| Forming catch tabs on paperboard food container components for retaining containers and lids in releasable attachment -> Monitor Keywords |
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Forming catch tabs on paperboard food container components for retaining containers and lids in releasable attachmentRelated Patent Categories: Manufacturing Container Or Tube From Paper; Or Other Manufacturing From A Sheet Or Web, Container Making, Rigid Container (e.g., Box, Carton, Cap, Cup, Etc.), With Cutting, Breaking, Tearing, Or Abrading, By Rotary Tool, Including Folding, Of FlapForming catch tabs on paperboard food container components for retaining containers and lids in releasable attachment description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060183617, Forming catch tabs on paperboard food container components for retaining containers and lids in releasable attachment. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] This invention relates generally to the manufacture of catch tabs on pressformed, paperboard, food container component parts, such as lids and trays, for retaining food container components in manually releasable attachment. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] A popular type of package for food and beverages is a two-part package consisting of a lower container and a cover which have mating rims that permit the two to be removably attached together in order to enclose the food. They have mating rims that are typically characterized by a peripheral, annular lip, such as a rolled rim or a generally horizontal flange, on one of the two parts and a peripheral, generally axially extending, annular flange on the other part that has projecting catch tabs that can be passed over and then latched against the lip or flange. Usually, the generally axially extending, peripheral flange extends outwardly of and surrounds the lip or generally horizontal flange and the catch tabs extend radially inwardly from the axially extending flange. However, these relative positions can be reversed. [0005] Food containers of this type come in a variety of configurations having other common features. Usually, one part of the container has sidewalls of substantial height and the other part is relatively flat, with no substantial sidewalls. For example, for beverages, such as soft drinks and coffee, the lower part has sidewalls of a substantial height with an outwardly extended rolled lip around its top rim and receives and supports the food item. The upper part is a relatively flat lid for completing the enclosure and is formed by a panel with a peripheral, axially extending flange with radially inwardly extending catch tabs. For some food products, such as cakes or vegetables, these relative positions are reversed so that the lower part is relatively flat, it receives and supports the food item and is referred to as a tray or dish and the upper part has sidewalls of a substantial height for completing the enclosure of the food item and is sometimes referred to as a cover. For still other food items, both component parts have sidewalls of substantial height. All of these types of container structures can be inverted and their size can be modified and they still are containers having a lower component part and an upper component part. [0006] Furthermore, the lip or flange can be formed on either the upper or the lower component part and the generally axially extending, annular flange, with its catch tabs, can be formed on the other component part. Therefore, terms such as lid, tray, cup, dish etc. can be misleading and confining when used with these containers because those terms imply a top or bottom position even though the structural features are interchangeable. [0007] In view of this variability and the interchangeability of the position, size and orientation of these container structures, and in an attempt to have a consistent terminology without requiring multiple repetitions of substantial equivalents, certain terminology has been adopted. Instead of the terms lid, cup, tray, dish, etc. the term "container component part" is used and containers to which the invention applies ordinarily has two container component parts. The term "axially extending flange" is used to refer to the structure on a first component part of a container that has catch tabs for releasably latching the first component part to the second component part. When the components are joined, the axially extending flange is usually located outwardly of and surrounding the lip or flange of the second component part. The term "lip" is used to refer to the lip or flange of the second component part that is held by the catch tabs. It should be understood, however, that the term "axially extending flange" is not confined to a flange-like structure that is itself necessarily parallel to the axis of the container component part. That flange is usually somewhat oblique to the axis. It is only necessary that the "axially extending flange" lie generally along a resultant that has a directional component that is parallel to the axis so that, when the container component parts are moved along their axes to bring the two component parts into closed engagement, the catch tabs will pass over and then latch to the lip. [0008] Additionally, while some container component parts have substantial sidewall heights and some do not, all can be described as having an "open end" and a "closed end". The open end is the axial end of a container component part that faces the other component part and the two components are joined at their open ends. For example, a lid has a panel extending across and closing its top and a cup and a tray each have a bottom panel closing its