US4577762A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Reclosable package and carton blank and process for making the same
Assignee: Fort James Corp
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Filing: 1985-06-27
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Granted: 1986-03-25
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Expires: 2005-06-27
Abstract
Abstract There is disclosed a package formed of a carton stock having front and rear main panels, side panels, and a set of end closure flaps, which comprises dust flaps, a cover flap, and a sealing flap, and coated, at least on the end closure flap, with a heat sealing coating which is cut and scored in a manner such that the sealing flap can be pulled away from the cover flap and the cover flap broken away to open the carton. The sealing flap has a tuck-in tab and the cover flap a complementary punch-in for effecting reclosing of the package.
Inventors
- 👤 Morris W. Kuchenbecker
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 15:28
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65D; B65D5/00; B65D5/42; B65D5/54; B65D5/5405; B65D5/541
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 33
Claim 1
Independent Claim
269 words
In a carton blank made of carton stock having front and rear main panels, side panels articulated by fold lines to a set of end closure flaps, which comprises dust flaps, a cover flap, and a sealing flap, and coated, at least on the end closure flaps, with a heat sealing coating: the improvement in which: said dust flaps and said cover flap have sealing areas adjacent to the fold lines thereof; said cover flap has cut-away end portions corresponding to the sealing areas of said dust flaps so that, when they are folded in on top of the dust flaps, the dust-flap sealing areas are exposed; said cover flap, save for said cover flap sealing area, is coated with a non-heat-sealing coating to provide a non-sealing area which, in the end of a closed carton erected therefrom, stretches from one cut-away portion to the other and to the edge of the cover flap; said sealing flap is adapted to be folded down onto the infolded dust flaps and adhered to the sealing areas thereof and to the sealing area of said cover flap; said sealing flap has a centrally-located pull tab; an area of the sealing flap which, in the closed end, overlies the non-sealing area of the cover flap is circumscribed by a sealing-flap ply-separation means forming a ply-separable area which extends from the sealing flap fold line along the sealing area of each dust flap and along the cover flap sealing area to said pull tab; and said sealing flap has a line of weakness which angles in from each corner to said ply separation means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
269 words
In a carton blank made of carton stock having front and rear main panels, side panels articulated by fold lines to a set of end closure flaps, which comprises dust flaps, a cover flap, and a sealing flap, and coated, at least on the end closure flaps, with a heat sealing coating: the improvement in which: said dust flaps and said cover flap have sealing areas adjacent to the fold lines thereof; said cover flap has cut-away end portions corresponding to the sealing areas of said dust flaps so that, when they are folded in on top of the dust flaps, the dust-flap sealing areas are exposed; said cover flap, save for said cover flap sealing area, is coated with a non-heat-sealing coating to provide a non-sealing area which, in the end of a closed carton erected therefrom, stretches from one cut-away portion to the other and to the edge of the cover flap; said sealing flap is adapted to be folded down onto the infolded dust flaps and adhered to the sealing areas thereof and to the sealing area of said cover flap; said sealing flap has a centrally-located pull tab; an area of the sealing flap which, in the closed end, overlies the non-sealing area of the cover flap is circumscribed by a sealing-flap ply-separation means forming a ply-separable area which extends from the sealing flap fold line along the sealing area of each dust flap and along the cover flap sealing area to said pull tab; and said sealing flap has a line of weakness which angles in from each corner to said ply separation means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
32 words
A carton blank of claim 1, in which said cover flap sealing area has a pull-tab ply-separation means which is complementery with said pull tab and is adapted to be adhered thereto.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
A carton blank of claim 2, in which said cover flap has a pull-tab receiving means complementary with and adapted to receive said pull tab.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
40 words
A carton blank of claim 3, in which said pull-tab receiving means comprises an aperture or aperture-forming means of a size, shape, and location complementary with and adapted to receive the pull tab, and to form therewith a reclosing means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
46 words
A carton blank of claim 3, in which said pull-tab receiving means comprises a punch-in portion adapted, when punched in, to form an aperture of a size, shape, and location complementary with and adapted to receive the pull tab, and to form therewith a reclosing means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
106 words
A carton blank of claim 2, in which said pull-tab ply-separation means has a ply-separation cut line partly in the fold line of the cover flap and partly in the main panel to which the cover flap is attached, whereby, when the cover flap is folded in, the portion of the ply-separation means in said main panel breaks away from said main panel and constitutes a projection complementary with said pull tab and adapted to be adhered thereto to provide means whereby the pull tab and the underlying ply-separation means can be grasped to effect the desired ply separation by pulling up on the pull tab.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
53 words
A carton blank of claim 6, in which the dust-flap sealing areas are embossed to provide a raised portion adapted to project into said cut-away portions of the cover flap and in which the non-sealing area of the cover flap is debossed to provide a depressed portion complementary to said sealing-flap ply-separation area.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
