WO2003018411A1

WO2003018411A1 - Container and method for manufacturing thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2003018411A1
Application number: PCT/SE2002/001499
Authority: WO
Inventors: Åke ROSÉN
Original assignee: Eco Lean Research & Development A/S
Priority date: 2001-08-22
Filing date: 2002-08-21
Publication date: 2003-03-06
Also published as: CA2455892A1; EP1419093A1; KR20040027918A; SE0102789D0; AU2002325453B2; MXPA04001673A; TW579355B; PL367962A1; BR0211971A; SE519704C2; US20040238548A1; SE0102789L

Abstract

A container, comprising a hollow body (2) extended along a longitudinal axis (5), a sealing means (4) and an opening means (3). The hollow body (2) defines, together with the sealing means (4), a compartment (11) which can be made to communicate with the surroundings by opening of said opening means (3). The container is characterised in that the hollow body (2) is essentially cylindrical or in the form of a truncated cone and has a closed first end (6) and an opposite open second end (7). The opening means (3) is arranged in or in connection with the first end (6) of the hollow body (2), and the sealing means (4) covers the second end (7) of the hollow body (2) and thus forms a bottom (12) of the container. The present invention also relates to a method for producing such a container filled with contents.

Description

CONTAINER AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THEREOF

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a container and a method for producing the same, and more specifically a container comprising a hollow body extended along a longitudinal axis and thermoformed from a sheet- or web-shaped hollow body material, a sealing means and an opening means, said hollow body defining, together with the sealing means, a compartment which can be made to communicate with the surroundings by opening of said opening means, the hollow body being essentially cylindrical or in the form of a truncated cone and having a closed first end and an opposite open second end.

Background Art Containers of the type described by way of introduction are normally used as disposable containers for liquid foodstuffs. The type of container is easy to produce from a relatively inexpensive material. It is also possible to reuse the material included in the container. A container of this type is disclosed in SE508002. The container described therein comprises a hollow body, which can be made, for example, by thermoforming from a sheet material containing polypropylene with a suitable filler. The hollow body has an open rear side, through which the hollow body can be filled with contents. Subsequently the container is sealed by applying a rear cover over said open rear side. The top plane of the hollow body is provided with an opening device. By suitable angling of the top plane and the bottom plane, respectively, relative to a front plane of the hollow body, a hollow body with a large opening is obtained, through which filling is allowed while the deep drawing ratio of worked surface to drawing depth can be reduced. However, the prior-art container is not without drawbacks. On the one hand it is relatively expensive to produce and, on the other, it is complicated to provide it with an external decorative print. Finally, it cannot be used for carbonated foodstuffs .

A further container of the type described by way of introduction is known from DE19950514. The container described therein comprises a thermoformed hollow body with a closed, bottom-forming end and an opposite open end, over which a sealing means is applicable. A gripping means and a pouring duct are formed in connection with the open end to facilitate opening of the container by removing the sealing means, which thus also forms the opening means of the container, and to facilitate pour- ing of contents held in the container. This container is well suited for viscous food products but is probably not suitable for food products such as fruit juice or milk.

There is thus a need for an improved container of the type described above.

Summary of the Invention

In view of that stated above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved container of the type described above, as well as an improved method for producing the same.

Preferably, the container should be user-friendly and also be suited for food products of low viscosity, such as fruit juice or milk. Preferably, the container should be easy to produce, and it should also be possible to produce it at a relatively low cost.

It should preferably also be possible to provide the container with an external print . Preferably, the container should also be able to hold carbonated contents. To achieve at least one of these objects, a container and a method according to claim 1 and claim 18, respectively, are provided. Preferred embodiments of the container are evident from claims 2-17, and preferred embodiments of the method are evident from claims 19-20. More specifically, according to the present invention a container is provided, comprising a hollow body extended along a longitudinal axis and thermoformed from a sheet- or web-shaped hollow body material, a sealing means and an opening means. The hollow body defines, together with the sealing means, a compartment which can be made to communicate with the surroundings by opening of said opening means. The hollow body is essentially cylindrical or in the form of a truncated cone and has a closed first end and an opposite open second end. The container is characterised in that said opening means is arranged in or in connection with the first end of the hollow body, and that said sealing means covers the second end of the hollow body and thus forms a bottom of the container.

