EP0279486A2

EP0279486A2 - Sealed beverage container and apparatus for producing same

Info

Publication number: EP0279486A2
Application number: EP88200244A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kazuo C/O Shikoku Kakoki Co. Ltd. Ueda; Michio C/O Shikoku Kakoki Co. Ltd. Ueda
Original assignee: Shikoku Kakoki Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shikoku Kakoki Co Ltd
Priority date: 1987-02-12
Filing date: 1988-02-11
Publication date: 1988-08-24
Anticipated expiration: 2008-02-11
Also published as: EP0279486A3; EP0279486B1; DE3881227D1; DE3881227T2; JPH0525737B2; JPS63203548A

Abstract

A sealed beverage container comprises a rectangular parallelepipedal main body (11) of paper-base laminate having a top wall (14), a bottom wall (16) and a trunk wall (15), and upper and lower caplike reinforcing covers (12,13) made of thermoplastic synthetic resin and fitted over the upper and lower ends of the main body (11) respectively. Each of the covers (12,13) has a top wall (42) and a peripheral wall (41) which is bonded by fusion to the trunk wall (15) of the main body (11). The container is produced by an apparatus which comprises a conveyor (52) having holders (72) each adapted to hold the container main body (11) as laid down thereon with its opposite ends projecting therefrom sidewise, a heater (60) disposed above the path of travel of the holder for heating the opposite ends of the main body, a fitting unit (61) disposed above the path downward from the heater for fitting the respective covers (12,13) over the opposite ends of the container main body (11), and a pressure bonding unit (62) disposed above the path downstream from the fitting unit (61) for pressing the peripheral wall of each cover (12,13) against the trunk wall (15) for bonding.

Description

The present invention relates to sealed containers for containing beverages such as juice and to an apparatus for producing such containers.
Conventional containers for the above use include cans and paper containers. Cans can not be incinerated and therefore have the problem of being difficult to dispose of after use and becoming a nuisance. Cans have another problem in that since the contents enclosed therein are retorted for sterilization, this process impairs the taste or flavor of the contents. These problems can be overcome by paper containers, which nevertheless have the following problems. First, the paper container is prepared by folding a sheet of blank, so that the container has exposed folds which make the container appear unsightly. Second, the container, which is made primarily of paper in its entirety, is liable to bulge or otherwise deform and has difficulty in retaining its shape.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a sealed beverage container which is free of the problems heretofore encountered with cans and paper containers.
A second object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for producing the sealed beverage container efficiently.
The present invention provides a sealed beverage container which comprises a rectangular parallelepipedal main body made of a paper-base laminate and having a top wall, a bottom wall and a trunk wall, and upper and lower caplike reinforcing covers made of thermoplastic synthetic resin and fitted over the upper and lower ends of the main body respectively, each of the covers having a peripheral wall and a top wall, the peripheral wall being bonded by fusion to the trunk wall of the main body.
The invention further provides an apparatus for producing such containers which comprises a conveyor having holders each adapted to hold the container main body as laid down thereon with its opposite ends projecting therefrom sidewise, a heater disposed above the path of travel of the holder for heating the opposite ends of the container main body, a fitting unit disposed above the path downstream from the heater for fitting the respective covers over the opposite ends of the container main body, and a pressure bonding unit disposed above the path downstream from the fitting unit for pressing the peripheral wall of each cover against the trunk wall of the container main body for bonding.
The container of the invention appears neatly because each of the upper and lower ends of its main body is capped with the reinforcing cover, which covers the folded portions present at the end, holding these portions out of sight.
Further since the peripheral walls of the covers are bonded by fusion to the trunk wall of the container main body, the covers prevent the trunk wall from bulging or otherwise deforming.
With the apparatus of the invention for producing such containers, the reinforcing cover is fitted to and bonded by fusion to each end of the container main body, as laid down on the holder with the ends of the body projecting from the holder sidewise. Accordingly, containers can be produced efficiently.
The present invention will be described below in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1 to 6 show a container embodying the invention;
Fig. 1 is a perspective view;
Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view;
Fig. 3 is a plan view,
Fig. 4 is a view in vertical section;
Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the container while it is being formed;
Fig. 6 is a view in section taken along the line VI-VI in Fig. 3;
Figs. 7 to 25 show an apparatus embodying the invention;
Fig. 7 is a side elevation showing the apparatus in its entirety;
Fig. 8 is a side elevation showing a folding unit, bottom ear heater and bottom ear pressure bonding unit;
Fig. 9 is a front view of the folding unit;
Fig. 10 is a front view of a lower ear heater;
Fig. 11 is a front view of a bottom ear pressure bonding unit;
Fig. 12 is a side elevation of a top ear fusion bonding unit;
Fig. 13 is a front view of the same;
Fig. 14 is a side elevation of a top ear cutter;
Fig. 15 is a front view of the same;
Fig. 16 is a front view of a container main body knocking-down unit;
Fig. 17 is a plan view of the same;
Fig. 18 is a front view of a container body heater;
Fig. 19 is a view in section taken along the line XIX-XIX in Fig. 18;
Fig. 20 is a front view of a fitting unit;
Figs. 21 to 23 show a cover pressure bonding unit;
Fig. 21 is a front view;
Figs. 22 and 23 are perspective views of a pressure bonding head included in the unit as it is seen from inside and outside, respectively;
Fig. 24 is a front view of a cover fusion bonding unit; and
Fig. 25 is a front view of a container discharge unit.

Embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The illustrated sealed beverage container comprises a rectangular parallelepipedal main body 11 having a larger length in the right-to-left (i.e. side-wise) direction than in the front-to-rear direction when seen from above, and upper and lower caplike reinforcing covers 12, 13 fitted over the upper and lower ends of the body 11, respectively.
The container main body 11 is of the known type except the two features given below and will therefore be described only briefly. The main body 11 comprises a top wall 14, a trunk wall 15, a bottom wall 16, two top ears 17 integral with the top wall 14 and the trunk wall 15 at two ridges in the front-to-rear direction and folded over and bonded by fusion to the trunk wall 15, and two bottom ears 18 integral with the trunk wall 15 and the bottom wall 16 at the two ridges in the front-to-rear direction and folded over and bonded by fusion to the bottom wall 16. As seen in Fig. 6, the main body 11 comprises an outer layer 21 of thermoplastic synthetic resin, a paper layer 22, an aluminum foil layer 23 and an inner layer 24 of thermoplastic synthetic resin, as arranged from the outer side inward.
The two features will now be described. First, the top ear 17 differs from the conventional one in shape. With reference to Fig. 5, the top ear 17 comprises a front portion 31 integral with the right or left side edge of the top wall 14, and a rear portion 32 integral with the upper edge of the trunk wall 15. The two portions 31, 32 merely lap over each other and are triangular at first as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 5 but are thereafter bonded to each other by fusion and have their forward ends removed to assume a trapezoidal shape.
Second, the top wall 14 of the main body 11 has an opening forming thin wall portion 33. With reference to Fig. 6, the outer resin layer 21 and the paper layer 22 are removed from the top wall 14 locally for the portion remaining at the removed location to provide the thin wall portion 33. When seen from above, the portion 33 is generally in the form of an elongated circle spreading outward approximately from the center of the top wall 14 toward one corner thereof.
The upper reinforcing cover 12 is prepared from a thermoplastic synthetic resin generally in the form of a cap and comprises a peripheral wall 41 and a top wall 42. The peripheral wall 41 is formed at its lower end with an inward ridge 43, which is bonded by fusion to the trunk wall 15 of the main body 11. An endless bank 44 is formed on the upper side of the top wall 42 along its peripheral edge. In corresponding relation of the to opening forming thin wall portion 33 of the main body 11, the top wall 42 has a joint portion 45 substantially identical with the portion 33 in shape, having a larger thickness than the other portion and thereby made projected downward. The joint portion 45 has a lower surface bonded by fusion to the upper surface of the thin wall portion 33. At the boundary between the joint portion 45 and the other portion, the top wall 42 has an opening forming continuous thinned portion 46 which is provided by forming a V groove 47 in the lower surface of the wall 42. A circular knob 48 is provided integrally with the top wall 42 inside the thinned portion 46. The base portion of the knob 48 is positioned close to one end, toward the center, of the continuous thinned portion 46 and is joined to the upper side of the top wall 42. A piece of aluminum foil 49 surrounding the joint portion 45 is interposed between the main body 11 and the top wall 42. The foil 49 has a lower surface bonded by fusion to the upper side of the main body top wall 14 around the thin wall portion 33 and an upper surface bonded by fusion to the lower side of the cover top wall 42 around the thinned portion 46.
The lower reinforcing cover 13 has the same construction as the upper cover 12 except that the cover 13 does not have the joint portion 45, thinned portion 46 and knob 48, and therefore will not be described.
To open the container, the knob 48 is pulled outwardly of the container obliquely upward. A break develops at the continuous thinned portion 46 from its inner end toward the outer end thereof. At the same time, a break also occurs along the periphery of the thin wall portion 13 of the main body since this portion is pulled upward by the joint portion 45 of the cover. Consequently, the portion inside the continuous thinned portion 46 of the reinforcing cover 12 and the thin wall portion 33 of the main body 11 are removed, leaving an opening for drinking.
Even if the contents flow out from the opening when drinking, the bank 44 prevents the split contents from further spilling over the cover 12.
