US2407802A - Lined carton - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 17, 1946.- f H. J. sTorrlER 2,407,802

' LINED CARTON Filed May l, 1941 2 SheetsSheet 1 INVINTOR HERBLRT JZ SATOTTER BY 617W?? ATT'ORN EYS H. J. S'ETGTTEFE LINED CARTON gep. i?, 1946.

Filed May 1, 1941' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l INVENITOR HERE/zr .I .STQTTER WWW* ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 17, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LINED CARTON Herbert J. Stotter, Shaker Heights, Ohio Application May 1, 1941, Serial No. 391,318

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to an improvement in lined cartons and a method of making them, and, more particularly, to a method of making and lining a standard four side carton upon standard carton machinery with a liner ofheat-sealable material and a lined carton made by this method, the liner in the` carton being so arranged and constructed that its open mouth may be easily flattened to be securely sealed.

The well-known standard paper board or cardboard cartons, in which substantially all massproduction merchandise is sold, are the so-called four sided cartons which are comprised. of a front panel, a rear panel, side panels, glue lap,

`and end flaps formed from an integral blank Without altering the uconstruction o f the machine or its sequence of operations, but by simply adding a simple element and interposing the operation of the added element so that it would not interfere with the standard operations. This invention achieves that objective.

I-Ieretofore, any lined cartons which have been susceptible of manufacture on any sort of automatic machinery, standard or otherwise, have ,not been entirely satisfactory because of the location and arrangement of the longitudinal seam which forms the liner sheet into a tube. The form of the longitudinal seam in the liner presented a particularly diiiicult obstacle to overcome when it was attempted to heat-seal the open mouth of a lled carton. The two types of longitudinal liner seam used heretofore were either av lap seam or a face-to-face seam Von a reversely turned fin. -The lap Seam itself Vcould not be heat-sealed and the extra thickness of the liner at the lap Vmade heat-sealing of the mouth of thef liner diflicult. The face-to-face `seam on a reversely turned iin could be heatsealed, but, to`seal` the mouth ofrthis type of liner, the reversely turned n lmust be unfolded to obtain a seal Without reentrant folds or extra thicknesses of material. `"Ihisrenders `suchliners with a reversely turned lin diflicult to use in automatic or semi-automatic sealers, particularly in the case of four-sided cartons where the iin is located at .the corner of the carton and thus requires a flat seal at the mouth of the liner to extend diagonally of the erected carton. All of the foregoing objections are overcome by this invention which' provides a liner with a substantially butt-welded longitudinal seam detectible only by the presence of a fine longitudinal bead which is so small that it does not interfere with the sealing of the mouth of the liner. In a lined four-sided carton made according to this invention, longitudinal fins on the liners are eliminated and the mouth of the liner may be sealed along a line parallel to the front and back panels of the carton in an automatic or semi-automatic heatsealer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lined carton in which the inner liner, though formed from a flat liner sheet attached to a flat carton blank and, consequently, formed simultaneously with the formation of the flat blank, may be pulled out of the completed carton as a separable bag element. Heretofore, in lined cartons in which the liner constituted a separable bag element, the liner was a preformed bag around which the carton was formed or a preformed bag inserted into the completed carton. My invention eliminates the heretofore necessary, bag preforming operation.

Otherobjects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following specifi cation, claim and drawings, in which: f

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a flat four-sided carton blank with a, liner sheet attached.V

Fig. 2 is a `plan view of the carton blank shown in Fig. 1 after the first folding operation and illustrating the formation of the longitudinal side seams `in the liner.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of a completed collapsed flat tubular lined four-sided carton formed from the blank shown in Fig. l but with bottom flaps turned up to show the bottom mouth of the liner sealed. l

Fig. 4 is a top view of a four-sided carton erected from the collapsed condition shown in Fig. 3 and illustrating the manner of flattening `the mouth of the liner.