As a result, a dimensionally stable and user- friendly container is provided, which can produced at an extremely low cost. The rounded shape of the hollow body makes it possible to reduce its wall thickness while at the same time the risk of deformation of the container filled with contents is significantly reduced. By the hollow body being thermoformed, it can be made of a laminated hollow body material, thereby making it possible to give the hollow body the desired properties as regards, for instance, rigidity and permeability to gas. Moreover the container can be made extremely stable since the bottom-forming sealing means is arranged over the open second end of the hollow body.

According to a preferred embodiment, the hollow body of the container is, perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, essentially circular in cross-section. As a result, a rotationally symmetrical hollow body is provided, which can easily be provided with a decorative print.

According to another preferred embodiment, the hollow body of the container is, perpendicular to said lon- gitudinal axis, essentially elliptic in cross-section. This means that a container can be provided which is extremely comfortable to hold.

According to yet another preferred embodiment, the hollow body of the container is essentially in the form of a truncated cone, its narrow end forming the first end of the hollow body. This makes each hollow body easy to produce by a thermoforming process while at the same time the completed hollow bodies can be stacked. The first end advantageously has essentially the form of a semisphere. The hollow body is advantageously made of a material having at least one core layer comprising a filler of mineral material and a binder of polyolefin material .

Said sealing means preferably forms a wafer which is made of a wafer material . The sealing means is advantageously made of a material comprising a filler of mineral material and a binder of polyolefin material .

The wafer has according to a preferred embodiment a central elevation directed towards said compartment and adapted to constitute a bottom of champagne bottle type. According to yet another preferred embodiment, a flange encompasses the second end of the hollow body, with which flange the sealing means is connected. The sealing means can have a circumferential flange which is designed complementarily to the flange of the hollow body and connected thereto.

According to one more preferred embodiment, said hollow body has an internal rim portion and said sealing means has a circumferential flange which is designed complementarily to said rim portion and connected thereto, said flange connecting at an angle to the radially inwardly located part of the sealing means. The sealing means advantageously consists of a wafer, with a central elevation to form a bottom of champagne bottle type, the angled flange ensuring a reliable connection of the sealing means to the hollow body. Said opening means advantageously is resealable .

According to another preferred embodiment, the opening means of the container has a tear-off tab, which preferably wholly or partly is defined by a tear initiation, along which the material included therein has been heat- treated to cause a material weakening in the form of, for instance, embrittlement .

According to a further preferred embodiment, the opening means of the container comprises a screw cap assembly. Moreover, according to the present invention a method is provided for producing a container filled with contents, said method being characterised by the steps of thermoforming, from a sheet- or web- shaped hollow body material having at least one core layer comprising a filler of mineral material and a binder of polyolefin material, a hollow body extended along a longitudinal axis and being essentially cylindrical or elliptic and having a closed first end and an opposite open second end, arranging an opening means of the hollow body in or in connection with its first end, supplying contents to the hollow body through the second end thereof, and applying a wafer over the second end of the hollow body for surrounding the contents in a compartment defined by said hollow body and said wafer, said wafer forming a bottom of the container.

According to a preferred embodiment of the method, the step of arranging said opening means is carried out integrally with the step of thermoforming said hollow body. Preferably, said hollow body is thermoformed in a form in which a wall portion supports a screw cap with an internal thread, whereby an externally threaded pro- jection, engaging the internal thread of the screw cap, of said screw cap assembly is thermoformed in said screw cap in connection with the step of thermoforming said hollow body. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings .

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of an inventive container.

Figs 2a-2c illustrate schematically the method for producing a hollow body for the container shown in Fig. 1. Figs 3a-3b are perspective views which illustrate the method for filling the hollow body produced in

Figs 2a-2c.

