US2053687A - Method of making packages of frozen material - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 1936- s. N. LEOPOLD ET AL 2,053,887

METHOD OF MAKING PACKAGES OF FROZEN MATERIAL Filed NOV. 29, 1932 Patented Sept. 8, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MAKING PACKAGES OF FROZEN MATERIAL Application November 29, 1932, Serial No. 644,810

Claims.

This. invention relates to packaging, and pertains particularly to the packaging of frozen materials, ice cream, for example, which undergo expansion incident to freezing.

A general object of the invention is the provision of a method for forming a package which comprises a container and its contents, the container being of a character such that it may be shipped in collapsed or knocked-down form and readily set up at the point of use, and the contents, in its frozen condition, cooperating with the container to form a securely united package in which the contents is fully protected.

Other and further objects will be indicated or pointed out hereinafter, or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon an understanding of the invention or its employment in use.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding and explanation of the invention, we disclose in the accompanying drawing forming a part of the specification, and hereinafter describe, certain structural embodiments illustrative of the package and procedural steps employed in the making of it. It is to be understood, however, that these are presented by way of example, and are not to be construed in any fashion calculated to limit the appended claims short of the true and most comprehensive scope of the invention in the art.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a partly completed package on a considerably reduced scale;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross section, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of a wall of a container adapted to form a part of the package;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of a completed package, on a considerably reduced scale; and

Fig. 4 is a'detail of same in approximately full size.

Numerous important commercial advantages are served by the use, in the packaging of various commodities, of containers of the collapsible or knock-down type which may be shipped in a substantially flat, knocked-down form and set up at the point of use. Although not limited to the use of containers of that character, the present invention finds particular utility in connection with same. Due to their feature of collapsibility, and the desirability of having them light in weight and sufficiently inexpensive in cost to justify their being discarded after once used, the use of such containers involves some difficulties in the direction of obtaining a securely united package adapted to withstand handling in transportation. This is particularly so in the case of large packages, for example, bulk packages of ice cream having a content of two and one-half or five gallons. 4

The present invention provides a package which meets the desired requirements and which may be formed in part by a container of the collapsible type, without material modifications or change in the procedure customarily followed in packing commodities of the kinds contemplated.

The nature of the invention will be most quickly ascertained from a description of an example of the package and method of making it.

In the accompanying drawing the reference numeral l0 designates the tubular body portion of a container suitable for constituting a part of the package. This body member may be formed of a suitable paper board having Water-proofed surfaces, and it may be of the knock-down type susceptible of being folded fiat and set up into the tubular form at the point of use. A characteristic of this body member is that it is distensible circumferentially, at least at the ends. This distensible characteristic may be contributed by any of various features of its construction. For example, the body member may be formed with a multiplicity of narrow creases or oflset portions ll as illustrated in Fig. 2, extending longitudinally thereof, said offset portions being susceptible of being displaced outwardly and thus accommodating circumferential distension of the body member in its tubular form. This body member may be formed of an integral sheet of flexible material folded on itself and having its ends connected. Suitable end closures are provided for assembly with the body member same being here indicated by the bottom disks l2 and I4 and a top disk l5, all of which may be made of substantial paper board. constraining members It and I! are provided for connecting the end closures to the body member. These preferably are made of strong sheet metal or other strong material in the form of relatively non-distensible annular members. The lower constraining member 16 has an annular portion Ilia adapted to encompass circumferentially the lower end portion of the body member when the latter is set up in its tubular form. Part of the portion |6a is of appreciably greater diameter than the end portion of the body member which it encompasses, but said portion Ilia extends inwardly So that at its upper margin it is approximately the diameter of the body member. The annular portion l6b of this constraining member extends inwardly so that it overlaps the marginal portion of the bottom end closure. I

The upper constraining member I! likewise has a portion l'la adapted to encompass the upper end of the body member circumferentially, said portion lla being of somewhat larger diameter than the upper end of the body member. The portion Fla is provided at its lower margin with an inwardly extending flange l 11), and at its upper end with an inwardly turned head He which overlaps the marginal portion of the disk IS. The body member may have at its upper end a flexible strip l8, secured thereto and projecting slightly from its outer periphery, the width of the flange l'lb being such as to admit of the insertion of the upper end of the body member, with the strip l8 thereon, into the constraining member past said flange.

A more particular and detailed description of the various features of the container is presented in our copending application for Set-up container, Serial No. 644,809, flied concurrently herewith.

In the making'of the package, the body member being set up in tubular form and assembled with the lower constraining member and end closure as above described, the contents, consisting of a material or mixture which expands upon freezing, is placed in the receptacle so provided, in an unfrozen or partly frozen fluid condition, in quantity sufficient to approximately fill the same. The top closure is then placed on the body member, the upper end of the latter being inserted within the encompassing portion Ila of the upper constraining member, and the disk coming to rest on the upper edge of the body member. When the upper constraining member is so seated, the inwardly projecting portion Nb of the constraining member occupies a position at alevel lower than the lower margin of the outwardly extending retaining strip l8.

