Patent Publication Number: US-2005139645-A1

Title: Multi-sided package with easily openable lid

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is directed to a package having a unique shape and a resealable lid. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a multi-sided package having a paperboard body and an easily openable polymer lid.  
      Food products, including dry and liquid food products, are packaged in a wide variety of package types. These include packages ranging from the well recognized and established gable top carton to plastic (polyethylene terephthalate or PET) jugs such as those used for milk to cardboard or paperboard package for breakfast cereal, powdered foods and the like.  
      Although each of these package types has its advantages, each also has its disadvantages. For example, the configuration of gable top cartons is quite limited. That is, the square or rectangular footprint of the carton limits the possible carton configurations.  
      In addition, although it may mot be readily apparent, a rectangular cross-section is not the optimal configuration to maximize internal space (i.e., volume) for a give surface area. Rather, as a container configuration approaches a circular or spherical shape, the volume contained reaches a maximum value. Viewed another way, with a given surface area, the volume that can be contained as bound by a container having that area increases with an increase in the number of sides of the container.  
      Accordingly, there exists a need for a container for packaging both dry and liquid foods that is readily filled using conventional form, fill and seal packaging machine technology. Such a package combines the advantages of a traditional paperboard formed carton with the advantages of a plastic lid. More desirably, such a package is formed using a known, multi-sided carton configuration.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      An easily openable package having an interior product storage region includes first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth side panels forming an eight-sided body. Each side panel is separate from adjacent side panels by respective crease lines. The side panels define an octagonal upper periphery.  
      A bottom wall is formed from a plurality of panels separated from the side panels by a horizontal crease line. The bottom wall has a four-sided foot print, defining four bottom wall corners. Preferably, the bottom foot-print is square.  
      An eight-sided lid is affixed to the package at the upper periphery. The lid has an openable portion such that the interior product storage region is accessed by opening the openable portion of the lid. A membrane seal can be positioned between the upper periphery of the package and the lid.  
      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  
      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:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective illustration of a multi-sided package with easily openable lid embodying the principles of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the tubular form of the package prior to application of the package lid;  
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the open top and bottom (tubular form) package;  
       FIG. 4  is a side view of the package;  
       FIG. 5  illustrates the tubular form blank and a mandrel onto which the blank is positioned;  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic illustration of the package as it moves along a form, fill and seal line, and illustrates the bottom forming operation;  
       FIG. 7  illustrates the blank is its folded form prior to erection into the tubular form and shows one location for the side seal;  
       FIGS. 8-10  are a schematic illustrations of the bottom forming operation in which  FIG. 8  illustrates the bottom transverse seal as it is formed;  FIG. 9  illustrates seal folded over onto the package bottom; and  FIG. 10  shows the triangular flaps folded in to form the four-sided (square) bottom package profile;  
       FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional illustration of the package; and  
       FIG. 12  is a plan view of the package blank. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      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.  
      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.  
      Referring to the figures and in particular to  FIG. 1  there is shown a multi-sided package  10  with a readily openable lid embodying the principles of the present invention. The package  10  includes a package body  14  and a separately formed lid  12 . The body  14  is formed from a carton blank (see  FIGS. 7 and 12 ). In a present package, the body  14  is an eight-sided or octagonal body in which the bottom wall  16  is sealed so as to have a four-sided or square profile (see  FIGS. 1 and 10 ). That is, the bottom wall  16  has a rectangular or square foot-print while the body  14  (above the bottom wall) has an octagonal cross-section.  
      The lid  12  is formed from a polymer or plastic, such as high density polyethylene or the like. Such a plastic is sufficiently rigid to maintain its shape and its seal with the package body  14 , but is sufficiently flexible that, when an openable portion such as a tab closure  18  is molded into the lid  12 , a living hinge  20  can be formed as part of the lid  12 , e.g., as an integral element. A present lid  12  includes an openable portion or tab  18  mounted by a hinge  20 . The tab  18  is positioned in a channel  22  and overlies an opening  24  (see  FIG. 11 ) in the lid  12  to access the interior portion of the package  10 . The tab  18  can include a snap-type securing element or lock to secure the tab  18  in the closed position.  
