This invention relates to an improved beverage container a foldable blank. More specifically, this invention is directed to an improved easily fillable container for storing, transporting, and dispensing beverages.
In the development of beverage packaging, numerous attempts have been made to provide paperboard packaging for fluids, utilizing a plastic bag within the paperboard structure to hold the fluid. As these packages evolved to have dispensing spouts secured and extending from the paperboard packaging, many issues have been addressed, including the secure mounting of spouts and the design of spouts that were easy to use. It has also been desirable to make the inner pouches of these containers removable so that plastic and cardboard or paperboard material can be recycled separately after use. As the bag in box packaging has evolved, some packaging has been designed for the particular use of conveying hot or cold liquids and maintaining an appropriate serving temperature. For instance, a coffee shop or restaurant might utilize a paperboard and plastic bag in box style carton in lieu of a returnable thermos to allow customers to carry multiple servings of branded coffee for use at meetings at location remote from the retail shop dispensing the beverage. Similarly, a restaurant may provide soup in a paperboard and plastic bag in box container.
Most of these containers have provided a paperboard outer shell with an opening for a spout on a front vertical panel or forward directed angled panel. When the opening is on the front vertical panel, in order to fill the bag, the container is rested on its back. In these designs, a handle, if any, protrudes from the top of the paperboard box. Paperboard bag in boxes have been shipped to customers in three general fashions. In one fashion the box is shipped as a paperboard blank to be folded and assembled with the plastic bag at the retail location. In a second form, the components are shipped and the assembly requires the use of adhesives. In a third form, the bag is inserted into an assembled box which is collapsed and shipped to the retail location where it need only be expanded to its full size by unfolding. The use of unassembled paperboard blanks is not entirely satisfactory since retail establishment employees must be trained to the proper assembly of the box and bag structure. Heretofore, the collapsed assembled boxes have also suffered from shortcomings in that the handle structures have not been sturdy and the box must necessarily be placed in different orientations for filling, pouring, and resting positions. The need to use a variety of orientations for the box can make it impractical to fill the box with liquid to a point approaching the actual volume of the container. The use of a plastic carton or bottle in a pre-assembled box avoids some of the shortcomings, and although it does not provide the space saving features of using collapsed blanks and bags, it is economical and resolves many other operational difficulties.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a new bottle in box structure to address one or more of these shortcomings to provide additional benefits to retailers and consumers.
Accordingly, a plurality of improved beverage containers are disclosed in this specification of the type having an outer paperboard shell, a spout securing portion, and a handle or gripping structure. When the handle is built into a sidewall of the paperboard container, or openings are provided in the paperboard container to allow use of a handle on a bottle therein, an insulating panel is provided to keep the users hand from contacting the plastic bag of liquid, or carton of liquid, which may be uncomfortably hot to touch. The improved beverage containers preferably rest upon a bottom or base, and have an upward opening spout so that the containers may be filled in the same position that the containers are placed when not in use. A structure is also provided to securely hold the spout of the plastic bag or carton so that it does not fall downward into the surrounding box structure and the fastener for the spout may be easily detached for filling or pouring, and secured when the container is at rest or not in use.
A variation of the container may allow for protruding handles. The containers may also be pre-assembled and delivered to retail locations in their ready to use configuration. For this purpose, the paperboard blanks may simply be assembled with their associated plastic bags or cartons or they may be assembled and glued as necessary to maintain the assembled structure of a particular blank.
Once it has been determined that a preassembled container is acceptable to a customer, the interior fluid filled bag is preferably replaced with a non-collapsible plastic carton, most typically a HDPE bottle. This realizes cost savings, and the plastic carton provides additional rigidity to the assembled container. It may even allow the container to be carried by a handle formed as a part of the top, or by the cap of the plastic carton.
For the purpose of summarizing the invention and the advantages achieved over the prior art, certain objects and advantages of the invention have been described above. It is not necessary that all objects or advantages be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention. Thus for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage as taught herein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.