bottom. Both the axially extending flange formed with the catch tabs and the lip that engages the catch tabs are typically formed near the open ends of the container component parts. The axially extending flange can extend from and be integrally formed with a wall of a peripheral groove formed in a closed panel of a lid or plate. The axially extending flange can extend from a sidewall and it can be an integral extension of a sidewall. [0009] Thermoformed drinking cup lids, cake platforms, and other various types of carry-out food packaging made from several types of plastic materials have long been used in the food and beverage industry. Plastic materials are easily molded or formed into desired shapes. Consequently, plastic food container component parts have long been formed with catch tabs or indentations protruding from an axially extending flange on a first container component part to latch the first component part onto a second component part. This is most common for lids for soft drinks and coffee. [0010] Paperboard has also long been used for forming component parts for food containers. One successful manufacturing technique is pressforming or thermoforming of the paperboard. In this technique, paperboard stock, typically corrugated paperboard, is pressed between mating, heated dies and formed into a desired shape. The pressforming of paperboard has been used to form a broad variety of container component parts. [0011] Many consumers and companies would prefer to use paperboard for lids, trays and other container component parts because paperboard has better inherent insulating properties and better graphic printing capabilities, is more environmentally friendly because it more readily and quickly deteriorates when discarded outdoors and is a renewable resource. However, in the past it has not been possible to obtain tight fitting lids or other container component parts in certain applications with the use of paperboard and/or combinations of paperboard and plastic. This has been primarily due to the fact that it has not been possible to form interior or "reversed" catch tabs in the paperboard packaging using the conventional male/female forming dies utilized in the existing pressforming technology. [0012] It is therefore an object and feature of the invention to provide a method and apparatus that can be used to form catch tabs on the axially extending flange of a container component part for latching with the lip of another container component part and to provide a paperboard container component part having such catch tabs. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013] Catch tabs are formed on an axially extending flange of a first paperboard container component part by shearing a plurality of circumferentially spaced slits through the axially extending flange and radially punching the paperboard adjacent each slit to deform a segment of the paperboard adjacent the slit in a radial direction. Preferably, each catch tab is caught on an edge formed on one of the forming dies, as the dies are separated, so that the catch tab is bent away from the axially extending flange and toward the open end of the container component part. This bending tears the paperboard at opposite ends of the slit so that the tears form opposite sides of the catch tab. [0014] To do this, a plurality of cavities are circumferentially spaced around a first die portion, each cavity opening toward a second die portion and having a shearing edge. A plurality of radial passages extend through the second die portion, each passage in registration with one of said cavities. A plurality of catch punches are each mounted for radial movement through a radial passage and into an associated one of the cavities. Each catch punch includes a shearing edge aligned to closely slide past the shearing edge of its associated cavity. An actuator is drivingly linked to each catch punch for driving the catch punches into the cavities and thereby shearing a slit in the interposed paperboard and driving an adjacent segment of paperboard into the cavity to form the catch tab or an initial preform of the catch tab. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS [0015] FIGS. 1-3 are half views in axial section of paperboard forming dies incorporating an embodiment of the invention and illustrating its operation. [0016] FIG. 4 is a view in frontal perspective of the preferred embodiment of the invention. [0017] FIG. 5 is a view in perspective of the upper die of the embodiment of FIG. 4. [0018] FIG. 6 is a view in perspective of a portion of a lower die of the embodiment of FIG. 4 with an assembled actuator, catch punch and a support bracket removed from the lower die to reveal its structure. [0019] FIG. 7 is a view in perspective looking the opposite direction at the structures illustrated in FIG. 6. [0020] FIG. 8 is a view in side elevation of a segment of the die of FIG. 6 with the catch punch, support bracket and actuator removed to reveal the passage through which the catch punch extends and retracts. [0021] FIG. 9 is a view in perspective showing in greater detail a portion of the upper die illustrated in FIG. 4. Continue reading about Forming catch tabs on paperboard food container components for retaining containers and lids in releasable attachment... Full patent description for Forming catch tabs on paperboard food container components for retaining containers and lids in releasable attachment Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Forming catch tabs on paperboard food container components for retaining containers and lids in releasable attachment patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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