WO2016087846A1

WO2016087846A1 - A container and method of manufacture

Info

Publication number: WO2016087846A1
Application number: PCT/GB2015/053674
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrew Morris
Original assignee: Colpac Limited
Priority date: 2014-12-01
Filing date: 2015-12-01
Publication date: 2016-06-09
Also published as: GB201421317D0; GB2532942B; GB2532942A

Abstract

The invention provides a container comprising a container body and a lid. The container body is formed from a folded blank and the lid is moulded. The container body comprises a base and a peripheral wall extending from the base to a rim. The peripheral wall includes a hinged flange extending from the rim to which the lid is bonded. The hinged flange is movable such that the lid moves between a closed position in which the lid closes the container to substantially enclose a volume and an open position in which the lid does not close the container.

Description

A Container and Method of Manufacture

The present invention relates to a container, particularly a two part container made from a container body and a separate lid, specifically to a container body made from a folded blank and a moulded lid and particularly to a container for food. The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing such a container and of joining two parts.

Containers for food, particularly disposable containers, are often formed from a material like card or paperboard which can be folded into an appropriate shape, or a plastics material which is easily moulded into an appropriate shape, for example by injection moulding or vacuum forming.

It is known to provide a container for food which is fabricated from a folded blank. The blank can be made from a card or paperboard material which is fabricated into a blank by creating cut and fold lines in the material as is well known. The blank is then formed by folding along the pre-defined lines and bonding parts of the blank together to form a container. The container may include an integral lid or a separate lid which is able to close the container to substantially enclose a volume and provide some environmental protection for a food product within the container.

The present invention provides container comprising a container body and a lid, said container body being formed from a folded blank and the lid being moulded, the container body comprising a base and a peripheral wall extending from said base to a rim, the peripheral wall including a hinged flange extending from the rim to which a portion of the lid is bonded, the hinged flange is movable such that the lid moves between a closed position in which the lid closes the container to substantially enclose a volume and an open position in which the lid does not close the container.

Providing a two part container which includes a container body which is constructed from a folded blank and a lid which is moulded provides a variety of options for a manufacturer. The container body and lid can be fabricated from different materials and this means that appropriate material properties can be selected for each part according to the desired function of that part as will be discussed in more detail below.

Providing a hinged flange on the container body means that the hinge can be formed on the blank and can be formed during the process which defines other fold lines on the blank, it also means that the moulded part does not need to include a hinge mechanism and this can simplify the moulding process and the design of the lid.

In the closed position the container substantially encloses a volume, but this is not necessarily a sealed enclosure, there may be gaps or openings in the container, but in the closed position the lid provides enhanced environmental protection for a product within the container. Such enhanced protection is removed when the lid is opened. The substantial enclosure of a volume by the container in the closed position may also prevent access to a product within the container until the lid is opened.

The base of the container body may be substantially planar, or at least a peripheral edge of the base is substantially planar. The peripheral wall extends from the base to a rim which may define an opening of the container body. A top of the peripheral wall may define the rim and the hinged flange may extend from the rim with the hinge being arranged substantially along the rim. The shape of the base can be any suitable shape, with preferred shapes including triangular and rectangular. The shape of the base need not be a regular shape. The hinge axis may be substantially parallel with the base.

The peripheral wall may comprise a first wall section which includes the hinged flange. The first wall section may be substantially planar to facilitate the use of a linear fold to provide the hinge between the wall and the hinged flange. The container may include a second wall section opposite the first wall section and the second wall section may include at least one catch to releasably retain the lid when the lid is in the closed position. By including a catch to retain the lid in the closed position the functionality of the container is increased. The catch may cooperate with a corresponding catch feature on the lid, for example the lid may include a ridge or projection on a surface that is contacted by the catch when in the closed position. The force retaining the lid in the closed position by the interaction between the catch and catch feature may be overcome by applying an opening force above a threshold to the container. This means that the lid is retained in a closed position, but that a special action is not required to release a catch to allow the container to be opened. The catch may comprise apertures, ridges, fold lines, cut-outs, projections in one or both of the lid and the container body in order to perform its function. One catch type includes a projection on the lid that cooperates with an outwardly folded catch flange on the second wall section.