Figs 4a-4c are perspective views which illustrate the method for applying a sealing means on a filled hollow body to form a preferred second embodiment of an inventive container.

Figs 5a-5b illustrate schematically the method for producing a hollow body for the container shown in Fig. 4c. Figs 6a-6c are perspective views which illustrate the method for applying a sealing means on a filled hollow body to form a preferred third embodiment of an inventive container.

Fig. 7 illustrates schematically the method for pro- ducing a hollow body for the container shown in Fig. 6c.

Fig. 8 is a schematic, partly sectional side view of a container according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Description of Embodiments

In the following description, similar or equivalent components have been given the same reference numerals in the different embodiments. Fig. 1, to which reference is made, illustrates a first embodiment of an inventive container 1.

The container comprises a hollow body 2, an opening means 3 and a sealing means 4.

The hollow body 2 is of a form which is rotationally symmetrical about a longitudinal axis 5 and thus is, perpendicular to said longitudinal axis 5, essentially circular in cross-section.

It will be appreciated that the hollow body need not necessarily have a rotationally symmetrical shape and thus can also be given a cross-section, which is, for instance, essentially elliptic, which in some cases may be desirable for producing a container which is more comfortable to hold.

Moreover the hollow body 2 is essentially in the form of a truncated cone. It will however be appreciated that the hollow body can also be given an essentially cylindrical form.

The narrow end of the hollow body 2 forms a closed first end 6 and the wide end of the hollow body 2 forms an open second end 7 opposite to the first end 6. In accordance with the embodiment shown, the first end 6 has been given an essentially semispherical shape, but it will be appreciated that said first end 6 can also be shaped in some other manner. The hollow body 2 carries a flange 8 which encompasses the second end 7.

The sealing means 4 is in the shown embodiment designed in the form of a wafer 9, which is applied over the open second end 7 of the hollow body 2. The wafer 9 has a circumferential flange 10 which is designed complementarily to the flange 8 of the hollow body 2 and is formed of the periphery of the wafer 9 and which is made to abut against the flange 8 of the hollow body 2 and is connected therewith, for instance by a sealing operation in which said flanges 8, 10 are made, by heat treatment, to sealingly adhere to each other. As a result, said hollow body 2 defines together with said wafer 9 a compartment 11, the wafer 9 forming a bottom 12 of the inventive container 1.

By the bottom- forming wafer 9 being applied over the second end of the hollow body, which is wider than the first end, a container is obtained, which stands steady in its state filled with contents.

According to the present invention, the opening means 3 is arranged in or in connection with the first end 6 of the hollow body 2. In the shown embodiment, the opening means 3 is arranged in said first end 6 of the hollow body 2 and integrally formed therewith. More specifically, the openings means 3 consists of a projection 13 which is extended from said first end 6 of the hollow body 2 and in which a duct 14 is formed which communicates with the compartment 11. The end of the projection 13 facing away from the compartment 11 is sealed in the non-open state of the container 1. The opening means 3 forms in its open state a connection between the compartment 11 and the surroundings. Both the hollow body 2 and the sealing means 4 are preferably made of a laminate material with a core layer comprising a filler of mineral material and a binder of polyolefin material . Specifically preferred mineral materials are chalk, talc and mica. Figs 2a-2c, to which reference is now made, illustrate the method for producing a hollow body 2 for the container 1 shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 2a illustrates an extruder unit 15, by means of which a web-shaped hollow body material 16 is produced. It will be appreciated that said web- or sheet-shaped hollow body material 16 can also be obtained in other ways, such as in rolls. Said hollow body material 16 consists, as mentioned above, advantageously of a laminate material with a core layer containing a filler of mineral material in the form of chalk, talc and/or mica and a binder of polyolefin material . The web-shaped hollow body material 16 is passed to a forming station 17. If the hollow body material 16 is obtained in rolls, an intermediate heat treatment station (not shown) is required to heat the hollow body material 16 to a temperature at which it is formable. Optionally, such a heat treatment station can also be necessary in connection with extrusion of the web-shaped hollow body material 16 to ensure that this is kept at a temperature which is sufficient for the subsequent forming.