With reference to Fig. 7, the apparatus shown for producing containers of the above type comprises a feeder 51 and a conveyor 52 extending forward therefrom. A horizontal support plate 53 is provided above the rear half of the conveyor 52, which has a transport path extending from rear to front. Arranged along the path from the rear forward are a folding unit 54, bottom ear heater 55, bottom ear pressure bonding unit 56, top ear fusion bonding unit 57, top ear cutter 58, container main body knocking-down unit 59, container body heater 60, cover fitting unit 61, cover pressure bonding unit 62, cover fusion bonding unit 53 and container discharge unit 64.
The feeder 51 is a known one and is not illustrated in detail. The feeder 51 is adapted to bend a strip of container blank, having a thermoplastic synthetic layer on each surface thereof, into a tubular form with the longitudinal opposite edges lapped over each other, joining the overlapping edges together to obtain a tube, filling the tube with contents, transversely sealing the filled tube at an interval corresponding to the length of one container, and dividing the container portions, whereby uncompleted container main bodys 50 are obtained which are in the form of a flat tube and filled with the contents.
The conveyor 52 comprises a pair of right and left endless chains 71, and a multiplicity of holders 72 connected between the chains 71 and arranged along the chains. Each holder 72 has an approximately square support plate 73, and an upright forming block 74 of rectangular cross section integral with the plate 73 and outwardly projecting therefrom. The support plate 73 is equal to the completed main body 11 in sidewise length but has twice the length of the main body 11 in the front-to-rear direction. The forming block 74 is equal to the support plate 73 in sidewise length, is therefore equal to the body 1 in sidewise length, and is nearly equal to the body 11 in length in the front-to- rear direction. Thus, a space equal to the main body 11 in length in the front-to-rear direction is provided between the two adjacent forming blocks 74. The block 74 is equal to the main body 11 in height. Such spaces accommodate uncompleted and completed container main bodes 11, 50 as turned upside down.
As shown in greater detail in Figs. 8 and 9, the folding unit 54 comprises a liftable press plate 81 disposed above the path of travel of the holder 72 of the conveyor 52, and upper and lower bending guides 82, 83 arranged at the opposite sides of the path of upward and downward movement of the press plate 8. When an uncompleted main body 50 held on the holder 72 is brought to below the press plate 81, the plate 81 is lowered, whereby both ends of the main body 50 are folded flat, positioning the bottom ears 18 upright with the top ears 17 projecting horizontally as shown in Fig. 10.
The bottom ear heater 55, which is shown in Figs. 8 and 10 in greater detail, comprises a pair of hot air nozzles 84, whereby hot air is applied to the respective upright bottom ears 18 individually from inside.
The bottom ear pressure bonding unit 56, which is shown in detail in Figs. 8 and 11, comprises a pressure bonding member 85 which is liftable and positioned above the path of transport of the holder 72. The member 72 presses the bottom ears 18 against the bottom wall of the main body 11 to the formed, whereby the bottom ears 18 are folded over and pressure-bonded to the bottom portion.
As shown in detail in Figs. 12 and 13, the top ear fusion bonding unit 57 comprises a pair of fixed clamp members 91 arranged at opposite sides of the path of travel of the holder 72, and a liftable clamp member 92 disposed above the fixed members 91, gate-shaped to oppose the two fixed member 91 and movable toward or away therefrom. The upper surfaces of the two fixed clamp members 91 are at the same level as the support plate 73 of the holder 72 so as to be flush therewith. Each fixed member 91 is spaced apart from the holder 72 by a very small clearance so as not to interfere with the travel of the holder 72. The liftable clamp member 92 is connected to the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 93 attached to the support plate 53 and oriented downward, is gate-shaped when seen from the front and has lower end providing clamp faces. The right fixed member 91 is provided on its upper side with a retainer 94 L-shaped in cross section and in sliding contact with the right outer side surface of the liftable member 92. An unillustrated high-frequency heating coil is embedded in the fixed clamp members 91 and/or the liftable clamp member 92, whereby the aluminum foil 23 of the container blank extending throughout the top ears 17 is subjected to induction heating to bond the front portion 31 and the rear portion of each top ear 17 together when the ear 17 is clamped from above and below by the clamp members 92 and 91.
