Patent Grant
9751656
The invention relates to a beverage container and, more particularly, to an improved container for receiving, storing, and transporting fluids, such as coffee.
Erectable beverage containers for storing and transporting bulk amounts of beverages, and particularly hot beverages such as coffee, hot chocolate, or hot water for tea, are well known. Such containers are typically made out of a single sheet of creased cardboard and include an insulated flexible bladder with a spout for receiving and holding a liquid. The containers generally have a front wall from which the spout extends, a pair of opposite side walls, a rear wall opposite from the front wall, a top including a handle, and a bottom. Examples of such containers can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,077,309 and 8,627,999. Details regarding the manufacturing and assembly of such containers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,066,869, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Such containers are designed to be manufactured in a partially assembled state wherein the container is shipped from the factory in a collapsed state, to be erected by a user immediately before filling the container with a liquid.
Known erectable beverage containers have a front wall that includes an opening through which the spout of the flexible bladder protrudes and in which the spout is captured. This front wall extends generally perpendicularly with respect to the flat bottom surface, such that when the beverage container is rested on a flat surface, the front wall extends vertically upward at a 90 degree angle from the surface. The spout defines an opening and a passage into the bladder having a longitudinal axis that extends perpendicularly with respect to the outer surface of the front wall. With these types of containers, the spout extends horizontally from the vertical front wall. Such containers are designed to be filled in one position and transported or stored in another position. Accordingly, it is virtually impossible to fill the beverage container with a liquid when the container is resting on its bottom surface without a specially designed funnel or other equipment. Thus, the beverage container is filled with the container resting on a rear wall opposite from the front wall, or is otherwise held such that the spout extends generally upwardly to receive a fluid poured into the spout from above. After the desired amount of fluid is poured into the bladder within the container, a cap is attached or screwed onto the spout, and the container may then be rotated and rested on its bottom surface in a transport orientation with the handle extending upwardly. However, if the filled container is rotated back into its normal storage and transport orientation with the spout extending horizontally before the cap is attached to the spout, the liquid will shift around inside the container and may be expelled from the spout. As the fluid inside the container may be extremely hot, any liquid expelled unexpectedly from the spout is undesirable, especially if it comes into contact with the person manipulating the container and at the very least will cause a mess and potentially a slip hazard.
Because the beverage container needs to be rested or held with the spout opening extending vertically while being filled, the container and bladder size must be such that when the container is tilted back to its normal resting position, the level of the liquid inside the container is below the spout opening. Otherwise, as described above, liquid will spill out of the spout when the container is rotated back into its transport position, or if the cap has been secured to the spout before shifting the container back into the transport position, liquid will spill out when the cap is first removed by a user. In most cases, the person filling the container will be different from the person opening the container and therefore in most cases it would be difficult to know that the container is overfilled and will expel liquid upon opening. Obviously, such a condition is undesirable, and therefore known beverage containers are designed and configured to make it difficult or impossible to overfill in this manner. For example, the bladder is sized relative to the container such that when the container is in the fill position (i.e., resting on its rear wall), liquid may be filled up to the spout opening, but when the container is tilted back into the transport orientation (i.e., resting on its bottom wall), the bladder will shift positions within the container to rest on the bottom of the container with the level of fluid in the bladder assuming a position below the opening in the spout. With this design constraint, the spout of the bladder must be sufficiently high above the bottom of the container to keep liquid from being expelled when the container is shifted between the filling and transporting orientations. This results in the requirement that the volume of the container is sufficiently larger than that of the bladder. Thus, even when the bladder is filled to capacity, a relatively high percentage (approximately 50%) of the volume of the container is empty. Unoccupied interior space in the beverage container results in material waste and increased manufacturing expenses. In addition, the container and bladder are sized such that the bladder has a large degree of freedom of movement within the container walls and can shift within the container unexpectedly, which can result in unexpected spillage, unpredictable pouring dynamics, and a decrease in the overall stability of the container.
