PROCESSES AND EQUIPMENT TO MANUFACTURE ASEPTIC CARTON PACKAGES PROVIDED WITH LONGITUDINAL JOINING AND SEALING SIDE REGIONS AND PROCESS TO MANUFACTURE MULTILAYER LAMINATED PACKAGING MATERIAL USED TO PRODUCE SAID ASEPTIC CARTON PACKAGES PROVIDED WITH LONGITUDINAL JOINING AND SEALING SIDE REGIONS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

(001) The present invention relates to processes to manufacture aseptic carton packages made from multilayer laminated packaging material, such packages usually used to store and pour non- carbonated liquid or pasty products. The proposed methods can be implemented in new equipment or in equipment already in operation, and intend to modify the features of the packages, thereby facilitating use and transportation of such packages.

(002) Additionally, the present invention also relates to a process to manufacture multilayers laminated material for producing aseptic carton packages according to the processes object of the present invention.

RELATED ART

(003) It is well known to use aseptic and disposable packaging for packaging different types of liquid or pasty products, notably in the dairy and fruit juice industry or the like.

(004) Aseptically packaging a product in an aseptic package means that the product will be kept in sterile condition, hermetically sealed in the package, in an environment free of pathogenic and non- pathogenic microorganisms. If these aseptic packages were not hermetically sealed and the product was kept at room temperature, without refrigeration, such microorganisms would be able to grow inside during transportation and storage before consumption. Hermetically sealed aseptic packages prevent the passage of gases, fluids and microorganisms through the packages, and consequently no chemical and biological contamination of the aseptically packaged product is observed.

(005) A well-known type of multilayer laminated packaging material to manufacture aseptic packages comprises a thin fibrous laminated material, usually paperboard, which is the layer that provides structural resistance to the multilayer laminated packaging material. A second thin layer is laminated onto a non-printable face of the paperboard layer, comprising a high resistant laminated material, usually aluminium foil, which serves as a light and oxygen barrier. Thermoplastic adhesive layers are also used, which provide adhesion between the paperboard layer and the aluminium layer, and from an inner sealing layer and the aluminium layer. An outer sealing layer is also laminated onto a printable face of the multilayer laminated packaging material. The number of layers and types of materials applied may vary, depending on manufacturing needs.

(006) The multilayer laminated packaging material usually undergoes a heat treatment during the lamination, such as flame treating, in order to thermally activate the thermoplastic layers, thereby provoking a firm adhesion between them. (007) There are known various processes to manufacture aseptic carton packages from multilayer laminated packaging material. Briefly, these processes can be ranked in two distinct processes, (i) a first process, named sleeve process, in which a printed and creased multilayer laminated packaging material is fed to the packaging and filling equipment in sleeves, or semi-finished packages, and the sleeves, or semi-finished packages, are folded, filled and sealed in tandem units for parallel operations, thereby forming aseptic carton packages containing products; and (ii) a second process, named tunneling process, in which a previously printed and creased multilayer laminated packaging material is fed in rolls to the packaging and filling equipment, where aseptic carton packages containing products are continuously folded, filled and sealed.

(008) The manufacturing of the multilayer laminated packaging material for being used in the sleeve process mentioned hereinbefore comprise the operations of printing and creasing the multilayer laminated packaging material, next cutting it in blanks, which are folded and next two opposed edges of the blank are overlapped and thermally welded each other, thereby forming sleeves or semi finished packages having open upper and lower ends. The overlapped and welded edges will form a longitudinal welding region of the finished aseptic carton package.

(009) In the tunneling process the web of multilayer laminated packaging material is printed, creased and wound in rolls, forming a web of printed and creased multilayer laminated packaging material, which is then fed to a packaging and filling equipment.

(010) The creasing of the multilayer laminated packaging material form folding lines which are necessary to facilitate the folding operations the multilayer laminated packaging material undergoes in the packaging and filling equipment to manufacture the aseptic carton packages, in that the folding lines will form the edges of the packages.

(Oil) In order to facilitate folding of the multilayer laminated packaging material, in both aseptic carton packaging processes, either by blanks or by rolls, creases are made in the material on the parts that will form the folding lines of the blank so as to facilitate the production of the packages.

