Cartons with pouring spouts

Abstract: A carton blank to form a rectangular carton having a pouring spout which is formed from material coming out of a vertical edge (8) of the carton, i.e of material on each side of this edge and which hinges about a line (6) extending diagonally upwards across an end face (3) from the vertical edge.

Description: The present invention relates to cartons and blanks for cartons, which are of rectangular form and have a pouring spout. While most rectangular cartons are of oblong shape the term includes the case where some or all walls of the carton are square. Various kinds of pouring spout have been provided in the past, however they often require extra materials such as metallic inserts or do not seal to the carton very well. GB-A-919,695 discloses a solution to the pouring spout problem where the pouring spout is in the form of two adjacent spout panels made up of material coming from two adjacent panels near a top edge corner of the carton and using an upwardly diagonal fold as a hinge for the pouring spout. The pouring spout can then be drawn out from a vertical edge between a side panel and an end panel. This however suffers from leakage since the outer of the two spout panels is not supported on its inner face or sealed from the carton interior. Nonetheless this particular design has been very widely used for many years. More recently European Patent Specification 0,200,018 disclosed a number of examples of carbon blanks which have been designed to be made up into cartons having such a pouring spout where the second spout panel is supported on its inner surface and sealed from the interior. However each of these cartons suffers from disadvantages in that generally the pouring spout is formed from material from opposite ends of the blank so that material has to overlap in forming the spout which causes difficulty in assembly and use, or the carton uses an excess of material - which therefore adds to the cost. The present invention overcomes these problems by means of the features of claim 1. The hinge line will generally be defined by single or double crease lines or intermittent cuts. In order to gain access to the pouring spout for use, preferably a vertical tear strip is defined by tear lines in an edge of a side wall opposed to the second face of the carton so that when made up it provides access to the pouring spout, and prior to being torn open assists in the sealing of a carton, in a tamper proof manner. As previously mentioned, the second cut line should extend wholly within a side securing flap. The second cut line should be of a shape which enables the spout to pivot outwards without difficulty. In a preferred arrangement which achieves this objective, the cut line at its upper edge opens out into a cut-out and its shape is arcuate to allow for an arcuate movement when opening out the spout. The arcuate shape provides a camming action controlling movement of the spout, and in a preferred arrangement the arcuate shape straightens out in a last phase of defined movement to inhibit further movement of the spout beyond a desired open position. An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank for a carton in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 shows the carton in made up form before opening out the spout; Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the carton with the pouring spout opened out; and Figure 4 is a fragmental plan view of the erected carton sectioned on the lines IV-IV of figure 1. Referring to Figure 1, the blank comprises rectangular panels 1 and 2 which define the major side faces of the carton, a panel 3 defining an end face in which a pouring spout is located, a panel 4 defining a securing flap and a panel 5 defining an extension to the securing flap. Bottom and top sealing flaps and the rear end flap are also defined within the blank but are perfectly standard in shape and form. A diagonal hinge line 6 including spaced cuts extends upwardly across the panel 3 from a first hinge point indicated by arrow 7 on an edge line 8 between panel 4 and panel 3 to a second hinge point indicated by arrow 9 on edge line 10 between panels 3 and 1. A first cut line 11 formed from spaced cuts which can be easily torn open extends transversely from the second hinge point 9 across the end face 3 of the carton so that in the upright position of the set up carton this line is substantially horizontal. The line extends the whole way across the face 3. A second cut line 12 extends from the first hinge point 7 along a convoluted part rectangular path to join the first cut line 11. At its upper edge the cut line 12 branches into two lines 13 and 14 of pre-chosen shape to form a cut out aperture 15 in the board material. Thus, the lines 6, 11 and part of 8 define a first spout panel 19, while the lines 12, 14 and the same part of 8 define a second spout panel 20. The lines 13 and 14 are part arcuate in form so that in the made up condition of the carton, the spout can move to the opened out condition while remaining substantially in the plane of its own board material. The shape of the line 13 is arcuate for approximately two thirds of its length and this defines movement of the corner of panel 20 by a camming action during opening of the pouring spout. Thereafter the line 13 straightens out to travel in a straight direction back to the junction with edge line 8. This then acts to inhibit the pouring spout against opening too far. Within the region defined by the lines 11 and 14, is a rectangular glue strip 16 which holds the spout together in the erected pre-opened condition. This glue line needs to remain within the region defined by the lines 12 and 14 to ensure that adhesion only occurs where required. It has the important function of holding the pouring spout firmly closed during packing, transport and handling prior to opening. Finally on the carton blank, there is a tear strip 17 defined by spaced cuts 18 and located on the extreme right-hand edge of the panel 2 so that in the erected condition it comes up into the region of the pour spout cut lines previously discussed. The use of the glue line 16 and tear strip 17 is an optional feature, and in some uses can be omitted provided a thumb access hole is provided in place of the tear away strip 17. For erection of the carton, the first stage is to fold the extension flap back onto the sealing flap 4 and seal it in position. The carton is then made into a sleeve by sealing the extension flap 4 under the main panel 2. Cartons in this sleeve form are then normally supplied by the carton manufacturer to the user who is to fill and subsequently seal the carton on standard machinery. Then, when fully erected the carton has the appearance shown in figure 2. The vertical tear strip 17 can then be torn away; and, by thumb pressure, the pouring spout can be opened out as shown in figure 3. Referring to figure 4 which looks down sectionally on the pour spout part of the carton, it can be seen that spout panel 20 can pivot outwards about the pivot point 7 while sandwiched between the layers defined by panels 5 and 2, and lying substantially within its own plane (albeit with slight flexure at its outer end). This provides positive location of the pour spout in use, and also minimises the risk of seepage when the pour spout is closed after use. Moreover the difference in shape of the two lines 13 and 14 combined with the camming shape of the line 13 is such as to permit opening of the carton to the pouring position, but to lock the pouring device against further movement, by the camming action as previously described.