Known beverage containers of the type described above are generally sized to hold numerous cups of liquid, and in some forms, between 96 to 128 ounces of liquid, weighing approximately six to nine pounds. Accordingly, a user will normally pour liquid from the beverage container into smaller vessels, such as a cup or mug, for consumption. Due to factors associated with the shape, size, and spout location of known containers, as well as the weight of a filled container, it can be relatively difficult to control the pouring of a liquid from known beverage containers with a high degree of accuracy, particularly when the container is full. For example, a user can grip the container by the handle and tilt the container until the liquid begins to pour from the spout into a cup placed or held below the spout. The spout generally will be pointing away from the user, or at least transversely with respect to a user's line of sight, in order to reduce the likelihood of spilling any liquid on the user. Because the spout extends horizontally from the vertical front wall, it can be difficult for a user to accurately pour a liquid into a smaller container. This is because as the container is tilted forward, the entire spout, or a substantial part of it, including the opening formed thereby is obscured by the sidewalls or top of the container and thus lies out of the line of sight of the user. If a user cannot see at least a portion of the spout, it is difficult to determine whether liquid is pouring from the spout, as well as the amount of liquid and the velocity with which it is being poured. The result can be spilling liquid or overfilling the smaller vessel.
Another disadvantage of a beverage container with a horizontally extending spout is that they are more prone to spilling and dripping. For example, if a container is transported or moved around without a cap on the spout, any liquid that sloshes around up to the level of the spout can also continue out of the spout. Further, after pouring liquid from the container and setting the container down, any liquid remaining in the spout may continue to flow out of the spout, rather than falling back into the bladder.
Another issue with known beverage containers is known as “turtling,” i.e., the propensity for the spout to be pulled partially or entirely into the container interior. This condition may occur as the bladder begins to fill and the weight of the liquid may not be entirely supported by the walls, such as the rear wall during filling or the base when the container is in the transport orientation. Turtling may also occur when the base wall of the container flexes or sags from the weight of the liquid during transport of the container. Rearward or downward wall movement allows the bladder to move in the same direction, thereby pulling the spout in the direction of movement and possibly causing the spout to be pulled into the container interior or causing the spout to be cocked to one side. The forces on the spout may also put strain on the front wall through which the spout extends. The problem can be compounded if the front wall gets wet and loses physical integrity, potentially causing structural failure of the front wall.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0211754 to Fulcher discloses a beverage container with a sloped front wall portion. The sloped wall portion positions the spout generally at a 45 degree angle from the horizontal rather than perpendicular thereto as with typical beverage containers. However, the design of the container has numerous drawbacks. For example, Fulcher discloses that a separate add-on handle (127) may be connected to the top of the container. The separate handle component must be attached to the container after final hand assembly of the container as shown in
Due to the flexibility of the plastic add-on handle and because the handle is attached to the container top via slots in the top flaps thereof, the ability to control the pouring of the liquid is also diminished since the handle ends are unsecured and can move, even during pouring. Fulcher discloses providing a back handle (153) in the form of a fold-in flap on the rear panel (150) to allow a user to hold the container at an additional or alternative location while pouring. However, a user may wish to hold the drinking vessel or cup while the vessel is being filled by the beverage container to prevent the vessel from shifting as it receives liquid from the beverage container. Accordingly, a beverage container that requires two-handed pouring can be disadvantageous in such instances. And using only the flexible plastic add-on handle or the back handle alone is disadvantageous when pouring liquid from the Fulcher container such as when the beverage bag is filled to capacity or near capacity and thus is heavier.
Another shortcoming of the Fulcher container is that it is inefficient to assemble. In particular, the upper flaps (120-123) are configured such that the beverage bag must be inserted into the inside nozzle hole (136) in flap (123) by hand after the container shell has been folded and glued to form a collapsed shell as shown in
In one form, an erectable beverage container includes a container body formed from a single unitary blank configured to be erected from a collapsed orientation into an expanded orientation for receiving, transporting, and pouring a liquid. The container body in the expanded orientation has a flat base, a top, and a front wall, a rear wall, and opposing side walls extending between the container top and base cooperating to form an interior space. The container includes a flexible bladder having an interior for storing liquid therein. The bladder is disposed in the container body interior space and includes a spout having an opening in communication with the bladder interior to provide a liquid passageway thereto. The container body top includes a first inclined portion oriented obliquely relative to the flat base extending upwardly from the rear wall to an apex. A handle portion of the container body extends from the first inclined portion for transporting and manipulating the container. A second inclined portion of the container body top includes an inclined wall portion oriented obliquely relative to the flat base extending upwardly from the front wall to the apex. The inclined wall portion includes an aperture through which the spout extends. In one form, the bladder is attached to an inner surface of the inclined wall portion with an adhesive. In one preferred embodiment, the apex of the container is spaced from the base by less than 7 inches to provide a container that may be filled directly underneath the dispensing spout of most brewing machines.
