EP0241844B1 - Package for fluids with a handle - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a package for flowable fillings with a tube formed by at least one longitudinal sealing seam, at the ends of which the bottom and lid are attached, of which the lid consists of thermoplastic material without carrier material, is molded onto the tube and has a pouring device, the tube from at least one side with a thermoplastic coated substrate, e.g. Cardboard exists, the bottom is square and is formed from the folded tube of the pack as a folding closure and a handle connected to the lid is attached to the side of the tube and below the lid. A pack with these features is known from EP-A-0 180 028 (prior art according to Article 54 (3) EPC).

Of the large number of liquid packs, those are known which are formed from a flat, coated cardboard web into a tube, filled and provided with a bottom and a lid. The smaller packages used for milk, fruit juices, wine and the like, for example with a volume of 1 l, usually have no handle. However, there are also efforts to create larger packages, for example for the transport of drinking water.

With these larger packs, it is expedient to provide the consumer with a handle attached to the pack so that handling, namely carrying and pouring, is more pleasant.

The pack manufacturers have made various considerations as to how the cheapest and cheapest handle on a plastic packaging of the type described above could be attached. One of the considerations according to the older EP-A-0.180.028 is that
that a part of the tube wall adjoining the circumference of the lid is folded onto itself to form the handle and connected to form a double-walled surface in which the gripping opening is provided. It has also been considered that it would be expedient if the molded cover were extended over the upper edge of the double-walled surface with the gripping opening to form a stiffening web. The manufacturer could create such a pack from a flat sheet, while the other advantages of known packs could also be retained, for example good opening of an otherwise tight pouring device, reclosing of the same, etc.

The double-walled surface with the gripping opening could, according to the pack explained above, be configured triangularly in such a way that its upper edge forms a short catheter, its outer folding edge running approximately in the longitudinal direction of the tube forms a long catheter and the two inner folding edges lying one on top of the other form the hypotenuse. This area could best be made triangular, with each half of this double-walled area also being triangular. This results in a good grip with a tough grip.

Such a pack would have the disadvantage, however, that apart from a special, unavoidable cut of the shape at the bottom and lid of the pack, there would be a fold for the triangular surface mentioned, which would offer a relatively large dead space for the overall pack. Such a package could only be stacked, stored and transported with a large amount of dead space when relatively large volumes were used. However, the pack manufacturer is aware that the costs for the transport and storage of liquid packs play such a significant role that further considerations have been made with the aim of further improving the pack described above.

From the documents US-A-3,175,750 and US-A-3,924,797, liquid packs with a handle are already known. However, these packs are folded out of blanks and set up, and there is neither a lid nor a handle made of plastic without a base material and, for example, molded onto a cardboard coated with plastic. Rather, in the case of both folding packs, a relatively complicated cut has to be cut, punched and then erected in such a way that the correct wall areas come to lie on one another in the grip area, so that the correct gripping opening is created. The creation of such cuts is extremely difficult and requires waste material. Due to the cut from cardboard, which also includes the handle, the gripping opening can only be made with a short length, because otherwise the pack will have a smaller filling volume. However, this makes handling more uncomfortable for the user. The known packs are difficult to stack on top of each other during transport, and the packaging is space-consuming in terms of the packaged volume. In addition, there is a difficult production from blanks, which is slower and more expensive compared to production from a cardboard web.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a package of the type specified in the introduction which offers the end user good handling and can be stored and transported in a space-saving manner, the production being intended to be ensured from a flat cardboard web.

This object is achieved in that the outer dimension of the base to form a cuboid outer contour of the pack is equal to the square cross-sectional dimension of the pack from the bottom to the lid and that the handle is molded together with the lid within the cuboid outer contour of the pack. If the package described at the outset is designed in the manner provided with these features, the end user will find a liquid or plasticizer package which is easy to handle and which is of particular economic and technical interest for the manufacturer and distributor of such a package because it can be transported and stored in a space-saving manner. If you also use known spraying techniques, the entire package can also be made from a flat cardboard web. For example, a tube could be formed from the flat cardboard web, connected via a longitudinal sealing seam and provided with the lid and handle on one side using a plastic injection machine; then filled and finally completely closed by means of the folding clasp.