The first wall section and second wall section may be separated at one, or each, end by one or more third wall sections. For example the container body may take the form of a substantially rectangular tray having a substantially rectangular base. First and second wall sections may extend from the opposing long sides of the base and the third wall sections may extend from the opposing short sides of the base. The wall sections are preferably connected together to provide a substantially continuous peripheral wall around the container body. The third wall sections may themselves include catches that cooperate with the lid to retain the lid in a closed position.

The folded blank may be fabricated from any suitable material, but is preferably fabricated from a card, paperboard or similar material, for example a folding box board. The material may include additional coatings to enhance or modify certain properties of the material, for example the material may include a moisture barrier coated or laminated to one or more surfaces. The material may be supplied with such coatings as a standard feature from the supplier, or additional layers could be added to the supplied material. A material with no additional coatings, for example barrier coatings, may be preferred for some container bodies. The use of a card or paperboard type material for the container body provides a cheap and recyclable, or biodegradable, container body which can be readily assembled from a blank, which may be pre-formed, and which is able to provide acceptable mechanical characteristics for containing products, for example food products. A preferred material stock for forming the blank to be folded is a coated folding box board (CFBB), GD2 grade, to which no additional coating has been applied, for example no additional heat sealable coating or film is applied thereto. Suitable folding boxboard material includes BH4™ from APP, China, Indobarr™ from ITC Ltd, India, and Simcote™ from MetsaBoard, Finland. It should be noted that a particularly preferred stock material includes a PE coating on one side and a clay coating on the opposing side when supplied. The PE coating provides moisture resistance for an interior surface of a container and the clay coating provides an aesthetically appropriate surface onto which printing can readily be performed. It is preferred that a stock material that can be supplied as standard is used for the construction of the blank as this reduces the number of operations that must be carried out to contrast the container.

The exterior surface of the container body may include printing for example advertising, information or branding. A feature of the present invention is that the hinged flange provides an additional surface onto which printing can be applied that will be visible when the container is on display.

The lid may be moulded from a plastics material and may be made of a single part, or multiple parts and these may not all be the same material. The plastics material may be any suitable material and may be translucent and/or substantially transparent. The plastics material may be coloured or substantially colourless. A substantially transparent and substantially translucent lid provides a user with an easy way to view the contents of the closed container. The plastics material may be a PET or rPET material.

The height of the rim from the base may be lower in the region from which the hinged flange extends than in adjacent rim portions. Such an arrangement may facilitate the moulding of the lid using a thermoforming process in which all the lowest edges of the lid need to be at substantially the same level in the horizontal plane. The rim, other than in the region of the hinged flange and possibly other deviated regions, may be at substantially the same height above the base.

The portion of the lid to which the hinged flange is bonded may be an edge portion. The lid may include an attachment flange to which the hinged flange of the container base is bonded. The attachment flange may be arranged at a rear edge and may be in substantially the same plane as lower edges of the lid.

When the lid is in the closed positon the attachment flange may be substantially parallel with the base of the container body. This means that, if the hinge is in the rim and the hinge is substantially parallel with the base and rim, the hinged flange of the container body is also substantially parallel with the base in the closed position and this ensures at least a 180° motion about the hinge is possible before the hinged flange is likely to contact the container wall. This enables an easy transition from a closed position to an open position through a good range of motion.

The lid may include a raised ridge on a top surface along at least a part of a peripheral edge. The inclusion of a raised ridge around at least part of a peripheral edge of the lid can facilitate stacking of the containers as the ridge helps to prevent the containers from sliding off one another.

A bottom surface of the lid may include a channel in which at least some of the rim of the container may be located when the lid is in the closed position. This helps to provide environmental protection for the contents of the container and can also assist with locating the lid on the container. The channel may taper outward from the closed side to facilitate locating the rim within the channel.

The peripheral edge of the top surface of the lid may include a non-raised, or dropped, portion arranged between portions including the raised ridge. The inclusion of such a dropped portion can facilitate the use of a security band around the container which prevents the container being easily opened without damaging the security band. The band may be arranged to extend around the container and pass through the dropped portion. The raised portions either side of the dropped portion help to retain the security band on the container.

