Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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GRIPPING MEANS FOR CONTAINERS
This invention relates to packaging and particularly to a laminate packaging
made of
thermoplastics coated paperboard.
JP-A-2003276725 discloses a paper container consisting of a laminate mainly
.. composed of paper and having recesses and protrusions at the outer surface
of the
container for the improvement of non-slip properties, and a design effect. The
laminate is provided with an inner layer having at least a thermally adherent
resin
layer on one of the faces of the paper and an outer layer having at least a
thermally
adherent resin layer on the other face thereof. Recesses and protrusions are
.. provided at a part of the paper container to improve the non-slip
properties.
WO-A-0075038 relates to a commercial packaging that comprises at least one
plain
or curved surface and an anti-theft strip, with a groove being introduced into
the
surface in which the anti-theft strip is located.
EP-A-0615285 discloses integrated circuits such as transponders attached to a
substrate such as cardboard packaging material by adhering an integrated
circuit to
the substrate, applying a patch antenna to the substrate and the integrated
circuit,
and applying a sealing layer over the integrated circuit and at least a
portion of the
antenna. An indentation may be formed in the substrate into which the
integrated
circuit is placed. The patch antenna may be screen printed onto the substrate
and
the integrated circuit, using conductive ink, or may be a metallic foil which
is applied
to the substrate and the integrated circuit. Where the integrated circuit is a
transponder, it can be programmed with an identification code, either before
or after
being attached to the substrate.
GB-A-2471268 discloses a stackable box having upstanding tabs on the tops of
respective end panels, and holding tabs at the bottoms of side panels, and an
indentation proximate the centre of the base of the box. Such a configuration
allows
an overlapping stack of boxes to be formed in which the upstanding tabs of a
first
box engage in the holding tabs of a second box and/or the indentation of the
second
box, when the second box is placed on top of the first.
.. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
container
blank for forming a container having respective opposite first and second
planar
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surfaces, and comprising a row of body portion forming panels arranged side-by-
side, the boundaries between said panels being defined by respective boundary
lines of weakness extending from top to bottom of said panels substantially
perpendicularly to said row, at least one body portion forming panel including
a line
of depression in the first surface which is not visible on the respective
opposite
second surface, the line of depression having a grip enhancing substance
deposited
therein.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
container
comprising a loop of body panels, the boundaries between said panels being
defined
by respective boundary lines of weakness extending from top to bottom of said
panels substantially perpendicularly to said loop, each body panel having
respective
outside and inside planar surfaces, the outside surface at least one of the
body
panels including a line of depression which is not visible on the respective
inside
surface, the line of depression having a grip enhancing substance deposited
therein.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method of
forming a container blank of sheet material comprising marking the sheet
material
with a pattern of lines of weakness defining body portion forming panels of
the
container blank, the container blank having respective opposite first and
second
planar surfaces, forming a line of depression in the first surface of at least
one of the
body portion forming panels which is not visible on the corresponding location
of the
second surface and depositing a grip enhancing substance in said line of
depression.
Owing to these aspects, a substance with anti-slip properties can be applied
to the
outside surface of a packaging material without interfering with any part of a
container production process.
Forming of a line of depression in a first planar surface of a laminate
material which
does not alter the surface profile of the opposing second surface has the
advantage
of maintaining the inside surface of body forming portions of the packaging
material
visibly smooth and free from impressions made by embossings or the like made
on
the first surface of the packaging material. This is particularly advantageous
with
aseptic packaging, where as smooth an inside surface as possible is desired,
so as
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not to have any action made to the packaging material which risks destroying
the
barrier features of the resultant container.
In a preferred embodiment, the grip enhancing material is a friction-
increasing material
to increase the amount of friction between the fingers of a consumer and the
body
panels of the container. Other substances could be used to, for example,
convey
information to a user such as an indication of the temperature of the
contents.
Certain exemplary exemplary embodiments can provide packaging material for
forming a container having respective opposite first and second surfaces, and
comprising a row of body portion forming panels arranged side-by-side, the
boundaries
between said panels being defined by respective boundary lines of weakness
extending from top to bottom of said panels substantially perpendicularly to
said row,
at least one body portion forming panel including lines of depression in the
first surface,
the lines of depression having a grip enhancing substance deposited therein,
wherein
the grip enhancing substance is a friction-increasing material and wherein the
grip
enhancing substance is wholly contained within the lines of depression and
wherein
the panel comprises a plurality of gripping zones, a first gripping zone
formed from a
pattern of substantially circular lines of depression and a second gripping
zone formed
from a plurality of wave-form lines of depression.
Certain exemplary exemplary embodiments can provide a container comprising a
loop
of body panels, the boundaries between said panels being defined by respective
boundary lines of weakness extending from top to bottom of said panels
substantially
perpendicularly to said loop, each body panel having respective outside and
inside
planar surfaces, the outside surface at least one of the body panels including
lines of
depression, the lines of depression having a grip enhancing substance
deposited
therein, wherein the grip enhancing substance is a friction-increasing
material and
wherein the grip enhancing substance is wholly contained within the lines of
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depression and wherein the panel comprises a plurality of gripping zones, a
first
gripping zone formed from a pattern of substantially circular lines of
depression and a
second gripping zone formed from a plurality of wave-form lines of depression.
Certain exemplary exemplary embodiments can provide a method of forming a
container blank of sheet material comprising marking the sheet material with a
pattern
of lines of weakness defining body portion forming panels of the container
blank, the
container blank having respective opposite first and second surfaces, forming
lines of
depression in the first surface of at least one of the body portion forming
panels and
depositing a grip enhancing substance in said lines of depression, wherein the
grip
enhancing substance is a friction-increasing material and wherein the grip
enhancing
substance is wholly contained within the lines of depression and wherein the
panel
comprises a plurality of gripping zones, a first gripping zone formed from a
pattern of
substantially circular lines of depression and a second gripping zone formed
from a
plurality of wave-form lines of depression.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example
only,
with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a plan view of a container blank to be formed into a container,
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a container constructed from the container
blank of
Figure 1, and
Figure 3 is a partial cross-section of a packaging material suitable for using
to construct
the container of Figure 2.
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Referring to Figure 1, a container blank 2 having a first planar surface that
will form the
outer surface of a constructed container and a second planar surface that will
form the
.. inner surface of a constructed container consists of a laminate comprising
a
paperboard substrate layer and respective outermost and innermost layers of a
moisture barrier thermoplastics (with the possible interposition of an oxygen
barrier
layer, e.g. aluminium foil, between the substrate and the innermost
thermoplastics
layer). The gable-topped container 4 or carton formed therefrom (shown in
Figure 2) is
used for packaging liquids, for example milk or fruit juice, and, in
particular, the aseptic
packaging of such liquids.
In order to produce the container blank 2, a web of packaging material can be
passed
between a pair of rollers in a known manner which cut through the material
around the
.. edges of the blank and form the lines of weakness which are visible on both
the first
planar surface of the blank which will from the outside surface of the final
container
and also the second planar surface of the blank which will form the inside
surface of
the final container.
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The blank 2 consists of four body portion forming panels P1-P4 with a fifth
standard
sealing panel, bounded by lines of weakness in the form of score lines Si, S2,
S3
and S4 there among. The body panels P1 to P4 are bounded at their lower edges
by
further lines of weakness in the form of score lines S5 to S8 and thereby
divided
from a row of end closure portions P6 to P9. Similarly, the row of body panels
P1 to
P4 are bounded at their upper edges by further lines of weakness in the form
of
score lines S9 to S11 and thereby divided from a row of top obturating panels
P10,
P11 and P13. A top obturating panel P12 is not separated from the adjacent
body
portion P3 located immediately inwardly therefrom by a physical score line,
but there
is an unseen line of weakness at a boundary between the panels P3 and P12
where
the top obturating panel P12 will fold relative to the body panel P3 when the
container 4 is constructed from the container blank 2. The panels P10 and P12
are
quadrangular and form respective quadrangular roof panels of the gable-topped
container 4, whilst the panels P11 and P13 are also quadrangular but each
divided
by respective oblique score lines S12, S13, S14 and S15 into three
substantially
triangular sub-panels P11a to P11c and P13a to P13c. The row of top obturating
panels P10 to P13 are bounded at their upper edges by a row of top-sealing
panels
P14 to P17 to form a sealing fin 6 of the container 4 (see Figure 2). The
front, top
obturating panel P12 is formed with a through-hole 8 (or alternatively a loop
of
weakness in the case of aseptic packaging) to which is applied a pour spout
fitment
10 (see Figure 2).
