U.S. patent number 3,917,155 [Application Number 05/298,767] was granted by the patent office on 1975-11-04 for carton.
Invention is credited to Robert P. Bemiss.
United States Patent |
3,917,155 |
Bemiss |
November 4, 1975 |
Carton
Abstract
A laminated or multi-layer wall carton or tray is provided which
has a self-supporting outer layer or wall portion of paperboard
which may be a laminated structure and may include a paperboard
with a plastic, foil or a paper layer laminated thereto. The
laminated layer of material may be adhered to the surface on one or
on both sides of the paperboard, preferably before the tray or
carton is die cut and formed. The carton includes a gusset fold and
overlap at the corners for a leakproof construction and is
concerned with the provision of a single gusset fold or a multiple
gusset fold which may be heat sealed or glued in place. A plastic
liner is either thermo-vacuum formed as a preliminary operation or
in place in the paperboard tray or carton in contact with the
plastic or paper coating thereon and this plastic line may be so
preformed into place as to be separable therefrom and to provide
with the lid to which it is heat sealed a separable container. This
container may be vacuumized so that the plastic bag attached to the
lid shrinks about the product therein to provide for minimizing of
oxygenation.
Inventors: |
Bemiss; Robert P.
(Hillsborough, CA) |
Family
ID: |
26924897 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/298,767 |
Filed: |
October 4, 1972 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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231204 |
Mar 2, 1972 |
3756495 |
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192720 |
Oct 24, 1971 |
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154784 |
Jun 21, 1971 |
3779447 |
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83704 |
Oct 26, 1970 |
3715853 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
229/169; 229/160;
229/186; 229/903; 229/170; 229/900 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
5/2052 (20130101); B65D 5/246 (20130101); B65D
5/56 (20130101); B65D 5/4233 (20130101); B65D
5/245 (20130101); B65D 5/243 (20130101); B65D
5/241 (20130101); B65D 5/242 (20130101); B65D
5/2047 (20130101); Y10S 229/90 (20130101); Y10S
229/903 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
5/24 (20060101); B65D 5/42 (20060101); B65D
5/20 (20060101); B65D 5/56 (20060101); B65D
005/24 () |
Field of
Search: |
;229/31R,31FS,30 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Norton; Donald F.
Assistant Examiner: Farrow; Douglas B.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Diller, Brown, Ramik &
Wight
Parent Case Text
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending
application Ser. No. 83,704 now U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 3715853 filed
Oct. 26, 1970 for BOILABLE BAKEABLE PACKAGE AND METHOD, my
copending application Ser. No. 154,784, filed June 21,1971 now U.S.
Pat. Ser. No. 3779477 for BOILABLE BAKEABLE PACKAGE AND METHOD, my
application Ser. No. 192,720 filed Oct. 24, 1971 for BOILABLE
BAKEABLE PACKAGE AND METHOD and my copending application Ser. No.
231,204 filed Mar. 2, 1972 for BOILABLE BAKEABLE PACKAGE AND METHOD
now U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 3756495.
Claims
I claim:
1. A carton corner construction comprising a bottom wall, a pair of
side walls disposed normal to each other and to said bottom wall, a
flange on each side wall normal thereto, one side wall and its
flange having coincident edges, the other side wall and its flange
having offset edges whereby a portion of said last-mentioned flange
projects beyond the edge of said other side wall, a gusset hinged
by first and second fold lines to said one and other side walls
respectively, a third fold line dividing said gusset into a pair of
gusset panels folded along said third fold line against one another
and against one of said side walls, a flange hinged by a fourth
fold line to one of said gusset panels, a tab projecting from said
flange portion normal thereto and in the same plane thereof, and
said tab being in overlapped relationship to said one side wall
flange.
2. The carton corner construction as defined in claim 1 wherein
said tab is sandwiched between said one side wall flange and said
gusset flange.
3. The carton corner construction as defined in claim 1 wherein
said tab is formed by material robbed from the other of said gusset
panels.
