US2760708A - Pouring spout structure for cartons - Google Patents

Description

` H. F. PHKILLlPs 2,760,708

POURING SPOUT STRUCTURE FOR CARTONS Filed May 24, 1952 INVENTOR. #EA/Rr E ,DH/MP5 United States Patent 2,760,708 roURING sPoUT STRUCTURE Fon CARToNs Henry F. Phillips, Oakland, Calif., assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to Floseal Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application May 24, 1952, Serial No. 289,838

2 Claims. (Cl. 229-17) This invention relates to pouring spout structure in cartons and has for one of its objects the provision `of a pouring spout that is readily movable from a position in which the `dispensing spout is closed, to fully open pouring position and vice versa, and which spout will stay in said pouring position without the necessity for ernploying locking notches and tabs or the equivalent.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a spout in a carton, which spout is readily movable from a position in which the dispensing opening is closed toward fully open position 'at any desired degree of extension of the spout from said opening to enable the user to control the rate of ow of material from said carton.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of pouring spout structure in a carton that en'ables the user to easily withdraw the spout from the dispensing opening that is normally covered by the spout, without injury to the carton or spout.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a way of forming a carton from cardboard in which a glue flap and one of the carton walls are formed to cooperate for forming pouring spout structure so that freedom of the spout for opening land for closing Will'be insured at no noticeable added expense to the carton, and at the same time a secure seal of the dispensing opening willbe effected when the lspout is closed.

In explanation of the foregoing objects, heretofore in the formation of pouring spouts, it has been customary to crease the spout carrying layer of the material along the folding line or lines to facilitate bending, and Iin order to provide a closure for the dispensing opening from which the spout is drawn, such closure usually is secured to the spout for movement therewith.

The diiculty with this structure has been that the initial opening of the spout has heretofore required so much force that the closure layer in many instanceshas been torn or pulled away from the spout, thus making it impossible to withdraw the spout, and once the spout is pulled to open position, assuming the `withdrawal has been effected without injury to the spout, the spout will automatically spring back to almost closed position due to the tension in the material along the fold lines.

By the present structure, and whether the lspout is of the double wing type with `a ilat bottom or is of V-sh=aped cross sectional contour, the withdrawal of the spout is made much easier than in prior structures, and the spout will lstay open when released, orwill stayin any desired degree of extension from the carton.

Also, one of the factors that has heretofore contributed materially to the diiculty of initially moving the pouring spout to pouring position has been the problem of gluing the pouring spout to the closure yfor the dispensing opening with sufficient accuracy to make a good bond and yet not to glue the spout to an adjoining fixed part of the container. If the bond is not over a 'suihcient area the closure (which usually pulls the spout with it) is readily pulled away from the spout rendering it dillicult, if not impossible, to withdraw the spout, .and if the .Patented Aug. 28, 1956 spout is accidentally :glued to a fixed part of the container wall, `the saine thing occurs.

With the present invention, provision is made to insure -a proper and extremely accurate gluing together of localized parts yof the spout structure without regard to precision in ithe glue applicator device, and 'at no noticeable added expense. In other words, no exact spotting of thel 'glue isrequired. 1 -When the spout is on a glue tlapof the fcontainer, .the carton may be printed in the conventional .manner -andthen the glue may be applied to the glue `flap Ithat carries the spout without regard to the spout, Iand after the glue flap is glued in the usual manner lto the carton blank `to form the carton, the spout will stick only in' those exact places Where it must stick in orderto make ythe A)spout structure operative.

Another `objectnof'tbe:invention is the provision of a substantially V-Sh'aped pouring spout' in a side wall of a carton, and which structure ydoes not weaken the side wall and the carton vcan be `filled with material to substantially the top of thec'arton, thus effecting a substantial saving inthe material ofthe carton over those structures .that Jmake .provision `for cutting out a dispensing opening along the upper edge-of the carton.