In the drawings, which disclose one form of a four-sided carton embodying my invention, I0 represents the blank' of cardboard, ,pasteboard corrugated paperboard, or like paper stock from which the o uter shell of the lined carton is made. In the carton blank, `visible edges and cutsA are shown in heavy solid lines, invisible (i. e., Viewed through the liner) cuts and edges are shown as light single dash lines, visible score lines are shown as heavy double dash lines, and invisible score lines are shown as light double dash lines. Between the parallel longitudinal edges I I and I2 of the blank Il are the four parallel longitudinal score lines I3, I4, I5, and I6. The spaced top fold line Il and,y bottom V,fold line I6, which may bevv completely scored or partly cutand scored, as the end flap construction requires,"are parallel to each other and extend at right angles to the longitudinal score lines. The top and bot" tom lines and the longitudinal edges andscore lines dene the glue lap 2|, front panel 22, `,left side panel 23, back panel 24 and right side panel" 25, as shown in Fig. 1, the front-,and back panels being of equal width but the glue lap being nar. *I rower than the side panels, which areof equal width.

e The bottom closure' in. thecarto'n i made Vfrom the! blank Ifshownfin Fig-1 is designed-to be provided With'a sealed endY closure. iThefblank In, therefore, isp'rovided withrthecustomaryseal; ing aps 3l, 32,933, andv34 integral Wi-thrthe glue lapl and panelsZ-I; -22, '23, and 24,' respectively, along lthe bottom fold line ISS The top closure of the cartonmadefrom the blank-I 'is designed tobe Vprovided with'atuck-in closure. The blank I Il; therefore, is rprovided with "the customaryside aps V4| and d3 and tuck-in flap dintegralwith the glue lap 2|, sidepane1`l23, and rear' panel-2li,

respectively, valong the topf old line- I l. f The" endclosures described above are"-merely described'by way 'of example, the''particularl styleofendclosure or'arrangementand location of the end `flap being more yfor llessI immaterial to this invention. It is preferred, however, that the panel inside `the vside scoreli'ne (i. e., toward' thecenter of the blankiwith respect to the side score line,lthe line lrbeing 'the'side score line fin' this disclosureybe provided with both-'top and bottom flaps, and that the' outside edges -ofv these naps becontinuations V`of' the side s'core'flinex It isjalso preferred kjacent't"he 'sidejscoreline be cut'scores rather than creas'edorpressed scer'esgand, further,r that these topand bottom iiaps` 'extend' to' or slightlyfbey'ond the top fandV bottom'jed'ge'sof "the lliner sheet;

'rhe nner sheet 5eisofjsucii-e Ilength theti't will extend beyondv the topfand*bottomfoldfiines asuicient distance'topermit the top edge and the *bottom edge Yto be sealed lwhen the ycarton is formed anderected: The width of the'liner' Y lblank-f'IIl-bymea'ns of suitable areas of 'adhesive 6I, 62, 63, and 64 applied tothe-glue' iapand panelslZI, '22, 23,r and 24, respectively; Additional spots ory lines ottemperary adhesive 66,* 61,' and -68 may be.: applied ft'ofthei endflaps- 44, '4I ,"and- 34, respectively,` to" temporarily-adhere' -the top `co'r- .nersv l and the `bottomcorners of theY liner r-sheet iii!A to .the severalaps adjacent Y the longitudinal IPO 4 margins 52 and 54 during the fabrication of the carton in standard carton machinery. The liner sheet 56 is composed of heat-scalable sheet stock, which is also water-proof or moisture-proof, and may also be oil-proof, depending upon the needs and characteristics of the product being packaged. Examples of sheet stock meeting the requirements of the liner sheet 56 are rubber hydrohalide lm, such as the rubberhydrochloride film known commercially as Pliolnn polyvinyl )resin film, such as the polyvinylchloride and/or polyvinyl acetate film known commercially as Koroseal or Vinylite, cellulose acetate, or any 'otherthermoplastic film which will sealV or weld .i .withganinner (with respect to the complete carton) surface laminated orcoated with thermoplasticheat-sealing material, such as a natural or synthetic thermoplastic heat-sealing resin and/or a` plasticizer.v :In any event,.the1ining sheet 50 should vbe thin enough so that,` two thicknesses may be cut through ibya knife against the blank vHJ or against a cooperating vmetal anvil as the carton Ablank passes through a gluer in a standard carton machine set-up. f f D i 4To fabricate my carton in standard carton machinery, the blank I0 is first cutout of suitable board sheet stock in any suitable die-cutter. The dieecut flat blankl 0 is then run through a standard window pasting machine which spots the sev- Veral'l areas of adhesive 6|,.62, 63,64, 66, 61, and'68 upon the blank I0 and substantially simultaneously cuts o'ff the liner sheet .5B from a rollfof liner stock and Vappliesthe liner sheet 50 to the blank I6, to form the combinedblank yand line `sheet as' shown in Fig. 11.'

