WO2007071698A1

WO2007071698A1 - Improvements in or relating to packaging

Info

Publication number: WO2007071698A1
Application number: PCT/EP2006/069951
Authority: WO
Inventors: Arne Nicolay Mohn; Erik Stabell Sauge; Ivica Franic
Original assignee: Elopak Systems Ag
Priority date: 2005-12-21
Filing date: 2006-12-19
Publication date: 2007-06-28
Also published as: GB0525979D0

Abstract

A method comprising, at a first location (36), inserting a pour spout fitment (3), from above, into a hole of a partially formed container blank (10) extending in a plane inclined to the vertical, so that a flange of said fitment bears upon said blank, conveying said blank and said fitment thereon to a second location (36b), and at said second location sealing said fitment to said blank. When the partially formed container blank is in the form of a container sleeve (10a), there is a method of handling a container sleeve, comprising producing relative displacement between said sleeve and an activating device comprising a plurality of rollers (48a) bounding an opening receiving said sleeve, and thereby contacting external surfaces of said sleeve with said rollers to form folds longitudinally of said sleeve. Also disclosed is a method of forming a bottom portion (54) of a container, comprising inserting into a container sleeve a bottom insert which comprises a substantially flat floor (56) with a flange (58), folding a bottom end portion of said container sleeve inwardly about said flange, introducing a tool (212) to inside said bottom end portion, and expanding said tool to press said bottom end portion outwardly against said bottom insert.

Description

DESCRIPTION

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO PACKAGING

This invention relates to methods and apparatuses and to a container blank, a method of forming a container blank and a container.

It is known to form a carton blank by printing, scoring and cutting it from a continuous web of laminate material. At this stage the blank is formed into a flat, longitudinally seamed, carton sleeve. The carton sleeve is then typically transported to a form, fill and seal machine where the sleeve is made into the finished carton.

United States Patent US-A-5,622,308 discloses a frusto-conical, paper container for fluid substances. The container comprises a tapered trunk formed by rolling a sheet comprising a barrier layer applied onto a surface of cardboard, and by joining lengthwise edge zones of the sheet with each other; and a bottom member formed from a disk-shaped sheet comprising a barrier layer applied onto a surface of cardboard, a lower end portion of the trunk and a peripheral portion of the bottom member being engaged and joined with each other in such a manner that the respective barrier layers face each other. One of the edge zones for forming the lengthwise joint of the trunk has an extending film which surrounds a longitudinal edge surface of the cardboard and reaches an external surface of the cardboard. The second edge zone of the joint has a stepped portion which bends outside from an end-surface position of the first edge zone and extends along an external surface of the first edge zone. An inner film of the second edge zone is directly or indirectly joined with the extending film of the first edge zone.

Patent Abstracts of Japan Publication JP-A-2000-103421 discloses a cup-form or cylindrical container having a side wall and a bottom. A double- face corrugated fibreboard sheet which forms the side wall is stuck in such a manner that a front layer (container external surface) material and/or a rear layer (container internal surface) material are stuck to a central core material with a thermoplastic resin layer. The whole body is cut out into a square shape or a fan shape, and a cross-sectional portion of the double-face, corrugated fibreboard sheet, which is exposed at the inside of a joint, is skived, the front layer material and the central core material being removed. The rear layer material is folded back, and heat-bonded with the rear layer surface using the thermoplastic resin coating on the internal surface of the container, and the cross-section is covered.

United States Patent US-A-2,661 ,138 discloses a container including a tubular body formed of a sheet-like blank having underlapping and overlapping ends to form a so-called centre seam of increasing width from the bottom toward the top of the body to provide a relatively wide lap across the top of the body and a relatively narrow lap at the bottom of the body, the underlapped end having a pour opening within the relatively wide upper portion of the side seam and spaced inwardly from edges of the ends, the overlapped end having an edge face forming substantially a right-angle with the surface of the underlapped end and having transverse lines of perforations extending from the edge face inwardly of the overlap at the upper and lower sides of the pour opening to termination points inset from a corresponding edge of the underlap to provide a transverse tear flap in the overlap in covering relation with the pour opening. The container has a gable top provided with the tear strip and has a circular base closed by a disc-like insert which has a depending annular flange that engages the inner face of the base of the body above an arcuate strip of adhesive which is applied along the lower arcuate edge of the sheet- like blank and which seals therewith when that arcuate edge is turned retractively along the inner face of the flange to form the base edge of the container. The container has those top closure obturating sub-panels defining its gable ends bounded by respective score lines extending along the fan- shaped blank, with other score lines extending from the upper edge of the blank to those score lines, and with triangular, further score lines sub-dividing those top closure obturating sub-panels.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising, at a first location, inserting a pour spout fitment, from above, into a hole of a partially formed container blank extending in a plane inclined to the vertical, so that a flange of said fitment bears upon said blank, conveying said blank and said fitment thereon to a second location, and at said second location sealing said fitment to said blank. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus comprising, at a first location, an applying device for inserting a pour spout fitment into a hole of a partially formed container blank, so that a flange of said fitment comes to bear upon said blank, a conveying device for conveying said blank and said fitment together from said first location to a second location with said blank in a plane inclined to the vertical, and, at said second location, a sealing device for sealing said fitment to said blank.

