Cardboard container for solid, granular or possibly pasty products, and manufacturing method thereof

• US 7,017,797 B2
• Filed: 05/29/2003
• Issued: 03/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: P.L.V. S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: P.L.V. S.p.A.
• Inventors: Goglio, Luigi
• Primary Examiner(s): MAI, TRI M
• Application Number:
  US10/446,735
• Publication Number:
  US 20040238609A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,034 Days
• Field of Search: 229/125.17, 229/125.05, 229/125.14, 229/125.19, 229/5.5, 229/116.1, 229/109, 229/240, 229/242
• US Class Current: 229/125.17
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/14 with inset end closures
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/18 by folding a single blank to U-shape to form the base of the container and opposite sides of the body portion, the remaining sides being formed primarily by extensions of one or more of these opposite sides, e.g. flaps hinged thereto B65D5/36 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/40 specially constructed to contain liquids
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/563 Laminated linings; Coatings

Abstract

A cardboard container (1) is described particularly for solid, granular or powder products, but also adaptable to contain fluid products, in particular paste or cream products and the like. The container is obtained from two cardboard blanks (10), (11), the first giving rise to the body of the container, the second to a top closure wall. The body of the container rises conically from a rectangular base (2) to give rise at the top to a substantially octagonal mouth, wherein is inserted said reclosure cover (8) having peripheral flaps (h) upwardly folded and positioned inside the mouth of the container, to be blocked by corresponding flaps (f, f′) of the upper edge (3) of the container (1), which are folded inwardly and fixed by means of glue or heat-sealing adhesive. In one embodiment, the container (1) can be made hermetic, for containing fluid products, by applying a film (40) to the blank wherefrom the body of the container is produced, and a thin layer of aluminium (50) to the blank (11) giving rise to said top closure wall (8), wherein a cut line (22, 23) is provided to facilitate removal of a disk (8′) and form an opening for access to the product. A method for production of such a container is also described.

Claims

1. A cardboard container having a substantially box-type shaped body, open at a top, and a top closure wall (8), characterised in that said body and said top closure wall are formed from two respective blanks (10, 11), said top closure wall (8) being disposed inside the container body, at a certain distance from an upper edge (3) thereof, and being provided with a pre-cut line (22, 23) able to facilitate detachment of a disk (8′

), to form an opening for access to the container,

characterised in that it further comprises a reclosure cover (9), openable hingedly around one of a plurality of folded flaps (f, f′

) of the upper edge (3) of the container are being disposed, in a closed position, on said top closure wall (8) and on said peripheral edge (30), once said disk (8′

) for reclosing of the container has been removed, and

characterised in that reclosure of said cover (9) takes place by snap closure, the front edge of said cover being disposed, with slight forcing, beneath at least one flap (f, f′

) of said upper edge (3) of the container, said at least one flap being shorter and thicker than the other flaps (f, f′

).

2. A container according to claim 1, characterised in that said top closure wall (8) has a plurality of peripheral flaps (h) folded upwardly at about 90°

so as to be disposed against the corresponding inner walls of the container body, which has at an upper peripheral edge (3) corresponding counterflaps (f, f′

) which, folded inwardly, are superimposed on said flaps (h) of the closure wall, blocking it in position by means of glue or adhesive.

3. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that said container (1) rises from a rectangular base (2) with a predetermined conicity, widening towards the upper part, where said container has an octagonal top (3) with four larger sides (4), coinciding with the four substantially vertical peripheral walls (5) of the container, and four smaller sides (6), coinciding with blunted corners (7) of the container.

4. A container according to claim 1, characterised in that said pre-cut line (22, 23) is shaped so as to leave on said top closure wall (8), after removal of said disk (8′

), an edge (30) extending at least partially along the perimeter of the container (1), to stiffen the mouth of the container.

5. A container according to claim 1, characterised in that said reclosure cover (9) has a pull tab (20) protruding beyond said upper edge (3) of the container, in the closure position.

6. A container according to claim 1, characterised in that a pull tab (20) of the cover (8) is disposed, in the closure position, in the empty space between two said flaps (f, f′

).

7. A container according to claim 1, characterised in that said cover (9) has, on two inclined sides thereof adjacent the hinging side, two notches (31) able to hook on to the upper edge (3) of the container, so that the cover is held blocked in the opening position.

