LT3996B - Opening device for a packaging container and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention applies to package containers. It describes a device (2) for the opening of a package container (1), which consists of a spilling chamfer (31, 33), its female closer (3), and also provides a description for the production of the device for the opening of the package container, the chamfer (31, 33) of which is formed by pressing a heated thermoplastic material, in such a way, that it should correspond to the form of the closer (3).

Description

such as those that are made of thin, low-melt polyethylene fibrous structures,

This invention relates to packaging containers and describes a container container opening device with a closure and a dispensing gutter. The present invention also describes a method of making a container container opening device.

Disposable packaging containers are currently widely used in various commodities, e.g. beverages, milk, juice, etc., for packaging.

Packaging containers are typically laminated packaging structures, materials, e.g. paper reinforcing layer coated on both sides with a waterproof thermoplastic, e.g.

layer. Such layered wrappers are flexible and can be cut to give the desired shape. The outer layer of thermoplastic provides a very simple thermal sealing of the laminate structure itself, which makes it easy to produce a container of the desired shape.

Preferably, the ready-made packaging container has an opening device that allows for easy opening of the container for the discharge of its contents. In addition, the opening device must provide the contents of the container with a non-dripping current. However, it is easy to reconcile these purposes for packaging containers made of flexible paper and plastic laminate, since the laminated packaging structure is difficult to stretch and difficult to give to a dispensing gutter or any other shape that ensures a smooth discharge of the contents. The formation of the opening device in the immediate layered packing structure does not ensure the airtightness of the re-closed container.

To overcome the aforementioned disadvantages, a packaging container is manufactured, the body of which consists of the aforementioned laminated paper and plastic packaging structure, but the upper part of the container, the double-sided lid, is manufactured only from molded plastic directly in contact with the laminate structure. The upper hinged lid shall be provided with an opening device of the desired shape which may be repeatedly closed. This type of packaging container is described in German Patent DE 3217156. These containers are very useful in use, they are usually opened and closed again. However, pressurizing the upper gable cap requires that the wrapping machine has additional expensive equipment that limits its performance, since the molded upper thick wall must cool and stabilize before transporting the wrapping container to other processing stations.

The object of the present invention is to provide a container opening device which is easy to manufacture and which has a closure and a discharge spout and which can also be fitted to known packaging containers and thereby avoid the aforementioned disadvantages.

A further object of the present invention is the above-mentioned opening device, which provides the packaging container with excellent dispensing properties and closes it securely.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an opening device with a reliably functional, easily openable and resealable closure.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a packaging container opening device that requires a minimal amount of material to be manufactured.

These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by providing the packaging container described in the introduction with the appropriate distinctive features, characterized in that the closure of the opening device hugs the end of the dispensing gutter facing the outside of the packaging container while maintaining its fixed shape. an impermeable layer of material, is formed to conform to the inner shape of the closure and is only tearable during use of the opening device.

Embodiments of the opening device are described by the additional distinguishing features set forth in dependent claims 2 to 9.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a container container opening device which does not have the drawbacks mentioned above and enables a fast opening device suitable for both known and new packaging containers to be manufactured quickly, at no additional cost.

Yet another object of the present invention is a method of making an opening device by forming a dispensing gutter together with a closure.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for making a packaging container with an opening device without affecting the production efficiency factors such as cooling.

The foregoing and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing the opening device described in the introductory section with the feature that the pressurized layer of thermoplastic material is supported on the preformed part of the opening device in the forming instrument and retains its fixed shape.

Embodiments of embodiments of this embodiment are set forth in dependent claims 11 to 17 of the invention.

In the following, embodiments of this device and embodiments thereof will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings, which show only the details necessary for understanding the invention.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a known type of container opening device made in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a view of another type of container opening device made in accordance with the present invention.

for the production of Buddha are described in terms of volume, according to

Figures 3A-E are partial cross-sections showing the steps of forming the container opening device of Figure 1 according to the present invention.

Figures 4A-D show successive stages of forming the container opening device of Figure 2.

The device of the present invention and the method of making it can be applied only to disposable packaging containers made of laminated paper and thermoplastic layers. Such packaging containers are typically used for liquids, e.g. for juice and milk, and up to this time they are made with an opening device having a tear-off or tear-off portion of the packaging container, which upon opening is formed into a dispensing gutter. The opening device of the present invention and the method of making it provide easier opening, quality and airtightness of the packaging container, they can replace the known devices and methods typical of conventional packaging and can also be adapted to create a new type of packaging container.

Fig. 1 shows a known packaging container 1 with a double-sided top which is made of a laminate having a structural paper layer coated on both sides with a thermoplastic, e.g. polyethylene.