Claims: A carton blank for a rectangular carton which in made up form has a pouring spout, the made-up carton being formed from a sleeve where a first face (3) is connected at a first vertical edge line (8) to a second face (2) by a securing panel (4) and said pouring spout being defined by a diagonal hinge line (6) extending upwardly across the first face of the carton (3) from a first hinge point (7) on the first vertical edge line (8) between the second face (2) of the carton and said first face (3), to a second hinge point (9) on said first face, and the pouring spout being in the form of two hinged panels (19, 20) substantially at right angles to one another, the first of which panels is derived from said first face and the second (20) of which panels is derived from said securing panel and comes from material which in the made up form is parallel to said second face, there being a first cut line (11) in the blank which in the made up form of the carton extends from the second said hinge point (9) across said first face (3) of the carton, and a second cut line (12, 13) in the blank which in the made up form of a carton extends from the first hinge point (7) along a continuous convoluted path around said second hinged panel (20) to join said first cut line (11), the second spout panel being located to slide, in use, between two adjacent panels one of which adjacent panels being constituted by material of said second face (2) and the other by an extension flap (5) folded back from the securing panel (4); wherein in the blank, the extension flap (5), the securing panel (4) and the first face (3) are successively and adjacently connected so that said first face (3) is located to define an external face of the carton, that said second cut line (12, 13,) extends from said hinge point (7) to said first cut line (11) along a continuous path which branches into separated lines to form a cut-out (15) so that said continuous path and said cut-out (15) are wholly within said securing panel (4), and that the blank is arranged so that in use the second spout panel (20) is sandwiched between the said two adjacent panels and these are supporting panels within which the spout panel can slide. A carton blank according to Claim 1, characterised by a vertical tear strip (18) which is defined by tear lines in the second face of the carton so that when made up it provides access to the pouring spout, and prior to being torn open assists in the sealing of the carton as a tamper proof feature. A carton blank according to any of the preceding claims characterised in that the second cut line (12, 13) at its upper edge has a shape (14) which is an arcuate caming shape to allow for an arcuate movement of an inner upper corner of said second spout panel (20) along said camming shape when opening out the spout. A carton blank according to Claim 4 characterised in that the arcuate shape (14) straightens out in the last phase of defined movement to inhibit further movement of the spout beyond a desired open position. A carton formed from a blank in accordance with any of the preceding claims.

Inventors: HURDEN DEREK, HURDEN, DEREK
Applicants: TRENTON MILLWAY HOLDINGS, TRENTON (MILLWAY) HOLDINGS LIMITED
Application year: 1991
Main classification: B65D5
IPC codes: B65D5