A carton blank of claim 2, in which the dust-flap sealing areas are embossed to provide a raised portion adapted to project into said cut-away portions of the cover flap.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
A carton blank of claim 8, in which the non-sealing area of the cover flap is debossed to provide a depressed portion complementary to said sealing-flap ply-separation area.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
28 words
A carton blank of claim 2, in which the non-sealing area of the cover flap is debossed to provide a depressed portion complementary to said sealing-flap ply-separation area.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
105 words
A package of claim 2, in which said pull-tab ply-separation means has a ply-separation cut line partly in the fold line of the cover flap and partly in the main panel to which the cover flap is attached, whereby the portion of the ply-separation means in said main panel is broken away from the main panel and constitutes a projection, and a portion of the pull tab is shaped to overlie this projection and is adhered thereto to provide means whereby the pull tab and the underlying ply-separation means can be grasped to effect the desired ply separation by pulling up on the pull tab.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
A package of claim 2, in which the non-sealing area of the cover flap is debossed to provide a depressed portion opposed to said sealing-flap ply-separation area.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
128 words
A package of claim 2, in which said pull-tab ply-separation means has a ply-separation cut line partly in the fold line of the cover flap and partly in the main panel to which the cover flap is attached, whereby the portion of the ply-separation means in said main panel is broken away from the main panel and constitutes a projection, and a portion of the pull tab is shaped to overlie this projection and is adhered thereto to provide means whereby the pull tab and the underlying ply-separation means can be grasped to effect the desired ply separation by pulling up on the pull tab, and in which the non-sealing area of the cover flap is debossed to provide a depressed portion opposed to said sealing-flap ply-separation area.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
28 words
A package of claim 2, in which the dust-flap sealing areas are embossed to provide a raised portion which projects into said cut-away portions of the cover flap.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
A package of claim 14, in which the non-sealing area of the cover flap is debossed to provide a depressed portion opposed to said sealing-flap ply-separation area.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
245 words
In a package made of carton stock having front and rear main panels, side panels articulated by fold lines to a set of end closure flaps, which comprises dust flaps, a cover flap, and a sealing flap, and coated, at least on the end closure flaps, with a heat sealing coating; the improvement in which: said dust flaps and said cover flap have sealing areas adjacent to the fold lines thereof; said cover flap has cut-away end portions corresponding to the sealing areas of said dust flaps so that, when they are folded in on top of the dust flaps, the dust-flap sealing areas are exposed; said cover flap, save for said cover flap sealing area, is coated with a non-heat-sealing coating to provide a non-sealing area which stretches from one dust-flap sealing area to the other and to the edge of the cover flap; said sealing flap is folded down onto the infolded dust flaps and adhered to the sealing areas thereof and to the sealing area of said cover flap; the area of the sealing flap which overlies the non-sealing area of the cover flap is circumscribed by a sealing-flap ply-separation means forming a ply-separable area which extends from the sealing flap fold line along the sealing area of each dust flap and along the cover flap sealing area to said pull tab; and said sealing flap has a line of weakness which angles in from each corner to said ply separation means.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
245 words
In a package made of carton stock having front and rear main panels, side panels articulated by fold lines to a set of end closure flaps, which comprises dust flaps, a cover flap, and a sealing flap, and coated, at least on the end closure flaps, with a heat sealing coating; the improvement in which: said dust flaps and said cover flap have sealing areas adjacent to the fold lines thereof; said cover flap has cut-away end portions corresponding to the sealing areas of said dust flaps so that, when they are folded in on top of the dust flaps, the dust-flap sealing areas are exposed; said cover flap, save for said cover flap sealing area, is coated with a non-heat-sealing coating to provide a non-sealing area which stretches from one dust-flap sealing area to the other and to the edge of the cover flap; said sealing flap is folded down onto the infolded dust flaps and adhered to the sealing areas thereof and to the sealing area of said cover flap; the area of the sealing flap which overlies the non-sealing area of the cover flap is circumscribed by a sealing-flap ply-separation means forming a ply-separable area which extends from the sealing flap fold line along the sealing area of each dust flap and along the cover flap sealing area to said pull tab; and said sealing flap has a line of weakness which angles in from each corner to said ply separation means.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
53 words
A package of claim 16, in which said cover flap sealing area has a pull-tab ply-separation means which lies under said pull tab and is adhered thereto so that, when the pull tab is lifted, ply separation of the pull-tab ply-separation means is effected followed by ply separation of the sealing-flap ply-separation means.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
44 words
A package of claim 17, in which said cover flap has a pull-tab receiving means operative, after ply separation of said sealing flap and the portions of the dust flap and cover flap adhered thereto, to form with said pull tab a reclosing means.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
35 words
A package of claim 18, in which said pull-tab receiving means comprises an aperture or aperture-forming means of a size, shape, and location to receive the pull tab, and to form therewith a reclosing means.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