f Thecombined blank I and liner sheet 5G is then'passed through a standard gluer which first applies the longitudinal band of adhesive 65 to the side panelnZt'v-by` means of a glue wheeler vsiinilar'standard adhesive applying means. rThe combined blank andV liner is then folded along thecentral score line I4 kso thatfthe glue lap 2| overlies-the backpanel` 24 vand at least a portion of thelongitudinalliner-margin :52 will overlie .theliner margin 54 in substantially face-to-face Contact, the 'margin 52 lbeing Wide enough so that thelongitudinal edge V'5I `of the liner 5B will ex'- tend Voutside and beyond the side Vscore line 'I5 whenthe combined carton blankr and Vliner are so Vfoldedyas shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Y

fUptothis'point, the operation and procedure have been the standard'and conventional ones in Y the manufacture'of standard four-sided cartons,

except insofar asl'the liner sheet 50 is located somewhatdiierently from `andjis larger (in pro.- portion to the size of the blank Ill) Vthan' the Win dowof transparent film normally applied in a standardvwindow machine'. It is also novel practise to providethe preferred spots of temporary -adhesive e6, "G'Ijand 68.' Even 'thesegexceptions tolsta'ndard practiseY do not require^alterations inthewindow ymachine or changes in procedure "but merelyjrequire Aa slightly different settingjof the sheet jcuttingand vspotting elements of the machine; At this point, however, is interposed the additional step inthe otherwise substantially standard procedure and an Aadditional element must-be added `to a" standard-gluer. With the folded*l carton blank passing vthrough the kgluer in thefdirection indicated by theldirectionalarlrow'in Fig. 2, :it passes underasealing andeutalong a longitudinal seam 'H to form the liner sheet 50 into a tube. It is also this point at which the preferred spots of temporary adhesive 66 and 61 serve their function.` Because the feeding tapes run continuously in a standard gluer, thus moving the blanks uninterruptedly through the machine, heat-sealing `and cut-o element lll is held stationary by fastening it to a suitable fixed member in the machine,` the folded blank being dragged under, i. e., through, the heat-sealing andV cut-off element by the feeding tapes. If the heat-sealing and cut-off element 'l is simply a stationary heated knife, as shown in Fig. 2, the liner sheetmargins 52`and 54, being free and loose from the blank l0, would ruck up as the forward edge of the liner sheet 50 was engaged by the heat-sealing and cut-off element l0. This tendency of the loose liner margins to ruck may be minimized by having the, element l comprised of'a heated wheel provided with a sharp knife edge,v or a heated narrow-rimmed wheel which rst engages and heat-seals the overlying plies of the liner sheet and a knife immediately following the heated narrow-rimmed wheel, which outs through the heat-seal and trims off the margins 52, and D, or by mounting the element 10 so that it is normally raised but is lowered into engagement with the blank by a suitable timer, such as an electric eye timer, for example, just as the forward edge of; the liner5l] passes under the element 1t. Regardless of which one of the suitable heat-sealing and cut-off elements may be employed, the tendency of the forward edge of the liner sheet 55 to ruck up is prevented by providing the spots of adhesive and 61 which adhere the forward edge of the liner'sheet 5o adjacent the margins 52 and 54 to the relatively stiffer naps of the blank lil. Thus, as the heat-sealing cut-orf element engages the `forward edge of the liner sheet 5I), the liner sheet Will be held and prevented from rucking and wrinkling. If the heat-seal and cut-off is started correctly, there is no especial tendency for theplies of the liner sheet 50 to ruck up thereafter, particularly if the bottom ply is secured to the blank ll) adjacent the seam ll, as by the area of adhesive 64, for example.