The .principal objection" to V-shaped pouring spouts has beenflthe ydiiiiculty in lopening them land in keeping them openy without using some '-kind of a notch in the spout for engaging a part of the carton at or adjacent to the dispensing opening.` This has already been mentioned as being an'objection that is found to be general, even where the double Awing spouts having a at bottom :are used, but it fis 'particularly noticeable in spouts that are VV-shaped in cross section and that are not corner spouts, 'but that are spaced vfrom 'the corners of the carton, and that `are in aside wall.

lfWiththe presentinvention provision is mlade for a spout ctv-shaped ycross section to be in a side wall of the carton 'and spaced below the -top of the latter Iand whichl spout 4doesnot weaken lthe carton Aand is easily and quickly moved lto and from'pouring position and in .said structure provision is made for securely and directly engaging'the spout itself in the initial and subsequent operations of moving it to pouring position, thereby completely--r'avoiding the possibility lof rendering the 4spout inaccessible for ywithdrawal by Iaccidental mutilation of the spout structure.

Other objects Iand advantageswill appear in the description and inthe drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. 'l is a plan view of a blank from which a carton having the present pouring spout is `adapted to be formed. vThe side shown is the side that will be the inside of the finished carton.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevational view of the outer layer of a side wall of the carton, showing the closure yto which lthe spout is adapted to be secured for movement with Ithe spout.

Fig. 3 is an enlargedfragtnentary elevational view of the spout `to whichv the tab `of Fig. 2 is attached, the spout `beingjshown ,in the position in which `it would normally be below the closureof Fig. r2.

Fig. 4 is an .enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the closure andspout of Figs. .2, 3 in assembled relation when the `ends ofthe blankof Fig. 1 are folded on each other with ktheclosure -of Fig. Zloutermost.

`Fig. `5 `is a `fragmerlt'ar-y elevational .view of the spout of Fig. 4 in substantially'fully open pouring position.

Fig. 6 .is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 47 is an enlarged .eleva-tional view of the spout structure-:as vseen from the opposite side of the blank shown iniiig. 3. I

Figs. :8, ',Qarevievvsthat are similar to that `of Pig. 3,

f 2,760,7oa

but respectively showing slight modifications ofthe form I shown in Fig. 3, andA Fig. 10 shows a slightly modified form of the structure of Fig. 3.

ln Fig. l the blank forforming the carton'will beseen to comprise four spaced parallel folding creases 1,'2, 3, and 4 starting fromthe right side as seen in said ligure. The side walls of the carton to be formed are designated 5, 6, 7, 8 starting from the right and said creases form the junctures between said side walls. Folding flaps 9 at the upper ends of said .side walls are adapted to be folded one on the other in `the'usual manner to provide the closed upper end of the nished carton, and `folding ilaps 16 at the lower endsof .said side wallsare adapted to be similarly folded to, form the bottom wall.V .Folding crease 11 denesthe junctures between the folding aps 9 and the side walls, while folding crease 12 delines the junctures between aps 10 and said side walls.

In extension of the side wall 8 andintegral therewith is an extension-or glueiilapA 13, its juncture with side wall 8 being defined by the folding crease.4,yand when the carton is formed said extension underliesthe side wall that is at the other end 'of the blank..`

Preferably, the upper end 14 of glue ap 13 is of substantially the same widthas wall .5, `and below said upper end the glue ap is cut away so that only anarrow strip 15 extends along crease 4. Tabs 16, 17 extending` above and below creases 11, 12 from said glue ap 13 and adjacent to the ends of crease 4 will be folded over in lapping relation to the other folding aps 9, when the carton is formed. Y

As has already been mentioned, Fig. -l shows the blank from the side that will bethe inside of the carton when the latter is formed. In forming the carton the side wall 5 and glue flap 13`will be brought toward the viewer and placed in lapping relation to each other with glue ap 13 underlying wall 5 so as to provide an `inside wall and with glue flap 13 and said wall 5v in opposed relation to wall 7. The glue flap 13 is to be. glued to wall 5 along strip 15 and at the upper end 14 as will later be explained more in detail.

In Figs. 2, 3, the wall 5 and the upper end 14 of glue flap 13 are shown in the positions they would occupy when the wall 5 and glue flap 13 are in said lapping relation, except that they are shown separate lfrom each other. Fig. 4 shows them together.

