Abstract:
A container is formed by a single side wall wrapped around to complete an enclosed space. The package is produced with a barrier board including co-extruded polymers, mono-extruded polymers and/or films. The package may or may not have raw edge protection. The container uses a paperboard cup technology to create a bottom. The packages will be able to easily hold 64 and 96 fluid ounces and use a design very different from the conventional gable top container. The paper packages produced will cost less than plastic packages made with barrier materials.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention pertains to paperboard-based packaging, particularly for beverages.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Currently, large paper-based liquid packages consist primarily of the gable top carton. There is no commercial presence in a gable top carton which contains more than the 64 ounces of a product ( {fraction (1/2)} gallon). Gable top containers are well known to the average consumer as the primary type of container for milk and juice in sizes ranging up to the    {fraction (1/2)} gallon size. When the size of the container goes above the    {fraction (1/2)} gallon size, consumers have difficulty holding and pouring the contents from a gable top container, due to its size. There is a need for a paper-based container that holds a volume greater than    {fraction (1/2)} gallon and has a cross section that easily fits one hand. With such a cross section, the user can pour from the container without the provision of a handle. The result would be a paperboard container that holds a greater volume and is consumer friendly.    
           [0003]    It is an object of the invention to provide a watertight container having a sidewall without corners.  
           [0004]    It is also an object of the invention to provide a paperboard container that can be made in a wide variety of sizes.  
           [0005]    It is another object of the invention to provide a paperboard container that a user can grasp and manipulate without a handle.  
           [0006]    It is yet another object of the invention to provide a paperboard container that is inexpensive and easy to manufacture.  
           [0007]    It is yet another object of the invention to provide a paperboard container that is provided with a pour spout for the easy dispensing of liquids.  
           [0008]    These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following disclosure.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The container or canister is formed by a single side wall wrapped around to complete an enclosed space. The package is produced with a barrier board laminate structure including: co-extruded polymers; mono-extruded polymers; and/or films. The package may or may not have raw edge protection on the side seam. The raw edge protection can be from skiving. The top of the canister is closed off by sealing on a flat paperboard lid with a spout, an injection molded lid (with or without a spout) or a film membrane with or without a plastic over-cap.  
           [0010]    The container uses conventional paperboard cup technology to create a bottom. The bottom edge of the container is folded up to retain a depending flange from the bottom wall. In this manner, the bottom wall is recessed from the bottom edge of the side wall. This technology for making bottom walls is used on non-round containers having symmetrical or non-symmetrical cross sections that are narrow enough to provide easy hand-hold from the ends. Possible cross sections are oval, tear drop, ellipse and rectangular with rounded corners. The packages will be able to easily hold 64 and 96 fluid ounces. The design is very different from the conventional gable top container. The paper packages produced will cost less than, competing plastic packages made with barrier materials.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a tear drop shaped container;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along line  2 - 2  of FIG. 1;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a cross section taken along line  3 - 3  of FIG. 1;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a top view of the tear drop shaped container;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 s a cross section of an elliptical container;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an oval container;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 is a top view of the oval container showing a pour spout; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a container having a rectangular shape with rounded corners.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a package  10  having a tear drop shape. The package is made of a side wall  12  that is formed by a single panel wrapped into the tear drop shape and having its two free ends joined along a side seam. As mentioned earlier, the side seam can have raw edge protection. The sidewall of the container has a “continuous shape”. By this term, it is meant a sidewall that does not have corners. The sidewall is a single, continuous wall. Since the container is used to hold liquids, the material chosen must be suitable for that purpose. The standard material for making liquid packaging material is paperboard coextruded with multiple layers. The coextruded layers might include nylon for pinhole resistence, an oxygen barrier, EVOH for oxygen and flavor barrier, LDPE, and tie layers to adhere the LDPE to the nylon and EVOH.  
         [0020]    The extended material for making liquid packaging materials and holding juice, punches, teas and lemonade is typically paperboard extruded with multiple layers. Milk cartons are typically produced from materials extruded with a single layer of LDPE on the inner surface, with a single layer coated on the outer surface. An example of a typical barrier board is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,548 entitled “Extended Long-Life Juice Carton Structure and Method of Construction”. The inner most layer, in contact with the liquid, and the outer coating of the paperboard are heat sealable which is critical to forming the package. LDPE is commonly used since it is easily heat sealed.  