`It should be particularly noted that tHe seam 1| is formed on or just inside the side score line I6. Thus, no reversely turned fin will be formed when the carton is completed and erected, and yet the seam in the liner will be substantially supported by the corner which is formed in erecting the carton and folding the blank along the longitudinal side score4 line lr6. When it is stated hereinafter that the `longitudinal seam in the liner is formed at the side score line, it is to be understood that the seam is located on or just inside the side score line.

By providing the panel inside the side score line with flaps having outside edges which are extensions of the side score line, it is usually possible to cut through the superimposed plies of the liner sheet against the blank throughout the length of the longitudinal seam in the liner sheet. Also, by cut-scoring the portions of the laterally extending score lines which the longitudinal liner seam crosses, there are no creased score lines which the element ll! must ride over in forming the seam 1l. Such creased score lines could cause the element lll to jump and fail to form the seam 'll at the lateral score lines. However, in the event that the carton blank is not provided with top and bottom naps having outside edges which are extensions of the side score, line, or in `the Vevent that the stock in' the blank is too soft to permit the element 'l u to heatsealand cut-oil` the lmer 5u directly against the blank';lthelelement lu may be provided with va thin-metal anvil which will'slipbetween the overlyingliner and the blankto permit the element 'l .to out and heat-seal the liner against the hard surface of the anvil rather than against the soft surface ofthe blank. l

It should also be pointed out that the seam H is very narrow, being preferably about as wide as the thickness of one`ply of the liner sheet. Thus, the seam 'it is substantially a butt joint rather than awide iacefto-iace joint.` Because the inner surfacesof the liner are actually welded together at the seam li, the seam is as strong as ,the liner material and just as strong as the Wide lap or face-to-aoe seams, believed to `be necessary heretofore, could be. In the drawings, the Width of theseam H is exaggerated for purposes of illustration. Actually, the seam 'll may be `scarcely perceptible, being noticeable only as a slight bead onthe outer surface of the tubed liner sheet.

...After the longitudinal seam 'il is formed,the

remainder ofthe operations in forming` the lined carton are standard operations performed in standard carton machinery. After the longitudinal seam H is formed, the next operation in the gluer` is that of folding over the side Ipanel 25 along the side score line I6 and adhering the panel 25 to the :glue lap2l by means of the bland of adhesive t5. This operation, in the formation of standard unlined four-,sided cartons, normally follows immediatelyA after` the operation of folding the blank along the central score line.

After the blank has .passed through the gluer, it is in the form of a flat collapsed lined tube. In most instances it may be regarded as being complete for sale to the user. However, some users may want the flatV collapsed cartons delivered with the bottom of the liner tube sealed. In such instances, the flat collapsed tubular carton is then taken from the gluer and passed through a right-angle gluer. In a right angle gluer the carton is fed throughY the machine in the direction indicated by the directional arrow in Fig. 3. The right-angle gluer first folds back the bottom flaps 3| and. 32, as shown in Fig. 3, exposing the bot` tom of the tubular liner 56 which rests upon the bottom aps 33 and 34. The bottom seal 'l2 is then formed by passing the carton under any suitable heat-sealing device, such as a heated narrow-'rimmed wheel, for example, substituted for the usual glue wheel in a right-angle gluer. No out-oif device is necessary in this sealing operation. In the particular carton shown, the seal 'l2 is formed by the heat-sealing device pressing the plies of the liner together against the unfolded bottom laps. If the bottom flaps do not form a substantially continuous surface under the seal, the heat-sealer for the seam 'l2 should be equipped with an anvil plate to support the.

