Patent Abstract:
A liquid container of plastic coated boxboard, laminated cardboard or the like having a straw therein is disclosed. The container includes a container body, a holder, a straw and a seal. The container has an interior volume and a plurality of exterior walls. The holder is mounted with a liquid and gas tight seal in an exterior wall. The holder has an aperture formed therein. A straw extends through the aperture in the holder with a snug fit. The straw has a stowed position and an in use position. The seal is for sealing the straw in the stowed position with a liquid and gas tight seal thereby sealing the liquid inside the container. A method of manufacturing the container with a straw therein in a continuous form, fill and sealing process is also disclosed.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION 
     This patent application relates to Patent Cooperation Treaty application PCT/CA99/00400 which designates the United States and was filed May 13, 1999 and entitled STOPPERS FOR INDIVIDUAL BEVERAGE CONTAINERS. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the provision of a drinking straw with an individual beverage carton and in particular to the provision of a drinking straw on the inside of an individual beverage carton and a method of manufacture thereof. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Packaged individual beverage cartons of plastic coated paper board sheet material folded into a generally parallelepipedic shape have been made available to consumers for many years and are often referred to as “juice boxes”. 
     Various arrangements have been proposed to provide a straw with an individual beverage carton. In general, a cylindrical plastic drinking straw is packaged in a separate sealed plastic envelope and attached usually with an adhesive to the outside of the beverage carton. The straw may be straight or it may have an accordion type bend therein. In use, the consumer is required to remove the drinking straw from its envelope and insert it through the packaging of the container at a predetermined place usually on the top of the container, the straw then being ready to allow consumption of the beverage from the container. As the drinking straw once inserted into the beverage carton makes consumption of the beverage possible, conversely consumption of the beverage from the container without the use of the drinking straw is problematic and objectionable. 
     One disadvantage of the assembly as described above is that the straw has to be inserted into the beverage carton prior to use. In order to insert the drinking straw into the beverage carton the consumer has to pierce a portion of the carton. Typically there is a preferred point of entry or insertion point that can be identified by a round hole in the carton (but not in the foil liner) on its top. However, the consumer has to puncture the foil liner so that the straw has access to the liquid therein. The foil liner can withstand relatively high pressures such that the carton will not readily leak at the insertion point. As the act of inserting the drinking straw through the packaging material at the predetermined place requires considerable force, the beverage carton also needs to be simultaneously held soundly. This holding soundly often means squeezing the beverage carton and therefore there exists the risk that beverage will rapidly vacate the beverage carton either up the straw or around the straw at the insertion point upon insertion, thereby causing the beverage to be spilled. The consumer is at risk of spilling the beverage on themselves or someone or something at hand. This risk is further increased by the fact that a high percentage of these beverages are consumed by children, individuals that may lack some degree of hand coordination or who may consider the spraying of liquid desirable. This, of course, is not desirable or a game to the parent. 
     Another disadvantage of the current system of attaching the drinking straw and protective plastic envelope to the outside of the beverage carton is that the protective plastic envelope will often merely be discarded as litter. Commonly, removal of the existing drinking straw currently provided with the beverage carton of the previously mentioned type also requires removal of the straw&#39;s protective plastic envelope from the outside of the beverage carton to which it is attached when received by the consumer. This leaves the consumer in the possession of the now empty plastic envelope and due to the small size of the plastic envelope and its low weight the consumer is often tempted to discard the plastic envelope as litter. As the empty envelope is manufactured of plastic, the envelope will exist in the environment for some time before breaking down and due to its small size and low weight is not likely to be picked up as garbage. 
     A still further disadvantage of the current system of attaching the drinking straw and protective plastic envelope to the outside of the beverage carton is that the straw will obscure the writing and art work on one side of the carton. In addition, as the plastic envelope containing the drinking straw is attached to the outside of the beverage carton there exists considerable risk that the plastic envelope and drinking straw will be inadvertently removed from the outside of the beverage carton and lost, placing the consumer in a compromised position when the time comes for the consumption of the beverage from the container. 