By molding the cover, a suitable pouring device, which is also known per se, can be attached. This provides the end user with a liquid pack that has largely achieved all of the desirable properties.

If one speaks above of a cuboid outer contour of the pack, then this means the general shape of a cuboid, which can have rectangular side walls. If the bases of a parallelepiped are rectangular and the parallelepid is straight, it is called a cuboid.

In contrast to the package discussed above with the double-walled triangular fields with a gripping opening, such a double-walled triangular field of this kind is cut off from the coated cardboard web in the package according to the invention, for example where the grip opening of the handle begins in the package discussed above. In addition, the folding can take place in such a way that in the lower area up to the middle area the package remains cuboid and only in the upper area is a tetrahedral or pyramid-shaped space cut or removed, in which the molded handle is accommodated . When stacking and for transport, the package according to the invention can be packed face to face without the expensive dead space.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the handle is located in a tetrahedral space, one edge of which is formed by the diagonal of the cover. As is well known, the tetrahedron is a triangular pyramid. It therefore has triangular tetrahedral surfaces, and the one edge of the one surface lies in the preferred embodiment just described in the diagonal of the cover. This diagonal is expediently between those two corners of the rectangular or square cover at which the pouring device is not provided. In other words, a straight line runs from the center of this diagonal to the pouring device or pouring tip of the lid perpendicular to the diagonal mentioned. When viewed from above on the lid, the handle then also runs perpendicular to this diagonal, but away from the pouring device to the other side of the diagonal. The pack can be produced particularly easily in this way because the diagonal also results in favorable folds.

It is also advantageous according to the invention if the tetrahedron surface passing through the diagonal of the lid intersects the rear longitudinal edge of the tube in a lower corner point, which is 1/3 to 1/2 the height of the package at a distance from the lid. In other words, the inclination of the molded handle to the cover or to the longitudinal axis of the tube can be selected and adjusted in this way. It is useful if the handle is as close as possible to the center of gravity of the pack. This is achieved if the handle can be positioned more towards the center of the pack. This has practical reasons for use by the end user. If the latter has opened the package, the package should be as vertical as possible when the package is lifted using the handle, so that good is not undesirably poured out too early at the start of pouring.

The measures according to the invention also have the further advantage that an inexpensive folding can be provided and thus less paper or cardboard is used.

It is also expedient according to the invention if a double-walled base strip made of coated cardboard is provided, starting from the lower corner point and running in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the tube to the cover. With its help, the handle can be firmly anchored to the cardboard material in the area of this tetrahedral surface over the entire height of the tetrahedral surface on the diagonal. Even with larger liquid packs, the handle can no longer be removed from the pack during normal use. All forces introduced into the handle by the weight of the filled package are evenly distributed.

It has also proven to be advantageous according to the invention if the double-walled base strip is shorter than the height of the triangular tetrahedral surface on the diagonal and only part of the tetrahedral surface consists of coated cardboard. From the upper, cover-side end of the double-walled base strip to the diagonal and to the side of this line up to the ends of the diagonal, this results in a triangular surface which, according to the inventors' ideas, should consist of plastic and preferably with particular advantage together with the handle and the Lid should be molded onto the cardboard material. An advantage achieved in this way is the avoidance of the cut of the shape already described above. If a package of the type described in the introduction with the double triangular gripping field with the gripping opening arranged therein were formed from a blank, the person skilled in the art would immediately determine in the manufacture of the blank that the cut lines of the cardboard material for the package in the shape of the shape would be on the bottom and lid side must be guided, because otherwise after shaping, folding and sealing does not guarantee a flat surface for the lid and / or bottom. According to the invention, these elaborate cuts can be avoided with simple means.

