GB2248055A - Container having hand hale with guard panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A bag-in-box container is provided with carrying openings 25a in opposite walls thereof, double layers 11a, 11b of board material being used in the vicinity of each carrying opening and the inner layer 11b serving as a guard panel preventing hand contact with the bag. Each side wall may be formed by folding a blank (11 & 12, figs 1b & 1c) along a crease line 26, extending the full length of the blank so forming complete inner and outer layers, or alternatively each side wall may comprise an inner layer extending to just below the handle opening (fig 6). The two layers may be adhered together only in regions below the carrying opening. The box may be erected from preformed blanks (10, 11, 12, figs 1a, 1b, & 1c) and the side wall blanks (11 & 12, figs 1b & 1c) may be of a lower grade board than the other blank (10, fig 1a) since the double wall reinforces the opening. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN PACKAGING This invention relates to a packaging container of the kind commonly referred to as a bag-in-box, an outer box enclosing a flexible bag containing the product for which the packaging is designed. In a bag-in-box to which this invention relates, the box is formed from a plurality of blanks of stiff but foldable material secured together (preferably on an automatic carton-erecting machine) to fully contain the bag.

In a preferred container according to this invention three blanks are used, one blank is used to define two pairs of parallel walls of a right parallelepipedic box and two separate blanks are used to define the remaining two parallel walls of the box, the remaining two walls including carrying openings (or precursors of carrying openings).

However, it is possible for the remaining two walls to be created from the same blank so that two blanks only are required for assembly into the box.

Commonly a bag-in-box is used to supply liquid product to an end user and liquid volumes upwards of a few tens of litres are contained in each bag. This means the filled containers weigh at least several kilograms and with the normal requirement for containers to be stacked one on another for storage and/or bulk transport, the containing boxes must be strong in compression and must provide adequate protection against rupture of the bag.

Because of these strength considerations, the material commonly used for the three blanks needed for each box must be of relatively heavy duty material and typically in the case of corrugated paperboard a three-ply "single wall" board would be used for the blank defining the two pairs of parallel walls but a five-ply "double-wall" board would be used for the two further blanks, the double wall material having two corrugated plies whose flutes run at right angles one to the other.

We have found that the carrying openings are areas of weakness and unless there is at least a local upgrading of the strength of bag material (e.g. an increase in gauge of the flexible film used or a switch to more expensive film material) there is an unacceptable risk that bag material can be ruptured in the vicinity of the carrying openings either due to the bag protruding through the opening and becoming abraded on the edges thereof or to finger nails or rings on a hand inserted through the opening puncturing the bag material.

This invention relates to a simple solution to this problem which not only solves the problem of bag rupture but concomitantly provides a more user-friendly container and a packaging container of lower production cost.

According to one aspect of the invention, the box of a bag-in-box container has a double layer of board material in the vicinity of each carrying opening, only the outer layer of which is provided with the carrying opening (or a precursor thereof), the inner layer serving as a guard panel preventing hand contact with the bag and spacing the bag material from the carrying opening.

In a simple embodiment, each of the pair of walls provided with a carrying opening is of double layer material throughout, the two layers being adhered together only in regions below the carrying opening ("below" in this context meaning below in the orientation adopted during carrying) whereby the spacing between the layers can increase in the vicinity of the carrying opening to allow for the fingers of a hand inserted through the carrying opening to pass between the layers.

Where double layer material throughout is used for each of said pair of walls, lower grade (and thus cheaper) board material can be used for these double layer walls than is used for the other blank defining the remaining four walls, without significantly reducing the crush test rating of the box.

The use of double layer board material on two sides of the box, need not interfere with the provision of access openings or even an alternative carrying means in the form of a reinforced handle on the blank used for the other four sides of the box.

Another aspect of the invention includes the blanks required to form the box of a bag-in-box container as defined above.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures la, Ib and Ic are views of three precut and precreased blanks 10, 11 and 12 of paperboard material prepared for erecting into the box of a bag-in-box contrainer, Figure 2 shows one side wall of double layer construction prior to incorporation into the box, Figure 3 shows the box constructed from the blanks of Figures la, 1b and Ic prior to addition of the bag thereinto, Figures 4 and 5 show the completed packaging container, respectively, in its carrying position and in its stacking position, and Figure 6 is a modified arrangement for cutting the blanks 11 and 12.

