The present invention generally relates to containers having a body of cardboard or any other material having equfvalent strength properties, and the invention is more particularly directed to containers of the type which can be damaged when subjected to pressure changes, the packed goods or the ambient atmosphere, and in which the container comprises a container sleeve which at least at one end is formed with a bellow bottom _* which in case of pressure changes in the packed goods or the ambient atmosphere can be moved outwards and inwards in the container thereby compensating the pressure changes so that the cardboard container sleeve is maintained substantially unchanged, and in which the container has a protective lid exteriorly of the bellow bottom. The invention also relates to a method and an apparatus for the manufacture of such a container. The apparatus comprises a carrier for the container sleeve and a piston means for pressing a bellow bottom blank and a lid blank respectively into the container tube, whereby a rim of the bellow bottom blank and the rim blank respectively is fold upwards, and in which the piston means comprises a lower part and an upper part which are axially movable in relation to each other, and an expandable means between said movable piston parts which expandable means at the compression of the two piston parts is pressed radially outwards to the inner surface of the sleeve which in turn is pressed to the carrier. The carrier is formed with a welding ring for welding the rim of the bellow bottom and the lid respectively to the inside of the container sleeve.

Containers having so called bellow bottom are previously known, for instance from the US patent 3,627,171. The said

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previously known container having a bellow bottom is made of sheet metal or another form-stiff material, and the bellow bottom, which is flexible and made of a flexible material is connected by being folded between the container sleeve and the lid which as conventional in manufacturing of sheet metal tins are curled inwards to provide a seal locksea . The bellow bottom alternatively can be substituted by a type of air balloon or a slidable means which is attached to the form-stiff container. A problem in connection to containers having a body of cardboard or a similar material is that the containers change form when subjected to internal or external pressure changes and if the pressure changes are maintained for some time, for instance for some hours to some days, the container gets a non- wished remaining change of form. In case of heavy pressure changes the cardboard container even can brake or become untight. Such problems normally do not appear in containers of sheet metal or other form-stiff or shape permanent materials.

In the said previously known type of container both the bellow bottom and the end or lid are connected to the container sleeve, and thereby a pressure chamber is provided between the bellow bottom and the lid. Such a sealed pressure chamber is not • acceptable in containers of cardboard or a similar non-shaped permanent material, since a pressure change should lead to a change of the container both at the area inside the bellow bottom or the bellow bottom and in the area between the bellow bottom and the lid.

For different reasons some types of goods are packed in hot state and when the said goods are cooled down the packing volume thereof is reduced. In case of such packaging it is important to compensate the pressure change by the action of the bellow bottom so that the form of the container sleeve is maintained unchanged. This is possible only if the bellow bottom can move unprevented by an exterior lid.

Further it is important that different types of goods, especially food stuffs, are packed aseptically and the filling and the closing of the container therefore preferably is made at the

place where the goods are manufactured. Machines for manufacturing and closing of cans of metal, however, are so large, complicated and expensive that they generally are not suited for small or medium size manufacturers of food stuffs or other products. Cans of sheet metal also are very bulky and lately discussions also have come up as concerns composting problems and different types of environments problems in connection to cans of sheet metal. Also for this reason a container of the type mentioned in the said US patent is less suitable for some areas of packaging.

Therefore the invention relates to a Canute container i

I having a body of cardboard or any other material having ^! equivalent strength properties. For eliminating the deformation and damages of the container in case of internal or external pressure changes, for instance when goods packed in hot state are being cooled, in case of air transportation of ready filled and sealed containers etc. The container is formed with an inner bellow bottom at least at one end thereof. The bellow bottom is provided so that it can be expanded or contracted depending on pressure changes while the container maintains its shape unchanged.