In producing the container 4 from the blank 2 shown in Figure 1, the blank 2
is
converted into a container sleeve which is of rectangular cross-section and in
which
the body panels P1 to P4 form a loop around the sleeve and the top closure
panels
P10 to P13 form a loop around the sleeve. The end closure panels P6 to P9 are
folded on a mandrel to form an end closure. Following the folding of the end
closure
panels P6 to P9, these panels are sealed on the mandrel to form a bottom
closure.
The sealing comprises heating and pressing together the panels P6 to P9 to
render
the thermoplastics layers tacky in order to create a sealed bottom closure.
Alternatively, other methods of sealing could be used, such as gluing in which
case
heating would not be necessary. After filling of the container 4, the top
closure is
formed by forming the fin seal 6 in a known manner. Then, a flange of the pour
spout
fitment 10 (see Figure 2) could be attached to the outside surface of the top
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obturating sub-panel P12 by, for example, ultrasonic welding over the loop of
weakness 8. Alternatively, the flange of the pour spout fitment 10 could be
applied to
the inside of the sub-panel P12 prior to filling with the pour spout
protruding through
the hole 8. The container 4 would be suitable for use in the aseptic or non-
aseptic
packaging of liquids.
Referring to Figure 3, a laminate packaging material comprises a paperboard
substrate 100, an outer layer of thermoplastics material 102, an inner layer
of
thermoplastics material 104 and a barrier layer such as an oxygen barrier
layer 106
disposed between the paperboard substrate 100 and the inner layer of
thermoplastics material 104. Upon forming of the container blank 2, the pair
of rollers
between which the packaging material passes may be arranged, through
compression of the outer layer of thermoplastics 102 and the surface of the
paperboard layer 100 facing the outer layer of thermoplastics 102, to make at
least
one line of depression 12 in the surface of the material that will form the
outside
surface 14 of the final container, whilst the corresponding inside surface 16
remains
smooth and flat. This can be achieved by having a desired pattern made of one
or
more depression devices on one of the rollers that will contact the outside
surface
14, whilst the corresponding location on the other roller is smooth. In this
way, the
line of depression 12 would be visible on the outside surface but not be
visible on the
inside surface.
Prior to the container blank 2 being converted into the container sleeve, a
grip
enhancing substance 18 can be deposited into the line(s) of depression 12, so
that
the substance 18 is contained in the line(s) of depression 12 and does not
spill out
onto the outermost surface of the outside surface 14. The substance can be in
the
form of a friction-increasing substance. In this way, the friction-increasing
substance
18 is retained in the location it is most required.
In the filling machine, container blanks with different surface friction
properties, such
as the case when gripping elements or the like are adhered to the outside
surface of
a container and project outwardly therefrom, will often require different
adjustments
of the filling machine which lead to different performance in the filling
machine when
picking the blank from a magazine, loading blanks onto the mandrel,
transferring the
container off the mandrel into chain pockets, orienting of the container in
the chain
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pocket throughout the filling machine and finally top sealing. The combination
of the
line(s) of depression 12 with the friction-increasing substance 18 contained
within the
line(s) of depression 12 will not have a deleterious influence on the filling
machine
performance.
The friction-increasing substance 18 is advantageously a fluid substance
before it is
applied, for example a high-friction ink or varnish. A high-friction ink or
varnish is
composed of modified acrylic resins, which behave like rubber material
(relatively
very elastic with a relatively high degree of flexibility) resulting in anti-
slip properties.
Furthermore, high-friction ink or varnish does not contain any silicones or
waxes,
known as slip agents.
