WO2003086899A1

WO2003086899A1 - Drink packaging and method for producing a drink packaging

Info

Publication number: WO2003086899A1
Application number: PCT/EP2003/003379
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bernd Birkenstock; Gerhard BÖSSENDÖRFER
Original assignee: Licher Privatbrauerei
Priority date: 2002-04-17
Filing date: 2003-04-01
Publication date: 2003-10-23
Also published as: AU2003224022A1; DE10217114B4; DE10217114A1; EP1494936A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a drink packaging (10) for receiving, under excess pressure, a quantity of a drink which especially contains carbon dioxide, for example beer. Said packaging comprises a plastic drink container (11) which is provided with a gas-tight secondary packaging (13) consisting of a film material (14).

Description

Beverage packaging and method for producing a beverage packaging

The present invention relates to a beverage packaging for receiving a filling quantity of a beverage, in particular carbonated beverage, such as beer, filled under excess pressure, with at least one beverage container made of plastic, and a method for its production.

Drinks, especially carbonated drinks filled under pressure, are increasingly being filled into plastic bottles and offered to the consumer. Plastic beverage bottles, such as the commonly used so-called PET bottles, offer consumers a weight advantage above all compared to beverages conventionally filled in glass bottles. However, it has been found to be disadvantageous that there are often interactions (migrations) between the drink and the packaging material, and in addition permeation of ambient oxygen through the packaging material into the drink and, in particular in the case of beverages filled under pressure, a Permeation of carbon dioxide from the beverage through the packaging material can take place in the environment.

Both migration and permeation are processes that can influence the sensory quality of beverages filled in plastic bottles. A related reduction in quality can already be seen in bottled mineral water. Such reductions in the quality of beverages are even more noticeable because of their composition they react even more easily to such processes, for example beer.

Basic solutions for how to do this are already known

Prevent or at least reduce the extent of permeation and migration through the packaging material. An example of this is so-called "multilayer packaging materials", in which several plastic layers are each separated by special intermediate layers made of plastics, which act as an oxygen barrier. In addition, it is also known to apply a coating to the plastic layers, which as It is also known that the material known under the name "PEN" polyethylene naphthalate has very good barrier properties and could possibly even be used as a mono material.

However, all of the known solutions mentioned above have the disadvantage that such packaging materials are very expensive to produce, so that plastic bottles made from such materials would not be accepted by the consumer due to their high retail price.

The present invention is therefore based on the object of proposing a beverage packaging which, at low production costs, ensures a high degree of the sensory quality of the Filled beverage enables, and to propose a method for the particularly cost-effective production of such beverage packaging.

This object is achieved by a beverage packaging with the features of claim 1 or by a method for producing a beverage packaging with the features of claim 21.

The beverage packaging according to the invention has a beverage container made of plastic, which is provided with a gas-tight outer packaging made of a film material.

The beverage packaging according to the invention thus makes it possible to retain the plastic packaging, which is valued by the consumer, in particular because of its weight advantage compared to glass packaging, as the actual container for holding the beverage and to largely reduce the reduction in sensory quality often associated with this packaging material by the fact that the beverage container is provided from a plastic material with a gas-tight outer packaging made of a film.

The gas-tight outer packaging prevents the permeation of oxygen from the environment into the beverage container and at least reduces the extent of the permeation of carbon dioxide from the

Beverage container, since no more permeation takes place at the latest when an equilibrium state is reached between the gas pressure in the beverage container and the gas pressure in the outer packaging.

It proves to be particularly effective if a gaseous peripheral atmosphere is formed in a container periphery between the beverage container and the outer packaging. If the peripheral atmosphere is designed with excess pressure, this can occur in particular when a pressure equilibrium is formed between the container periphery and beverage containers, permeation of carbon dioxide from the beverage container can be prevented particularly effectively.

In order to suppress permeation of the oxygen in the beverage container as far as possible, it is advantageous to set the oxygen content in the periphery of the container to less than 1% by volume and in particular to a maximum of 0.5% by volume.

If the peripheral atmosphere in the container periphery is designed as a protective gas atmosphere, migration effects can also be completely suppressed or at least greatly restricted, since a reaction between the plastic material of the beverage container and the beverage received within the beverage container is at least greatly reduced due to the protective gas atmosphere.

As an alternative to forming an overpressure in the container periphery, a vacuum can also be formed in the container periphery, so that the beverage container is quasi vacuum-sealed by the outer packaging.

If a permeation indicator, such as, in particular, an oxygen indicator, is provided in the container periphery, it is possible to create a display device which, when the beverage container is closed, permits conclusions to be drawn about the beverage quality. By arranging a permeation substance absorber, for example an oxygen absorber, in the container periphery, for example, any residual oxygen content in the peripheral atmosphere can be reduced or eradicated.

