WO2003053792A1

WO2003053792A1 - Beverage package

Info

Publication number: WO2003053792A1
Application number: PCT/IB2002/005512
Authority: WO
Inventors: Geoffrey Wolf; Alex Rashkovan
Original assignee: Geoffrey Wolf; Alex Rashkovan
Priority date: 2001-12-21
Filing date: 2002-12-19
Publication date: 2003-07-03
Also published as: AU2002358229A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a beverage package (10) which includes a one piece moulded plastics container structure (12) and a lid (14). The container structure includes a number of individually separable, cup-shaped compartments (16). Each compartment has an equal volume and amouth (26) shaped generally as a sector of a circle. The compartments lie adjacent one another and in combination define a peripherally circular shape. The lid (14) has a generally circular peripheral shape, spans over the mouths of all the compartments and is fastened to the compartments around their mouths ina manner allowing the lid to be peeled off the container structure so that the contents of individual containers, typically an alcoholic beverage, can be dispensed.

Description

BEVERAGE PACKAGE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

THIS invention relates to a beverage package.

In one application, the. invention is particularly concerned with a beverage package containing an alcoholic drink or liquor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a beverage package comprising:

a plastics container structure moulded in one piece and including a plurality of individually separable, cup-shaped compartments each having an equal volume and a mouth shaped generally as a sector of a circle, the compartment mouths lying adjacent one another and in combination defining a peripherally, generally circular shape; and

a lid of generally peripherally circular shape which spans over the mouths of all the compartments and is fastened peelably to the compartments around their mouths. Preferably the compartments are joined to one another at frangible, radially extending webs at which the compartments can be separated from one another. Typically the webs include lines of weakness or tear lines at which each compartment can be separated from neighbouring compartments. The lid should also be tearable at positions corresponding to the lines of weakness or tear lines of the webs. For this purpose the iid may be formed with lines of weakness or tear lines, at positions corresponding to the lines of weakness or tear lines of the webs, which divide the lid into separable, generally sector shaped zones each of which spans over and is fastened about the mouth of a single compartment, whereby each compartment has its own lid zone and can be separated from the other compartments with its associated lid zone.

The container structure have a central hole and the lid may also have a central hole corresponding in position to the central hole of the container structure.

In the preferred embodiment, the lid is of metal foil and is heat-sealed to the container structure in a manner allowing the foil to be peeled off the container structure. The lid may provide one or more finger-grippable tabs at which it can be gripped for the purposes of peeling the lid from the container structure.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a plastics container structure for a beverage package as summarised above, the container structure being moulded in one piece and including a plurality of individually separable, cup-shaped compartments each having an equal volume and a mouth shaped generally as a sector of a circle, the compartment mouths lying adjacent one another and in combination defining a peripherally circular shape, and the container structure being shaped to stack with other similar container structures with the compartments of one structure in the stack received in the compartments of the next lower structure in the stack. Conveniently at least some of the compartments are formed with projecting formations arranged to rest on the mouths of compartments of the next lower container structure in the stack, thereby spacing the mouths of the compartments of the respective container structures vertically apart from one another.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a beverage package according to a first embodiment of this invention;

Figure 2 shows a side view of the assembled package of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows a plan view of the assembled package of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 shows a cross-section at the line 4-4 in Figure 3;

Figure 5 illustrates the separation of a single compartment of the package of the Figure 1 and the peeling of the lid zone thereof;

Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the container structure of a beverage package according to a second embodiment of the invention;

Figure 7 shows a plan view of the container structure seen in Figure

6;

Figure 8 shows an underplan view of the container structure seen in

Figure 6; Figure 9 shows a cross-section at the line 9-9 in Figure 7; and

Figure 10 shows a cross-section at the line 10-10 in Figure 7.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A first embodiment of beverage package 10 is shown in Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings. Referring to Figure 1 , the package 10 includes a container structure 12 and a lid 14. The container structure 12 is formed as an integral, one-piece plastics moulding, typically of a suitable polystyrene composition. It includes four identical, cup-shaped compartments 16. Each compartment is defined by a base 18, a pair of planar side walls 20, 22 and a part-circular side wall 24. Each compartment has a mouth 26 defined by the upper edges of the side walls 20, 22 and 24. The side walls 20, 22 of adjacent compartments diverge away from one another in a direction towards the base and the side walls 24 are generally part-frustoconical in shape. It will accordingly be appreciated that each compartment has a downwardly tapering cup-shape.

It will also be clear that the mouths 26 of the compartments define, in combination, a peripherally circular shape in plan view.

The upper edges of the side walls 20, 22 of adjacent compartments are joined to one another by narrow webs 28 formed with pairs of spaced apart, upstanding ribs 30. Between the ribs, the webs are perforated along tear lines of weakness 32. The upper edges of the side walls 24 are formed with an outwardly extending flange 31. Ribs 33 on these flanges are continuous with the associated ribs 30 so that the ribs 30, 33 of each compartment form a continuous triangular shape.

