EP1799560A1 - Dust- and insect-resistant folded carton with enclosing security seal - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a folded carton for dust and insect resistant packaging made from a single cut-out, from which a rectangular carton (12) may be produced by folding, with folded corners (1) at all carton corners. The carton (12) may be sealed on each of two sides by two sealing flaps (2, 3) connected to opposing side pieces (10), of which a first sealing flap (2) covers the side completely and the second sealing flap (3) merely partly coverts the side. The folded corners (1) and the second sealing flap (3) provide a continuous adhesive surface (6), for the application of an adhesive along the side pieces (10) to which the above are joined, permitting a closed gluing of the total edge of the first sealing flap (2) on closing the carton (12). The folded corners (1) each extend on the first sealing flap (2) just to a point at a separation from the side piece (10), which is smaller than or the same as a length difference between the first (2) and second sealing flaps (3). Said folded carton permits an economical insect- and dust-resistant packaging without the need for an additional inner bag.

Description

 Dust- and insect-proof folding carton with all-round safety seal

Technical application

The invention relates to a carton for dust and insect-proof packaging of a one-piece, foldable blank from which a cuboid box can be produced by folding, which has internal Faltecken at all box corners, the box on two sides in each case by two opposite sides of the Box hinged flaps can be closed. The invention also relates to a method for tightly closing such a folding box.

Folding cartons are used on a large scale for automated, fully automatic packaging of all kinds of products. These have some outstanding advantages over competing plastic packaging, especially pouches. Folding cartons are made from a cost-effective, versatile and environmentally friendly material. The boxes can be provided in the most diverse designs and very well machined, for example by coating, painting or printing. The possibility of palletizing, the mechanical protection against external influences as well as the problem-free recycling and recycling in the applicable recycling system are advantages of folding cartons. State of the art

Due to the existing wide variety of carton designs, an international code for packaging has been developed, the so-called ECMA or FEFCO code, to replace cumbersome definitions of corrugated box and packaging constructions with simple, internationally valid symbols.

The previously known, standardized case-box designs can be used for a wide variety of products, both in the food sector and outside the food industry. However, a still unsatisfactorily solved problem is the packaging of dusty or free-flowing products in cartons. So far commercially available solutions achieve in many cases not sufficient tightness in dusty and free-flowing products, in particular with longer transport or storage times. Furthermore, the folding cartons should also have a high impermeability to insect infestation, especially in the food sector.

A well-known possibility of insect- and dust-tight packaging with folding boxes is the

Providing an additional inner bag for the product to be packaged, which is inserted into the carton. However, the packaging process is expensive due to this additional inner bag.

Under the FEFCO code 0226 a folding box is known from a one-piece, foldable blank, from which a cuboid box can be produced by folding is that has at each box corners inside Falt¬ corners. The box can be closed on two sides by two closing flaps hinged on opposite side parts of the box. The two flaps are identically dimensioned so that they close each half of the page. The inner corners make it possible to achieve a high level of tightness at the box corners. However, the two flaps form a joint line and thus a gap that can be reasonably sealed only with an adhesive strip.

The use of an adhesive tape is also disclosed in DE 20307490 Ul, in which the folding corners are formed to form hinged shacks and moved to the outside.

From the publication of the company Nordson AG, "Faltschachteln - Sifting Seal Thanks to Sift Proof Bonding", in PACK News, September 15, 2002, pages 28 to 30 is an adhesive technology for the silt-free gluing of standard folding carton known - and lid gluing with individually shaped and controllable nozzle strips, which apply a multiplicity of small glue beads in parallel to the closing flaps.The suitable choice and monitoring of the adhesive image with this procedure is to provide for the trickle-tight closure of the folding box without the requirement of additional inner bags.

DE 9320249 Ul describes a carton for dust and insect-proof packaging according to the The preamble of claim 1. In this document, the folding corners on the first flaps extend to a distance from the side parts to which they are hinged, which is greater than a difference in length between the first and second flaps.