Figs. 14 and 15 show the top ear cutter 58 in detail. The cutter 58 comprises a pair of support members 101 and a liftable cutter member 102, which are so arranged that the former corresponds to the abovementioned fixed clamp members 91 and that the latter corresponds to the liftable clamp member 92. The cutter member 102 has bifurcated lower ends each having a V-shaped blade 103. Each support member 101 has in its upper side a groove 104 for permitting the blade 103 to advance thereinto. A retainer 105 is mounted on the upper side of the right support member 101. When lowered, the blades 102 cut off the forward or outer end portions of the upper ears 17.
The container main body knocking-down unit 59, which is shown in detail in Figs. 16 to 17, comprises a poking member 111 disposed at the right side of path of transport of the holder 72, and a guide plate 112 provided at the left side of the path. The poking member 111 is attached to the piston rod of hydraulic cylinder 113 and is movable into or out of the path. When seen from the front, the guide plate 112 is trapezoidal and is inclined at an angle of about 45 degrees so as to extend obliquely upward away from the path. The guide plate 112 has on its upper side a guide rod 114 extending along its upper edge. While the guide rod 114 extends forward beyond the guide plate 112, the rod 114 is in parallel to the path of travel of the holder, beyond the plate 112 and has its forward end positioned in the vicinity of the discharge unit 72. Another guide rod 115, provided at the right side of the path, extends horizontally over the entire length thereof. When the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 112 is advanced, the poking member 111 pokes a lower end portion of the main body 50, which in turn tends to fall down but is received by the guide plate 112 in an inclined posture. As the main body 50 moves forward in this state with the travel of the holder 72, the main body 50 has its lower end pushed by the guide rod 114 obliquely rightwardly downward, is shifted rightward with increasing degree of inclination and is eventually completely laid down on the holder 72. In this state, the opposite ends of the main body 50 is projecting sidewise from the holder 72.
Figs. 18 and 19 show the container main body heater 60, which comprises a pair of hot air discharge hollow heads 121 arranged at opposite sides of the path of travel of the holder 72. The opposed heads 121 each have the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 122 and are horizontally movable toward or away from each other. Each head 122 has connected thereto a flexible duct 124 extending from the body of a heater 123. The inner wall of the head 121 is bent in the form of a channel in cross section to provide a recess 125 for accepting the end of the main body 50. The peripheral wall defining the recess 125 has a plurality of hot air outlets 126 arranged along the perimeter thereof (see Fig. 19). When the piston rods of the hydraulic cylinders 122 are advanced, the two heads 121 are brought toward each other, permitting the opposite ends of the container main body 50 to enter the recesses 125. Hot air is applied from the outlets 126 to the upper and lower end portions of the trunk wall of the body 50 at a plurality of locations.
Fig. 20 shows in detail the cover fitting unit 61, which comprises a pair of vertical chutes 131 arranged at opposite sides of the path of travel of the holder 72, and a pair of vacuum heads 132 arranged at the lower ends of the respective chutes 131. The upper end of each chute 131 is connected to an unillustrated cover feeder. Upper reinforcing covers 12 as arranged side by side are accommodated in the right chute 131, and lower reinforcing covers 13 similarly accommodated in the left chute 131. The opposed inner side walls of the chutes 131 are each formed at their lower ends with a cover delivery outlet 133. The outer side wall of each chute has a head insertion opening 134 opposed to the cover outlet 133. The vacuum head 132 is inserted into the cover outlet 133 and the head insertion opening 134, and like the head 121 of the heater 60, has attached thereto the piston rod of each of pair of hydraulic cylinders 135. Thus, the two heads 132 are horizontally movable toward or away from each other. The head 132 has connected thereto a flexible duct extending from unillustrated suction means. When the piston rods of the hydraulic cylinders 135 are advanced, the two heads 132 are brought toward each other, attract reinforcing covers 12, 13 at the lowermost position in the chutes 131 by their forward end suction faces, advance toward the main body 50 along with the covers and fit the covers 12, 13 to the upper and lower ends of the container main body 50, respectively.