         [0021]    The seams of the package must be tightly sealed. This is achieved through heat sealing of the polymer at all seams. The packages are formed on a canister forming machine, similar to machines used to produce paper cups. The outer wall of the canister is wrapped around a mandrel with an overlap of 0.25-0.75 inches to form a side seam. Heat is applied to the side seam area, possibly before and/or after the materials are brought together to melt the LDPE. Typically, heat is applied through the use of hot air. After the materials are heated and brought together, they are held together under pressure for two to six seconds while the seal forms. Heavier coating weights can be used in all sealing areas to provide a caulking effect for leak protection. Optionally, paperboard along the side seam can be skived or have a film wrapped around it to eliminate raw edges to reduce the possibility of leaks and to limit the amount of oxygen ingress.  
         [0022]    The bottom of the package is formed by an addition of a recessed bottom, formed from a separate piece of paperboard with the same or similar coatings as the sidewall. The bottom has a depending flange similar to a paper cup. The sidewall material extends down past the bottom of the depending flange and is folded up into the recess, forming a double seam. The bottom of the package is sealed to the sidewall by heating of coatings and holding the material under pressure while the seal forms. The top rim of the open canister would be rolled like a top rim of a paper cup and possibly flattened for potentially easier sealing of a lid. With the top rim folded, the top of the package can then be closed off by heating sealing another piece of coated paperboard onto the top rim or by sealing on a film, foil or rigid plastic lid. The top will have a spout and cap allowing for easy opening, pouring and reclosability.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 shows the cross-sectional shape of the tear drop container. The container is made by a large arcuate end  16  and a small arcuate end  17 . A left side wall  18  and right side wall  19  are tangent to both the large end  16  and small end  17 . The two side walls converge toward each other at an angle between 0 and 45 degrees. Besides being made from a single sheet of material, the formed container has no corners.  
         [0024]    Turning now to FIG. 3, the cross section along lines  3 - 3  of FIG. 1 can be seen. In this section, the side wall  12  can be seen to extend from the bottom  22  to the top  14 . Most importantly, the manner in which the bottom is attached to the carton is seen. The bottom  22  has a depending flange  24  about its entire periphery. The bottom edge  13  of the side wall  12  is folded up to capture the depending flange  24  between the side wall  12  and the bottom edge  13 . This structure is very similar to the conventional paper cup. The result is that the bottom wall  22  is recessed from the bottom of the side wall  12 .  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 4 is a top view of the tear drop shaped container. A spout  15  is provided in the top wall  14 . The spout  15  is close to the large end  16 . In fact, the spout is located within the area formed by the radius of the larger end  16 . This allows the user to grasp the smaller end  17  and tilt the container in order to dispense through the spout  15 . It is possible to also place the spout at the opposite end with the smaller radius.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 5 shows a cross section of a elliptical container. The cross section is similar to the cross section of FIG. 2 showing the tear drop container. With the elliptical container, as in the tear drop shaped container, the side wall  112  is formed from a single sheet of material and has no corners.  
         [0027]    An oval container is shown in FIG. 6. The oval container has a first semi-circular end  216  and a second semicircular end  217 . The semi-circular ends are connected by a straight left side  218  and a straight right side  219 .  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 7 shows a top view of the oval container with a pour spout  215 . As can be seen in this view, the pour spout  215  is almost entirely within the radius of the first rounded end  216 . The user would simply grasp the container by the second rounded end  217  in order to dispense from the spout  215 .  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 8 shows the rectangular package having rounded corners. The side wall  312  has a first end  326  and a second end  327 . Connecting the two ends is a left side  328  and right side  329 . Each of the corners  325  between the sides and ends is rounded.  
         [0030]    The various disclosed containers are suitable for holding large volumes of liquid, yet being able to be dispensed by the user with one hand. The packages are easy to manufacture because the side wall is made from a single sheet of material that is wrapped around a top and bottom wall and has its two free ends joined to one another. While the invention has been described with reference to various preferred embodiments, variations and modifications would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.