Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Paperboard box – With inner flexible or flaccid bag liner
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-17
2001-04-10
Elkins, Gary E. (Department: 3727)
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Paperboard box
With inner flexible or flaccid bag liner
C229S117310, C229S117350, C229S125040, C229S215000, C053S133200, C053S133400, C053S281000, C053S471000, C053S478000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213388
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
This invention relates to the packaging of dry particulate foods such as ready-to-eat (“RTE”) cereal. More specifically, this invention relates to lined cartons of the type known as a bag-in-a-box with reclosable dispensing means connected to the liner or bag in such a way that a portion thereof is separated from the liner upon initial opening of the dispensing means to provide access to the contents of the carton.
The use of cartons with liner bags for dry particulate products such as RTE cereal is well known. Such cartons are usually formed from a blank of paperboard or similar material comprising sidewalls with top and bottom flaps. The liner is a plastic or coated paper bag which holds the particulate product. The liner can be filled and sealed before or after being placed inside an open carton, the flaps of which are then folded and sealed.
Access to the contents of such cartons involves breaking the seal between the top flaps of the carton and pulling open the sealed liner bag. Resealing is often difficult and incomplete leading to a loss of freshness of the product. RTE cereal, for example, has a low moisture content and readily absorbs moisture from the air leading to a loss of crispness.
Dispensing devices such as pour spouts have been proposed to control the discharge of particulate product and minimize exposure to the atmosphere. However, when a carton with a pour spout contains a filled and sealed liner bag, the bag must be manually torn or cut with a knife or scissors when the spout is first opened. This arrangement has several drawbacks not the least of which is manually cutting or tearing of the liner bag. Once opened, and as the contents are depleted, the liner bag and its contents slide and shift positions in the carton which can cause the opened portion of the liner to become misaligned with the pour spout opening thereby hindering dispensing of product from the carton. This also causes product to drop between the carton and the liner.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,788 relates to bag-in-a-box packaging where a liner is sandwiched between a metal spout and a precut flap in the carton side wall. A cut-out in the side wall above the flap allows the insertion of a knife to cut the liner and open the spout. The liner is bonded to the spout and the carton flap using a heated anvil which is inserted into an empty, lined carton.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed towards an improved bag-in-a-box container where the bag or liner in the box is filled with product and sealed. The box has a dispensing flap and while the filled, sealed liner is in the box the liner is sealed to the flap in such a way that the bag remains sealed but upon initial opening of the flap, that portion bonded to the flap separates from the liner to provide access to the contents of the container.
A preferred carton has a pivotable pour spout mounted to a dispensing opening or flap. A front panel of the pour spout is bonded to a portion of the liner bag while it is filled and sealed without braking the seal and, when initially opened, that portion partly separates from the rest of the liner thereby providing access to the contents of the carton. Thus, as the pour spout is manually opened for the first time, the liner bonded to the front panel separates to create an opening while remaining integral with the liner along the pivot axis.
Because the portion of the liner that separates corresponds to the size of the dispensing opening, reclosure of the pour spout fills the opening to minimize contact of the contents with the outside atmosphere. Moreover, the liner stays connected at the bottom of the dispensing opening to maintain alignment.
It is preferred to heat seal the liner along the top and side edges of the flap or front panel in a way that creates weakened tear lines in the liner, but without breaking the seal of the liner, to facilitate initial opening of the flap or pour spout. The liner can also be bonded adjacent the dispensing opening or flap to further maintain alignment and prevent product from falling between the bag and the box. The present invention is also directed to an improved one-piece pour spout assembly including a fitment defining a dispensing opening with upper and lower margin portions adjacent thereto, and a pour spout having side panels and a front panel integral with the lower margin portion such that when the pour spout is folded over the fitment, the front panel overlies (or is in register with) the dispensing opening. A preferred fitment has side members and a cut-out piece corresponding to the dispensing opening which is bonded to the front panel of the pour spout. The cut-out piece can have vertical edges that extend into the side pieces at right angles to the front panel of the pour spout. This provides for a tight fit on reclosing the spout to minimize exposure to the outside atmosphere.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2536529 (1951-01-01), Bergstein
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patent: 2820585 (1958-01-01), Nerenberg et al.
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patent: 4565315 (1986-01-01), Wagner et al.
patent: 5013878 (1991-05-01), Fries, Jr.
patent: 5014888 (1991-05-01), Bryan
patent: 5857614 (1999-01-01), Walsh
patent: 394 780 (1965-12-01), None
patent: 569 629 (1975-11-01), None
patent: 99 30974 (1999-06-01), None
The Wiley Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology, Bakker, John Wiley & Sons. 1986.
Borgerson Michael
Bradley David L.
Ours David C.
Robotham James O.
Elkins Gary E.
Fulbright & Jaworski LLP
Kellogg Company
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