The object of the present invention is to provide a carton for an insect and dustproof packaging, which has a high

Has tightness, no inner bag needed and allows a cost-effective packaging process.

Presentation of the invention

The object is achieved with the carton according to claim 1. Claim 7 indicates the associated method for insect and dust-tight sealing of this carton. Advantageous embodiments of the carton and the method are the subject of the dependent claims or can be taken from the following description and the Ausführungs¬ examples.

The present carton for dust and insect-proof packaging consists in a known manner of a one-piece, foldable blank, from which a cuboid box can be produced by folding, which has inside corners at all carton corners. The box can be closed on two sides by two closing flaps articulated on opposite side parts. An example of the basic structure of such a box is a carton according to FEFCO code 0226. The present carton is distinguished by the fact that of the two closing flaps, a first closing flap completely covers the side and the second closing flap only partially covers the side, and that the folding corners and the second Closing flaps along the Seiten¬ parts to which they are hinged, each provide a continuous adhesive surface for applying adhesive, which allows a closed bonding of the entire edge of the first flap when closing the box.

The folding corners are in the case of the present FaIt- box on the fully covering flaps not in the full length Ll executed, as this would lead to a Materialauf¬ coating when folding the flaps by folding the Faltecken over the length L2 of the narrow flaps. This material stratification can produce errors in the fully covering gluing of the folding corners, since then the fully covering flaps with the length L1 do not lie perfectly flat on the narrow closure flaps with the length L2. As a result, unwanted channels can be formed into the interior of the box. In the present folding box, the folding corners on the fully covering closure flaps are therefore shortened or cut by at least the longitudinal length L2 of the narrow closure flap. The fold corners on the narrow closing flaps thus each only extend to a distance from the side part which is smaller than or equal to the length difference L1-L2 between the fully covering and narrow ones Shutters is. This allows a completely flat edge bonding of the closing flaps and folding corners.

The small width of the second flaps, which is preferably less than half the width of the first flaps, allows for the synchronous closing of the two opposed flaps, which is required due to the rigid connection of the flaps over the folding corners. The optimum width of the narrow closure flap is determined essentially by the band or packaging speed with which the cartoning plant operates.

Due to the combination of the unequal size flaps, one of which is fully covered, with the specially provided continuous adhesive surfaces on the folding corners and the narrow flap, 100% dust, trickle and insect impermeability is achieved when the carton is glued and sealed as intended.

The closing of the carton is advantageously made possible by a simple adhesive application, which requires no complex, specially controllable nozzle strips. Adhesive surfaces can be applied to the hot melt adhesive by applying a disk or using a few nozzles. In this case, any desired slot, spray or bead application nozzles can be used as nozzles. Essential in this adhesive application is only that the hot melt adhesive when closing continuously covers the entire edge of the fully covering flap. In this way, an all-round closure of the entire gap between the fully covering flap and the side panels is achieved. An additional inner bag is no longer necessary. Due to the simple adhesive application by means of a disc or with only a few, preferably a maximum of three, adhesive nozzles, a significantly lower adhesive consumption is achieved than with the Sift Proof technique described above.

The present carton thus enables cost-effective, dust and insect-proof packaging. Furthermore, the use of the present folding box for packaging does not require any elaborate conversion measures of existing cartoning machines at the glue station. Cartoning machines equipped with conventional gluing units (vertical technology) can alternatively or additionally be equipped with simple, technically adequate gluing units (disc, 3-jaw technology). The format-related output of existing cartoning machines can be kept constant. An optional in-line quality control of the folding carton production process focuses on the exact timing and placement of the pasting on the intended adhesive surfaces in the present folding carton. This eliminates an additional, metrologically complex quality control, as required for example in the Sift proofing technique.