In some forms, the front wall extends obliquely from the base. In other forms, at least one of the opposing side walls and the rear wall of the container body extends from the base at an obtuse angle with respect thereto. In another form, the second inclined portion may be oriented at an angle between 55 and 85 degrees with respect to a vertical axis perpendicular to the flat base. In another form, the second inclined portion is oriented at an angle between 5 to 35 degrees with respect to a vertical axis perpendicular to the flat base. In yet another form, the first inclined portion is oriented at first predetermined acute angle with respect to a vertical axis perpendicular to the flat base, and the second inclined portion is oriented at a second predetermined acute angle with respect to a vertical axis perpendicular to the flat base, and the first predetermined acute angle is larger than the second predetermined acute angle. According to one approach, the first and second inclined portions are each oriented at an angle with respect to a vertical axis perpendicular to the flat base, and the angle of the second inclined portion is smaller than the angle of the first inclined portion. According to another approach, the first and second inclined portions each has a length extending therealong toward the apex, and the length of the first inclined portion is greater than the length of the second inclined portion. Also, in some forms, the apex will be located closer to the front of the container than the rear. The dual inclined top of the beverage containers disclosed herein provide improved ergonomic benefits, in particular more comfortable wrist, elbow, and shoulder positioning when pouring liquid from the container, while also providing numerous other performance and manufacturing benefits, as will be described in greater detail herein.
The top of the container body may include a rearward top flap extending from the rear wall that forms part of the first inclined portion and a spout locking flap that extends from the rearward top flap and forms part of the second inclined portion. The spout locking flap overlies the second inclined wall portion and includes a spout engaging portion that is configured to extend about at least a portion of the spout to keep the spout from being pulled into the interior space through the aperture. In one form, the first and second inclined portions intersect at the apex at an angle of between 90 and 135 degrees. According to one approach, the apex of the container body top extends linearly between the opposing side walls and is cooperatively formed by an edge between the inclined wall portion and a forward top flap extending from the inclined wall portion, and an edge between the rearward top flap and the spout locking flap that overlies the edge between the inclined wall portion and the forward top flap. Accordingly, the apex is cooperatively formed by multiple flaps. In other forms, the apex could be formed by a fold line in a single top flap, or the meeting point of two or more separate inclined top portions. Optionally, the handle portion includes a notch for receiving a portion of each of the rearward and forward top flaps for securing the top flaps therein.
The container may be provided with a support shoulder tab or flap that extends from each of the opposing side walls. Each support shoulder tab is configured to extend along an interior surface of the inclined wall portion to provide support thereto.
According to another approach, a collapsible beverage container blank formed from a unitary sheet of material includes a front wall having an upper edge with a top wall portion extending therefrom. The top wall portion includes an aperture for receiving a spout therein, and an upper edge with a forward top flap extending therefrom. The blank further includes a first side wall having an upper edge with a first top flap extending therefrom, a first handle flap extending from the first top flap, a rear wall having an upper edge with a rearward top flap extending therefrom, a second side wall having an upper edge with a second top flap extending therefrom, and a second handle flap extending from the second top flap. The forward and rearward top flaps each include an elongate slot for receiving the first and second handle flaps therethrough. The top wall portion and the forward, rearward, first, and second top flaps are configured to form a beverage container top having first and second inclined portions that meet at an apex spaced from the front wall when the beverage container blank is assembled into an expanded configuration. The top wall portion forms the second inclined portion and the forward, rearward, first, and second top flaps form the first inclined portion with the first and second handle flaps extending from the second inclined portion in an upright orientation. In one form, the first and second handle flaps each comprise a notch therein that are aligned together for receiving a portion of the forward and rearward top flaps therein when the beverage container blank is in the expanded configuration. In some embodiments, the first and second handle flaps taper down between outer and inner surface portions thereof from a rearward portion to a forward portion thereof to provide an ergonomic advantage, thereby making it easier for a user to pour liquid from the container.
The beverage container blank may be provided with shoulder flaps that extend from each of the first and second side walls. The shoulder flaps are configured to engage with an inner surface of the top wall portion in the expanded configuration of the beverage container blank for providing support to the top wall portion and prevent downward deflection of the top wall portion. In one form, the front wall includes a pair of side edges extending from a bottom edge thereof that diverge apart from one another as the side edges extend upwardly towards the upper edge of the front wall. In this form, the front wall is wider at the upper edge than at the bottom edge.
