GRIPPING MEANS FOR CONTAINERS

Abstract

A container blank (2) for forming a container having respective opposite first and second planar surfaces, and comprising a row of body portion forming panels (P1-P4) arranged side-by-side, the boundaries between the panels being defined by respective boundary lines of weakness (S1-S4) extending from top to bottom of the panels substantially perpendicularly to the row, at least one body portion forming panel (P2) including a line of depression (12) in the first surface (14) which is not visible on the respective opposite second surface (16), the line of depression having a grip enhancing substance (18) deposited therein.

Description

This invention relates to packaging and particularly to a laminate packaging made of thermoplastics coated paperboard.

JP-A-2003276725 discloses a paper container consisting of a laminate mainly composed of paper and having recesses and protrusions at the outer surface of the container for the improvement of non-slip properties, and a design effect. The laminate is provided with an inner layer having at least a thermally adherent resin layer on one of the faces of the paper and an outer layer having at least a thermally adherent resin layer on the other face thereof. Recesses and protrusions are provided at a part of the paper container to improve the non-slip properties.

WO-A-0075038 relates to a commercial packaging that comprises at least one plain or curved surface and an anti-theft strip, with a groove being introduced into the surface in which the anti-theft strip is located.

EPA-0615285 discloses integrated circuits such as transponders attached to a substrate such as cardboard packaging material by adhering an integrated circuit to the substrate, applying a patch antenna to the substrate and the integrated circuit, and applying a sealing layer over the integrated circuit and at least a portion of the antenna. An indentation may be formed in the substrate into which the integrated circuit is placed. The patch antenna may be screen printed onto the substrate and the integrated circuit, using conductive ink, or may be a metallic foil which is applied to the substrate and the integrated circuit. Where the integrated circuit is a transponder, it can be programmed with an identification code, either before or after being attached to the substrate.

GB-A-2471268 discloses a stackable box having upstanding tabs on the tops of respective end panels, and holding tabs at the bottoms of side panels, and an indentation proximate the centre of the base of the box. Such a configuration allows an overlapping stack of boxes to be formed in which the upstanding tabs of a first box engage in the holding tabs of a second box and/or the indentation of the second box, when the second box is placed on top of the first.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container blank for forming a container having respective opposite first and second planar surfaces, and comprising a row of body portion forming panels arranged side-by-side, the boundaries between said panels being defined by respective boundary lines of weakness extending from top to bottom of said panels substantially perpendicularly to said row, at least one body portion forming panel including a line of depression in the first surface which is not visible on the respective opposite second surface, the line of depression having a grip enhancing substance deposited therein.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container comprising a loop of body panels, the boundaries between said panels being defined by respective boundary lines of weakness extending from top to bottom of said panels substantially perpendicularly to said loop, each body panel having respective outside and inside planar surfaces, the outside surface at least one of the body panels including a line of depression which is not visible on the respective inside surface, the line of depression having a grip enhancing substance deposited therein.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a container blank of sheet material comprising marking the sheet material with a pattern of lines of weakness defining body portion forming panels of the container blank, the container blank having respective opposite first and second planar surfaces, forming a line of depression in the first surface of at least one of the body portion forming panels which is not visible on the corresponding location of the second surface and depositing a grip enhancing substance in said line of depression.

Owing to these aspects, a substance with anti-slip properties can be applied to the outside surface of a packaging material without interfering with any part of a container production process.

Forming of a line of depression in a first planar surface of a laminate material which does not alter the surface profile of the opposing second surface has the advantage of maintaining the inside surface of body forming portions of the packaging material visibly smooth and free from impressions made by embossings or the like made on the first surface of the packaging material. This is particularly advantageous with aseptic packaging, where as smooth an inside surface as possible is desired, so as not to have any action made to the packaging material which risks destroying the barrier features of the resultant container.

In a preferred embodiment, the grip enhancing material is a friction-increasing material to increase the amount of friction between the fingers of a consumer and the body panels of the container. Other substances could be used to, for example, convey information to a user such as an indication of the temperature of the contents.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a container blank to be formed into a container,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container constructed from the container blank of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-section of a packaging material suitable for using to construct the container of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, a container blank 2 having a first planar surface that will form the outer surface of a constructed container and a second planar surface that will form the inner surface of a constructed container consists of a laminate comprising a paperboard substrate layer and respective outermost and innermost layers of a moisture barrier thermoplastics (with the possible interposition of an oxygen barrier layer, e.g. aluminium foil, between the substrate and the innermost thermoplastics layer). The gable-topped container 4 or carton formed therefrom (shown in FIG. 2) is used for packaging liquids, for example milk or fruit juice, and, in particular, the aseptic packaging of such liquids.