Owing to these aspects of the invention, it is possible to increase the speed of fixing of the fitment to the blank, by splitting into two stages the applying and sealing of the fitment to the blank. The partially formed container may be a flat container blank that has not yet been folded or sealed in any way, or may comprise a container sleeve that has already had at least some folding and sealing, before the pour spout fitment is applied. The sealing can comprise the use of ultrasound.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of handling a container sleeve, comprising producing relative displacement between said sleeve and an activating device comprising a plurality of rollers bounding an opening receiving said sleeve, and thereby contacting external surfaces of said sleeve with said rollers to form folds longitudinally of said sleeve. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for handling a container sleeve, comprising an activating device and a driving device arranged to produce relative displacement between said sleeve and said activating device, said activating device comprising a plurality of rollers bounding an opening through which said sleeve is received, said rollers serving to contact external surfaces of said sleeve to folds longitudinally of said sleeve. Owing to these aspects of the invention, it is possible to activate simply and efficiently lines of weakness, such as score lines, on a container sleeve, as it is passed through a set of rollers arranged around an opening.

The activating of the lines of weakness may be a pre-breaking phase prior to the folding of panels on the container sleeve, for example to fold and seal the top of a container. For a container sleeve that has some portion of its body with a rectangular cross-section, there would be provided four rollers arranged in a rectangle corresponding to the rectangular cross-section of the container sleeve. The rollers may have raised portions thereon that correspond to the lines of weakness on the container sleeve, and that will bear on the lines of weakness to activate them.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a bottom portion of a container, comprising inserting into a container sleeve a bottom insert which comprises a substantially flat floor with a flange, folding a bottom end portion of said container sleeve inwardly about said flange, introducing a tool to inside said bottom end portion, and expanding said tool to press said bottom end portion outwardly against said bottom insert.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for forming a bottom portion of a container, comprising a mandrel arranged to carry a partially formed container which comprises a container sleeve, and a tool expandable to press a bottom end portion of said sleeve outwardly against a bottom insert about which said bottom end portion has been folded inwardly.

Owing to these aspects of the invention, it is possible to assist the sealing of the bottom insert to the container sleeve without damaging the outside of the container sleeve, which is typically used for printed matter. Such tool is used particularly in cases where the cross-section of the bottom of the container is of non-circular, e.g. oval, form. The expanding tool may comprise an annular band comprised of first and second separate arcuate portions that each press against the bottom end portion of the container sleeve. Heating or ultrasound can be used in the sealing process. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container blank of laminate material, with opposite, substantially rectilinear, first and second edges converging towards each other, and third and fourth edges disposed opposite to each other and each extending from the first edge to the second edge, the fourth edge being shorter than the third edge, the blank including a plurality of end closure panels in a row at said third edge, said end closure panels comprising respective end closure sealing sub- panels, as well as respective end closure obturating sub-panels which are arranged to be inclined to the vertical in the finished container, a first line of weakness separating one of said obturating sub-panels from a body panel of said blank, and a second line of weakness separating said one of said obturating sub-panels from an adjacent one of said obturating sub-panels and extending away from said third edge and beyond said first line of weakness, wherein said second line of weakness curves towards one of said first and second edges of said blank.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a container blank of laminate material, comprising cutting out the blank from laminate material so that the blank has opposite, substantially rectilinear, first and second edges converging towards each other, and third and fourth edges disposed opposite to each other and each extending from the first edge to the second edge, the fourth edge being shorter than the third edge, and scoring said material so as to form lines of weakness in the blank so that the blank includes a plurality of end closure panels in a row at said third edge, said end closure panels comprising respective end closure sealing sub-panels, as well as respective end closure obturating sub-panels which are arranged to be inclined to the vertical in the finished container, a first line of weakness separating one of said obturating sub-panels from a body panel of said blank, and a second line of weakness separating said one of said obturating sub-panels from an adjacent one of said obturating sub-panels and extending away from said third edge and beyond said first line of weakness, wherein said second line of weakness curves towards one of said first and second edges of said blank. According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container comprised of a piece of laminate material, said piece forming a tube closed at upper and lower ends, a first fold separating an obturating sub-panel, inclined to the vertical, of an end closure of said tube from a body portion of said container, and a second fold separating said obturating sub-panel from an adjacent obturating sub-panel and extending downwardly and beyond said first fold, wherein a lower portion of said second fold curves transversely.

Owing to these aspects of the invention, it is possible to provide a container with a substantially rounded bottom and a substantially rectangular top, while reducing the amount of creasing and wrinkling that can occur at the change in cross-section of the container.

In order that the invention may be clearly and completely disclosed, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a system of forming a container, Figure 2 is a top plan view of a web of laminate material, Figure 3 is a top plan view of a container blank of laminate material, with scorelines illustrated by way of chain lines,

Figure 3A is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 11 IA-I I IA of Figure 3;

Figure 4 is a top perspective view of apparatus for forming, filling and sealing each blank, Figure 4a is diagrammatic side view of a conveyor and various stations of the apparatus of Figure 4,

Figure 4b is a diagrammatic, perspective view of a mandrel of the apparatus of Figure 4 about to receive the container blank of Figure 3,

Figure 4c is a diagrammatic, sectional side view showing the mandrel with the blank wrapped thereon, with a pressure bar holding the blank in place, Figure 4d is a diagrammatic, sectional side view of a container sleeve on the mandrel about to have a bottom insert applied thereto, Figure 4e is a diagrammatic, perspective view of the container sleeve when on the mandrel and of a bottom sealing tool,