The beverage container blank may include a spout locking flap extending from the rearward top flap that is configured to lay over the top wall portion with the beverage container blank in the expanded configuration. The spout locking flap includes a spout engaging portion configured to extend about at least a portion of a spout extending through the aperture in the top wall portion. The blank may be provided with a flexible bladder having spout for receiving fluid therein with the spout received in the aperture in the top wall portion.
The exemplary embodiments below describe a beverage container for storing and dispensing liquids. Generally, the beverage container includes an outer container or shell and an inner bladder or bag. The outer container includes right, left, front, and rear walls, and a top and bottom that define an interior space for placement of a beverage bladder that includes a spout for providing a fluid passageway into the bladder. Advantageously, the embodiments are configured such that the top of the container has first and second inclined portions that meet at an apex. An integral handle extends from the first inclined portion and the spout extends from the second inclined portion. The handle is configured to allow a user to dispense from the beverage container using one hand, thereby freeing the other hand for grasping the drinking vessel while filling. The spout is oriented so that its axis extends obliquely to a vertical reference axis. The handle may have a configuration which orients the handle at an incline similar to the first inclined portion, or it may have a different orientation. In addition, the handle may have a tapered shape to make pouring a liquid from the container more ergonomic. The spout does not extend horizontally or vertically but rather is oriented at an incline extending in a generally non-vertical, upward direction to allow filling of the container directly under a dispensing spigot of a commercial beverage machine. In one form, the bottom of the container may be oriented horizontally during filling, such as while the container base or bottom wall is resting on a flat surface. In another form, where the vertical upward component of the spout is relatively small, the container can be filled directly under the dispensing spigot but the orientation of the spout will require the container to be shifted onto its rear wall prior to filling. The inclined orientation of the spout and the handle allows for improved ergonomic and pouring capabilities by allowing the user to more comfortably tilt the container to pour liquid from the spout, and also allow the user to easily see the spout while pouring to see fluid being dispensed from the spout as the container is tilted from its fill orientation as described above. Such forms provide numerous other benefits, including the capability to be inserted and filled under any commercial beverage machine dispensing spigot, material reduction, improved stability so as to reduce the potential for tipping, improved pouring dynamics associated with greater compactness and a lower center of gravity, and the reduction of drips from the spout after pouring. Other advantages will be apparent upon further reading of the following description of the embodiments.
As shown in
The container top 59 is further formed by forward top and rearward top flaps 40 and 32 that extend from a top edge 64 of the inclined wall portion 14 and top edge 74 of the rear wall 28, respectively. A spout locking flap 34 is hingedly connected along fold line 82 to the rear top flap 32. The spout locking flap 34 includes opposite finger portions 86 spaced apart by an arcuate portion 84 sized to fit around at least a portion of the spout 94 to keep the spout from being pulled through the aperture 60 and into the interior 57 of the erected container 10. The finger and arcuate portions extend approximately 270° around the spout. The finger portions 86 are preferably sized and configured to provide an interference fit with the outer perimeter of the spout 94 for securing the flap 34 to the spout. The forward top and rearward top flaps 40, 32 are configured to be folded in an inward direction toward one another over the top of the container 10 for securing the container in the fully assembled configuration. As shown in
The container top 59 advantageously has its apex 61 spaced rearwardly from the front wall 12. In this form, the spout locking flap fold line 82 is also spaced rearwardly from the front wall 12 and specifically the top edge 52 of the front wall, which allows the rear top flap 32 to be reduced in length over corresponding top flaps in prior containers. Similarly, front top flap fold line 64 is spaced rearwardly from the front wall 12 and top edge 52 thereof, allowing for a similar reduction in length of the front top flap 40, corresponding with a beneficial reduction in material for the container 10 herein. This is due to the presence of the forward inclined wall portion 14 for the spout 94, as will be described further hereafter.