There are, however, certain problems in closing and sealing of cardboard containers, and the sealing problems are increased inserting a bellow bottom in the container, especially since the manufacture, the filling and the closing of the containers must be made quickly for a rational manufacturing process. A modern method for manufacture of cardboard containers of this type makes use of a welding tool by means of which the container is closed and sealed by high frequency heat or ultrasonic heat. This is made in that the lid and the container sleeve on their meeting surfaces are formed with a weldable material, and in that the lid with a folded up all around extending rim is pressed down in the sleeve so that the rim of the lid is positioned straight in front ^• of the welding tool, for instance the welding ring. When weld connecting a bellow bottom the welding operation also must be made right in front of the welding ring. In order to give the

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container an attractive appearance and in order to protect the bellow bottom the container must be formed v/ith a further lid provided exteriorly of the bellow bottom and preferably connected to the inner surface of the container sleeve. The said further lid ought to have air channels in which the air volume between the bellow bottom and the protective lid can be reduced and increased when the bellow bottom is moved outwards and inwards respectively. In order to provide the bellow bottom the pressure piston which is forming and forcing the bellow bottom down in the container sleeve must be designed so that the bellow bottom is cup-shaped. This means that the press piston at the bottom surface thereof must be convexly formed. The protection lid cannot be inserted at the same time as the bellow bottom, and the introduction of the protection lid must be made in a separate operation, and in case the press piston has the above mentioned convexly bulged shape the protection lid cannot be formed, forced into the container sleeve and welded to the container sleeve in the same way as the bellow bottom. Also the protection lid cannot be welded to the container sleeve without moving the sleeve so that the protection lid comes in a position straight in front of the welding tool. It is expensive and complicated to execute the operation in two different machine stations and by means of two different press pistons.

The object of the invention therefore is to solve the problem providing a method and an apparatus suitable for the manufacture of containers alternatively having or not having a bellow bottom and in which the container having a bellow bottom can be fully manufactured in one and the same machine station and by using one and the same press piston.

According to the invention the lower part of the press piston is formed with a bulging provided below the expandable means corresponding to the intended shape of the bellow bottom, and the carrrier for the container sleeve is formed with means for supporting the sleeve on two different levels, viz. an upper t level in which the bellow bottom is inserted and a lower level in which a protection lid is welded to the container sleeve above

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the bellow bottom. Preferably the bulging of the press piston is formed as a straight cylinder having a bellied, rounded or otherwise designed bottom surface so that the outer cylindrcial portion of the bulging can be used as a press surface when the 5 protection lid is weld connected to the container sleeve. Thereby the protection lid can be formed with relatively low edges. The bulging of the press piston should be such that the bellow bottom can be moved both inwards and outwards if the outer pressure change is positive or negative respectively, and the bulging ■0 therefore may be a combination of convexly and concavely formed parts.

Further characteristics of the invention will be evident from the following detailed description in which reference will be made to the accompanying drawings. ■5 in the drawings figure 1 is a cross section through the upper part of a cardboard container having a bellow bottom and manufactured in accordance with the invention. Figure 3 is a diagrammatically cross section view through an apparatus according to the invention. Figure 3 shows a part of the 0 apparatus according to figure 3 in a larger scale and during the welding of the bellow bottom, and figure 4 correspondingly shows the welding of the protection lid. ,

Thus the shown apparatus is intended for the manufacture of a container of cardboard or any material having equivalent 5 stiffness or strength properties and comprising a container sleeve 1 which at the bottom can be sealed closed and which at the upper part is formed with an inner bellow bottom 2 which sealingly closes the container. Above the bellow bottom a protection lid 3 is connected to the container sleeve, and as an 0 upper end 4 the container sleeve is formed with an inwardly curled edge 5. The container also can be formed with a bellow bottom and a protection lid both at the bottom and the top of the container.