      Optionally a membrane  26  or like seal can be disposed over the entirety of the carton body  14 , at about the edge of the body, between the body  14  and the lid  12 , to provide a further seal for the package contents. Such a seal  26  can also enhance the tamper evidence features of the package  10 , as well as reduce the opportunity for oxygen exposure of the contents. Optionally, the membrane seal  26  can be disposed over only the lid opening  24 .  
      It is anticipated that the package  10  will be a blank-formed package rather than a roll-formed package. That is, the package will be provided as a blank  28  having a plurality of side panels that are folded over with a seal panel (at an end of the blank  28 ) sealed to a first panel. This forms a flat folded configuration that is opened into a tubular shape (see  FIGS. 6 and 7 ).  
      Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 10 , as introduced above, the package body  14  is eight-sided whereas the bottom wall  16  is four-sided. To this end, the body  14  includes first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth side wall panels  30 - 44 . The bottom  16  is four-sided and, as illustrated, essentially square defining four corners  54 - 60  and four bottom wall edges  62 - 68  defined by the four bottom wall panels  46 - 52 . The bottom  16  is formed as a single elongated seal  70  (see  FIGS. 6 and 8 ). The interior surface of opposing panels  46 , 52  and  48 , 50  are abutted to one another and sealed to one another by the application of pressure and heat. The elongated seal  70  thus forms a fin that is folded over onto the package bottom ( FIG. 9 ) to flatten the panels, and then folded inward ( FIG. 10 ), such that the ends  72 ,  74  (forming triangular shaped panels) are folded toward one another. This will be recognized as the familiar TETRA® PRISMA package, exemplary of which is that package disclosed in Anchor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,107, which patent is commonly assigned with the present application and is incorporated herein by reference. As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 10 , the bottom corners  54 - 60  are offset from the sides  30 - 44  of the body  14  (discussed in more detail below), such that the bottom corners  54 ,  56 ,  58  and  60  align with sides  32 ,  36 ,  40  and  44 , respectively, of the body  14 .  
      The blank  28  includes eight side wall panels  30 - 44  separated from adjacent side wall panels by vertical crease or score lines  76 - 90  (hereinafter crease lines). A ninth or seal panel  92  is adjacent the eighth panel  44  and separated from the eighth panel by vertical crease line  90 . The bottom panels  46 - 52  are is separated from the side wall panels  30 - 44  by a horizontal crease line  94 . The four-sided (generally square) bottom  16  configuration is provided by four crease lines  96 - 102  that extend from the horizontal line  94  to the bottom edge or end  104  of the blank  28 .  
      The crease lines  76 - 90  that separate the panels from one another do not extend in a straight-line manner fully to the bottom horizontal crease line  94 . Rather, as shown in  FIG. 12 , these crease lines extend to a chamfer or angled portion  76   a - 90   a  of the crease line that provides a transition between the eight-sided body  14  and the four-sided package bottom  16 . The angled crease lines  76   a - 90   a  provide for a smooth transition from the eight-sided body  14  to the four-sided (or actually four-cornered  54 - 60 ) bottom  16  by extending from the side wall creases  76 - 90  to the bottom wall creases  96 - 102 . Phantom lines  96   a - 102   a  extend from the bottom wall creases  96 - 102  upwardly into alternating side wall panels  32 ,  36 ,  40 ,  44  so as to provide crease lines for forming the bottom wall  16 .  
      Each angled crease line  76   a - 90   a  meets one adjacent crease line at a point with a juncture with the bottom horizontal line  94  and a respective bottom wall crease line  96 - 102 . In the illustrated package, the angled crease lines  76   a - 90   a  are formed at an angle α of about 60 degrees to the horizontal.  