The bottom or base 55 of the container 10 is formed by a plurality of bottom flaps, including front bottom flap 42, which is hingedly connected along fold line 54 to the front wall 12. Right bottom flap 44 is hingedly connected to right sidewall 26 along fold line 70. Rear bottom flap 46 is hingedly connected to the rear wall 28 along fold line 76, and left bottom flap 48 is hingedly connected to the left sidewall 30 along fold line 90. Flap portion 51 is hingedly connected to right bottom flap 44 along a perforated fold line 45, and similarly flap portion 53 is hingedly connected to left bottom flap 48 along perforated fold line 49. During initial assembly of the collapsed container, flap portions 51, 53 are adhesively connected to the outer surfaces of front bottom flap 42 and rear bottom flap 46, respectively, via an adhesive, such as a cold set adhesive applied to either the glue flaps 51, 53 or the front and rear bottom flaps 42, 46. Advantageously, after the bottom flaps are glued together, the bottom flaps are folded inwardly with the inner surfaces of the flaps laying against the inner surfaces of the walls 12, 26, 28, 30. The bottom flaps 42, 44, 46, 48 are constructed such that they may be easily shifted from this folded configuration with the container 10 in a collapsed orientation, to a generally flat configuration to form the base 55 when the container is expanded by a user into its fill orientation, as is known in the art.
The respective container walls, top flaps, and bottom flaps form a closed interior space 57 therebetween in which the beverage bladder 96 resides, as shown in
In one form for providing a container that can be transported and filled in the same orientation, the container 10 advantageously includes a forward inclined wall portion 14 that extends from the top edge 52 of the front wall 12. The inclined wall portion 14 has an aperture 60 through which a portion of the spout 94 of the bladder 96 extends. The aperture 60 includes a plurality of radial slits to form a plurality of tabs 65 around the aperture 60 for engaging with the outer perimeter of the spout 94 with an interference fit, while avoiding tearing of the material around the aperture 60 when the spout 94 is inserted therethrough due to deflection of the tabs 65. The spout 94 is provided with one or more annular ring projections around its perimeter that engage with the opening tabs 65 and the spout locking flap 34 for keeping the spout 94 from being pulled through the aperture 60 into the container interior 57 and from moving or becoming cocked to one side. In addition, the spout 94 has a helical thread extending about its outer perimeter distal of the ring projections for engaging with a threaded cap.
As shown in
The inclined wall portion 14, aperture 60, and the outer spout opening 93 are each oriented in planes oriented at an angle α with respect to vertical (i.e. axis V extending perpendicularly from the base), such that the spout body 94, which extends generally perpendicularly from the inclined wall portion 14 at a complimentary angle to a, is oriented at least partially vertically upwardly. In other words, a longitudinal axis L about which the spout 94 extends is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane coextensive with the flat base 55. The inclined wall portion 14, and similarly the aperture 60, and the opening of the spout 93, all having the same angle of inclination, may be oriented at a variety of angles of inclination, but preferably the inclined wall portion 14 will be disposed at an angle of inclination that will provide a sufficient horizontal component such that liquid may be poured directly into the container while the base 55 is horizontal. A preferred range of inclination of the inclined wall portion is from 10 to 80 degrees, and more preferably between 40 and 80 degrees. In other forms, the inclined wall portion may be inclined at an angle between 55 and 85 degrees from vertical, which is particularly suitable for embodiments having a low profile orientation for being filled directly beneath a brewer dispensing spigot as shown in
As indicated in
Preferably, an adhesive, such as a fugitive hot melt adhesive, is applied to the inner surface of the right sidewall 26 at one or more adhesive locations 27 for temporarily fixing the bladder 96 to the sidewall 26. This adhesive helps to hold the bladder 96 in place during manufacturing, but its primary purpose is to help open the bladder 96 from its flat or flattened configuration to a filling configuration where the side walls are pulled apart. Because the bladder 96 is made from planar sheets of material that are heat sealed together around their perimeter, the bladder tends to remain in a flattened shape until acted upon by outside forces or until a fluid is introduced into the bladder 96. Further, due to the materials used and the manufacturing process, static forces may hold the side walls of the bladder together and resist the expansion of the bladder 96. However, in its flattened state, the bladder 96 can be difficult to fill as a result of the bladder side walls sticking together, which may at least initially cause overflowing of liquid from the spout 94 if the walls are not at least partially separated around the spout or do not quickly separate during filling of the bladder. Accordingly, the adhesive at adhesive locations 27 are configured to provide a temporary and releasable bond between the sidewall 26 and the bladder 96 that releases when the container 10 is shifted from its collapsed, flat orientation to a fully expanded orientation. Just prior to expansion of the container, the front wall 12 and left sidewall 30 lay flat against the right sidewall 26 and rear wall 28, with the bladder 96 sandwiched therebetween. As the sidewalls are expanded apart to the erected, filling orientation, as shown in