     Some arrangements have been proposed wherein a straw is provided in an individual beverage carton. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,283 issued to Gu on Feb. 23, 1993, shows a straw in four different types of containers. In the parallelepipedic shaped container there is provided a hole in the container through which the straw is positioned. A groove is provided on the inside of the top tuck flap that is in registration with a top portion of the straw when the tuck flap is sealed to the container. Another example of providing a straw in a parallelepipedic shaped container is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,202 issued to Wen on Jan. 9, 1996. This container has a straw that is attached in the seams of the container and in at least one embodiment the straw extends from a top side edge to the opposed bottom side edge. An alternate approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,105 issued to Hong on May 26, 1992. This container has a short straw or pipette attached to the underside of the top tuck flap which is the extension of the top seam. The short straw is less than half the width of the container and is used more as a pouring spout than a drinking straw. The short straw is on the outside of the container and has to be inserted through the side wall of the container. 
     Each of these examples of a straw provided in an individual beverage container suffers from disadvantages. The Gu container would be difficult to manufacture. Firstly, the groove would be difficult to form in the top tuck flap. Secondly the top tuck flap with the groove therein would be difficult to seal once the container is filled with liquid. Thirdly the straw, hole and groove arrangement would not be adaptable to the continuous form, fill and seal process that is preferred for the manufacture of parallelepipedic shaped containers. The Wen container similarly would not be adaptable to the continuous form, fill and seal process since a good seal in a seam having a straw therein would be difficult to achieve. Further, a straw in the seam might lead to leakage through the straw. The Hong container provides a pour spout but does not eliminate the necessity of the consumer having to push the short straw or pipette into the container with all of the disadvantages associated therewith and it also has the disadvantage described above that the straw can be easily lost. 
     As the preferred method of manufacture of existing parallelepipedic plastic coated paper board material beverage cartons, involves a continuous form, fill and seal process, there are limited opportunities for the application of a drinking straw on the inside of the carton, so that the drinking straw may be inside the beverage carton at the time of purchase of the beverage by the consumer. 
     In general, the form, fill and seal process is composed of the steps of unrolling a preprinted and precreased plastic laminated paper board sheet; forming the sheet into a columnar sleeve; sealing a longitudinal seal along the columnar sleeve; adding the beverage into the sealed columnar sleeve; forming a transverse seal across the columnar sleeve and through the beverage; cutting the package from the columnar sleeve and forming a parallelepipedic carton with folded and fixed tabs. 
     With beverage cartons having a straw attached thereto, drinking straws that have been previously encased in their protective plastic envelopes are attached to one side of the completed beverage carton. 
     Accordingly it would be advantageous to provide a drinking straw on the inside of an individual beverage carton. Further it would be advantageous to provide a method of manufacturing an individual beverage carton that includes steps to provide a straw on the inside of the beverage carton. 
     In light of the previously mentioned limitations of existing beverage cartons of the parallelepipedic plastic coated paper board type, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage carton of the parallelepipedic plastic coated paper board type with a drinking straw on the inside of the beverage carton at the time of purchase and therefore also at the time of consumption of the beverage by the consumer. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a drinking straw with the beverage carton that is accessible by the consumer from the outside of the beverage carton. 
     A number of advantages would be realized by the provision of a straw on the inside of an individual beverage carton, namely the necessity by the consumer of having to insert the drinking straw through the packaging material is eliminated, thereby reducing the risk of accidental spillage of beverage and contamination of the drinking straw; the necessity of a protective envelope for the drinking straw is eliminated, since the drinking straw is present inside the beverage carton at the time of purchase and consumption of the beverage by the consumer; and the risk of having the drinking straw detached from the outside of the container is also eliminated. A further advantage that may be realized by the provision of a straw on the inside of an individual beverage carton is that since the drinking straw does not have to be used to pierce the packaging material, a straw of a thinner more flexible wall design may be used. Alternatively, a straw with a larger diameter and a thinner wall may be used, without increasing the amount of material used in the straw as compared to currently used straws. It is anticipated that a larger diameter straw would allow for easier consumption of the beverage. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is disclosed as being a drinking straw, a holder and a removable strip which together are attached to a paper board or plastic sheet material in such a manner that when the sheet is formed into a beverage carton the drinking straw and holder exist inside the beverage carton while the removable strip occurs on the outside of the beverage carton. 