If the outer packaging is also designed as a tubular bag, a gas-tight seal of the outer packaging can be achieved with particularly simple aids. A beverage packaging that is just as inexpensive to manufacture as it is effective in avoiding a reduction in the sensory quality of the filled beverage becomes possible if the beverage container is formed from a single-layer PET material.

If, in addition, the outer packaging is formed from a translucent film material provided with a UV protection device or an opaque film material, migration effects can be reduced or prevented even further. The translucent film material offers the additional advantage that a label attached to the beverage container remains visible through the outer packaging just like any permeation indicator.

To achieve a gas-tight, in particular oxygen-tight design, the film material can be provided with a corresponding barrier layer, which can be formed, for example, from EVOH (ethylene vinyl hydroxide), in particular when using polyamide films.

A particularly inexpensive and at the same time effective variant of an opaque film is possible if the film is coated with metal or is designed as a metal film.

A particularly effective because multiple use of the film material used for the outer packaging is possible if the outer packaging also serves to form a handle.

The method according to the invention according to claim 21 for producing a beverage packaging which serves to hold a filling quantity of a beverage, in particular carbonated beverage, such as beer, filled under overpressure, with at least one beverage container made of plastic and a gas-tight outer packaging, has the following method steps: - Filling a metered filling quantity into the beverage container;

- Formation of a gaseous peripheral atmosphere in a container peripheral defined by the outer packaging; and

- Forming a gas-tight seal of the outer packaging receiving the beverage container.

The peripheral atmosphere can be designed as a vacuum or overpressure atmosphere.

Different variants are available for the sequence of the process steps, so that in a first variant the peripheral atmosphere can be formed after the insertion or during the insertion of the beverage container into the outer packaging and subsequently the outer packaging can be closed. “Insert” in the definition of the present patent application is to be understood to mean that this term encompasses any relative movement between the beverage container and the outer packaging, that is to say the insertion of the container into the outer packaging as well as the placing or putting the outer packaging over the container.

In a second variant, the peripheral atmosphere can be formed after the gas container has been sealed gas-tight, in particular the peripheral atmosphere can be formed by means of a probe which is inserted into the outer packaging and cooperates with a valve device.

In this context, it proves to be particularly advantageous if, using the same probe, both degassing and gassing are carried out to form the peripheral atmosphere in the outer packaging. In the following, advantageous embodiments of the beverage packaging and possible methods for their production are explained in more detail with the aid of the drawings. Show it:

1 shows a beverage packaging with a beverage container and an outer packaging with a sectional view of the outer packaging in a side view;

FIG. 2 is a view of the beverage packaging shown in FIG. 1 in the direction of arrow II in FIG. 1;

3 shows a representation of a beverage packaging with two beverage containers and an outer packaging surrounding both beverage containers, corresponding to the type of the illustration in FIG. 1;

4, 5 and 6 successive method steps of a

Method for producing the beverage packaging shown in Figures 1 and 2;

7, 8 and 9 a further method for producing the beverage packaging shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

1 shows a beverage packaging 10 with a beverage container 11, which in the present case is designed as a beverage bottle closed with a crown cap closure 12 and filled with a filling quantity of a liquid, for example beer. In principle, of course, other types of closures can also be used to close the beverage container, in particular also plastic closures. The beverage container 11 is in an outer packaging 13 recorded, which is designed as a film bag made of a film material 14 designed as a film tube 32, which is closed above a bottle neck 15 or below a bottle bottom 16 via heat seal seams 17, 18. As shown in FIG. 2, the film material 14 has a relatively large-area connection area 19 above the upper heat seal seam 17, which is provided with a through opening 20 in a central area and thus forms a handle 21 that can be held with one hand can be recorded.

Between the beverage container 11 and the outer packaging 13, a container periphery 22 is formed, which is hermetically sealed to the environment by the film material 14 of the outer packaging 13, so that a peripheral atmosphere 23 deviating from the ambient atmosphere can be formed within the container periphery 22. In the present case, the peripheral atmosphere 23 is designed as a protective gas atmosphere, in particular as a carbon dioxide or nitrogen atmosphere, with a peripheral atmospheric pressure which deviates from the ambient pressure of the outer packaging or from the atmospheric pressure and which corresponds to the gas pressure, that is to say the carbon dioxide pressure in that Beverage container 1 1 corresponds to liquid absorbed. Because of the pressure equilibrium existing between the container periphery 22 and the container interior, it is possible to select a plastic material as container material 24 for forming the beverage container 11 that is permeable without actually permeating one that is accommodated in the container interior or in the interior of the container Liquid dissolved gas comes into the container periphery 22. Thus, the liquid pressure inside the beverage container 11 can be maintained practically as long as a defined one Peripheral atmosphere exists, that is, as long as the outer packaging 13 of the beverage packaging 10 remains closed.