Figure 4f is a diagrammatic, perspective view of the container sleeve showing its path through an opening bounded by four rollers of an activating device for score lines of the container,

Figure 5 is a top perspective view of a container formed from the blank of Figure 3,

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view of the lower part of the container of Figure 5, Figure 7 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of a container blank of laminate material, with scorelines illustrated by way of chain lines,

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a container formed from the blank of Figure 7,

Figure 9 is a top perspective view of a third embodiment of the container,

Figure 10 is a top perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the container,

Figure 11 is a top plan view of a container blank of laminate material, of a fifth embodiment, and Figure 12 is a top perspective view of a container formed from the blank of Figure 11.

In a schematic view Figure 1 illustrates a system for forming a container. At a converting plant 2 there is provided a first apparatus 3 for cutting the blanks 10 from a web 4 of laminate material. The web 4 is supplied from a roll 5, and the web 4 is also printed and skived before it is cut into the individual blanks 10. Each blank 10 has a pair of opposite, substantially rectilinear, converging edges, and the blanks 10 are packaged together for shipping, in this example via a lorry 1 to a dairy 6. The dairy 6 is provided with a second apparatus 7 (described in more detail below with reference to Figure 4) for receiving a stack of flat blanks 10, forming each blank 10 into a substantially conical container sleeve 10A, longitudinally sealing the sleeve, closing and sealing the bottom of each sleeve 1OA, and filling and top-sealing the sleeve. The second apparatus 7 also receives pour spout fitments 8 (shown in the Figure as "caps") and a roll of material 9 that is used at a forming stage to provide the bottom portion of each container. The pour spout fitments 8 are applied to the blanks 10 as they pass through the forming apparatus 7. The second apparatus 7 also scores the blanks 10 prior to their forming.

Figure 2 shows the web of laminate material 4 that is received by the first apparatus 3 in the converting plant 2. The web 4 passes through a skiving station (not shown) that skives the edges of the web 4, to remove a portion of the thickness of the web 4 at each edge of the web and then creases and folds over the reduced thickness portion of the web to edge-seal the intermediate layers of the laminate of the web 4. The web 4 then passes to a cutting station (not shown), which cuts the web into individual blanks. Two blanks 10 are shown in this Figure as they would be cut from the web 4.

A container blank 10 is shown in more detail in Figures 3 and 3A. The blank 10 is of laminate material and is machine-cut from the web 4 and has a pair of opposite, substantially rectilinear, converging edges 12 and 14. The blank 10 includes a zone 16 bounded by the edge 12, the zone 16 being of skived and hemmed material. The skived and hemmed zone 16 has been produced while the blank was still part of the web 4, the skiving and hemming having taken place as a continuous process on the web 4 before the cutting into individual blanks takes place.

The laminate material includes a layer of paperboard 11 , the general direction of the fibres 13 in the paperboard being substantially parallel to the edge 12. In Figures 3 and 3A, the arrow 15 indicates the direction of the fibres 13 in this blank 10. The paperboard 11 is a substrate and the material has innermost and outermost layers 17 of LDPE (low density polyethylene).

The blank 10 includes four closure panels 18 to 24, of substantially similar widths, and a fifth, smaller closure panel 26. The blank 10 has a score line 28 separating the fourth panel 24 and the fifth panel 26. This score line 28 converges with the closest edge 12 of the blank 10. The blank 10 is also provided with a plurality of other score lines, for use when the blank 10 is eventually formed into a container. The blank 10 is also provided with a hole 30 for receiving the pour spout fitment.

The blank has two substantially arcuate edges 32 and 34, defining respectively the eventual bottom and top of the resulting sleeve 10A. The arc length of the top edge 34 (which is made up of a series of straight edges) is greater than the arc length of the bottom edge 32 (which is likewise made up of a number of straight and semi-arched edges). The top closure, which is made up of the panels 18 to 24, is designed to be ultimately folded and sealed into a gable top finish. In the design of the blank 10 shown in this Figure, the gable top will be asymmetrical, with the panel 22 being larger than the panel 18, to accommodate a larger pour spout fitment.

Figure 4 shows in more detail the apparatus 7, which is used in the dairy to form, fill and seal the flat blanks 10. The blanks 10 are supplied to the apparatus 7 from a blank magazine 35. The magazine 35 passes the blanks 10 in turn to a blank in-feed 36, which is an indexing conveyor. While on the in- feed 36 the blanks 10 may be scored to form a blank 10 according to Figure 3, for example, and each receive a pour spout fitment 8, and are preheated prior to forming. Figure 4a shows in more detail the operation of this part of the apparatus 7. The magazine 35 is tilted at an angle to the horizontal and each blank 10 is pulled down, in turn, by suction cups (not shown) to the conveyor 36, which is a vacuum belt, which holds the blank 10, inside surface upwards. Each blank 10 is indexed to a station 36a where the pour spout fitment 8 is inserted from above into the hole 30, leaving a flange 8a of its pour spout applied to the inside surface of the blank 10.

