Sealing devices and packaging containers

Abstract

The invention relates to a sealing device and a packaging container. A sealing device (100) is provided for forming transverse seals (13, 14) of a tetrahedral packaging container (10). The sealing device (100) comprises a sealing element (108) and an indentation ruler (120) arranged at a longitudinal distance from the sealing element (108). The sealing element (108) is configured to provide a top transverse seal (13) to the packaging container (10b), while the indentation ruler (120) is configured to provide a transverse indentation (19) to the same packaging container (10b).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a sealing device for providing a transverse seal to a packaging material to form individual packaging containers. The invention also relates to a packaging machine, a packaging material and a packaging container. Background Art

[0002] Tetra Aseptic carton packaging containers have been sold on the market for many years. The tetrahedral shape was developed in the 1950s, and it has been proven that this type of packaging container is very suitable for various foods, such as fruit juice drinks, milk, spreadable cheese, popsicles, etc. The general technical packaging concept is based on forming a tube by sealing the two relative longitudinal ends of a flat packaging material coil to each other, filling the tube with the contents to be packaged, and providing the tube with upper and lower transverse seals to seal each packaging container. The tetrahedral shape is obtained by providing upper and lower transverse seals that are approximately perpendicular to each other. During or after the transverse sealing, the downstream packaging container is separated from the upstream tube by cutting transversely near the transverse seal.

[0003] Different opening schemes can be realized for tetrahedral packages, such as straw holes, pull tabs, etc. For popsicles, the tetrahedral-shaped package is provided with transverse perforations that extend over the entire or part of the width of the packaging container. By grasping and pulling the transverse sealing fins adjacent to the perforations, the consumer can remove the entire transverse seal and thus gain access to the frozen contents. For proper operation, the perforations should not be located at the seal. This means that the frozen product may appear in the perforation area.

[0004] If this is the case, there will be the usual problem of easy opening of the perforation, as the frozen product will hinder the initiation and continuation of tearing. In order to avoid this problem, it has been suggested to move the location of the perforation closer to the transverse seal. However, such a measure will bring additional disadvantages, as it will reduce the width of the flat sealing fin, thereby reducing the ability to firmly grasp and apply the required force to open the packaging container. In addition, since the perforation is located near the transition between the transverse seal and the main packaging container body, the risk of integrity problems related to the perforation is also increased.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for an improved packaging container of the above tetrahedral shape which reduces the risk of the packaging contents being trapped in the perforated area and which does not introduce the above disadvantages. Summary of the invention

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to at least partially overcome one or more of the above limitations of the prior art.In particular, it is an object of the present invention to reduce the risk of package contents appearing in the perforation area used to open the packaging container.

[0007] To solve these objects, a sealing device for forming a transverse seal on a tetrahedral packaging container is provided, the sealing device comprising a sealing element and an imprint ruler arranged at a longitudinal distance from the sealing element, wherein the sealing element is configured to provide a top transverse seal to the packaging container and the imprint ruler is configured to provide a transverse imprint to the same packaging container.

[0008] The sealing device may further comprise a flattening section arranged between the sealing element and the indentation rule.

[0009] The distance between the sealing element and the embossing ruler may be in the range of 5-25 mm, preferably in the range of 10-20 mm.

[0010] The sealing element may be configured to provide a top transverse seal to a packaging container, and wherein the embossing rule is configured to provide a transverse embossing to the same packaging container.

[0011] The embossing rule may be configured to provide an embossing above a perforation of an associated packaging container such that the perforation is arranged between the embossing and the top transverse seal.

[0012] According to a second aspect, a packaging container is provided. The packaging container comprises a tetrahedral shape extending between a top transverse seal and a bottom transverse seal, and a perforation for facilitating opening of the packaging container, characterized in that a transverse embossing is arranged above the perforation, so that the perforation is arranged between the embossing and the top transverse seal.

[0013] The distance between the embossing and the end of the bottom transverse seal may be in the range of 10-30 mm, such as in the range of 15-25 mm.

[0014] The packaging container can package frozen foods such as popsicles.