The outside wall 5 is formed to provide a generally triangular, sector-shaped portion 19, the .straight radial edges 20, 21 of which extend divergently upwardly at an acute angle from meeting relationship .at their lower ends, while the upper edge 22 extends arcuately about a point disposed at the meeting ends of edges 20, 21 as a center. K

The edges 21, 22 are cut through the wall 5 v except at tack point 23 that is along edge 21 close to the upper end of the latter. Y I

The marginal portion of the wall Salong the edge 22 above portion 19, and adjacent to the upper end of edge 21 is formed 'with a recess 24 that opens to edge 22. The length of this recess linearly of edge 22,and itsV depth are suicient to provide for access of the nail of a finger to the upper edge of portion 19 and also the portion of the spout that is adapted to underlie said part 19.l This will be described more in detail later on.

Edge of portion 19 is defined Vbyafolding crease or' score 20. Thus upon pulling the part 19 outwardly of wall 5 by means of a nger'engaging 'the spout close to the tacking section 23, the portion 19 will readily Abe broken and it will swing outwardly'relativevto wall 5 about crease 20.

The upper end 14 of glue flap 13 (which end will be generally called the extension in referring to it hereafter unless specically referred to as the upper end thereof or as the inside wall) is formed with acontinuous line of severance that defines the outline `of a flat spout-forming closure generally designated 25 having outer and inner wings 26, 27 that are bendable along a row of slots or fold line 28 that divides the closure spout into said wings that, in turn, will form the two sides of the generally V-shaped spout shown in Figs. 5, 6. Rows of slots 28, 29 dene two edges of the sectorshaped generally triangular inner wing 27, which rows are substantially coincident with the edges 21, 20 respectively of the triangular portion 19 in wall 5, except that the row 28 may be just a trie offset toward row V29 with respect to the edge 21. k f

Thearcuately extending free edgef30that extendsbe tween the upper ends'of row 28,29y is developed about a slightly shorter radius than edge 22 of portion 19, therefore marginal portion 33 (Fig-5) alongedge 30 will be overlapped by. the marginal portion 34 along edge 22 (Fig. 4). The portion 19 and wing 27 are glued together so that the spout 25 will move with the portion 19 (bending along rows 28, 29) and through the generally triangular opening in wal1^5 that is normally closed by portion 19. l,

Thevend of edge 30 adjacentto the upper end of row 28 yextends slightly upwardly as at 35 (Fig. 3).to meet an yextensionof the line on, which row 28 is disposed, at point -36, and vthen edge 37 continues from said point alongwa curved line that is substantially developed aboutthe meeting point of rows 28,1 29, but of progressively increasing radius as it approaches the end 38 ofthe outer way 26 that Vis remote from the row 28. v,The lower edge 39 extends back to the lower ends fof rows 28, 29. The

position of the edge, 35 results in'sad edge cooperating with the edge of the wallS at the upper end of edge 21 of` portion 19 to form anotchrin which the upper edge of the wing or portion 26 of the spout is held during movement of -th e spout to and frompouring position.

' Thus wing l26 willfbe 1held ,against the edge of the opening provided in wall 5 when portion 19 is swung outwardly to prevent any likelihood of lleakage of material past the outer side ofv` said wing. When the rspout is` retracted intothe carton and the closure portions 19 Z7 again close'the openingsl from which they were moved, the carton will be effectively closed because of the overlapping of marginal portion 34 over marginal portion 33, and the slight overlapping of the slots 28 vby the marginal portion of part 19 along edge 21 ofthe latter.