4. The carton corner construction as defined in claim 2 wherein
said tab is formed by material robbed from the other of said gusset
panels.
5. A carton corner construction comprising a bottom wall, a pair of
side walls disposed normal to each other and to said bottom wall, a
flange on each side wall normal thereto, one side wall and its
flange having coincident edges, the other side wall and its flange
having offset edges whereby a portion of said last-mentioned flange
projects beyond the edge of said other side wall, a gusset hinged
by first and second fold lines to said one and other side walls
respectively, a third fold line medially of fourth and fifth fold
lines dividing said gusset into first through fourth gusset panels
folded along said first through fifth fold lines to bring two of
said guesset panels against each other and against said one side
wall and the remaining two of said gusset panels against each other
and against said other side wall, a flange hinged by sixth and
seventh fold lines to each of the centermost two of said four
gusset panels, a tab projecting from said flange portion normal
thereto and in the same plane thereof, one each of said centermost
gusset panel flanges being folded about the respective sixth and
seventh fold lines against said one and other side walls
respectively, and said tab being in overlapped relationship to said
one side wall flange.
6. The carton corner construction as defined in claim 5 wherein
said tab is sandwiched between said one side wall flange and the
associated centermost gusset panel glange.
7. The carton corner construction as defined in claim 5 wherein
said tab is formed by material robbed from the gusset panel most
closely adjacent said other side wall.
8. The carton corner construction as defined in claim 6 wherein
said tab is formed by material robbed from the gusset panel most
closely adjacent said other side wall.
Description
This invention relates to thermo-vacuum formed laminated packages
such as trays or cartons of the straight sidewall type, each
package consisting of a fabricated plastic coated or laminated
paperboard outer layer which has its respective corners secured
together by means of a gusset fold, either a single fold or a
double fold with a sealing overlapping corner tab. The gusset fold
and tab are glued or heat sealed in place against the adjacent wall
of the tray or box or against an adjacent flange or edge portion or
flap of the tray or box.
The structural features of the carton are such that it provides for
effective sealing of the corners and open edges to substantially
prevent leaks and cut-edge wicking and to substantially prevent
desiccation or dehydration within the package during storage. Some
of the corners provided may be subject to leakage of gases such as
nitrogen, where it is not necessary for a tight seal as required in
the case of such gases.
It is an object of the invention therefore to provide a combination
of plastic, foil or paper coated paperboard lamina (and in some
cases a film lamina) in a folding carton or tray of suitable
character which can be used and subjected to either boiling,
baking, or can be used for the storage of food products for
subsequent sale and use.
Another object of the invention is to provide a package of the
above character in which the tray or carton is constructed to hold
liquids or liquid products and to prevent wicking thereof into the
paperboard.
A further object of the invention is to provide a structure of the
above character wherein there are no cut surfaces or edges of the
paperboard structure exposed within the interior of the carton
after sealing.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a thermoformed
plastic inner layer in a carton for holding the food product, which
inner layer is heat sealed to the lid or top of the carton and may
be separated from the tray or bottom part of the carton without
injury to the plastic so as to provide in effect a bag attached to
a lid which can have graphics on it and display the necessary
information needed to process the food contained in the plastic
bag. This plastic bag may be subject to vacuumizing before sealing
if desired.
Still another object of the invention is to provide for an improved
process for covering a carton with a waxed paper layer having
graphics and descriptive matter thereon, and for the resulting
improved carton.