` 'l2 extends from the central score line to the side score line, which become diagonally opposite corners when the at collapsed carton is erected. Because the seam 12 will thus extend substantally diagonally across the bottom of the carton when erected, the seal 12 must be spaced Vbelow fold line I8. to the seal l'12,.as shown in Fig. vv3,

should be equal to .Y l A To fold the. particular carton shown,l the user erects the lflat collapsed carton and the bottom aps' are sealed or pasted together in the usual manner toform a sealed bottom. `The top flaps will then be pulled down in the usual manner, as

shown in Fig. 4,-to allow the'liner mouth to'be ilattened ,along the'line 73 parallel to the front andlback panels for sealing, in anyy suitable heatsealer. Because the spots of temporary adhesive 88 and 5l, which adhered the forward edge of the liner to the Viiaps during fabrication, yare very weak and designed for temporary adhesion only,

. the mouth of theliner is separated from the flaps without resistance. -After the mouth of the `liner issealed and folded down, the flaps may -berclosed in the usual manner. 1 Y

YFor clarity of illustration, the areas of adhesive 6l, 62, $3, and 64 are shown in Fig. l as the somewhat conventional heavy rectangular areas of adhesive' which adhere the liner sheet to the margins of the panels ofthe blank.` If these areas are as'heavy as shown in Fig. l, the liner Y 50 will, for all intents and purposes, be permanently secured in the outer carton, since it would be practically necessary to tear the outer carton apart to remove the liner 50. However, just as the smally spots or linesof adhesive 56, 61, and 68 will temporarilyadhere the liner 50 to the blank I during the formation of the lined carton but permit the liner to be readily separated from the flaps after the carton is formed, so maythe areas of adhesive El, 62, B3, and 64 comprise light lines or spots of adhesive ywhich serve as somewhat temporary areas of adhesive to adhere. the liner sheet `50 to the blank lil during the formation of the carton. Thus, after the carton is formed, the linert is not interlocked with the bottom flap or between the glue lap and side panel and, consequently, may be simply pulled out of the cartones a readily separable bag element. When the carton is packed with greasy or pasty materials, it is particularly convenient to be able to separate the liner readily to squeeze out or otherwise remove the greasy or pasty contents.

- Ar packagel maderfrom my cartonis sift-proof, :moisture-proof, and even oil-proof, if ztheliner .itself is oil-proof, because allseams in the liner sheet arevthoroughly heat-sealed. It will be Anoted in Fig. 4 that the longitudinal seam .1I and the .lateral top heat-seal will have .to cross.

Because the seam "H is so fine, however, itwill notl preventV a securentop heat-seal fromlbeing obtained. It doesl notact asan extra thickness of material as did the seamsin vthe lappedor face-to-.face vlongitudinal seams employedY heretofore. Y Y

From the foregoing, it is apparentthat bymy method a lined four-sided carton may be made in standard four-sided carton machinery without 4 substantially alteringthelmachinery itself or the sequence of normaloperations. It is also apparent that acarton with a longitudinally. seamed linenmadeaccording tomy invention, may be more readilyhandled in automatic carton filling and. sealing machinery since. my carton liner eliminatesthe objectionable. lap or face-to-face reversely turned iin seams employed heretofore. My invention, therefore, `though intended primarilyfor standard four-sided cartons, may be applied to improve.other special types ofcartons, such as the vso-called six-sided cartons, or the like, whichV must. be manufactured on special machinery. .Y MyV invention, therefore, is Vnot -limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, either in whole or in part, but is limited only tothe scopevof the following claim. 4In the claim, the meaning imparted to theterrnsis to: be Vconsistent with'th'e use of thesame terms .iin this specification.

Whatis claimed-is:- Y p In a cartonof the class described, a at tubular four-sided cartonA blank folded along two parallel longitudinal zscore lines, a vheat-scalable linerV sheet adhered to the inner surface 4of `said tubular carton. blank, and a longitudinal .seam in said liner, said seam being comprised of heat# sealed edges of said liner sheet and located at a fold in said blank, said blankr having a` second pairof longitudinal score lines parallel to said two scorelines and top and bottom fold lines transverse to said score lines, said score lines and said fold lines defining a front panel, a back panel,l and two sideY panels, vand a transverse heat-sealed seamextending across said linerparallel to said bottom fold line, said transverse heat-sealed seam being spaced from said bottom fold line at least a distance equal tothe square root `of one-half the product of the widths of the front panel and the side panel.

Y HERBERT J. STOTTER.

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