(012) In an alternative configuration to this type of manufacturing process, the raw material may be manufactured, printed and creased in continuous rolls, which are transported to manufacturing facilities where aseptic carton packages are manufactured and aseptically filled. In the initial stage of the manufacturing process, the raw material is unrolled from the rolls and pass through a forming and cutting equipment, in which the material is cut in blanks, or sheets, that are transformed in sleeves, which will be used to produce aseptic carton packages, that are aseptically filled with a product and closed.

(013) In the manufacturing process of packages from sleeves of multilayer laminated packaging material, a transverse folding is initially performed on each of the blanks so that the extreme side regions are juxtaposed and firmly joined together by welding the layers of thermoplastic material that coats both the aluminium layer and the printed face of the paperboard layer, applying pressure and heat to these regions. (014) Therefore, a longitudinal welding region is formed in this juxtaposition region. The term longitudinal is used herein because said welding region is parallel to the lateral edges of the lateral panels of the package, considering the position of the package resting on its lower panel.

(015) In this process an extreme region of the non printable face of the already printed and creased blanks of multilayer laminated packaging material in which the aluminium layer is apparent will overlap with the opposite printable face in which the printed carton layer is apparent. It is then formed a hollow body with opposed end portions open, in that the printed face of the paperboard layer is apparent in the outer region of the hollow body, and the aluminium layer is apparent on the inside of the hollow body.

(016) Folding operations occur in the following steps of the process to produce the carton packages, wherein the creasing lines serve to facilitate such folding operations, thereby defining the edges of the panels of the carton package.

(017) The region of the sleeves that will form the lower panel of the carton packages are folded and welded, by means of a welding process comprising the application of pressure and heat to cause the thermoplastic material that covers the aluminium layer to adhere, thereby forming a lower transverse joint region which seals the lower region of the package.

(018) The upper region of the semi-finished package is kept open so as to enable pouring of the product to be stored into the package. After the volume of product is totally poured into the package the region of the sleeves that will form the upper panel of the carton packages are folded and welded, by means of a welding process comprising the application of pressure and heat to cause the thermoplastic material that covers the aluminium layer to adhere, thereby forming an upper transverse joint region which seals the lower region of the package.

(019) At the end of the package manufacturing process, the upper transverse joint region is folded to rest on one of the halves of the upper panel of the package, and the package will be ready in its final form with the product aseptically packaged into it. The lower and upper panels of the package may have different shapes; for example, a square or a rectangle, other shapes being possible as well. They can even have different shapes each one.

(020) The patent documents US3566575 and US2016376045 disclose manufacturing processes in which aseptic carton packages are made from previously cut and creased sleeves of the raw material formed by the multilayer laminated packaging material.

(021) According to the second group of processes to manufacture aseptic carton package the multilayer laminated packaging material is wound in rolls which continuously feed the equipment to manufacture the packages.

(022) In this process the printed and creased multilayer laminated packaging material is initially unrolled and pass through a sterilization section. The multilayer laminated packaging material passes then through a section into which it is continuously converted into a tube. For this aim, a lateral region of joining and sealing of the multilayer laminated packaging material located in the face containing the aluminum layer is continuously and longitudinally juxtaposed onto the opposed end portion of the face containing the printed art. Thereby forming a firm adhesion between these two regions. Adhesion is made by applying pressure and heat to form the tube.

(023) Consequently, the aluminium layer will be located in the inner region of the tube, and the paperboard layer will be located in the outer region of the tube.

(024) The term longitudinal is used herein because said welding region is parallel to the bigger crease lines of the package which will form the bigger edges of the lateral panels of the package, considering the position of the package resting on its lower panel.

(025) The product to be stored into the package is continuously poured into the tube by means of a feeder located just before to the section in which the multilayer laminated packaging material is folded and its edges are welded to form the tube.

