Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Package For Pourable Substances
This invention relates generally to containers, and more
particularly to a pack for pourable materials.
There are a number of known packs consisting of at least
two elements, namely an inner plastic container or bag and an
outer envelope of cardboard, for example of the type described
in GB-A-944,565 or DE-A-29 03 562. If the inner plastic
container has little or no stability, the cardboard envelope is
generally used to stiffen the pack, although it is also
intended to enable printing or the like to be applied more
easily. A pack of this type is also known, for example, from
EP-0 225 677-A2.
In view of the increase in environmental awareness,
efforts are being made to reduce the plastic component of packs
and to increase the paper or cardboard envelope component
because the necessary material can be obtained by recycling
wastepaper. Efforts are also being made to guarantee the
refillability of such packs without affecting any of the key
functions of stability, ease of handling and the like.
A pack is shown in FR-A2 013 654 which consists of a
hollow plastic container which is produced by blow-molding, and
of which the supporting jacket is fixed on the hollow plastic
container through the presence in the supporting jacket of
several openings which engage with corresponding projections on
the hollow plastic container. The disadvantage of the round
pack described is that, the supporting jacket and the hollow
plastic container have to be specifically guided towards one
another or have to be turned relative to one another until the
openings in the supporting jacket and the projections on the
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hollow plastic container engage in one another. This
necessitates particular effort in the production of the pack.
In addition, the plurality of interengaging fixing elements
complicates separation of the hollow plastic container and the
supporting jacket whereby, considerable force is required for
removing the supporting jacket from the hollow plastic
container. In another embodiment of this pack, the supporting
jacket is fixed in a groove formed in the hollow plastic
container. Considerable force again has to be applied to
separate the supporting jacket and the hollow plastic
container. Finally, the known packs have no grip openings or
grips for handling the pack.
US-A-3, 160,326 describes a pack consisting of a hollow
plastic container and a surrounding envelope of cardboard.
However, this envelope is not a supporting jacket, but rather
an outer cardboard case provided with base and cover laps.
This outer cardboard case comprises laps designed to be folded
inwards into a recess formed in the hollow plastic container.
Grip openings are formed in this way. In this known pack, the
outer envelope is not fixed on the hollow plastic container by
the laps, but by cover and base laps instead.
GB-A-2,206,567 describes a thin-walled hollow plastic
container which is provided with a reinforcing shoulder in the
vicinity of this closure.
A bottle surrounded by an envelope is known from DE-C-193
757, the envelope being locally provided with die-cut openings
for checking the filling level of the bottle.
Finally, US-A-4,368,827 describes a hollow plastic
container which, along one side edge, is formed with a recess
in the form of a handle for holding the container.
The problem addressed by the present invention was to
provide a solution with which all the handling advantages would
remain intact in a pack of the type mentioned above, while at
the same time minimizing the amount of plastic and cardboard
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used in the pack. In addition, an object of the invention is
both to provide easy separatioin of the hollow plastic
container and the supporting jacket, while fixing the
supporting jacket on the hollow plastic container.
In addition, another object is to provide production
advantages for such hollow plastic containers, and thus the
invention provides for convenient handling through the handle
opening in both the supporting jacket and the corresponding
recess in the container. Yet another object is to ensure that
the two elements can be separated comparatively easily from one
another for reprocessing of the raw materials.
Because in one embodiment of the invention, a handle is
not formed on the hollow plastic container itself, plastic
material is also saved. The supporting jacket may be in the
form of a cardboard jacket open at both ends to save material.
A plastic bottle formed with gripping means along one edge is
known from US-PS 4,368,827.
In another embodiment of the invention, the supporting
jacket surfaces of the cardboard envelope corresponding to the
recess in the hollow plastic container are in the form of
inwardly foldable die-cuttings designed to form a handle in the
envelope only.
Although a handle design according to the invention would
also be applicable to packs of round cross-section, the problem
would be technically easier to solve if the handle could be
formed in the region of at least two abutting straight
surfaces. Accordingly, it is best to make the cross-section of
the pack rectangular, square or polygonal so that at least one
edge suitable for a handle opening is formed. In another
embodiment of the invention, therefore, the hollow plastic
container is provided with at least two straight surfaces,
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substantially forming an edge, a recess being formed in the
edge region of these surfaces and the inwardly foldable laps
of the envelope forming a handle with grip openings by which
the pack can be held. In another embodiment of the invention,
the plastic container and the supporting jacket are of
substantially rectangular or square cross-section in the
handling position.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the glueing lap
of the supporting jacket is positioned in the corner edge
region which, in the in-use position, is used to form the
handle, so that the wall is reinforced by simple means, i.e. by
a two-ply structure.