The spoutwill resist complete withdrawal out of the .One ofthe highly important features in this invention is the provision of slots 28, 29. Heretofore' one of the principal objections to spouts formed from the material of the cartons, or as cardboard inserts, has been the fact that thespout' is,y accidentally torn or mutilated'the rst time it is used due to the diculty of loosening or freeingit for withdrawal. For example were scores or creases employed instead of slots r28, '29,- the part 19 would tend to be torn and to be separated from the portion 27, and this would also be the case if edge 21 were perforated instead of being merely tacked to the wall 5 at point or points 23. Y

Heretofore, and particularly where spout structures in cartons have employed folding creases or scores, or have relied upon bending the spout, as in U. S. Letters Patent to Ringler, No. 2,358,659of `September 19, 1944, the spout must be locked in open position or it will automaticallyrreturn to substantially closed position as soon as the force that has pulled it out has been released. The provision of means for locking thespout in any positionusually results in restricting-theposition of the spout to one pouring position only,.and furthermore,.the locking means is usually inelective after one or two withdrawals of the spout' due to wear and abrasion, and in other instances the resistance necessary to overcome the lockingiorce in either lockingV or unlockingcthe spout is gated longitudinally of the rows a greaterdistance than carton due to the increased radius of edge 37 at the endv the spaces between slots and by having the end slots of the rows extend from substantially the meeting ends of the row to the edge 30, the .tension that is left in the material along said rows kis reduced (after bending along the rows) to the point where the bending along said rows is easily and readily accomplished, -alidthe spout will stay in substantially any degree of extension, instead of retracting into the carton. Furthermore, `the material left between perforations will not break, but will hold the parts 26, 27 together until `the carton is empty, and longer if desired.

The width of the slots is important, as it should not be greater than the thickness of the material. As soon as the parts 26, 27 bend along the lineoftslots' 28 to the position shown in Fig. 5, the slots -are closed, so rio-possible leak can occur. Slots 29 are, of course, covered by the part 19 along crease 22.

In order to enable a person topull the spout of the carton to pouring position without tearing the part 19 from the portion 25 of the spout, provision lis made for engaging the upper marginal portion k33 of the spout by the nail of a linger.

To accomplish this, the marginal: portion of the extension 14 above and along edge 30 is formed with a pair of relatively short slits 45, 46 'that extend generally perpendicularly relative to edge 30 and to the line of severance of the spout closure.

As seen in Figs. 3, 4, these slits preferably commence along edge 30 at points slightly outwardly of -but relatively close to the ends of recess 24. Thus when the nail of the finger presses against the'portion 44 ofextension 14 that is between slits 45, 46 and at apoint close to edge 30, as is normally done in engaging the spout, the said portion 46 may be bent inwardly into the carton sufciently to enable the nail of the linger to engage Athe inner side of the margin 33 of said spout instead of mere ly engaging the material portion 34 ofthe part 19. It should also be noted that the positioning of *the slits 45, 46 oppositely outwardly of the ends of the recess 24 positions them behind the outer wall of the carton so that said slits are covered or sealed by said outer wall.

If it were not for slits 45, `46, or their equivalent, the spout would not be engaged by the nail, but instead, Vthe part 19 would be engaged.

In some instances, it is found .desirable to have the slits, designated 47, 4S in Fig. 8, terminate just short of the edge 30, leaving the portion 49 lightly tacked to the extension 14 at points 50 by short readily breakable `sections, and in still other instances, it has Abeen found desirable that slits, designated 60, 61 in Fig. 9, -extend to edge 30, the same as in Fig. 5 but that additional spaced perforations or slits 62 be formed inthe extension 14 in continuation of the closed ends of slits 60, 61. These perforations or slits 62 are preferably relatively close together so that only a small force against the portion 64 between slits 60, 61 is required to break the connections between these slits.

The character of the material of the container and the size of the container and spout structure will dictate which form is most suitable, although in most instances the form shown in Fig. 3 is satisfactory, or even one slit will sutlice.

The gluing of the extension wall 14 to the side wall at the opposite end of the row that form the side walls of the carton is an operation that heretofore required accuracy so great that seldom was the result perfect.

In the present instance, upon printing the outer surface of the blank with the data identifying the contents, the outer surface of the wing 26 in the form shown in Figs. l to are also imprinted with the printers ink as indicated by the vertical line shading in Figs. 3, 8, 10, and the ink imprint may extend slightly across the free edges of the wings on to the material surrounding the wings and across the row of slots 28. This is clearly seen in Fig. 3. At the same time the portion of the wall 6 14 that nes between slits 4s, 46 (Fig. 3) and are im# printed to the edge of the wall 14.