The friction-increasing substance 18 may be deposited in the line(s) of
depression
12 during the same process as the other inks used for decor of the container
are
applied, for example, in a UV-printing process carried out at a separate ink
station.
Ultraviolet (UV) printing is a relatively fast process since there is no
waiting around
for inks to dry. Thus, the friction-increasing substance 18 can be selected to
cure
when exposed to UV radiation as do the inks used in this process. However,
other
methods of printing the container decor can be used with a suitable friction-
increasing substance 18 being selectable accordingly.
In this way, the friction-increasing substance 18 can be applied in various
degrees to
have different degrees of friction and/or zones of friction, and other tactile
features
without interfering with the production process. This facilitates the stacking
and
unstacking of the flat container blanks or sleeves since the friction-
increasing
substance 18 is wholly contained within the line(s) of depression 12 and does
not
interfere with contact with and processing of another adjacent container blank
or
sleeve.
By acquiring such a container 4, a consumer would experience an enhanced grip
on
the container. This is particularly advantageous for those consumers who may
have
visual and/or physical impairment. Use of the container 4 reduces the risk of
spilling
of liquid food contents during pouring and the risk of dropping the container
4.
The line(s) of depression 12 can be arranged in a particular desired pattern
to
achieve optimal gripping properties, much like the tread of a vehicle tyre
which is
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designed to provide a surface to grip the ground surface along which the
vehicle
travels. In this way, the line(s) of depression 12 clearly indicate how the
container 4
should be handled by the consumer.
Owing to the inside surface 16 of the material being unadulterated by the
line(s) of
depression 12, it remains smooth and flat so that surface can be sterilized
efficiently.
Such a smooth and flat inside surface is ideal for the sterilization process
since there
are no ridges or crinkles in the packaging material in which bacteria and
other
microbiological organisms can continue to survive post-sterilization.
The depth of the line(s) of depression 12 is/are preferably less than half the
thickness of the paperboard layer, and most preferably less than a quarter of
the
thickness of the paperboard layer, in order to ensure that a minimal amount of
the
substance 18 is used and that there would be sufficient contact between skin
of the
consumer's fingers and the substance 18.
The areas of the outside surface 14 which are not compressed to form the
line(s) of
depression 12 remain relatively smooth as with known containers of this kind.
The
line(s) of depression 12 therefore visually and/or tactilely delineate for the
consumer
one or more gripping zones 20 for an advantageous handling of the container 4.
The container 4 of Figure 2 has a side body panel P2 with a plurality of
gripping
zones 20 delineated by a plurality of the line(s) of depression 12. One
gripping zone
20 is formed from a pattern of substantially circular lines of depression 12
and
another is formed from a pattern of a plurality of wave-from line(s) of
depression 12.
The opposite side body panel may be supplied with an identical pattern or a
differing
pattern to take account of the way a consumer's fingers are positioned during
the
holding of the container 4. The position and pattern of the line(s) of
depression 12 on
the body panel P2 may also differ depending on the size of the container 4.
The
differing gripping zones 20 shown do not have to be provided together, such
that
they are independent of each other and can be of any desired shape and
pattern.
The pattern of the substantially circular lines of depression 12 shown are
slightly
inclined relative to the horizontal from a junction between the side body
panel P2 and
the rear body panel P1 to the junction between the side body panel P2 and the
front
body panel P3. This enables the consumer to take a natural grip of the
container 4.
The respective opposite side body panels P2 and P4 and the respective opposite
top
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obturating panels P11b and P1 3b may further comprise linear weaknesses 22 to
indicate to the consumer where to fold the container for waste
disposal/recycling
once all of the liquid food content has been emptied out of the container 4 or
for the
facilitating of complete emptying of liquids of relatively high viscosity,
such as
.. yoghurt, from the container 4 by squeezing any residual liquid content from
the
folded container 4. The linear weaknesses 22 do not pass through the gripping
zones 20, but indicate to the consumer general fold lines for collapsing the
container
4.
The wave-form lines of depression 12 may be continuous as shown, or they may
be
discontinuous.
The gripping zones 20 may also form an area for specific printing relating to
the
handling of the container, which printing may take the form of text and/or
images.
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