As discussed above, a hot-melt adhesive is applied along one or both sides of the aperture 60 at adhesive locations 13 during manufacturing of the container 10 to permanently bond the bladder 96 to the front wall 12 and transition wall portion 14. This adhesive keeps the spout 94 from being pulled into the interior of the container when the container is initially erected into the filling orientation. The adhesive also serves to pull the bladder sidewalls apart in the areas immediately surrounding the spout 94, thereby preventing the sides of the bladder from sticking together as mentioned above. Forcing the bladder sides to remain in a separated and open position near the spout, in conjunction with the sidewall separation caused by the releasable adhesive, ensures that the bladder is fully ready for filling. Accordingly, the bladder 96 is permanently attached to the front wall 12 and the inclined transition wall portion 14 near the spout, while the opposite end of the bladder 96 is temporarily attached to the right sidewall 26 at adhesive locations 27. As the container 10 is opened from the collapsed orientation by pushing the front right edge and the rear left edge of the container toward one another, the sides of the bladder 96 are simultaneously pulled apart at the adhesive locations 13 and 27. The sudden expansion of the interior space 67 of the bladder 96 creates a temporary vacuum therein, which draws in air into the bladder through the spout, thereby allowing the bladder to remain partially open for continuous and controlled filling of the bladder. As the container 10 is fully opened, the adhesive at locations 27, due to its low-tack property, will release the bladder 96 from the right sidewall 26, so that the bladder is only adhesively attached to the inclined wall portion 14 and the front wall 12. Without the provision of the adhesive locations as described, it has been found that the bladder sidewalls will remain attached to each other and the bladder will only accept a small amount of liquid at a time, requiring the person filling the bladder to either wait for the liquid to eventually drain further into the unopened and remaining portion of the bladder or shake the container to expedite movement of the portion of dispensed liquid into distal end of the bladder. In either situation, the bladder will take an inordinate amount of time and patience to completely fill since it must be filled in increments. In some forms, the bladder 96 may be attached solely to the inclined wall portion 14 or the front wall 12.
Numerous other advantages attain from a container having an inclined wall portion with an upwardly oriented spout 94. One advantage is that the height of the container may be significantly reduced compared to known erectable beverage containers. A lower container height eliminates the concern for spilling the contents of the container when the container is shifted from a filling orientation to a transporting orientation. This concern required the height of the spout to be sufficiently high to avoid spillage due to the liquid level in the bladder being too close to the spout opening when the bladder is shifted from the filling orientation to the transporting orientation. In a currently preferred form, the container 10 has assembled dimensions of approximately 9 inches long by 6.5 inches wide by 6.5 inches tall at the apex 61. In comparison, prior known container 310 has assembled dimensions of approximately 9 inches long by 6.5 inches wide by 8.5 inches tall at its apex. In one form, the apex is preferably less than 7 inches tall as measured from the base of the container. This low-profile design allows the container to fit underneath most coffee brewers to allow the container to be filled directly underneath the brewer instead of first filling an intermediate vessel or urn, and then transferring that vessel's contents into the beverage container. Despite the smaller height size of container 10, it advantageously has the same fluid capacity as the prior known container design, despite a decrease in internal volume of approximately 20 percent. Of course, the container having an inclined forward wall portion may take a variety of shapes and sizes, as would be apparent to one or ordinary skill. But by removing the need to shift the container between different filling and transporting orientations, the height of the container may be reduced substantially.
Reducing the height of the container provides numerous advantages in efficiency. First, less material is needed. With respect to the embodiment disclosed in
Applicant also observed the potential for manufacturing efficiencies.
Advantageously, the machinery 200 may assemble both prior known containers 310 and the container 10 disclosed herein, with only minor adjustments to the machinery. This is because container blank 15 has the same width orthogonal to the machine travel direction 205 as the prior container 310, and the fold lines 58, 72, and 78 are located in the same relative places, such that the walls of both containers 10, 310 have the same widths. In addition, bottom flaps 42, 44, 46, and 48 have the same configuration as the bottom flaps of the prior container 310. Because only the bottom flaps and walls are folded during assembly, and the top flaps 40, 24, 32, 22 are not folded, the height of the blank 15 does not materially impact the folding operations of the manufacturing process, and the same machinery may advantageously manufacture both containers 10 and prior known containers 310 with minimal changes to the machinery 200, resulting in a quick changeover time. Further, as discussed above, a greater quantity of shorter blanks 15 can be processed in a given time compared with taller blanks of container 310.
Another advantage of the present embodiment is that more collapsed containers 10 may be shipped in the same shipping boxes than prior known containers.