(026) As the material of the tube displaces downwardly, forming, sealing and cutting devices operate continuously to form, seal and cut semi-finished packages. In this operation, transverse joining regions are formed in the parts that will compose the upper and lower portions of the package, by applying pressure and heat, so as to make the welding of the plastic material that covers the aluminium layer. Then, cutting operations are performed above and below the upper and lower joint transverse regions, respectively, resulting in the formation of unitary semi-finished packages, properly cut and sealed.

(027) During the process of molding, sealing and cutting to form the semi-finished packages, two triangular side lugs are formed, which extend outwardly from the upper panel of the package, and two triangular side lugs are also formed on the lower part of the package, which extend outwardly from the lower panel. In a subsequent step the two lower side lugs are folded towards the lower panel, and are adhered thereto, and the two upper side lugs are folded towards the adjacent lateral panels, and are adhered to them.

(028) In this operation, the upper joining joining and sealing region and the lower cross-sectional joining region are bent to rest partially onto the upper and lower sides of the package respectively, the remaining parts resting onto the side lugs. The lower and upper sides of the package may take different shapes; for example, a square or a rectangle, other shapes being possible as well. They can even have different shapes each one.

(029) The patent documents US4617779, US4848063 and US7934637 disclose manufacturing processes in which aseptic carton packages are made from multilayer laminated packaging material which is provided in rolls to the aseptic manufacturing and filling equipment.

(030) Packages manufactured by either of the two types of processes described hereinbefore have in common the feature that they are provided with longitudinal sealing and joined welded regions at each of the lateral panels, said sealing and joined welded regions being parallel to the longitudinal or lateral edges of said lateral panels. This is the first welding operation made during the production of packages from the multilayer laminated packaging material, both in processes where the multilayer laminated packaging material is supplied to the aseptic manufacturing and filling equipment in sleeves, as well as in the manufacturing processes in which the multilayer laminated packaging material is supplied to the aseptic manufacturing and filling equipment by means of rolls.

(031) As a result of the longitudinal welding region being parallel to the lateral edges of the lateral panels of the package, during the execution of the processes described hereinbefore it will be created transverse joining and sealing regions in the parts that will compose the upper and lower portions of the package, by applying pressure and heat to obtain a welding of plastic material that covers the aluminium layer. This is a common feature of said processes, and cannot be changed (032) Consequently, at the end of the steps of such processes known in the art, the upper and lower panels of the packages will necessarily contain the upper and lower joining and sealing regions, respectively, which split these panels into two parts.

(033) It can then be stated that the spatial orientation of the first welding region formed between the juxtaposed parts of the multilayer laminated packaging material determines the spatial orientation of the two joining regions that will close and seal the package, the latter orientation being necessarily orthogonal to the region formed between the juxtaposed parts of the multilayer laminated packaging material.

(034) Usually aseptic carton packages were opened by the end consumer by using cutting devices, such as knives or scissors, causing risk to consumers, especially to the elderly and children, who could be injured when trying to open the packages. More recently, more efficient options have been developed for opening these packages, which do not require the use of a cutting tool by the user. One was the adoption of flip caps whose inner part is provided with manually detachable inner seals which seal the packages. Document CN204606546U is an example of this technique.

(035) It is also known to use devices for the automatic opening of aseptic carton packages whereby the opening of the package occurs in only one step when the cap is first unscrewed from the cap. These automatic opening devices are installed in the upper portion of the package over a hole made just in the carton layer of the multilayer laminated packaging material, which is covered by the inner layers that are laminated during the manufacturing of the multilayer laminated packaging material, as is well known in the art. Documents EP1088765, W02009060005, EP 1088765, US2008210745, US7959032 and W02016082008 disclose devices for automatically opening aseptic carton packages. (036) These sealed holes are located in the regions of the multilayer laminated packaging material that will make up the upper panel of the packages, and at the end of the process of manufacturing aseptic carton packages the automatic opening devices will be applied to these sealed holes by bonding.

(037) Although the provision of devices for facilitating the opening of aseptic carton packages has greatly facilitated the use of such packages, and especially the devices for automatically opening the packages, users have frequently observed the physical phenomenon of outpouring when pouring the product stored in the packages in a glass, for example. (038) The physical phenomenon of outpouring occurs when the outflow of liquid from the package passes through a spout of small diameter, whereby the flow of liquid occupies the whole space of the passageway of the spout. Consequently, the pressure inside the package decreases as the liquid outflows from the cap, as the volume of liquid leaving the package is not replaced by air, because the package is not vented.