The packaging material is given the desired shape, folded and thermally sealed to form a rectangular packaging container with a gable top. This known packaging container 1 is provided with an opening device 2 according to the present invention, furthermore, this opening device is located on one side of the upper part of the gasket 7. The opening device has a closure 3 which has a known screw plug shape.

The opening device and the method of making it can also be adapted to another type of packaging container, such as the packaging container 4 shown in FIG. 2 having a square with rounded corners. Its bottom may consist of a certain amount of folded and made of the best, laminated polyethylene hermetically sealed bottom surfaces, or it may be analogous to packaging with a gable top.

The upper part of the packaging container 4 comprises an opening device 2 of the present invention with an invisible drainage duct formed in and forming part of the upper wall 5 of the packaging container 4. Upper wall 5 thermoplastic materials,

The edges of the top wall 5 are folded downwards and hermetically joined to the side surface 6 of the packaging container 4, which may be made of said laminate packaging material or other material. Only the upper part of the packaging container with the opening device 2 forms the essence of the present invention and therefore the containers themselves will not be described in further detail.

The detailed formation of the packaging containers and, in particular, the opening devices is better disclosed in Figures 3 and 4, where two different embodiments of the opening device according to the present invention are presented.

Figures 3A-E show schematically the different stages of manufacture of an opening device for a packing container with a hinged lid according to figure 1. The opening device 2 is mounted in the packaging container before it is closed, since both the inner and outer side of the packaging material are required to form the opening device. As can be seen from Fig. 3A-E, the production of the packaging container is completed but not yet filled and closed, so that the walls of the gasket lid are in an upright position and extend the side walls of the packaging container 1. This maximally facilitates the insertion of the forming device into the upper part of the packaging container.

Fig. 3A illustrates a conventional packing container, but the material cut in one sidewall 7 is replaced by a thermoplastic material, e.g.

polyethylene, disc 8. Disc 8 rests on the inner side of the packing material and is hermetically sealed with heat.

A heating device 9 directed one toward the inner thermoplastic layer of the packaging material.

Fig. 3B shows how a thermoplastic material disk 8 consisting of two legs 10, 11 and one of the heating elements 12, 13 is heated to its softening temperature (110 ° C for polyethylene). The heating elements 12, 13 are in the form of a round cup and their diameter slightly exceeds the diameter of the disk 8. The heating elements consist of materials of high electrical resistance or hot air ducts (not shown) for heating the plastic disc in a well known manner over its entire surface corresponding to a hole in the wall of the packaging container. As shown in FIG. 38, the leg 10 enters through the upper open end of the packing container and the other leg 11 is disposed parallel to the first but outer side of the packing container. The legs 10, 11 are disposed relative to one another as a pair of clamps for positioning the heating elements 12, 13 during heating at an appropriate distance from the material disk 8.

When the disk 8 is heated by the device 9 to the desired temperature, the step shown in FIG. 3C begins. It utilizes a forming tool 14 having two legs 15, 16 inserted through the open end of the packaging container and hugging a thermoplastic material 8. The leg 15 has a circular cup-shaped cutout 17 connected to an air channel 18 with an air source not shown. The opposite leg 16 has a notch 19 on the working surface facing the leg 15, which is connected to the outside by a channel 20. The notch 19 is round and has a dimension such that a closure 3 is inserted therein during use of the forming tool 14. When the forming instrument 14 is positioned as follows. As shown in Fig. 3C, the legs 15, 16 are clamped together and engage the wrapper container wall 7 with a thermoplastic disk 8 which is heated to the softening point. As soon as the portion 15 of the leg 15 contacts the inner side of the wall 7 of the packaging container and the leg 16 contacts the outer side of the wall 7, the notch 17 is connected to the source of compressed air by air 18 acting on the soft thermoplastic disk 8. stamped to obtain a shape corresponding to the inside of the pre-fabricated closure 3. The air in the closure 3 flows through the recess 19 and the duct 20 into the environment, and the thermoplastic disc 8 takes the form of an accurate inner part of the closure 3 with a threaded connection. At the same time as the material of the thermoplastic disc 8 cools, the legs 15, 16 are pulled away from one another and the forming tool 14 is lifted out of the packaging container. The closure 3 gradually slides out of the recess 19 and, by virtue of its connection with the formed disc 8, remains on the outside of the packaging container.

Fig. 3D shows a wrapping container without forming tool 14, where it is seen that the inside of the thermoplastic disk 8 now forms an outlet gutter 21 located inside the closure 3, further comprising a threaded connection corresponding to the inside of the closure 3. 3 also shows that the disc 8, which was connected to the inner side of the container wall, is formed on the outer closed end of the dispensing channel 21, which is torn open during the opening of the container.

Fig. 3E shows a ready-made packaging container for forming, by folding and thermally sealing, an upper bilayer having a surface opening device 2 according to the present invention.

