The present invention relates to a holder for a container of the type having a sealed top seam.

Such containers with sealed top seam are known e.g. under the trademarks Tetra-Pak ^® and Pure-Pak ^® . These containers consist of cardboard and have bodies of substantially quadratic cross section. At the top such a container terminates in a closure consisting of triangular top panels at two of the opposite sides of the container and at the top of said container. The other two opposite sides of the top closure consist of two rectangular end panels. On closing the container the triangular top panels at each of the two opposite sides are folded inwards so as to form a cavity open in the side direction at either side of the container, and the two rectangular top panels are folded inwards and the end closure formed in this manner is then sealed, the upward-turning edges of all four side walls thus being mutually sealed. Thus, a horizontal multi-layered seam is formed, and on opening the container this seam is torn open at one side of the container, the parts of the container forming the ceiling of one of the side cavities being pried apart. Now, the triangular end panels at the top of one side of the container may be unfolded to form a spout. The container may be closed temporarily by folding back the triangular panels of the unfolded sidewall to the original form, thereby causing the seam to assume a more or less closed position as far as one half of the seam is concerned, while the other half of the seam is normally left unaffected.

Such containers are widely used for milk products and many other more or less viscous liquids, too.

In using such containers for very viscous liquids, such as soured dairy products or similar viscous products, a significant part of the contents is left in the container on dispensing of the contents from the container due to the viscous character of the material and its tendency to adhere to the inner side of the container. Of course, a somewhat more effective depletion may be obtained by holding the open container upside down for an extended period of time, but in e.g. cafeterias, restaurants or similar places the

character of the work does not permit the waits connected with allowing the remains to pour out of such containers.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a holder for containers of the type mentioned above by means of which a very effective depletion of the containers is obtainable.

The holder according to the present invention is characterized in that it is designed to support the container with the bottom upside down and with the top seam inserted into a gap tightly squeezing the seam together. Thus it is obtained that after being opened and depleted more or less the container can be tightly reclosed as the pried seam may be placed in the gap after having been returned substantially to its original state, whereby the seam is tightly reclosed due to the squeezing effect of the gap, and on the subsequent proper orientation of the holder the container will be upside down. Until the next dispensing from the container said container will be oriented upside down, and therefore the remaining contents will have ample opportunity to flow downwards and thus accumulate at the container closure normally turning upwards. Thus, when the seam is reopened by being released from the gap, the contents may be dispensed completely or partially, and the operation can be repeated until the container is completely empty. Due to the standing until final depletion is effected, the contents will accumulate at the pouring opening and thus only a mimimum amount of waste will be left in the emptied containers.

The invention will now be explained in further detail with reference to the drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a schematic and oblique view of an embodiment of a container for which the holder according to the invention is to be applied,

Fig. 2 is also an oblique view of an embodiment of the holder according to the invention intended for the container shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a front view of a second embodiment of the holder

according to the invention,

Fig. 4 is a left side view of the holder shown in Fig. 3,

5 Fig. 5 is a top view of the holder shown in Fig. 4 and . t

Fig. 6 shows a third embodiment of the holder according to the invention.

10 The carton shown in Fig. 1 is of the type sold under the trademarks e.g. Tetra-Pak ^® or Pure-Pak ^® or Tetra-Rex ^® . Such a container consists of a body 1 of e.g. quadratic cross section. The container has a closure at its upper end. Said closure consists of triangular folding flaps at the top of two of the opposite side walls of the 15 container, one wall 2 of which is shown in Fig. 1, and rectangular top panels 3, one of them being located at the upper end of each of the two other side walls, one wall 4 of which is visible in Fig. 1. In the closed position the panels 3 form a sort of shoulder surfaces of the container. In their folded state the triangular folding 20 panels form two opposite recesses, one recess 5 of which is visible in the drawing. The bottom of each recess 5 is constituted by a triangular folding panel 6 which inclines upwards and inwards, and the ceiling of said recess is constituted by two other triangular folding panels extending along the inner side of respective 25 rectangular top panels 3. At the top the closure terminates in a seam 7 constituted by edge portions along the upward-turning edges of the two inclined rectangular panels 3 as well as edge portions along the edges of the triangular folding panels which in the upright position of the container extend parallel to the lower edge 30 8 of the seam 7. The container thus formed can be opened by grasping the inclined ceiling panels of the recess 5 at one side of the container and pry them apart, thereby causing half of the seam 7 to open, and thereby allowing the triangular folding panels at the open side to be unfolded to form a pouring spout. The container can be »*! 35 reclosed temporarily by folding back inwards the unfolded folding panels, thereby substantially returning the seam 7 to its initial position. Containers of this type are well known within the prior art and, therefore, will not be explained in further detail herein.

