5 shows a view similar to FIG. 3, but seen from above,
• FIG. 6 shows a sectional view along the line DD of FIG. 5,
• FIG. 7 shows a top view of the package according to the state of FIG. 2,
• FIG. 8 shows a sectional view along the line CC of FIG. 7,
• FIGS. 9 to 11 are views of the package with the triangular flap in the upright position corresponding to the illustration in FIGS. 2 and 7, but seen from below and with different embodiments of pouring openings,
• Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of Figures 10 and
• FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional view along the line AA in FIG. 9.

1 to 5 perspectively shown liquid pack made of cardboard coated with plastic on both sides has the shape of a cuboid with an upper end wall 1, in which a double cardboard strip 2 is arranged, which extends from an outer tip 3 of the front triangular tab 4 to to the opposite tip, not shown, of the other triangular lobe, also not shown, is sufficient. The lower triangular lobes are only visible from FIGS. 9 to 11, but are not provided with a reference number because they are not essential to the invention.

Another double cardboard strip 5, which has a sealed seam, runs transversely through the upper end wall 1 and ends, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 10, on the underside, as also not specified. The front side wall 6 is smooth and connected to the upper end wall 1 via the edge line 7, around which the triangular flap 4 is folded down and attached to the front side wall 6. The inside of the triangular tab 4 is directly connected to the inside of the pack. The upper triangular wall visible in FIG. 1 is designated by 8, the lower triangular wall visible in FIGS. 3, 4 and 9 to 11 by 9.

In the embodiments shown here, in each case in the upper triangular wall 8 of the triangular flap 4 there is an air inlet opening 10, which is shown in dashed lines in the illustration of FIGS. 9 to 11 because one looks at the lower triangular wall 9 and not the upper wall 8.

A large pouring opening 11 results in the lower triangular wall 9, while in the embodiment of FIG. 11 a large number of small circular openings 11 'are shown, which likewise (according to the principle of a "salt control") represent the pouring opening.

The manufacture of the opening can best be explained with reference to FIGS. 9 to 13. 9 to 11 you can see the left folded edge 12 and the right folded edge 13 of the triangular flap 4, which converge to the outer tip 3, to which the double graspable cardboard strip 2 runs with the sealing seam, not shown.

From the one folded edge 12 to the other folded edge 13, the section line 20 runs in the form of a partial arc, the cross-section according to FIG. 9 can be seen in FIG. 13. The production succeeds with a cut welding stamp.

In the embodiment of FIG. 10, the perforation line 21 is shown in an arc from the left folded edge 12 to the right 13 across the triangular flap 4, in particular the lower triangular wall 9.

All of the holes shown in a circle, in particular the air inlet holes 10, but also the plurality of pouring holes 11 'in the embodiment of FIG. 11, are produced with a welding cutting punch, not shown. The section line for the air inlet openings 10 in the upper triangular wall 8 is referred to as 22 and is found in FIG. 8 in the view of section C-C of FIG. 7.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 9 and 10, narrow weld seams 23 are arranged on both sides of the cutting line 20, 21, which are also found in the sectional view of FIG. 13.

Also in the small circular holes 10 to 1 T, narrow weld seams 23 are provided inside and outside of the circular cutting line 22. The upper part area designated 24 in the large pouring opening corresponds to the area 24 'in the case of the small circular openings 10, 11', which is shown in the case of FIG. 6 in connection with the hole 10 and was part of the upper triangular wall 8.

The reason for the fixed connection between the part 24 'and the lower triangular wall 9 is that the parts 24 and 24' respectively connected to the opposite triangular wall after tearing, i.e. the fracture of the weld seams 23 which provide the seal, in particular to the right and left of the cut 22 which provide the liquid seal, remain firmly adhered. In the case of the circular holes 10 and 11 ', therefore, the part 24' remains attached to the opposite triangular wall, while the weld seams 23, which ensure tightness on the outside, are separated. The result can be seen in FIG. 6.

The air inlet opening 10 is open there as well as the pouring opening 11. These openings result from the fact that in the case of the air inlet opening 10 the partial region 24 ′ adheres to the lower triangular wall, while in the case of the pouring opening 11 the region 24 adheres to the upper triangular wall 8 remains.

The sectional view of FIG. 2 along the line BB in FIG. 10 is therefore a projection in the direction of view of the section, so that there one the webs 30 remaining between the partial cuts can be recognized, which make up the perforation line in contrast to the continuous cutting line. The plastic layer 31 lies underneath.

As said, the embodiments of the drawings are packs in which an air inlet opening 10 is formed at the top, while the pouring opening 11 or the multiplicity of small openings 11 'is or are formed at the bottom in the triangular wall 9. This opening is done in such a way that the package is taken in the state of FIG. 1, the triangular flap 4 is folded up into the plane of the upper wall 1 as shown in FIG. 2, after which the user then grabs the double cardboard strip 2 with his fingers and pulls up against the rest of the pack. As a result, the front side wall 6 becomes somewhat narrower at the top, and the outer tip 3 moves somewhat upward from the plane of the top wall 1, the top wall 1 bulging. Perspectively, one then has the opened package according to FIGS. 3 and 5. FIG. 6 shows in section how the part 24 'tore out of the upper triangular wall 8 and adheres to the opposite lower triangular wall 9, so that the air inlet opening given is. In the same way, the area 24 adheres to the upper triangular wall 8, and the pouring opening 11 results. In the manner shown in FIG. 4, the filling material can then be poured out.

8 finally shows the state of the still unopened package, in which only one air inlet opening 10 is provided, while scissors can be used in a known manner to produce a pouring opening.

Claims (5)

1. A pack for liquids comprising cardboard, paper or the like, which is impervious to fluid at least on its inward side by virtue of a plastics coating and which is provided at at least one side with a double-walled portion, the interior of which communicates with the interior of the pack and which is provided on its one wall with a grippable cardboard strip (2), wherein provided in the double-walled portion (4) is a cut or perforated line (20, 21, 22) which defines a tear-open opening (10, 11, 11') and closely therebeside, on the fluid side of the cut or perforated line, has a weld seam (23) which can be torn open by hand and by means of which the two walls (8, 9) of said portion (4) are fluid- tightly welded together, characterised in that there are optionally provided further cut or perforated lines (20, 21, 22) defining respective further tear-open openings (10, 11, 11') and that each of the cut of perforated lines respectively only extends through one of the walls (8, 9), and that also provided on the other side of the cut or perforated line (20, 21, 22) is a weld seam (23) which joins the walls (8, 9) and which cannot be torn open.

2. A pack according to claim 1 characterised in that the cut or perforated line (22) extends in the form of an endless line around the tear-open opening (10, 11, 11'), wherein the weld seam (23) which cannot be torn open is disposed within the area defined by the endless cut or perforated line.

3. A pack according to claim 2 characterised in that a plurality of cut or perforated lines (22) which are closed in themselves are provided in one (9) of the double-layer walls (8, 9), to form a plurality of pouring openings (11'), and provided in the other wall (8) are one or two cut or perforated lines (22) which are closed in themselves, to form air inlet openings (10).

4. A pack according to claim 1 characterised in that the cut or perforated line (20, 21) extends in the lower wall (9) which is not provided with the doubled cardboard strip (2), from one fold edge (12) to the other (13), transversely over said wall (9).

5. A pack according to claim 3 characterised in that the cut or perforated lines (22) are arranged in the lower wall (9) of said portion (4) at a lateral spacing from the doubled carboard strip (2) which is arranged in the upper wall (8).

Images