The packaging coder is shown open, i.e. a closure 3 having a screw plug shape disposed away from the threaded spout 21. The thermal sealing of the outer end of the spout 21 with the inner side of the closure 3 makes it possible to automatically open the outer end of the spout 21 and to dispense the contents of the packaging container.

This will be described in more detail below.

Figures 4A-D show the manufacturing steps of the opening device 2 for the wrapper container 5 with the upper wall 5 of the present invention. The outside of the tubular hinge wall 6 of this wrapper container is covered with a non-thermoplastic material. Fig. 4A shows how the upper end of the clamping wall 6 is housed in an annular holder 22 having an inside diameter and shape corresponding to the outside diameter and shape of the clamping wall. The holder 22 has an outer flat working surface 23 on which a thermoplastic, e.g. polyethylene disk 24. The disk 24 is retained on the working surface 23 of the holder 22 by a forming tool 25 whose lower forming surface 26 rests on the upper side of the disk 24. The forming surface 26 has a notch 27 which accommodates a prefabricated closure 3. The closure 3 has a gable wall 28 and a hinging wall 29 and may have the shape of a screw plug with an internal thread or a ball with an inner bead (not shown). The clamping wall 3 of the closure 3 has a hole 30 which connects the inside of the closure 3 with the outside by means of channels 31 in the forming instrument 25. The closure 3, housed in the forming tool 25, is rotated such that its open end is directed downwardly and the lower edge of the clamping wall 29 rests on the upper surface of the disc 24. The heated pre-softening disk 24 is formed and this formation is performed by a pressure difference between the two sides of the disk 24. The inner side of the packaging container 4 (when the lower end of the packaging container is not yet closed) is connected to an unpressurized source of compressed air, and the forming surface 26 and the notch 27 of the forming instrument 25 are connected to the exterior. The pressure thus formed acts on the disc 24 from below and is pressed against the forming surface 26 and the prefabricated closure 3, which is maintained in the notch 27 at a constant temperature. Because the air inside the closure 3 can freely escape through the passageways 31 of the forming instrument 25, it has no effect on the center portion of the disk 24 so that it is pressed inwardly to remain in the shape corresponding to the provided inner surface of the closure 3 not shown ribs. The material surrounding the central portion of the disc 24 is pressed against the forming surface 26, which may be either flat or profiled to obtain the desired shape of the top wall of the packaging container. Upon completion of the forming, the supply of compressed air to the underside of the disc 24 is interrupted and formed. Instrument 25. The closure for the outlet channel 33 formed from the central portion of the disc 24 and having threaded wires 32. The holder 22 is now removed and the retaining ring 6 of the material 24 of the disc 24 is folded down and secured to the outside of the hinge wall. If desired, this operation na 11 may be performed earlier, for example by forming a spout.

The discharge chute 33 formed and housed in the closure 3 comprises a waterproof layer which also forms an upper end wall 5. To open the upper closed end of the discharge chute 33 by unscrewing the closure 3, between the upper end surface of the discharge chute 33 and the inner surface of A ring seal is provided with a circular sealing tool 34 having a heated annular working surface at its upper end. By pressing the heated sealing device 34 against the inner end surface of the outlet gutter, this surface is secured with an annular seal to the inner surface of the closure 3 so that the upper end portion of the outlet gutter 33 is teared by unscrewing and pulling up the closure 3.

When the packing container is opened, the screw plug or closure 3 is unscrewed, the sealed end of the dispensing gutter disengages from the gutter relative to the inner surface of the closure and follows the screw plug (Fig. 4D). Opening

The device remains completely sealed as it is thermoplastic

The material of the 1G disk 24 is only ruptured by unscrewing the closure 3 and furthermore, this design prevents accidental opening of the packing container.

The thermoplastic disk 8 may be secured to the wrapping material even before the wrapping container shown in FIGS. when it is still in the form of a leaf or tape. Subsequently, the individual packing containers are formed in a known manner, provided with opening devices according to Figs. 3A-3D, filled with the desired contents, and their upper part folded and hermetically sealed according to well-known technology.

The containers shown in Figures 2 and 4 are made of a laminate packing material which is firstly tubular, the longitudinal edges of the material are then hermetically sealed together to form a hinging wall 6 placed in an annular holder 22 and a thermoplastic disk 24 resting on the upper end . The forming tool 25 with the closure 3 in the notch 27 is then lowered and the forming process according to Figs. 4ft and 48 is started. When the forming tool 25 and the holder 22, Fig. 4C are removed, the operation, packaging container is filled with desired contents, bottom formed by folding and heat sealing. the prepared surface of the bottom wall, or an additional thermoplastic disk which is sealed along the lower edge of the hinging wall 6.