The forming station 17 comprises a forming means 18 and a stamping means 19. The forming means 18 comprises a cavity 20, into which a stamp 21 of the stamping means 19 is insertable. It will be appreciated that the forming means 18 may comprise a plurality of such cavities, in which case the stamping means 19 may comprise a corre- sponding number of stamps.

The web-shaped hollow body material 16 is passed to the forming station 17 so that part thereof is applied over the cavity 20 of the forming means 18.

Fig. 2b illustrates how the stamp 21 of the stamping means 19 is inserted into the cavity 20, whereby a hollow body 2 is formed in the hollow body material 16 by thermoforming.

The stamp 21 supports a cutting means 22, which engages the hollow body material 16 and thus releases the hollow body 2 from the thus formed web-shaped material as retained. A thus released hollow body 2 is illustrated in Fig. 2c. The cutting means 22 can be designed in such manner that the hollow body 2 remains connected with said material retained at a limited number of points to allow the subsequent release of the hollow body 2 from the material retained by a small degree of force being applied to the hollow body 2. It will be appreciated that said hollow body 2 can also be thermoformed in other manners. For instance, it is possible to apply a pressure above atmospheric on the side 23 of the web-shaped hollow body material 16 facing away from said cavity 20, whereby the hollow body material is pressed into the cavity 20 for thermoforming of said hollow body 2. Correspondingly, it is also possible to apply a subatmospheric pressure in the cavity 20, whereby the hollow body material 16 is sucked into the cavity 20. Finally, it is also possible to combine these methods in a suitable way.

Owing to the hollow body 2 having the form of a truncated cone where the narrow end 6 is directed downwards in the cavity 20 of the forming means 19, easy removal of the thermoformed hollow body 2 is allowed. The thus produced hollow bodies 2 are also stackable, whereby such a stack of hollow bodies 2 can form a space- saving magazine, from which a filling machine (not shown) obtains hollow bodies 2 for producing filled containers 1 according to the present invention. It will further be appreciated that thus stacked hollow bodies can be transported in a very space-saving manner from producer to user.

The opening means 3 arranged in or in connection with the first end 6 of the hollow body 2 can be formed in connection with the thermoforming of the hollow body 2 or in a subsequent operation.

Figs 3a-3b, to which reference is now made, illustrate the method for filling the hollow body 2 describ- ed with reference to Fig. 1.

The hollow body 2 is oriented in such manner that its open second end 7 is directed upwards, after which filling can be made with the aid of a filling means 24 through said open second end 7. Preferably the hollow body 2 is filled with liquid foodstuff contents. By liquid foodstuff contents is meant liquid products such as milk as well as viscous products such as yoghurt. Finally, the sealing means 4 in the form of a wafer

9 as shown in Fig. 1 is applied over the open second end 7 of the hollow body 2 to form the container 1 shown in Fig. 1. A second and a third embodiment of the present invention will now be described, which embodiments are particularly preferred.

Figs 4a-4c, to which reference is now made, illustrate a method for applying a sealing means 4 over the open second end 7 of a hollow body 2 filled with contents, to form a preferred second embodiment of an inventive container 1. According to the embodiment shown, the sealing means 4 consists of a circular wafer 9 which has a circumferential flange 10, which is designed complemen- tarily to a flange 8 surrounding the open second end 7 of the hollow body 2. In Fig. 4b the wafer 9 has been applied over said open second end 7, so that the flange

10 of the wafer 9 has been made to abut against and then adhere to the flange 8 of the hollow body 2. Fig. 4c illustrates the completed container 1. In its raised state, it is, as is evident, oriented in such manner that the first end 6 of the hollow body 2 is turned upwards. The wafer 9 applied over the second end 7 of the hollow body 2 thus forms a bottom 12 of the container 1.