(039) At some moment the external atmospheric pressure will be substantially greater than the internal pressure in the package, thereby causing a counterflow of air to pass through the spout to enter into the package. This effect will cause a momentary dripping in the flow of liquid being poured from the package. Successive dripping flows will occur, frequently causing the product being poured to unduly spill out of the glass.

(040) The dripping flow described hereinbefore occur in aseptic carton packages because the spouts employed in such packages are not designed to minimize or even prevent dripping, usually due to the use of caps of insufficient diameter to prevent such problem. However, the fact that the upper panel of such packages produced according to the manufacturing processes known in the art are divided into two smaller regions by the upper transverse joining and sealing regions, therefore it is not possible to use spouts of greater diameter.

(041) The fact that the upper transverse joining and sealing regions are folded over one of these smaller regions of the upper panel reduces even more the available space in such smaller region. Consequently, devices for facilitating opening of the package are usually applied to the other smaller region of the upper panel, which is slightly greater than the other one.

(042) All aseptic carton packages manufactured according to the processes described hereinbefore share this same problem of being provided with a poring spot of smaller diameter than what would be needed to prevent dripping flows from occurring, in view of these aseptic carton packages are provided with an upper transverse joining and sealing regions are on its upper panel.

(043) It is known in the art the use of aseptic carton packages whose upper panel is inclined with regard to the lower panel, with the aim to increase the area in the upper panel available for the application of package opening devices is disclosed in the patent documents US7934637, WO2017174212A1 and W02005090168A1.

(044) However, this solution provides a slight increase in this area, which does not enable the package to be provided with a suitable spout having an internal diameter to prevent dripping flows from occurring. Further, carton packages having such inclined upper panel must be packed in shipping boxes of higher height, requiring them more vertical space for being transported.

(045) It is known in the art an aseptic carton package provided with an inclined upper panel which uses an opening device containing a spout which is formed by injecting molten plastic material onto the region of the upper panel where is located a hole in the layer of paperboard layer which was previously plugged. (046) It is a very complex manufacturing process named "Direct Injection Molding Concept" (DIMC), in which a hole is previously punched in the layer of paperboard of the multilayer manufacturing material, and then a thin plastic covering layer is applied over this hole to plug it. The document EP2008787A1 discloses a method for producing a spout according to the description made in the previous paragraph.

(047) The "DIMC" process usually comprises the use of a tripartite injection mold in which a complex injection of molten plastic is performed. The injection pressure causes the thin plastic layer which plugs the orifice to rupture. Consequently, the molten plastic material enters the mold cavities to form the threaded spout and to form a sealing element in the lower inner part of the spout. A cap is screwed to the spout in a further operation.

(048) At this stage of the process a pull handle is also injected, which is firmly attached to the sealing element at the lower inner part of the spout. Weakening lines are formed during the injection process, which encircle the sealing element. This pull handle will serve to cause tearing of the weakening lines when a user inserts the tip of a finger to pull away the sealing device, after the aseptic carton packaged had been bought by the user.

(049) The "DIMC" process, in addition to the great complexity for manufacturing the spout and the pull handle for opening the package, has the disadvantage of not providing the carton with an automatic opening device. The spout and the cap used requires two operations to open the package, that is, to remove the cap and pull away the pull handle, unlike the one-step operation that is required by the use of automatic opening devices, in which the simple action of unscrewing the cap the first time causes the package to open.

(050) It happens frequently the pull handle being broken up when a user attempts to manipulate it, in order to open the carton package. Consequently, the weakening lines will not break up, and therefore the user cannot open the package. To solve the problem, the user must use a sharp objects, such as the tip of a knife, to remove the whole sealing layer, operation that may cause risk to the user.

(051) Another disadvantage observed in the "DIMC" process is that the technical requirements of a plastic injection process are much more complex and specific than the technical requirements of an aseptic carton package manufacturing and filling process. Consequently, failures in the plastic injection process are usually more frequent, which may cause the process of manufacturing and filling aseptic carton packages to stop.