     Further, the removable strip, holder and drinking straw are arranged so that the removable strip is accessible and removable by the consumer of the beverage and that upon removal of the strip, the upper portion of the drinking straw is exposed while the remainder of the straw is held in place in the beverage carton. The exposed portion of the drinking straw is then available for consumption of the beverage in the usual manner. 
     The drinking straw, holder and strip are manufactured as a preassembled unit, requiring only attachment of the preassembled unit to the sheet material at the time of formation, filling and sealing of the individual beverage cartons at the packaging facility. 
     The drinking straw has an overall length just slightly greater than the height of the formed beverage carton and is of a resiliently deformable material of hollow cylindrical shape and may or may not possess a region of corrugations to ease the resilient deformability requirement of the straw material. 
     The holder has a trough region to accept a portion of the drinking straw, a hole and sleeve region to support the remaining portion of the drinking straw and a flange to allow attachment of the holder to the sheet material of the beverage carton. 
     The removable strip is made of plastic, foil or the like and is sized to completely cover the trough region of the holder without infringing much of the flange area of the holder while possessing mechanical strength sufficient to resist accidental penetration by foreign objects into the beverage carton. 
     Further, the removable strip has an extended tab to facilitate removal of the strip by the consumer, that is, by pulling on the tab, the strip would be progressively stripped from the holder. It is recognized that the removable strip could include advertising or promotional material on its upper and/or lower surfaces. 
     Necessarily, the sheet plastic or paper board material would be cut with an oblong hole at the predetermined place that the drinking straw is to exit the beverage carton, such that attachment of the preassembled unit would occur around the perimeter of the so cut oblong hole on the “inside” side of the sheet material. 
     In one aspect of the present invention a liquid container of plastic coated boxboard, laminated cardboard or the like having a straw therein is disclosed. The container includes a container body, a holder, a straw and a seal. The container has an interior volume and a plurality of exterior walls. The holder is mounted with a liquid and gas tight seal in an exterior wall. The holder has an aperture formed therein. A straw extends through the aperture in the holder with a snug fit. The straw has a stowed position and an in use position. The seal is for sealing the straw in the stowed position with a liquid and gas tight seal thereby sealing the liquid inside the container. 
     In another aspect of the present invention a holder for use in a liquid container is disclosed. The holder includes a trough, a flange and a sleeve. The trough has an aperture formed therein dimensioned to receive a straw snugly therein. The flange extends laterally from the trough and is attachable to the carton. The sleeve extends orthogonally from the trough with the distal end thereof encircling the aperture. 
     In a still further aspect of the present invention a method of manufacturing the container with a straw therein in a continuous form, fill and sealing process is disclosed. The process includes the following steps: unrolling a rolled sheet material being comprised of a plurality of carton sections, each carton section having a hole formed therein; sealingly attaching the holder/straw assembly to the sheet material over said hole; attaching a strip to the holder/straw assembly; forming the sheet into a columnar sleeve; sealing a longitudinal seal along the columnar sleeve; adding the beverage into the sealed columnar sleeve; forming a top and bottom transverse seal across the columnar sleeve and through the beverage; cutting individual cartons from the columnar sleeve; and forming a parallelepipedic carton having a drinking straw therin. 
     Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carton of the present invention shown with a portion of the side panel broken away; 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of the holder of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the holder, shown along the line  3 — 3  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the assembly attached to the inner surface of the sheet material of the carton; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the holder, straw and strip assembly of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the assembly attached to the inner surface of the sheet material showing an alternate arrangement for the strip; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the drinking straw; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the carton in FIG. 1 with the strip shown exploded; 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the carton in FIG. 1 with the strip removed and the straw raised; 
     FIG. 10 is an exploded partial perspective view of the assembly of the present invention shown applied to a gable top carton; 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the assembly of the present invention shown applied to the inner surface of a partially formed gable top carton; 
     FIG. 12 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 11 but showing the assembly applied to the outer surface of a partially formed gable top carton; 
     FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a gable top carton showing the assembly of the present invention attached to the inside surface of the gable top carton; 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the prior art form, fill and seal process for manufacturing a filled carton; 
     FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a portion of the form, fill and seal process, of the present invention, thereby manufacturing a filled carton with a straw therein; 
     FIG. 16 is an enlarged perspective view of that portion of the form, fill and seal process of the present invention wherein the assembly is attached and the straw is moved so as not to interfere with the continuous sheet being formed and sealed into a column; 
     FIG. 17 is an enlarged perspective view of the continuous sheet with assemblies attached thereto and a straw shown engaging a guide; 
     FIG. 18 is an enlarged perspective view showing attachment of the assembly to a continuous sheet material; 
     FIG. 19 is an enlarged perspective view showing attachment of the assembly to the sheet material of the carton; 
     FIG. 20 is a cross sectional view of a holder/straw assembly of the present invention shown in a side spout of a gable type carton beverage container with an expandable bendable straw positioned therein; 
     FIG. 21 is an enlarged blown apart broken away perspective view of the holder/straw assembly of FIG. 20; 
     FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the holder/straw assembly of the present invention, shown with a resealable threaded cap and sheet packaging material with a circular cut out hole therein; 
     FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a holder of the present invention showing an alternate embodiment of an inner portion of holder having a straw integrally attached thereto; 
     FIG. 24 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the holder, straw and strip assembly of the present invention wherein the holder and straw are integrally attached; 
     FIG. 25 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the threaded holder of the holder/straw assembly of the present invention, wherein the holder and straw are integrally attached; and 
     FIG. 26 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the holder/straw assembly shown with a resealable flap. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIG. 1 the individual beverage carton of the present invention is shown generally at  30 . The beverage carton  30  includes a straw  32 , a straw holder  34  and a sealing strip  52 . 
     The holder  34  for the straw  32  is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2 and 3 and with the straw  32  therein in FIGS. 4 and 5. The holder  34  has a trough  36  to accept a portion of the straw  32 , an aperture  38  for the straw  32  to pass therethrough and a sleeve  40  to support the remaining portion of the straw  32 . The holder  34  has a flange  46  around the perimeter of the trough  36  thereby providing a surface for attaching the holder  34  to the material  48  of the beverage carton  30 . 
     A vent hole  42  is provided in trough  36  to allow atmospheric pressure to gain access into the beverage carton  30  to facilitate consumption of the beverage with the straw  32  by the consumer. Alternatively, the hole  42  need not be provided if there is sufficient clearance between the straw  32  and the aperture  38  of the holder  34  to allow atmospheric pressure to enter the internal volume  44  of the beverage carton  30 . This allows the consumer to suck the beverage up through the straw  32  without creating a vacuum inside the beverage container  30 . 
     A drinking straw  32  as shown in FIG. 7 has a region of corrugations  50  to allow flexible manipulation of the straw  32  and to allow bending of the straw  32  without “kinking” or damaging the straw  32 . 
     Referring to FIG. 24 an alternate embodiment is shown wherein the straw portion  132  and the holder portion  134  are integrally attached to form a unitary straw/holder  136 . The holder portion  134  has a peripheral flange  138  to allow attachment to the material  48  and strip  52 . A trough  140  is formed in the holder portion to allow the upper portion of the straw portion  132  to be stowed. A vent hole (not shown in FIG. 24) is formed in the holder portion of unitary straw/holder  136  to allow atmospheric pressure to enter the container during use. Hereinafter the preferred embodiment of the separate straw  32  and holder  34  will be discussed but it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that straw  32  and holder  34  could be replaced by unitary straw/holder  136 . 
