Patent Publication Number: US-2010108746-A1

Title: Package

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a package comprising a substantially cylindrical part, which has a bottom at one end and at the other end is formed in one part with a mainly truncated cone-shaped, tapering part, which in the narrowest end has a closable spout, said cylindrical and tapering part are formed by folding a mainly rectangular, sheet-shaped body made of a laminate with a plastic coating and welded together by overlapping end parts, whereby the tapering part is achieved by forming and folding a number of overlapping folds, where each fold in circumferential direction has an extent increasing in direction of the narrowest end. 
     BACKGROUND 
     It is well-known to produce packages in the form of bricks or cartons with a gable top for reception of beverages, such as dairy products or juice. It is also well-known to produce such packages in a bottle-like shape, as the material consumption for such packages is quite smaller than for said bricks or cartons. 
     WO 2004/041663 A1 discloses a bottle-like package of the initially mentioned type, where both the package bottom and the truncated cone-shaped, tapering part are formed in one part, as they are both made by folding. At the top of the bottle, a spout for closing the bottle is fastened, said spout being adapted to close the bottle. 
     GB 343,140 discloses a similar bottle-shaped package, and the same specification also discloses how such package is made by folding a rectangular, sheet-shaped body consisting of several layers of paper glued together, both by means of external compression means and by means of internally placed cores ensuring that the folding is managed appropriately and ends being a package, with in all essentials an even outer surface, especially within the tapering part (see also GB 362,968, which has the same proprietor as the above GB specification). 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the invention is to provide a package, which is relatively easily produced and which is tight. 
     According to the invention this is achieved in that the rectangular sheet-shaped body has inclined cut corners at the end, which after folding constitutes the narrowest end, and in that at the tapering part includes a maximum of three folded layers. 
     As a consequence of the inclined cut corners, a maximum of three layers overlap one another in connection with the folding of especially the truncated cone-shaped part. By this the spout can, during manufacturing, be welded or glued to an area of the truncated cone-shaped part, where the thickness along the narrowest end is kept within boundaries enabling a secure, tight connection between the spout and the other part of the package. 
     Especially practical is it to make the bottom of a separate, sheet-shaped body with a circumferential skirt, by which it is welded to the cylindrical part of the package. 
     Further, the invention relates to a sheet-shaped body for making bottle-shaped packages, said body having folding lines along one of the sides for use in connection with the folding of the truncated cone-shaped part. Appropriately, this sheet-shaped body includes inclined cut corners at both ends of the said side. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       The invention is explained in detail below with reference to the drawing, in which 
         FIG. 1  shows a side view of a bottle-shaped package according to the invention, 
         FIG. 2  shows a cross section of the same, 
         FIG. 3  shows a sheet-shaped, rectangular body for producing the package shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , 
         FIG. 4  shows the same as  FIG. 3  but after the sheet-shaped body has been folded, and 
         FIG. 5  shows the upper end shown in  FIG. 4  from above and in a larger scale. 
     
    
    
     The package shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , which is provided with the general reference no  1 , consists of a folded laminate  2 , a bottom  3  and a spout  4 . The folded laminate is of commonly known type with a plastic coating enabling fusion during heating, and said laminate comprises a cylindrical part  5  and a truncated cone-shaped, tapering part  6 . 
     The folded laminate is made from a mainly rectangular, sheet-shaped body  7  shown in  FIG. 3 , said body having folding lines  8 ,  9 ,  10  along the one side, said lines shown by means of punctured lines. The folding lines  9  extend parallel to two of the sides  11 ,  12  of the rectangular sheet from the folding line  8 , which extends parallel to the other two sides  13 ,  14  of the rectangular body. The folding lines  10  incline away from the respective intersection points between the folding lines  9  and the folding line  8 . The angle under which the folding lines  10  incline in relation to the folding lines  9 , depends on the chosen taper of the truncated cone-shaped part  6 . 
     When folding the rectangular body, the folding lines  10  are pressed against the inside of the package, as is shown in  FIG. 5 . This folding is performed nearly by turning the folding lines  10  around the folding lines  9 , while the folding lines  9  end up in each their radial plane, which cuts the longitudinal central axis of the final package  1 . Before the folding of the truncated cone-shaped part of the package, the sides  11 ,  12  of the rectangular body  7  are folded against each other, so that the adjacent areas overlap one another, see  FIG. 4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the corners between the sides  11 ,  12  and  14 , i.e. the corners  15 ,  16  closest to the folding lines  9 ,  10 , are inclined cut. This inclined cut is adjusted in such way that the inclined cut corners will abut the neighbouring folding lines  9 , as is shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . The inclination thus ensures that none of the sheet-formed material  7  will lie below the areas, which will overlap one another in the final package due to the folding around the folding lines  9 ,  10 . Thus, there will be a maximum of three overlapping layers along the upper end of the folded laminate. 
     In addition to this measure for ensuring that the number of overlapping layers is limited, the truncated cone-shaped end of the package is also formed such that the outer surface, as shown in  FIG. 5 , is running evenly in all essentials. This is obtained in an actually known way by ensuring that the laminate is pressed out by means of an appropriate core body, which is introduced into the inner of the package during the folding. 
     Due to the limited amount of overlapping layers and the even outside side of the truncated cone-shaped part, the spout  4 , which is of a commonly known type, is easily fastened tightly along the upper end of the package. The spout  4  is only shown schematically, but is preferably of a type ensuring solid, tight closing, until the content of the package is to be used, whereupon it enables easy reclosing. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the bottom of the package is made of a separate sheet-formed body, which comprises a circumferential skirt  17  enabling fastening of the bottom to the folded laminate  2  in a commonly known way. 
     All folds and fusion of overlapping parts are equally performed in a commonly known way by appropriate heating of the respective parts of the package  1 . The parts of the edges of the sheet-formed body  7  (the side  11  in  FIG. 4 ), which will be on the inside of the package, are protected against the content of the package by way of a commonly known so-called skiving process, said skiving process ensuring that only material, which can be in contact with the content in question, is turned against the edge in question. 
     The invention has been described in accordance with a preferred embodiment. The invention may be varied in many ways without deviating from the scope of the present invention.