HK1137399B - Spout for opening devices of sealed packages of pourable food products - Google Patents

Description

Spout for opening device of sealed packages of pourable food products

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a spout (spout) for an opening device for sealed packages of pourable food products.

Background

It is well known that many pourable food products, such as fruit juice, UHT (ultra high temperature treated) milk, wine, tomato sauce, etc., are sold in packages made of sterilized packaging material.

A typical example of such a package is the parallelepiped-shaped package for liquid or pourable food products, known as Tetra Brik Aseptic (registered trade mark), which is made by folding and sealing a laminated strip of packaging material.

The packaging material has a multilayer structure, generally comprising a base layer for stiffness and strength purposes, which may comprise a layer of fibrous material such as paper or a layer of mineral-filled polypropylene material; and a plurality of heat-seal plastic layers such as polyethylene films covering both sides of the base layer.

In the case of aseptic packages for long-storage products, such as UHT (ultra high temperature treated) milk, the packaging material also comprises a layer of gas-or light-barrier material, such as aluminium foil or polyethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) film, which is superimposed on a layer of heat-seal plastic material, and is in turn covered with another layer of heat-seal plastic material eventually forming the inner face of the package contacting the food product.

Such packages are usually produced on fully automatic packaging machines, on which a continuous tube is formed from a roll-fed packaging material; sterilizing the packaging web on the packaging machine by, for example, applying a chemical sterilizing agent such as a hydrogen peroxide solution, which is subsequently removed from the surface of the packaging material by, for example, heat evaporation; while the web of packaging web so sterilized is maintained in a closed, sterile environment and is folded and sealed longitudinally into an upright tube.

The tube is filled with the sterilized or sterile-processed food product and is sealed and subsequently cut along equally spaced cross sections into pillow packs, which are folded mechanically into respective finished packages, for example, substantially parallelepiped-shaped packages.

Alternatively, the packaging material may be cut into blanks forming packages on forming mandrels, and the packages are filled with the food product and sealed. An example of such a package is the so-called "rooftop" package known by the manufacturer under the name tetra rex (registered trade mark).

In order to open packages of the type described above, various solutions have been proposed, including reclosable opening devices, which generally comprise a spout, such as a tube, defining a through opening and fitted in proximity to a hole or removable or pierceable portion of the package wall; and a removable cap, such as a screw or hinge, which fits over and externally closes the spout.

When the opening device is fitted in the vicinity of the hole in the package, the mouth of the spout is closed by a membrane (membrane) made of plastic, which is integrally connected to the spout and can be detached (detachable) from the spout along a preferential, usually circular, tear line. The membrane is generally fixed on the top (i.e. outer) edge of the spout and is integrally fitted on the side facing the lid, with a projecting tab (tab) which is pulled away by its free end to detach the membrane from the spout along a preferential tear line to open the opening to pour the product.

Although functionally effective, opening devices of the above-mentioned type leave room for further improvement, in particular with regard to the pouring out of the product, which is often irregular and has a so-called "swallowing" characteristic. This occurs when the package is tilted to pour out the product, while the liquid product, whose free surface inside assumes a constant horizontal position, completely fills the spout, thus separating the inside from the outside of the package, creating a vacuum inside the package that tends to slow down or even shut off the outflow. Once any change in the above occurs, for example a change in the inclination of the package which allows air to enter the inside, the outflow of the product is suddenly restored, resulting in swallowing. And the greater the overall axial dimension of the spout, the greater the range of package tilt angles at which swallowing occurs.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a spout for an opening device for sealed packages of pourable food products, designed to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks typically associated with known spouts.

According to the present invention, there is provided a spout for an opening device for sealed packages of pourable food products, said spout comprising:

a fastening portion through which the spout is fastened to a corresponding package; and

a neck portion projecting from the fastening portion and defining, with the fastening portion, a through opening through which the food product is poured;

characterized in that it further comprises at least one constriction of said opening, transverse to the outflow of the food product.

Brief Description of Drawings

Preferred, non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a top view of a portion of a wall for a sealed package of a pourable food product, which wall is provided with a spout according to the present invention and is in an open condition;

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged cross-section of the top portion of FIG. 1 as the product is poured;

FIG. 3 shows a cross-section along the line III-III in FIG. 1;

fig. 4 shows a cross-section along the line IV-IV in fig. 1.

Best mode for carrying out the invention

Number 1 in figures 1 and 2 indicates as a whole a sealed package for pourable food products, for example a parallelepiped-shaped package known as Tetra Brik Aseptic (registered trademark), made of sheet packaging material as described in detail previously, and having, on a top wall 2, reclosable opening means 3 made of plastic.

The opening device 3 substantially comprises a spout 4, which is formed and injection-moulded on the wall 2 of the package 1 according to the teachings of the present invention; and a known removable (e.g., screw) cap (not shown) that fits over the spout 4 and externally closes the spout 4.

Alternatively, spout 4 may be applied to wall 2 of package 1 by other conventional fastening systems, such as adhesives, or by means of microflame or laser sealing techniques.

The packaging material has a multilayer structure and comprises, in the wall 2 of the package 1, a through hole 5 of axis a, which through hole 5 is covered externally, in use, by the opening means 3.