     The holder  34 , straw  32  and strip  52  can be preassembled as an assembly  56  shown in FIG.  5 . Referring to FIG. 4, preferably, the assembly  56  is attached to the lining  62  of material  48  as described in more detail below. The assembly  56  is attached to the material  48  around the perimeter of an oblong hole  60  that has been precut in the sheet packaging material  48 . The assembly  56  is attached to the lining  62  of the material  48  at the flange  46  of the holder  34  so that there is a liquid and gas tight, mechanically sound seal. For a lining  62  of plastic and a holder  34  also of similar plastic, welding may be used as the method of fastening. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of seals may be used to achieve a liquid and gas tight seal that is mechanically sound which would be included within the scope of this invention. 
     FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the straw  32  positioned in the holder  34  and the strip  52  covering the top portion of the straw  32 . The strip  52  is attached to the flange  46  of the holder  34  leaving an extent of the flange  46  uncovered around the perimeter of the strip  52 . A tab  54  which is an extension of the strip  52  may be provided to facilitate removal of the strip  52  by the consumer. The attachment of the strip  52  to the flange  46  is a liquid and gas tight seal which allows for the removal of the strip  52  as the consumer peels the strip  52  off by pulling on tab  54 . Preferably the inside depth of trough  36  of the holder  34  does not exceed the outside diameter of the drinking straw  32  so as to provide a straw  32  that is easily accessed upon removal of the strip  52  by the consumer. In contrast the depth of the trough  36  should not be so small that the straw  32  exerts stress on the strip  52  as it keeps the drinking straw  32  in the stowed position. 
     Alternatively, referring to FIG. 6, the strip  52  could be applied over the trough  36  to the flange  46  of the holder  34  after the holder  34  is attached to the lining  62  of the packaging material  48  and that the strip  52  could also be applied over a portion of the outside of the packaging material  48  around the perimeter of the oblong hole  60 . 
     Both sides of strip  52  and tab  54  may be used for advertising or promotional material or the like. 
     Preferably, the unsealed margin  61  of the packaging material  48  at the oblong hole  60  is not exposed to the liquid contents of the finished carton  30 . Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4 where the strip  52  is attached with a liquid and gas tight seal to the flange  46  leaving free an extent of the flange  46 , margin  61  is not exposed to the liquid contents. Similarly as shown in FIG. 6 where the strip  52  is attached with a liquid and gas tight seal to the flange  46  and the material  48  margin  61  is not exposed to the liquid contents. Alternatively margin  61  may be sealed with a plastic coating or the like (not shown). A plastic seal may be attached around oblong hole  60  over flange  46 , prior to attaching strip  52 . 
     FIG. 1 shows the carton  30  as the consumer would receive it, FIG. 8 shows carton  30  with the strip  52  removed and with the top portion of the straw  32  accessible but still in the stowed position and further, FIG. 9 shows the straw  32  raised into the drinking position. 
     Preferably the finished beverage carton  30 , as shown in FIGS. 1,  8  and  9  has the transverse seam  82  at the top of the carton  30  folded so that the longitudinal seam  76  is folded back on itself. This folding arrangement will allow the greatest uninterrupted width at the top of the carton  30  for the application of the assembly  56 . 
     As a further application of the holder  34 , straw  32  and strip  52 , FIG. 10 illustrates how the assembly  56  could be adapted for a gable top carton  68 . The assembly  56  could be applied to the inside of the carton  68  before the carton is filled and closed, as shown in FIG. 11 or alternatively, assembly  56  could be applied to the outside of the carton  68  before the carton is filled and closed, as shown in FIG. 12. A filled and closed carton  68  is illustrated in FIG. 13 with assembly  56  attached to the carton  68 . 
