EP0907580B1

Bottle pack container

Abstract

This record has no abstract on file.

EP0907580B1, drawing sheet 1 — Sheet 1 of 2

Term

Term ended

Expired 5 June 2017, 9.3 years ago.

5 claims: 1 independent, 4 dependent

1
A bottle pack container, especially for bottles with contents, preferably made of cardboard or pasteboard, comprising two carrying parts ( 1 ) with central walls ( 3 ) superimposed to form the central portion of the container, the central walls having superimposed openings ( 5 ) fastened by lock ( 2 ) to form a grip ( 4 ), each carrying part ( 1 ) including a ring ( 16 ) cut therein, connected to said part by a first fold ( 20 ) and provided with an internal cut-out ( 17 ), characterised in that each carrying part ( 1 ) comprises the central wall ( 3 ), a bottom wall ( 7 ) and an external wall (9), and in that the ring ( 16 ) has a frontal wing ( 19 ) bent along second folds ( 22 ) with regard to the base of said ring, and also a tab ( 23 ) located between said second folds and extending said frontal wing on the other side of the line defined by said second folds, said frontal wing ( 19 ) and said tab ( 23 ) being fixed to the external wall (9) of the respective part ( 1 ).

27 paragraphs, as filed

0001The subject of the invention is a bottle pack container, especially for bottles with contents, preferably made of cardboard or pasteboard.

0002Known from the disclosure of Polish Patent Application P 307 276 by the same applicant is the container for carrying bottles with contents, preferably made of cardboard or pasteboard, formed from a belt comprising two carrying parts symmetrical about the transverse axis, along which a fold runs, each of the carrying parts with the central wall fitted with a grip opening and a lock hole, said central wall being separated by a fold from the bottom wall which is in turn separated by the fold from the face wall fastened to the central wall by means of clamping arms, whereas the clamping arms are formed by bending the arms of the face wall along two folds, then by bending these arms around the container edges, finally threading ends of said arms through the lock hole and, finally, by bending the belt of the carrying parts along the fold on the symmetry axis to form the container.

0003The solution according to that invention has a disadvantage that the belt comprising two carrying parts is too long with regard to the width, thereby posing technological problems. Moreover, the container must be delivered to the work station where bottles are packed, in a completely assembled shape and thus in a stiff three-dimensional state. Still another drawback of this solution is the lack of partitions between bottles causing them to bang against each other during transport. Also, the inability of stable holding of more than four bottles only in the container is another serious disadvantage.

0004Known form the disclosure in the US Patent No. 2,298,191 the bottle carrier, made from one single paperboard blank, is formed from a pair of panels, each one with central wall superimposed to form the container hanger, the top wall provided with perforations to form sockets to accommodate the bottles therein, and side wall connected with the bottom wall that is common for both panels. The hanger is fastened with a lock to form a grip, and the central walls comprise tongues cut therein, each provided with an internal cut-out opening which, when set up, retain the neck of each bottle in position.

0005A disadvantage of this known solution is that, to hold the bottle in position, it is necessary to engage the cut-out openings made in two different walls: one in the top wall with the bottle body, and the other in the tongue of the central wall with the bottle neck.

0006Another disadvantage is that the openings in the top walls to accommodate bottles therein are spaced at a distance that is necessary to keep said top walls ngid, yet the bottles are too much apart so that the whole container becomes too long.

0007Still another disadvantage is that two rows of bottles are supported on a single bottom wall, what makes an excessive load weight acting on the container bottom.

0008The purpose of the invention disclosed in this specification is a bottle pack container which would be free of the disadvantages of the pnor-art solutions described.

0009Another purpose of the invention is a commercially attractive bottle pack container and thus suitable for an automated packaging line.

0010These purposes have already been achieved by the bottle pack container, especially for bottles with contents, preferably made of cardboard or pasteboard, comprising two symmetrical carrying parts with central walls superimposed so as to form the central portion of the container, the central walls having superimposed openings fastened by a lock to form a grip. Each of the carrying parts comprises also a bottom wall and an external wall being an external portion of said part.

0011According to this invention, each of the carrying parts includes a ring cut therein, connected to said part along a first fold and provided with an internal cut-out. The ring has a frontal wing bent along second folds with regard to the base of said nng, said ring having a tab located between said second folds and extending said frontal wing over to the other side of the line defined by said second folds. Said frontal wing and said tab are fixed to the external portion of the carrying part. According to the invention, the ring has also two lateral wings bent along the folds with regard to the base of said ring.

