Abstract
A method, a shaping tool and a machine for assembling a tubular cardboard body (1) and a flat sealing structure (6), forming a security membrane, surrounded by a peripheral strip, able to be folded down, that is sufficient to suitably assemble the sealing structure with the inner lateral wall of the tubular body, with a grippable tongue (7) folded down toward the central part of the sealing structure, on the face not designed for sealing, inserting the sealing structure in a shaping tool and shaping it in the form of a basin, the peripheral strip becoming orthogonal to said central part, inserting the structure in the tubular body using said shaping tool, configured for sealing said strip with the exception of an unsealed part thereof, extending over the circumference of said strip.
Claims
1. A method for manufacturing a packaging comprising a tubular body made from one or more layers of a cardboard material and a sealing structure, the method comprising forming a security membrane, comprising: providing the sealing structure in the form of a flat membrane comprising: a central part with a shape conjugated to the shape of the opening of the tubular body, surrounded by a peripheral strip able to be folded down that is sufficient to suitably assemble the sealing structure with an inner lateral wall of the tubular body, and a tongue integral with the rest of the sealing structure, with a sufficient size to allow gripping by a consumer, comprising a proximal end situated in said peripheral strip and a distal end extending outside said peripheral strip, said tongue being folded down toward the central part of the sealing structure, on a face not designed for sealing, in order to form said flat membrane, inserting the sealing structure in a shaping tool and shaping it in the form of a basin, the peripheral strip becoming orthogonal to said central part, inserting and placing the tubular body at a predetermined level, and circumferentially sealing the peripheral strip in the tubular body using said shaping tool, with the exception of an unsealed part thereof, forming a marginal zone of the sealing structure in the packaging, wherein the proximal end of the tongue is situated in the unsealed part of the peripheral strip, and wherein the unsealed part of the peripheral strip extends over the circumference of the peripheral strip and over a certain width of the peripheral strip, creating a portion of the peripheral strip that does not contact the tubular body at the proximal end of the tongue, wherein the portion of the peripheral strip is located at the proximal end of the tongue and pulling on the tongue causes the top of the flat membrane to deform by distributing the pulling forces of the tongue over a surface of the sealed part of the membrane.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the unsealed part is made up of an intermediate part of said peripheral strip situated between the marginal zone thereof and a zone of the proximal peripheral strip of the central part of the sealing structure, and, after sealing of said marginal zone and said proximal zone, wherein the step of performing a cutting operation further comprises cutting the sealing structure along a circumference of the tubular body situated across from said intermediate part.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the proximal end of the tongue extends laterally on either side by two curves, the concave side of which is oriented toward the outside of the sealing structure.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said method is continuous and paced step by step; wherein the cutting of the sealing structure from a strip, the advancement of the strip by one step, a cutting sequence of the sealing structure in the strip and an operation for folding down the tongue are made subject to the insertion of the sealing structure into the shaping tool and an assembly sequence of the materials.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the end of the tubular body situated near said sealing structure undergoes a finishing operation determined by the choice of the cover.
6. A shaping tool for carrying out a method according to claim 1, comprising a sealing buffer, wherein said sealing buffer comprises a sealing base with a cross-section conjugated to the cross-section of the tubular body, the height of which is smaller than the width of the peripheral strip able to be folded down of the sealing structure, said sealing base being topped by a buffer body whereof the cross-section is chosen so as not to come into contact with said sealing structure.
7. The shaping tool according to claim 6, intended to carry out a method wherein the unsealed part is made up of an intermediate part of said peripheral strip situated between the marginal zone thereof and the zone of the proximal peripheral strip of the central part of the sealing structure, and, after sealing of said marginal zone and said proximal zone, the method comprises a step for cutting the tubular body and the sealing structure along a circumference of the tubular body situated across from said intermediate part, wherein the sealing buffer comprises a second sealing strip with a cross-section conjugated to the cross-section of the tubular body, arranged at a distance from said sealing base determined by the width of said unsealed intermediate part.
8. A machine for manufacturing packagings comprising a tubular body made from a cardboard material and a sealing structure, assembled to the tubular body tightly, designed to carry out the method according to claim 1, said machine comprising a sealing unit, comprising at least one shaping tool comprising a sealing buffer, wherein said sealing buffer comprises a sealing base with a cross-section conjugated to the cross-section of the tubular body, the height of which is smaller than the width of the peripheral strip able to be folded down of the sealing structure, said sealing base being topped by a buffer body whereof the cross-section is chosen so as not to come into contact with said sealing structure.
9. The machine for manufacturing packagings according to claim 8, comprising a supply device inserting tubular bodies into at least one sealing unit, a supply device bringing sealing structures in the form of flats in said sealing units to at least one shaping tool wherein the proximal end of the tongue is situated in the unsealed part of the peripheral strip and extends laterally on either side by two curves, the concave side of which is oriented toward the outside of the sealing structure, a transfer device for transferring tubular bodies, sealed to sealing structures, from the sealing unit to a finishing unit, a finishing unit comprising at least one finishing tool, with which each tubular body, sealed to a sealing structure, interacts to perform at least one specific finishing operation in order to adapt the end of the tubular body adjacent to the sealing structure to a predetermined type of cover.