Each of the compartments is charged with a predetermined volume 34 of a beverage, in this case an alcoholic beverage or liquor such as whiskey, brandy or vodka. In the preferred embodiment, each compartment has a total volume of approximately 75ml and is charged with 50ml of the beverage, corresponding to a metric liquor tot. An ullage space 36 accordingly exists in each compartment above the beverage when the package 10 is sealed as described below.

The lid 14 is of generally circular shape and is made of thin gauge aluminium foil and in this case has a rough texture. It has a diameter corresponding to that defined by the mouths 26 of the compartments 16.

The lid 14 is formed with radially extending tear lines of weakness 42 formed by perforations in the lid material which subdivide the lid into four equal, generally sector-shaped zones 44.

After the individual compartments 16 have been charged with beverage as described above, the lid 14 is placed coaxially over the container structure. With the lid in this position, the tear lines 42 in the lid lie centrally between the relevant ribs 30. A hot platen, iron or other flat heat source is then brought momentarily into contact with the upper surface of the lid. By conduction through the lid, this melts the ribs 30,33. After removal of the heat source, the molten rib material resolidifies and adheres firmly and continuously, along the line of each rib, to the underside of the lid. Those skilled in the art of packaging will recognise that this is a conventional method of sealing a foil lid to the mouth of a plastic container. The four compartments are therefore completely separated from one another and are individually, hermetically sealed.

A person wishing to dispense a tot of the packaged liquor can separate a single compartment from the remaining compartments. He does this by tearing the selected compartment away from the other compartments along the tear lines 32. When sufficient force is applied to achieve this tearing action, the lid 14 is also torn along the tear lines 42, thereby separating the relevant zone 44 of the lid from the remainder of the lid along with the associated compartment. In order to pour the liquid content out of the separated compartment, it is now necessary to peel back the associated zone 44 of the lid. For this purpose, the centre of the lid 14 is formed with a small central hole 60. Beneath the lid, the centre of the container structure 12, at the position where the webs 28 meet one another, is formed with a corresponding hole 62, typically of slightly larger diameter than the hole 60 so that the inner edge of the lid around the hole 60 projects radially inwardly a small distance beyond the edge of the hole 62. With this arrangement, it is now possible for the user to grip the inwardly projecting edge of the lid zone 44 associated with the separated compartment and to peel the lid zone back, thereby allowing the contents of that compartment to be poured out. This is also shown in Figure 5.

It will be understood that with the arrangement described above, it would be possible to peel a lid zone 44 off a selected compartment without even separating that compartment from the other compartments. With a lid zone 44 completely removed it would then be possible to pour out the contents of that compartment while the compartment remains attached to the other compartments. In situations where dispensing will take place in this way, it is not necessary to include provision for separating individual compartments, i.e. the lines of weakness can be omitted.

The central holes 60, 62 serve another function by allowing multiple packages 10 to be threaded centrally onto a point-of-sale display rod which may, for instance, stand upright or extend horizontally from a wall or other supporting surface. In this way, each time a sale is made the endmost package 10 is merely slipped off the end of the rod.

As an alternative to the central hole arrangement described above, the flange 31 could be recessed at the periphery of each compartment 16 to allow an overlapping edge of the associated lid zone 44 to be gripped and peeled back. As yet another alternative, the flange 31 could include breakaway tabs which can be broken off to expose an overlapping edge of the lid material to be gripped and peeled back. The numeral 40 in the drawings indicates a peripheral tab on the lid 14 which projects beyond the flange 31 of the container structure. This may be a standard tab which exists on standard lid foils as currently manufactured. This tab could also be used to peel back the lid zone 44 on one of the compartments to allow the contents of that compartment to be dispensed. It is also within the scope of the invention for the lid 14 to include multiple tabs, like the tab 40, one for each compartment of the package. In this case, these, tabs would be used instead of the central hole or peripheral recess arrangements described above to allow for dispensing to take place from the individual compartments.

Although specific mention has been made of a four-compartment arrangement it will be understood that the invention extends to other multi- compartment arrangements having less or more than four compartments. The invention also extends to compartments having volumes other than those mentioned above.

Figures 6 to 10 illustrate the container structure of a six-compartment package according to the invention. In these Figures, components corresponding to components seen in Figures 1 to 5 are indicated by the same reference numerals.

In the six-compartment container structure 12 seen in Figures 6 to 10 the diameter of the container and lid will typically be of the order of 126mm and the depth of the individual compartments will be in the range 45mm to 50mm, but it will be understood that different dimensions are within the scope of the invention.

