Abstract:
A package having a bottom wall with in-folded gusset tips includes a plurality of upstanding side walls, each side wall contiguous or sealed to its adjacent side walls, a sealed top and a sealed bottom wall. The sealed bottom wall is formed from opposing leading and trailing panels, intermediate, opposing gusset panels and a sixth panel. The gusset panels are folded inwardly toward one another to form triangular panels. The triangular panels are disposed interior of the leading and trailing panels. The ends of the gusset panels define triangular tips that are folded away from one another. The sixth panel has a length that is less than or equal to the distance between the gusset tips.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION DATA  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/011,689, filed Dec. 14, 2004. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention pertains to a carton having a folded and sealed bottom wall. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a carton having a bottom wall having folded-in gusset tips.  
         [0003]     One common form of container for milk, juice and the like is the gable top carton. Recently, packaging technology has made enormous strides vis-à-vis these gable top cartons, as well as other types of packages. At present, technology permits packaging perishable food items for non-refrigerated extended shelf lives. These packages provide the ability to bring these food items into parts of the world that have limited transportation, distribution and storage infrastructure.  
         [0004]     In view of this, efforts have been made to increase the high standards of cleanliness in the formed, filled and sealed containers to provide the highest quality product and to provide the greatest product shelf life. And, in conjunction with this, the demands on the overall packaging processes have been maintained vis-à-vis machine operating speeds. Such machines must form, fill and seal packages, in a sterile environment, at high operating speeds.  
         [0005]     In order to maintain the integrity of the package after it is filled and sealed, advanced technologies have been applied to the carton materials, as well as the processing operations. Many such packaging materials are formed from paperboard or fiberboard-based materials formed in a composite structure. Typically, one or more layers, such as polymeric coatings, foil coatings and the like, are applied to the paperboard or fiberboard substrate to reduce or eliminate the gas and liquid permeability of the substrate material.  
         [0006]     It has been found that one avenue for providing an environment that reduces the shelf life is wicking of the food product into the package material. Wicking occurs at the edges of the material that are exposed to the food product. Typically, wicking occurs at the raw or exposed edges of the bottom wall panels as they are folded to form the bottom wall. To this end, it has been found desirable to reduce the amount or extent of exposed edges, and in particular at the bottom wall. It has also been found that the foil at the tips of the gussets (the in-folded triangular panels) can crack thus exposing the paperboard substrate material.  
         [0007]     One package that has affected a reduction in wicking is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,204 to Stacy-Ryan and an apparatus to form such an over-folded bottom is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,950 to Anderson, both of which patents are commonly assigned with the present application and are incorporated herein by reference. While this over-folded bottom served to “cover” the exposed edges from the bottom front or rear panel, the increase in material required was undesirable.  
         [0008]     Accordingly, there exists a need for a carton bottom folding configuration that reduces or eliminates the raw (exposed) paper edges within the carton product storage region. Desirably, such a carton uses, for the most part, a traditional creasing, folding and sealing configuration. Most desirably, such a carton can be formed on known form, fill and seal packaging machines (with minimal modification) and using less packaging material than known over-folded bottom arrangements.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     A package having a bottom wall with in-folded gusset tips includes a plurality of, preferably four, upstanding side walls, each side wall contiguous or sealed to its adjacent side walls. The package has a sealed top, such as the familiar gable top, and a sealed bottom wall. The sealed bottom wall is formed from opposing leading and trailing panels and intermediate, opposing gusset panels. The gusset panels are folded inwardly toward one another to form triangular panels. The triangular panels are disposed interior of the leading and trailing panels. The ends of the gusset panels define triangular tips that are folded away from one another.  
         [0010]     In a present package, the triangular tips are disposed between the triangular gusset panels and the leading and trailing panels, and the leading panel is sealed over the trailing panel. The triangular tips are spaced a predetermined distance from one another.  
         [0011]     A sixth panel is contiguous with the trailing panel. The sixth panel is folded rearwardly so as to lie between the leading and trailing panels. The sixth panel has a length that is less than the distance between the triangular panel tips. A blank for forming the package is also disclosed.  