Description
(1) Other features and advantages of the invention will be better understood by one skilled in the art owing to the description below of one embodiment in reference to the drawing, in which:
(2) FIG. 1 shows a tubular body associated with a security membrane according to the state of the art,
(3) FIG. 2 shows the production of a sealing structure according to the invention in the form of flats from a strip,
(4) FIG. 3 shows the insertion of a flat according to FIG. 2 into a shaping tool,
(5) FIGS. 4 and 5 show the shaping and sealing operations of the sealing structure in a tubular body,
(6) FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a sealing structure sealed in a tubular body,
(7) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 6,
(8) FIG. 8 shows the beginning of the operation for removal of the sealing structure by a user,
(9) FIG. 9 shows an example of finishing of the rim of the tubular body to receive a first type of cover, FIG. 9a being a partial enlarged view thereof,
(10) FIG. 10 shows a second example of finishing of the rim of the tubular body to receive a second type of cover, FIG. 10a being a partial enlarged view thereof,
(11) FIG. 11 shows a third example of the finishing of the rim of the tubular body to receive a third type of cover, FIG. 11a being a partial enlarged view thereof,
(12) FIG. 12 shows a fourth example of finishing of the rim of the tubular body to receive a fourth type of cover, FIG. 12a being a partial enlarged view thereof,
(13) FIG. 13 shows a fifth example of finishing of the rim of the tubular body to receive a fifth type of cover, FIG. 13a being a partial enlarged view thereof,
(14) FIG. 14 shows a sixth example of finishing of the rim of the tubular body to receive a sixth type of cover, FIG. 14a being a partial enlarged view thereof,
(15) FIG. 15 shows a seventh example of finishing of the rim of the tubular body to receive a seventh type of cover, with pre-cutting of the cover, FIG. 15a being a partial enlarged view thereof,
(16) FIG. 16 shows the detachment of the cover of FIG. 15, FIG. 16a being a partial enlarged view thereof,
(17) FIG. 17 shows an eighth example of finishing of the rim of the tubular body to receive an eighth type of cover, with pre-cutting of the cover and the membrane, FIG. 17a being a partial enlarged view thereof,
(18) FIG. 18 shows the detachment of the cover of FIG. 17, FIG. 18a being a partial enlarged view thereof,
(19) FIG. 19 shows a flat sealing structure for producing the assembly of FIGS. 17 and 17a,
(20) FIG. 20 is a diagrammatic axial cross-sectional view of a sealing buffer for producing the assembly of FIGS. 17 and 17a,
(21) FIGS. 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d show alternative embodiments of sealing structures, flat.
(22) FIG. 22 shows an embodiment depicting the production the tubular bodies with the sealing structures
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
(23) FIG. 1 shows a tubular body 1 associated with a security membrane 2 of the recess-membrane type whereof the peripheral part 3 covers the rim 4 of the tubular body 1. In the structure of the state of the art, the peripheral part 3 houses many flaws, which are sources of tightness defects. A tongue 5 is glued or sealed on the security membrane 2. This construction requires additional material and complex operations on the membrane.
(24) FIG. 2 shows the production of a security membrane 6 according to the invention, by stamping, from a strip of membrane material advancing under the stamping tool. At the top of FIG. 2, one sees the tongue 7, integral with the rest of the membrane, folded toward the center thereof to form a flat. In the embodiment shown by FIG. 2, on either side of the base of the tongue 7, the periphery of the membrane has two small concave zones in order to facilitate the subsequent detachment of the membrane from the inner wall of the tubular body. FIGS. 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d show alternative embodiments of sealing structures, flat. One skilled in the art will note that although the shapes of the tongues differ from the tongue 7 of FIG. 2, the proximal end extends laterally on either side by two slight curves, the concave side of which is oriented toward the outside of the sealing structure.
(25) FIG. 3 shows the membrane 6, still in flat form, inserted into a shaping tool 8 whereof the overall structure and the operating mode are known in the state of the art. FIG. 4 shows the descent of the sealing buffer 9 and the pinching of hold-down members 10 and the shaping die 11. FIG. 5 shows the security membrane 6 formed into a basin, the tongue 7 being folded down at a right angle by the sealing buffer 9. One skilled in the art will see, in light of FIGS. 4 and 5, that only the base 12 of the sealing buffer 9 interacts on its perimeter with the membrane 6, the upper part of the sealing buffer being withdrawn, optionally covered by a thermally insulating layer. Likewise, the sealing buffer preferably has, in its lower part, a zone thermally insulated by a protector so as not to adhere to the tongue, by activation effect, on the sealing part of the tongue when the buffer is removed.
