FR2634179A1 - Package for a consumable product and method of manufacturing such a package - Google Patents

Abstract

Manufacture of a can provided with a cover ensuring the integrity of the product contained in this can. According to the invention, the cover 15 is fixed, for example by heat sealing, to the internal surface of the can body 12 and the corresponding end of the latter is deformed in such a way as to define a roll 18 protecting the edge of the cover. In this way, it becomes impossible to conceal a fraudulent opening of the cover, the latter tearing at the first attempt.

Description

"Consumable product packaging and manufacturing process
of such packaging "
The invention relates to a packaging for a consumable product, in particular a food product, of the type comprising a thin cover attached in a sealed manner to the opening and intended to be removed by the consumer himself.

 The invention makes it possible to make irreversible the fraudulent or even malicious opening of such a seal and therefore gives the consumer the certainty that the product he is buying is neither polluted nor damaged.

 The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing such packaging.

 It is known to package certain food products such as milk powder, cocoa or coffee in rigid or semi-rigid packaging ~ whose opening is closed by a thin and flexible seal, made of aluminum or plastic or composite material ( juxtaposition of a plastic sheet and an aluminum sheet).

This seal has a double function: it helps to ensure good preservation of the product during the storage period and it allows the consumer to check that the product has not been polluted or started.

 In known packages of this type, the thin cover is heat sealed or otherwise bonded to a flat edge of the box body, extending along the perimeter of the opening. This type of packaging gives, in principle, all satisfaction, but in a number of rare but sometimes dramatic cases, it has been observed that the cover had been partially peeled off and then re-glued without the operation leaving any visible trace. It has thus been possible to demonstrate that the fraudulent opening could be carried out by applying an iron or a similar heating object to the heat-sealed zone and by closing the cover in the same way. Evildoers or unbalanced people have thus managed to deliberately defile or even poison food products thus packaged.

 The invention provides a solution to this problem by proposing a packaging of the kind described above but the cover of which cannot be detached in a reversible manner.

 In this spirit, the invention therefore essentially relates to a packaging of consumable product, in particular a food product, of the type comprising a box provided with an opening closed by a thin heat-sealed lid or otherwise glued to the edge of said opening, characterized in that that said edge of the opening is provided with a roll and that said cover adheres to a substantial part of the internal face of this roll.

 Of course, the box is preferably metallic, said roll being simply produced by axial stamping of the end of the box body. The roll is preferably an inside roll.

 The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a packaging of consumable product, of the type comprising the fitting of a thin cover hermetically sealing an opening of said packaging, characterized in that it comprises the operations consisting in fixing in a manner waterproof, for example by heat-sealing, a peripheral zone of such a seal on an annular surface close to one end of a box body and to roll up this end of said box body until a portion of said annular surface covered by said peripheral zone, is located inside said roll.

The invention will be better understood and other advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the light of the description which follows, of an embodiment of a metal packaging conforming to its principle and of a manufacturing process. of this packaging, given only by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
- Figure 1 shows a partial sectional view of the upper part of a metal package according to the invention and the lower part of another identical metal package, to illustrate how such packages can be stacked;
- Figure 2 schematically illustrates the essential phases of a process for manufacturing such packaging.

 The packaging 11, here essentially metallic, comprises a box body 12, here cylindrical, provided at one of its ends with a bottom 13, crimped in a conventional manner, a cover 14, here in semi-rigid plastic material and a thin cover 15 closing (before consumption of the product) the opening 16 defined at the other end of the box body. In the drawing, the two ends of the box body shown belong to two different boxes stacked one on the other.

 According to the invention, the edge of the opening -16 is provided with a roll 18 and the cover 15 adheres (as a result of heat sealing, in the example described) to a substantial part of the internal face 18a of this rolled up. this is an inside roll. The cover 14 comprises an annular bead 22 and an external flange 23 shaped so that said cover fits relatively hermetically over the opening 16 by fitting elastically onto said roll. This arrangement allows the preservation of the product during the consumption period.