0012Each of the carrying parts of the container, comprising the central wall, the bottom wall, and the external wall, has two holes symmetrically disposed in said external wall, wherein each of the holes is connected with the side edge of said external wall through a cut and two folds Preferably the holes are rectangular.

0013In a variant of this embodiment, each of the carrying parts additionally include at least one ring cut therein and provided with an internal cut-out.

0014In another variant of the embodiment, each carrying part includes at least one half-ring cut therein, formed by dividing the ring with regard to its symmetry axis, provided with an internal cut-out opening.

0015The ring fixed to an external portion of the respective part being provided with an internal cut-out forms a bottle socket, preventing its displacement along the bottom, and the bending of the lateral wings of said ring facilitates proper separation of adjacent bottles in the row. After loading the bottle pack, a girded strap is blown into the holes in external walls, wherein a cut with two folds connecting each hole with the external wall side edge forms an elastic trap preventing the subsequently welded girded strap from falling out from its seats, also after emptying the container and collapsing it flat.

0016The girded strap threaded through the holes in the external walls of both carrying parts assembles the bottle pack container and stabilises the set of the bottles carried. The use of a girded strap efficiently eliminates the need for the container clamping arms, simplifying the outer shape of the carrying parts blank, and reducing its length and width to an essential minimum.

0017The bottle container according to the invention is characterised by low materials consumption, easy servicing and increased facility of lifting the bottles, thereby effectively increasing its market attractiveness. The technique requiring single move only to set the container up, one move to pack it with bottles, as well as the high speed of horizontal strapping machines, guarantee commercial attractiveness of the invention, particularly useful for a heavy load of reusable thick-glass bottles with contents.

0018The subject of the invention is shown in embodiments on the drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows the bottle pack container, whereof one of the carrying parts is shown expanded on a flat surface, Fig. 2 - the ring with wings expanded on a flat surface, and Fig. 3 - the container in a set up state ready to be packed with bottles, in a perspective view.

0019The container is assembled of two identical carrying parts 1 (Fig. 1). Each of said carrying parts 1 contain a lock 2 which serves to connect the two carrying parts 1 with each other, a central wall 3 with a grip 4 fitted with an opening 5. Two carrying parts 1 with central walls 3 and said openings 5 are superimposed to form the central portion of the container.

0020The central wall 3 is connected to the bottom wall 7 along a fold 6 and the bottom wall 7 is connected along fold 8 to the external wall 9. The external walls 9 of carrying parts 1 form the external portions of the container.

0021Each carrying part 1 with central wall 3 includes at least one ring 16 cut therein (Fig. 2), provided with an internal cut-out 17, said ring 16 has two lateral wings 18 and a frontal wing 19. The ring 16 has a first fold 20 along which said ring is connected to the central wall 3, two other folds 21 along which said lateral wings 18 are connected to said ring 16, and folds 22 along which said frontal wing 19 is connected to said ring 16 The frontal wing 19 contains a tab 23 located between said folds 22 and extending from said frontal wing 19 on the other side of the line defined by said folds 22. To assemble the container, the frontal wings 19 and the tabs 23 of all the container nngs 16 are fastened to the external portions 9 of the respective parts 1 (Fig. 3).

0022Each of the carrying parts 1 has two symmetrically disposed holes 29 cut out in the external wall 9, said holes 29 may be of just any shape, but preferably rectangular. Each of the holes 29 is connected with the side edge of the external wall 9 through a cut 30 and two folds 31 situated on both sides of said cut 30, as depicted in Fig. 1.

0023To form the container, first into a flat construction, the following operations are carried out in a sequence: the external portions of two carrying parts are bent along the folds 8 by pressing on the reverse of an external wall 9 towards the previously glued frontal wings 19 and tabs 23. Next, said two carrying parts 1 are superimposed to form the central portion of the container by threading lock 2 through the supenmposed openings 5, thereby forming grip 4 of the flattened container.

0024Subsequently, the container is formed into a three-dimensional construction in one move by opening the bending angle of both carrying parts 1 along folds 8, preferably by an angle of 90 degrees, whereby simultaneously bends are formed along folds 6, 20 and 22. Under the weight of the bottles being placed the outside said ring 16, lateral wings 18 are deflected downwards along folds 21 to form a right angle to the base of said ring 16, and the complete construction is made stiff by being pushed outwards by the bulk of the inserted bottles. While blowing the strap, preferably of polypropylene, into holes 29 and welding its ends to make a girth fastening, the strap is pushed through cuts 30 into holes 29 being guided to its proper position through springing and trapping folds 31 located on both sides of each cut 30.

