A PACKAGING CONTAINER, A METHOD AND AN ASSEMBLY FOR FILLING SAME

Abstract: A packaging container of foldable material which is provided with a filling arrangement (6) with a contents supply channel (10) which is closed by means of a covering membrane (11). In the empty state, the packaging container is flat-laid, in which event the covering membrane (11) is connected to an opposing wall. In filled packaging containers, the covering membrane has been released from the filling arrangement (6) and is, like the above-mentioned wall, located a distance therefrom so that the contents supply channel is exposed. A method of filling the packaging container includes penetration of the covering membrane (11), and an assembly for carrying the method into effect includes a filler pipe (18) provided with a cutting edge (20).

Description: A PACKAGING CONTAINER, A METHOD AND AN ASSEMBLY FOR FILLING SAME TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a packaging container of foldable material which is disposed to be reformed between a substantially flat-laid state and a raised state, and including a filling arrangement with a contents supply channel. The present invention also relates to a method of filling a packaging container with pumpable contents during the simultaneous reforming of the container from a substantially flat-laid state to a raised state via a filling arrangement with a contents supply channel which, in the flat- laid state of the packaging container, is sealed in liquid-tight fashion. The present invention finally relates to an assembly for filling packaging containers with pumpable contents during the simultaneous reforming of the packaging container from the flat-laid and sealed state to a raised state, the assembly including a filler pipe and a filling arrangement carried by the packaging container and provided with a contents supply channel. BACKGROUND ART It is known in the art to pack, for example, foods of liquid or pumpable type in single use disposable packages of flexible packaging material, e.g. plastic film or packaging laminate comprising layers of paper and plastic. Packaging containers of this type are ready made and sealed and are transported in, for instance, the flat-laid state to a point where they are to be filled with the intended contents. At, for instance, a dairy or a juice producing plant, the flat-laid packaging containers are fed to a filling machine which fills the packaging containers with, for example, milk or juice and reseals them for further transport to the consumer. When the contents which are to be packed have been sterilized beforehand in order to obtain long shelf life, packaging containers of aseptic type are employed. Sealed, flat-laid packaging containers may, for example, be sterilized by radiation at the producers, which makes it simple to transport the packaging containers in a securely aseptic manner to the filling machine where they are filled under aseptic conditions. A packaging system of this type is described in European Patent Application EP95101194.9, to which reference is now made. This packaging system produces aseptic consumer packages of the single use disposable type which are finished and sterilized centrally, whereafter they are transported to a filling machine where they are filled and given the desired final form. Filling takes place by means of a filler pipe which, after a supplementary sterilization, penetrates a wall in a filling arrangement so that the desired quantity of contents may be pumped into the packaging container under aseptic conditions. The filler pipe is removed and the filling arrangement is sealed in a sterile chamber and, after final forming, the packaging container is ready for delivery. A further prior art packaging container is described in European Patent EP 263.101, to which reference is now made. This packaging container is a big bag produced from flexible plastic material, and the package is provided with a filling arrangement and a closure arrangement which together ensure that the prefabricated packaging container may be filled and resealed in a satisfactory manner from the viewpoint of sterility. The filling arrangement comprises a tubular portion which is sealed in liquid-tight fashion over an aperture provided in one wall surface of the packaging container. A closure arrangement is connected to an opposing, interior wall surface in the packaging container and is employed to provide an interior closure of the filling arrangement. With the aid of individually movable operating devices, the closure arrangement is temporarily removed from the filling arrangement in connection with the filling operation cycle. While the above mentioned type of packaging container displays a filling and closure arrangement which functions satisfactorily, it is only suitable for use in bag packs of large volume in which the opposing walls are located adjacent one another. The arrangement requires double hole making and liquid-tight sealing between the filling arrangement and the closure arrangement and the material of the packaging container, respectively, and is moreover relatively expensive and complex in its design and construction. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION - THE CONTAINER There is thus a wish in the art to provide a packaging container of consumer size which may made ready beforehand and which includes a filling arrangement also suitable for aseptic filling, and being of simple and economical design and construction. One object of the present invention is to realise such a packaging container with a filling arrangement which, from the aseptic viewpoint, has a "pure" construction which obviates the above-outlined difficulties and which does not suffer from the drawbacks inherent in prior art packaging containers. A further object of the present invention is to realise a packaging container with a filling arrangement which is simple to mount on a flat-laid packaging container without complicated hole making, positioning or sealing. Yet a further object of the present invention is to realise a packaging container with a filling arrangement whose construction prevents the occurrence of traps, cavities or other risk sources for bacterial accumulation. Still a further object of the present invention is to realise a packaging container with a filling arrangement which includes a wall intended for penetration, the wall being designed and arranged in such a manner that the penetration may take place in a controlled manner and without causing contamination in the packaging container. SOLUTION These and other objects have been attained according to the present invention in that a packaging container of the type described by way of introduction has been given the characterizing feature that the contents supply channel in the flat-laid state of the packaging container is sealed in liquid-tight fashion by means of a covering membrane which is integral with the filling arrangement and which is permanently connected to an opposing, inner wall surface in the packaging container, the covering membrane being, in the raised state of the packaging container, mechanically separated from the filling arrangement and located at such a distance therefrom that the contents supply channel is exposed. Preferred embodiments of the packaging container according to the present invention have further been given the characterizing features as set forth in appended subclaims 2 to 6. By manufacturing the filling arrangement in one piece, i.e. with integral covering membrane, there will be obtained an extremely "pure" construction which facilitates aseptic handling. By permanently connecting the covering membrane to an opposing, inner wall surface in the packaging container, it will be ensured that, on penetration, material pieces deriving from the filling arrangement and/ or the packaging container proper do not fall loose inside the packaging container or impede the contents during filling and emptying. Furthermore, the conditions will be created for a rational opening and filling cycle which is also extremely well-suited for aseptic conditions. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION - THE METHOD One object of the present invention is also to realise a method of filling a packaging container of the above-outlined type, this method being eminently well suited for aseptic filling and being capable of execution rapidly and rationally in a high capacity filling machine. A further object of the present invention is to realise a method of filling a packaging container which makes it possible, without complicated positioning of the packaging container and /or the filling arrangement and without mechanical handling by several independent parts, to execute the filling cycle in a satisfactory manner from the aseptic viewpoint. Yet a further object of the present invention is to realise a method of filling a packaging container which does not suffer from the drawbacks as outlined above in a consideration of the prior art. SOLUTION The above and other objects have been attained according to the present invention in that a method of the type described by way of introduction has been given the characterizing feature that the filling arrangement is connected to a filler pipe which breaks the liquid tight seal of the contents supply channel by mechanically separating a covering membrane integral with the filling arrangement therefrom. One preferred embodiment of the method according to the present invention has further been given the characterizing features as set forth in appended subclaim 8. The method according to the invention makes for a rapid and reliable filling cycle which is eminently suited for aseptic filling in a surrounding sterile chamber. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION - THE ASSEMBLY One object of the present invention is finally also to realise an assembly for filling a packaging container with pumpable contents, the assembly being simple and uncomplicated and not displaying those drawbacks from which similar prior art assemblies suffer. A further object of the present invention is to realise an assembly for filling a packaging container which includes few moving parts and is designed, in one work operation, reliably and hygienically to open and fill a prefabricated packaging container. Yet a further object of the present invention is to realise an assembly for filling a packaging container, the assembly including means for fixing and handling a packaging container during filling. SOLUTION The above and other objects have been attained according to the present invention in that an assembly of the type described by way of introduction has been given the characterizing feature that the contents supply channel has a liquid-tight covering membrane integral with the filling arrangement and connected to an opposing, inner wall surface in the packaging container, the filler pipe having a portion which is connectable in liquid-tight fashion with the filling arrangement and whose free end displays means for penetrating the covering membrane and separation thereof from the filling arrangement. Preferred embodiments of the assembly according to the present invention have further been given the characterizing features as set forth in appended subclaims 10 to 12. Since the assembly according to the invention displays a filler pipe with an integral penetration device, a simple construction will be obtained which is well suited for aseptic filling of packaging containers which have been rendered aseptic beforehand. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS One preferred embodiment of the packaging container, the method and the assembly according to the present invention will now be described in greater detail hereinbelow, with particular reference to the accompanying, schematic Drawings which show only those details indispensable for an understanding of the present invention. In the accompanying Drawings: Fig. 1 shows, in the flat-laid state, a packaging container of the type which is intended to be handled using the method according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows the packaging container of Fig. 1 after filling and final forming; Fig. 3 shows, on a larger scale and in section, a filling arrangement according to the invention mounted on a packaging container in the flat-laid state; and Fig. 4 shows, on a larger scale and in section, the filling arrangement according to Fig. 3 during the final phase of the filling cycle. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT One preferred embodiment of a packaging container according to the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 1 and is manufactured from a foldable, flexible packaging material of known type. The packaging material may, for example, be a laminate which includes a substantially central carrier or core layer of fibre material, for example paper, which is coated on either side with homogeneous layers of thermoplastic material, e.g. polyethylene. The packaging laminate may also include further layers, for example of aluminium foil or other barrier material. In Fig. 1, the packaging container is shown in the compressed or flat-laid state, which makes it suitable as a space saving measure to be capable of being transported, for example from the point of manufacture to the food producer where the packaging container is to be finished and filled with the intended contents. The packaging container 1 is produced in that a sheet or a web of packaging material is double folded along a bottom line 2, whereafter the longitudinal and transverse edges of the sheet are thermosealed inside-to-inside in two mutually parallel, longitudinal joints 3, and a transverse joint 4. The packaging material is also provided with a pattern of fold or crease lines 5 which make it possible, in a per se known manner, to convert the blank into a substantially parallelepipedic packaging configuration. A packaging container of this type is described in, for example, EP 95101194.9, to which reference is now made for further information in respect of both the packaging container with its filling arrangement, as well as the method and the design and construction of the assembly. At the upper end of the packaging container 1, the one side of the flat- laid blank displays a, for example, injection moulded filling arrangement and /or opening arrangement 6, which is covered by a closure device 7, for example a screw cap. It will be apparent from Fig. 2 how the packaging container 1, after filling and closure, has obtained its parallelepipedic configuration, the fold or crease lines 5 controlling the formation of the longitudinal and transverse edge lines of the packaging container, and also making possible the forming of the four flat-laid corner flaps 8 for taking care of the excess material which, for geometric reasons, occurs on the reforming of the flat-laid packaging container into its final, parallelepipedic configuration. Two upper corner flaps 8 are folded down towards and sealed to the sides of the packaging container while two bottom corner flaps (not visible) are folded in towards and sealed to the bottom of the packaging container. It will also be apparent from Fig. 2 how the filling arrangement/ opening arrangement 6 is, after reforming of the packaging container to the raised state, placed at a forward end of the relatively planar, upper top wall 9 of the packaging container, i.e. between one of the edge or crease lines 5 and in front of the centrally running transverse joint 4 over the top wall 9 of the packaging container. The filling arrangement 6 and surrounding portion of the packaging container 1 are shown on a larger scale and in cross section in Figs. 3 and 4, from which it will be apparent how the filling arrangement 6 is substantially tubular in shape and surrounds an interior contents supply channel 10. The contents supply channel 10 is, at its lower end, sealed in liquid-tight fashion by means of a wall or covering membrane 11 which is integral with and thus of one piece manufacture with the filling arrangement 6, for example by injection moulding. The covering membrane 11 has a central, planar region and a surrounding, peripheral region which is gently frusto conical and connected to the contents supply channel 10 a slight distance above the plane in which the central region of the covering membrane 11 is located. The outside of the filling arrangement 6 displays, at its lower end, a projecting flange 12 which, by thermosealing, is connected in liquid-tight fashion to the inside of the packaging material. The outside of the filling arrangement further has a groove 13 located a slight distance above the flange, as well as a thread 14 for applying the closure device 7, for example in the form of a screw cap. When the packaging container is in the flat-laid state illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, the transverse sealing joint 4 is located immediately adjacent the filling arrangement 6 (to the left in Fig. 3), while the rear portion of the top wall 9 abuts with its inner surface against and is thermosealed to the central portion of the covering membrane 11. The thermosealing between the packaging material and both the covering membrane 11 and the flange 12 takes place in connection with the manufacture of the flat-laid packaging containers. Fig. 4 shows the filling arrangement 6 according to Fig. 3 in a later stage and, more precisely, during the closing sequence of the filling cycle. The filling arrangement 6 is surrounded by a guide member 15, which includes an immobile fixing device 16 in the form of a fixed or flexible part and a radially movable fixing device 17 which includes one or more radially movable segments for engagement with the groove 13 of the filling arrangement 6. A filler pipe 18 is inserted in the contents supply channel 10 of the filling arrangement 6. The outer diameter of the cylindrical filler pipe 18 is equal to or slightly less than the