Another advantage of the container 10 is that the bladder more effectively occupies the internal space 57 of the container, resulting in numerous performance improvements. For example, when the bladder 96 is filled with a liquid, due to the shorter distance between the spout 94 and the base of container 55 compared with prior known containers, more of the bladder rests on the base of the container 55, reducing the amount of pulling force exerted on the wall portion 14 from which the spout 94 extends. This reduces the likelihood of “turtling” of the spout (i.e. the spout being pulled into the outer shell 11). Further, the bladder 96 is less prone to shifting within the interior space of the container 57 when filled, as the bladder occupies much more of the interior space, leaving less empty space. For example, the bladder of prior known container 310 occupies approximately 50% of the interior space when full, while bladder 96 occupies approximately 60-70% of the interior space 57 of container 10 when full. In addition, the bladder 96 is more securely attached to the front wall 12 and inclined wall portion 14 of the container with the remainder of the bladder being better restrained from moving within the container as it is being filled. It has also been found that due to the forward wall portion 14 and the upward orientation of the spout 94, upon opening of the container from the collapsed orientation, the glue locations that were previously described, cause the bladder to open to a greater degree, allowing the container to receive a much larger volume of fluid within the bladder prior to the fluid acting on the bladder to open the remainder of the bladder. Accordingly, the container 10 provides a faster and more uniform and controlled filling and dispensing of its liquid contents. Furthermore, when more of the bladder is resting on the bottom of the container, especially in the lateral direction (width) of the container, it has been found that the container is more stable during pouring, since the bladder is not permitted to shift about within the unoccupied internal volume of the container as the liquid is being dispensed. Preventing the bladder from suddenly shifting within the cavity of the container results in a steady, predictable flow of dispensed liquid.
Another advantage of having the spout 94 project from an inclined forward wall portion 14 of the container is that it makes the spout 94 more visible during pouring, which allows a user to see the liquid as it flows from the spout 94. With prior known erectable beverage containers, which have a spout emerging horizontally from a vertically extending front wall, the spout can become obscured to the user by the upper front corner of the container as the container is tilted. This makes it very difficult for the user to see the liquid flowing out of the spout when the container is below eye level, which can result in inaccurate pouring from the spout and spillage. A spout located on an inclined wall portion is much more prominent and visible to a user when the container is tilted, allowing for an unobstructed line of sight to the spout 94 when pouring liquid therefrom.
As discussed above, including an inclined wall portion allows the beverage container to have a lower profile than previously known erectable beverage containers and it allows the spout to be moved downwardly towards the base of the container. A spout that is lower provides two advantages. First, the spout will be able to fit underneath known commercial coffee brewing machine spigots. This eliminates the step of first dispensing a batch of brewed coffee into a first container and then transferring the contents from that container, by funnel, into the erectable beverage container. In
One constraint with making a shorter container than currently known beverage containers relates to the process used to manufacture the containers and in particular, the placement of the bladder 96 during initial assembly of the container. The bladder 96 has a flat rectangular shape prior to filling it with fluids, as shown in
In the embodiment of
An alternate embodiment of an erectable beverage container 110 having a vertically upwardly extending spout 194 extending from an inclined wall portion 114 is shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The container top 159 is further formed by forward top and rearward top flaps 140 and 132 that extend from a top edge 164 of the inclined wall portion 114 and top edge 174 of the rear wall 128, respectively. A spout locking flap 134 is hingedly connected along fold line 182 to the rear top flap 132. The spout locking flap 134 includes opposite finger portions 186 spaced apart by an arcuate portion 184 sized to fit around the spout 194 to keep the spout from falling through the aperture 160 and into the interior 157 of the erected container 110. The finger portions 186 are preferably sized and configured to provide an interference fit with the outer perimeter of the spout 194 for securing the flap 134 to the spout. The forward top and rearward top flaps 140, 132 are configured to be folded inwardly toward one another over the top of the container 110 for securing the container in the fully assembled configuration shown in
The top right and left flaps 124, 122 and the handle flaps 118, 120 may be configured such that there is a gap between the handle flaps 118, 120 when the top right and left flaps 124, 122 are folded toward one another and the handle flaps 118, 120 are folded onto their upright orientation, but prior to folding down the front top flap 140 and rear top flap 132, which are the final two flaps that are folded during assembly. The purpose of this gap is to pull the upper portions of the right and left sidewalls 126, 130 toward one another when the handle flaps 118, 120 are brought together be inserted through the slots 162 and 180 of the front top and rear top flaps 140, 132. When the handle flaps 118, 120 are brought together, the upper portions of the right and left sidewalls 126, 130 must flex slightly inwardly. This flexing gives the right and left sidewalls 126, 130 a convex profile to closely match the profile of the inclined wall portion 114, which decreases in width from bottom to top, as shown in
The container top 159 advantageously has its apex 161 spaced rearwardly from the front wall 112. In this form, the spout locking flap fold line 182 is also spaced rearwardly from the front wall 112 and specifically the top edge 152 of the front wall, which allows the rear top flap 132 to be reduced in length over prior known containers. Similarly, front top flap fold line 164 is spaced rearwardly from the front wall 112 and top edge 152 thereof, allowing for a similar reduction in length of the front top flap 140, corresponding with a reduction in material.
