US3397810A - Container with tape opening device - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 20, 1968 s. E. RoHowETz CONTAINER WITH TAPE OPENING DEVICE Filed March 28, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY s. E. ROHOWETZ 3,397,810

Aug. 20, 1968 CONTAINER WITH TAPE OPENING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 28, 1966 INVENTOR United States Patent O 3 397,810 CONTAINER WITHTAPE OPENING DEVICE Stanley Edward Rohowetz, Barrington, Ill., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 538,020 Claims. (Cl. 220-53) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container in which the entire end may be hinged upwardly without the use of a tool or implement and yet is strong enough to withstand internal pressures created when the product is heat processed. A slit close to the end seam and extending less than 360 around the side wall of the container is covered with a laminated tape closure having an inner tape adhered along the marginal side portions thereof to the side wall, and a narrower outer tape which is adhered to the inner tape so that when a tab on the end of the outer tape is pulled outwardly, the outer tape and the portion of the inner tape between its adhered marginal side lportions are pulled free of the container to permit the lid to be hinged upwardly about the portion of the side walls between the ends of the slit.

This invention relates generally to hermetically sealed containers having an easy opening feature, and to the means for effecting such opening. In particular, the opening feature is dependent upon a novel tape sealing and opening device for containers which may be heat processed after filling.

In recent years, there has been considerable development in the consumer packaging iield which has added appeal to the consumer because of various convenience features which they offer. However, although it is comparatively simple to incorporate easy opening features in containers made of relatively soft, tearable materials such as paper and plastic, it is more dicult in the case of relatively rigid sheet metal cans which are closed by means of permanently sealed end members secured to the container body by such means as a double seam. A number of manual opening features have been incorporated in the ends of such containers, but an opening tool is generally necessary when it is desired to remove the end together with a narrow portion of the body adjacent the double seam.

One such opening feature which removes the entire closure end together with a portion of the body adjacent the double seam is shown in U.S. Patent 3,186,581. Although this container has proven to be successful in the packaging of comestibles that are not processed subsequent to packaging, such as cotee, it is not amenable to the packaging of comestibles which must be heat processed after having been hermetically sealed within the container.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a manually openable hermetically sealed container.

Another object of the invention is to provide an easily opened container which may be manufactured at high speed on automated equipment.

A further object is to provide a tear tape easily opened container which may be subjected to conventional high temperature food processing without leaking.

Yet another object is the provision of a heat processable can which may be easilyopened merely by th'e manual removal therefrom of a sealing tape.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the 3,397,810 Patented Aug. 20, 1968 "ice following description, which, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, disclosed a preferred embodiment thereof.

The above objects are accomplished by providing a container having a manually openable laminated tape closure secured over an 'opening in the container. The inner laminate covering the opening has a peripheral portion overlying and secured to a marginal portion of the container surrounding the opening. The outer laminate overlies and is secured to an underlying portion of the inner laminate, whereby removal of the outer laminate also removes that portion of the inner laminate underlying the outer laminate thereby opening the container.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a container embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank for the body of the container in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional View taken substantially along the line 3 3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 in FIG. l;

FIGS. 5, 7 and 9 are enlarged fragmentary views of a portion of the blank in FIG. 2, but showing modifications ofthe tape closure;

FIGS. 6, 8 and 10 are sectional views taken substantially along the lines 6 6, 8-8 and 10-10 in FIGS. 5, 7 and 9 respectively;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a container showing another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 12-12 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 13-13 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is the same view as FIG. 13 but showing a portion of cach of the closure laminae being removed inthe initial stage of the opening operation;

FIG. 15 is a partial plan view of the container embodying a modified form of the invention; and

FIG. 16 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantial- Iy along the line 16-16 'in FIG. 15.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the instant invention, the drawings illustrate a laminated tape closure, generally designated 20, comprising an inner or closure lamina 21 and an outer or opening lamina 22, each made of metal foil, paper, plastic or a composite material, The inner lamina 21 is preferably of weaker tear strength, either by virtue of thickness or material, than the outer or opening lamina 22, for a purpose which will be explained hereinafter.