Both the opening device and its method of manufacture can be adapted to completely new types of packaging containers, such as containers made of different material combinations and from one piece or from several different pieces. The portion of the packaging container comprising the discharge gutter according to the present invention must be made of a thermally formed layer of material, with an overlapping joint. The hinged reversible reusable packaging material will be either a limited portion of the packaging container or of the entire packaging container. component, which in this case is all produced by thermal molding.

When containers are made of a piece of material, part or all of the piece may consist of a thermoplastic material. After forming a piece of material into packing containers that can be filled and sealed, the selected portion of the packing container is heated to form an outlet gutter by external vacuum as described previously. If the container is completely sealed and breathable, this operation will result in a negative pressure on the top of the container, which will cause the flexible packaging container walls to slightly bend. However, this is not a disadvantage. When such a container is opened, air is drawn in by opening the closure, the level of the contents in the container is reduced and its walls return to their original shape.

If the closure is also made of a thermoplastic material, it may be molded together with an outlet gutter, but an external forming part is required to give the closure a regular outer shape.

The internal shape of the closure must conform to its external shape (the material must be thin) and, in this case, the internal shape of the closure depends on the shape of the spout. A prerequisite for the above process is that the plastic material of the closure is not sealed over the entire surface of the spout. This is achieved by appropriate material selection or by coating with non-sealing layers.

As mentioned above, an appropriate shape of the internal outlet passage 30 of the closure 3 is required so that the air in the closure does not interfere with the formation of the discharge chute 21, 33. It is undesirable for channel 30 to drain the contents of the container by repeatedly sealing the open wrapping container 3, so that the inner channel 30 exiting the closure 3 is not made on the gate wall 28 of the closure, which would appear necessary for air exit during the forming process. However, tests have shown that satisfactory formation is achieved even when the end of the channel extends into the hinging wall 29, since the material of the disc G, 24 expels air from the center towards the outside at high speed during formation. The optimum compromise between proper formation and minimal leakage of contents is achieved when the channel 30 ends midway between the gable wall 28 and the lower edge of the hinging wall 29 facing the packing container.

The channel 30 may be formed not only in the form of a hole passing through the hinging wall 29, but also in the form of a vertical notch communicating with the environment.

Claims (17)

DEFINITION OF INVENTION. 1. An opening device (2) for a packaging container (1) having a closure (3) and an outlet gutter (21, 33), characterized in that the closure (3) of the opening device (2) engages a deflected outside of the packaging container. an end of the outlet gutter (21, 33) comprising an additional, impermeable layer of water material formed according to the inner shape of the closure (3), which is teared at the opening of the device (2). An opening device according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure (3) of the opening device (2) has a channel (30) connecting the space between the closure (3) and the outlet gutter (21, 33) to the outside. Opening device according to claim 2, characterized in that the channel (30) of the closure (3) having the gable wall (28) and the hinging wall (29) is on the inside of the hinging wall (29) at a certain distance from the gable wall (28). ). Opening device according to claim 4, characterized in that the inner side of the closure (3) of the channel (30) is located almost midway between the base of the gable wall (28) and the hinging wall (29). Claim 2 or 3, the end coming out of Opening device according to claim 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that said channel (30) comprises a passage through the closure (3). Opening device according to one or more of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the closure (3) is a screw plug. Opening device according to one or more of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the part of the device forming the discharge gutter (21, 33) is made of a material containing thermoplastic material, e.g. of polyethylene. 8. Opening device according to one or more of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the thermoplastic material forms part of the upper wall (5) of the packaging container. 9. Opening device according to one or more of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the closure (3) is sealed to the outside of the deflection gutter (21, 33) by means of an annular seal weakening the material layer. 10. A method of making a container (1) opening device (2) by means of a pressure step, characterized in that, during forming, the pressurized layer of thermoplastic material rests on a pre-formed part of the closure (3) in the forming tool (14, 25), engages with this part when capturing the acquired shape. 11. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that the thermoplastic material is heated to its softening state before forming, and the temperature of the preformed part (3) is lower than the softening temperature. 12. A method according to claims 10 and 11, characterized in that during forming, air is removed from both the prefabricated part (3) and the forming tool (14, 25). Method according to one or more of Claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the pre-formed part (3) is removed from the forming tool (14, 25) simultaneously with the formed part of the packaging container. 14. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that the pressurized thermoplastic material is simultaneously hermetically joined to adjacent parts of the packaging container (1). 15. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that the thermoplastic material is pre-hermetically sealed with the packaging container (l). 16. Method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the thermoplastic material covers the opening of the packaging container having an area corresponding to the corresponding zone of the prefabricated part (3). 17. A method as claimed in one or more of claims 14, 15 or 16, characterized in that the thermoplastic material hermetically hugs the adjacent edges of the packaging container during formation.