(052) The invention relates to processes to manufacture aseptic carton packages made from multilayer laminated packaging material whereby it is possible to obtain packages provided with upper panels which do not contain an upper transverse joining and sealing region, therefore being free of welded lines on said upper panel. This feature enables to use the whole area of the upper panel of the carton package to apply opening devices provided with caps having much larger diameters than those currently used, in order to avoid dripping flows and spills from occurring. (053) Further, the invention relates to a process to manufacture multilayer laminated packaging material used in the processes to manufacture aseptic carton packages according to the invention disclosed herein.

(054) The invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of its preferred embodiments, with the aid of the accompanying exemplarily drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(055) The invention will be described in more detail hereafter with respect to the accompanying exemplarily drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank depicting the folding lines and the regions that will form the joining and sealing regions of an aseptic carton package manufactured according to processes known in the art;

- Figures 2 and 3 are perspective views depicting details of the formation of the lower joining and sealing region and upper joining and sealing region of a package made from a sleeve of multilayer laminated packaging material according to the blank depicted in Figure 1;

- Figures 4 and 5 are, respectively, a perspective upper view and a perspective lower view depicting a carton package made from a sleeve of multilayer laminated packaging material according to the blank depicted in Figure 1;

- Figure 6 is a perspective view depicting steps of a continuous process for the manufacture of carton packages known in the art;

- Figure 7 is a perspective view depicting a semi-finished carton package obtained from the continuous process whose steps are depicted in Figure 6;

- Figure 8 is a perspective view depicting a finished carton package obtained from the continuous process depicted in Figure 6;

- Figure 9 is an upper view of a blank depicting the folding lines and the regions that will form the joining and sealing regions of an aseptic carton package manufactured according to the process of the present invention;

- Figures 10 to 17 are perspective views depicting steps of an intermittent process to manufacture aseptic carton packages according to the present invention;

- Figures 18 and 19 are perspective views depicting the carton package of Figures 11 to 17 provided with an automatic opening device for carton packages applied to the upper panel of the package;

- Figures 20, 21 and 22 are perspective views depicting steps of a continuous process to manufacture aseptic carton packages according to the present invention;

- Figure 23 is an upper view of a blank depicting the folding lines and the regions that will form the joining and sealing regions of a variation of an aseptic carton package manufactured according to the processes of the present invention; - Figures 24 and 25 are perspective views depicting a package formed according to the blank of the aseptic carton package of Figure 23;

- Figure 26 is a schematic representation of an equipment to manufacture aseptic carton packages according to the concepts of the present invention;

- Figures 27 and 28 depict carton packages produced in the equipment to manufacture aseptic carton packages of Figure 26; and

- Figure 29 is a schematic representation of a molding, sealing and cutting device containing a plurality of molding, sealing and cutting elements.

- Figure 29 depicts a block diagram of a process to manufacture multilayer packaging material.

- Figure 30 depicts a block diagram of a process to manufacture multilayer packaging material according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

(056) In the description made hereinafter terms such as "upper", "lower", "vertical" and "horizontal" refer specifically to the position in which elements, parts, portions, regions, etc., are depicted in the Figures. The terms "longitudinal" and "transverse", when used in reference to objects, parts, components, etc., depicted in the Figures, shall be understood in a sequence from top to bottom and left to right of the Figure, respectively. The term "anterior" should be related to what is seen in the Figures, and the term "posterior" should be related to what is opposite with respect to what is seen in the Figures. The terms "lateral" or "side" shall be should be related to what is located alongside to what is referred to.

(057) The terms "aseptic carton package", "carton package", and "package" may be used interchangeably, and should always be construed as referring to aseptic carton package whose raw material comprises a multilayer laminated packaging material as described hereinbefore.

(058) Prior to describing the processes of the present invention and the package produced in accordance with them, reference will be made to Figures 1 to 8 which refer to an exemplary package 51' formed according to manufacturing processes known in the prior art. Figure 1 depicts a blank 51 from which the package 5 is produced. A plurality of blanks 51 is contained in a web of multilayer laminated packaging material used in the processes known in the art to manufacture aseptic carton packages, such as the package 5 .