The blank 10, with the fitment 8 received in the hole 30, is then moved by the belt 36 to a station 36b, where an ultrasound device 35a uses ultrasound to weld the flange 8a to the blank 10 between an ultrasonic horn 35b and an anvil 35c. By splitting the applying and the ultrasonic fixing of the pour spout fitment 8 to the blank 10 into two stages, a relatively high machine speed of, for example, 5000 containers per hour can be reached. While the blank 10 is on the vacuum belt 36 the inner surface of the zone 16 is heated, as is the outer surface of the zone of the opposite edge 14 of the blank 10, by hot air in preparation for subsequent sealing. The hot air, which can be applied to the blank 10 over several stations, activates the sealing qualities of the plastics coatings of the relevant surface zones of the blank 10.

Each blank 10 in turn is then passed from the in-feed 36 to a forming station 37. At the forming station 37, the blank 10 is wrapped around a horizontal mandrel 39, thereby forming each blank 10 into a sleeve 10A which is then side seamed. Figure 4b shows the mandrel 39, which is substantially circular in cross-section over a distal end zone and substantially rectangular in cross-section over a proximal end zone.

The blank 10 is pushed off the belt 36 by a pair of pushing fingers, and the blank 10 engages with a curved stop that matches the profile of the leading edge of the blank 10. A stopper hammer then moves up from below the blank 10 and pushes the blank upwards to engage the mandrel 39. The blank 10 is then wrapped around the mandrel 39 so as to follow the shape of the mandrel 39, by a pair of curvedly shaped metal plates that press the blank around the mandrel 39. While the blank 10 is on the mandrel 39, a pressure bar 200 (Figure 4c) is used to seal the side seam of the container sleeve 10A. A forcing device 202 in the form of a pair of driven rods generates a downward force on the pressure bar 200 through a cantilever 204. In this way, the blank 10 is converted into a container sleeve 10A. The shape of the mandrel 39 facilitates the formation of the container sleeve 10A. The rectangular cross-section at the proximal end of the mandrel assists in breaking of the approximately vertical score-lines of the blank 10. The shape of the mandrel 39 also allows a relatively large pour spout fitment 8 to be applied to the blank 10, as this part of the blank 10 will be supported by a flat section of the mandrel 39 rather than a curved section of the mandrel 39, which would cause stress at the flange 8a where the pour spout fitment 8 is sealed to the blank 10. Furthermore, since the bottom-closed sleeves 10A will be advanced to the filling station without requiring to be nested into each other, because the forming of the partially formed container and the filling thereof are parts of a continuous process with the partially formed containers indexing continually, the reduction in the minimum internal cross-sectional area of the top of the container sleeve by the squaring thereof does not become a problem through a need for subsequent nesting of the sleeves.

Eight mandrels are provided on the turntable 40, which rotates in a clockwise direction, passing the sleeve 1OA on the mandrel 39 through a series of forming stations. For the sake of clarity, the container sleeves have been omitted from six of the mandrels seen in Figure 4. Each mandrel 39 can be provided with an arrangement of a pressure bar 200, forcing device 202 and cantilever 204 to hold the container sleeve 10A in place while it is cycled through the forming stations. An alternative arrangement is to have a single such arrangement at the station 37 and complete all of the necessary sealing of the side seam at that one station. A further alternative is to duplicate the latter arrangement at at least one further station.

Before the sleeve 10A is to be ejected from the mandrel 39, a mechanical cam (not shown) can be used to bear on the lever 204 to cause the pressure bar 200 to lift away from the container sleeve 10A. The operation of the pressure bar 200 could instead be controlled using a servo-motor system.

The mandrel 39 takes the sleeve 10A to a second station 41 , which is a preheating station for the internal surface of the lower part of the sleeve 10A. The preheating softens the innermost layer of plastics in the lower region of the sleeve 10A. The sleeve 10A next travels to a station 42 at which is a machine which punches a bottom portion (shown in more detail in Figures 5 and 6) from a roll of laminate material 43, and inserts it into the bottom of the conical-form sleeve 10A.

Figure 4d shows the bottom portion 54 being inserted into the container sleeve 10A, while the sleeve 10A is on the mandrel 39. A head 208 pushes the bottom portion 54 through a restriction formed by an annulus 210 to change the shape of the bottom portion 54 from a disc to a dish, heat being applied to the external surface of the flange of the dish, although not enough to activate, i.e. render tacky, any of the plastics of the portion 54. The bottom portion 54 folds to create the flange or skirt around its edge and is pushed by the head 208 into the sleeve 1OA until it bears against the mandrel 39. The head 208 then withdraws, leaving behind the bottom portion 54.

Sufficient bottom portions 54 need to be supplied to the apparatus 7 to keep up with the container processing speed of the apparatus 7. This can be achieved by punching bottom portions 54 from the roll 43 at the same speed as the blanks 10 are supplied to the mandrels 39, or a plurality of magazines can be used at slower speeds to provide the necessary numbers of pre-formed bottom portions 54 to the apparatus 7.

The sleeve 10A, with the bottom portion 54 inside, then passes to a first heating station 44 where heat is applied to the bottom of the partially formed container 10A, in particular the inside surface of the skirt 58 of the bottom insert 54 and the inside surface of a small annular bottom end portion of the sleeve 10A projecting distally beyond the skirt, in preparation for the bottom sealing operation. The sleeve 10A passes next to a second bottom heating station 45, where the process of bottom heating the sleeve 10A is continued.

The sleeve 10A next passes to a bottom pressing station 46, which folds the small annular bottom end portion of the sleeve 10A about the flange of the bottom portion 54. Figure 4e shows a tool 212 that is used in the bottom pressing station 46 to seal the folded-under portion of the sleeve 10A to the bottom portion 54. The tool 212 is formed of two identical semi-circular pieces 214 that are arranged to be moved away from one another once they have been brought adjacent to the bottom portion 54. The tool applies pressure to the folded-under portion of the sleeve 10A to seal together the sleeve 10A and the bottom portion 54.

The partially formed container then passes to a second bottom pressing station 47 where a tool identical to the tool 212 is used, with the second tool used at an orientation offset approximately one right-angle, in particular 90 degrees, relative to the first tool 212. This ensures that the gaps that appear between the two pieces 214 are compensated for in the second station 47 using the second tool.

It will be understood that, in an upright container that is to be stacked, the lower part of the container will come under the most stacking force, and a very good seal in this area is essential to produce a container that is to be of suitable standard. A very good seal is also important to avoid creating a gap inside the partially formed container 1OA that might allow bacteria to collect in the internal part of the seal and also to avoid any sterilisation material remaining in a gap after subsequent sterilisation. The sleeve 1OA is finally moved to an ejection station 48, where an air blower forces the sleeve 1OA off the mandrel 39 to a continuous conveyor 70, that is provided with pits to receive individual sleeves 10A.

An alternative arrangement of the ejection part of the apparatus 7 is possible, part of which is shown in Figure 4f. Following ejection from the station 48, but before the partially formed container 10A is supplied to the conveyor 70, the partially formed container 10A is drawn through a set of four rollers 48a that are arranged around an opening. As the partially formed container 10A is drawn through the rollers, the approximately vertical scorelines of the partially formed container 10A are activated by the action of the rollers on the surfaces of the partially formed container 10A.

The sleeves 10A are then supplied, four-at-a-time, to a second indexing conveyor 72, which is provided with square slots to receive the sleeves 10A. The conveyor 72 then indexes the sleeves 10A along through a series of stations, which for clarity purposes are not shown in detail. These stations, in turn, top-form the sleeves, sterilize them (three stations in series carry out the full sterilization), fill the sleeves 10A (which again can be done at more than one station), pre-break the sleeves 10A (if they have not already been pre- broken by rollers 48a), heat the top closure portion of each sleeve, and then top-seal the sleeves 10A to provide the finished containers 50. Alternatively, the top sealing station could be an ultrasound sealing station without a preheating station. At the final station, the containers 50 are transferred to boxes or roll containers for transferring to supermarkets. Figure 5 shows an example of the finished container 50 that is made using the blank 10 illustrated in Figure 3. The container 50 has a pour spout fitment 8 on a top closure, and also includes the bottom portion 54. It will be understood that the bottom portion 54 is a separate insert that is provided after the sleeve 1OA has been formed and, like the pour spout fitment 8, is fixed to the blank 10 during the forming process. The container 50 is typically used for liquid food such as milk or orange juice, but is in fact suitable for storing any liquid that is required to be provided to consumers, such as detergents or the like. The container 50 provides the user with a good grip when it is handled, and is unlikely to bulge owing to the increased strength of the container, and its rounded shape. Since the container is less likely to bulge, less paperboard is needed in the laminate material, with a 30% saving in material. The container still gives the traditional advantages of the conventional container, such as providing a good seal and being able to support the pour spout fitment 8, which is of a screw cap character.

Figure 6 illustrates the lower part of the container in more detail. The bottom portion 54 comprises a substantially flat floor 56 with its downward, peripheral flange 58. The side wall of the container is folded under the flange 58, the bottom portion 54 being at a height such that the folded material includes a section 60 that does not contain the flange 58 and is of a height of at least one fifth of the height of the section 62 that does contain the flange, the gap between the floor 56 and the bottom extremity of the container 50 being greater than the projecting height of the pour spout fitment 8.

The flange 58 is approximately 10mm in height and the section 60 is approximately 5mm in height, giving a total clearance of about 15mm from the base of the container 50 to the floor 56. The height of the pour spout fitment 8 is approximately 14mm and this allows the finished containers to be stacked on top of each other, with the pour spout fitment nesting in the space at the bottom of the container above. Figure 7 shows a top plan view of a second embodiment of a container blank 80 of laminate material. As in the first embodiment of the blank, the blank 80 is of laminate material and is machine-cut from a web 4 and has a pair of opposite, substantially rectilinear, converging edges 82 and 84. The blank 80 includes a zone 86 bounded by the edge 82, the zone 86 being of skived material. The skived and hemmed zone 86 is produced while the blank is still part of the web of material, the skiving and hemming taking place as a continuous process on the web of material before the cutting into individual blanks takes place.

The blank 80 includes five closure panels 88 to 96, and a sixth, narrower closure panel 98. The blank 80 has a score line 100 separating the fifth panel 96 and the sixth panel 98. This score line 100 converges with the closest edge 82 of the blank 80. The blank 80 is also provided with a plurality of other score lines, for use when the blank 80 is eventually formed into a container. The blank 80 is also provided with a hole 102 for receiving the pour spout fitment.

