Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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--A~ tHri-ARR~*~M~T-FOR PA6~6,6~T ~E~S---
The present invention relates to an opening arrangement for
packing containers comprising a wall with a pouring opening and
5 a tear-off cover strip applied over the same in a sealing manner.
Packing containers of the non-returnable type are used for
the packaging of various contents such as milk, juice and the
like. The packing containers are usually manufactured by folding
and sealing of laminated material in the form of sheets or a web
10 which comprise at least on the outside a layer of thermoplastic
material serving on the one hand as a liquid-tight layer, on the
other hand makes possible the sealing together of the packing con-
tainer. The packing container is usually provided with some form
of opening arrangement, e.g. in the form of a cover strip which
15 covers a pre-punched pouring opening in the wall of the packing
container and can simply be torn off when the packing container
is to be opened and the contents are to be emptied out through
the pouring opening.
In packing containers with opening arrangements which comprise
20 a pre-manufactured pouring opening and a cover strip sealing the
same, the pouring opening is customarily placed near the edge of
one wall of the packing container, in particular a plane top wall.
The cover strip is applied over the pouring opening and is sealed
to the wall material around the pouring opening so that a corn-
25 pletely liquid-tight seal is achieved. In order to facilitate the
removal of the cover strip when the packing con-tainer is to be
opened, it is possible to provide the cover strip with a projecting
grip-lug which extends outside the actual edge of the container
wall, and in this manner makes it possible simply to grip the s-trip
30 between thumb and forefinger and pull it o-ff in connection with the
opening of the packing container.
The abovementioned type of cover strip has been found to have
a disadvan-tage in that this projecting grip-lug is easily deformable
and gets caught on the adjacent packing con-tainer during the hand-
35 ling of the packing containers in collective packages of the carriertype. This means among other things an increased risk of leakages.
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The presen-t inven-tion provides an opening
arrall(Jement for packing con-tainers, this opening arrange-
ent being of -the -type which comprises a pouring opening
ancl a cover strip sealing the same, bu-t which is not sub-
ject to -the disadvan-tages of -the opening arrangements
cle.scribed above.
r~'he presen-t inven-tion also provides an opening
arrallgemen-t of the type descrlbed in the introduction in
which the grip-lug oE the cover strip does no-t extend out-
s:ide -the contour of -the container wall but is nevertheless
simple to grip and u-tilize when the packing container is
to be opened.
Finally the present invention provides a cover strip where-
in the risk of unintentional opening is minimized.
In accordance with the invention in that an open-
iny arrangement for packing containers comprising a wall
with a pouring opening and tear-off cover strip applied over
the same in a sealing manner, one end of the cover strip is
cloublecl and given the form of a grip-lug, the cover s-trip
havincJ a moulded part which provides a gap be-tween the free
encl of the grip-lug and the main part oE the underlying
Illain par-t of the cover strip.
Suitably -the moulded part is si-tuated with a lim-
ite(l rcgion of the main part of the cover strip and has a
s:ize and shape which substantially correspond to -the uncler-
Lyill~J pouring opening. Preferably the grip-lug is folded
over about 190 in relation to the main part of the cover
str:ip and is si-tuated with its free edge on a level with
Lhe ullderly:ing pouring opening. ~esirably the moulded part
ol the cover strip extencls clown in-to the pouring opening
~:lncl serves as a reclosing element. Suitably the moulded
part is situated in the free edge region of the grip-lug.
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Desirably -the doubled grip-lug is detachably joined along
its edges -to the main part of the underlying cover strip.
P~eferably a folding line between the main part of the
covcr strip and the grip-lug ex-tends substan-tially along
the container wall.
~ rhrough -the design of the opening arrangement in
accor(.lclnce with the invention a readily openable cover
s~rip is provided wherein -the risk of unin-tentional opening
L0 hcls been wholly eliminated whilst ma-terial consump-tion and
costs have no-t been raised by comparison with known cover
strips.
A preferred embodimen-t of the opening arranyement
in accordance with the invention will now be described in
more de-tail with special reference to the accompanyiny
schematic drawings which only show the details required for
the understanding of -the invention.
Fig. 1 shows in perspective a packing con-tainer
with an opening arrangement according to -the invention.