(059) The exemplary package 51’ is pa ra llelepi peda I in shape, thereby having a rectangular straight section. The face of the blank 51 of multilayer laminated packaging material seen in Figure 1 is the face on which the aluminium layer is apparent.

(060) The blank 51 has a transverse dimension L and a longitudinal dimension H. Creasing lines are depicted in Figure 1 which are intended to facilitate the folding steps for transforming the blank 51 in a package 5 during the steps of the processes to manufacture aseptic carton packages known in the art. The creasing lines divide the blank 51 in several areas.

(061) A larger central region 51c is located in the central part of the blank 51, which will form the front panel 51c of the package 51'. Two regions 51b and 51d of smaller width are adjacent to the central region

SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) 51c. Said regions 51b and 51d will form a first lateral panel 51b and a second lateral panel 51d of the package.

(062) The central portion of two opposed side ends of the blank 51 contain two regions 51a' and 51a ¹ of smaller width, which will form the rear panel 51 of larger width of the package 51'. Three regions 5 If, 51f"and 51f"'are located at the upper part of the blank 51, which will form the upper panel 51f of the package 51'. Two regions 51fb and 51fd are also located at the upper part of the blank 51, said two regions 51fb and 51fd will form two triangular lugs, indicated by crease lines in Figure 1, which will be folded and adhered to lateral panels 51b and 51d, respectively.

(063) Three regions 51g', 51g"and 51g"' are located at the lower part of the blank 51, which will form the lower panel 51g of package 51'. Two regions 51gb and 51gd are also located at the lower part of the blank 51, which will form two triangular lugs, indicated by creasing lines in Figure 1. Said regions 51gb and 51gd will be folded and adhered to the underside 51gof the package 51'. Depending on the manufacturing process used to manufacture the package 51', the triangular lugs 51gb and 51gd may be folded and adhered to the inner or outer region of the underside 51g of the package 51'. Whichever process is used, the final parallelepipedal shape of the package 5 will be substantially the same.

(064) A lateral first region for joining and sealing 52 is located at the distal right portion of the blank 51. A lower joining and sealing region 53 is located at the extreme lower portion of the blank 51 and an upper joining and sealing region 54 is located at the extreme upper portion of the blank 51.

(065) The lateral first region for joining and sealing 52 is adjacent to (i) the right end portions of the regions 51f", 51a", 51g", (ii) to right end portions of the lower joining and sealing region 53 and (iii) to right end portions of the upper joining and sealing region 54. The lateral first region for joining and sealing 52 will serve for the juxtaposition of end portions of the rear sides of the left end regions 5 If, 51a' and 51g' at the beginning of folding operations of the blank 51 to form the rear panel 51a of larger width of the package 51 '.

(066) The lower joining and sealing region 53 is adjacent to lower end portions of the regions 51g', 51gb, 51g'", 51gd and 51g", and the upper joining and sealing region 54 is adjacent to upper end portions of the regions 51f , 51fb, 51f ", 51fd and 51f". The lower joining and sealing region 53 and the upper joining and sealing region 54 will serve to form lower and upper transverse joining and sealing regions of the package 51 ', respectively, as will be described hereinafter.

(067) A hole 55 is depicted in Figure 1, which is made only in the paperboard layer of the multilayer laminated packaging material used to produce the package 51'. The hole 55 is punched in the paperboard layer during the manufacturing process of the multilayer laminated packaging material. The other layers are not provided with this hole 55, and consequently the other layers of the multilayer laminated packaging material will form a seal for the hole 55 in the paperboard layer. The provision of the hole 55 in the paperboard layer is optional, as the package 51' may be manufactured

SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) without this hole, the function of which is to facilitate the use of devices for opening the package 51', usually a device for automatically opening the aseptic carton package.

(068) In case the package 51' is manufactured by a sleeve process, such sleeves are creased to facilitate the folding operations that will be performed during manufacturing process of the package. During the process to manufacture the multilayer laminated packaging material the printable face of the paperboard layer is printed with the commercial identification of the product.

