Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D5/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper
  • B65D5/42—Details of containers or of foldable or erectable container blanks
  • B65D5/72—Contents-dispensing means
  • B65D5/74—Spouts
  • B65D5/746—Spouts formed separately from the container

Definitions

• the present invention pertains to a pour spout and more particularly, to a container having a reclosable pour spout attached thereto.
• U.S. Patent No. 4,813,578 discloses a pour spout provided with a flange portion for attaching the pour spout to the exterior surface of a container.
• the flange portion of the pour spout is attached to the exterior surface by heat sealing the plastic material from which the pour sp ⁇ ut is fabricated to the plastic outer coating on the container.
• Such an arrangement is susceptible to certain improvements because it has been found that the securement of the pour spout to the container may deteriorate somewhat over time.
• the plastic layer on the container has a tendency to undergo additional curing or other changes.
• the adhesion at the interface between the flange portion of the pour spout and the outer surface of the container may be affected and diminished slightly, e.g., the plastic coating on the container may shrink slightly relative to the flange portion of the pour spout.
• U.S. Patent No. 4,909,434 discloses a method of securing a pouring spout in liquid-tight relation to the innermost and outermost surfaces of a carton.
• the pouring spout is provided with a preformed flange and a liquid passageway oriented substantially perpendicular to the flange.
• the pouring spout is mounted on the carton by inserting the liquid passageway of the pouring spout through a hole that is cut in the carton.
• the flange is brought into contacting relation with the outer surface of the carton wall while the liquid passageway is deformed to form a second flange on the interior of the carton.
• a method of providing a container with a pour spout includes the steps of providing a pour spout having a hollow cylindrical portion and an annular flange member connected to and extending radially outwardly from an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion, wherein the flange member is positioned intermediate opposite ends of the cylindrical portion and wherein the cylindrical portion has a part positioned between the flange member and one end of the cylindrical portion that defines a stem.
• the method also includes providing a container, mounting the pour spout on the container by inserting the stein into an opening in the container wall, and turning a portion of the stem outwardly to form an outwardly turned portion of the stem and turning the stem toward the inner surface of said container wall to form an upwardly turned portion of the stem.
• Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of another embodiment of the reclosable pour spout according to the present invention attached to a container
• Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of another embodiment of the reclosable pour spout according to the present invention attached to a container;
• the cylindrical extension 24, the cylindrical stem 26 and the flange member 20 are all formed integrally and in one piece from a suitable plastic material.
• the stem 26 can have a substantially constant thickness along its length.
• the extension 24 and the stem 26 together define a hollow cylindrical portion and the flange member 20 surrounds that cylindrical portion at a point intermediate the ends of the cylindrical portion.
• the inner surface of the cap 14 and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical extension 24 interact with one another in the manner illustrated in the Fig. 1.
• the extension 24 is provided with an annular ridge 32 and an annular recess 34 while the inner surface of the cap 14 is provided with an outwardly tapering part 36 that cooperates with the annular ridge 32 and the annular recess 34. Further details pertaining to the construction of the cylindrical extension 24 and the inner surface of the cap 14 are described more fully in the aforementioned Application Serial No. 634,439 and reference is made to that application for a more detailed description of those features.
• One possible way of securing the pour spout 10 to the container 100 is by way of a suitable adhesive.
• the adhesive can be applied to the bottom surface 28 of the flange member 20 and the facing outer surface of the container 100.
• annular barrier strip 38 is provided on the exterior surface of the cylindrical stem 26.
• the annular strip 38 functions as a barrier for inhibiting the adhesive from flowing beyond the barrier 38.
• the annular barrier strip 38 can be seen in the perspective view of Fig. 4. As seen more clearly in Fig. 4, the cylindrical stem
• the portion of the stem 26 below the barrier strip 38 and extending away from the flange member has a reduced thickness accomplished by maintaining the interior dimension identical with the remainder of the stem 26.
• the generally V-shaped cutout portions 40 help facilitate the process of forming the stem 26 from the initial configuration shown in Fig. 4 to the final configuration depicted in Fig. 1 in which the pour spout 10 is mounted on the container 100.
• pour spout being mounted or secured to a container or a container body is meant to include the pour spout being attached to a container, to a container blank prior to formation into the container, and to a container blank in any intermediate stage of the container formation process.
• the pour spout 10 is placed on the container 100 by inserting the cylindrical stem 26 into the hole formed in the container 100. Thereafter, a suitably shaped plate is brought into contact with the free end 42 of the cylindrical stem 26 to cause a portion of the stem 26 to turn outwardly and form an outwardly turned portion 25, to turn slightly upwardly toward the wall of the container 100 to form an upwardly turned portion 27, and to turn outwardly again to form another outwardly turned portion 29.
• the outwardly turned portion 29 preferably extends somewhat parallel to the wall of the container 100.
• the outwardly turned portion 29 of the stem 26 is preferably in contact with the inner surface of the wall of the container 100.
• the free end 42 of the stem 26 could be turned upwardly slightly such that the free end 42 of the stem 26 is in contact with the inner surface of the wall of the container 100.