(26) With the configuration described above, it is possible to tightly grip the shaping die and thus concentrate the folds/overthicknesses toward the unsealed marginal zone of the membrane, while improving the membrane/tubular body tightness, while also avoiding moving the membrane by friction effect during that removal of the buffer.
(27) FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show the outcome of the operation: only the zone 13 of the peripheral strip of the membrane 6 embodied by an extra thick line is sealed to the tubular body 1. The tongue 7 and the marginal zone of the membrane 6 are not secured to the tubular body 1. The marginal zone not sealed [can] in particular have a width from 1 to 3 mm. FIG. 8 shows the beginning of an operation for detaching the membrane 6 by a user who grasps the tongue 7. The pulling on the tongue 7 is distributed on either side of the base thereof owing to the marginal zone, which has remained free. The concave side of the marginal zones bordering the base of the tongue shown in particular in FIG. 2 contributes to this distribution.
(28) One skilled in the art will in particular see, in light of FIG. 6, that the security membrane is positioned according to the invention at a certain distance from the rim 14 of the tubular body, at a depth chosen by the manufacturer of the packaging based on the cover designed for that packaging. This distance makes it possible to perform a finishing operation of the rim, which, in the majority of cases, does not affect the membrane, but may nevertheless encompass it.
(29) One skilled in the art will also see that many materials, like those cited above, are usable to produce the membrane, the only condition being compatibility with the inner barrier material of the tubular body regarding the heat sealing.
(30) FIGS. 9-16 show a plurality of non-limiting examples of such finishing operations by grooving or hemming: FIGS. 9 and 9a show grooving for an inward cover, FIGS. 10 and 10a show grooving for a cover with an outer engagement (clipped cover), FIGS. 11 and 11a show hemming for a cover with an outer engagement, FIGS. 12 and 12a show the placement of an insert between the right edge of the tubular body and a cover with outer gripping, FIGS. 13 and 13a show a second hemming for a cover with outer engagement, FIGS. 14 and 14a show a third hemming for a cover with outer engagement, FIGS. 15 and 15a show a fourth hemming of the rim of the tubular body covering the edge of an inward cover, with a precut of the tubular body near that hemming, without emerging in the cover itself, making it possible, as shown by FIGS. 16 and 16a, to have an easy separation of the cover without affecting the safety membrane, as well as re-closing of the packaging after tearing away the membrane.
(31) FIG. 19 shows an embodiment of the sealing structure in which the peripheral strip, symbolized by the circle in dotted lines, is wider than in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 and the concave cutting zones 18 on either side of the tongue are deeper. The sealing buffer designed to place that sealing structure in the tool body has, in addition to the sealing base 12 of the embodiment shown by FIGS. 3-5, a second sealing strip 19 arranged at a distance from the sealing base determined by the width of the intermediate part of the peripheral strip of the sealing structure designed not to be sealed. The result of the operation is in particular shown in FIG. 17a. The peripheral strip is sealed to the body in its upper marginal zone 16 and in its lower zone 17, leaving the intermediate zone free, at which a cutout 15 is formed on the circumference of the tubular body, in a finishing operation that follows the hemming operation of the upper rim of the tubular body. FIGS. 18 and 18a show the detachment of the cover from the structure shown in FIGS. 17 and 17a. One skilled in the art will note that during the detachment of the cover, the initial marginal zone of the sealing structure is detached therefrom and remains secured to the cover while the intermediate part, with which the proximal part of the tongue is secured, becomes the new upper marginal zone of the security membrane.
(32) FIG. 22 shows an embodiment depicting the production of tubular bodies 1 with security membranes 6. On the left side of FIG. 22, supply device 21 inserts tubular bodies 1 into at least one sealing unit. Each sealing unit comprises at least one shaping tool comprising a sealing buffer, wherein said sealing buffer comprises a sealing base with a cross-section conjugated to the cross-section of the tubular body, the height of which is smaller than the width of the peripheral strip able to be folded down of the sealing structure, said sealing base being topped by a buffer body whereof the cross-section is chosen so as not to come into contact with said sealing structure. Supplying device 23 brings the sealing structures 6 in the form of flats in said sealing units to at least one shaping tool 8 wherein the proximal end of the tongue is situated in the unsealed part of the peripheral strip and extends laterally on either side by two curves, the concave side of which is oriented toward the outside of the sealing structure. Transfer device 25 transfers tubular bodies 1, sealed to sealing structures 6, from the sealing unit to a finishing unit 27. Finishing unit 27 comprising at least one finishing tool, with which each tubular body, sealed to a sealing structure, interacts to perform at least one specific finishing operation in order to adapt the end of the tubular body adjacent to the sealing structure to a predetermined type of cover.
(33) The variety of the examples above shows that the assembly of a security membrane and a tubular body according to the invention offers a certain universality regarding the choice of adaptable covers, as well as regarding the shape of the covers and their materials, and therefore a wide range of applications.