41 words
A package of claim 18, in which said pull-tab receiving means comprises a punch-in portion adapted, when punched in, to form an aperture of a size, shape, and location to receive the pull tab, and to form therewith a reclosing means.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
253 words
A process for making a reclosable package which comprises: making a carton blank of carton stock having front and rear main panels, side panels articulated by fold lines to a set of end closure flaps, which comprises dust flaps, a cover flap, and a sealing flap, and coated, at least on the end closure flaps, with a heat sealing coating; cutting away the ends of said cover flap to expose, when the cover flap laps the dust flaps, narrow sealing areas along the fold lines of said dust flap; coating the rest of said dust flaps with a non-sealing coating; coating said cover flap with a non-sealing coating except for a narrow strip along the fold line thereof, thereby leaving a narrow sealing area which, when the cover flap laps the dust flaps, complements the dust flap sealing areas to form therewith, when the cover flap is folded in on the dust flaps, a continuous U-shaped sealing area along the fold lines of the dust flap and the cover flap; making parallel cuts in the center portion of said sealing flap and crease-scoring across said cuts to form a pull tab of a size to overlie the corresponding center portion of said cover flap sealing area; forming offset ply-separation scoring in said sealing flap which, in the closed end of the erected carton coincides with the inner edges of said U-shaped sealing area; and forming lines of weakness in said sealing flap which angle in from the corners thereof to said ply-separation scoring.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
253 words
A process for making a reclosable package which comprises: making a carton blank of carton stock having front and rear main panels, side panels articulated by fold lines to a set of end closure flaps, which comprises dust flaps, a cover flap, and a sealing flap, and coated, at least on the end closure flaps, with a heat sealing coating; cutting away the ends of said cover flap to expose, when the cover flap laps the dust flaps, narrow sealing areas along the fold lines of said dust flap; coating the rest of said dust flaps with a non-sealing coating; coating said cover flap with a non-sealing coating except for a narrow strip along the fold line thereof, thereby leaving a narrow sealing area which, when the cover flap laps the dust flaps, complements the dust flap sealing areas to form therewith, when the cover flap is folded in on the dust flaps, a continuous U-shaped sealing area along the fold lines of the dust flap and the cover flap; making parallel cuts in the center portion of said sealing flap and crease-scoring across said cuts to form a pull tab of a size to overlie the corresponding center portion of said cover flap sealing area; forming offset ply-separation scoring in said sealing flap which, in the closed end of the erected carton coincides with the inner edges of said U-shaped sealing area; and forming lines of weakness in said sealing flap which angle in from the corners thereof to said ply-separation scoring.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
46 words
A process of claim 21, which further comprises ply-separation scoring said corresponding center portion so that when the pull tab is adhered thereto and pulled, surface plies of said corresponding center portion will tear away with the pull tab with ply separation in said cover flap.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
45 words
A process of claim 22, which further comprises forming pull-tab receiving means in said cover flap operative, after ply separation of said sealing flap and the portions of the dust flap and cover flap adhered thereto, to form with said pull tab a reclosing means.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
35 words
A process of claim 23, in which said pull-tab receiving means comprises an aperture or aperture-forming means of a size, shape, and location to receive the pull tab, and to form therewith a reclosing means.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
41 words
A process of claim 23, in which said pull-tab receiving means comprises a punch-in portion adapted, when punched in, to form an aperture of a size, shape, and location to receive the pull tab, and to form therewith a reclosing means.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
109 words
A process of claim 22, in which the ply-separation scoring is effected partly in the fold line of the cover flap and partly in the main panel to which the cover flap is attached, whereby, when the cover flap is folded in, the portion of the ply-separation means in said main panel breaks away from said main panel and constitutes a projection, and shaping a portion of the pull tab to overlie this projection and causing it to be adhered thereto to provide means whereby the pull tab and the underlying ply-separation means can be grasped to effect the desired ply separation by pulling up on the pull tab.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
48 words
A process of claim 26, which further comprises embossing the dust-flap sealing areas to provide a raised portion to project into said cut-away portions of the cover flap, and debossing the non-sealing area of the cover flap to provide a depressed portion opposed to said sealing-flap ply-separation area.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
27 words
A process of claim 22, which further comprises debossing the non-sealing area of the cover flap to provide a depressed portion opposed to said sealing-flap ply-separation area.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
28 words
A process of claim 22 which further comprises embossing the dust-flap sealing areas to provide a raised portion to project into said cut-away portions of the cover flap.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
27 words
A process of claim 29, which further comprises debossing the non-sealing area of the cover flap to provide a depressed portion opposed to said sealing-flap ply-separation area.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1989-03-24 | 1989-09-23 | 1990-03-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1993-03-24 | 1993-09-23 | 1994-03-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1997-03-24 | 1997-09-23 | 1998-03-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |