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(11) | EP 4 541 726 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | BAG-IN-BOX PACKAGING |
| (57) A bag-in-box package comprising a box formed from a paper based material and a flexible
bag contained within the box, said bag, in use, containing a liquid product, wherein
box comprises separable first and seconds parts adapted to be separated from one another
to permit removal of the bag from the box once emptied, a selectively releasable latch
mechanism being provided acting between the first and second parts of the box, said
latch mechanism preventing the separation of the first and second parts of the assembled
box from one another when in a latched configuration, wherein said latch mechanism
is adapted to be retained in a latched configuration by the action of the bag against
at least one inner wall of the box when the bag is at least partially full of liquid,
the latch mechanism being reconfigurable to an unlatched configuration to permit separation
of the first and second parts of the box from one another and removal of the bag from
the box when the bag has been at least partially emptied.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to bag-in-box packaging for storing, transporting and dispensing liquid products (beverages, car oils, detergents, medicaments, and the like) and in particular to bag-in-box packaging that facilitates recycling of the packaging after use.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Bag-in-box packaging is widely utilised for storing, transporting and dispensing liquid products in various fields, such as the food industry, automobile industry, pharmaceutical industry, and the toiletry industry. Such packaging is composed of a rigid outer box formed from corrugated cardboard and a flexible plastic bag located within the box and accommodating a liquid product therein. The bag is typically provided with a tap adjacent a lower end thereof adapted to facilitate dispensing of the liquid product held within the bag, the box including an opening within which the tap may be located when in use.
[0003] In multiple studies, bag-in-box packaging has clearly shown an eight times lower carbon footprint than glass bottles. Compared to rigid plastic containers usually used for the packaging same liquid products, bag-in-box packing utilises much less plastic, between 54% and 86% according to different packaging types compared. Empty packaging may be delivered flat, using very little space and, after filling, the rectangular shape of the assembled boxes makes them easy to palletise. This leads to substantial savings in logistic costs and CO2 emissions. One truck transporting 5 litre bags and boxes is equivalent to more than seven trucks transporting 75cL bottles.
[0004] By optimally protecting the product before and during use, the shelf life of the product is maximised and the contents of the bag are prevented from being wasted.
[0005] More than 75% of a bag-in-box package is comprises of corrugated cardboard which is fully recyclable, renewable and biodegradable, with only 25% of the packaging (i.e. the bag) being formed from plastic. 85% of corrugated packaging is currently recycled in Europe. The box and the bag can be readily separated after the bag has been emptied, facilitating the recycling of the corrugated box.
[0006] However, separating the bag from the box after use can often be difficult for the consumer. The box is usually assembled using strong adhesive, particularly where a carrying handle is provided, making it difficult to break open the box to extract the empty plastic bag therefrom.
[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide an improved bag-in-box packaging wherein the bag can be more easily removed from the box, once emptied, to facilitate recycling.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] According to the present invention there is provided a bag-in-box package comprising a box formed from a paper based material and a flexible bag contained within the box, said bag, in use, containing a liquid product, wherein the box comprises separable first and seconds parts adapted to be separated from one another to permit removal of the bag from the box once emptied, a selectively releasable latch mechanism being provided acting between the first and second parts of the box, said latch mechanism preventing the separation of the first and second parts of the assembled box from one another when in a latched configuration, wherein said latch mechanism is adapted to be retained in a latched configuration by the action of the bag against at least one inner wall of the box when the bag is at least partially full of liquid, the latch mechanism being reconfigurable to an unlatched configuration to permit separation of the first and second parts of the box from one another and removal of the bag from the box when the bag has been at least partially emptied.
[0010] Preferably the latch mechanism comprises at least one pair of cooperating first and second locking elements, the or each first locking element being defined by a respective sub-panel of the first part of the box, the or each second locking element being defined by a respective sub-panel of the second part of the box, said first and second locking elements comprising opposing interfering locking edges which engage one another to prevent separation of the first and second parts of the box when the box is assembled and the latch mechanism is in its latched configuration.
[0011] The second part of the box may be adapted to be slid over one the first part in telescopic manner when the box is assembled. The respective sub-panel of the first part of the box defining said first locking element may comprise a first flap defined by a portion of a respective side wall of the first part of the box, said first flap being folded downwardly about a fold line to overly an outer face of the remainder of said sub-panel, the respective sub-panel of the second part of the box defining said second locking element comprising a second flap defined by a lower portion of the second part of the box, said second flap being folded upwardly about a fold line at or adjacent a lower edge of a respective side wall of the second part of the box to overly an inner face of the remainder of said side wall, said first and second flaps defining said first and second locking elements being dimensioned and arranged such that an outer edge of the first flap engages and abuts an outer edge of the second flap when the first and second parts of the box are assembled and the latch mechanism is in its latched configuration, thereby preventing separation of the first and second parts of the box.
[0012] The respective sub-panel of the first part of the box defining said first locking element may be separated from the remainder of the respective side wall by cut outs or cut lines on either side of the sub-panel to allow the sub-panel to be displaced inwardly when the bag within the box has been emptied to move the latch mechanism to its unlatched configuration. A substantially horizontally arranged fold line may be provided between a lower side of the respective sub-panel of the first part of the box and an adjoining portion of the respective side wall to facilitate and guide said inward displacement of the sub-panel.
[0013] In one embodiment said first part of the box may comprise a lower part, including a lower wall of the box and at least a lower portion of each of the side walls of the box and said second part of the box comprises an upper part, including an upper wall of the box and at least an upper portion of each of the side walls, the upper part being slideably received over the lower part in telescopic manner to form the assembled box. The side walls of the upper part of the box may be dimensioned to overlap and cover said lower part of the box when the box is assembled. In one embodiment the latch mechanism may comprises a pair of cooperating first and second locking elements provided on either side of the box, each pair of locking elements being incorporated into respective sidewalls of the lower and upper parts of the box.
BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] A bag-in-box package in accordance with an embodiment 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 perspective view of a bag-in-box package in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded view of the box part of the bag-in-box package of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the bag-in-box package of Figure 1 with the bag omitted for clarity;
Figure 4 is a plan view of the corrugated cardboard blanks used to form the box of the bag-in-box package of Figure 1;
Figures 5 to 8 illustrate the operation of the latching mechanism of the bag-in-box package of Figure 1 during separation of the two parts of the box to facilitate removal of the bag, once emptied; and
Figure 9 is a perspective view of the lower part of the box following separation of the upper part.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] As illustrated in the drawings, a bag-in-box package in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention comprises a rectangular box 2 formed from corrugated cardboard and a flexible plastic bag 4 (shown in Figure 9) dimensioned to substantially fill the space within the box when located therein and when the bag is filled with a liquid product. The bag 4 is provided with a tap 6 adjacent a lower end thereof adapted to facilitate dispensing of the liquid product held within the bag 4, the box 4 including an opening 8 within which the tap 6 may be located when in use, as is known in the art.
[0017] The box 2 is comprised of two parts, a lower part 10, including a lower wall of the box and at least a lower portion of each of the side walls of the box and an upper part 12, including an upper wall of the box and at least an upper portion of each of the side walls, the upper part 12 being slideably received over the lower part 10 in telescopic manner to form the assembled box. In the embodiment shown, side walls of the upper part 12 of the box are dimensioned to fully overlap and cover the lower part 10 of the box 2 when the box 2 is assembled.
[0018] As will be described below in more detail, a selectively releasable latch mechanism is provided acting between the lower and upper parts 10,12 of the box 2, said latch mechanism preventing the separation of the upper and lower parts 10,12 of the assembled box 2 from one another when in a latched configuration. The latch mechanism is adapted to be retained in a latched configuration by the action of the bag 4 against the inner walls of the box 2 when the bag 4 is at least partially full of liquid, the latch mechanism being reconfigurable to an unlatched configuration to permit separation of the upper and lower parts 10,12 of the box 2 from one another and removal of the bag 4 from the box 2 when the bag 4 has been emptied.
