Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Paperboard box – With closure for an access opening
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-04
2001-07-03
Shoap, Allan N. (Department: 3727)
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Paperboard box
With closure for an access opening
C229S209000, C229S246000, C229S125420, C229S125040, C229S125150
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253994
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to closure applicators. Specifically, the present invention relates to closure applicators for container blanks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Containers such as gable top cartons and the ubiquitous TETRA BRIK® parallelepiped package, have always been popular as containers for liquid foods such as milk, orange juice and the like. Recently, the use of closures, or fitments, to access the contents have become very appealing to consumers due the resealability and tamper-proof features.
Numerous applicators have been invented that apply a closure/fitment to an erected carton or a completely formed, filled, and sealed carton. For example, a very efficient process for applying a fitment through a pre-cut hole in an erected carton is described in U.S. pat. No. 5,819,504. Another efficient process is described in U.S. pat. No. 5,829,228 which hot melts a fitment to an erected carton. Other applicators apply the fitment to a filled and sealed carton through use of hot melt. Although the packaging industry has created numerous applicators for applying a fitment to an erected carton or sealed carton, the industry has failed to provide a process or apparatus for applying a closure/fitment to an unerected carton blank.
Other problems arise with providing a closure on a TETRA BRIK® package since the formation of the package is on a vertical form, fill and seal machine from a roll of packaging material which is sealed longitudinally to form a tube and traversely cut to produce an individual package which is folded into the parallelepiped shaped. The roll of packaging material is immersed in a hydrogen peroxide bath and conveyed through a series of winding rollers on the machine.
The main reason for the failure is that these containers are coated with a polymer material such as polyethylene. The interior and exterior surface of the container are coated thereby creating a potential for adhesion between overlying surfaces if heat (as used in hot melt application) or pressure (ultrasonic welding) is used to attach a closure to an unerected carton blank or a tube of packaging material.
The failure to resolve this problem restricts application of closures/fitments to the form, fill and seal machine through either integrated machinery or machine in-line with the packaging machine. Also, the use of integrated machinery causes problems with maintaining a sterile environment for aseptic packaging.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a means of applying a closure to packaging material while avoiding the problem of sealing the material to itself. The present invention is able to accomplish this by providing abhesion means placed on the interior of the packaging material about the area of the closure. The abhesion means blocks the chemical adhesion between one surface and the other. The abhesion means may be a coating, a printing, or physical modifications of the surface of the interior of the carton blank.
One aspect of the present invention is a packaging material having an abhesion means placed on the interior of the surface of the matrial. The placement of the abhesion means corresponds to the placement of the closure. A preferred placement is on the interior surface of the panel lying under the panel on which the closure will be attached by sealing or heat.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method for attaching a closure to a packaging material having the abhesion means thereon. Yet another aspect of the present invention is a carton blank produced in accordance with the method. Still another aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for applying a closure to a packaging material with the abhesion means thereon.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for attaching a closure to a packaging material.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an unerected carton blank having a closure thereon.
Having briefly described this invention, the above and further objects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by those skilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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Mai Tri M.
Shoap Allan N.
Tetra Laval Holdings and Finance SA
Welsh & Katz
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