In the structures of Figs. 3, 8, 9 and l0, this last imprinting of the wall 14 covers a greater area. than the recess 24 and extends to the edge 3i), but a slight space is'left between each of the slits 45, 46 or the similar slits in Figs. 8, 9 and the imprinted area.

Where conventional printing ink or pigment bearing imprinting material such as para red and others is used, we have found that the conventional glue used in the manufacture of cartons will not stick to said ink or irnprinting material. Thus the application of glue to the outer surface of the extension 14 and over the imprinted portions will be very accurately restricted to the unprinted part and the spout portion 27 will be glued to the closure part 19, but no portion that has the imprinting thereon Will stick to wall 5.

The slits 45, 46 and similar slits in Figs. 8, 9 Will be sealed by reason of the glue along opposite sides of said slits, but the amount of glue deposited between the slits and the imprinted portion between them is so small that the seal is easily broken when pressure is applied against the imprinted portion.

lt has also been found that any suitable penetrating agent in the ink, such as is in para red, will so irnpregnate the cardboard that glue will not stick to either side nor to the edges of the slots 28, nor the edges of the wing 26, thus insuring freedom of operation of the spout heretofore not obtained and the glue applicator can apply glue to any portion and to either side of glue ilap or extension 14 without making the spout inoperative.

While printers ink adapted to penetrate the cardboard is preferable because of the fact that the imprinting of the areas to be free from glue can be done at the same time the printing operation is performed and With the same ink, it is obvious that any other suitable glue repellant material capable `olf being similarly applied and meeting with the requirement ot' the law may be employed and the term, glue repellant material is intended to cover any such materials, and insofar as has been found any penetrating imprinting material that docs not have an affinity for glue when applied to cardboard lor to the ilexible material from which the container is formed would be suitable.

As heretofore mentioned, it is not always necessary that two slits, such as 45, 46 be used, inasmuch as substantially all of the area between the slits and extending from the free edge of the wall 14 to the edge 3th, is unsecured to the wall The two slits are preferable Where the cardboard is relatively heavy and stili, but satisfactory results can be had with the use of only one slit in lighter and softer board, and in certain instances fair results can be had without the use of the slits, but at least one should be used to facilitate obtaining proper access to the spout.

In many instances it has been found that the wing 26 (Fig. 3) does not readily free itself along its out edges from the remainder of the stock along said edges. This circumstance is most prevalent where the cardboard is of medium and cheaper grades. While it is relatively simple to form adequate slots Z8, 29 to facilitate bending of the spout wings along the lines of such slots, it is another thing to completely -free the wings 26 from the remainder `of the stock, particularly in the cheaper stock. The bers remain uncut and bind the spout iiaps to the remainder,

The above objection is overcome by creasing the wing 26 along lines 90, 91 (Figs. l, 3, 6 and 7 to l0). The crea-se extends across the wing 26 from point 94 along edge 37 which is about where the edge 37 becomes progressively farther from the point of intersection of rows 28, 29, to the said latter point, or from a point along edge 39 close to said intersection. The crease 91 extends across the Wing 26 along but spaced from edge 37, commencing at one end along row 28 near point 36 and, ending at a point along crease 90. These creases draw the portion of the wing between them and the outer edges of the wing away from the stock surrounding the wing a sufficient distance to free the edges 37, 38, 39 from the 4surrounding stock thereby enabling the wingto freely bend along the line of slots 28 when the spout is drawn to pouring position. k l

In the large sized cartons where there is ample room, the stock of extension 14 lmay be cut away as at 95 around the wing 26 from points spaced along edges 37, 39 from the point 36 and the intersection of row-s or" slots 28, 29 instead of using the creases to draw the material of the wing away from the surrounding material o theV extension.