Figure 8 shows a container 110 formed from the blank 80 shown in Figure 7. The container 110 is one that would typically be used for fresh food products. The container has a flat top rather than a gable top and is provided with a pour spout fitment 112. The base of the container is not circular in cross-section, but is square with rounded corners. The blank 80 from which this container is made is nevertheless substantially similar to the blank shown in Figure 3. It differs from the blank of Figure 3 in that, although the pair of opposite, substantially rectilinear edges are converging, they do not converge at the same rate as do the opposite edges in the first embodiment 10 of the blank.

The screw cap 112 protrudes about 14mm from the top of the container 110, and this will disappear into the cavity of the bottom of the container above when they are stacked one on top of each other.

Figure 9 shows the top portion of a container 120, which is provided with two strips of thin but hard reinforcing plastics material 122. The plastics material 122 could be of polypropylene, HDPE (high density polyethylene) or a similar plastics. The presence of the plastics material 122 is to protect the top of the container 120 from being damaged by an upper container when the containers are stacked one upon another. The plastics material 122 is arranged so as to distribute the pressure from the bottom edge of the upper container over a larger surface area. The material 122 can be provided on only the four corners of the top surface of the container 120, or can be provided over more of the top surface of the container 120, particularly over the full width of the top to give greater appeal from an aesthetics point of view.

The plastics material 122 can be coloured or transparent, and can be embossed with a design, if so desired. Depending upon the choice of material 122 used, it can be either sealed on using heat sealing or ultrasonic sealing or glued on with spots of glue, either upstream or downstream of the filling of the container 120. In a forming process that applies the material 122, the device that applies the reinforcing plastics material 122 can be switched on or off, depending upon whether the containers produced by the process are to be stacked or not.

Figure 10 illustrates a container 130, which is formed from a blank of laminated material. The blank has only body sub-panels and top closure sub- panels,; there are no bottom closure sub-panels, as the bottom is provided by a bottom closure 132 an upwardly directed, annular, peripheral flange 133 of which is either sealingly received in the lower end of a container sleeve which is to provide the top closure and the body of the container 130 or sealingly receives that lower end. The body sub-panels are separated from each other by upwardly extending edge sections 134, which comprise inward bulges in the body wall of the container 130.

The blank from which the container 130 is made is based upon a standard rectangular format blank and not a conical shape. This saves waste material in relation to a conically shaped design. Owing to the blanks being rectangular, various container heights, and thus capacities, can be catered for with correspondingly various rotary tooling in a plant for conversion of a plastics-coated paperboard web to container blanks, without the width of the blanks needing to be varied. The inward bulges 134 are formed in the container by a series of non-linear scorelines in the blank, which, when the container is erected, form the inward bulges 134. The outer surfaces of the inward bulges 134 can have vertical corner designs applied thereto. The manufacture of the container 130 can be based upon standard milk carton technology and standard paper cup bottom sealing technology.

The bottom closure 132, which may be an injection-moulded plastics unit, is fitted to the bottom of the container sleeve, either over the sleeve, or inside the sleeve with the sleeve then possibly folded under the bottom closure 132 to hold it in place. The closure 132 is of substantially rectangular form, preferably square, with rounded corners. Likewise, the container body has a substantially rectangular, preferably square, cross-section. The top of the container 130 may be of a standard gable top configuration, with a screw cap fitment provided on the top closure.

It is possible to form the longitudinally seamed container sleeve without using a mandrel and then, while controlling the external shape (and thus the internal shape) of at least the lower end zone of the container sleeve, to apply the bottom closure unit 132 thereto and seal the same thereto in a liquid-tight manner, whereafter the partially completed container thus formed can be filled and top-closed and-sealed in a conventional manner. Thus, a form-fill-seal machine employed in the production of a filled and sealed package can be relatively simplified and the risk of introduction of micro-organisms into the container by the use of a mandrel can be avoided. Moreover, the inward bulges can be applied wherever reasonably desired, because there is no need to cater for withdrawal of a mandrel.

Figure 11 shows a further embodiment of the container blank 10 of laminate material, with opposite, substantially rectilinear, first and second edges converging towards each other. The blank 10 also has third and fourth edges, with the fourth edge shorter than the third edge. As before, the blank 10 includes a plurality of end closure panels, 18 to 26, in a row. Each end closure panel 18 to 24 comprises an end closure sealing sub-panel 18a to 24a and an obturating sub-panel 18b to 24b. The obturating sub-panels 18b to 24b, in the finished container, will be inclined to the vertical. A first line of weakness 140 separates the obturating sub-panels 18b to

24b from body panels of the blank 10. A second line of weakness 142 separates the obturating sub-panel 22b, which will be used for receiving a pour spout fitment, from the adjacent obturating sub-panel 20b and extends away from the nearest edge of the blank (the third edge) and beyond the line of weakness 140, and curves towards the edge 12 of the blank 10. The line of weakness 142 forms a u-shape and defines a sub-panel 144 of the body panel adjacent to the closure panel 22. A similar arrangement applies to the obturating sub-panel 18b.

Figure 12 shows a container 50 formed from the blank 10 of Figure 11. The fold 142 that is u-shaped defines the sub-panel 144, and assists in the forming of a container 50 without wrinkles or creases at positions in the container 50 where the cross-section is changing from substantially rectangular (at the top), to substantially circular (at the bottom). The fold 142 is shown as a continuous line that is symmetrical. This fold 142 may be made up of two separate folds that are curved towards each other, but do not actually meet in the middle, thereby defining a u-shape that is non-continuous. The opposite side of the container 50 also has the same arrangement of folds.