Furthermore, it is expedient according to the invention if the upper edge of the handle fastened to the lid is rounded upwards from the rear longitudinal edge of the tube to the lid and forwardly to the pouring device and merges into at least one partial surface of the lid. These measures allow elegant lines and the creation of an appealing exterior of the pack, while at the same time all technical advantages are fully retained. It goes without saying that the handle can be stiffened in a manner known per se, for example it is given a profile by transverse or longitudinal ribs, or else ribs which extend radially outward from the gripping opening. The rounded outer surface of the handle can also be designed in the form of a stiffening edge.

Figur 1

die perspektivische Ansicht einer Flüssigkeitspackung mit den Merkmalen gemäß der Erfindung,

Figur 2

eine Seitenansicht der Packung, wenn man auf Figur 1 von links unten blickt,

Figur 3

eine Rückansicht der Packung vom Griff in Richtung auf die Ausgießeinrichtung,

Figur 4

eine Draufsicht auf die Packung, hauptsächlich auf den Deckel,

Figur 5

eine abgebrochene Schnittdarstellung der Ausgießeinrichtung etwa entlang der Linie V-V der Figur 4,

Figur 6

eine ebenfalls schematische abgebrochene ähnliche Darstellung wie Figur 5, jedoch senkrecht dazu, etwa entlang der Linie VI-VI in Figur 4, wobei die Figuren 1 bis 6 eine Packung zeigen, bei welcher sich der Griff in noch nicht ausgehärtetem Zustand befindet und später noch umzulegen ist, und

Figur 7

einen Zuschnitt auf die beschichtete Kartonbahn zur Bildung des Tubus mit Boden einer Packung der beschriebenen Art.

Further advantages and possible uses of the present invention will become apparent from the following description in conjunction with the drawings, which show various preferred embodiments. They represent:

Figure 1

the perspective view of a liquid pack with the features according to the invention,

Figure 2

a side view of the pack when you look at Figure 1 from the bottom left,

Figure 3

a rear view of the package from the handle towards the pouring device,

Figure 4

a top view of the package, mainly the lid,

Figure 5

4 shows a broken sectional view of the pouring device approximately along the line VV in FIG. 4,

Figure 6

5 also shows a schematic broken representation similar to FIG. 5, but perpendicular to it, approximately along the line VI-VI in FIG. 4, FIGS. 1 to 6 showing a pack in which the handle is not yet hardened and can be moved later is and

Figure 7

a cut to the coated cardboard web to form the tube with the bottom of a pack of the type described.

The finished pack for liquids shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 consists of the tube, designated overall by 1, which forms the four side walls, which are designated in particular by 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d in FIG. It can be seen that only the two side walls 1a and 1d are rectangular, while the side walls 1b and 1c are trapezoidal.

The four side walls 1a-1d are formed over the longitudinal sealing seam 2 to the tube 1.

The floor, generally designated 3, is formed in a manner known per se by those wall panels which are shown in the blank in FIG. 7 below.

Rather, the area of the lid 4 is important and interesting for the explanation of the invention. In the front area, the lid 4 is provided with the pouring device 5, which is shown somewhat more precisely with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, and in the rear area with the handle 6. It can be seen how the handle 6 is completely arranged within the cuboid outer contour of the pack. It is located in a tetrahedron-shaped space between the diagonal D of the cover 4 and the upper cut-off area of the rear longitudinal edge 7 above the lower corner point P. Seen from above in a plan view of the cover 4 (FIG. 4), the external dimension a · a ( Figure 1) of the bottom 3. This is the side lengths a, which are also the side lengths of the square of the lid 4 according to Figure 4. In the embodiment shown, this square is the square cross-sectional dimension of the pack. This extends from the bottom 3 of the pack to the lid 4 over the entire height H of the pack.