In order to produce the container blank 2, a web of packaging material can be passed between a pair of rollers in a known manner which cut through the material around the edges of the blank and form the lines of weakness which are visible on both the first planar surface of the blank which will from the outside surface of the final container and also the second planar surface of the blank which will form the inside surface of the final container.

The blank 2 consists of four body portion forming panels P1-P4 with a fifth standard sealing panel, bounded by lines of weakness in the form of score lines S1, S2, S3 and S4 there among. The body panels P1 to P4 are bounded at their lower edges by further lines of weakness in the form of score lines S5 to S8 and thereby divided from a row of end closure portions P6 to P9. Similarly, the row of body panels P1 to

P4 are bounded at their upper edges by further lines of weakness in the form of score lines S9 to S11 and thereby divided from a row of top obturating panels P10, P11 and P13. A top obturating panel P12 is not separated from the adjacent body portion P3 located immediately inwardly therefrom by a physical score line, but there is an unseen line of weakness at a boundary between the panels P3 and P12 where the top obturating panel P12 will fold relative to the body panel P3 when the container 4 is constructed from the container blank 2. The panels P10 and P12 are quadrangular and form respective quadrangular roof panels of the gable-topped container 4, whilst the panels P11 and P13 are also quadrangular but each divided by respective oblique score lines S12, S13, S14 and S15 into three substantially triangular sub-panels P11a to P11c and P13a to P13c. The row of top obturating panels P10 to P13 are bounded at their upper edges by a row of top-sealing panels P14 to P17 to form a sealing fin 6 of the container 4 (see FIG. 2). The front, top obturating panel P12 is formed with a through-hole 8 (or alternatively a loop of weakness in the case of aseptic packaging) to which is applied a pour spout fitment 10 (see FIG. 2).

In producing the container 4 from the blank 2 shown in FIG. 1, the blank 2 is converted into a container sleeve which is of rectangular cross-section and in which the body panels P1 to P4 form a loop around the sleeve and the top closure panels P10 to P13 form a loop around the sleeve. The end closure panels P6 to P9 are folded on a mandrel to form an end closure. Following the folding of the end closure panels P6 to P9, these panels are sealed on the mandrel to form a bottom closure. The sealing comprises heating and pressing together the panels P6 to P9 to render the thermoplastics layers tacky in order to create a sealed bottom closure. Alternatively, other methods of sealing could be used, such as gluing in which case heating would not be necessary. After filling of the container 4, the top closure is formed by forming the fin seal 6 in a known manner. Then, a flange of the pour spout fitment 10 (see FIG. 2) could be attached to the outside surface of the top obturating sub-panel P12 by, for example, ultrasonic welding over the loop of weakness 8. Alternatively, the flange of the pour spout fitment 10 could be applied to the inside of the sub-panel P12 prior to filling with the pour spout protruding through the hole 8. The container 4 would be suitable for use in the aseptic or non-aseptic packaging of liquids.

Referring to FIG. 3, a laminate packaging material comprises a paperboard substrate 100, an outer layer of thermoplastics material 102, an inner layer of thermoplastics material 104 and a barrier layer such as an oxygen barrier layer 106 disposed between the paperboard substrate 100 and the inner layer of thermoplastics material 104. Upon forming of the container blank 2, the pair of rollers between which the packaging material passes may be arranged, through compression of the outer layer of thermoplastics 102 and the surface of the paperboard layer 100 facing the outer layer of thermoplastics 102, to make at least one line of depression 12 in the surface of the material that will form the outside surface 14 of the final container, whilst the corresponding inside surface 16 remains smooth and flat. This can be achieved by having a desired pattern made of one or more depression devices on one of the rollers that will contact the outside surface 14, whilst the corresponding location on the other roller is smooth. In this way, the line of depression 12 would be visible on the outside surface but not be visible on the inside surface.

Prior to the container blank 2 being converted into the container sleeve, a grip enhancing substance 18 can be deposited into the line(s) of depression 12, so that the substance 18 is contained in the line(s) of depression 12 and does not spill out onto the outermost surface of the outside surface 14. The substance can be in the form of a friction-increasing substance. In this way, the friction-increasing substance 18 is retained in the location it is most required.

