Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D17/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers specially constructed to be opened by cutting or piercing, or by tearing of frangible members or portions
  • B65D17/50—Non-integral frangible members applied to, or inserted in, preformed openings, e.g. tearable strips or plastic plugs
  • B65D17/501—Flexible tape or foil-like material
  • B65D17/505—Flexible tape or foil-like material applied to the external and internal part of the container wall
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2517/00—Containers specially constructed to be opened by cutting, piercing or tearing of wall portions, e.g. preserving cans or tins
  • B65D2517/0001—Details
  • B65D2517/001—Action for opening container
  • B65D2517/0013—Action for opening container pull-out tear panel, e.g. by means of a tear-tab
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2517/00—Containers specially constructed to be opened by cutting, piercing or tearing of wall portions, e.g. preserving cans or tins
  • B65D2517/0001—Details
  • B65D2517/0058—Other details of container end panel
  • B65D2517/0059—General cross-sectional shape of container end panel
  • B65D2517/0061—U-shaped
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2517/00—Containers specially constructed to be opened by cutting, piercing or tearing of wall portions, e.g. preserving cans or tins
  • B65D2517/0001—Details
  • B65D2517/0058—Other details of container end panel
  • B65D2517/008—Materials of container end panel
  • B65D2517/0083—Rigid plastic
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2517/00—Containers specially constructed to be opened by cutting, piercing or tearing of wall portions, e.g. preserving cans or tins
  • B65D2517/0001—Details
  • B65D2517/0058—Other details of container end panel
  • B65D2517/008—Materials of container end panel
  • B65D2517/0085—Foil-like, e.g. paper or cardboard
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2517/00—Containers specially constructed to be opened by cutting, piercing or tearing of wall portions, e.g. preserving cans or tins
  • B65D2517/50—Non-integral frangible members applied to, or inserted in, a preformed opening
  • B65D2517/5002—Details of flexible tape or foil-like material
  • B65D2517/5016—Details of flexible tape or foil-like material with means for maintaining the tape fixed to the upper surface after initial opening
  • B65D2517/5018—Details of flexible tape or foil-like material with means for maintaining the tape fixed to the upper surface after initial opening the other side of the tape being attached to the container to keep the tear panel in the open position
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2517/00—Containers specially constructed to be opened by cutting, piercing or tearing of wall portions, e.g. preserving cans or tins
  • B65D2517/50—Non-integral frangible members applied to, or inserted in, a preformed opening
  • B65D2517/5002—Details of flexible tape or foil-like material
  • B65D2517/5024—Material
  • B65D2517/5027—Single layer
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2517/00—Containers specially constructed to be opened by cutting, piercing or tearing of wall portions, e.g. preserving cans or tins
  • B65D2517/50—Non-integral frangible members applied to, or inserted in, a preformed opening
  • B65D2517/5072—Details of hand grip, tear- or lift-tab
  • B65D2517/5083—Details of hand grip, tear- or lift-tab with means facilitating initial lifting of tape, e.g. lift or pull-tabs
  • B65D2517/5086—Tape having a U-shaped peripheral section which forms the pull-tab
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2517/00—Containers specially constructed to be opened by cutting, piercing or tearing of wall portions, e.g. preserving cans or tins
  • B65D2517/50—Non-integral frangible members applied to, or inserted in, a preformed opening
  • B65D2517/5094—Details of frangible member hinge
  • B65D2517/5097—Hinge line off-set from longitudinal axis of opening, i.e. 0 deg.<angle<90 deg.

Definitions

• This invention relates to a pull-tab for a liquid container to be attached to a pour opening thereof.
• a liquid container formed mainly of paper or a plastic is provided with a pour opening which is sealed with a lid member, such as a film-like sheet or a pull-tab made of a resin, attached thereto.
• The, container is opened by removing the whole lid member. Once the whole lid member is removed, however, the pour opening is always in the opened state so that the liquid in the container, e.g., juice, is apt to be spilled.
• the removed lid member makes another piece of refuse which is separate from the liquid container and separately discarding the removed lid member increases problems of waste disposal.
• the present invention has been made in view of the foregoing problems and is aimed at the provision of a pull-tab for a liquid container which is simple in structure and is easily producible, which retains the fully opened state without covering the pour opening even when the pull-tab after opening remains on the container and which does not act as an obstacle to drinking.
• a pull-tab for covering and sealing a pour opening of a liquid container includes a sheet having a ring-like cut therein.
• the cut has two ends separated by an uncut connecting portion and defines an outer tab portion and an inner body portion outside and inside 96/16870 PCMJS95/15454
• the body portion has a folded end portion remote from the connecting portion and folded toward a back side of the sheet along a fold line extending obliquely relative to a line extending between a center of the end portion and a center of the connecting portion.
• a lower side of the folded end portion is bonded to a surface of the container such that the pour opening is covered and sealed with a sealing portion of the body portion located between the folded portion and the connecting portion.
• a container in accordance with another aspect of the present invention, includes a top lid having a pour opening therein.
• the container further includes a pull-tab in the form of sheet having a ring-like cut therein.
• the cut has two ends separated by an uncut connecting portion and defines an outer tab portion and an inner body portion outside and inside the cut, respectively.
• the body portion has a folded end portion remote from the connecting portion and folded toward a back side of the sheet along a fold line extending obliquely relative to a line extending between a center of the end portion and a center of the connecting portion.
• a lower side of the folded end portion is bonded to a surface of the lid such that the pour opening is covered and sealed with a sealing portion of the body portion located between the folded portion and the connecting portion.
• a method for making a container having a pull-tab is disclosed.
• a ring ⁇ like cut is formed in a sheet.
• the cut has two ends separated by an uncut connecting portion and defines an outer tab portion and an inner body portion outside and inside the cut, respectively.
• An end portion of the body portion remote from the connecting portion is folded toward a back side of the sheet along a fold line extending obliquely relative to a line extending between a center of the end portion and a center of the connecting portion.
• the folded portion of the body portion is maintained in an expanded state so that the pull-tab does not move in such a direction as to close the pour opening (or the force acting on the pull-tab to move same in such a direction is small). Therefore, a sufficiently opened state can be easily maintained. Further, since the end portion of the body portion opposite to the connecting portion is folded toward the back side thereof along a line extending obliquely relative to a line connecting the end portion and the connecting portion, the opened and retained pull-tab is oriented off to the side. Therefore, when the consumer drinks the contained liquid with the consumer's mouth being in direct touch with the pour opening, the pull-tab that has been pulled up and retained does not interfere with the consumer's nose.
• FIGS. 1A-1C are perspective, top, and side cross-sectional views of a pull-tab for a liquid container according to an embodiment of the present invention, the cross- sectional view of FIG. 1C being taken along the line 1C-1C of FIG. IB;
• FIGS. 2A-2C are perspective views showing operation of the pull-tab for liquid container according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 3 is a top plan view showing a pull-tab according to an embodiment of the present invention in an opened and retained state; and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a pull-tab according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing steps according to a method of preparing the pull-tab according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIGS. 1A-1C show a pull-tab for a liquid container according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• a pull-tab 10 is attached to an upper lid 81 of a liquid container 80 formed mainly of paper or a plastic material for covering and sealing a pour opening 83 provided in the upper lid.
• the pull-tab 10 is formed of a resin sheet having an approximately elliptic external shape and a peripheral portion cut into a ring-like shape along a cut line 17 with a connecting portion 15 remaining uncut so that a tab portion 20 and a body portion 30 are defined outside and inside the cut line, respectively.