The lid may be bonded to the hinged flange any suitable means, for example heat sealing, gluing or otherwise. It is preferred that the boding is achieved by RF welding or Ultrasonic welding as such processes reduce the time required for bond formation which reduces production time.

The invention also provides a method of manufacturing a container comprising a container body and a lid, the container being as described above and the method comprising the steps of:

a) providing a blank for forming a container body and a lid,

b) forming said blank into a container body by folding the blank,

c) arranging the hinged flange so that it extends away from the container body; and

d) arranging the lid adjacent the hinged flange and bonding the lid to the hinged flange to provide a container in an open configuration.

By arranging the hinged flange so that it extends away from the container body and preferably substantially parallel with the base of the container body during manufacture the use of a press which applies a force during bonding of the lid to the hinged flange is facilitated as the hinged flange extends away from the container body thereby providing enhanced access to the flange for the press members. The application of such a compression force is further facilitated if the lid includes an attachment flange that extends substantially parallel with a main plane of the lid. The attachment flange is preferably arranged at or near an edge of the lid. In this way, when the lid is arranged adjacent the hinged flange for bonding to provide a container in an open configuration there should be minimal obstructions from the lid or container body above or below the site of bonding.

If the lid was to be bonded to a part of the container body that could not be arranged parallel to the base the application to pressure to bond the lid to the container would be technically more difficult, particularly for automated production. The method is particularly suited to automated production of the container in a production line in which the formed container body rests on its base as it moves along the line, for example an automated conveyor. The base may be arranged in a substantially horizontal orientation and this means that the hinged flange and lid can be pressed together by the application of a substantially vertical press force.

The method may also include the step of bonding the lid to the container base using RF or ultrasonic welding. This is particularly the case for a container body fabricated from a folding box board which includes a surface provided with a clay coating and a lid formed from a plastic such a PET.

The bond could be formed by any suitable method such as heat sealing or gluing, but is preferably formed by using an ultrasonic or RF welding technique.

The application of a compression force to compress the lid and hinged flange together can enhance bonding between the parts. The compression force may be applied, as mentioned before, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the base of the container body. The application of such a force is facilitated by the inclusion of a hinged flange on the container body.

The invention also provides a container body and a lid adapted for use in a container as described above.

The invention also provides a method of bonding a folding box board component having a surface provided with a clay coating to a plastic component, the method comprising the steps of bringing the surface of the folding box board provided with a clay coating into contact with the plastic component and bonding them using RF or ultrasonic welding.

In the method above, the parts are not limited to being a hinged flange of a container body and part of a lid for a container, but could be any parts.

Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that it is a component of the clay coating of the supplied coated folding box board material that enables the use of RF or ultrasonic welding techniques to form an acceptable bond with the lid. Such techniques for creating a bond between the clay coated side of a coated folding box board are of course not limited in application to a blank and lid of the form and type shown here, but could be applied to any suitable shape or configuration of components and could be applied to a lid moulded from any suitable material and not just PET or rPET. The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following figures in which:

Figure 1 shows a container;

Figure 2 shows the lid of the container of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows the container body of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 shows a cross-section schematic of the container of Figure 1 ;

Figure 5 shows a plan view of a lid suitable for the container in Figure 1 ;

Figure 6 shows a cross section through the lid of Figure 5 along the line A-A;

Figure 7 shows a blank from which the container body of Figure 1 can be fabricated;

Figure 8 shows a different container;

Figure 9 shows a plan view of the lid of the container of Figure 8;

Figure 10 shows a blank from which the container body of Figure 8 can be fabricated;

Figure 11 shows a schematic view of a step in the manufacture of a container; and

Figure 12 shows a schematic view of an alternative step in the manufacture of a container.

Figure 1 shows container 1 comprising a container body 2 (better shown in Figure 3) and a lid 4 (better shown in Figure 2). The container 1 is shown with the lid 4 in the closed position. The container body 2 is formed from a folded blank 6 (see Figure 7) and the lid 4 is moulded. The container body 2 comprises a base 8 and a peripheral wall 10 extending from said base 8 to a rim 12. The peripheral wall 10 includes a hinged flange 14 extending from the rim 12 to which an edge portion 16 of the lid is bonded, the hinged flange 14 is movable such that the lid 4 moves between a closed position in which the lid 4 closes the container 1 to substantially enclose a volume and an open position in which the lid 4 does not close the container 1.