[0015] According to a third aspect, a packaging material is provided. The packaging material is configured to form a packaging container according to the second aspect. The packaging material comprises a top transverse sealing area, a bottom transverse sealing area, a plurality of folding lines and transverse perforations, wherein the perforations are arranged at a distance between the top transverse sealing area and the folding lines.

[0016] The distance between the top transverse seal area and the fold line, with the perforations arranged therebetween, may be approximately 5-25 mm.

[0017] Other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which

[0019] Figure 1 It is an isometric view of a prior art packaging container.

[0020] Figure 2 is an isometric view of a packaging container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 It is used to manufacture Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of a packaging container according to a sealing device of an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0022] Figure 4 It is used to manufacture Figure 2 A plan view of the packaging material of the packaging container shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] refer to Figure 1 , which shows a prior art packaging container 1. The packaging container 1 is typically manufactured such that a web of packaging laminate is first formed into a tube by joining the two longitudinal edges of the web to each other in a liquid-tight lap joint 2. The tube is preferably aseptically filled with its intended content, for example flavored water, and then separated by repeated transverse heat seals 3, 4 that alternate at 90° transversely relative to each other. Thus, individual tetrahedral packaging units 1 are formed (which are separated from each other by a cutting mechanism).

[0024] A perforation 5 is provided just inside one of the seals 3. The perforation is as long as the seal 3, or possibly shorter than the seal 3, thereby facilitating the opening of the packaging container 1 by a tearing action at the perforation, thereby removing the sealing fin 6 from the body 7 of the packaging container 1. Alternatively, if the sealing fin 6 is not completely torn, the sealing fin 6 is not removed from the body 7, but can remain partially attached to the opened packaging container 1.

[0025] As mentioned above, the packaging container 1 can be manufactured for packaging frozen foods such as popsicles. If the content of the packaging container 1 is frozen in the volume 8 between the perforation 5 and the seal 3, it will be difficult to open the packaging container 1.

[0026] Therefore, an improved packaging container 10 is provided, such as Figure 2 As shown. Figure 1The prior art packaging container 1 shown is an improved packaging container 10 produced by forming a tube of packaging material and filling the tube with its intended contents. The tube has a longitudinal seal 12, and the filled tube is further sealed by providing repeated transverse heat seals 13, 14 that alternate at 90° transversely relative to each other.

[0027] A perforation 15 is provided on each packaging container 10 to facilitate opening of the closed packaging container 10 in order to access its possibly frozen contents. The perforation 15 is located inside the seal 13, whereby tearing of the perforation 15 will remove the sealing fin 16 from the body 17 of the packaging container 10. Optionally, if the sealing fin 6 is not completely torn, it will not be removed from the body 7, but will remain partially attached to the opened packaging container 1.

[0028] from Figure 2 As can be seen in the figure, the packaging container 10 also has a transverse embossing 19. The transverse embossing 19 preferably extends over the entire width of the packaging container 10 and is parallel to the transverse seal 13. The embossing 19 is arranged so that a perforation 15 is provided between the embossing 19 and the transverse seal 13. The embossing 19 is preferably formed by compressing or folding the packaging material of the packaging container 10 so that it forms a barrier for the contents of the packaging container 10. Thus, the embossing 19 will prevent or at least reduce the presence of contents in the region of the perforation 15, in particular in the volume space 18 between the embossing 19 and the seal 13.

[0029] The transverse seal 13 will form a fin 16 facing outwards from the packaging container 10. At the same time, the packaging container 10 tapers evenly towards the transverse seals 13, 14, as a result of which the frozen food in the packaging container 10 will show an apex which can be pushed through the open end (in the region of the perforations 15) when the fin 16 is removed and the packaging container 10 is opened.

[0030] The transverse seal 13 preferably reaches approximately 6 mm in the longitudinal direction into the packaging container 10. The total width of the fin 16 in the longitudinal direction, including the width of the transverse seal 13, perforations 15 and embossing 19, is preferably approximately 10-30 mm, for example between 15 mm and 25 mm.

[0031] Reference now Figure 3, which schematically shows a sealing device 100. The sealing device 100 is configured to form part of a filling machine for forming and filling a series of packaging containers 10. Since such filling machines are well known in the art, they will not be described again here. However, in order to provide the improved packaging container 10, an improved sealing device 100 is required, which is proposed to replace the existing sealing device in the filling machine. It should be noted that two identical sealing devices 100 can be provided and arranged in succession in the longitudinal direction of the tube and rotated 90° relative to each other.