The present carton is preferably as a standard carton (in contrast to special or Special forms of cartons) trained and corresponds to a basic type of carton. Standard cartons are all box shapes described in the ECMA (ECM: European Carton Makers Association) Code.

In an advantageous embodiment of the present folding box, the joints of adjacent folding corners do not extend to the edge of the side part or the so-called creasing edge, but have a minimum distance therefrom in order to ensure a reliably tight cardboard connection. This minimum distance preferably corresponds to the width of the adhesive surfaces provided.

In a further advantageous development of the present folding box, the folding corners are provided with scoring edges, which in one embodiment do not extend to the side part or the scoring edge, for example, have a minimum distance of at least 4 mm from the inner corner, to cardboard breakthroughs during folding avoid. Although in an alternative embodiment the scoring edges may extend directly to the inner corners, in which case, however, a first section which extends to a minimum distance from the inner corner has a greater scoring depth than the remaining section, which extends as far as the inner corner extends. Due to the smaller depth of the scribe edge in the remaining section, a cardboard puncture at the corners can likewise be avoided. - S -

Brief description of the drawings

The present carton and the associated method for closing the carton will be briefly explained again with reference to an embodiment in conjunction with the drawings. Hereby show:

Fig. 1 shows an example of the one-piece blank of the present carton;

Fig. 2 shows an example of the embodiment of the scoring edges of the folding corners of the present folding box;

Fig. 3 shows schematically the adhesive steps for the closure of the carton (horizontal

Minimal bonding); and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the erected carton during the closing of the flaps.

Ways to carry out the invention

FIG. 1 shows an example of a punching die for producing the present folding box. The one-piece blank shown in the figure is composed of the interconnected side parts 10, where the eight folding corners 1 and the closing flaps 2, 3 are articulated via creasing edges 8. A side panel of the carton is replaced by the two

Side tabs 4, 4 'are formed, which are glued together when erecting the carton to form the factory edge. For this purpose, the side flap 4 is in present example as adhesive flap already provided with an adhesive layer. This can be done by Vorklebung the blank. The folding corners 1 on the side flaps 4 'are extended beyond the factory edge by a section 5 in order to achieve, in the production of the factory edge, a cardboard covering with the region 9 of the folding corner 1 on the side flap 4, which can likewise be glued.

In the figure, the respective unequal closure flaps 2, 3 can be seen very well. The large flaps 2 are dimensioned to just completely cover the side of the carton they are closing. The narrow closing flaps 3, which are opposite this in the erected folding box, are dimensioned so that the mechanical closing operation after pasting can run synchronously and smoothly. By covering the two flaps 2, 3, a joint line is avoided when closing the carton. The full coverage of one of the flaps allows a simplified application of adhesive when closing the carton, which can be done for all adhesive zones of a page at the same height or in the same plane. The adhesive surfaces 6 are formed both on the narrow closure flaps 3 and on the folding corners 1 continuously along the side parts 10, on which the closure flaps 3 and the folding corners 1 are articulated. The joints of the folding corners lie in a minimum distance a above the creasing edges 8 of the side parts 10. This distance corresponds to the width of the adhesive surfaces 6 provided. Furthermore, the folding corners 1 are provided with scoring edges 7, which are formed in the present example as shown in FIG. The scribe edge is divided into two sections. In a first section 7a spaced from the inner corner, this scoring edge has a normal scratching depth. In the remaining section 7b only a minimal scratch depth is used to avoid cardboard breakthroughs during folding. The second section 7b can no longer have any scribe edge. Preferably, the distance of the first portion 7a from the inner corner is at least 4 mm.