       FIG. 2  illustrates the tubular form of the body  14 , prior to the bottom wall  16  being folded and sealed. As is readily seen the bottom wall corners  54 - 60  correspond to the phantom lines (see  FIG. 12 ) that extend into the package side walls  32 ,  36 ,  40 ,  44 .  FIG. 3  is a top view of the package  12  illustrating the position of the corners  54 - 60  relative to the body side walls  30 - 44  and the bottom wall panels  46 - 52 .  
      It will be recognized that in the illustrated embodiment, the side wall or body panels are not all of equal width. Rather, in the illustrated package, the panels that are adjacent the chamfer panels (that is, the side wall panels  32 ,  36 ,  40 ,  44  above the chamfer panels) are each slightly larger than the non-chamfer panels  30 ,  34 ,  38 ,  42  (the non-chamfer panels are contiguous with the bottom sides or edges, whereas the chamfer panels are contiguous with the bottom corners  54 - 60 ). This unequal panel configuration is only one configuration, and equal panel configurations are also within the scope and spirit of the present invention.  
      In an exemplary package that uses a blank  28  configured from a 70 mm by 70 mm package, the chamfer panels are 41 mm wide and the non-chamfer (or flat) panels are 29 mm wide. The circumference of the package is thus 280 mm ((41 mm×4)+(29 mm×4)). The bottom wall panels are likewise 70 mm each (for a total circumference of 280 mm).  
      A portion of an exemplary forming line is shown in  FIG. 6 . This portion of the line schematically shows a bottom forming section  120 . In that the package  10  is filled from the bottom, an upstream portion (or station) provides for forming and top sealing (i.e., applying the lid  12  and optional membrane  26  to) the body  14 . Typically, the operations (and stations) involved include picking the blank  28  from a magazine in a flat folded form ( FIG. 7 ), erecting the blank  28  into a tubular form (open top and bottom as seen in  FIG. 2 ) and positioning the blank  28  on a multi-sided mandrel  122  ( FIG. 5 ). The optional membrane  26  is sealed to the open top (see, for example,  FIG. 11 ) and the plastic or polymer lid  12  is then sealed to the body  14 .  
      The top sealed (open bottom) package  10  is then moved onto chain or like conveying device moving the package into a filling station to fill the package. After filling, the package is moved into a chute or channel  124 , that is part of a bottom sealing station  120 , for bottom sealing the package  10 . In the bottom sealer  120 , the sides of the body  14  are urged (squeezed slightly) toward one another. In a presently contemplated arrangement, a pair of walls  126   a,b  define the chute  124  through which the body  14  passes.  
      As the package body  14  traverses through the chute  124  and the walls (of the package) are pressed toward one another, the bottom wall panels  46 - 52  are stretched (at the corners) so that the panels come toward one another (much like pulling a square shape to a diamond shape to bring the sides together). The seal  70  is then formed with panels  46  and  52 , and  48  and  50  contacting each other (see  FIG. 8 ). Typically, the seal  70  is formed by pressure and heat which fuses the polymer material coating layers of the package material to one another.  
      The seal  70  is formed having a fin-like configuration in that the sealed panels are upstanding relative to the package body  14 . The fin  70  is then folded over (see  FIG. 9 ) to lie on the bottom wall  16 , which also tends to flatten the bottom wall. The ends  72 ,  74  of the fin  70 , as folded, form triangular panels which are then infolded toward one another and sealed to the bottom wall  16 , thus forming the flat, four-sided (square) bottom wall  16 .  
      In the illustrated forming station  120 , the bottom seal  70  (which forms the fin) is formed in a direction transverse to the direction of movement (indicated at  128 ) of the package  10  through the chute  124 . This is referred to as a transverse seal. It will be appreciated that although the forming line is shown as a linear operation, the “line” can also constitute stations or positions on a circular motion machine, such as a carousel or the like.  
      All patents referred to herein, are hereby incorporated herein by reference, whether or not specifically do so within the text of this disclosure.  
      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.  
      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.