For clarity the lid 4 is shown in Figure 1 as being opaque, but in reality the lid is substantially clear, substantially colourless and substantially transparent allowing a user to readily see a product, for example a food product, within the container 1 without needing to open the lid 4.

Figures 2 and 3 show the lid 4 and container body 2 separated from one another so that different features can be more easily seen. Such separation could only be achieved with the container of Figure 1 by breaking the bond between the hinged flange 14 and the edge portion 16 of the lid 4. The lid 4 comprises a substantially planar central portion 18 which is substantially rectangular. The central portion 18 is bounded on three sides by a raised ridge 20 which extends from the central portion 18 up to a peak 22 from which a skirt 24 extends to a lower edge 26. The third side of the central portion 18 is bounded by an attachment flange 28 which is substantially planar. The attachment flange 28 extends in substantially the same plane as the lower edge 26 of the lid 4 such that the outer periphery of the lid 4 is all in substantially the same plane as this facilitates manufacture. The plane of the central portion 18 is substantially parallel with the plane of the attachment flange 28 and is arranged between the plane of the attachment flange 28 and the peak 22 of the ridge.

The container body 2 shown in Figure 3 includes a peripheral wall 10 which is made up of a first wall section 30 from which the hinged flange 14 extends, a second wall section 32 opposite the first wall section 30 and two third wall sections 34 which join the first and second wall sections 30,32. The second wall section includes a catch 36 which is able to releasably retain the lid 4 in the closed portion.

The wall sections 30,32,34 are secured together using webs 38 which will be discussed in more detail below.

Figure 4 shows a schematic cross section of the closed container 1. For clarity some features that would be visible in the background (for example the ridge 20 on the far edge) have been omitted.

The hinged flange 14 extends from the rim 12 at which it is hinged substantially parallel with the base 8 of the container body 2. First wall section 30 of the peripheral wall 10 extends from the base 8 to the rim 12. Opposite the first wall section the second wall section 32 extends from the base 8 to the rim 12. The rim 12 is higher (further from the base 8) on the second wall section 32 than on the first wall section 30. From the rim 12 of the first wall section there extends a catch 36, in this case formed from an out-folded flap of material.

As can be seen from the figure, when the lid 4 is in the closed position the rim 12 of the second wall section 32 is located within a channel 40 in the underside of the lid 4. The channel 40 corresponds to the ridge 20. Within the channel 40 there is a projection 42 from the lid 4 into the channel which cooperates with the catch 36 to resist movement of the lid 4 away from the closed position. In this figure the attachment flange 28 of the lid 4 is arranged on the outside of the hinged flange 14 of the container body 2. The attachment flange 28 is bonded to the hinged flange 14 so that movement of the lid 4 is limited by the movement of the hinged flange 14. This means that the lid 4 is restricted to being hinged about the rim 12 of the first wall section 30.

Figure 5 shows a plan view of the lid 4 and figure 6 shows a cross section through the lid 4 along line A-A. Figure 5 clearly shows ridge projections 44 which facilitate operation of the lid 4. The peripheral wall 10 of the container body tapers from the rim 12 to the base 8 and, when the lid is in the open position the ridge extensions 44 are arranged outside the third wall sections 34.

Figure 7 shows a blank 6 which can be folded along preformed lines to produce the container body 2. The blank includes panels corresponding to the base 8, wall sections 30,32,34, the hinged flange 14, the catch 36 and the webs 38. The webs 38 comprise two substantially triangular parts, a major web 46 and a minor web 48. The major and minor webs are connected together by a fold 50. The minor webs 48 are also connected by folds to the third wall sections 34, while the major webs 46 are connected to either the first or second wall portions 30,32 by folds. The fold and cut lines of the blank can be formed by any suitable method, for example known cut and score presses.