Although the top ears 17 are in a vertical position before the cover 12 is fitted over the upper end of the container main body 50, the top ears 17 are bent by the cover 12 when the cover is fitted to the main body.
Figs. 21 and 23 show in detail the cover pressure bonding unit 62, which comprises a pair of pressure bonding heads 141 arranged at the opposite sides of path of travel of the holder 72. Each of the bonding heads 141 comprises a horizontally movable member 142 which is movable horizontally in a direction transverse to the path, and two pairs of, i.e. four, clamp members 143 mounted on the member 142. The movable member 142 comprises a square vertical wall 145 attached to the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 144, and a peripheral wall 146 formed around the wall 145 integrally therewith and projecting inward. A cutout 147 is formed in the center of each of four sides of the vertical wall 145 and in a corresponding portion of the peripheral wall 146. Each clamp member 143 is rectangular when seen from the front, snugly fitted in the cutout 147 and movably supported by a pivot 148 connected between the cutout defining opposed edge portions of the wall 146. The clamp member 143 has an engaging projection 149 on its inner surface and is provided at its outer end with two lugs 150, each of which has attached thereto one end of a tension spring 151. The other end of the spring 151 is engaged with a pin 152 fixed to the outer side of the vertical wall 145. Usually, the four clamp members 413 are held open by the force of the springs 152 as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 21. When the piston rods of the hydraulic cylinders 144 are advanced in this state, moving the two heads 141 toward each other, the engaging projections 149 come into contact with edges of the covers 12, 13 in the course of this movement. As the heads 141 are further moved forward, the covers 12, 13 push the engaging projections 149, whereby the four clamp members 143 on each head are moved about the pivots 148 to the closed position shown in solid lines in Fig. 21. The forward ends of the clamp members 141 therefore press the peripheral walls 41 of the covers 12, 13 against the trunk wall of the container main body 50. Consequently, the ridges 43 of the covers 12, 13 are pressure-bonded to the trunk wall of the main body 50.
Fig. 24 shows in detail the cover fusion bonding unit 63 for locally bonding the upper cover 12. The unit 63 comprises a press member 161 which is disposed at the right side of path of travel of the holder 72. The press member 161 is opposed to the opening forming portion of the upper reinforcing cover 12 and the surrounding portion. The member 161 so positioned is connected to the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 162 and is movable horzontally transversely of the path. The press member 161 has embedded therein an unillustrated high-frequency heating coil. The coil is energized for a specified period of time with the press member 161 pressed against the cover 12 by the hydraulic cylinder 162, whereby the aluminum foil 49 interposed between the cover top wall 42 and the container body top wall 14 is heated by induction to bond by fusion the top walls 14, 42 together at the portions thereof around the opening forming portions.
Fig. 25 shows in detail the container discharge unit 64, which comprises a pusher 171 disposed at the right side of the path of travel of the holder 72 and a slanting chute 172 at the left side of the path. The pusher 171 is substantially L-shaped in cross section and attached to the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 173. The cylinder is pivotally movable upward or downward. The pusher 171 is provided at its lower end with an inwardly projecting engaging portion 174, which has a lower face 175 slanting obliquely inwardly upward. The slanting face 175 bears on a guide 176 provided on the frame of the conveyor 52. When the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 173 is advanced, the pusher is moved leftward. As the slanting face 175 moves upward on the guide 176, the pusher is turned upward along with the cylinder 173 about the pivot for the cylinder. Consequently, the container is pushed leftward while the top end thereof is being lifted by the engaging portion 174 of the pusher 171, and is allowed to slide down the chute 172.