In the present case, an aluminum foil is selected for the foil material 14, which is made light-tight and thus also prevents the liquid received in the interior of the beverage container 11 from being exposed to ambient light and at the same time prevents the container material 24 from being exposed, so that migration of Components of the container material in the liquid received inside the beverage container is effectively prevented or at least significantly restricted.

Because of the outer packaging 13 explained above in terms of its effect, it is thus possible to manufacture the beverage container 11 itself from a light and inexpensive plastic material, such as PET, for example, without plastic components migrating into the interior of the beverage container or into one Permeation of a gas filled under pressure into the beverage container 11, such as carbon dioxide, comes through the container material 24 into the surroundings of the beverage container 11, as would be the case in the absence of an outer packaging 13.

3 shows in a further embodiment a beverage packaging 25 which serves to hold two or more beverage containers 11, the beverage containers 11 being arranged in a beverage container assembly 26 in such a way that two rows of beverage containers 11 are arranged on a container carrier 27 which comprises a support wall 29 arranged vertically between the rows of the beverage containers 11 and provided with a support base 28. The support wall 29 extends, as shown in FIG. 3, into the connection area 19 above the upper heat seal seam 17 and is also provided with a through opening 30, so that when the Beverage packaging 25 the film material 14 of the outer packaging 13 is relieved and is simultaneously detected via the carrying wall 29 of the container carrier 27 when the carrying handle 21 engages.

Depending on the design, in particular tensile strength of the film material, a separate design of a container carrier can be dispensed with, so that the outer packaging also serves as a container carrier.

4, 5 and 6, a possible sequence of process steps in the manufacture of a beverage packaging 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown.

As shown in FIG. 4, a beverage container 11 is gripped by means of a handling device 31 and inserted from above into a provided film tube 32 made of the film material 14 used to produce an outer packaging 13 (FIG. 3). Before the release of the beverage container 11 by the handling device 31, a holding device 35 consisting of two holder halves 33, 34 is positioned under the bottle base 16 of the beverage container 11 in accordance with the directional arrows 36 shown in FIG. 4, so that the configuration shown in FIG Holding device 35 results.

The holder halves 33, 34 are designed to be heatable in order to produce the lower heat-seal seam 18 or to close the film tube 32. To produce the upper heat seal seam 17 for hermetically sealing the film tube 32 and to produce the outer packaging 13 (FIGS. 1, 6), a holding device 37 is positioned around an upper edge 38 such that the upper edge 38 is between an annular outer holding element 39 and an annular one inner holding element 40 is arranged and is held by a radial feed movement of the inner holding element 40 against the outer holding element 39. In this position the stop Direction 37, a heat-sealing device 41 arranged below the holding device 37 and above the bottle neck 15 of the beverage container 11 is actuated in such a way that two heatable heat-sealing elements 42, 43 are moved against one another to form the upper heat-seal seam 17, as shown in FIG. 6.

The upper holding device 37 shown in FIG. 5 serves at the same time to form the peripheral atmosphere 23 in the container periphery 22 formed in relation to the surroundings by the outer packaging 13 (FIG. 6). For this purpose, the inner holding element 40 is provided with a gassing device 44, by means of which a gas 45, such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen, is filled under definable pressure into the film tube 32 already closed at the lower end by the heat seal seam 18, and in the process the one originally inside of the film tube 32 existing ambient atmosphere 46 is displaced to the outside by the free opening cross section of the inner holding element 40. By actuating the heat sealing device 41 already described above to form the upper heat seal seam 17, the peripheral atmosphere 23 formed by the gassing is preserved.

In the case of the formation of a vacuum as a peripheral atmosphere, for example the inner holding element 40 can be provided with an evacuation device which sucks off the original ambient atmosphere 46 present inside the film tube 32 before the heat sealing device 41 is actuated.

7 to 9 show a further possibility for producing a beverage packaging 10 or for subsequently forming a peripheral atmosphere 23 in the container periphery 22 formed between the beverage container 11 and an outer packaging 49. This variant of the method does not take place, as in 5 shows the formation of the peripheral atmosphere 23 during the manufacture of the outer packaging 13 or before its completion by forming the upper heat-sealed seam 17 (FIGS. 5 and 6), but rather in a process step downstream of the completion of the outer packaging 49. For this purpose, a film tube 47 is used which, as a slight modification compared to the film tube 32 used in the method according to FIGS the upper heat seal seam 17 and the bottle neck 15 is arranged, has a valve flap 50 on the inside on the film material 14.