Claims

1. A method comprising, at a first location, inserting a pour spout fitment, from above, into a hole of a partially formed container blank extending in a plane inclined to the vertical, so that a flange of said fitment bears upon said blank, conveying said blank and said fitment thereon to a second location, and at said second location sealing said fitment to said blank.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein said sealing comprises sealing said flange to said blank.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said partially formed container blank comprises a flat container blank, said method further comprising, after said sealing, forming said flat container blank into a container sleeve.

4. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said partially formed container blank comprises a container sleeve.

5. A method according to claim 3 or 4, and further comprising, after said sealing, producing relative displacement between said sleeve and an activating device comprising a plurality of rollers arranged around an opening receiving said sleeve, and thereby contacting external surfaces of said sleeve with said rollers to form folds longitudinally of said sleeve.

6. A method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, and further comprising, after said sealing, inserting into said sleeve a bottom insert which comprises a substantially flat floor with a flange, folding a bottom end portion of said container sleeve inwardly about said flange of said insert, introducing a tool to inside said bottom end portion, and expanding said tool to press said bottom end portion outwardly against said bottom insert.

7. A method according to claim 3, or claim 5 or 6 as appended to claim 3, wherein the flat blank is of laminate material, with opposite, substantially rectilinear, first and second edges converging towards each other, and third and fourth edges disposed opposite to each other and each extending from the first edge to the second edge, said fourth edge being shorter than the third edge, the flat blank including a plurality of end closure panels in a row at said third edge, said end closure panels comprising respective end closure sealing sub-panels, as well as respective end closure obturating sub-panels which are arranged to be inclined to the vertical in the finished container, a first line of weakness separating one of said obturating sub-panels from a body panel of said flat blank, and a second line of weakness separating said one of said obturating sub-panels from an adjacent one of said obturating sub-panels and extending away from said third edge and beyond said first line of weakness, wherein said second line of weakness curves towards one of said first and second edges of said blank.

8. Apparatus comprising, at a first location, an applying device for inserting a pour spout fitment into a hole of a partially formed container blank, so that a flange of said fitment comes to bear upon said blank, a conveying device for conveying said blank and said fitment together from said first location to a second location with said blank in a plane inclined to the vertical, and, at said second location, a sealing device for sealing said fitment to said blank.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said sealing device serves to seal said flange to said blank.

10. Apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said conveying device comprises a vacuum belt.

11. Apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, and further comprising, after said second location, an activating device and a driving device arranged to produce relative displacement between said blank in the form of a sleeve and said activating device, said activating device comprising a plurality of rollers arranged around an opening through which said sleeve is received, said rollers contacting external surfaces of said sleeve to form folds longitudinally of said sleeve.

12. Apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 11 , and further comprising, after said second location, a mandrel arranged to carry said blank in the form of a sleeve, and a tool expandable to press a bottom end portion of said sleeve outwardly against a bottom insert about which said bottom end portion has been folded inwardly.

13. A method of handling a container sleeve, comprising producing relative displacement between said sleeve and an activating device comprising a plurality of rollers bounding an opening receiving said sleeve, and thereby contacting external surfaces of said sleeve with said rollers to form folds longitudinally of said sleeve.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the forming of said folds comprises activating lines of weakness of said sleeve.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein said rollers include raised portions for activating said lines of weakness.

16. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein said plurality of rollers comprises four rollers arranged in substantially a rectangle.

17. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein said relative displacement is produced by advancing said container sleeve through said opening.

18. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein each roller rotates about a substantially horizontal axis.

19. Apparatus for handling a container sleeve, comprising an activating device and a driving device arranged to produce relative displacement between said sleeve and said activating device, said activating device comprising a plurality of rollers bounding an opening through which said sleeve is received, said rollers serving to contact external surfaces of said sleeve to folds longitudinally of said sleeve.

20. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said plurality of rollers comprises four rollers arranged in substantially a rectangle.

21. Apparatus according to claim 19 or 20, wherein said rollers include raised portions for activating lines of weakness of said sleeve to form said folds.

22. Apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 21 , wherein said driving device serves to advance said container sleeve through said opening.

23. Apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein each roller rotates about a substantially horizontal axis.

24. A method of forming a bottom portion of a container, comprising inserting into a container sleeve a bottom insert which comprises a substantially flat floor with a flange, folding a bottom end portion of said container sleeve inwardly about said flange, introducing a tool to inside said bottom end portion, and expanding said tool to press said bottom end portion outwardly against said bottom insert.

25. A method according to claim 24, and further comprising sealing said bottom end portion to said flange with heat.

26. A method according to claim 24, and further comprising sealing said bottom end portion to said flange with ultrasound.

27. A method according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein said tool comprises an annular band comprised of first and second separate arcuate portions.

28. A method according to claim 27, wherein said arcuate portions are two substantially identical semi-circular portions.

29. A method according to any one of claims 24 to 28, and further comprising introducing said tool for a second time, or a second tool, to inside said bottom end portion, and expanding said tool, or said second tool, to press said bottom end portion outwardly against said bottom insert.