Another embodiment of the invention provides, in the
handling position that the hollow plastic container and
supporting jacket are of substantially rectangular or square
cross-section and recesses are formed in opposite straight
surfaces of the hollow plastic container.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, at least
one fixing projection is provided in the recess of the hollow
plastic container for additionally fixing the laps so that the
fold does not have to be glued. A fixed unit is thus formed
between the inner plastic container and the supporting jacket
without complicating separation of the different materials
after the packs have been used. The separate disposal of the
supporting jacket and the plastic container is thus guaranteed
because the two parts are easy to separate.
In order to simplify the possibilities of manipulation,
including inter alia the machine filling and machine closure of
the pack, another embodiment of the invention provides the
plastic container in the vicinity of the closure with a
reinforcing shoulder comprising at least two opposite, straight
contact surfaces and, more particularly, is of square,
hexagonal, octagonal or the like cross-section.
In another embodiment of the invention, the plastic
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container is provided with reinforcing webs and/or locally with
outwardly facing fixing ribs while the supporting jacket is
provided with die-cut parts in which the fixing ribs engage.
The die-cut openings in the supporting jacket may also be
used to check the filling level inside the plastic container.
According to the invention, the supporting jacket is locally
die-cut to form openings for checking the filling level of the
plastic container.
In addition, to increase stability, at least parts of the
free lower edges of the supporting jacket are provided with
inwardly foldable reinforcing laps. High stability can also be
achieved by reinforcing the base of the plastic container. If
the surrounding supporting jacket is made slightly shorter than
the supporting wall surface of the plastic container, the entry
of moisture from the area around the base into the supporting
jacket of cardboard can be at least partly avoided.
The invention is described in more detail in the
accompanying drawings, wherein like items have the same
reference designation:
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Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the pack with the
jacket partly broken open for one embodiment of the invention:
Figure 2 is a section on the line II-II in Fig. 1; and
Figure 3 is a section through a modified embodiment of the
pack according to the invention.
In the illustrated embodiment, the pack generally denoted
by the reference 1 consists of a hollow plastic container 2 of
substantially square cross-section, a supporting jacket 3 of
cardboard or a comparable material.
In one corner, the plastic container 2 is provided with a
recess denoted by the reference 4 which is shown in chain lines
in Fig. 1. Conversely, the supporting jacket 3 has two handle
openings 5 in this region, the corner denoted by the reference
6 having a multilayer structure so that parts of the die-cut
laps - denoted by the reference 7 in Fig. 2 - are folded
inwards and fixed in position. The corner 6 itself may also be
provided with the glueing lap of the supporting jacket 3
although this has not been shown.
In the region of the closure 8, the plastic container 2
has an upper encircling supporting shoulder 9 and contact
surfaces 10 which, in the illustrated embodiment, are
hexagonal. The plastic container 2 also has an upper
supporting shoulder 11 which, in the in-use position, rests on
free edge 12 of the encircling supporting jacket 3.
Figure 1 shows two different designs for the base of the
plastic container 2. One design shows reinforcing webs 13
(bottom right). The other design shows the base of the
container shaped like a spherical sector, as denoted by
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the reference 14 on the left of Fig. 1.
In addition to the illustrated handle opening design,
which also serves to hold the plastic container 2 in the
supporting jacket 3, the hollow plastic container may also be
provided with outwardly facing ribs 15 and the supporting
jacket with corresponding die-cut openings 16, as shown at the
top of Fig. 2. In addition, the lower free edge of the
supporting jacket 3 may be folded inwards, the corresponding
laps being denoted by the reference 17 in Fig. 1. Further
die-cut openings 18 may be provided, for example to enable the
filling level to be monitored.
Instead of the outwardly facing ribs 15 with corresponding
die-cut openings 16, inwardly facing spaces may also be
provided in the container 2 so that the supporting jacket 3 can
be folded inwards, as denoted by the reference 19 in Fig. 1. A
fixing system such as this is particularly useful when no
handle openings are provided. In addition, the supporting
jacket 3 may be provided with a tear thread 20 to make the
supporting jacket 3 easier to remove.
Figure 2 illustrates the possibility of providing fixing
projections 21 on the plastic container which fix the laps 7
after they have been folded to eliminate the need for glueing.
Figure 3 shows a modified embodiment of the invention in
which the same elements are denoted by the same reference
numerals as in Figs. 1 and 2 accompanied by an apostrophe.
In this modified embodiment, the plastic container 2' is
only provided with handle depressions 4' in which the laps 5'
engage to make the pack easier to handle and to fix the
supporting jacket 3'.
The described embodiments of the invention may be modified
in various respects by those skilled in the art without
departing from the basic scope of the invention. For example,
the supporting jacket 3 may if necessary comprise several
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layers: the closure may be provided elsewhere on the plastic
container, etc. Instead of the fixing projections 21, ribbed
or friction-increased surfaces may be provided on the plastic
container, and so forth. The materials mentioned for the
supporting jacket may be replaced by sheet metals or plastics.
These and other modifications are meant to be covered by the
spirit and scope of the appended claims.