Claims

1. A sealed beverage container comprising:
a rectangular parallelepipedal main body made of a paper-base laminate and having a top wall, a bottom wall and a trunk wall, and
upper and lower caplike reinforcing covers made of thermoplastic synthetic resin and fitted over the upper and lower ends of the main body respectively, each of the covers having a peripheral wall and a top wall, the peripheral wall being bonded by fusion to the trunk wall of the main body.

2. A container as defined in claim 1 wherein a pair of ears is provided at the boundary between the top wall of the main body and the trunk wall thereof, each of the ears having twice the thickness of the material forming the container, each of the ears comprising a front portion integral with an edge of the top wall and a rear portion integral with the upper end of the trunk wall and opposed to the front portion, the front and rear portions being joined to each other at the edge and bonded together face-to-face by fusion, each of the ears having its forward end cut off and being thereby made trapezoidal and given a smaller height then the peripheral wall of the upper cover, the ears being covered with the upper cover peripheral wall.

3. A container as defined in claim 1 wherein each of the covers had an endless bank formed on the upper side of its top wall along its periphery, and the top walls of the main body and the upper cover and provided with means for forming an opening inside the bank of the upper cover.

4. A container as defined in claim 1 wherein the main body comprises an outer layer of thermoplastic synthetic resin, a paper layer, an aluminum foil layer and an inner layer of thermoplastic synthetic resin as arranged from the outer side of the body inward, the main body top wall having an opening forming thin wall portion formed by partially removing the outer resin layer and the paper layer of the top wall, the upper cover top wall being formed on its lower surface with a downwardly projecting joint portion corresponding to the thin wall portion, the lower surface of the joint portion being bonded by fusion to the upper surface of the thin wall portion, the upper cover top wall being formed with an opening forming continuous thinned portion at the boundary between the joint portion and the other portion of the top wall and having a knob inside the thinned portion.

5. A container as defined in claim 4 wherein aluminum foil surrounding the joint portion is interposed between the main body and the upper cover top wall, and the aluminum foil has a lower surface bonded by fusion to the upper surface of the main body top wall outside the thin wall portion and an upper surface bonded by fusion to the lower surface of the upper cover top wall outside the thinned portion.

6. An apparatus for producing sealed beverage containers each comprising a rectangular parallelpipedal main body made of a paper-base laminate and having a top wall, a bottom wall and a trunk wall, and upper and lower caplike reinforcing covers made of thermoplastic synthetic resin and fitted over the upper and lower ends of the main body respectively, each of the covers having a peripheral wall and a top wall, the peripheral wall being bonded by fusion to the trunk wall of the main body, the apparatus comprising:
a conveyor having holders each adapted to hold the container main body as laid down thereon with its opposite ends projecting therefrom sidewise,
a heater disposed above the path of travel of the holder for heating the opposite ends of the container main body,
a fitting unit disposed above the path downstream from the heater for fitting the respective covers over the opposite ends of the container main body, and
a pressure bonding unit disposed above the path downstream from the fitting unit for pressing the peripheral wall of each cover against the trunk wall of the container main body for bonding.

7. An apparatus for producing sealed beverage containers each comprising a rectangular paralleleipipedal main body made of a paper-base laminate and having a top wall, a bottom wall and a trunk wall, and upper and lower caplike reinforcing covers made of thermoplastic synthetic resin and fitted over the upper and lower ends of the main body respectively, each of the covers having a peripheral wall and a top wall, the peripheral wall being bonded by fusion to the trunk wall of the main body, a pair of ears being provided at the boundary between the top wall of the main body and the trunk wall thereof, each of the ears having twice the thickness of the material forming the container, each of the ears comprising a front portion integral with an edge of the top wall and a rear portion integral with the upper end of the trunk wall and opposed to the front portion, the front and rear portions being joined to each other at the edge and bonded together face-to-face by fusion, each of the ears having its forward end cut off and being thereby made trapezoidal and given a smaller height than the peripheral wall of the upper cover, the ears being covered with the upper cover peripheral wall, the apparatus comprising:
a conveyor having holders each adapted to hold the container main body as laid down thereon with its opposite ends projecting therefrom sidewise,
a ear bonding unit disposed above the path of travel of the holder for bonding the front portion and the rear portion of each ear together by fusion,
a cutter disposed above the path downstream from the ear bonding unit for cutting off the forward end portion of each ear,
a heater disposed above the path downstream from the cutter for heating the opposite ends of the container main body,
a fitting unit disposed above the path downstream from the heater for fitting the respective covers over the opposite end of the container main body, and
a pressure bonding unit disposed above the path downstream from the fitting unit for pressing the peripheral wall of each cover against the trunk wall of the container main body for bonding.