(069) At the beginning of the manufacturing process to produce the package 51' the lateral first region for joining and sealing 52 will be juxtaposed by end portions of an opposite end portion of the blank 51 which comprises an extension of the regions 5 If, 51a' and 51g' so that these juxtaposed surfaces can be joined, usually by applying pressure and heat, to weld the layers of plastic material in this region of contact. A longitudinal welded region 57 is then formed between regions 5 If, 51a' and 51g'and regions 51f', 51a" and 51g", as can be seen from Figures 2 and 3.

(070) The formation of the longitudinal welded region 57 at this stage of the process results in the formation of a hollow body with open ends, the printable face of the paperboard layer being apparent on the outer region of the hollow body and the aluminium layer being apparent on the inner region of the hollow body.

(071) This operation is usually made in the factory that manufactures the multilayer laminated packaging material. The hollow body is usually called sleeve, and after its formation it is collapsed by folding the body at two folding lines which will form two diametrically opposed longitudinal edges of the package which will be formed from the sleeve.

(072) After the longitudinal welded region 57 and the hollow body are formed, folding operations occur so as to form the lateral edges of the package 51'. In the next step, depicted in Figure 2, opposing portions of the lowermost joining and sealing region 53 are joined so that surfaces 51g' and 51g" and regions 51gb and 51gd are aligned and joined, respectively, to form a first lower transverse joining region 58, usually by welding, with the application of pressure and heat. The folding of the regions 51g’, 51g"and 51g'" forms the lower panel 51g of the package 5 , and the folding of regions 51gb and 51gd forms two lower triangular lugs, as depicted in Figure 2.

(073) In the next step the lower triangular lugs 51gb and 51gd are folded toward the lower panel 51g to which they are adhered to. Alternatively, the two lugs 51gb and 51gd may be folded towards the inner part of the lower panel 51g of the package 5 , thereby being not apparent, concealed by the lower panel 51g. At the end of this step the lower portion of the package 51' will be formed, and the package 51' will be opened only at the portion in which its upper panel will be formed.

(074) Next, the package 51' will be filled with the product to be stored therein, and during the filling of product the package 51' will rest on its lower panel 51g. Once the desired amount of product has been poured into the package 51' through its open upper portion, a closing operation of said upper portion will be performed.

SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) (075) Initially, opposing portions of the upper joining and sealing region 54 are joined, so that the surfaces 51f and 5 If' and the regions 51fb and 51fd are aligned and joined, respectively, to form an upper transverse joining and sealing region 59, usually by welding, with the application of pressure and heat, as depicted in Figure 3.

(076) Two triangular side lugs 51fb and 51fd are also formed during the operation of forming the upper transverse joining and sealing region 59, as shown in Figure 3. In the next step these two lugs 51fb and 51fd are folded to adhere to the lateral panels 51b and 51d respectively. At the end of this step, the package 51' will be completely formed and sealed.

(077) If a hole 55 has been provided in the blank 51, then an additional operation will be performed to apply an automatic opening device 56 over the hole 55. Other types of opening devices may be used, and some may even be formed concomitantly with the manufacturing of the package. Figures 4 and 5 depict package 51' at the end of the manufacturing process, in which an exemplary automatic opening device 56 was applied to the upper panel 51f.

(078) A package identical to package 51' may also be manufactured by a process in which the multilayer laminated packaging material is supplied to a package manufacturing equipment by rolls containing a web provided with a plurality of blanks, such as the blank 51. The printable face of the paperboard layer of the multilayer laminated packaging material has been previously printed with the commercial identification of the product to be stored in the packages, the opposite non printable face has been creased, and the other thermoplastic a aluminium layers have already been laminated. (079) Figures 6, 7 and 8 depict schematically the sequence of the main steps of such a process. In Figure 6 the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 71 is wound in a roll 74. At the beginning of the process, the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 71 is unwound from the roll 74 undergoes operations such as polishing and sterilization, not necessarily in that order. Other sections may be added to perform preparatory operations for forming aseptic carton packages.