0025By adding more, at least one, ring 16 after a suitable extension in width of each of the carrying parts 1, ten or more bottles can be packed into one container By making a half-ring formed by dividing ring 16 with regard to the symmetry axis, after a suitable reduction in width of each of the carrying parts 1, four bottles can be packed into the container.

0026The above solutions are applicable as the bottle pack container, especially for heavy glass bottles filled with beer, wine of other beverages. In such a container the height of the central portion of the container is preferably equal to, or lower than the height of the bottle placed in the container, what enables quick placement of the containers into rows, layers and stacks.

0027The above solutions are also applicable as containers for other than bottle type packings, especially of round shape, as jars, cans or bags.

Every citation, both ways

Citations
Document	Relation	Office
FR2235846A	Cites	France
US2298191A	Cites	United States of America
US2676731A	Cites	United States of America
US5052552A	Cites	United States of America

13 members in 7 offices

This recordMember, by publication datePriority claim

Priority claims11

Priority claims
Document	Office	Kind	Date
31466096	Poland	A	1996-06-07
31466096	Poland	–	1996-06-07
31769396	Poland	A	1996-12-23
31769396	Poland	–	1996-12-23
9700012	Poland	W	1997-06-05
WO1997PL00012	–	–	–
PL19960314660	–	–	–
PL19960317693	–	–	–
PL9700012	–	–	–
31466096	–	–	–
31769396	–	–	–

Members13

Family members, oldest first
Document	Office	Kind
PL314660A1	Poland	A1	1997-12-08
CA2257459A1	Canada	A1	1997-12-11
WO9746464A1	World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)	A1	1997-12-11
AU2918197A	Australia	A	1998-01-05
PL317693A3	Poland	A3	1998-07-06
EP0907580A1	European Patent Office (EPO)	A1	1999-04-14
US6000536A	United States of America	A	1999-12-14
EP0907580B1This record	European Patent Office (EPO)	B1	2000-04-26
DE69701804D1	Germany	D1	2000-05-31
DE69701804T2	Germany	T2	2000-10-19
PL180849B1	Poland	B1	2001-04-30
PL182418B1	Poland	B1	2001-12-31
PL182418B3	Poland	B3	2001-12-31

28 legal events, as 3 offices reported them to INPADOC

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Events

Legal events, newest first
	Event	Code	Office
2004-04-02	Notification of lapseLapsedST	ST	FR
2004-02-27	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]LapsedPG25	PG25	EP
2004-01-28	Gb: european patent ceased through non-payment of renewal feeCeasedGBPC	GBPC	EP
2004-01-01	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]LapsedPG25	PG25	EP
2003-06-05	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]LapsedPG25	PG25	EP
2002-08-28	Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]GrantedPGFP	PGFP	EP
2002-06-21	Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]GrantedPGFP	PGFP	EP
2002-06-19	Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]GrantedPGFP	PGFP	EP
2002-01-01	European patent in force as of 2002-01-01IF02	IF02	GB
2001-04-11	No opposition filedOpposition26N	26N	EP
2001-02-23	No opposition filed within time limitOppositionORIGINAL CODE: 0009261PLBE	PLBE	EP
2001-02-23	Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patentGrantedSTATUS: NO OPPOSITION FILED WITHIN TIME LIMITSTAA	STAA	EP
2000-07-26	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]LapsedPG25	PG25	EP
2000-06-16	Fr: translation filedET	ET	EP
2000-05-31	Corresponds to:REF	REF	EP
2000-04-26	Designated contracting statesAK	AK	EP
2000-04-26	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]LapsedPG25	PG25	EP
2000-04-26	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]LapsedPG25	PG25	EP
2000-04-26	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]LapsedPG25	PG25	EP
2000-03-10	(expected) grantORIGINAL CODE: 0009210GRAA	GRAA	EP
2000-01-28	Despatch of communication of intention to grant a patentORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOS IGRAGRAH	GRAH	EP
1999-10-18	Despatch of communication of intention to grantORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOS AGRAGRAG	GRAG	EP
1999-10-18	Despatch of communication of intention to grant a patentORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOS IGRAGRAH	GRAH	EP
1999-08-11	First examination report despatched17Q	17Q	EP
1999-06-24	Despatch of communication of intention to grantORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOS AGRAGRAG	GRAG	EP
1999-04-14	Request for examination filed17P	17P	EP
1999-04-14	Designated contracting statesAK	AK	EP
1999-02-26	Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phaseORIGINAL CODE: 0009012PUAI	PUAI	EP

Bottle pack container

Abstract

Term

Priority claims11

Members13

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Titles3

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Designated states7