The material of the container sleeve is a body 6 of 5 cardboard or a similar stiff material, preferably an intermediate layer 7 adapted to absorb high frequency or

ultrasonic energy, for instance an aluminum layer and an inner lay r 8 of a wel dab! e plastic material like polyethylene. The protection lid preferably is made of the same material as that of the container sleeve or any other suitable material. The bellow bottom 2 should be made of such weldable material which both is easily foldable and also is weldable. The bellow bottom is the gas sealing of the container sleeye and therefore it is important that the bellow bottom carefully seals to the inner surface of the container sleeve. The bellow bottom can be made of a suitable

■0 laminated material li e aluminum, polyethylene with the polyethylene layer facing the container sleeve. In the left hand part of figure 1 the container is shown in a partly ready state, and in the right hand part of the figure the container is shown in a final ready state.

•5 The apparatus according to the invention shown in figure 2 comprises a carrier 9 having a welding tool 10 in the form of a welding ring and an introduction piston or plunge 11 connected to known means 12 for moving the plunge 11 upwards and downwards and for providing a suitable pressure or weld connecting the edges of 0 the bellow bottom to the inner surface of the sleeve as will be expl ined more in detail in the following.

The carrier 9 is intended for holding the sleeve 1 in contact with the welding ring 100 while the bellow bottom 2 and the protection lid 3 is introduced and weld connected to the 5 i ner surface of the sleeve. At the bottom edge the carrier is conically formed for providing a guide cone 13 for the sleeve which is introduced in the carrier from underneath. The weld ring 10 is slightly conically widened in the direction upwards, for instance at an angle of about 3°. Above the weld ring 10 carrier is formed as a straight cylinder the outer periphery of which 0 coincides to the upper edge of the weld ring 10. At a place a predetermined distance above the weld ring the carrier cavity has a shoulder 14 defining the upper position of the sleeve 1. The introduction bore above the shoulder 14 should have such area that the plunge 11 together with the bellow bottom blank or a 5 protection lid blank can be pressed down through the carrier and

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into the opened end of the sleeve 1. When the bellow bottom blank or the protection lid blank are pressed down as mentioned they are formed with an upwardly projecting rim which at a later stage is weld connected to the inner surface of the sleeve. For providing a good folding up of the outer edge of the bellow bottom or the protection lid a formation ring 15 having rounded • edges 16 may be mounted above the carrier 9. It should, however, be noted, that it is also possible to form the bellow bottom and the protection lid respectively by pressing the same directly into the container sleeve, and the carrier may have or not have both the shoulder 14 and the formation ring 15. The widened part of the cavity existing above the welding 10 give a possibility for a slight widening of the upper edge of the sleeve when the bellow bottom blank and the lid blank is pressed down in the sleeve, whereby it is foreseen that the sleeve is protected against damages by the said blank or blanks.

The introduction piston or the plunge 11 comprises a lower part 17 and an upper part 18 which are axially movable in relation to each other. Between the upper part 18 and the lower part 17 there is an expandable means, for instance a rubber ring 19 which changes form and is pressed radially outwards when the upper plunge part and the lower plunge part are pressed together. The lower part 17 is formed with an outwards-downwards sloping surface 20 supporting the rubber ring 19, and below said sloping surface the lower plunge part has a bulging 21, the shape of which defines the final form of the bellow bottom. The bulging 21 has sides 22 in the shape of a straight cylinder and a bottom which preferably has an even rounded outer edge. For making the bellow bottom assimilate both super pressure and sub pessure it must be movable both outwards and inwards, and for this purpose the bulging 21 may be formed with one or more cavities, for instance a central cavity 23 as shown in figure 3. For letting out air and/or for connecting the bellow bottom blank to said cavity 23 by a suction means an evacuation bore or a suction means 24 may be provided at the center of the cavity. The upper plunge part 8 is with easy slip fit dispeacable outside the lower

plunge part 17 and it has an outer area which is adapted for moving the. plunge 11 down together with a bellow bottom blank or a protection lid blank in the carrier 9 and into the open end of the container sleeve 1. The actuation means are adapted to move the plunge 11 to an exactly predetermined position in which the rubber ring 19 is located just in front of the welding ring 10. In this position the lower plunge oart 17 is stopped by a carrier pin 25 whereas the upper plunge part 18 can be moved some further distance in relation to the lower plunge part, whereby the rubber 0 ring 19 is compressed axially and thereby expands in the radial direction.