After erecting the folding box 12 in a cartoning the sealed closure is carried out by the indicated in Figure 3 with the arrows adhesive steps. The figure shows the folding box 12 after Auf¬ judge and before the folding of the corners and closure flaps from above. For gluing on the in the

Figure 1 illustrated adhesive zones 6 with the three nozzles 11 applied a hot melt adhesive, which are arranged for this purpose at the same height. In the present example, a two-stroke bonding is shown, in which the individual cycles of each order of the

Adhere to adhesive. The distance between the hotmelt adhesive and the creasing edge is defined by the compression of the hotmelt adhesive, in particular its viscosity, the contact pressure and the suction behavior of the folded box, when the closure flaps are pressed. The

Closure bonding of the upper side and the lower side of the folding box 12 may be intermittent or clocked to "gap". As nozzles can Contact nozzles or spray nozzles are used. It is also possible to apply the hotmelt adhesive to a pane.

After applying the hotmelt adhesive, the flaps and the fold corners located on this side are inserted synchronously and pressed until the adhesive has cured. The concept of the present carton allows with appropriate positioning of the glue station both a vertical and a horizontal filling of the cartons.

FIG. 4 again shows a perspective view of the erected folding box 12 during the insertion of the closing flaps 2, 3 and folding corners 1. The fully covering closing flap 2 opposite the narrow closing flap 3 and its connection via the folding corners 1 with the scoring edges 7 are very good in this illustration to recognize. Furthermore, in this figure, the shortening of the FaItecken 1 to the fully covering flaps 2 by the amount of the length difference L1-L2 between the fully covering and narrow flaps 2, 3 indicated.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 folding corner

2 flap, fully covering

3 flap, narrow

4 adhesive flap with adhesive layer

4 'adhesive flap after formation of the factory edge (blank gluing)

5 carton cover when manufacturing the factory edge

6 adhesive surfaces

7 scratched edge

7a First section of the scribe edge

7b Second section of the scribe edge

8 creases

9 Bonding the cardboard cover 5

10 side parts

11 nozzles

12 Folding box a Distance of the joint from the creasing edge

Ll length of the fully covering flap

L2 length of the narrow flap

Claims

claims 1. Carton for dust and insect-proof packaging of a one-piece, foldable blank from which a cuboid box (12) can be produced by folding, which has at each box corners inside Faltecken (1), wherein the box (12) on two sides in each case by two adjacent to each other side parts (10) of the box (12) hinged flaps (2, 3) is closable, wherein of the two flaps (2, 3) a first flap (2) the side completely and the second flap ( 3) the side only partially covered, and wherein the folding corners (1) and the second closure flaps (3) along the side parts (10) to which they are articulated, each provide a continuous adhesive surface (6) for applying adhesive, the a closed bonding of the entire edge of the first flap (2) when closing the box (12) allows, characterized in that the folding corner n (1) on the first closure flaps (2) extend only up to a distance from the side part (10) to which they are articulated, which is less than or equal to a difference in length between the first (2) and second closure flaps (3). 2. Folding box according to claim 1, characterized in that the second closing flaps (3) cover the side by a maximum of half. 3. Folding box according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that joints of adjacent folding corners (1) have a minimum distance from the side part (10) on which they are articulated. 4. Folding box according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the folding corners (1) are provided with Ritzkanten (7, 7a) for folding, which extend only to a minimum distance from the side part (10) on which the Faltecken (1) are articulated. 5. Folding box according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the folding corners (1) are provided with Ritzkanten (7, 7a, 7b) for folding, in a first portion (7a) to a minimum distance from the side part (10th ), at which the folding corners are hinged, have a first depth and in the remaining portion (7b) to the side part (10) have a reduced second depth. 6. Folding box according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the folding corners (1) on side parts (10) which form a factory edge, are dimensioned so that they partially in forming the factory edge overlap. 7. A method for closing a carton, which is designed according to one of claims 1 to 6, in which after erecting the carton (12) applied continuously in a cartoning on the adhesive surfaces (6) an adhesive and the shutter flaps (2, 3) are then inserted and pressed synchronously. 8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the adhesive is applied by means of a disc. 9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the adhesive is applied over a maximum of three adhesive nozzles or a maximum of three groups of adhesive nozzles.