     As an additional embodiment of the holder and strip, a resealable adaptation is illustrated in FIGS. 20 and 21 and shown in a gable top carton  68 . Holder assembly  100  shown therein has a removable inner portion  102  and an outer portion  104 . The outer portion  104  has a flange  106  which is attached to the carton  68 . Outer portion  104  has outer threads  108  which are adapted to engage a cap  110 . Inner portion  102 , outer portion  104  and cap  110  are generally circular. Inner portion  102  has a trough  112  and an aperture  114  for receiving straw  32 . A strip  52  is affixed to inner portion  102  over straw  32 . 
     Referring to FIG. 21, the outer portion  104  is positioned in a gable topped carton  68 . The inner portion  102  is positioned in the outer portion  104 . Straw  32  is positioned in inner portion  102 . Strip  52  is attached to inner portion  102  or outer portion  104 . Cap  110  is attached to outer portion  104 . 
     Assembly of the holder assembly  100  including inner portion  102 , straw  32  and strip  52  in the outer portion  104  could occur either before or after the outer portion  104  is attached to the carton  68 . Inner portion  102  could be positioned in any rotational attitude, either with the trough  112  being horizontal, as in FIGS. 20 and 21 or sloped, with the aperture  114  either proximate to the upper or lower edge of the outer portion  104 . The strip  52  as discussed above would be attached so as to provide a liquid and gas tight seal. 
     Referring to FIG. 22, holder  116  is similar to holder assembly  100  but there is not a separate outer portion and inner portion. Holder  116  has a flange  118 , outer threads  120 , a trough  122  and an aperture (not shown). 
     Referring to FIG. 23, as an alternative, the inner portion  124  and straw portion  126  could be integrally attached as shown generally at  128 . Similar to the above inner holder  102  described above inner portion  128  would have a press fit into an outer portion  104 . The straw portion  126  would be flexible such that if on installation the straw would touch the bottom of the carton the straw would flex so that the inner portion could still fit tightly into the carton. Straw portion  126  has a bevelled end  130  to minimize the chance of the user sucking on the straw such that it sticks to the bottom of the carton and no liquid can enter therein. Straw  32  could be similarly adapted. 
     Referring to FIG. 25, alternatively the holder portion  152 , straw portion  146  and flange  144  are integrally attached to form a unitary resealable straw/holder  142 . Unitary resealable straw/holder  142  has outer threads  150  for receiving a cap (not shown) thereon and a trough  148  for receiving the upper portion of straw portion  146  in a stowed position. Unitary resealable straw/holder  142  could accept a strip (not shown) as discussed above. 
     Referring to FIG. 26, a further alternate holder and straw assembly  154  embodiment is shown wherein a holder  156  is adapted to include a resealable flap  158 . A living hinge  160  connects the resealable flap  158  to holder  156 . As described above, straw  162  may be separate or integrally attached to the holder. Holder  156  includes a trough  164  for receiving straw  162  in the stowed position and a flange  166 . 
     It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that liquid container, holder and straw assembly of the present invention have a number of advantages over the prior art. For example since the straw is placed on the inside of the container prior to the container being purchased by a consumer there will be a reduced likelihood of spillage since the user need not pierce the container with the straw. A further advantage is that the straw will not obscure any printed material that is on the outside of the container. A further advantage is that by providing the straw on the inside of the container there is no longer a need for a protective plastic envelope. The liquid container, holder and straw assembly of the present invention provides an aperture formed in the holder and a straw that fits snugly therein, thereby providing access to the liquid only through the straw. This configuration minimizes the likelihood of spillage during use. 
     Referring to FIG. 14 the prior art beverage packaging process for the manufacture of parallelepipedic boxes is shown generally at  70 . The process is a form, fill and seal type process that employs a reel  72  of printed and creased sheet packaging material  48 . Generally the sheet packaging material  48  is of a paper board base laminated on both surfaces with plastic to provide water impermeability. Additional laminations of plastic and aluminum may be used to further improve water and gas impermeability of the sheet material  48 . 