At the upper side of the carrier 9 there may be a first support 26 for positioning a bellow bottom blank 27 and a second support 28 for positioning a (non illustrated) protection lid

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The operation of the apparatus is best evident from figures 3 and 4 in combination with figure 2. A container sleeve 1 is from ' underneath moved to an upper position in the carrier 9. The said upper position for instance can be defined by the shoulder 14. A 0 bellow bottom blank 27 is placed in the first support 26, and the plunge 11 is moved downwards by the actuation means 12, whereby ^• the plunge forces the bellow bottom blank down through the upper part of the carrier 9 and into the open end of the sleeve. The bellow bottom blank is formed exactly to the shape of the plunge, 5 and the plunge is adjusted so as to be stopped in a position in which the rubber ring 19 is located just in front of the welding ring 10. After the lower plunge part has been stopped by the carrier pin 25 the upper plunge part 18 is moved an exactly predetermined further distance down, whereby the rubber ring is

30 compressedd and expands in the radial direction, whereby the bellow bottom blank 27 is pressed to the inner surface of the sleeve 1. The sleeve in turn is pressed to the welding ring 10. When connecting heat, high frequency or ultrasonic energy the heat is absorbed in the metal layer of the sleeve and/or the

35 bellow bottom blank, whereby the weldable plastic lavers of the sleeve and the bellow bottom rim melt together. Since the rubber

ring is forcing the material towards the welding tool a very good weld contact is obtained, and since the bellow bottom blank is relatively thin a very good seal is obtained even if the bellow bottom blank has folds in the welding area. After the bellow bottom is weld connected the plunge 11 is retracted and a protection Tid blank is placed in the second support 28. At the same time the container sleeve is moved a predetermined distance down so that the protection lid can be welded to the container sleeve on a predetermined distance above the bellow bottom weld. When moving the plunge 11 down this is forming the protection lid blank to a lid plane 29 having an all. around upwards extending rim 30. By forming the protection lid of a thicker material than the bellow bottom the lid will be pressed with sufficisnt force to the inner surface of the container sleeve for providing a tack welding only by the actuation of the sides 22 of the bulging 1. The plunge is thereby moved down so that the lower part of the straight bulging sides 2 is straight in front of the welding tool, and heat is supplied, whereby the protection lid is point by point or discontinuously weld connected to the sleeve. In this second stage the welding therefore is made without the actuation of the rubber ring 19. This is possible since the protection lid is made of a slightly thicker material than that of the bellow bottom and since the upwardly projection rim 30 depending on the elasticity of the material is being biassed outwards'. There should not be a complete seal between the protection lid and the sleeve. On the contrary it is necessary that there is at least some perviousness between the sleeve 1 and the protection lid 3 so that air may pass the protection lid in both directions depending on pressure changes providing a movement outwards or inwards of the bellow bottom. Possibly the protection lid can be formed with one or more perforated holes or air channels.

By mounting the bulging 21 of the plunge 11 releasable one and the same plunge may be used for the manufacture both of containers having a bellow bottom as described above and for manufacture of containers without a bellow bottom, whereby the container lid is welded by the actuation of the rubber ring 19 in

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a position of the plunge 11 in which the rubber ring and the lid are straight in front of the welding tube 10 as described above in connection to the welding of the bellow bottom.

The moving of the sleeve 1 into two predetermined positions and the moving down of the plunge into two likewise determined positions is made by previously known means which need not be described in detail.

It is to be understood that the above specification and the embodiment of the invention illustrated in.the drawings are only illustrating examples and that different modifications may be presented within the scope of the appended claims.