8. A container according to claim 1, characterised in that disposed inside said container body is a film (40), fixed at points or along lines to said blank (10) and sized to reach to said upper edge (3) of the container, being disposed beneath folded flaps (f, f′

), and to cover an entire inside peripheral surface of the container, a thin aluminium sheet (50) being applied internally to said top closure wall (8), such that following fixing of said top closure wall (8) to the body of the container by folding of said flaps (h) and sealing or gluing along the upper peripheral edge of the container, a single hermetically sealed whole is formed.

9. A container according to claim 8, wherein said lining film (40) is a multilayer 30 plastic film, heat-sealable on both sides.

12. A blank (10) for production of a container body for containing products, comprising:

a central rectangle (a) defining said container base (2),

two opposed tongues (b) inwardly foldable about respective fold lines (12) coinciding with two opposite sides of the of the rectangle (a),

two portions each shaped as an isosceles trapezium (c, c′

) foldable about two other sides (13, 13′

) of the rectangle (a), to form rear and front walls, respectively, of the container (1)

two pairs of triangular portions (d, d, d′

, d′

) respectively adjacent said isosceles trapezium portions (c, c′

) and joined thereto by means of respective crease lines (14, 14′

), said triangular portions (d, d′

) having vertices coinciding with corresponding vertices of said rectangle (a), being able to form said blunted corners (7) of the container (1),

first and second pairs of connecting portions, each portion in each of said first pair and said second pair being shaped as a trapezium (e, e, e′

, e′

), respectively adjacent said triangular portions (d, d, d′

, d′

), and joined thereto by respective crease lines (15, 15′

), the trapesium-shape portions in said second pair (e′

, e′

) being wider than the trapezium-shape portions in said first pair (e, e′

) and being provided on the respective outer edges with a strip of glue or heat-sealable adhesive (16, 16′

), for fixing to the corresponding trapezium-shaped portions in said first pair (e and e), to define, by superimposition of said first and second trapezium-shaped portions (e, e′

), the right and left side-walls of the container body and the closure thereof,

a plurality of flaps (f, f′

), sealable on the inside, substantially shaped as isosceles trapezium, protruding respectively from said isosceles trapezium and triangular portions (c, d) and from said isosceles trapezium, triangular and second pair of trapezium-shaped portions (c′

, d′

, e′

),

octagonal portion (g) connected by means of a fold line (18), to one of said flaps (f, f′

), to form said re-closure cover.

10. A method for production of a cardboard container, particularly for solid granular or powder products, obtained starting from first and second blanks (10), (11), according to claim 12, said method comprising the following stages:

for said first blank (1),

inward folding of said tongues (b) about the respective fold lines (12),

upward folding of said isosceles trapezium portions (c, c′

) around said respective fold lines (13, 13′

).

inward rotation of said triangular portions, and said first and second pairs of trapezium-shaped portions (d, e, d′

, e′

), about the crease lines (14, 15, 14′

, 15′

), respectively,

partial superimposition of said second pair of trapezium-shaped portions (e′

, e′

) and said first pair of trapezium-shaped portions (e, e) and fixing by said strips (16) of glue or heat-sealing adhesive, so as to obtain a container body open at the top,

filling of the open container body with the relative product, and

for said second blank (11),

upward folding at about 90°

of said flaps (h) of said blank (11), having pre-cut lines (22–

23),

insertion of the blank (11) with the flaps (h) facing upwards into the open container body disposing it as such a level that its upper edge coincides with the fold lines (17, 17′

) of the flaps (f, f′

) of the blank (10), and

inward folding of said flaps (f, f′

) and gluing thereof to the corresponding flaps (h) of the blank (11),

whereby said cover (9) is lowerable onto said top closure wall (8).

11. A method according to claim 10, for production of a container particularly suitable for containing fluid products, characterised in that before folding, a plastic film (40), heat-sealable on both sides, is applied to said blank (10) and a thin layer of aluminium (50) is closely applied to said blank (11) by gluing or heat sealing.

13. A blank according to claim 12 for production of a container body particularly suitable for containing products in a fluid state, characterised in that said blank further comprises a lining film (40) of plastic material, fixed at points or along lines to the blank (10), and sized as to come level with folding bases (17, 17′

) of said flaps (f, f′

) respectively, and to involve an entire peripheral surface of the container.

14. A blank according to claim 13, characterised in that said lining film (40) is heatsealable on both sides and is fixed to the blank (10) along a rectangular track (41) which involves said base (a) and two strips (42, 42′

) disposed near the free ends of said isosceles triangle-shaped portions (c, c′

), respectively.