In the filling machine, container blanks with different surface friction properties, such as the case when gripping elements or the like are adhered to the outside surface of a container and project outwardly therefrom, will often require different adjustments of the filling machine which lead to different performance in the filling machine when picking the blank from a magazine, loading blanks onto the mandrel, transferring the container off the mandrel into chain pockets, orienting of the container in the chain pocket throughout the filling machine and finally top sealing. The combination of the line(s) of depression 12 with the friction-increasing substance 18 contained within the line(s) of depression 12 will not have a deleterious influence on the filling machine performance.

The friction-increasing substance 18 is advantageously a fluid substance before it is applied, for example a high-friction ink or varnish. A high-friction ink or varnish is composed of modified acrylic resins, which behave like rubber material (relatively very elastic with a relatively high degree of flexibility) resulting in anti-slip properties. Furthermore, high-friction ink or varnish does not contain any silicones or waxes, known as slip agents.

The friction-increasing substance 18 may be deposited in the line(s) of depression 12 during the same process as the other inks used for decor of the container are applied, for example, in a UV-printing process carried out at a separate ink station. Ultraviolet (UV) printing is a relatively fast process since there is no waiting around for inks to dry. Thus, the friction-increasing substance 18 can be selected to cure when exposed to UV radiation as do the inks used in this process. However, other methods of printing the container decor can be used with a suitable friction-increasing substance 18 being selectable accordingly.

In this way, the friction-increasing substance 18 can be applied in various degrees to have different degrees of friction and/or zones of friction, and other tactile features without interfering with the production process. This facilitates the stacking and unstacking of the flat container blanks or sleeves since the friction-increasing substance 18 is wholly contained within the line(s) of depression 12 and does not interfere with contact with and processing of another adjacent container blank or sleeve.

By acquiring such a container 4, a consumer would experience an enhanced grip on the container. This is particularly advantageous for those consumers who may have visual and/or physical impairment. Use of the container 4 reduces the risk of spilling of liquid food contents during pouring and the risk of dropping the container 4.

The line(s) of depression 12 can be arranged in a particular desired pattern to achieve optimal gripping properties, much like the tread of a vehicle tyre which is designed to provide a surface to grip the ground surface along which the vehicle travels. In this way, the line(s) of depression 12 clearly indicate how the container 4 should be handled by the consumer.

Owing to the inside surface 16 of the material being unadulterated by the line(s) of depression 12, it remains smooth and flat so that surface can be sterilized efficiently. Such a smooth and flat inside surface is ideal for the sterilization process since there are no ridges or crinkles in the packaging material in which bacteria and other microbiological organisms can continue to survive post-sterilization.

The depth of the line(s) of depression 12 is/are preferably less than half the thickness of the paperboard layer, and most preferably less than a quarter of the thickness of the paperboard layer, in order to ensure that a minimal amount of the substance 18 is used and that there would be sufficient contact between skin of the consumer's fingers and the substance 18.

The areas of the outside surface 14 which are not compressed to form the line(s) of depression 12 remain relatively smooth as with known containers of this kind. The line(s) of depression 12 therefore visually and/or tactilely delineate for the consumer one or more gripping zones 20 for an advantageous handling of the container 4.

The container 4 of FIG. 2 has a side body panel P2 with a plurality of gripping zones 20 delineated by a plurality of the line(s) of depression 12. One gripping zone 20 is formed from a pattern of substantially circular lines of depression 12 and another is formed from a pattern of a plurality of wave-from line(s) of depression 12. The opposite side body panel may be supplied with an identical pattern or a differing pattern to take account of the way a consumer's fingers are positioned during the holding of the container 4. The position and pattern of the line(s) of depression 12 on the body panel P2 may also differ depending on the size of the container 4. The differing gripping zones 20 shown do not have to be provided together, such that they are independent of each other and can be of any desired shape and pattern. The pattern of the substantially circular lines of depression 12 shown are slightly inclined relative to the horizontal from a junction between the side body panel P2 and the rear body panel P1 to the junction between the side body panel P2 and the front body panel P3. This enables the consumer to take a natural grip of the container 4. The respective opposite side body panels P2 and P4 and the respective opposite top obturating panels P11b and P13b may further comprise linear weaknesses 22 to indicate to the consumer where to fold the container for waste disposal/recycling once all of the liquid food content has been emptied out of the container 4 or for the facilitating of complete emptying of liquids of relatively high viscosity, such as yoghurt, from the container 4 by squeezing any residual liquid content from the folded container 4. The linear weaknesses 22 do not pass through the gripping zones 20, but indicate to the consumer general fold lines for collapsing the container 4.