As is evident from Fig. 4c, this embodiment of the container 1 comprises an opening means 3 which is arranged in connection with the first end 6 of the hollow body 2 and which is in the form of a tear-off tab 25. The tab 25 is partly defined by a tear initiation 26 and comprises a gripping means 27. To open the container 1 a user grasps the gripping means 27 and tears up the tab 25 along said tear initiation 26.

Figs 5a-5b, to which reference is now also made, illustrate a manner in which said tear-off tab 25 can be made. The cavity 20, in which said hollow body 2 is thermoformed, has a recess 28 formed in a wall portion. In connection with the thermoforming of the hollow body 2, a pressure above atmospheric is applied on the side 23 of the hollow body material 16 facing away from the cavity 20, which is indicated by means of arrows PI, whereby said gripping means 27 is formed on the circumferential surface of the hollow body 2.

In a subsequent operation, a tear- initiating means 29 is inserted into the hollow body 2 in the cavity 20. With the aid of this means 29, a tear initiation 26 is produced which wholly or, like in the embodiment shown in Fig. 5c, partly defines a portion of the circumferential surface of the hollow body 2, said portion comprising said gripping means 27 and thus forming the tear-off tab 25. To this end the tear-initiating means 29 carries a heating means 30 of a shape corresponding to the extent of the tear initiation 26. The heating means 30 of the tear-initiating means 29 is made to abut against the hollow body 2, whereby the heating means 30 causes a weakening in the form of a material embrittlement over the distance along which it makes contact with the hollow body 2. This distance thus corresponds to said tear initiation 26. The material embrittlement caused in the tear initiation 26, in combination with the gripping means 27 of the tab 25, allows easy opening of the container 1. It will be appreciated that said material weakening can also be provided in other ways, for instance by thinning of the material. It should be mentioned that a hollow body material comprising a filler of chalk and a binder of polyolefin can be made to have excellent tear- ing properties.

Figs 6a-c illustrate one more preferred, third embodiment of the inventive container 1. More specifically, the method is shown for applying a sealing means 4 over the open second end 7 of a hollow body 2 filled with contents, to form the preferred third embodiment of the container 1. According to the embodiment shown, the sealing means 4 consists of a wafer 9 with a circumferential flange 10 which is designed complementarily to a flange 8 which surrounds the open second end 7 of the hollow body 2. In Fig. 6b, the wafer 9 has been applied over said open second end 7, so that the flange 10 of the wafer 9 has been made to abut against and then adhere to the flange 8 of the hollow body 2. The wafer 9 has been given such a shape as to form in the completed container 1 a bottom 12 of champagne bottle type. More specifically, the wafer 9 comprises a central elevation 31 which extends towards the compartment 11 of the container 1.

As a result, it will be possible to hold carborated contents, such as beer, lemonade or aerated water, in the container 1 without it being deformed owing to the pressure above atmospheric in the container 1. Of course, also the rotationally symmetrical form of the hollow body 2 contributes to counteracting deformation of the filled container 1.

Fig. 6c illustrates the completed container 1 and, as is evident, the container 1 comprises an opening means 3 which is arranged at a first end 6 of the hollow body 2 and comprises a screw cap assembly 32. This results in a resealable container 1 which can hold carborated contents. Of course, it is also possible to provide the container 1 as described with reference to Figs 4a-4c with a corresponding screw cap assembly.

Fig. 7, to which reference is now also made, illustrates how said screw cap assembly 32 can be arranged on the container 1.