Turning then to the drawings, several embodiments of one or more aspects of the invention will be discussed in detail. The drawings depict exemplarily blanks and beverage containers for illustrative purposes only and include the following figures with like numerals indicating like parts:
To better appreciate the advantages of the preferred container, a prior art beverage container is shown in detail.
As seen in
The blank further incorporates a series of top flaps and a series of bottom flaps. The top flaps include a top front flap 40, a top right handle flap 28, a top back flap 42 and a top left handle flap 30. The bottom flaps include a front bottom flap 54, right bottom flap 56, a back bottom flap 52 and a left bottom flap 50. The top front flap 40 is hingedly secured along a top front fold line 74 to the front wall panel 16. Likewise, the bottom front flap 54 is hingedly secured along a bottom front fold line 82 to the front wall panel 16. A circular opening 48 is formed within the front wall panel 16 in close proximity to the top front fold line 74. The top front flap 40 defines an open-ended slot 44 extending to a distal edge of top front flap 40.
The right side panel 20 is hingedly coupled along a top right fold line 76 to top right handle flap 28 and is also hingedly secured along a bottom right fold line 84 to a bottom right flap 56. The top right handle flap 28 includes a right handle portion 36 and a right tab portion 32.
Similar to the construction of the front wall panel 16, the back wall panel 18 hingedly carries a top back flap 42 and a bottom back flap 52 by respective fold lines 78, 86. The top back flap 42 includes a closed slot 46 and a generally U-shaped distal locking portion 43. A top left handle flap 30 extends from the left side wall panel 22 at top left fold line 80, while a bottom left flap 50 extends from the left side wall panel 22 from at bottom left fold line 88.
The top left handle flap 30 includes a double left handle portion 38 and a pair of left tab portions 34, 39 which are formed by cutouts to define an opening underneath the left handle portion 38. The bottom left flap 50 defines a small, generally semi-circular slit 75 which forms a finger flap 77.
The bag may be connected to the outer shell 3. The bag may have one or several layers of material exhibiting the desired characteristics of taste neutrality, thermal insulation and strength. The spout may be attached with adhesives or welding. The mouth has a generally cylindrical body with an annular outer rim at one end which is bonded to the bag, and external threads at the other end, to receive a screw on closure or spout. The opening of the mouth further defines a generally cylindrical internal channel into the bag. The mouth is advantageously sized and shaped for the external threads to be slightly larger than the opening 48 in the front wall panel 16 of the outer shell 3.
Preferably during manufacture and before shipping to an end user, the tab 66 of the left side wall panel 22 is fastened to the front wall panel 16 along an edge 17 of the front wall 16 opposite of the right front fold line 68. The fastening may be accomplished by double sided tape, adhesive, or other fastening means known to those of skill in the art. Upon fastening, the outer shell 3 may then be laid and stored flattened with two adjacent panels, such as panels 16 and 20 for example, facing upwards, and the other two side wall panels, panels 18 and 22, facing downwards. The outer shell is thus ready for quick assembly and may be stored in stacks. The spout 9 is threaded onto the mouth after the container has been filled.
The illustrated spout 9 of the container is conical in shape and is internally threaded to mate with the external threads of the mouth. For convenience, the mouth may include a tear-off portion for sealing the container, until the destination is reached. In an alternative embodiment, the spout may be omitted, and a cap may be provided to close the mouth, to reduce cost.