The box body 12 is metallic (tinplate) so that the roll can be easily obtained by axial stamping of the box body, according to a process which will be described later or possibly rolling with a thumbwheel. The cover 15 can be made of aluminum and it can be applied (before formation of the roll) against the internal face of the box body with the interposition, s the periphery, of a layer of hot-melt plastic material forming an adhesive, known per se. The fixing is done by heating. The cover can also be produced from a composite sheet consisting of the assembly of a layer of aluminum and a layer of plastic material, the cover being placed in such a way that said layer of material plastic is in contact with the box body, to allow heat sealing.

 It is clear from Figure 1, that after forming the roll, the area of adhesion between the cover and the box body is protected and made inaccessible, inside said roll 18. This arrangement therefore constitutes a pa #rade effective against any attempt to conceal a fraudulent opening of the box. Indeed, the opening can not be done without tearing the lid.

 It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to metal packaging but applies to all kinds of boxes, in the most diverse materials (plastic in particular) provided that this material is capable of withstanding a heat sealing operation. and a roll forming operation.

 Figure 2 illustrates the main manufacturing operations of the packaging of Figure 1. We start from a tubular box body 12 (here a cylindrical ferrule in tin) and a cover 15 preformed in the form of a cup, c that is to say comprising a border 25 perpendicular to its own general plane. The edge 25 is of shape and dimensions corresponding to those of the internal wall of the box body in the vicinity of one of its ends. The border is therefore, here, cylindrical.

 At I, the cover 15 is placed in the box body 12, in the vicinity of said end.

 In It is heat sealed by applying a slightly flared heating tool 28, to the shapes and dimensions corresponding to those of the cover. here, the tool 28 is therefore very slightly conical. It is engaged in the end of the box body where the cover is placed and it comes into contact with the edge 25, itself pressing against the box body.

 In III takes place the formation of the inner roll, by axial reconciliation between a die 30 on which the box body 12 rests and a punch 32 applied to the opposite edge where the cover 15 is fixed. The roll is obtained by deformation of the metal inside a guide groove defined in the punch. This operation can also be obtained using the thumbwheel. This roll is continued until part of the annular surface of the box body covered by the edge 25 is located inside the said roll. The matrix 30 is itself shaped so that, during this operation, the lower end of the box body is slightly enlarged to prepare a subsequent crimping of the bottom 13.

 In IV, the roll receives the cover 14 and it is in this state that the box is delivered to a producer. The latter fills said box at the bottom and proceeds to the final crimping of the bottom 13.

Claims (7)

 1- Packaging of consumable product, in particular a food product, of the type comprising a bottle provided with an opening (16) closed by a thin cover (15), heat sealed or otherwise glued to the edge of said opening, characterized in that said edge of the opening is provided with a roll (18) and that said cover adheres to a substantial part of the internal face (18ê) of this roll.  2- Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that said box is metallic.  3- Packaging according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said roll (18) is an inner roll.  4- A method of manufacturing a packaging of consumable product, of the type comprising the installation of a thin cover (15) hermetically sealing an opening (16) of said packaging, characterized in that it comprises the operations consisting in fixing in a sealed manner, for example by heat-sealing, an edge (25) of such a cover (15) on an annular surface of one end of a box body (12) and to form a roll (18) of this end of said box body until a part of said annular surface covered by said edge is located inside said roll.  5- Method according to claim 4, characterized in that an internal roll (18) is practiced.  6- A method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the said cover is preformed with a border (25) perpendicular to its own plane, said border being of shape and dimensions corresponding to those of the internal wall of said box body at in the vicinity of its end, in that said pre-formed cover (15) is placed in the end of said box body and in that said edge (25) of said cover is fixed along the internal wall of said box body ( 12) before practicing the above roll (18).  7- A method according to claim fi, characterized in that secures said lid to the box body by applying a slightly flared heating tool, to the corresponding shapes and dimensions. to those of the cover, in the end of said box body where said cover is placed.