30. A method according to claim 29, wherein the first mentioned tool, when introduced for said second time, or said second tool is expanded at an orientation offset about an axis of said tool from the orientation of the first expansion.

31. A method according to claim 30, wherein the offset is approximately a right angle.

32. Apparatus for forming a bottom portion of a container, comprising a mandrel arranged to carry a partially formed container which comprises a container sleeve, and a tool expandable to press a bottom end portion of said sleeve outwardly against a bottom insert about which said bottom end portion has been folded inwardly.

33. Apparatus according to claim 32, and further comprising a heat- sealing device for sealing said bottom end portion to a flange of said bottom insert.

34. Apparatus according to claim 32, and further comprising an ultrasonic sealing device for sealing said bottom end portion to a flange of said bottom insert.

35. Apparatus according to any one of claims 32 to 34, wherein said tool comprises an annular band comprised of first and second separate arcuate portions.

36. Apparatus according to claim 35, wherein said arcuate portions are two substantially identical semi-circular portions.

37. Apparatus according to any one of claims 32 to 36, and further comprising a second tool expandable to press said bottom end portion outwardly against said bottom insert for a second time.

38. A container blank of laminate material, with opposite, substantially rectilinear, first and second edges converging towards each other, and third and fourth edges disposed opposite to each other and each extending from the first edge to the second edge, the fourth edge being shorter than the third edge, the blank including a plurality of end closure panels in a row at said third edge, said end closure panels comprising respective end closure sealing sub-panels, as well as respective end closure obturating sub- panels which are arranged to be inclined to the vertical in the finished container, a first line of weakness separating one of said obturating sub-panels from a body panel of said blank, and a second line of weakness separating said one of said obturating sub-panels from an adjacent one of said obturating sub-panels and extending away from said third edge and beyond said first line of weakness, wherein said second line of weakness curves towards one of said first and second edges of said blank.

39. A blank according to claim 38, wherein said second line of weakness comprises substantially a u-shape and separates said one of said obturating sub-panels from a second adjacent one of said obturating sub- panels.

40. A blank according to claim 38 or 39, wherein said one of said obturating sub-panels includes a hole for receiving a pour spout fitment.

41. A blank according to claim 39 or claim 40 as appended to claim 39, and further comprising a third line of weakness separating a further one of said obturating sub-panels from said body panel, and a fourth line of weakness separating said further one of said obturating sub-panels from one of the adjacent obturating sub-panels and extending away from said third edge and beyond said third line of weakness, wherein said fourth line of weakness curves towards one of said first and second edges of said blank.

42. A blank according to claim 41 , wherein said fourth line of weakness comprises substantially a u-shape.

43. A method of forming a container blank of laminate material, comprising cutting out the blank from laminate material so that the blank has opposite, substantially rectilinear, first and second edges converging towards each other, and third and fourth edges disposed opposite to each other and each extending from the first edge to the second edge, the fourth edge being shorter than the third edge, and scoring said material so as to form lines of weakness in the blank so that the blank includes a plurality of end closure panels in a row at said third edge, said end closure panels comprising respective end closure sealing sub-panels, as well as respective end closure obturating sub-panels which are arranged to be inclined to the vertical in the finished container, a first line of weakness separating one of said obturating sub-panels from a body panel of said blank, and a second line of weakness separating said one of said obturating sub-panels from an adjacent one of said obturating sub-panels and extending away from said third edge and beyond said first line of weakness, wherein said second line of weakness curves towards one of said first and second edges of said blank.

44. A method according to claim 43, wherein said second line of weakness comprises substantially a u-shape and separates said one of said obturating sub-panels from a second adjacent one of said obturating sub- panels.

45. A method according to claim 43 or 44, and further comprising punching a hole in said one of said obturating sub-panels, said hole being arranged for receiving a pour spout fitment.

46. A method according to claim 44 or claim 45 as appended to claim 44, and further comprising scoring said material to form a third line of weakness separating a further one of said obturating sub-panels from said body panel, and a fourth line of weakness separating said further one of said obturating sub-panels from one of the adjacent obturating sub-panels, and extending away from said third edge and beyond said third line of weakness, wherein said fourth line of weakness curves towards one of said first and second edges of said blank.

47. A method according to claim 46, wherein said fourth line of weakness comprises substantially a u-shape.

48. A container comprised of a piece of laminate material, said piece forming a tube closed at upper and lower ends, a first fold separating an obturating sub-panel, inclined to the vertical, of an end closure of said tube from a body portion of said container, and a second fold separating said obturating sub-panel from an adjacent obturating sub-panel and extending downwardly and beyond said first fold, wherein a lower portion of said second fold curves transversely.

49. A container according to claim 48, wherein said second fold comprises substantially a u-shape and separates said obturating sub-panel from a second adjacent obturating sub-panel.

50. A container according to claim 48 or 49, wherein said obturating sub-panel includes a hole, said hole receiving a pour spout fitment.

51. A container according to claim 49 or claim 50 as appended to claim 49, and further comprising a third fold separating a further obturating sub-panel from a further body portion of said container, and a fourth fold separating said further obturating sub-panel from one of the adjacent obturating sub-panels, and extending downwardly and beyond said third fold, wherein a lower portion of said fourth fold curves transversely.

52. A container according to claim 51 , wherein said fourth fold comprises substantially a u-shape.