The outer contour of the pack is also determined by the height dimension H (Figure 2). Since the handle 6 is completely located within the outer contour of the pack, the upper part of the handle 6 does not protrude above the pack in the illustration in FIG. 2 (size H). The outer contour of the pack is formed by the cuboid, which results from the product of the two side lengths a and the height H, the volume of which is equal to a · a · H.

The tetrahedral space in which the handle 6 is located has already been mentioned above and can best be explained in connection with FIGS. 1 to 3. Three sides of this tetrahedral space are formed by the cut-off extensions of the surface of the cover 4 beyond the diagonal D to the rear from the pouring device 5 and the two adjacent side walls 1b and 1c. It goes without saying that these two side walls 1b, 1c or their extensions intersect at the so-called rear end of the pack in the rear longitudinal edge 7. Above the lower corner point P, this rear longitudinal edge 7 runs a little further in the outer edge of the handle 6, but then moves away from the outer edge of the handle 6, as this edge bulges inwards and upwards towards the lid, as best from the Figures 1 and 2 can be seen. The two edges of the tetrahedral space, not shown, then result from the intersection lines of the side walls 1b and 1c with the extension of the cover surface 4 from the front beyond the diagonals D to the rear (not shown).

In the figures 1 to 6 shown here, the handle is shown as being arranged in a tetrahedral space as described above. Here, the lower corner point P can be arranged at a distance d (FIG. 2) from the cover 4, which is equal to 1/3 to 1/2 the height H of the package. On the other hand, the handle 6 does not have to start from a diagonal D as shown in FIG. 1, but can also be further forward or further back. In another embodiment, not shown, the space, in which the handle 6 is located within the outer contour of the pack, also start from a line in the lid 4 that lies in front of the diagonal D, ie within the triangle formed by the two side edges a next to the pouring tip and the diagonal D. Another other embodiment could also have the handle in a space that is smaller than the space from the lower corner point P to the diagonal D. However, the handle 6 should be located substantially near and above the center of gravity of the filled package.

Of the tetrahedron-shaped space, only that surface is shown in the exemplary embodiment shown which runs through the diagonal D of the cover 4 and the lower corner point P and thereby forms the intersection lines S1 and S2 with the side surfaces 1b and 1c. An isosceles triangle is spanned by lines S1, S2 and D. In this triangular tetrahedral surface F, starting from the lower corner point P in the direction of the tube longitudinal center axis 8 to the cover 4, there is a double-walled base strip 9, which is shown in FIG. 2 by a dashed line, which is shown parallel and at a short distance from the line S1 is. This dashed line is the upper edge of this double-walled base strip 9, which lies completely in the handle 6 and does not protrude into the gripping opening 10. The lower web of the handle 6 between the gripping opening 10 and the tetrahedral surface F can be attached to this double-walled base strip 9 in a particularly favorable manner. Cover 4 with handle 6 can be welded or injection-molded onto base strip 9, for example, during the manufacture of the pack, when the upper end of tube 1 is closed.

If one takes a closer look at FIGS. 1 to 4 and their cut according to FIG. 7, then it is also found that the outer contour of the handle 6 on the pack side, ie below, does not lie completely against the tetrahedral surface F, which like the tube 1 is made of plastic coated cardboard material. Rather, the tetrahedral surface F is on the lines 11 and 12 cut off, so that there is a partial triangular surface f, which in the embodiment shown consists of plastic without a carrier material and is molded together with the lid 4 and handle 6 on the edges 11 and 12 of the coated cardboard.

Since the double-walled base strip 9 is formed from the coated cardboard material, it extends from the lower corner point P inwards and upwards to the cover 4, but does not reach the cover 4 but ends beforehand at the intersection of the two lines 11 and 12.

Consequently, only a part of the tetrahedral surface F consists of coated cardboard, namely that part which is formed by the side edges S1, S2, 11 and 12. The other surface f, which is even outside the plane of the tetrahedral surface F, consists only of plastic without a box.