The above and other objects of the invention are attained as
described in connection with certain preferred embodiments of the
invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the invention showing a
closed carton;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the carton blank employed in forming the
carton of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the operation of the
gusset fold and sealing tab and the placing of one of the gusset
folds in position for heat sealing or laminating to the inner
portion of the sidewall of the carton;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the corner shown in FIG. 3 after
completion of the erection of the carton or package;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a double gusset corner fold in
partially erected form;
FIG. 6 is a view of the structure shown in FIG. 5 in erected
form;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an open top carton bottom or tray
to which a plastic or plastic coated paperboard lid is adhered to
complete the carton;
FIG. 8 is a plan view of a carton blank used in making the tray or
carton bottom shown in FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the method of erecting a
corner of the carton shown in FIGS. 7 and 8;
FIG. 10 is an illustration of the corner shown in FIG. 9 in its
erected condition;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a corner of a carton blank using a
double gusset fold in the corner where flanges are attached at the
top of the center portions of the fold for securing to the flanges
attached with respect to the end of the side walls of the
carton;
FIG. 12 is an erected view of the corner shown in FIG. 11;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a carton of the type shown in FIG.
7 with a preformed plastic liner being dropped in place
therein.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a different type of carton having
a single flange along one side of the lid;
FIG. 15 is a plan view of the blank of the carton illustrated in
FIG. 14;
FIGS. 16 and 17, respectively, are perspective views of a corner of
a carton at the hinged side of the lid being folded into place;
FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a corner of the carton of FIG. 15
adjacent the free edge of the lid;
FIG. 18a is a transverse sectional view taken in a plane indicated
by the lines 18a--18a and FIG. 14 to show schematically the
overlapping portions of the carton;
FIG. 19 is an enlargement of a part of FIG. 15;
FIG. 20 is a schematic side elevational view illustrating a method
of coating a carton blank or laminating to it a layer of material
such as waxed paper;
FIG. 21 is a plan view of the blank to be used with the wrapper of
FIG. 20;
FIG. 22 is a plan view of the blank superposed in the wrapper;
and
FIG. 23 is a schematic elevational view of a wrapper applying
means.
FIG. 24 is a plan view of another form of blank with the wrapper
superposed thereon and laminated thereto;
FIG. 25 is a perspective fragmentary view of the carton of FIG. 24
in erected form;
FIG. 26 is a fragmentary perspective view of one internal corner of
a modified carton showing the liner therein;
FIG. 27 is a sectional view of a corner of the carton and is taken
in the plane indicated by the line 27--27 in FIG. 26;
Referring to FIGS. 1 through 4 illustrating the first form of the
invention, each tray may comprise an outer air-permeable paperboard
structure or lamina 10 (FIGS. 1 & 2) of the type adapted to
form a closed carton of rectangular construction with upright side
walls and with a lid. This closed carton has three projecting
flanges provided by flap extensions 14 and 16. The surfaces of the
upright side walls 10a and a bottom wall 10b, may have a plastic
coating on one or both sides or merely the inside surfaces if
desired. For example, coatings such as polyethylene or the other
plastics disclosed in said applications relating to higher
temperatures of 350.degree. F. and higher in the bakeable range. In
the form shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 there is provided a
polyethylene coating for example on both the inside and the outside
of the board so as to enable lamination or heat sealing of
respective portions of the inside and outer walls together as will
later be described.
As seen in FIG. 2, each of the side walls 10a is joined to the
bottom wall 10b by means of a score 11 and one of the side walls
10a has a lid 12 secured thereto by a score 13. The opposite wall
10a has a flap extension 14 secured thereto for registry with the
edge of the lid 12.
The respective lefthand and right-hand side walls 10a in FIG. 2
have respective flap extensions 16 having a tab 17 formed at one
end adjacent to a recessed or cutaway corner gusset fold structure
including two triangular fold portions 18 and 19 joined to the
respective side walls 10a by score lines 21 and having a diagonal
score line 22 therein. The other gusset folds at the corners are
similarly constructed and each one carries a registry aperture or
indexing station 23 (referred to in greater detail hereinafter) to
assist in the registry of a cover such as waxed paper bearing
graphics. onto the blank before it is erected. For sake of clarity
this covering layer has been omitted from the views of FIGS. 1
through 4.
As seen in FIG. 3 when the gusset fold formed about the score line
22 is broken inwardly, the triangular section 18 starts folding
toward the adjacent side wall 10a and the gusset portion 19 starts
overlapping of the gusset fold portion 18 at the same time that its
side wall 10a is being lifted.