The container structure 12 of Figures 6 to 10 is, as in the first embodiment, moulded in one piece of polystyrene. Apart from the fact that it has six compartments 16 as opposed to four it differs from the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 in that the flange 31 has a downtumed lip 50 and in that recesses 52 are provided at the periphery of the moulding between adjacent compartments. The radially extending web 28 between adjacent compartments has a central, downwardly extending rib 54 in which the tear line 32 is formed. The central hole 62 is considerably larger than in the first embodiment and is bounded by a flange 64 with a downtumed lip 66.

The second embodiment also includes ribs 30 and 33, seen in Figures 9 and 10. During assembly, a metal foil lid similar to that described above, and with a circular outer periphery having a diameter matching the outer diameter of the container structure, is laid over the container structure so that its underside is in contact with the upper surfaces of the flanges 31 and 64 and regions 28.1 , 28.2 of the webs 28 located on opposite sides of the ribs 54. Heat is then applied by means of an iron or the like to the upper surface of the lid to bond the lid to the container structure around the mouth of each compartment 16 as described previously.

The lid may have tear lines formed in it which correspond in position to the tear lines 32 in the webs 28, and a central region of the lid, correspoinding to the hole 62, may either be punched out entirely or defined by tear lines corresponding in position to the flanges 54. The relevant tear lines or punched out zone may be formed at the same time as the heat sealing operation is carried out, or separately.

It will be understood that the outer edge of the lid will extend over the recesses 52. When an individual compartment is torn away from the remainder of the package, corner portions of the lid sector which is torn away with the compartment will be exposed at the outer corners of the compartment to provide finger-grip tabs to facilitate peeling of the lid sector from the compartment. This arrangement is accordingly similar to one of the alternatives envisaged for the first embodiment, as described above.

In the container structure 12 of Figures 6 to 10 the outer walls of three of the compartments 16 are provided during moulding with outwardly projecting, integral formations 66, in the illustrated case located on the radial bisectors of the relevant compartments. Other container structures may have similar formations, indicated by the numerals 68, which are circumferentially staggered with respect to the formations 66, but which are identical in all other respects. This feature is provided to assist in unstacking empty container structures. It will be understood that if container structures, alternately having the formations 66 and 68, are stacked with the compartments of one structure entering the compartments of the structure below, the formations will rest on the flange 31 of the structure below and thereby maintain the flanges in spaced apart relationship. This prevents complete nesting of the structures one inside the other and facilitates separation of individual structures from the stack for the purposes of filling them or for other operations on production line.

Claims

1.

A beverage package comprising:

a lid of generally peripherally circular shape which spans over the mouths of all the compartments and is fastened peelably to the compartments around their mouths.

2.

A beverage package according to claim 1 wherein the compartments are joined to one another at frangible, radially extending webs at which the compartments can be separated from one another.

3.

A beverage package according to claim 2 wherein the webs include lines of weakness or tear lines at which each compartment can be separated from neighbouring compartments.

4.

A beverage package according to claim 3 wherein the lid is tearable at positions corresponding to the lines of weakness or tear lines of the webs.

5.

A beverage package according to claim 4 wherein the lid is formed with lines of weakness or tear lines, at positions corresponding to the lines of weakness or tear lines of the webs, which divide the lid into separable, generally sector shaped zones each of which spans over and is fastened about the ^"mouth of a single compartment, whereby each compartment has its own lid zone and can be separated from the other compartments with its associated lid zone.

6.

A beverage package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the container structure has a central hole.

7.

A beverage package according to claim 6 wherein the lid has a central hole corresponding in position to the central hole of the container structure.

8.

A beverage package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the lid is of metal foil and is heat-sealed to the container structure in a manner allowing the foil to be peeled off the container structure.

9.

A beverage package according to claim 8 wherein the lid provides one or more finger-grippable tabs at which it can be gripped for the purposes of peeling the lid from the container structure.

10.

A beverage package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each compartment has a downwardly tapering cup-shape.

11.

A beverage package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each compartment has a total volume of approximately 75ml.

12.

A beverage package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each compartment accommodates the same volume of a beverage.

13.

A beverage package according to claim 12 wherein each compartment accommodates 50ml of an alcoholic beverage.

14.

A plastics container structure for a beverage package according to any one of the preceding claims, the container structure being moulded in one piece and including a plurality of individually separable, cup-shaped compartments each having an equal volume and a mouth shaped generally as a sector of a circle, the compartment mouths lying adjacent one another and in combination defining a peripherally, generally circular shape, and the container structure being shaped to stack with other similar container structures with the compartments of one structure in the stack received in the compartments of the next lower structure in the stack.

15.

A container structure according to claim 14 wherein at least some of the compartments are formed with projecting formations arranged to rest on the mouths of compartments of the next lower container structure in the stack, thereby spacing the mouths of the compartments of the respective container structures vertically apart from one another.