The filled and closed container is now subjected to a temperature effective to freeze the contents. As an incident of such freezing, the contents expands and imparts outward pressure to the body member. Due to its distensible character, the body member accommodates this expansion of the contents, and is distended thereby, the pressure of the expanding contents pressing the portions of the body member within the compass of the constraining bands I60. and I la outwardly into tight binding cooperation therewith. This has the efiect of very securely and rigidly connecting the body member with the constraining members, the 'end portions of the former being distended so that they extend outwardly within the constraining members and beyond the inner margins of the portions I61) and Nb in an interlocked association therewith. When the contents is frozen it forms a firm support, holding the distended body member in this relationship with the constraining members, and thus retaining the end closures securely assembled with the body member. The distension of the upper end of the body member carries its upper edge outwardly to a position below the spanof the inwardly overhanging bead He, the disk l5 being of such size that it overlaps and rests upon the upper edge of the body member, where it is retained by the overhanging bead.

The package so formed is strong, tight and securely united, and does not require the use of fastenings, even though the several parts of the container are, in the condition in which they are supplied to the user, separate and disconnected from one another.

The absence of such special fastenings or securing devices is a distinct advantage, not only as to facilitating assembly, but also as to obtaining a tight package and avoiding contamination of the contents. For illustration, insertion of staples or similar securing devices for securing the closure after the contents has been placed in the container is likely to contaminate the contents or to cause leaks; and the use of glue or other adhesives is highly undesirable because of possibility of contaminating the contents.

A package formed as above described is well adapted to stand the handling incident to transportation and dispensing. For opening the package, the disk i5 is broken and removed piecemeal, leaving the upper constraining member in place on the body member, where it continues to act as a reinforcement and stay for the edge, and as a protection of the same against fraying or wetting by virtue of the fact that the overhanging bead I'Ic effectively covers the same.

Fig. 3 serves to illustrate the relationship of parts in the completed package before it is opened, it being noted that the contents is frozen, the end portions of the body member distended into close, binding engagement with the encompassing portions of the constraining members, and the portions of the body member between the constraining members being somewhat distended from its original form.

Fig. 4 illustrates the relationship of the upper constraining member, closure disk l5, and upper portion of the body member in'its distended condition in the completed package.

-What we claim is:

1. A method of forming a package of frozen material which comprises providing a packing receptacle having a circumferentially distensible tubular body, substantially fllling the receptacle with a material which is expansible by freezing, applying to the receptacle a top closure having a relatively non-distensible internally recessed circular constraining band encompassing an end portion of the tubular body, freezing the material in the closed receptacle and thereby securing the closure on the tubular body by distension of portions of the latter into the recessed portion of the constraining band.

2. A' method of forming a package of frozen material which comprises substantially fllling a receptacle having a circumferentially distensible tubular body portion with a material which is expansible by freezing, applying to the receptacle an end closure having a relatively non-distensible circular constraining band encompassing the body portion circum'ferentially and an inwardly overhanging marginal bead spaced axially from the edge of the body portion, freezing the material in the container and thereby distending the body portion to effect tight binding engagement of its periphery with the constraining band and position its edge within the span of the overhanging bead.

3. A method of forming a package of frozen material which comprises providing a receptacle having a tubular body member of flexible material, providing an annular constraining member affording an internal circumferential channel, placing an end closure for the body member within said circumferential channel, substantially filling the receptacle with a material which is expansible by freezing, disposing the open end of the tubular body member within the compass of the constraining member and in association with said end closure, and freezing the material in the receptacle and thereby securing the end closure and constraining member to the tubular body member by distension of portions of the latter into the circumferential channel of the constraining member.

4. A method of forming a package of frozen material which comprises providing a packingreceptacle having a tubular body which is circumferentially distensible at its upper end, substantially filling the receptacle with a material which is expansible by freezing, applying to the receptacle a top closure having a relatively nondistensible circular constraining band encompassing and fitting said end portion of the tubular body, freezing the material in the closed receptacle and thereby securing the closure on the tubular body by distension of portions of the latter into binding engagement with the constraining band.

5. A method of forming a package of frozen material which comprises enclosing a filling of material which is expanslble by freezing in a receptacle having a circumferentially distensible tubular body member formed of flexible paper board and end closures for said tubular body member together with relatively non distensible circular constraining bands having rigid portions covering the margins of the body member and end closures and portions encompassing the body member circumferentially, freezing the filling of material within the receptacle and thereby distending portions of the body member into peripheral binding contact with the encompassing portions of the constraining bands to secure the latter and the end closures to the body member.

SAMUEL N. LEOPOLD. HENRY K. POWELL.

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