It will be noted that at the gusset fold portion 18 is less in
height than the fold portion 19 so that when these fold portions
are overlapping each other and also overlapping the righthand wall
10a the top strip 19a of the corner fold portion 19 will be in
engagement, or can be placed in engagement with the inner part of
the adjacent side wall 10a and they can be heat sealed together
covering the cut portion of the inner gusset portion 18 and placing
the aperture 23 on the inside so that it is protected from the
contents of the carton.
In the erection of course the ear 17 overlaps the adjacent flange
portion 14 as seen in FIG. 4 and can be heat sealed thereto as a
part of the sealing operation to aid in strengthening and sealing
the corner.
After the carton is erected and is filled, the lid 12 is bent
around its score line 13, i.e., its connection to the adjacent side
wall 10a of the carton, and will be placed in engagement with the
side flap extensions 14 and 16 so as to be in position to be heat
sealed thereto.
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 there is illustrated a carton
construction wherein the bottom wall 10b is shown in fragmentary
fashion and connected to fragmentary side walls 10a. The bottom
wall and side wall being connected by a hinge joint provided by the
score line 11. The two side walls 10a (FIG. 5) are connected by a
gusset fold construction with the two inner gusset portions 19a and
two outer gusset portions 18a which are cutaway at the top as
previously described in connection with gusset portions 18 and 19.
In each instance the triangular gusset portions are connected to
each other and to the adjacent side walls by hinged connections.
One of the flap extensions 16a is extended to fill the corner and
has a corner sealing tab 17a to underlie and be heat sealed to the
outer flap extension 16a as seen in FIG. 6.
In erecting a carton the gusset portions 19a are broken inwardly to
provide an outwardly forming bend along the gusset lines 22a so
that each of the gusset portions 18a respectively, will be flat
against the adjacent panels 10a and gusset portions 19a will be
folded over them and the top portions of 19a above the gusset
portions 18a will be in flush engagement with side walls 10a so as
to be bonded thereto. Again in this style of structure both sizes
of the paperboard may be plastic coated such as polyethylene
coated. In this structure the cut ends of the gusset portions 18a
will be covered when the gusset portions 18a and 19a are sealed to
each other and to the adjacent side walls 10a. Also, the flap
extensions 16a are overlapped and sealed by the ear or tab 17a
overlying the corner joint and serving in its sealing function as
previously described.
FIGS. 7-10 illustrated a form of the invention generally similar to
that described above except there is no attached lid provided, so
that all the corners are alike, and the side extensions 16 have
tabs 17 at each end. Also, gusset portions 19 have sealing flap
extensions 27 thereon so that when erected they will overlap the
adjacent end side flap extension 16 and can be heat sealed thereto
or glued thereto as the case may be. In this case also there are no
open or cut ends on the inside of the carton and the paperboard is
polyethylene coated both sides, if it is desired to heat seal the
flap extensions 27 to the respective flap extensions 16.
FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate a modified form of the invention wherein
a double gusset fold is provided, with center folds 31--31 and side
folds 32--32 with flap extensions 33 of the center folds 31. These
flap extensions 33 may be heat sealed to the adjacent flap
extensions 35 as the case may be. One of the flap extensions 35 is
provided with an ear or tab 35a cutaway from the adjacent gusset
portion 32 to form the corner seal.
With the above construction it will be noted the in the absence of
a liner of polyethylene or the like, there will be leaking of gases
such as nitrogen and the like but there will be an effective seal
provided against the transfer of moisture so that there is a
substantially constant moisture content within the package and
there is substantially no loss of weight through desiccation. This
enables the packer to fill close to the desired weight at the time
of future sale and he is not required to put in excess weight of
the product in order to meet the weight standard some 6 weeks to 2
months later.
FIGS. 14 through 19 illustrates another preferred modified form of
the invention wherein a lid is employed and a projecting part of
the carton is provided only on the edge along the free side of the
lid.