While the structure as shown and described is indicated in parts of the carton that are integral uu'th the carton walls, it is obvious that similar structure could beA used on inner and youter layers of sheet material adapted to be secured to one of the carton walls over an opening in the latter of vsuitable size for swinging the spout therethrough. The crease 9i) (Fig. 3) is straight and is positioned on the wing 26 so that it will be aligned with and in yieldable engagement with the adjacent edge of the opening in the outer wall when the spout is pulled through such opening, thereby providing resistance to any tendency of the spout to spring back into the carton.

I claim:

1. A carton having an outside wall 4cut to provide a generally triangular sector shaped iap formed with an acute lower angle and hinged along one of its downwardly extending sides to swing outwardly t-o provide an opening, said wall being cut awayadjacent the upper edge of said liap to provide a nger opening, an inside wall `secured to and against the inner side of said outside wall relative to the inside of said carton and having a continuous line `of severance forming a llat spout-forming closure `supported along a hinge line coincident with the hinge line of said flap for swinging through said first mentioned opening, said closure having a fold line substantially aligned with the other side of said acute angle dividing said closure into an outer and an inner wing, said inner wing being in lapping relation to said flap and secured thereto, said outer wing being in lapping relation to but free from the part of said outside wall along said other vside of said acute angle, said line of severance extending frorn said hinge line over said triangular ilap along and -spaced slightly below the upper edge of said ilap that is vopposite to said lower angle and continuing around said outer wing for defining the edges thereof, said outer wing being movable through the opening delined by said triangular Hap with its side that is adjacent to said outside wall slidable against the edge of said last mentioned opening that is opposite to said hinge line, and a crease extending across said outer wing coincident with said last mentioned edge when said outer wing is moved through said last mentioned opening for engagement with saidilast mentioned edge-to thereby releasably hold said spout'forming closure in pouring position extending through'said last mentionedopening. I

2. A carton having an outside wall cut to.. provide a generallytriangular sector shaped apV formed with an acute lowerangle andhinged along one of its downwardly extending sides to swing outwardly to provide an opening, an inside wallsecuredtoand against the inner side of said outside wall relative to. the inside of said. carton and having a contnuouslineof severaneeforming a flat spout forrning closure supported alonga hinge line coincident with one side of said acute angle ifor swinging through said opening, said closure havingI a ,foldA line substantially alignedlv withthe other side of vsaid acute angle dividing saidA closure into an outer andi-an inner wing, said inner wing being in lapping relation, to saidap and secured thereto, said outer wing being inlapping relation to but free from the part of said outside wall along said other side of said" acute angle,said line of severance extending from said hinge line over said triangular flapalong and spaced slightly below the upper edge of said flap that is opposite to said lower angle and continuing around said outer wing foi-,defining the edgesthereof, said outer wing being movable-,through said opening defined by said triangular tlap upon swinging said inner wing-through said opening about saidhinge line, I.said outside wall only adjacent the upper edge of said. ap being cut away to provide a finger. receiving recess, the lower edge of said recess being defined by,th efupper edge of said tiap, a pair of slits formed-in said inside wall spaced outwardly from opposite sides ofr said recess` and extending vto saidline of severance with the part of said inside wall between said slits extending across said recess, thereby freeing the material of vksaid insidejwall between said slits and along said lineof severance for being` sprung inwardly under the pressure of .a finger engaging the upper edge of said triangular ap, saidslitsbeing below and covered by said outside wall whereby said outside wall provides a seal extending across said slits. Y

. n efenc'es cited'in' the sie of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,539,985' t Allen June 2, 1925 1,907,939 Venningetral. May 9, 1933 1,973,960 'McLaughlin Sept, 18, 1934 '2,151,202 'Guyer Mar. 21, 1939 2,162,556 La Goord June 13, 1939 2,205,068 Potter JuneplS, 1940 2,332,205 Clarion Oct. 19, 1943 2,358,659 Ringles Sept. 19, 1944 2,509,289 Dunning f. May 20, 1950 2,576,595 ``Goldstein Nov. 27, 1951 n 4 FOREIGN PATENTS .466,947 Great-.Britain June s, 1937

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