• the body portion 30 has an end portion remote from the connecting portion 15 and folded toward the back side thereof along a folding line 33 extending obliquely at an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to a line extending in a longitudinal direction of the pull-tab 10 and between the end portion and the connecting portion 15.
• the folded portion serves to function as a fixing part 32 (shown by the dotted line).
• the folding line 33 is formed as a line extending obliquely at an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the direction the direction of the line A in FIG. IB along which the pour opening 83 is inclined when the consumer drinks the contained liquid with the consumer's mouth being in touch therewith.
• the pull-tab 10 is prepared and is attached to the liquid container 80 as follows. As shown in FIG. 4, the external shape of the pull-tab 10 is punched from a sheet and the cut lines 17 and 19 are formed. Then, the fixing part 31 is folded toward the back side of the body portion 30 (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4) with the folding line 33 connecting both ends of the cut line 19 (FIGS. 1A-1B). The resulting pull-tab 10 is placed, as shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, on the upper lid
• FIG. 1C a thin resin film 87 is applied, for the sealing of the pour opening 83, to the inside surface of the liquid container 80 and that part of the lower side of the pull-tab positioned in the pour opening 83.
• FIGS. 2A through 2C show the operation for opening the pull-tab 10.
• the tab portion 20 of the pull-tab 10 is pulled up about the connecting portion 15.
• the body portion 30 When the tab 20 is further pulled up, as shown in FIG. 2B, the body portion 30 is pulled up from the upper lid 81 about a portion near the folding line 33 of the fixing part 31. At this time, the film 87 (FIG. 1C) applied to the lower side of the body portion 30 is torn off in conformity with the shape of the pour opening 83, thereby to open the pour opening 83.
• the tab 20 is further pulled up and drawn toward the flange 85 on the periphery of the upper lid 81 and, then, is brought into engagement with the flange 85 as shown in FIG. 2C.
• the tip end of the retaining piece 35 is rotated above the upper lid 81 and positioned on the fixing part 31 side for abutting engagement with the upper lid 81.
• the folded part of the body portion 30 keeps the expanded state so that the pull-tab 10 does not move in such a direction as to close the pour opening 83 (or the force acting on the pull-tab to move same in such a direction is small). Therefore, a sufficiently opened state can be easily maintained and the pour opening 83 is not again covered with the pull-tab. Further, since the present embodiment uses the retaining piece 35 provided adjacent the folding line 33 and since the retaining piece 35 is, as described above, positioned on the fixing part 31 side for abutting engagement with the upper lid 81 when the pull tab 10 is pulled up, the sufficiently opened state of the pull-tab 10 can be maintained even more reliably.
• the body portion 30 is pulled up about a portion near the folding line 33.
• the folding line extends obliquely at an angle of about 45 degrees relative to the longitudinal direction of the pull-tab 10
• the body portion 30 pulled up is retained in a state where it faces in a lateral direction about 90 degrees different from the longitudinal direction of the pull-tab 10 in the initial state as shown in FIG. 2C and FIG. 3. Therefore, when the consumer drinks the contained liquid with the consumer's mouth being in direct touch with the pour opening 83, the pull-tab that has been pulled up and retained does not interfere with the consumer's nose.
• the pull-tab for a liquid container according to the present invention has the following excellent effects.
• a sufficiently opened state can be maintained even when the pull-tab, after the opening, is kept attached to the liquid container. Thus, tho pour opening 83 is not again covered with the pull-tab.
• the pull-tab can be produced by merely cutting from a sheet.
• the structure in which the pour opening 83 is sealed with the pull-tab 10 is not limited only to the above-described structure and various other sealing structures may be adopted.
• the inclination angle of the folding line 33 may be any other angle than about 45 degrees.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Containers Opened By Tearing Frangible Portions (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)
• Cartons (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (3)

Family

ID=18105907

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (5)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1994
  • 1994-11-29 JP JP31904694A patent/JP3561307B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1995
  • 1995-11-29 DE DE69515326T patent/DE69515326T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1995-11-29 AU AU43704/96A patent/AU4370496A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1995-11-29 EP EP95942498A patent/EP0793602B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1995-11-29 KR KR1019970703508A patent/KR100361874B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1995-11-29 WO PCT/US1995/015454 patent/WO1996016870A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1995-12-19 TW TW084113563A patent/TW304929B/zh active

Non-Patent Citations (2)

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