The blanks 10, 11 and 12 shown in Figures la, Ib and ic are designed for erection into a box using a Bliss automatic carton assembling machine whose mode of operation will be well known to those familiar with packaging machines. Blank 10 provides four contiguous wall panels 20, 21, 22 and 23, an end tab 24 for connecting panels 20 and 23 together and side tabs 20a to 23a and 20b to 23b for securing blank 10, respectively, to blanks 11 and 12.

Were blanks 11 and 12 to be single layer blanks of heavier gauge material to that used for blank 10 and provided with carrying openings 25 punched completely therethrough, the box would be of a conventional design.

However, in this case each blank 11 and 12 is made of thinner gauge material (e.g. thinner than that used for blank 10) and is formed of two panels 11a, lib and 12a, 12b which are folded over one on the other about a respective crease line 26. Conveniently the panels 11a, 11b and 12a, 12b are secured together (e.g. via adhesive applied on the areas indicated by cross-hatching) over the area "below" the opening 25 but not elsewhere. A crease line 27 on each of panels 11b, 12b enables the doubled-up blank 11 to look as shown in Figure 2 prior to incorporation into the bent-over side tabs 20a to 23a to forhl one side of the box shown in Figure 3. In fact, Figure 2 shows the upper part of the inner layer 11b bent away from the outer layer 11a more than would normally be the case on erection of the box on the machine.

From the above it will be appreciated that the completed box (30 as shown in Figures 4 and 5), when closed around a liquid-filled bag, will in most respects be identical to a conventional three-blank bag-in-box packaging container. However, the use of double layer material for the blanks 11 and 12 means that the inner layers lib, 12b prevent the bag material contacting the openings 25 and prevent hands inserted in the openings 25 contacting the bag material.

When the opening 25 is formed as the precursor of an opening by means of a tongue 25a that can be bent inwardly to provide the opening when required, the bent-in tongue 25a acts to hold the upper part of the inner layer 11b, 12b away from the respective outer layer lia, 12a providing clearance for fingers between the two layers just where it is required. This arrangement is, in fact, illustrated in Figure 2.

An unexpected advantage which follows from the use of double layer material for the blanks 11 and 12, is that the cheaper material, that can be used by virtue of the doubling-up operation, is less than half the price of the stronger material that would be required in single-layer form, so that there is a net saving on material cost with no significant increase in production costs due to the need to double-up the thinner material.

A further cost reduction can be made by forming the two blanks 11 and 12 as shown in Figure 6 whereby two doubled-up blanks can be formed from 1* times the area of board material, rather than twice the area as would be required with the arrangement shown in Figures ib and Ic.

Since maximum strength against compression of the box is required in the stacking position (see Figure 5), the absence of a double layer over the lower half of each side panel gila, 12a is not significant because each upper half (weakened by the respective opening 25) is fully reinforced by an inner layer 11b, 12b.

Double faced "single wall" corrugated paperboard (i.e.

three-ply material) is preferred for the blanks 10, 11 and 12, the flutes typically running in the directions of the double arrows A shown in Figures la, 1b and 1c although these orientations are not critical. Blank 10 could be made from 300 gsm three-ply material and blanks 11 and 12 from 200 gsm three-ply material.

Claims (8)

1. A box of a bag-in-box container provided with carrying openings and having a double layer of board material in the vicinity of each carrying opening, only the outer layer of which is provided with the carrying opening (or a precursor thereof), the inner layer serving as a guard panel preventing hand contact with the bag housed within the box and spacing the bag material from the carrying opening.

2. A bag-in-box container as claimed in claim 1, in which each of the pair of walls provided with a carrying opening is of double layer material throughout, the two layers being adhered together only in regions below the carrying opening whereby the spacing between the layers can increase in the vicinity of the carrying opening to allow for the fingers of a hand inserted through the carrying opening to pass between the layers.

3. A bag-in-box container as claimed in claim 2, where a lower grade of board material is used for each of said pair of walls than is used for the remainder of the box.

4. A bag-in-box container substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

5. Blanks required to form the body of a bag-in-box container as claimed in any preceding claim.

6. Precut and precreased blanks of paperboard material substantially as shown in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings prepared for erecting into the box of a bag-in-box container.

7. A box as shown in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings constructed from the blanks of Figures la, ib and ic thereof prior to addition of the bag thereinto.

8. Any novel feature of bag-in-box container or blanks therefor as defined herein.