After the production of the upper heat seal seam 17, a cannula-shaped probe 51 is pushed through the foil material 14 in a covering area 52 between the foil material 14 and the valve flap 50 and positioned with a probe end 53 above the bottle neck 15. The peripheral atmosphere 23 in the container periphery 22 is then evacuated and subsequently the container periphery 22 is gassed with a gas under a defined pressure, such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen, to form the desired peripheral atmosphere 23 under a defined pressure. Due to the elastic design of the valve flap 50, the valve flap 50 nestles against the film material 14 on the inside in the region of an entry opening 54 caused by the probe 51 after pulling out the probe 51 and thus hermetically closes the entry opening 54. LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10 beverage packaging

11 beverage containers

12 crown cap closure

13 Umv ackung

14 foil material

15 bottleneck

16 bottle bottoms

17 heat seal seam

18 heat seal seam

19 connection area

20 access opening

21 handle

22 container periphery

23 Peripheral atmosphere

24 container material

25 beverage packaging

26 Beverage container network

27 - container carrier

28 supporting floor

29 supporting wall

30 access opening

31 handling device

32 film tube

33 holder half

34 holder half

35 holding device

36 Direction arrow

37 holding device

38 top margin

39 holding element

40 holding element

41 He sealing device

42 heat sealing element

43 heat sealing element

44 fumigation device

45 gas

46 Ambient atmosphere

47 film tube

48 upper margin

49 outer packaging

50 valve tab

51 probe 52 Coverage area

53 probe end

54 Entry opening

Claims

claims:

1. Beverage packaging (10) for receiving a filling quantity of a beverage filled under excess pressure, in particular carbonated beverage, such as beer, with at least one beverage container (11) made of plastic, characterized in that the beverage container (11) with a gas-tight outer packaging

(13, 49) made of film material (14).

2. Beverage packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that a gaseous peripheral atmosphere (23) is formed in a container periphery (22) between the beverage container (11) and the outer packaging (13, 49).

3. Beverage packaging according to claim 2, characterized in that the peripheral atmosphere (23) has an oxygen content which is less than 1 vol.%.

4. Beverage packaging according to claim 3, characterized in that the peripheral atmosphere (23) has an oxygen content which is at most 0.5 vol.%.

5. Beverage packaging according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the peripheral atmosphere (23) is designed as a protective gas atmosphere.

6. Beverage packaging according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the peripheral atmosphere (23) is designed with excess pressure.

7. Beverage packaging according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the excess pressure in the container periphery (22) corresponds to the gas pressure in the beverage container (11).

8. Beverage packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that a vacuum is formed in the container periphery (22) between the beverage container (11) and the outer packaging (13).

9. Beverage packaging according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a permeation indicator is arranged in the container periphery (22).

10. Beverage packaging according to claim 9, characterized in that the permeation indicator is designed as an oxygen indicator.

11. Beverage packaging according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a permeation substance absorber is arranged in the container periphery (22).

12. Beverage packaging according to claim 11, characterized in that the permeation substance absorber is arranged as an oxygen absorber.

13. Beverage packaging according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer packaging (13, 49) is designed as a tubular bag.

14. Beverage packaging according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the beverage container (11) is formed from a single-layer PET material.

15. Beverage packaging according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the film material (14) is designed to be translucent and is provided with a UV protection device.

16. Beverage packaging according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the film material (14) of the outer packaging is opaque.

17. Beverage packaging according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the film material (14) is provided with a gas barrier to achieve a gas-tight design.

18. Beverage packaging according to claim 17, characterized in that the film material (14) is provided with an oxygen barrier to achieve an oxygen-tight design.

19. Beverage packaging according to one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that the film material (14) is designed as a metal-coated or metal film material.

20. Beverage packaging according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer packaging (13, 49) is used to form a handle (21).

21. A method for producing a beverage packaging (10) for receiving a filling quantity of a beverage, in particular carbonated beverage, such as, for example, filled under excess pressure

Beer, with at least one beverage container (11) made of plastic and a gas-tight outer packaging (13, 49) made of a film material (14), comprising the method steps:

- Filling a metered filling quantity into the beverage container (11);

- Formation of a gaseous peripheral atmosphere (23) in a container periphery (22) defined by the outer packaging (13, 49); and

- Forming a gas-tight seal (17, 18) of the outer packaging (13, 49) receiving the beverage container (11).

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that the peripheral atmosphere (23) is formed by forming a vacuum in the container periphery (22).

23. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that the formation of the peripheral atmosphere (23) by a

Fumigation of the container periphery (22) takes place.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that the formation of the peripheral atmosphere (23) after the insertion or during the insertion of the beverage container (11) in the outer packaging (13) and subsequently the sealing of the outer packaging.

25. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that the formation of the peripheral atmosphere (23) takes place after the gas-tight closure of the outer packaging (49).

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that the peripheral atmosphere (23) is formed by means of a probe (51) which is introduced into the outer packaging (49) and cooperates with a valve device (50).

7. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that by means of the probe (51) both degassing and gassing to form the peripheral atmosphere (23) in the outer packaging (49).