     The sheet packaging material  48  is taken from the reel  72 , raised and brought into a vertical orientation where the sheet is wrapped into a continuous columnar sleeve  74  and sealed at a longitudinal seam  76  by a heated sealing device  78 . Beverage is added into the columnar sleeve  74  below the sealing device  78  via a pipe  80  that enters the columnar sleeve  74  prior to the formation of the columnar sleeve  74 . 
     At intervals that establish individual cartons of beverage, a transverse seam  82  is formed across the columnar sleeve  74  and through the beverage by sealing jaws  96 . The lower portion of the columnar sleeve  74  is roughly formed into an individual carton  84  by forming dies  86  and is then cut from the columnar sleeve  74  by cutting jaws  98 . The top and bottom flaps of the cut off cartons  88  are folded, the top flaps  90  are secured to the sides of the carton and the bottom flaps  92  are secured to the bottom of the carton to form the finished carton  31  as described above. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that only the basic steps of the form, fill and seal process are shown. For example other pairs of forming dies are required to transform the cut off carton  88 , as cut from the columnar sleeve  74 , from its cushion shape to the parallelepipedic carton  31  shape. 
     Referring to FIGS. 15-19, the above described process has been adapted to include the application of assembly  56 . Tooling (not shown) bears on the flange  46  of the holder  34  during the application of the assembly  56  to the lining  62  of the boxboard material  48  at the perimeter of the oblong hole  60 . As it is required that the sheet material  48  be wrapped from a flat sheet into the columnar sleeve  74  it will also be required that the assemblies  56  attached to the material  48  be temporarily moved to keep the extended straws  32  from interfering with the forming and sealing of the columnar sleeve  74 . 
     A guide  94  which is generally an elongate “L”-shaped guide and which is generally “U”-shaped in cross section is illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17 to temporarily move the straws  32  and to keep each clear of the wrapping and sealing process. The guide  94  will extend into the columnar sleeve  74  along with the beverage pipe  80 . The longitudinal seam  76  and heated sealing device  78  are shown in FIG. 16 as well. 
     At a point below the formation of the longitudinal seam  76  the guide  94  is terminated and the straw  32  is allowed to lean against the opposite wall of the columnar sleeve  74  as illustrated in FIG.  15 . As seen in FIGS. 15,  16  and  17 , a holder  34  of this thin wall design would allow both some degree of strain relief to the moved straw  32  during formation of the columnar sleeve  74  and some freedom for the consumer to redirect the drinking straw  32  to get the last drop of beverage from the carton  30  or  68 . 
     As the columnar sleeve  74  is progressively advanced downwardly, beverage is supplied to the inside of the columnar sleeve  74  via beverage pipe  80 , forming dies  86  roughly form the individual cartons  84 , sealing jaws  96  form a transverse seal  82  across the columnar sleeve  74  and through the beverage and cutting jaws  98  cut the sealed individual carton  84  from the columnar sleeve  74 . 
     The top flaps  90  and bottom flaps  92  resulting from the forming and cutting steps are folded and attached to the sides and bottom respectively of the beverage carton, to produce the finished beverage carton  30 , also shown in FIG.  1 . 
     The finished beverage carton  30  is illustrated in FIGS. 1,  8  and  9 , with a partially removed side panel to better illustrate the orientation of the straw  32  inside the carton  30 . 
     It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the elements of the assembly  56  shown here as being attached in one step could be attached separately. That is the holder  34  could be attached to sheet material  48  and then the straw  32  inserted therein and then sealing strip  52  attached to the holder  34  or the sheet material  48  and holder  34 . 
     It will be appreciated that the above description related to the invention by way of example only. Many variations on the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art and such obvious variations are within the scope of the invention as described herein whether or not expressly described.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1