inner diameter of the contents supply channel 10, and the lower portion of the filler pipe 18 is surrounded by a sealing ring or projecting bead 19 for sealing abutment against the inner surface of the contents supply channel 10. At its lower end, the filler pipe 18 displays a circular cutting edge 20 which, in the illustrated position, has penetrated and separated the covering membrane 11 from the filling arrangement 6 along an annular incision. The covering membrane 11 is, as has been mentioned previously, sealed to the inner surface of the packaging material at the rear portion of the top wall 9, which, in connection with the filling and reforming of the flat-laid packaging container 1 to the raised state, pivots aside about the transverse joint 4 until the front and rear portions, respectively, of the top wall are located substantially in the same plane. The covering membrane 11 will hereby be removed from the contents supply channel 10 and expose the channel so that contents may be pumped unimpeded into the packaging container. In a per se known manner (not shown), the filler pipe 18 is connected to a pump and a contents source of conventional type. Manoeuvring of the filler pipe 18 in the axial direction, as well as operation of the movable fixing device 17 of the guide member 15 take place mechanically, pneumatically, hydraulically or electrically with the aid of know drive means (not shown). On filling of aseptic packages, the entire filling assembly is surrounded in a per se known manner by a sterile chamber provided with sluice or curtain arrangements, the chamber being fed with sterile air at excess pressure. When a packaging container according to the invention is to be filled with its contents, it is fed to the filling machine in the flat-laid, closed and previously sterilized form. The packaging container is here provided with the filling arrangement 6 whose flange 12 is thermosealed in liquid- and bacteria-tight fashion to a surrounding portion of the packaging material and the central portion of the covering membrane 11 is permanently connected to an opposing, inner wall surface, i.e. the inside of the top wall 9. The packaging container has undergone sterilization treatment, for example by being subjected in the flat-laid state to a radiation sterilization until such time as its inner space has reached a level of sterility which is satisfactory for the intended purpose. After infeed into the filling machine and possible supplementary sterilization using, for example, hydrogen peroxide or steam by the filling arrangement (in sterile space), this is inserted in the guide member 15 of the machine by an axial relative movement between the filling arrangement 6 and the guide member 15 until such time as the fixing devices 16 come into abutment against the upper edge region of the filling arrangement 6. In this position, the radially movable fixing devices 17 are activated so that they are brought into engagement with the groove 13 in the lower, external portion of the filling arrangement. The filling arrangement 6 is hereby fixed in the desired position in relation to the guide member 15 so that the filler pipe 18 may, with the desired precision, be axially displaced downwards through the contents supply channel 10. In such instance, the cutting edge 20 located at the front end of the filler pipe 18 will come into contact with the periphery of the covering membrane 11 which is punctured up to the surface of the channel 10 so that the communication between the covering membrane 11 and the filling arrangement 6 ceases and the interior of the packaging container becomes accessible for the infeed of contents via the filler pipe 18. With the aid of, for example, a metering pump of known type, contents are now passed via the filler pipe 18 into the flat-laid packaging container which is hereby forced to expand and progressively change into more or less parallelepipedic configuration (apart from the corner flaps 8), controlled by external, mechanical forming parts (described in greater detail in European Patent Application EP 95101194.9, to which reference is now made for further information.) During the transition from flat-laid to parallelepipedic configuration, the rear and front portions, respectively, of the top wall 9 will be pivoted away from one another with the transverse sealing joint 4 acting as pivot, for which reason the top wall 9 will, after a completed filling cycle, have assumed the position illustrated in Fig. 4 with the covering membrane 11 located a distance from the inlet of the filling arrangement 6. The covering membrane 11 (which thus remains in the packaging container) will hereby become invisible to the consumer via the contents supply channel 10. This makes it possible to provide the non-sealed surface of the covering membrane with a marking or a number which can be made visible to the consumer only if the packaging container is once again flat-laid after emptying of its contents. The marking may, for example, consist of some form of lottery number or act as a marking for some other type of competition described on the outside of the package, which acts as an incentive for the consumer to flatten the empty package, as is desirable in order to reduce the volume of litter and refuse. After completed filling and forming of the packaging container, the filler pipe 18 is removed and the outer end of the filling arrangement 6 is sealed in liquid- and bacteria-tight fashion, e.g. by means of a thermosealable pull tab and/ or a screw cap 7. The filling arrangement will, in the illustrated embodiment, thus also serve as an opening arrangement on the finished packaging container. The packaging container with the above-described filling arrangement thus makes it possible, in a controlled and hygienic manner, to handle and fill previously sterilized, flat-laid packaging containers. The arrangement is simple and convenient to handle and makes for rational, rapid filling with retained security and dependability.

