Package making – Methods – Forming a cover adjunct or application of a cover adjunct to...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-19
2001-06-12
Johnson, Linda (Department: 3721)
Package making
Methods
Forming a cover adjunct or application of a cover adjunct to...
C053S425000, C053S488000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244020
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a process for producing a filled, sealed and sterilized container comprising at least one can body and at least one lid body, which can be opened without the aid of a tool, as well as to a container which can be produced according to the process.
Containers in general are packs (hereinafter use is made of the all-embracing term “container”), which can be opened without the aid of tools, such as e.g., knives, can openers, etc. These types of containers, known as easy open systems, have acquired increased importance over the last few years due to the much easier handling such containers provide for the user.
Thus, use is made to a considerable extent of ring pull lids in can-like packs in the human and animal food sector. However, in many cases, particularly when metal is used as the base material, there is a risk of sharp edges being formed following the opening of the can.
A particular problem occurs in containers where, after filling and sealing, the contents must be preserved by sterilization. In this case the internal pressure within the can resulting from the elevated sterilization temperatures must be withstood by the container. The connection between the lid body and the can body, in particular, constitutes a weak point in the case of such easy open systems.
Therefore the problem the invention overcomes is to develop a process that overcome the disadvantages of the prior art while making available an easy open system without any risk of an unintentional destruction of the filled container during the sterilization process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, this problem is inventively solved in that following the filling of the container with the intended contents and sterilization of the container at temperatures adequate for preserving the contents, a weakening of the material of the container at a predetermined location is provided in such a way that the container parts can be separated without the aid of a tool.
According to one embodiment, there is a weakening or severing of the container wall. Alternatively there can be a weakening or severing of the base material of the container wall.
It is also possible to provide a weakening or severing of the container wall in an area where, in the empty state, following the initial severing of the base material of the container wall, the container can be joined together again by means of a material different from the base material of the container wall. Preferably the material different from the base material of the container is an adhesive material.
It is also preferable for a weakening or severing to take place in an area of the can body. In an alternative embodiment, the weakening or severing of the can body takes place in am area adjacent to the can lid body.
Preferably, the can body of the container, in the vicinity of the weakening or severing of the container wall, is provided on its inside with a sealing material extending substantially entirely round the can body circumference. In the area of the sealing material, the can body can be provided with at least two substantially horizontally directed corrugations. Preferably, the weakening or severing of the can body takes place between the two corrugations.
According to a preferred embodiment the weakening or severing of the can body takes place on one of the corrugations.
According to an alternative embodiment there are at least three corrugations and the weakening or severing of the can body takes place on the central corrugation.
Preferably, the sealing material extends into the intermediate area between the can body and the lid body.
There can also be a weakening or severing in the area of the lid body. In a further embodiment the weakening or severing of the lid body takes place in the area of a fold of the lid body.
In a further alternative embodiment of the invention, a sealing material is applied substantially completely round the circumference in the area of the weakening or severing of the lid body or on the outside of the fold of the lid body or the outside of the lid body. A suitable plastics material can be used as the sealing material.
The invention also contemplates that the marginal area of the lid body be nondetachably connected to the outside of the circumferential surface of the container can body and that an interengaging thread for opening the container be provided both in the can body and in the lid body to permit reengagement of the lid to the can after opening.
In another embodiment of the invention the interengaging thread is located above the weakening or severing line. The invention also encompasses the interengaging thread being located below the weakening or severing line.
Preferably, the weakening or severing of the container wall takes place by multiple cutting. Alternatively the weakening or severing of the container wall may take place by laser technology.
According to another embodiment, following the weakening or severing of the container wall, a corrosion surface treatment takes place on the cutting face.
The weakening or severing of the container wall can take place on a substantially horizontal, circumferential line or can take place on a wavy, circumferential line.
The invention also encompasses providing the weakening of the connection between the lid and can body take place between the can body and the lid body.
Alternatively a substantially fully circumferential deformation may be provided in the vicinity of the fold formed at the edges of the can body and the lid body.
According to another embodiment of the invention deformation of the container material takes place in such a way that the angle of the plane which runs furthest radially outwardly from the contact face of the can body and lid body is so modified that a separation is possible between the can body and the lid body without the aid of a tool. In another embodiment the plane which is located radially furthest outwardly from the contact face of the can body and lid body, after deformation, is substantially parallel to the can body wall.
In an alternative embodiment a coating at least partly deformable under pressure and, optionally, heat action is provided on the inside of the can body and/or on the inside of the lid body, at least in the area in which the can body and lid body are in contact with one another. The coating may be a polypropylene homopolymer or copolymer.
Preferably, prior to the welding of the filled container to the lid part the container is sealed with a foil of heat-sealable, varnished aluminum, plastic or a corresponding composite material.
The invention also relates to a container, which can be produced according to the process of the invention. Preferably, the container is a can-like pack.
By means of the inventive process, it is possible in a surprisingly simple manner to make available for containers, particularly can-like packs and more especially cans made from metal or the like, an easy open system without requiring special precautionary measures for the sterilization process. This is so because the measures for providing an easy open system take place, according to the invention, only following the sterilization process. It is possible in this way to use sterilization processes which have proved themselves over many decades. Thus, the can body is filled with the intended container content and sterilized at temperatures adequate for preserving the container contents, so that there is no need for expensive retooling of existing production installations for these process steps.
Within the scope of the present invention, the term “lid body” refers to any type of container closure, as a function of the container type, which functions as a closure for the container. In the case of a can, the lid body can be the lid or base.
The weakening or severing of the container, in an alternative embodiment can be a weakening or severing of the metal from which the can is made. In a second alternative the material of the can body may be severed all round in a first step and then the two parts of
Albrecht Bernd
Hornig Rolf
Kregel Gebhard
Luttmann Jurgen
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
EFFEM GmbH
Johnson Linda
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