8. An apparatus for producing sealed beverage containers each comprising a rectangular parallelepipedal main body made of paper-base laminate and having a top wall, a bottom wall and a trunk wall, and upper and lower caplike reinforcing covers made of thermoplastic synthetic resin and fitted over the upper and lower ends of the main body respectively, each of the covers having a peripheral wall and a top wall, the peripheral wall being bonded by fusion to the trunk wall of the main body, a pair of ears being provided at the boundary between the top wall of the main body and the trunk wall thereof, each of the ears having twice the thickness of the material forming the container, each of the ears comprising a front portion integral with an edge of the top wall and a rear portion integral with the upper end of the trunk wall and opposed to the front portion, the front and rear portions being joined to each other at the edge and bonded together face-to-face by fusion, each of the ears having its forward end cut off and being thereby made trapezoidal and given a smaller height than the peripheral wall of the upper cover, the ears being covered with the upper cover peripheral wall, the apparatus comprising:
a conveyor having holders each adapted to hold a flat tubular uncompleted container main body or the rectangular parallelepipedal container main body in an upright position or in a laid-down position with its opposite ends projecting sidewise,
a feeder for feeding to the holder the uncompleted container main body with the container top forming portion thereof down and the container bottom forming portion thereof up, the feeder being positioned at the starting end of travel of the holder,
a folding unit disposed downstream from the starting end of the path for folding the uncompleted container main body into the rectangular parallelepipedal container main body by folding the container top forming portion of the uncompleted body flat so as to project a pair of top ears sidewise from the top of the completed main body and folding the container bottom forming portion of the uncompleted body flat so as to project a pair of bottom ears upward from the bottom of the completed main body,
a bottom ear heater disposed above the path downstream from the folding unit for heating the opposed faces of the pair of bottom ears,
a bottom ear pressure bonding unit disposed above the path of transport downstream from the bottom ear heater for folding the pair of bottom ears over the bottom of the completed main body and pressing the bottom ears thereagainst for bonding,
a top ear fusion bonding unit disposed above the path downstream from the bottom ear pressure bonding unit for bonding the front portion and the rear portion of each of the top ears together by fusion,
a cutter disposed above the path downstream from the top ear fusion bonding unit for cutting off the forward end portion of each top ear,
a knocking-down unit disposed above the path downstream from the cutter for knocking down the container main body from the upright position to a lying position with its opposite ends projecting sidewise from the holder,
a container main body heater disposed above the path downstream from the knocking-down unit for heating the opposite ends of the container main body,
a fitting unit disposed above the path downstream from the main body heater for fitting the respective reinforcing covers over the opposite ends of the container main body,
a cover bonding unit disposed above the path downstream from the fitting unit for pressing the peripheral wall of each cover against the trunk wall of the container main body for bonding, and
a container discharge unit disposed at the terminal end of the path for discharging the resulting container from each holder.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein the main body comprises an outer layer of thermoplastic synthetic resin, a paper layer, an aluminum foil layer and an inner layer of thermoplastic synthetic resin as arranged from the outer side of the body inward, the main body top wall having an opening forming thin wall portion formed by partially removing the outer resin layer and the paper layer of the top wall, the upper cover top wall being formed on its lower surface with a downwardly projecting joint portion corresponding to the thin wall portion, the lower surface of the joint portion being bonded by fusion to the upper surface of the thin wall portion, the upper cover top wall being formed with an opening forming continuous thinned portion at the boundary between the joint portion and the other portion of the top wall and having a knob inside the thinned portion, aluminum foil surrounding the joint portion and being interposed between the main body and the upper cover top wall, the aluminum foil having a lower surface bonded by fusion to the upper surface of the main body top wall outside the thin wall portion and an upper surface bonded by fusion to the lower surface of the upper cover top wall outside the thinned portion, the apparatus further comprising a cover fusion bonding unit disposed above the path and interposed between the cover bonding unit and the container discharge unit for heating the aluminum foil by induction to bond the lower surface of the foil to the upper surface of the main body top wall by fusion and bond the foil upper surface to the lower surface of the upper cover top wall by fusion.