[0001] The present invention relates to a container for containing liquids for transport
or storage.
[0002] Glass bottles were generally used for transporting or delivering liquids to customers,
but they are costly to transport and undesirable from the viewpoint of savings in
resources, so that integrally molded plastic containers and cartons are recently in
wide use. However, such contains have the following drawbacks. In the case of plastic
containers of relatively large capacity, the container molding machine has small ability
and is uneconomical to incorporate into a high-speed filling machine. Accordingly
the containers are molded and filled at different locations by a manufacturer and
a dealer respectively. This gives rise to the necessity that the containers produced
at one site must be transported to another site for filling. Since plastic containers
are bulky although lightweight, they are inefficient and costly to transport. Furthermore
containers made singly of a plastic are poor in impermeability to gas or air tightness
and are not suited to the handling or preservation of liquid products over a prolonged
period of time. In the case of cartons;. on the other hand, a break or pinhole is
likely to develop in the aluminum foil or plastic coating covering the carton blank
when the blank is bent and heat-sealed.
[0003] Further because cartons have low strength at the bottom, various problems arise during
handling or transport.
[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a container which is not bulky,
for example, when it is transported before filling.
[0005] Another object of the invention is to provide a tough container having high air tightness.
[0006] The container of the invention comprises a foldable tubular main body, a bottom portion
made of plastic and fixedly attachable to one end of the main body and a mouth portion
made of plastic and fixedly attachable to the other end of the main body. The main
body at least has an inner plastic layer, and intermediate metal foil and an outer
layer.
[0007] Since the container of this invention comprises the above-mentioned main body, plastic
bottom portion and plastic mouth portion, these components can be made separately
and transported to a filling site, where the container can be fabricated from the
components. Accordingly the components can be transported from the container production
site to the filling site with the main body folded to a compacted form and are therefore
efficient and inexpensive to transport.
[0008] Further because the main body consists essentially of an inner plastic layer, an
intermediate metal foil and an outer layer, pinholes or like defects are unlikely
develop in the container. The metal foil gives high air tightness to the container.
[0009] The bottom portion, which is made of plastic, has sufficient strength.
[0010] Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly broken away and showing an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a plan view partly broken away and showing the same;
Fig. 3 is-a view in section taken along the line III-III in Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of Fig. 1; and
Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a main body in a folded state.
[0011] The container of the invention comprises a main body 1 in the form of a tube having
a quadrilateral cross section, and a bottom portion 2 and a mouth portion 3 to be
secured to the opposite ends of the main body 1.
[0012] The main body 1 is formed from a rectangular to square sheet by bending the sheet
and joining the opposite ends of the sheet to each other as at 7. The main body 1
comprises three layers, i.e. , an inner plastic layer 4 of polyethylene resin or the
like having a thickness of about 40 to about 60µm, an intermediate metal foil layer
5, such as aluminum foil, having a thickness of about 10 to about 20pm, and an outer
layer 6 of polyethylene terephtalate resin, paper or the like having a suitable thickness.
The main body 1 is formed with six fold lines 8 parallel to the joint 7. During storage
or transport before forming a container, the main body 1 is folded in two at the two
fold lines 8 which are positioned symmetrically, as shown in Fig. 5. When forming
the container, the main body 1 is bent at the six fold lines 8 into a square form
when seen in plan. Two symmetric side edges of the main body 1 are each formed with
a folded lap 9 of small width as extended from one-of the two adjoining sides of the
main body. The opposed inner surfaces of each folded lap 9 are joined to each other
when the bottom portion 2 and the mouth portion 3 are joined to the main body as will
be described below.
[0013] The bottom portion 2 is an integral molded piece of polyethylene resin or like plastic
which is square when seen in plan. The bottom portion 2 is fitted into the lower end
of the main body 1 from below and hermetically joined to the inner surface of the
body 1 by a suitable method such as high-frequency heat sealing. The four sides of
the bottom portion 2 joined to the inner surface of the main body 1 are integrally
formed with an outwardly projecting horizontal flange 10 in contact with the lower
end of the main body 1. Two side edges of the bottom portion.2 which are positioned
symmetrically are each integrally formed with a thin projection 11 which is held between
and joined to the opposed inner surfaces of the corresponding lap 9 of the main body
1.
[0014] The mouth portion 3 is an integral molded piece of polyethylene resin or like plastic
which is square when seen from above. The lower end of the mouth portion is fitted
into the upper end of the main body 1 from above and is hermetically joined to the
inner surface of the main body 1 in the same manner as above. The four sides of the
mouth portion 3 joined to the inner surface of the main body 1 are integrally formed
with an outward horizontal flange 12 in contact with the uppwer extremity of the main
body 1. Two side edges of the mouth portion 3 which are positioned symmetrically are
each integrally formed with a thin projection 13 which is held between and joined
to the opposed inner surfaces of the corresponding lap 9 of the main body 1.
[0015] The main body 1, the bottom portion 2 and the mouth portion 3 of the container are
not limited to those of the foregoing embodiment in construction but can be modified
suitably. The inner plastic layer 4 of the main body 1, the bottom portion 2 and the
mouth portion 3 may be made of any desired material insofar as these portions can
be joined to the layer. The outer layer 6 of the main body 1 may also be made of any
desired material. Furthermore, the thickness of the plastic layer 4, as well as of
the metal foil 5, is suitably variable. Another layer may be interposed between the
plastic layer 4 and the metal foil 5, as well as between the metal foil 5 and the
outer layer 6.
1. A container comprising a foldable tubular main body, a bottom portion made of plastic
and fixedly attachable to one end of the main body and a mouth portion made of plastic
and fixedly attachable to the other end of the main body, the main body at least having
an inner plastic layer, an intermediate metal foil and an outer layer.
2. A container as defined in claim 1 wherein the main body has a quadrilateral cross
section and is formed from a rectangular to square sheet by bending the sheet and
joining the opposite ends of the sheet to each other, the bottom portion is fittable
in and fixedly attachable to said one of the main body, and the mouth portion is fittable
in and fixedly attachable to said other end of the main body.
3. A container as defined in claim 2 wherein the main body is formed at at least one
side edge thereof with a folded lap of small width, and each of the bottom portion
and the mouth portion is integrally formed at at least one side edge thereof with
a thin projection holdable in and joinable to the folded lap of the main body.