The carton is shown in its closed condition in FIG. 14 and in plane
as a carton blank as illustrated in FIG. 15. The carton has a
bottom wall 41 joined by respective hinge lines or score lines 43
to side walls 42 having respective flaps 52 and 53. One wall 42 at
the rear of the carton is hinged by a score line to the lid 46. All
four of the side walls 42 are connected by gusset portions 47, 48
providing a single fold to be closed as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 in
the manner previously described.
In this case the gusset portion 48 is the longer and will lie over
the gusset portion 47 and have its free end projecting above for
heat sealing to the adjacent side wall 42 as seen in FIG. 16.
Each of the flap extensions 52 (FIGS. 15, 18 and 19) have corner
locking ears or tabs 51 adapted to lie under and be heat sealed to
the flap extensions 53 on the side wall 42 remote from the lid 46.
These locking tabs 51 are cut free from the adjacent side wall 42
and the gusset portion 47 and have a fold line 51a between the tab
51 and the triangular extension 50 of the end wall 52. In this way
the tab extension 52 in the erected position in the carton can be
folded back flat against the outside of the adjacent wall 42 as
seen most clearly in FIG. 18a. At its free edge the lid 46 has
triangular tab extensions or flaps 56 hinged thereto by score lines
55 which extend also between side flaps 49 and lid 46. The gusset
portions 48 are cut free at 57 from side flaps 49 and are adapted
to be folded over in the finished condition of the carton as seen
in FIG. 14. The side flaps 49 on the lid 46 are substantially the
full depth of the side walls 42 so that they will overlap the tab
extensions 52 and the side walls 42 and can be heat sealed or glued
or otherwise bonded to the side walls.
FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate a waxed paper or plastic film wrapper 61
and a carton blank 60 similar to the carton blank illustrated in
FIG. 15. FIG. 22 shows a waxed paper wrapper 61 adhered by its wax
to a carton blank 60 in position to cover the outside of the carton
in erected position, the wrapper bearing the desired printed
material desired thereon. The wrapper 61 is slit at 62 in alignment
with the 2.degree. cut between the side flaps 49 and the gusset
portion 48 so as to not interfere with the erection of the carton.
It will be seen that when the carton is erected the wrapper
portions which are adhered to the gusset portions 47 and 48 will be
caught in the gusset folds in each corner thereby insuring against
any accidental detachment of the wrapper from the carton.
Referring to FIG. 23 there is shown in schematic side elevation a
means for carrying out the method of the instant invention wherein
a conveyor 70 has four aligning pins 71 at each carton receiving
station. Each set of pins thereon being grouped to register with
and pass through the apertures 23 of a carton blank 60 and a
wrapper 61. The pins 71 will serve to keep both the carton blank 60
and the wrapper 61 in the proper aligned position after the pins 23
are engaged with their respective locating holes in the blank and
the wrapper. As seen in FIG. 23, the carton blanks 60 are withdrawn
from a stack by suitable feeding means 72 and placed in registry
with a set of the pins 71. The conveyor then carries the carton
blank underneath a wrapper feeding station 73 for the waxed wrapper
which is fed from a supply roll 74 and passes through a series of
feed rolls 75, a slitting knife 77, a cut off knife 78 and heating
rollers 76 disposed both above and below the conveyor 70 and having
suitable slots or apertures to receive the pins 71. The carton
blanks and wrappers are fed through a cooling and pressure zone
underneath an endless conveyor 85. The heating rollers 76 cause the
wax on the paper wrapper to melt sufficiently to adhere to the
paperboard carton blank. From the cooling and pressure zone, each
carton assembly 80 is delivered by a transfer conveyor 81 to a
conventional forming means including an upper form 82, a lower
plunger 83, of conventional construction and the carton assembly 80
is formed into the box shape of the carton by means including side
formers 84 of conventional construction. The finished cartons 80a
are discharged at the top and removed by a vacuum means 86.