The bottom front flap 54 and bottom back flap 52 are folded inwardly such that the flaps 54, 52 are perpendicular their respective wall panels 16, 18. The sidewall flaps 50, 56 are also folded inwardly. These sidewall flaps 50, 56 each have a fold line 59 thereby defining an adhering portion 61. The adhering portion is configured to adhere to the respective bottom front flap 54 and bottom back flap 52. This may be accomplished by placing an adhesive either on the adhering portion 61, or on the respective flap 54, 52. The adhesive may be any type of suitable adhesive such as moisture activated glue, or covered with a protective plastic sheet, or other type of adhesive such that the adhesive can be selectively activated to engage the adhering portions 61 with the flaps 52, 54. As such, a user activates the adhesive and folds the bottom flaps 50, 56 and tucks the adhering portions 61 under the opposing bottom flap 50, 56, such that the adhering portions 61 directly contact the underlying bottom front flap 54 and bottom back flap 52. The result is an outer shell having a secure bottom that maintains the outer shell in an erected configuration.
The top left handle flap 30 is folded down and the left handle portion 38, which is also folded upright like the right handle portion 36, cooperates with right handle portion 36. The left handle portion tab 34, which is cutout from underneath the left handle portion 38 is placed through the opening underneath the right handle portion 36 and over the right tab 32. The left handle portion 38 is shown being folded over the right handle portion 36 and the distal tab 39 of the left handle portion 38 is slid under the proximal tab 34 of the left handle portion to form the handle 25 of the outer shell 3. Top front flap 40 is folded over along top front fold line 74 onto the top right handle flap 28 and the top left handle flap 30. The handle 25 is inserted through the open-ended slot 44, thereby allowing the top front flap 40 to rest flat against the right and left handle flaps 28 and 30. The top back flap 42 is folded over along top back fold line 78 onto the top front flap 40 and the top right and left handle flaps 28 and 30. The handle 25 is inserted through the slot 46 of the top back flap 42, allowing the top back flap 42 to rest flat against the top front flap 40 and the top right and left handle flaps 28 and 30. The distal locking portion 43 of the top back flap 42 is inserted into a groove formed by the body of the mouth of the flexible bag so that the locking portion prevents the mouth from being pulled back into the outer shell 3 by the weight of the liquid when filled. The top front flap 40 and the top back flap 42 lock the handle flaps 28, 30 in place. Thus assembled, the handle 25 extends away from the outer shell 3 and defines an opening sized and shaped to receive the fingers of a hand.
The mouth defines a flow channel having a diameter of about ¾ inches, or 1 inch, or 1¼ inches. Consequently, the typical user is able to visually determine when the level of fluid in the bag is close to the bottom of the mouth and can cut off the flow of fluid into the container 10. To operate effectively in this prior art design, the bag is sized such that when the level of fluid in the container is observed approaching the bottom of the mouth, the container is positioned with its back wall panel 18 faced downward in a fill position and when the container 10 is rotated to rest on its bottom 23 with the handle 25 facing up, in a transporting position, the level of fluid in the bag is preferably below the opening formed by the spout 9 or mouth, to reduce the risk of spilling during transport and the risk of injury to the user from spillage of hot coffee when the spout is opened. As a result, the container is used with a significant amount of empty space within the pyramidal structure.
Many other variations are possible, including a glued box assembly similar to that described in
If a vendor is receptive to using preassembled containers, there is no reason that a flexible bag is required to hold the liquid in the container. Since the containers no longer have to be collapsed, a relatively rigid, and non-collapsible carton can be disposed within the preassembled container.
The use of a relatively rigid carton to hold the liquid also allows that carton structure to assist with managing the handling of the container. Not only can gripping bar 415 be utilized on the container for handling when pouring, but a cap or lid attached to threads 411 may also facilitate upright carriage of the carton and liquid.
When assembled as reflected in
All publications, patents and patent documents are incorporated by reference herein as though individually incorporated by reference.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in detail herein, it will be understood that various substitutions and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiment described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as recited in the appended claims.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 14/327,037 filed Jul. 9, 2014, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 13/457,483, filed Apr. 26, 2012, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 61/479,339, filed Apr. 26, 2011.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61479339 | Apr 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14327037 | Jul 2014 | US |
Child | 15237599 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13457483 | Apr 2012 | US |
Child | 14327037 | US |