To form a container body from the blank 6 the wall sections 30,32,34 are folded up from the base and the webs 38 are folded out of the container body until adjacent wall sections come together to form corners and the web parts overlie one another and can be bonded together. Such bonding could be by gluing, heat sealing or other suitable method. The bonded webs can then be bonded to an outer surface of the container, for example to the outer surface of the third wall sections as shown in previous figures.

Figure 8 shows a different container 101 which shares many of the same features as container 1 and identical features will be labelled with the same reference number. Similar features will be given the original reference number incremented by 100. The container body 102 and the container lid 104 are modified versions of the container body 2 and lid 4.

The main difference is the inclusion of a dropped ridge portion 52 in the ridge 20 of the lid 104. The dropped ridge portion 52 is located substantially centrally with respect to the second wall section 132 of the container body 102 and the lid 104 includes has a ridge 20 on either side of the dropped ridge portion 52. In the dropped ridge portion 52 the ridge height is reduced such that it is in substantially the same plane as the planar central portion 18 of the lid 104. Such an arrangement enables the easy use of a security band 54 which passes around the container 101 and passes through the dropped ridge portion 52. The security band 54 is applied sufficiently tightly to prevent opening of the container 101 and so that that the ridge 20 on either side of the dropped ridge portion 52 substantially prevents nondestructive removal of the security band 54 from the container.

Figure 9 shows a plan view schematic of the lid 104 of Figure 8 so that the position of the dropped ridge portion 52 can be seen more clearly. It is also noted that there are no ridge projections 44 in this version of the lid 104.

Figure 10 shows a blank 106 suitable for fabricating into the container body 102 of Figure 8. The main difference is the modification of the second wall section 132 to include a dropped rim portion 56 in which the rim height of the fabricated container body 102 is reduced to accommodate the dropped ridge portion 52 of the lid 104. The catch 136 is split into two parts due to the inclusion of the dropped rim portion 56.

Figure 11 shows a step in the manufacture of a container. A container body 4 and a lid 2 are arranged on an automated assembly line 60 which includes a conveyor 62 on which the base 8 of the container body 2 rests. The container body 2 is arranged such that the hinged flange 14 has been hinged about the rim 12 and extends away from the container body 2 substantially parallel with the base 8.

The attachment flange 28 of the lid 4 is arranged adjacent the hinged flange 14 such that the hinged flange 14 and attachment flange 28 are substantially parallel to one another and, in this case, the attachment flange 28 overlies the hinged flange 14 such that the lid 4 will be bonded to a surface of the container blank 6 that forms the inside of container body 2. Since the hinged flange 14 is extending away from the container body 2 and the attachment flange is at edge portion 16 of the lid 4 it is possible for a compressive force to be applied to the attachment flange 28 and the hinged flange 14 by, for example a press 64, to help bond the lid 4 to the container body 2.

Figure 12 shows an alternative step in which the hinged flange 14 overlies the attachment flange 28 such that the lid 4 will be bonded to a surface of the container blank 6 that forms the outside of container body 2.

The bonding could be by any means suitable for bonding the materials, for example gluing or heat sealing. However, it is preferred that the materials for the lid and container are selected such that bonding is performed by ultrasonic welding or RF welding of the lid to the container as these processes have a greatly reduced cycle time for bond formation when compared with heat sealing or gluing.

The material from which the container body is manufactured may be coated during manufacture on one or both sides and may also be subsequently coated with a material by painting, varnishing or laminating a material to one or more surfaces.

In the method step shown in Figures 11 and 12 the lid 4 is moulded from a PET or RPET material and the container body is fabricated from a coated folding box board (GD2-grade) which includes a PE coating on a first side and a clay coating on the opposing side when supplied. No further coating is applied to the material before it is used to manufacture the container body 2. The PE coated first side is used to form the inside of the container as it has superior moisture resistance and the clay coated second side is used to form the outside of the container. The exterior, clay coated surface, of the container body may be printed prior to the step of bonding the lid to the container body.