The holder shown in Fig. 2 consists of a lower portion 11 wherein a longitudinal gap 12 is provided which is limited by an inclined bottom portion 15, 16, respectively, at either side. Furthermore, the holder has two side walls 17 and 18, respectively, which are interconnected along their rear edges by means of a rear wall 20. The bottom 21 of the gap 12 extends parallel to the underside 22 of the holder which is plane and which, therefore, may serve to support the holder in the position shown in Fig. 2. The gap 12 is designed as a slot which is closed at its rear end 23 constituted by an extension of the inner side of the rear wall 20.

The two inclined surfaces 15, 16 have substantially the same inclination as the inclination assumed by the rectangular end panels 3 of the container in the closed position of the latter, and the slot 12 has a length substantially corresponding to the length of the seam 7, and the depth of the slot 12 has a size which allows the seam 7 to be inserted into the slot. At each of the upper edges of the side walls 24, 25 of the slot 12, a bead 26 and 27, respectively, extends parallel to the opening of the slot, said beads having a spacing which is smaller than the thickness of the seam 7. Furthermore, the spacing between the side walls 17 and 18 is dimensioned according to the spacing between the two opposite side walls of the container, one side wall 4 of which is shown in Fig. 1, viz. so that the side walls effectively support the container.

The holder shown is used in the foilwing manner:

After opening a container as shown in Fig. 1 and partially dispensing the contents of said container and folding back inwards the spout, the holder 10 is turned with the bottom 22 upside down from the position shown in Fig. 2, and the holder is then snapped over the top of the container from the side with the non-opened seam 7, said end of the seam being inserted into the slot 12. This insertion continues until the entire seam 7 is inserted into the slot 12, and the seam will now be maintained in its original sealed position, i.e. with the edge portions along the upper edges of the rectangular top panels 3 pressed against each other and against the edge portions folded therebetween along the upper edges of the folded triangular folding panels. In other words, the seam 7 assumes

a state like the one it had when it was not yet broken, and consequently the container is now tightly closed by virtue of the ⁵ * ¹ slot 12. The holder with the container may then be turned to the position where the container is turned upside down without the risk 5 of outflow of the contents. When the container is then allowed to i- stand until further dispensing of contents is effected, the contents will have ample opportunity to flow downwards along the inner side of the container and accumulate at the closure now turning downwards. Renewed dispensing is effected by pulling out the seam 7 10 from the slot 12 and by reopening the triangular end folding panels, and in case the entire contents is not dispensed, the container can be reclosed and placed in the manner described. Thus, due to the flow of contents towards the discharge opening it is possible to effectively deplete the container even if said container contains a 15 very viscous liquid, e.g. a soured dairy product.

In Figs. 3 to 5 showing a second embodiment of the holder, the same reference numbers are used for the identical parts as in Fig. 2. In this embodiment each of the two side walls 17 and 18 is provided

20 with a bead 30, 31, respectively, at the front edge, and the minimum spacing between these beads is slightly smaller than the width of the container for which the holder is to be applied. Thus, when placing the holder upon a container as explained above, the side walls 17 and 18 will be caused to move slightly away from each

25 other, thereby resulting in a slight expansion of the insertion end of the slot 12 so as to facilitate the insertion of the portion of the seam 7 yet sealed. When the container is inserted completely into the holder a resilient effect is accomplished thereby causing the slot to exert its full squeezing power.

30

The embodiment according to Figs. 3-5 is further provided with a guiding or holding device 34 in the form of a projection on the inner side of the rear wall 20 of the holder. This projection 34 has an upper side 35 which inclines inwards and downwards as shown in

35 Fig. 4 and which is designed as an isosceles triangle. The projection is further limited by two triangular undersides 36, 37 extending substantially parallel to the supporting surfaces 15, 16 and in a distance thereof. Thus, this guiding or holding device has substantially the same form as the inner form of a side cavity 5 in

the container, and on placing the holder upon the container, the guiding or holding device 34 will protrude into said cavity and thereby contribute to ensure a. correct insertion of the seam 7 into the slot 12, and furthermore contribute to direct the container effectively in relation to the walls of the holder.

In Fig. 6 showing a third embodiment of the holder according to the invention, the same reference numbers are used for corresponding parts as in the two proceding embodiments.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 6 has only two opposite side walls 17 and 18 for supporting the reception of the upper end of the container between said walls. The gap or slot 12 is through-going in the embodiment shown and thus open at either end so that the holder may be inserted onto the seam from either side of the holder. The embodiment shown in Fig. 6 consists of an upper part 40 and a lower part 41 manufactured separately and being hollow, and which are joined together along a joint surface 42, e.g. by gluing or welding. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 6 the underside 22 is plane due to the fact that it is constituted by the underside of the lower part 41.

Moreover, it should be noted that the holders are merely shown schematically as no cavities or recesses are shown which the holders might be provided with in order to minimize the required amount of material. The holders are expediently made from plastics, preferably by injection moulding, and thus possess a certain elasticity.