[0032] The sealing device 100 is configured to act on the tube 30 of packaging material 20 by compressing the tube 30 to bring two opposing layers 22a-b of packaging material 20 into contact with each other.

[0033] The first sealing element 104 is arranged to provide a bottom transverse seal 14 on the downstream packaging container 10a by moving towards the first anvil 102 and applying thermal energy to the layers 22a-b of the packaging material 20. The plastic material of the packaging material 20 will thereby melt and allow the layers 22a-b to adhere to each other, thereby forming the bottom transverse seal 14.

[0034] The second sealing element 108 is arranged to provide a top transverse seal 13 on the upstream packaging container 10b by moving towards the second anvil 106 and applying thermal energy to the layers 22a-b of the packaging material 20. The plastic material of the packaging material 20 will thereby melt and allow the layers 22a-b to adhere to each other, thereby forming the top transverse seal 13.

[0035] The first sealing element 104 and the second sealing element 108 may be, for example, induction heating elements, or may also be any other type of element suitable for sealing the packaging material 20. Preferably, they are activated simultaneously and are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction to allow the cutter 110 to fully penetrate the packaging material 20. The cutter 110 (which may be, for example, a knife) is actuated simultaneously with or shortly after providing said transverse seals 13, 14, so that the downstream packaging container 10a is separated from the upstream packaging container 10b and the tube 30.

[0036] The ruler 120 is disposed upstream of the second sealing element 108. The ruler 120 is movable toward the tube 30 so as to compress the packaging material 20 (i.e., the two layers 22a-b of the packaging material 20) and thereby form the transverse impression 19. The ruler 120 may be blunt, such as Figure 3 as shown, or may be sharper, depending on the desired characteristics of the resulting impression 19.

[0037] A flattening section 130 is longitudinally arranged between the ruler 120 and the second sealing element 108. The flattening section 130 is a flat surface configured to push the layers 22a-b of the packaging material 20 toward each other so that a relatively flat section of the packaging material is obtained, containing a minimum amount of product content.

[0038] The packaging material 20 is fed into the sealing device 100 such that the perforations 15 previously applied to the packaging material 20 are located at the flattened portion 130 .

[0039] Since the perforations 15 will be located at a position within the flat portion 18, it is necessary to control the position of the perforations 15. This is done by adjusting the protrusion of the ruler 120, thereby adjusting the length of the packaging container. The flat portions 18 are then pushed together, thereby squeezing away most of the product by the shape of the sealing device 100. The flattened portion 130 terminates at the ruler 120, so that the embossing 19 acts as a stiffener for the packaging material 20, thereby reducing the risk of the contents of the packaging container 10 entering the flat portion 18 of the packaging container 10. Due to the width of the flat portion 18, the perforations 15 can be positioned within the flat portion 18 and at a safe distance from high stress and exposed locations, thereby reducing the risk of integrity problems associated with perforations.

[0040] Likewise, the final shape of the packaging container will provide cosmetic differentiation and improved decoration.

[0041] Packaging material 20 rolls Figure 4 . The packaging material 20 preferably comprises one or more layers of fibrous material, such as carton or paper material, which is covered with thermoplastic material, such as polyethylene, on both sides. The side of the packaging material 20 that can contact the food in the packaging container can also include a layer of barrier material, such as one or more layers of aluminum foil coated with thermoplastic material.

[0042] The web of packaging material 20 is formed into a series of sections 24 , each section 24 being configured to form an individual packaging container 10 .

[0043] Each section 24 has a top sealing area 25, a bottom sealing area 26 and a longitudinal sealing area 27. The longitudinal sealing area 27 is configured to form the longitudinal seal 12 of the packaging container 10, while the top sealing area 25 and the bottom sealing area 26 are configured to form the top transverse seal 13 and the bottom transverse seal 14, respectively.