The packaging material comprises a base layer for stiffness and strength purposes, which may comprise a layer of fibrous material such as paper or a layer of mineral filled polypropylene material. The base layer is covered on both sides with heat-seal plastic layers such as polyethylene films; also, in the case of aseptic packages for long-storage products, such as UHT (ultra high temperature treated) milk, the packaging material also comprises a layer of gas-or light-barrier material, such as aluminium foil or polyethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) film, which is superimposed on a layer of heat-seal plastic material, and is in turn covered with another layer of heat-seal plastic material eventually forming the inner face of the package contacting the food product.

With reference to the figures, spout 4 defines a through opening 6, which is coaxial and in communication with hole 5 of wall 2 in package 1, and substantially comprises a flat annular flange 7, which annular flange 7 is fixed to wall 2 of package 1 around hole 5; and a cylindrical tubular neck 8, the tubular neck 8 projecting axially from the inner radial edge of the flange 7 and defining, with the flange 7, an opening 6 through which the food product is poured. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the neck 8 is externally threaded to engage a corresponding screw cap.

The spout 4 is initially made in a closed configuration, that is to say the spout 4 comprises, in this closed configuration, a membrane 9, which membrane 9 is made of plastic, externally seals the opening 6, is integrally connected to the spout 4 and can be detached from the spout 4 along a preferential tear line 10 (fig. 1).

On the side facing the lid in use, the membrane 9 is integrally fitted with a projecting annular pull-off tab 11, by means of which tab 11 the membrane 9 is detached from the spout 4 along a preferential tear line 10 and the opening 6 is thus opened to pour out the product.

Advantageously, the membrane 9 is substantially at the same level as the flange 7 and is joined to the inner radial edge of the flange 7 by a preferential tear line 10.

In this way, the area of the opening device 3 that is permeable to gas and light is reduced as much as possible. If the membrane 9 is in fact positioned at an axial distance D from the flange 7, the potential entry area for gas and light will be defined not only by the section corresponding to the opening 6, but also by the side surface of the neck 8 corresponding to the axial distance D.

The spout 4 advantageously comprises a constriction 13 of the opening 6, at least at a section transverse to the axis a or to the outflow of the food product.

The constrictions 13 are formed substantially on the same level of the flange 7 and are preferably polygonal-in the example shown, octagonal with straight sides 15 alternating with curved sides 16 (fig. 1).

More specifically, each flat side 15 is defined by a projection 17, which projection 17 projects towards the inside of the opening 6 and is empty on the opposite side, i.e. on the outside of the spout 4, so as to define a sort of recess 18 on the spout 4 (fig. 3 and 4).

The flat sides 15 are arranged parallel to each other two by two and on diametrically opposite sides of the axis a of the opening 6.

The curved sides 16, on the other hand, are defined by the circular contour of the neck 8.

The advantages of the spout 4 according to the present invention will be clear from the above description.

In particular, as shown in fig. 1, when pouring out the food product, the constriction 13 partially divides the flow from the inner surface of the neck 8 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the flow direction, thus allowing air to enter the package 1 to maintain a balance between the internal and external pressure of the package 1, so that the food product is poured out smoothly without swallowing.

In addition, the constriction 13 is formed by means of a projection 17, wherein this projection 17 externally delimits a corresponding recess 18 in the spout 4, so that the diameter of the final product outflow cross-section, and therefore of the neck 8, is maximized with respect to the available area on the package 1, i.e. with respect to the area of the hole 5 in the packaging material.

Finally, as mentioned above, the membrane 9, just at the same level as the flange 7, and therefore together with the wall 2 of the package 1, minimizes the potential entry area of air and light, and at the same time facilitates the removal of the sterilizing agent from the opening device 3 by evaporation following the known sterilization process. That is, any corners where the sterilant can accumulate are removed.

Obviously, although numerous modifications can be made to the spout 4 as described and illustrated herein, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the annexed claims.

In particular, the neck 8 of the spout 4 may not be cylindrical, for example formed to define an oval pouring opening 6.

Claims (6)

1. A spout (4) for an opening device (3) of a sealed package (1) of a pourable food product, said spout (4) comprising:

a fastening portion (7) by means of which said spout is fastened to the respective package (1); and

a neck (8) projecting from the fastening portion (7) and defining, with the fastening portion (7), a through opening (6), the through opening (6) having an axis (A), the food product being poured through the through opening (6);

at least one constriction (13) of said opening (6) located on a section transversal to said axis (A);

the constriction (13) is formed by a projection (17) projecting towards the inside of the opening (6);

characterized in that, between the fastening portion (7) and the neck (8), the projections (17) externally define respective recesses (18) of the spout (4).

2. The spout of claim 1, wherein the constriction (13) has a polygonal profile.

3. The spout of claim 2 wherein the constriction (13) has an octagonal profile with flat sides (15) alternating with curved sides (16).

4. A spout according to claim 3 wherein each of the flat sides (15) is defined by a protrusion (17) protruding inwardly of the opening (6).

5. The spout of any of claims 1-4 wherein the opening (6) has a circular profile adjacent to the constriction (13).

6. Spout according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said opening (6) is covered with a membrane (9) made of plastic, integrally connected to the side edges of said opening (6), detachable from said spout (4) along a preferential tear line (10) and extending substantially at the same level of said fastening portion (7).