The bottom or base 155 of the container 110 is formed by a plurality of bottom flaps, including front bottom flap 142, which is hingedly connected along fold line 154 to the front wall 112. Right bottom flap 144 is hingedly connected to right sidewall 126 along fold line 170. Rear bottom flap 146 is hingedly connected to the rear wall 128 along fold line 176, and left bottom flap 148 is hingedly connected to the left sidewall 130 along fold line 190. Flap portion 151 is hingedly connected to right bottom flap 144 along a perforated fold line 145, and similarly flap portion 153 is hingedly connected to left bottom flap 148 along perforated fold line 149. During initial assembly of the collapsed container, flap portions 151, 153 are adhesively connected to the outer surfaces of front bottom flap 142 and rear bottom flap 146, respectively, via an adhesive, such as a cold set adhesive applied to either the flap portions 151, 153 or the front and rear bottom flaps 142, 146. Advantageously, after the bottom flaps are glued together, the bottom flaps are folded inwardly with the inner surfaces of the flaps 142, 144, 146, 148 laying against the inner surfaces of the walls 112, 126, 128, 130. The bottom flaps 142, 144, 146, 148 are constructed such that they may be easily shifted from this folded configuration with the container 110 in a collapsed orientation, to a generally flat configuration to form the base 155 when the container is expanded by a user into its fill orientation, as is known in the art. When assembled into the fill orientation, the respective walls 112, 126, 128, 130, top flaps and bottom flaps form a closed interior space 157 therebetween in which the beverage bladder 196 resides.
The container 110 advantageously includes an inclined wall portion 114 that extends from the top edge 152 of the front wall 112. The inclined wall portion 114 defines an aperture 160 through which a portion of a spout 194 of the bladder 196 extends. The aperture 160 includes a plurality of radial slits to form a plurality of tabs around the aperture 160 for engaging with the outer perimeter of the spout 194 with an interference fit, while avoiding tearing of the material around the aperture 160 when the spout 194 is inserted through the aperture 160.
Unlike the embodiment of
Similarly to the first disclosed embodiment, a hot melt adhesive may be applied at adhesive locations on either side of the aperture 160 for bonding the bladder 196 to the inclined wall portion 114 and front wall 112. Because the bladder 196 is adhesively attached to interior surface of the inclined wall portion 114 and the spout 194 is captured within the aperture 160 in the inclined wall portion 114, any weight of the liquid that is not supported by the base 155 of the container 110 will be supported by the inclined wall portion 114 and indirectly, the surrounding walls. Accordingly, the right and left sidewalls 126, 130 may be provided with support shoulder flaps or tabs 136, 138 to provide additional support to the inclined wall portion 114. The support shoulder tabs 136, 138 have a triangular shape and are hingedly connected to the respective right and left sidewalls 126, 130 along fold lines 166, 191. The fold lines 166, 191 follow the same incline as the inclined wall portion 114 when the container 110 is assembled. During assembly, the support tabs 136, 138 are folded underneath the inclined wall portion 114 and lay against the inner surface thereof, such that when liquid is poured into the container 110, the support shoulder tabs 136, 138 provide additional support to the inclined wall portion 114 to keep the inclined wall portion 114 from being pulled inwardly into the interior of the container 157 by the liquid in the bladder. In other forms, the support tabs 136, 138 could be omitted.
An alternate embodiment of an erectable beverage container blank 215 is shown in
The other main difference from the embodiment shown in
While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various alterations, modifications, and adaptations may be based on the present disclosure, and are intended to be within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
The application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/121,607, filed Feb. 27, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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| 62121607 | Feb 2015 | US |
