(19)
(11) EP 0 376 612 B1

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION

(45) Mention of the grant of the patent:
04.08.1993 Bulletin 1993/31

(21) Application number: 89313392.6

(22) Date of filing: 20.12.1989
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC)5B65D 5/70

(54)

Tightly sealed paper container provided with opening device

Dicht versiegelter Papierbehälter mit einer Öffnungsvorrichtung

Récipient scellé en papier, muni d'un dispositif d'ouverture


(84) Designated Contracting States:
DE ES FR GB IT

(30) Priority: 26.12.1988 JP 167911/88 U

(43) Date of publication of application:
04.07.1990 Bulletin 1990/27

(73) Proprietor: NIPPON PAPER INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.
Kita-ku, Tokyo 115-91 (JP)

(72) Inventor:
  • Yasui, Nobushige c/o Liquid Packaging Center
    Kita-ku Tokyo (JP)

(74) Representative: Ben-Nathan, Laurence Albert et al
Urquhart-Dykes & Lord 91 Wimpole Street
London W1M 8AH
London W1M 8AH (GB)


(56) References cited: : 
EP-A- 0 124 248
FR-A- 1 309 703
   
       
    Note: Within nine months from the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to the European patent granted. Notice of opposition shall be filed in a written reasoned statement. It shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent Convention).


    Description


    [0001] This invention relates to a tightly sealed paper container provided with simplified opening device.

    [0002] In general, as an opening device to be secured to a tightly sealed paper container, there has been used a plastic product comprising: a main body of pour-out device including a pour-out tube and a flange portion; and a cap secured to the forward end of the pour-out tube. As methods of attaching the plastic product to an opening portion provided at a predetermined position of the paper container include an internally attaching method of attaching the flange portion to the inner wall surface of the paper container and an externally attaching method of the outer wall surface thereof. Except for these, there has been known one in which a pull tab piece made of an aluminum foil is attached to the opening portion from the outer surface.

    [0003] Out of the above, the pour-out device formed of the plastic product is complicated in its form, whereby, at the time of sterilization prior to the fill-up of a content, there is a possibility that the pour-out device cannot fully be exposed to a hydrogen peroxide gas or the hydrogen peroxide gas remains in the pour-out device. Furthermore, the one, to which the pull tab piece is attached, a cross section of the opening portion tends to be brought into an unstable state due to torn-down laminated resin, so that pour-out operation becomes inconvenient.

    [0004] FR-A-1,309,703 describes a container having the features of the preamble of Claim 1.

    [0005] The present invention relates to a paper container attached thereto with the opening portion, eliminating the above-described disadvantages.

    [0006] The invention provides a tightly sealed paper container according to Claim 1.

    [0007] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention a half-cut line may be provided on the outer surface of the container along a boundary between a contact portion of the pull tab piece to the outer surface of the container and a non-contact portion of the pull tab piece for a knob.

    [0008] According to this invention, the lining member is attached to the inner wall surface of the container, the lining member is partially exposed through the through hole of the container material, and this exposed portion is covered by the pull tab piece. When the pull tab piece is rolled up, contact portions between the pull tab piece, the container material and the lining member are easily peeled off from one another to expose the through hole of the container material, and further, the lining member and the small through hole appear in the through hole. The content is poured out in a sizable flow through a pour-out hole, using the small through hole provided in the lining member.

    [0009] On the other hand, the opening device of this invention is formed of one molded product, and the form thereof is a simplified one having no pour-out tube portion, so that there is no possibility that a portion not exposed to the hydrogen peroxide gas remains at the time of sterilization by the hydrogen peroxide gas or the hydrogen peroxide gas remains in the opening device.

    [0010] The surrounding of the through hole of the lining member slightly project from the front surface of the container material, so that the works of attaching and peeling-off of the pull tab piece can be facilitated. When the aforsaid knob is provided and the knob of the pull tab piece is pulled up at the time of opening, the paper container material is peeled off in layers from the boundary of the half-cut line and one of the peeled-off paper layers is attached to the pull tab piece, so that a trace of opening remains in the container reliably and the safety of the content can be secured.

    BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS



    [0011] 

    Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the process of opening of the pull tab piece of the paper container according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

    Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the essential portion of the present invention.


    DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS



    [0012] The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment illustrated hereunder.

    [0013] Fig. 1 shows the process in which the pull tab piece is being peeled off in the tightly sealed paper container provided with the opening device according to the present invention. A roof panel of a main body of a paper container 1 is formed with a through hole 2, and a lining member 3 is attached to the through hole 2 from the inner surface of the container, so that a small through hole 4 can serve as an opening portion of a tightly sealed paper container. Further, a pull tab piece 5 is attached so as to cover a portion exposed to the outer surface of the lining member 3 and a portion thereabout.

    [0014] According to the present invention, the material of the main body of paper container 1 is of such an arrangement that a thermoplastic synthetic resin layer such as polyethylene, polypropylene or the like is laminated on the outermost layers of the front and rear of a paper board base, and, as necessary, a reinforcing layer such as an aluminum foil layer or a barrier type synthetic resin is laminated on a substrate. Furthermore, the lining member 3 may preferably be made of synthetic resin, and the pull tab piece 5 may preferably be one in which thermoplastic type resin is laminated on an aluminum foil, a sheet of polyester or the like.

    [0015] Fig. 2 is the sectional view showing the essential portion of the present invention, in which the lining member 3 has a portion 32 exposed from the through hole 2 being slightly raised relative to a flange portion 31 attached to the inner surface of the main body of paper container 1. The pull tab piece 5 is attached to the exposed portion 32 including the small through hole 4 of the lining member 3 and the outer wall surface of the main body of paper container 1 provided therearound.