[0019] Preferably the latch mechanism comprises at least one pair of cooperating first and second locking elements, the or each first locking element being defined by a respective sub-panel 14 of the lower part of the box, the or each second locking element being defined by a respective sub-panel 14 of the upper part 12 of the box 2, said first and second locking elements comprising opposing interfering locking edges which engage one another to prevent separation of the lower and upper parts 10,12 of the box 2 when the box 2 is assembled with a bag contained therein and the latch mechanism is in its latched configuration.
[0020] In the embodiment shown in the drawings, a pair of cooperating first and second locking elements are provided on either side of the box 2, each pair of locking elements being incorporated into respective sidewalls of the lower and upper parts 10,12 of the box 2.
[0021] In the embodiment shown, the sub-panels 14 of the lower part 10 of the box 12 defining the respective first locking elements each comprise a respective first flap 18 defined by a portion of a respective side wall of the lower part 10 of the box 2, each first flap 18 being folded downwardly about a respective fold line 22 to overly an outer face of the remainder of the respective sub-panel 14. Each respective sub-panel of the upper part 12 of the box defining said second locking element comprises a respective second flap 20 folded upwardly about a respective fold line 24 at or adjacent a lower edge of a respective side wall of the upper part 12 of the box 4 to overly an inner face of the remainder of said side wall of the upper part 12 of the box 2. The first and second flaps 18,20 defining each pair of first and second locking elements are dimensioned and arranged such that an outer edge of each first flap 18 engages and abuts an outer edge of the respective second flap 20 when the lower and upper parts 10,12 of the box 2 are assembled and the latch mechanism is in its latched configuration and with a bag 4 at least partially full of liquid contained within the box 2, thereby preventing separation of the lower and upper parts 10,12 of the box 2.
[0022] The sub-panels 14 of the lower part 12 of the box defining said first locking elements may be separated from the remainder of the respective side wall by cut outs or cut lines 26,28 on either side of each sub-panel 14 to allow sub-panels 14 to be displaced inwardly when the bag 4 within the box 2 has emptied to thereby move the latch mechanism to its unlatched configuration. The cut-outs 26,28 may be adapted to facilitate inward displacement of the respective sub-panel 14 with minimal friction (i.e. the cut-outs defining apertures rather than simple cut lines).
[0023] A substantially horizontally arranged further fold line 30 may be provided between a lower side of the respective sub-panel 14 of the lower part 10 of the box 2 and an adjoining portion of the respective side wall to facilitate and guide said inward displacement of each sub-panel 14.
[0024] Operation of the latch mechanism is best illustrated in Figures 5 to 8 of the drawings. When the box 2 is assembled, with a bag 4 containing a liquid product located therein, the presence of liquid in the bag 4 causes the bag 4 to press against the inner sides of the box 2 and prevent inward displacement of the sub-panels 14 of the lower part 10 of the box 2, thereby retaining each pair of first and second locking elements defined the respective pairs of first and second flaps 18,20 on either side of the box in their latched configuration, preventing separation of the lower and upper parts 10,12 of the box 2.
[0025] When the bag 4 has been substantially emptied, it no longer presses against the inner sides of the box 2. As such, the sub-panels 14 of the lower part 10 of the box 2 are free to be displaced inwardly about said further fold lines 30, bringing the latch mechanism to its unlatched configuration and allowing the separation of the lower and upper parts 10,12 of the box to permit the empty bag 4 to be removed.
[0026] As best illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, when the consumer lifts the upper part 12 of the box 2 from the lower part 10 to separate the two parts, the interfering locking edges of flaps 18,20 of the sub-panels 14,16 on either side of the box 2 act prevent separation of the two parts 10,12 of the box 2 while the latch mechanism is in its latched configuration, until the bag 4 inside the box 2 has been emptied sufficiently to allow the sub-panels 14 of the lower part 10 of the box 2 to move inwardly sufficiently to allow the first flaps 18 (defining said first locking elements) to unfold and enable the interfering locking edges of flaps 18,20 to separate, thereby releasing the upper part 12 of the box 2 from the lower part 10. The relative dimensions of the sub-panels 14 of the lower part 10 of the box 2, incorporating said first flaps 18, are such that this can only occur once the bag 4 has been substantially emptied, thereby permitting sufficient inward displacement of the sub-panels 14 to allow unfolding of the first flaps 18 and separation of the respective pairs of locking elements.