The laminae are bonded or secured together by adhesive means 25 which may be a non-peelable adhesive such as a thermosetting or thermoplastic resin adhesive, or a solder, dependent upon the material or materials of which the laminae are made. The non-peelable adhesive 25 should provide a bond which will resist peeling beyond the tearing strength of the inner or closure lamina 22.

The inner or closure lamina 21 may be similarly bonded to a container around the container opening by nonpeelable adhesive means 26.

Either or Iboth laminae 21, 22 may be coated with adhesive or, if the laminae lare of thermoplastic material, they may need no adhesive and be bonded together by a suitable application of heat and pressure.

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 10, the laminae 20 are bands or tapes, and the opening in the container is a slit 30 that extends around less than 360 degrees of the body wall 31 of a container 32. At least the upper end of the container 32 is closed by an end member 33 that is secured, as by a double seam 34, to the body 31.

The slit 30 may be disposed close to the bottom of the double seam 34, in which case, a marginal portion of the inner tape 21 lies within the double seam 34. This construction is useful when a small headspace above the product is desired.

Both ends of the slit 30 terminate short of the body side seam 35, leaving between them an unslit portion 36 of the body 31 that serves as a hinge portion about which the top of the container may be swung after the closure has been torn open.

As shown in FIG. 4, the inner tape 21 is bonded at 26 to the container body 31 along the margins or peripheral portions of the tape 21. These margins are spaced laterally from the slit 30 and also extend around both ends of the slit 30 to seal the opening, thus leaving a central portion 38 unbonded and free from the container wall. Therefore, when a tab 41, at the end of the narrower tape 22 is manually gripped and pulled, the tape 22 and that free portion 38 of the inner tape 21 to which tape 22 is bonded are simultaneously removed to uncover the slit 30.

The tab 41 is not bonded to the closure tape 21 or the container body wall 31 and may be an integral part of the narrow pull tape 22, folded back upon and bonded to itself, as shown in FIG. 3. The tab may also be a separate member 42 bonded to the end of the tape 22 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the pattern of the bonding area of the adhesive may, at the end adjacent the tab 41, terminate beyond then end of slit in a pattern of gradually decreasing width that ends in a central point directed to the tab, and could be of the generally wedgeshaped form shown in FIG. 7. This pattern causes the full effect of the initial pull on the tab 41 to be concentrated at the leading point 43 in the bond and thus facilitates initial tearing away of the inner or closure tape 21 along diverging lines to the lateral edges of the bond between the tapes 21, 22.

In FIGS. 9 and 10, the inner tape 21 is weakened, as by a central opening 44 at the end of the bonded area so that the force of the initial pull on tab 41 is directed simultaneously to opposite lateral portions of the bonded area between the tapes to assure proper tearing of the inner tape 21 to the full width of the bonded area.

In FIGS. ll 'through 14, the inner lamina 21 comprises a countersunk panel 51 united by a countersink wall 52 to an outwardly disposed ange or curl 53 that overlies a curl 55 which extends around the upper end 56 of a wall 57 of a container 58. The adhesive 26 which unite-s the curls 53 and 55 extends inwardly from the outer edge of curl 53 to a line extending around the top of curl 55.

The outer lamina 22 is a band or tape that extends circumferentially around, and is bonded to the inner lamina 21 with its upper or outer edge disposed over the top of the curl 55. The tape 22 is thus bonded to the inner lamina 21 over an area of the latter that is not bonded to the container. Therefore, when the tab 41 is pulled, the tape 21 removes with it that free portion 38 of the closure lamina 21 bonded to it as shown in FIG. 14, thereby opening the closure by releasing its central panel 51.