    [0016] In this embodiment, one end of the pull tab piece 5 is free to be formed into a knob 51 without being attached to the outer wall surface of the main body of paper container 1, so that the free end advantageously serves as a turning point for opening. Furthermore, a half-cut line 6 is provided on the outer wall surface of the main body of paper container 1 along a boundary portion between a contact portion and a non-contact portion of the pull tab piece 5, during the opening operation, peel-off of the outer wall surface of the paper container is accompanied therewith and a trace of opening is clearly left, so that it is suitable for identifying the safety of the content.

    [0017] The shape of the small through hole 4 formed in the lining member 3 is not limited to one having a true roundness, but may be optionally selected from an elliptic shape, a poligonal shape, a tongue shape and the like. As for the pull tab piece 5 covering the small through hole 4, the shape is free, and the knob 51 serving as the turning point for opening may be positioned at any position provided upwardly, downwardly, righwardly or leftwardly of the small through hole 4.

    [0018] According to the present invention with the above-described arrangement, the tightly sealed paper container is simplified in construction, easily opened and suitable for pour-out operation. The opening device has a very small thickness, whereby the opening device can be secured to the flat board-shaped paper container ant applied to the filler machine as it is, so that there is no need of the reconstruction of the filler machine and the provision of an additional equipment.

    [0019] Furthermore, the shape of the opening device in the paper container is simplified, so that sterilization by the hydrogen peroxide gas can be easily performed, and moreover, the hydrogen peroxide gas can be easily removed after the sterilization.

    [0020] The surrounding of the through hole of the lining member is raised, so that the pull tab piece can be easily attached and liquid-extracting can be facilitated. Furthermore, the half-cut line is provided on the front surface of the main body of paper container along the boundary portion between the non-contact portion for the knob and the contact portion for the tight sealing, of the pull tab piece, so that the content can be held safe.


    Claims

    1. A tightly sealed paper container (1), wherein a through hole (2) is formed in a container material laminated with a thermoplastic synthetic resin layer provided at the outermost layers of the front and rear of a paper board base, a lining member (3) for providing a smaller hole (4) than the through hole (2) is so positioned within the container (1) to be in contact with the inner surface thereof around the through hole (2) and with the small hole (4) disposed in the through hole (2) of the container material and a pull tab piece (5) covering the through hole (2) of the container material (1) is in contact with the outer surface of the container, characterized in that said lining member (3) is a moulded part of synthetic resin, said small hole (4) therein is a through hole, and the part (32) of the lining member surrounding the small through hole (4) slightly projects outwardly from the front surface of the container material (1).
     
    2. A tightly sealed paper container as set forth in Claim 1, wherein a half-cut line (6) is provided on the outer surface of the container along a boundary between a contact portion of the pull tab (5) piece to the outer surface of the container and a non-contact portion of the pull tab piece (5) to provide a knob (51).
     


    Ansprüche

    1. Gut verschließbarer Papierbehälter (1), bei welchem eine Öffnung (2) innerhalb des Behältermaterials vorgesehen ist, auf dessen vordere und hintere Flächen einer Kartongrundschicht thermoplastische synthetische Harzschichten auflaminiert sind, und bei welchem innerhalb des Behälters (1) ein Einsatzelement (3) mit einer im Vergleich zur Öffnung (2) kleineren Öffnung (4) derart positioniert ist, daß dasselbe in Berührung mit der Innenoberfläche um die Öffnung (2) herum gelangt, wobei die kleinere Öffnung (4) innerhalb der Öffnung (2) des Behältermaterials liegt, und ein die Öffnung (2) des Behältermaterials (1) abdeckendes Abreißelement (5) in Berührung mit der äußeren Oberfläche des Behälters steht, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das Einsetzelement (3) ein aus einem synthetischem Harz geformtes Element ist, bei welchem die kleine Öffnung (4) eine Durchgangsöffnung bildet, und daß der die kleine Öffnung (4) umgebende Bereich (32) des Einsatzelements (3) geringfügig von der Außenoberfläche des Behältermaterials (1) vorsteht.
     
    2. Gut verschließbarer Papierbehälter nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Außenoberfläche des Behälters (1) an der Übergangslinie zwischen dem Kontaktbereich des Abreißelements (5) der Außenoberfläche des Behälters und dem Nicht-Kontaktbereich des Abreißelementes mit einer halbeingeschnittenen Linie (6) unter Bildung des Griffelementes (51) versehen ist.
     


    Revendications

    1. Récipient scellé en papier (1), dans lequel un trou traversant (2) est ménagé dans un matériau de récipient laminé avec une couche de résine synthétique thermoplastique, prévue sur les couches les plus extérieures des faces avant et arrière d'une base en carton, un organe de revêtement (3) pour fournir un trou (4) plus petit que le trou traversant (2) étant placé à l'intérieur du récipient (1), de manière à être en contact avec sa surface intérieure, autour du trou traversant (2) et avec le petit trou (4) disposé dans le trou traversant (2) du matériau de récipient et une pièce de languette à tirer (5) recouvrant le trou traversant (2) du matériau de récipient (3) étant en contact avec la surface extérieure du récipient, caractérisé en ce que ledit organe de revêtement (3) est une pièce moulée en résine synthétique, ledit petit trou (4) ménagé en son sein est un trou traversant et la partie (32) de l'organe de revêtement qui entoure le petit trou traversant (4) faisant légèrement saillie vers l'extérieur de la surface avant du matériau de récipient (1).
     
    2. Récipient scellé en papier selon la revendication 1, dans lequel une ligne à demi-coupée (6) est prévue sur la surface extérieure du récipient, le long d'une délimitation entre une partie de contact de la pièce de languette à tirer (5), située sur la surface extérieure du récipient et une partie de non-contact de la pièce de languette à tirer (5), pour produire un bouton (51).
     




    Drawing