1. A bag-in-box package comprising a box formed from a paper based material and a flexible
bag contained within the box, said bag, in use, containing a liquid product, wherein
box comprises separable first and seconds parts adapted to be separated from one another
to permit removal of the bag from the box once emptied, a selectively releasable latch
mechanism being provided acting between the first and second parts of the box, said
latch mechanism preventing the separation of the first and second parts of the assembled
box from one another when in a latched configuration, wherein said latch mechanism
is adapted to be retained in a latched configuration by the action of the bag against
at least one inner wall of the box when the bag is at least partially full of liquid,
the latch mechanism being reconfigurable to an unlatched configuration to permit separation
of the first and second parts of the box from one another and removal of the bag from
the box when the bag has been at least partially emptied.
2. A bag-in-box package as claimed in claim 1, wherein said latch mechanism is integrally
formed with the box.
3. A bag-in-box package as claimed in claim 2, wherein the latch mechanism comprises
at least one pair of cooperating first and second locking elements, the or each first
locking element being defined by a respective sub-panel of the first part of the box,
the or each second locking element being defined by a respective sub-panel of the
second part of the box, said first and second locking elements comprising opposing
interfering locking edges which engage one another to prevent separation of the first
and second parts of the box when the box is assembled and the latch mechanism is in
its latched configuration.
4. A bag-in-box package as claimed in claim 3, wherein said second part of the box is
adapted to be slid over one the first part in telescopic manner when the box is assembled.
5. A bag-in box package as claimed in claim 4, wherein the respective sub-panel of the
first part of the box defining said first locking element comprises a first flap defined
by a portion of a respective side wall of the first part of the box, said first flap
being folded downwardly about a fold line to overly an outer face of the remainder
of said sub-panel, the respective sub-panel of the second part of the box defining
said second locking element comprising a second flap defined by a lower portion of
the second part of the box, said second flap being folded upwardly about a fold line
at or adjacent a lower edge of a respective side wall of the second part of the box
to overly an inner face of the remainder of said side wall, said first and second
flaps defining said first and second locking elements being dimensioned and arranged
such that an outer edge of the first flap engages and abuts an outer edge of the second
flap when the first and second parts of the box are assembled and the latch mechanism
is in its latched configuration, thereby preventing separation of the first and second
parts of the box.
6. A bag-in-box package as claimed in claim 5, wherein the respective sub-panel of the
first part of the box defining said first locking element is separated from the remainder
of the respective side wall by cut outs or cut lines on either side of the sub-panel
to allow the sub-panel to be displaced inwardly when the bag within the box has been
emptied to move the latch mechanism to its unlatched configuration.
7. A bag-in-box package as claimed in claim 6, wherein a substantially horizontally arranged
fold line is provided between a lower side of the respective sub-panel of the first
part of the box and an adjoining portion of the respective side wall to facilitate
and guide said inward displacement of the sub-panel.
8. A bag-in-box package as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said first part of
the box comprises a lower part, including a lower wall of the box and at least a lower
portion of each of the side walls of the box and said second part of the box comprises
an upper part, including an upper wall of the box and at least an upper portion of
each of the side walls, the upper part being slideably received over the lower part
in telescopic manner to form the assembled box.
9. A bag-in-box package as claimed in claim 8, wherein side walls of the upper part of
the box are dimensioned to overlap and cover said lower part of the box when the box
is assembled.
10. A bag-in-box package as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the latch mechanism
comprises a pair of cooperating first and second locking elements provided on either
side of the box, each pair of locking elements being incorporated into respective
sidewalls of the lower and upper parts of the box.
11. A bag-in-box package as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the box is made from
corrugated cardboard and the bag is made from plastic.