         [0012]     These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, in conjunction with the appended claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     The benefits and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary carton embodying the principles of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a view of the bottom wall of the carton as viewed from the inside of the carton;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a view of the bottom of the carton as the gusset panels are being folded inward and as the gusset tip is urged outward as in-folding occurs;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a further view of the bottom of the carton, similar to  FIG. 3 , showing the gusset panels folded further inward (than  FIG. 3 ) and as the gusset tip further urged or held outward as in-folding occurs;  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 5 ;  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is a view of the carton bottom with the leading panel removed for clarity of illustration, showing the folded-in gusset tips and the tab panel;  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of a blank for the carton;  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged view of the tab panel; and  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged view of the creases on the carton for forming the folded-in gusset tips. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0024]     While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated.  
         [0025]     It should be further understood that the title of this section of this specification, namely, “Detailed Description Of The Invention”, relates to a requirement of the United States Patent Office, and does not imply, nor should be inferred to limit the subject matter disclosed herein.  
         [0026]     An embodiment of the package  10  in accordance with the principles of the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The package  10  can include an optional closure, such as a threaded cap or flip-type cap (not shown). The package  10  appears to be a conventional package having a gable top  12 , first and second side walls  14 ,  16 , a front wall  18 , a rear wall  20 , front and rear top panels  22 ,  24 , top infolded or side gable panels  26 ,  28  and a top fin  30 . The bottom wall  32 , likewise appears as a conventional bottom wall. A longitudinal side seal wall  34  (or fifth panel, shown in blank form in  FIG. 8 ) is formed adjacent one of the side walls  16  for sealing to, for example the front wall  18 , to form the tubular carton form.  
         [0027]     The bottom wall  32  is formed from in-folded side gusset panels  36 ,  38  and front and rear or leading and trailing panels  40 ,  42 . As seen in  FIG. 2 , as viewed from the inside of the carton  10 , the tips  44 ,  46  of the infolded triangular or gusset panels  36 ,  38  are folded over or folded in, so that they lie under the triangular panels. That is, the tips  44 ,  46  are folded over so that they lie between the triangular panels  36 ,  38  and the leading and trailing bottom panels  40 ,  42 . As seen from the inside of the package  10 , the gusset panels  36 ,  38  appear to have a truncated triangular shape, thus defining a folded over edge (indicated at  48 ,  50 ), rather than leaving a raw or uncoated edge portion within the inside (product storage region) of the carton  10 . In this arrangement, when the bottom panels  36 - 42  are heated and sealed, the tips  44 ,  46  lie within a sealed region and as such are isolated from the product storage region (or wetted region if used for liquid food packaging) of the carton  10 . Those skilled in the art will recognize that the polymer coating on the paperboard softens and melts during the sealing process thus fusing the panels (coatings) to one another.  
         [0028]     A tab or sixth panel  52  is folded over so that the raw or uncoated edge of the trailing panel  42  is also outside of the product storage or wetted region. That is, the uncoated edge is “shifted” from the end of the trailing panel  42  to the end of the tab panel  52  and, because the tab panel is folded over, the uncoated edge (indicated at  54 ) is thus, like the gusset tips  44 ,  46 , sealed between the triangular panels  36 ,  38  and the bottom panels  40 ,  42 . In a present package, the sixth panel  52  has a width (as at w 52 ) and a length (as at l 52 ). This configuration results in less material (about 3 percent less than known configurations) which provides a material cost savings.  
         [0029]     A blank  110  for the package  10  is shown in  FIG. 8 . The blank  110  has a plurality of panels that correspond to the front wall  18 , the rear wall  20  and the side walls  14 ,  16 . The panels  14 - 20  are partitioned from one another by a plurality of vertical score or crease lines  112 . Those skilled in the art will recognize that the score or crease lines are those areas in the packaging material that facilitate folding the material along a predetermined, desired line. The lines are formed by, for example, embossing and the like. For purposes of the present disclosure, the terms score line and crease line are to be considered interchangeable.  