The cavity 20 of the forming means 18 has a hole 33 formed in a wall portion. More specifically, the hole 33 is located in a position corresponding to the centre of the hollow body 2 at said first end 6. An internally threaded screw cap 34 is arranged in the hole 33. In connection with the thermoforming of the hollow body 2, a pressure above atmospheric is applied on the side 23 of the web-shaped hollow body material 16 facing away from the cavity 20, which is indicated by arrows P2 , whereby an externally threaded projection 35 is thermoformed at the first end 6 of the hollow body 2, the screw cap 34 acting as a mould. The screw cap 34 may comprise cutting means (not shown) , which act to open the end of said pro- jection 35 facing the screw cap 34, in connection with unscrewing of the cap 34. Alternatively, said end of the projection 35 can be opened in an operation following the thermoforming of the hollow body 2. It is also possible to arrange a mandrel -like means on the outside of the screw cap facing away from the container. To open the projection 35, the screw cap is unscrewed, after which it is turned for applying said mandrel-like means to the closed end of the projection 35. Said mandrel-like means can be surrounded by an internally threaded sleeve, in which case the projection is opened by screwing on said sleeve .

Fig. 8, to which reference is now made, illustrates a fourth embodiment of an inventive container 1. The container 1 is, like the one described with reference to Figs 6a-c, intended for carborated contents, and therefore the sealing means 4 in the form of a wafer 9 has a central elevation 31 extending towards the compartment 11 of the container 1 to form a bottom 12 of champagne bottle type. According to this embodiment, the wafer 9 has an upwards angled circumferential flange 37 which is designed complementarily to an internal rim portion 38 of the hollow body 2. The flange 37 abuts against and adheres, for instance by a hot sealing method, to said rim portion 38. This results, between the wafer 9 and the hollow body 2, in an extremely strong connection which in an advantageous fashion can withstand a pressure above atmospheric in the compartment 11 of the container 1. The wafer 9 which forms a bottom 12 of champagne metal type can be formed in such manner that it initial - ly has an elevation directed away from the compartment

11 of the container 1. In connection with the application of said wafer 9 on the hollow body 2, said elevation is pressed inwards so as to be made to extend in the opposite direction, thereby achieving a clamping effect that fixes the wafer 9 and facilitates the subsequent sealing operation. The sealing means 4 which is described with reference to the various embodiments and is m the form of a wafer 9 is produced in a suitable manner. It goes without saying that it is especially possible to produce the wafer 9 described with reference to said third embodiment of the container 1 by a thermoforming process. Said wafer 9 can, of course, also be made by an injection moulding process or by a punching operation.

According to the present invention, a container 1 and a method for producing the same are thus provided. The inventive container 1 comprises a hollow body 2 of a form which is preferably rotationally symmetrical about a longitudinal axis 5, an opening means 3 and a sealing means 4. The hollow body 2 defines together with the sealing means 4 a compartment 11 for liquid contents. The opening means 3 is arranged at a closed first end 6 of the hollow body 2 and forms in its open state a connection between the compartment 11 and the surroundings. The sealing means 4 is applied over an open second end 7 opposite to the first end 6 and forms, in its state applied on the hollow body 2, a bottom 12 of the inventive container 1.

Owing to the advantageously rotationally symmetrical form of the container 1, the circumferential surface of the hollow body 2 is easy to provide with a decorative print, which is indicated at 36 in Figs 4c and 6c.

Moreover the rounded form of the container 1 makes it possible to reduce the consumption of material which is necessary for a given volume.

The rounded form further ensures that the wall thickness of the hollow body 2 can be minimised without any risk of deformation of the container 1 filled with contents. The fact that the hollow body is formed by thermoforming makes it possible to produce extremely small wall thicknesses. The wall thickness is preferably in the range 50-300 μm.

The inventive container 1 is thus easy to provide with a print 36 and can simultaneously be produced with a minimum of consumed material. All in all, this means that an aesthetically pleasing container 1 can be produced at an extremely low cost .

Also filling of the container 1 with carborated con- tents is allowed. However, this requires that the hollow body 2 be sealed by means of a specially designed wafer 9 to form a bottom of champagne bottle type.

Finally an environment-friendly container is obtained, which is convenient for recovery if both the hollow body 2 and the sealing means are made of a material comprising a filler of mineral material, preferably chalk, and a binder of polyolefin material . The raw material price of such a mineral-filled polyolefin material is also relatively low, which further promotes the produc- tion of an inexpensive container.