The wave-form lines of depression 12 may be continuous as shown, or they may be discontinuous.

The gripping zones 20 may also form an area for specific printing relating to the handling of the container, which printing may take the form of text and/or images.

Claims

1. Packaging material for forming a container having respective opposite first and second surfaces, and comprising a row of body portion forming panels arranged side-by-side, the boundaries between said panels being defined by respective boundary lines of weakness extending from top to bottom of said panels substantially perpendicularly to said row, at least one body portion forming panel including a line of depression in the first surface, the line of depression having a grip enhancing substance deposited therein.

2. Packaging material according to claim 1, wherein the grip enhancing substance is a friction-increasing material.

3. Packaging material according to claim 1, wherein the grip enhancing substance is a high-friction ink or varnish.

4. Packaging material according to claim 3, wherein the high-friction ink or varnish is composed of modified acrylic resins.

5. Packaging material according to claim 1, wherein said packaging material further comprises a laminate packaging material comprising a paperboard substrate, a first layer of thermoplastics material on the first planar surface, and on the second planar surface, a second layer of thermoplastics material and a barrier layer disposed between the paperboard substrate and the second layer of thermoplastics material, the line of depression being formed in the first layer of thermoplastics and the surface of the paperboard layer facing the first layer of theremoplastics.

6. Packaging material according to claim 1, wherein the grip enhancing substance is wholly contained within the line of depression.

7. Packaging material according to claim 5, wherein the depth of the line of depression is less than half the thickness of the paperboard substrate.

8. Packaging material according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of lines of depression form one or more gripping zones on the at least one body portion forming panel.

9. Packaging material according to claim 1, wherein a line of depression is present on second and fourth body portion forming panels in a row of first, second, third and fourth body portion forming panels.

10. A container comprising a loop of body panels, the boundaries between said panels being defined by respective boundary lines of weakness extending from top to bottom of said panels substantially perpendicularly to said loop, each body panel having respective outside and inside planar surfaces, the outside surface at least one of the body panels including a line of depression, the line of depression having a grip enhancing substance deposited therein.

11. A container according to claim 10, wherein the grip enhancing substance is a friction-increasing material.

12. A container according to claim 10, wherein the grip enhancing substance is a high-friction ink or varnish.

13. A container according to claim 12, wherein the high-friction ink or varnish is composed of modified acrylic resins.

14. A container according to claim 10, said container being comprised of a laminate packaging material comprising a paperboard substrate, a first layer of thermoplastics material on the first planar surface, and on the second planar surface, a second layer of thermoplastics material and a barrier layer disposed between the paperboard substrate and the second layer of thermoplastics material, the line of depression being formed in the first layer of thermoplastics and the surface of the paperboard layer facing the first layer of theremoplastics.

15. A container according to claim 10, wherein the grip enhancing substance is wholly contained within the line of depression.

16. A container according to claim 14, wherein the depth of the line of depression is less than half the thickness of the paperboard substrate.

17. A container according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of lines of depression form one or more gripping zones on the at least one body panel.

18. A container according to claim 10, wherein a line of depression is present on opposite body panels in the loop.

19. A method of forming a container blank of sheet material comprising marking the sheet material with a pattern of lines of weakness defining body portion forming panels of the container blank, the container blank having respective opposite first and second p-ta-nar surfaces, forming a line of depression in the first surface of at least one of the body portion forming panels and depositing a grip enhancing substance in said line of depression.

20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the container blank comprises a laminate packaging material comprising a paperboard substrate, a first layer of thermoplastics material on the first planar surface, and on the second planar surface, a second layer of thermoplastics material and a barrier layer disposed between the paperboard substrate and the second layer of thermoplastics material, the forming of the line of depression being by compression of the first layer of thermoplastics and the surface of the paperboard layer facing the first layer of theremoplastics.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein the compression comprises compressing the line of depression to a depth of less than half the thickness of the paperboard substrate.

22. A method according to claim 19, wherein the depositing of the grip enhancing substance is by an ultra-violet printing process.