         [0030]     A plurality of corresponding bottom panels  32 - 38  are partitioned from the corresponding or respective front, rear and side panels  14 - 20  by a lower horizontal score line  114 . A plurality of lower diagonal score lines  116  further define the bottom gusset panels  36 ,  38  and are for folding purposes. The bottom or tab panel  52  (also referred to as the sixth panel) is separated from the trailing panel  42  by a score line  118 .  
         [0031]     In known carton blanks, the diagonal score lines extend fully from the horizontal score line separating the side panels from the bottom panels to the edge of the bottom panels (indicated at  120 ), and the score lines meet at the edge to form the triangular panels.  
         [0032]     In the present blank  110 , the diagonal score lines  116  (referred to herein as major diagonal score lines) terminate at a folding region  122  that includes a rectangular area  124  having smaller triangular areas  126  adjacent to the sides of the rectangular area  124 . The areas  124 ,  126  are defined by a first horizontal score line  128  contiguous with a pair of spaced apart vertical score lines  130  (forming an upside-down U). The major diagonal score lines  116  terminate at the corners  132  of the U or at the respective junctures of the horizontal and vertical score lines  128 ,  130 .  
         [0033]     To accommodate the in-folding of the tips,  44 ,  46  each of the bottom gusset panels  36 ,  38  includes a pair of minor diagonal score lines  134  that extend from the edge  120  of the panel to the respective junctures (corners)  132  of the horizontal and vertical score lines  128 ,  130  with the major diagonal score lines  116 .  
         [0034]      FIGS. 3-6  illustrate the carton bottom  32  as it is being folded. The bottom side (gusset) panels  36 ,  38  are slightly infolded at the triangular portions  36   a ,  38   a , of the panels  36 ,  38 . In addition, the folding regions  122  are folded or pulled outwardly (see arrow A in  FIG. 3 ) relative to the in-folding of the triangular portions  36   a ,  38   a  of the panels  36 ,  38 . This forms the truncation of the gusset panels  36 ,  38  by folding the tips  44 ,  46  of the panels  36 ,  38 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 7  illustrates the bottom  32  (exterior) of the carton with portions of the leading and trailing bottom panels  40 ,  42  cut away to better view the in-folded gusset tips  44 ,  46  and the optimized sixth panel  52 . In these views, it can be seen that the sixth panel  52  is folded into the folds of the  44 ,  46 . To this end, the sixth panel  52  has a length l 52  (at the base of the panel  52 , at score line  118 ) that is slightly less than the distance d 44-46  between the triangular tips of panels  44 ,  46  (see  FIG. 7 ). In addition, the angle α (formed by the folding of the tips  44 ,  46  (formed by or along crease lines  134 ) is less than or preferably about equal to the angle β formed by the edge  52   a  of panel  52 . In this manner, the panel  52  lies wholly within a “footprint” that is defined by the folded tips  44 ,  46 , and the leading and trailing bottom panels  40 ,  42 . Accordingly, this configuration prevents an excessive number of “layers” of material. It has been found that this configuration provides the necessary area for proper sealing, while minimizing the amount of material needed.  
         [0036]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 8 , the top or gable portion  12  of the carton  10  is formed as in a traditional manner. The front panel  22  is partitioned from the front wall  18  by an upper horizontal score line  136 . Likewise, side top panels  26 ,  28  are partitioned by the score line  136  from their respective side wall panels  14 ,  16 . The rear wall panel  20  corresponds to top panel  24  which is likewise partitioned therefrom by the upper horizontal score line  136 . The top fin  30  of the package  10  is formed by a plurality of fin panels, indicated generally at  138  in  FIG. 8 . The fin panels  138  are partitioned from their corresponding top panels by horizontal score lines. Those skilled in the art will recognize the configuration and folding/assembly of the top (gable)  12  and fin  30 .  
         [0037]     All patents referred to herein, are hereby incorporated herein by reference, whether or not specifically done so within the text of this disclosure.  
         [0038]     In the present disclosure, the words “a” or “an” are to be taken to include both the singular and the plural. Conversely, any reference to plural items shall, where appropriate, include the singular.  
         [0039]     From the foregoing it will be observed that numerous modifications and variations can be effectuated without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the present invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments illustrated is intended or should be inferred. The disclosure is intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.