It will be appreciated that the present invention is not restricted to the embodiments described. Several modifications and variations are feasible, and therefore the present invention is exclusively defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A container, comprising a hollow body (2) extend- ed along a longitudinal axis (5) and thermoformed from a sheet- or web-shaped hollow body material (16) , a sealing means (4) and an opening means (3), said hollow body (2) defining, together with the sealing means (4), a compartment (11) which can be made to communicate with the surroundings by opening of said opening means (3), the hollow body (2) being essentially cylindrical or in the form of a truncated cone and having a closed first end (6) and an opposite open second end (7) , c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said opening means (3) is arranged in or in connection with the first end (6) of the hollow body (2) , and said sealing means (4) covers the second end (7) of the hollow body (2) and thus forms a bottom (12) of the container.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which said hollow body (2) is, perpendicular to said longitudinal axis (5) , essentially circular in cross-section.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which said hollow body (2) is, perpendicular to said longitudinal axis (5) , essentially elliptic in cross-section.

4. A container as claimed in claim 1 or 2 , in which said hollow body (2) is essentially in the form of a truncated cone, its narrow end forming the first end (6) of the hollow body (2) .

5. A container as claimed in claim 4, in which said first end (6) is of essentially semispherical form.

6. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which said hollow body (2) is made of a material having at least one core layer comprising a filler of mineral material and a binder of polyolefin material .

7. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which said sealing means forms a wafer (9) which is made of a sheet- or web-shaped wafer material.

8. A container as claimed in claim 7, in which said wafer (9) has a central elevation (31) directed towards said compartment (11) and adapted to constitute a bottom (12) of champagne bottle type.

9. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which said sealing means (4) is made of a material having at least one core layer comprising a filler of mineral material and a binder of polyolefin material .

10. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which a flange (8) encompasses the second end (7) of the hollow body (2), with which flange (8) the sealing means (4) is connected.

11. A container as claimed in claim 10, in which said sealing means (4) has a circumferential flange (10) which is designed complementarily to the flange (8) of the hollow body (2) and connected thereto.

12. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1-9, in which said hollow body (2) has an internal rim portion (38) and in which said sealing means (4) has a circumferential flange (37) which is designed complementarily to said rim portion (38) and connected thereto.

13. A container as claimed in claim 12, in which said wafer (9) has a central elevation (31) which is directed towards said compartment (11) and adapted to constitute a bottom (12) of champagne bottle type.

14. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which openings means (3) is resealable.

15. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which said opening means (3) comprises a tear-off tab (25) .

16. A container as claimed in claim 15, in which said tab (4) is wholly or partly defined by a tear ini- tiation (26) , along which the material included therein has been heat-treated to cause a material embrittlement.

17. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1-14, in which the opening means (3) comprises a screw cap assembly (32) .

18. A method for producing a container (1) filled with contents, comprising thermoforming, from a sheet- or web-shaped hollow body material (16) having at least one core layer comprising a filler of mineral material and a binder of polyolefin material, a hollow body (2) extended along a longitudinal axis (5) and being essentially cylindrical or elliptic and having a closed first end (6) and an opposite open second end (7) , c h a r a c t e r i s e d by the steps of arranging an opening means (3) of the hollow body (2) in or in connection with its first end (6), supplying contents to the hollow body (2) through the second end (7) thereof, and applying a wafer (9) over the second end (7) of the hollow body (2) for surrounding the contents in a compartment (11) defined by said hollow body (2) and said wafer (9), said wafer (9) forming a bottom (12) of the container (1) .

19. A method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the step of arranging said opening means (3) is carried out integrally with the step of thermoforming said hollow body (2) .

20. A method as claimed in claim 19, wherein said hollow body (2) is thermoformed in a forming means (18) which in a wall portion supports a screw cap (34) with an internal thread, whereby an externally threaded projection (35) , engaging the internal thread of the screw cap (34) , of said screw cap assembly (32) is thermoformed in said screw cap (34) in connection with the step of thermoforming said hollow body (2) .