Fig. 2 shows on a larger scale a part of the top
container wall
- 2a
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with an opening arrangement according to fig.l.
The packing container shown in fig.l is of a known type and
is made from two laminated sheets oF packing material which on the
ou-tside have layers of thermoplastic, that is to say heat-sealable,
5 material. One sheet is bent into U-shape and forms a back wall 1,
a bo-ttom wall 2 and a top wall 3 of the packing container. The
other sheet too is bent substantially into a U-shape and sealed
to the first sheet so that it forms a curved casiny wall 4 for
the packing con-tainer. The two sheets are heat-sealed to one
10 another at their contact surfaces. This known package type is
chosen only as an example of a suitable packing container on which
the opening arrangement in accordance with the invention can be
used, but it is understood that any known or new type of packing
container whatever which has a substantially plane container wall
15 can be provided with an opening arrangement in accordance with
the invention.
As is also evident from fig.l, the one container wall of the
packing container shown, more particularly the top wall 3, is
provided with a cover strip 5 which is applied over a non-visible
20 pouring opening in the -top wall 3. The cover strip 5, which is
shown more clearly in fig.2, has a doubled front end which serves
as a grip lug 6. The grip-lug 6 is separated from the main portion
of the cover strip sealing the pouring opening by a folding line 7
which extends substantially along -the edge line of the container
25 wall 3. The grip lug 6 is folded over about 180 in relation to
the main part of the cover strip and situa-ted with its free edge
8 on a level wi-th the underlying powring opening which is not
visible in fig.2 but whose contour is indicated by a moulded,
recessed part 9 of the main part of the cover strip, -this part
30 having a si~e and shape which substantially correspond to the
unclerlying pouring opening. The moulded part 9 extends so far
down into the pouring opening that it can serve as a reclosing
element, since the contact between the edges of the moulded part
9 and the edges of the pouring opening provides a friction grip
35 which retains the cover strip relatively securely over the pouring
opening when the cover strip is applied again in its original
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position after the opening of the packing container.
Since the free edge 8 of the grip lug 6 is on a level with
the underlying pouring opening 9, a gap will be produced between
the doubled grip-lug 6 and the main part of the cover strip 5 in
5 spite of -the doubling over 180 of the cover strip (the grip lug 6
is shown in fig,2 for the sake of clarity not fully in contact
with the main part of the cover strip), which makes it possible
-to introduce a finger underneath the free edge 8 of the grip lug 6
and lift up the grip lug 6 as a preparation for the tearing off
10 of the main part of the cover strip 5. Through the doubling of
the grip tug 6 of the cover strip no part of the cover strip will
project outside the edge line of the packing container thus
eliminating the risk of unintentional opening. Since the doubled
grip lug 6 is folded over about 180 and thus lies flat against
15 the top portion of the packing container, no part of the grip
lug will project from the top wal1 3 either, which also contributes
to the prevention of any unintentional opening. To prevent the
grip lug from "raising itself" and Drojecting from the surface of
the top wall 3, it may be suitable in certain cases, P.g. when
20 a material is used for the manufacture of the cover strip 5 which
is hard to fold, to seal the grip lug 6 to the cover strip 5. This
is accomplished by a de-tachable seal along the edges of the grip
lug 6 and in particular by elongated sealing zones along the longi-
tudinal edges of the cover strip 5 on both sides of the moulded
25 part 9.
As mentioned earlier, the moulded part 9 may be utilized -for
the reclosing o-f the packing container by vir-tue of its friction
contact wi-th the edges of the pouring opening. However, it is not
always desirable to provide the cover strip 5 with some recessed,
30 moulded part. If this is the case the moulding which is required
for facilitating the introduction of a finger underneath the grip
lug 6 may be provided in the grip lug itself where a moulded part
can be formed in -the vicinity of the Free edge region (not shown
in the figures) of the grip lug 6. This moulded part may be in
35 the form of a semicircular raised part or be const-ituted of two
parallel projecting zones which prevent the centre portion of the
free edge 8 of the grip lug from resting fully against the under-
lying main part of the cover strip 5 when the grip lug 6 is folded
over about 180. With this design of the cover strip in accordance
with the invention it is likewise possible to prevent unintentional
unfolding of the grip lug 6 by providing seals of appropriate
strength at the free corner or parallel edges of the grip lug.