In the containers shown in FIGS. 1 through 14, the closure 20 may be secured to the container before it is filled through a top opening. In the container shown in FIG. l, closure 20 may be applied while the body blank is iiat, as in FIG. 2, and filling is effected through a fully open end of the container which is then closed by the end member 33. In the container of FIG. 1l, filling may be effected through an opening 61 in the closure 20, and the opening subsequently closed and sealed by a disc 62.

In FIGS. 15 and 16, the inner lamina 21 of the closure 20 is in the form of a disc bonded along -a peripheral area 65 to an underlying margin 66 around an opening 67 in Wassaggio 4 a wall 68 of a container. The outer lamina 22 is in the form of a Iband or ring substantially identical in shape and dimensionstto those of the opening, overlying and in alignment with the opening. The -ring 22 is bonded throughout its under surface to the closure disc 21, and a pull tab 71, which extends radially outwardly from the ring and is not bonded to the disc 21, affords means for gripping'the ring to pull and -remove the central 'portion of the closure 20 from 'the opening.

The outer lamina 22 may be weakened, as by a notch 72 at the junction of the ring and tab to direct initial tearing across the ring `so that subsequent tearing of the inner or closure lamina progresses in a circular direction around the edge of the opening.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacricing all of its material advantages, the forms hereinbefore described being merely preferred embodiments thereof.

I claim: 1. A container having an outwardly projecting end searn, an easily opened laminated tape closure secured over a slit in the container, said slit positioned close to said end seam and extending less than 360 around the :body wall of said container, said closure comprising:

an inner tape covering the slit in the container and having a marginal portion overlying and secured to the portion of the container adjacent to said slit;

and an outer tape overlying and secured to an underlying portion of said innerl tape, said outer tape having a tab which is not secured to the container thereby providing a grip whereby the outer tape and the underlying portion of the inner tape bonded thereto may be torn from the closure to open the container.

2. A container as set forth in claim 1 wherein nonpeelable adhesive means bond said marginal portion of the inner tape to said container, and bond said outer tape to said inner tape.

3. A container as set forth in claim 1 wherein said outer tape overlies and is secured to that portion of the inner tape which overlies said opening in the container.

4. A container as set forth in claim 1 wherein said ta=b is a separate element secured to the end of the outer tape.

5. A container as set forth in claim 1 wherein said inner tape is secured to said container along continuous strips spaced from said slit thereby leaving a central area of said inner tape unsecured to the container wall, and said outer tape is narrower than said inner tape and is substantially as wide as and overlies said central area of the inner tape, whereby said central area of the inner tape is readily removed with the outer tape in the opening operation.

6. A container as set Iforth in claim 5 wherein said outer tape is secured to said inner tape by adhesive rneans substantially coextensive with said central area and extending to a terminal point beyond the end of said slit and short of the tab end of said tape, said inner tape being weakened at said terminal point of the adhesive means, whereby initial tearing of said inner tape .is facilitated.

7. The container set forth in claim I6 wherein said inner lamina comprises a countersunk panel united `by a countersink Wall to an outwardly disposed liange having a peripheral portion bonded to the container surrounding said opening, and wherein said band is disposed along said countersink wall and inwardly of the outline of said bonded peripheral portion of the inner lamina, whereby removal of said band tears with it a strip of said countersink wallv thereby freeing said countersunk panel and opening the container.

8. A container as set yforth in claim 5 wherein said outer tape is secured to said inner tape Iby adhesive means substantially coextensive with said central area and terminating fbeyond the end of said slit and short of the tab end of said second tape in a pattern of gradually decreasing Width to a central point near said tab to facilitate initial tearing of the inner tape.

9. A container as set forth in claim `8 wherein said pattern is semicircular.

10. A container as set forth in claim i8 wherein said pattern terminates in a relatively sharp point.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,127,087 3/ 1964 Spees 229-51 3,186,581 6/1'965 Schneider et al 220-53 3,302,818 2/1967 Balocca et al. 220-53 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

G. T. HALL, Assistant Examiner.

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