The pouring device shown in more detail in FIGS. 5 and 6 and generally designated 5 consists of a lid 14 of elongated shape, on the top of which a handle 15 is molded. On the lower side opposite the handle 15, an all-round flange 16 is formed on the lid 14 towards the inside of the pack, which has an undercut 17 over a wedge-shaped collar 18. The lower edge 19 of this collar 18 protrudes into the interior of the package, and the entire pouring device (except for the handle 15, which is folded over in the transport configuration) is located in a depression designated by 19, which is characterized by ramp-shaped inclined surfaces 20 and 21 (everything Plastic) is formed. These ramp-shaped inclined surfaces then merge into the general upper wall of the cover 4, designated 22 in FIG.

At the point 23 (Figures 5 and 6), a line of weakness is provided around the collar 16, along which at first opening of the lid 14 can be torn out of the lid surface 21. To the rear towards the handle 6, the cover 14 is articulated via a band 24 as a hinge. This runs above the wall 25 (FIG. 5), as a result of which a space 26 is formed which is open under the band 24 on both sides.

It can be seen from FIG. 6 that a first plane E1 is defined by the weakening line 23 approximately halfway up the collar 16, which lies at a distance a '(FIG. 6) from the main plane E2, which through the surface of the cover 4 or its surface Wall 22 is formed. The surface 27 of the tearable closure cap 14 of the pouring device 15 lies in a third plane E3, which lies between the lower plane E1 and the upper plane E2. If, after the cover is molded onto the tube 1, the handle 15 is folded horizontally, the space between the third surface E3 and the upper level E2 is sufficient to accommodate the entire wall thickness of the handle 15. In this folded shape ( Transport shape), in which, for example, the cover 4 can be formed, all parts that are formed together with the cover are located in one piece within the outer contour of the overall package.

Claims (6)

1. A pack for filling materials which are capable of flow, comprising a tube which is formed by at least one longitudinal sealing seam (2) and at the ends of which are disposed a bottom (3) and a top (4), of which the top (4) comprises thermoplastic material without backing material, is injection moulded on the tube and has a pouring means (5), wherein the tube comprises backing material, for sample cardboard, which is coated with thermoplastic material on at least one side, the bottom (3) is quadrangular and is formed from the folded-over tube (1) of the pack in the form of a fold closure, wherein a handle (6) which is connected to the top (4) is laterally disposed on the tube (1) and beneath the top (4), the outside dimension (a, a) of the bottom (3) is substantially equal to the quadrangular cross-sectional dimension of the pack from the bottom (3) to the top (4), forming a parallelepipedic external contour for the pack, and wherein the handle (6) together with the top (4) is injection moulded in position within said parallelepipedic external contour (a, a, H) of the pack.
2. A pack according to claim 1 characterised in that the handle (6) is disposed in a substantially tetrahedral space of which one edge is formed by the diagonal (D) of the top (4).
3. A pack according to claim 2 characterised in that the tetrahedron surface (F) which passes through the diagonal (D) of the top (4) intersects the rear longitudinal edge (7) of the tube (1) at a lower corner point (P) which is disposed at a spacing (d) from the top (4) equal to one third to one half of the height (H) of the pack.
4. A pack according to one of claims 1 to 3 characterised in that a double-wall base strip (9) of coated cardboard is provided to extend from the lower corner point (P) in the direction of the longitudinal centre line (8) of the tube to the top (4).
5. A pack according to claim 4 characterised in that the double-wall base strip (9) is shorter than the height (h) of the triangular tetrahedron surface (F) on to the diagonal (D) and only a part of the tetrahedron surface (F) comprises coated cardboard.
6. A pack according to one of claims 1 to 5 characterised in that the upper edge of the handle (6) which is fixed to the top (4) is rounded from the rear longitudinal edge (7) of the tube (1) upwardly towards the top (4) and forwardly towards the pouring means (5) and blends into at least a portion of the surface of the top (4).

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