Referring to FIG. 13 there is shown schematically one form of the
invention in which the paperboard structure 10 having the usual
side flanges 14-16 around its open upper end is lined with a
preformed plastic liner 90 having a flange 91 formed thereon for
heat sealing to the plastic coated flanges 14-16, if desired. This
use of a preformed liner for heat sealing or non-heat sealing
engagement within a paperboard erected carton structure can be
employed with any of the various modifications disclosed in this
application. Also, the liner 90 can be heat sealed to the plastic
coated lid (not shown) so that it provides a come-apart pocket
which, if desired may have air evacuated to reduce headspace.
After the heat sealing operation, the corners of the paperboard
carton structure have overlapping portions provided by the
overlapping structure such as the ears 17 and the adjacent flange
portion 14 seen in FIG. 4 heat sealed together. This overlapping
structure provides a smooth firm support during sealing of the
plastic layer either to the flange or to the lid and insures a
gastight seal.
The modified carton shown in plan in FIG. 24 includes a carton
bottom 100 having a pair of opposite side walls 101 to which flap
extensions 102 are connected by suitable score lines as previously
described, and a second pair of side walls 103 having flap
extensions of 104 hinged thereto. The side flap extensions 102 and
104 form flanges in the erected condition of the carton, and the
extensions 102 have suitable ears 106 forming interconnecting means
in the usual fashion and having the small triangular cut portion
107 which will be projected to form a stop. Heat sealed or
laminated to the carton blank 100 after it is cut as a carton blank
with all the respective hinge lines or score lines formed therein
is a waxed paper label 111 which covers all the parts of the carton
blank except the flap extensions 102 and 104. At the cutout corners
of the blank between the side walls 101 and 103, at each corner the
label provides a triangular connecting means 112 between portions
of the label which are laminated to the side walls 101 and 103.
As seen with reference to FIG. 25, in the erected position of the
carton the edges of the side walls 101 are adjacent to side walls
103 and come into abutting but not overlapping relation while the
flap extensions 102 and 104 form flanges and have the overlapping
ears or tabs 106 to provide an overlapping heat sealed connection
as described in the other modifications. It is seen, therefore, in
this particular carton structure that the carton is held in erected
position as seen in FIG. 25 by the connection of the printed label
111 lamination to the carton structure or blank including the walls
100, 101 and 103 and the triangular connecting means 112 at each
corner are folded in as seen in FIG. 25 to lie in flat abutting
relation as a triangular extension of double thickness overlying
the edge of the plastic coated side wall 101. Thereafter the inner
layer 121 of plastic is shaped to the shape of the interior shape
of the carton by thermo-vacuum forming and is bonded to and over
the folded triangular portions 112 so that the waxed outer layer
and the plastic inner layer reinforce the erected carton.
Referring to FIG. 24 it will be seen that the carton blank has a
pattern of fine perforations 122 of special character. These
perforations extend along beside each edge of the bottom wall panel
or carton bottom 100 and which may also have an interior pattern.
In the present case this interior pattern is shown as a cross shape
with two diagonal lines from corner to corner. Also each of the
side walls 101 and 103 haave adjacent there end edges and adjacent
their connections to the bottom wall or carton bottom 100 another
series of these perforations which are employed in the
thermo-vacuum forming of the layer 121 shown in FIG. 25 inside of
the carton after it has been erected. It will be understood, of
course, that these perforations 122 are formed in both the carton
blank and the label 111.
Both the carton blank and the wrapper overlay laminated to it have
indexing or registering holes 116 therein for use with the
apparatus of FIG. 23.
FIG. 26 is a perspective view inside of one corner of a carton
which is formed as described in connection with the blank
comprising the reference numeral 100, 101, 102, etc., and the
lamination of 129 on the inside. However, the outside is not
laminated and carrier no wrapper and the sole method of support of
the corners is the internal plastic layer 121 as seen more clearly
in FIG. 27.
While I have shown and described certain preferred formes of the
inventions, the invention is capable of being performed in various
ways and by various means and should be limited only by the scope
of the claims appended hereto.
* * * * *