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A packaging container of foldable material which is disposed to be reformed between a substantially flat-laid state and to a raised state, and comprising a filling arrangement (6) with a contents supply channel (10), characterized in that the contents supply channel (10), in the flat-laid state of the packaging container (1), is closed in liquid-tight fashion by means of a covering membrane (11) integral with the filling arrangement (6), the covering membrane being permanently connected to an opposing, inner wall surface in the packaging container, said covering membrane (11) being, in the raised state of the packaging container, mechanically separated from the filling arrangement (6) and located at such distance therefrom that the contents supply channel (10) is exposed. 2. The packaging container as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that the covering membrane (11) is of one piece manufacture with the filling arrangement (6) and is located at the end of the contents supply channel (10) facing towards the interior of the packaging container (1). 3. The packaging container as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the filling arrangement (6) is made of thermoplastic material, the central portion of the covering membrane (11) being, in a flat-laid packaging container (1), thermosealed to said inner wall surface consisting of thermoplastic material. 4. The packaging container as claimed in Claim 3, characterized in that the peripheral region of the covering membrane (11) connects to the contents supply channel (10) a distance from said inner wall surface in the packaging container (1). 5. The packaging container as claimed in one or more of the preceding Claims, characterized in that the filling arrangement (6) serves, in a raised and filled package (1) as opening arrangement, in which instance the outer end of the channel (10) displays a closure device (7). 6. The packaging container as claimed in one or more of the preceding Claims, characterized in that the surface of the covering membrane (11) displays a marking which, in the flat-laid state of the packaging container (1), is visible via the channel from the outside of the packaging container. 7. A method of filling a packaging container with pumpable contents during the simultaneous reforming thereof from a substantially flat-laid state to raised state, via a filling arrangement (6) with a contents supply channel (10) which, in the flat-laid state of the packaging container (1), is sealed in liquid- tight fashion, characterized in that the filling arrangement (6) is connected to a filler pipe (18) which breaks the liquid-tight closure of the contents supply channel (10) by mechanically separating therefrom a covering membrane (11) integral with the filling arrangement. 8. The method as claimed in Claim 7, characterized in that the covering membrane (11) is separated by means of an annular incision which extends around a seal connecting the covering membrane with the inner wall surface of the packaging container (1). 9. An assembly for filling a packaging container with pumpable contents during simultaneous reforming thereof from the flat-laid and sealed state to raised state, said assembly including a filler pipe (18) and a filling arrangement (6) carried by the packaging container (1) and provided with a contents supply channel (10), characterized in that the contents supply channel (10) has a liquid-tight covering membrane (11) integral with the filling arrangement (6) and connected to an opposing, inner wall surface in the packaging container (1), the filler pipe (18) having a portion which is connectable in liquid-tight fashion with the filling arrangement, and whose free end displays means for penetrating the covering membrane (11) and separation thereof from the filling arrangement (6). 10. The assembly as claimed in Claim 9, characterized in that said penetration means includes a circular cutting edge (20) which extends around the free end of the filler pipe (18). 11. The assembly as claimed in Claim 10, characterized in that the diameter of the cutting edge (20) substantially corresponds to the outer diameter of the filler pipe (18). 12. The assembly as claimed in any of Claims 9 to 11, characterized in that it includes an individually movable guide member (15) surrounding the filler pipe (18) and having fixing (16) and locking devices (17) mechanically connectable to the outside of the filling arrangement (6) for fixing the filler pipe in the desired position during penetration of the covering membrane (11) and filling of the packaging container.

Inventors: OLSEN JAN-ERIK, OLSEN, JAN-ERIK
Applicants: OLSEN JAN ERIK, TETRA LAVAL HOLDINGS & FINANCE, OLSEN, JAN-ERIK, TETRA LAVAL HOLDINGS & FINANCE S.A.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B65D47
IPC codes: B65B3, B65D5, B65D33, B65D47