[0044] Each section 24 is also provided with fold lines 28 which indicate the locations of the corners of the tetrahedral packaging shape and assist in defining the exterior decoration and perforations 15 of the packaging container 10. Figure 4As shown, the perforations 15 are arranged at a distance from the fold line 28, so as to form a certain area of ​​the packaging material 20 to obtain the flat portion 18. From the previous description, it should be appreciated that the embossing 19 will be formed approximately at the longitudinal position where the fold line 28 starts. Figure 4 However, it should be understood that the embossing 19 is formed by the sealing device 100 in the filling machine so that the embossing 19 is formed by the sealing device 100 in the filling machine. Figure 4 The packaging material 20 shown does not appear on the packaging material 20 before it is formed into a packaging container, but rather after it is formed into a packaging container.

[0045] From the above description, although various embodiments of the invention have been described and shown, the invention is not restricted thereto but may also be embodied in other ways within the scope of the subject matter defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A sealing device (100) for forming transverse seals (13, 14) of a tetrahedral packaging container (10), the packaging material of the packaging container (10) comprising one or more layers of fiber material, the fiber material comprising paper material, the sealing device (100) comprising: Sealing elements; an indentation ruler (120) arranged at a longitudinal distance from the sealing element, the indentation ruler (120) having a protrusion which can be adjusted to adjust the length of the packaging container (10); and a flattening portion (130) arranged between the sealing element and the stamping ruler (120), the flattening portion (130) having a flat surface configured to push the layers of the packaging material towards each other so that a relatively flat portion is obtained; wherein, The sealing element is configured to provide a top transverse seal (13) to a packaging container (10b), and wherein the stamping ruler (120) is configured to provide a transverse stamping (19) to the same packaging container (10b), and the stamping ruler (120) is configured to form the stamping (19) by compressing or folding the packaging material of the packaging container (10), so that the stamping (19) forms a barrier for the contents of the packaging container (10), and so that the perforation (15) is arranged between the stamping (19) and the top transverse seal (13), and the perforation (15) is located in the relatively flat portion.

2. The sealing device (100) according to claim 1, wherein: The distance between the sealing element and the stamping ruler (120) is in the range of 5-25 mm.

3. The sealing device (100) according to claim 2, wherein: The distance between the sealing element and the stamping ruler (120) is in the range of 10-20 mm.

4. The sealing device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The embossing rule (120) is configured to provide the embossing (19) above a perforation (15) of an associated packaging container (10) such that the perforation (15) is arranged between the embossing (19) and the top transverse seal (13).

5. A packaging container (10), the packaging material of which comprises one or more layers of fibrous material, the fibrous material comprising paper material, the packaging container (10) comprising a tetrahedral shape extending between a top transverse seal (13) and a bottom transverse seal (14), and a perforation (15) for facilitating the opening of the packaging container (10), characterized in that A transverse stamp (19) is arranged above the perforation (15) so that the perforation (15) is arranged between the stamp (19) and the top transverse seal (13), and the stamp (19) is formed by compressing or folding the packaging material of the packaging container (10) so that the stamp (19) forms a barrier for the contents of the packaging container (10), and the packaging container (10) has a flat part that is pushed together and the perforation (15) is located in the flat part.

6. The packaging container (10) according to claim 5, wherein: The distance between the stamping (19) and the end of the bottom transverse seal (13) is in the range of 5-25 mm.

7. The packaging container (10) according to claim 6, wherein: The distance between the embossing (19) and the end of the bottom transverse seal (13) is in the range of 10-20 mm.

8. The packaging container (10) according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein: The packaging container is configured to enclose frozen food.

9. A packaging material (20) configured to form a packaging container (10) according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the packaging material (20) comprises one or more layers of fiber material, wherein the fiber material comprises paper material, wherein the packaging material (20) comprises a top transverse sealing area (25), a bottom transverse sealing area (26), a plurality of folding lines (28), and transverse perforations (15), wherein the perforations (15) are arranged at a certain distance between the top transverse sealing area (25) and the folding lines (28), and wherein the packaging material (20) comprises a flat portion, and the perforations (15) are located within the flat portion.

10. The packaging material (20) according to claim 9, wherein: The distance between the top transverse sealing area (25) and the folding line (28) is 10-20 mm, and wherein the perforations (15) are arranged therebetween.

Images