In the method step shown in Figure 11 the attachment flange 28 overlies the hinged flange 14 such that the lid 4 will be bonded to a surface of the container blank 6 that forms the inside of container body 2 and the bonding is achieved by using the PE coating as a bonding agent. The PE coating is melted as the press 64 compresses the attachment flange 28 and hinged flange 14 together. This arrangement is suitable for heat sealing, but it was found that an unsatisfactory bond is formed if RF or ultrasonic welding techniques are used.

However, by changing to the arrangement of Figure 12 in which the hinged flange 14 overlies the attachment flange 28 such that the lid 4 will be bonded to a surface of the container blank 6 that forms the outside of container body it was surprisingly found that an acceptable bond could be formed between the clay coated surface and the lid material using RF or ultrasonic welding techniques thereby significantly reducing cycle times.

In each of these methods the clay coated surface is directed upwards when the container is in the closed position and it is the clay coated surface of the blank that is typically printed. In a container made by the method including the step shown in of Figure 1 1 the printed surface of the hinged flange is directly visible to a consumer when the container is closed. In a container made by the method including the step shown in of Figure 12 the printed surface of the hinged flange is visible through the lid, if the lid is transparent and or translucent, when the container is closed. Such an arrangement provides additional branding or advertising opportunity for a manufacturer which will be visible to a consumer when they are looking through the lid to view the contents of the container.

It should be understood that these are simply examples and that modification of details could be readily made by the skilled person. Appropriate features disclosed in relation to one example should not be considered as having applicability limited to only that example and could be combined with appropriate features shown in other examples.

Claims

1. A container comprising a container body and a lid, said container body being formed from a folded blank and the lid being moulded, the container body comprising a base and a peripheral wall extending from said base to a rim, the peripheral wall including a hinged flange extending from the rim to which an attachment flange of the lid is bonded, the hinged flange is movable such that the lid moves between a closed position in which the lid closes the container to substantially enclose a volume and an open position in which the lid does not close the container.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 , in which the peripheral wall comprises a first wall section which includes the hinged flange and a second wall section opposite the first wall section which includes at least one catch to releasably retain the lid when the lid is in the closed position.

3. A container as claimed in claim 2, in which the first wall section and second wall section are separated at each end by one or more third wall sections.

4. A container as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, in which the lid includes a projection which cooperates with the catch to releasably retain the lid when the lid is in the closed position.

5. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the folded blank is fabricated from a card or paperboard material stock to which no additional coating has been applied and/or the lid is moulded from a plastics material.

6. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the height of the rim from the base is lower in the region from which the hinged flange extends than adjacent rim portions.

7. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the lid includes a substantially planar attachment flange to which the hinged flange of the container base is bonded.

8. A container as claimed in claim 7, in which, in the closed position, the attachment flange and the hinged flange are arranged substantially parallel with the base of the container body.

9. A container as claimed in any preceding claim in which the lid includes a raised ridge on a top surface along at least a part of a peripheral edge.

10. A container as claimed in claim 9, in which a bottom surface of the lid includes a channel, at least some of the rim of the container being located in the channel in the closed position.

1 1. A container as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10, in which the peripheral edge of the lid includes a non-raised portion arranged between portions including the raised ridge.

12. A container as claimed in any preceding claim in which the lid is bonded to the hinged flange by RF welding or Ultrasonic welding.

13. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the container is a substantially rectangular tray.

14. A method of manufacturing a container comprising a container body and a lid, the container being as claimed in any preceding claim and the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a blank for forming a container body and a lid,

b) forming said blank into a container body by folding the blank,

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, in which the method steps are carried out as the container body moves along an automated conveyor.

16. A method as claimed in claim 14 or claim 15, in which the step of bonding the lid to the hinged flange includes the step of applying a compression force to compress the lid and hinged flange together, the compression force being applied in a direction substantially perpendicular to the base of the container body.

17. A container body adapted for use in a container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13, or in the method of any of claims 14 to 16.

18. A lid adapted for use in a container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13, or in the method of any of claims 14 to 16.

19. A container substantially as herein described with reference to, or as shown in, the accompanying Figures.

20. A lid substantially as herein described with reference to, or as shown in, the accompanying Figures.

21. A container body substantially as herein described with reference to, or as shown in, the accompanying Figures.

22. A method of manufacturing a container substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying Figures