Package making – Methods – Forming a cover adjunct or application of a cover adjunct to...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-13
2002-04-30
Kim, Eugene (Department: 3721)
Package making
Methods
Forming a cover adjunct or application of a cover adjunct to...
C053S133100, C053S133200, C156S069000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06378271
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates primarily to an apparatus and method for securing an article to a container and, more particularly, to such an apparatus and method wherein a support mechanism, such as a mandrel or anvil, is not required.
Heretofore, articles, such as pour spout fitments, have been secured to thermoplastic-coated container panels by the following methods,
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,578, the following method is employed: A mandrel is inserted into the interior of the still-open mouth of the container, with the mandrel abutting the interior surface of a barrier layer and forming a back-up support. Hot air or radiant heat is applied to the external surface of a gable top wall immediately around an opening to thereby soften the polyethylene coating, with a pour spout fitment flange placed on the softened layer to thereby adhere the flange to the wall. An external mandrel is also employed to press the assembly against the internally positioned mandrel. This pressure is maintained until the coating cools and thereby effects permanent adhesion of the flange to the wall. Other methods, such as ultrasonic adhesion and impulse heating, may be employed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,695 merely recites that attachment to the polymer-coated paperboard panel is accomplished by welding or otherwise adhering a spout fitment flange to the polymer coating.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,964,562 and 5,152,438 each utilize an ultrasonic sealing horn and a back-up support mandrel operative around respective pouring apertures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,015 discloses the use of an ultrasonic horn to bond a flange of a pour spout fitment to an inner or back surface of a container panel around a pouring aperture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,640 suggests fusing a pour spout flange to an inside surface of a carton gable top either thermally or ultrasonically.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,643 states that the pour spout fitment is preferably adhered to the outer surface of the container panel by impulse heating under pressure such as ultrasonic sealing although other methods may be used as desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,034 discloses adhesively bonding a pour spout fitment by a hot melt glue to a top outer surface of a container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,999 suggests that a spout or closure be “attached to the package top by any suitable means such as an adhesive applied to a bottom surface of the closure to be attached to the package top”. Where the package is coated with an outer thermoplastic layer of polyethylene, which discourages such adhesion, perimeter cuts may be made which may be serrated or applied as perforated cuts. Such serrations or perforated cuts need only penetrate the polyethylene outer layer to allow the adhesive to bond with the underlying carrier or paper layer.
WO-A-88/05012 discloses a container having an upper rim portion onto which a laminated cover is bonded. The adjacent surface of the cover is heated to above its melting point, in order to bond to the rim portion.
WO-A-96/39332 of the present assignee discloses a pouring spout attachment applied to a pourable-product-carrying container over a location where the container has one of a partial depth cut and an opening formed therein. The attachment includes a body and may have a removable cap mounted thereon. The body includes an internal projection, an external mounting flange, and an internal end wall having a web segment cut therein so as to be movable as a flap about a pivot axis.
WO-A-92/14604 discloses a method and apparatus for attaching a spout to an open-top, bottom-sealed carton. A conveyor moves the carton successively to three stations. At the first station, a hole punch punches a hole. At the second station, a glue applicator applies adhesive to the bonding site. At the third station, a spout attaching assembly applies a spout to the prepared site. The carton is subsequently filled and top-sealed. The glue applicator includes a horizontal gun which is rotated in a circle in a vertical plane to form a complete circle of bonding agent on the vertical external surface of the carton around the hole, ready to receive an annular flange of the fitment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,857 discloses a fitment application apparatus, for applying plastic spout fitments to filled and sealed cartons, integrated in line with a conventional form/fill/seal production line. The apparatus advances formed, filled and sealed cartons to a fitment application station. For this purpose, the cartons are carried from the end of the form/fill/seal production line by a continuous line conveyor terminating at a dead plate between a pair of continuous line conveyors; an escapement allows the pair of conveyors to advance cartons one-by-one to an indexing flight conveyor extending through the fitment application station and advancing the cartons to a continuous delivery conveyor. A hopper and associated gravity-feed track supply a series of fitments to a fitment applicator anvil at the application station. Each fitment has a flange the bottom surface of which is coated with hot melt adhesive as the fitment slides past a hot melt adhesive applicator roll. A fitment retaining mechanism receives and positions each fitment such that the flange bottom surface coated with hot melt adhesive faces an external side of the wall of the filled carton. The fitment applicator anvil intermittently carries fitments from the fitment retaining mechanism into abutting relationship with the filled carton in registration with the spout hole, thereby pressing the flange bottom surface coated with hot melt adhesive against the extrusion layer on the external side of the carton wall, whereby the fitment is bonded to the filled and sealed carton. WO-A-97/04953 discloses a similar system, except for integration in line with a form-fill-seal machine.
WO-A-97/16302 discloses a method for securing a pour spout fitment to a thermoplastic-coated container, wherein filled and sealed gable-top cartons are diverted onto an indexing turret where each of a plurality of nodding receivers rotating with the turret receives a pour spout fitment, presents the fitment to a source of heat to render tacky the bottom surface of a flange of the fitment, and places the fitment onto an already heated portion of a roof panel of a carton around an opening or loop of weakness therein, thereby to bond together the fitment and the panel. The receivers are continously cooled to promote the bonding. In practice, a section of a flat top conveyor extending from a form-fill-seal machine to a casing machine would be altered to adapt it to the fitment-attaching machine.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising manufacturing a first package by forming a first container, filling the container with contents, sealing the filled container and then advancing the first container by conveying means, characterized by subsequently installing attaching means at said conveying means without altering said conveying means and manufacturing a second package by forming a second container, filling the second container with contents, sealing the filled second container, advancing the second container by said conveying means, and operating said attaching means to attach an article to an external surface of the filled and sealed second container.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for manufacturing a package, comprising forming means for forming a container, filling means after said forming means for filling said container with contents, sealing means after said filling means for sealing the filled container, article attaching means after said sealing means for attaching said article to an external surface of the filled and sealed container, and conveying means extending past, in turn, said forming means, said filling means, said sealing means and said attaching means for advancing said container past, in turn, said forming means, said filling means, said sealing means and said attaching means, characterized in that said attaching means was installed at said conveying means without said conve
Rochelle Robert E.
Skinner Edward Albert
Weber John A.
Elopak Systems AG
Kim Eugene
Reising Ethington, Barnes, Kisselle, Learman & McCulloch, P.C.
LandOfFree
Apparatus and methods for securing articles to containers does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Apparatus and methods for securing articles to containers, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Apparatus and methods for securing articles to containers will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2860494