• the pour spout 10 By forming the stem 26 of the pour spout 10 relative to the container 100 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1, the pour spout 10 is mechanically secured in place on the container 100.
• an upwardly directed force is applied to the pour spout 10, such as might occur upon opening of the cap 14 or if the container is picked up by the pour spout, the outwardly turned portion 29 of the stem 26 rests against the inner surface of the container 100 and tends to distribute the upwardly directed force across the surface of the container.
• the interface between the flange member 20 and the outer surface of the container 100 is altered slightly as a result of further curing of the plastic layer on the container, the ability of the pour spout to be pulled away from the container will be substantially inhibited.
• the embodiment of the pour spout shown in Fig. 2 is similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1 except that an annular ledge 30' is included that extends around the entire periphery of the cylindrical stem 26'.
• the annular ledge 30' is spaced from the bottom surface 28' of the flange member 20' by a distance that generally corresponds to the thickness of the container 100'.
• a hole is formed in the container to receive the stem 26' of the pour spout 10'. It can be readily appreciated that due to the nature of the material from which the container 100' is fabricated, the periphery of the hole in the container 100' can be displaced slightly in the plane of the material when the cylindrical stem 26' is inserted into the hole.
• the portion of the container wall surrounding the stem 26' becomes positioned between the ledge 30' and the bottom surface 28' of the flange member 20' in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2.
• the pour spout 10' is held in place relative to the container 100' in the axial direction so that the pour spout 10' can be securely attached to the container by suitable means.
• the ledge 30' helps to maintain the position of the pour spout 10' on the container 100' to help ensure that the pour spout 10' is securely attached to the container 100'.
• annular ledge 30' which extends completely around the outer periphery of the cylindrical stem 26' could be replaced with a plurality of spaced apart ledges which extend around a portion of the cylindrical stem, such as is disclosed in Application Serial No. 634,439.
• an adhesive is applied between the bottom surface 28, 28' of the flange member 20, 20' and the facing outer surface of the container 100, 100'.
• two annular ridges 46, 46', 48, 48' are provided on the bottom surface 28, 28' of the flange member 20, 20'.
• annular ridge 48, 48' it may be desirable to eliminate the annular ridge 48, 48' so that adhesive can flow partially down the stem 26 to the annular barrier strip 38, 38' to aid sealing the hole in the container.
• additional adhesive/sealant can be applied to the stem 26 between the flange members 20, 20' and the annular barrier strip 38, 38' to accomplish essentially the same result while still preventing substantial adhesive in the interior of the carton.
• the annular ridges 46, 48 are also useful in helping to concentrate the adhesive in a confined annular area to thereby aid in proper securement of the pour spout 10. 10' to the container 100, 100'.
• the use of such annular ridges 46, 48 is described in the aforementioned Application Serial No. 634,439, and reference is made to that application for a more detailed description of that feature.
• FIG. 3 another embodiment of the reclosable pour spout of the present invention is illustrated.
• the integrally formed cap is not illustrated. However, it is to understood that the cap could be configured in the manner illustrated with respect to the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
• a tool can then be employed to form the cylindrical stem 56 into the configuration shown in Fig. 3.
• the tool is such that it causes the stem 56 to flair outwardly at a point 60 just below the flange member 52.
• This outward flaring of the stem 56 also causes the portion 62 of the container surrounding the hole periphery to flair downwardly toward the interior of the container and slightly outwardly, thereby defining a generally U-shaped crotch 61.
• the tool also causes a portion of the stem 56 to turn upwardly to define an upwardly turned portion 57.
• the upwardly turned portion 57 is turned in towards the stem 56 so that the free end 58 of the stem 56 fits into the generally U-shaped crotch 61 formed by the turning of the portion 62 of the container.
• the upwardly turned portion 57 of the stem could be turned slightly less than that illustrated in Fig. 3 so that the free end 58 of the stem 56 faces and is substantially in contact with the inner surface of the container wall.
• the upwardly turned portion 57 of the stem could be somewhat perpendicularly arranged with respect to the container wall.
• the portion of the stem 56 of the pour spout 50 that has been turned is substantially C-shaped in cross- section.
• the formation of the stem 56 of the pour spout 50 relative to the container 100 in the manner shown in Fig. 3 produces a pour spout 50 that, like the embodiments illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, is mechanically secured in place on the container 200. Consequently, when an upwardly directed force is applied to the pour spout 50, such as might occur upon opening of the cap (not shown) or if the container 200 is picked up by the pour spout 50, the upwardly turned portion 57 of the stem 56 presses against the inner surface of the container 200, thereby resisting any tendency of the pour spout to be pulled out of the container 200.
• annular ridges similar to the annular ridges 46, 48 shown in Fig. 1 could be provided, if desired.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (3)

Family

ID=27492436

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Families Citing this family (3)

Citations (2)

Family Cites Families (1)

• 1992
  • 1992-10-20 WO PCT/US1992/009186 patent/WO1994008858A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 1992-10-20 AU AU29006/92A patent/AU2900692A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1992-10-20 EP EP92922948A patent/EP0665802B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1992-10-20 DE DE69230113T patent/DE69230113D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (2)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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