(080) In the next step the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 71 passes through a section into which it is continuously converted into a tube 72 by longitudinally juxtaposing its end side portions, which are firmly joined together by pressure and heat, thereby forming a welding in the said end regions so as to form a tube 72. The welded regions of the tube 72 comprise by one side a sequence of joining and sealing regions 52 of blanks 51, and by the other side a sequence of opposed end portions of regions 51a' of the same blank 51.

(081) A continuous longitudinal weld region 76 is then formed, thereby closing the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 71 to form the tube 72. In this operation the aluminium layer of the multilayer laminated packaging material will be in the inner portion of the tube, and the printed face of the paperboard layer will be in the outer portion of the tube.

(082) The product to be packaged is continuously fed into the tube 72 by means of a feeder 73 located just before the section in which the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 71 is

SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) folded to form the tube 72. The arrow F in Figure 6 indicates the direction of feeding of the product to the feeder 73.

(083) As the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 71 that forms the tube 72 displaces downwardly, forming, sealing and cutting devices 75 operate at regular intervals to perform subsequent actions to form, seal and cut the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 71, thereby producing semi-finished packages 70. In Figure 6 only a pair of forming, sealing and cutting devices 75 is shown.

(084) In this operation transverse joining regions 77 and 78 are formed in the lower and upper portions of the package 70 by applying pressure and heat to cause the plastic material that coats the aluminium layer to melt and weld.

(085) In the process of folding the web of multilayer laminated packaging material to form packages 70, two triangular side lugs 79 and 80 are formed on the upper part of the package, which extend from the edges of the upper panel, and two triangular side lugs 81 and 82 are also formed on the lower part of the package 70, extending from the edges of the lower panel, as can be seen in more detail in Figure 7.

(086) In a next step the two lower side lugs 81 and 82 formed in the lower part of the package 70 are folded towards the lower panel of the package, adhering thereto, and the two lower side lugs formed in the upper part of the package 70 are folded in towards the adjacent lateral panels, adhering thereto. In such folding procedures the upper joining and sealing region and the lower joining and sealing region are folded towards the upper and lower panels, respectively.

(087) Figure 8 depicts the package 70 in its final parallelepipedal shape. In the event that holes similar to hole 55 of package 51' have been provided in the web of multilayer laminated packaging material which used to manufacture the packages 70, devices for opening packages 83 will then be applied over each hole as shown in Figure, such as an automatic opening device.

(088) The package 70 obtained by the process in which the multilayer laminated packaging material is supplied to the package manufacturing and filling equipment by means of rolls containing a web of multilayer laminated package material is substantially identical to the package 5 obtained by the process of manufacturing the package from sleeves of multilayer laminated packaging material.

(089) Both have in common the feature that they are provided with a longitudinal welded region (57 - package 51'; 76 - package 70) on one of the lateral panels, parallel to the longitudinal edges of these lateral panels, the formation of said longitudinal welding region being the first welding operation of both processes to transform the multilayer laminated packaging material in packages. (090) Due to this feature of the longitudinal welded regions (57 - package 51'; 76 - package 70) being parallel to the longitudinal edges of the lateral panels of the packages (51', 70), the only possibility do seal and close the packages produced in said processes is by means of the formation of upper and lower transverse joining and sealing regions (59 and 58 - package 51'; 78 and 77 - package 70), as described hereinbefore. This is an unchanging feature of the processes known in the art.

SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) (091) Said upper and lower transverse joining and sealing regions cause difficulties to apply opening devices to the upper panels of the packages, as they divide the upper and lower panels in two parts, thereby substantially reducing the space available to apply opening devices.

(092) As mentioned hereinbefore, opening devices having spouts of small diameter usually causes dripping flows from occurring, thereby causing spills of the liquid product flowing from the package, which can cause inconvenient for users.

(093) Therefore, the spatial orientation of the first welding region formed between the juxtaposed parts of the multilayer laminated packaging material determines the spatial orientation of the two joining regions that will close and seal the package, and said orientation will necessarily be orthogonal with respect to said first welding region formed between the juxtaposed parts of the multilayer laminated packaging material.

(094) As previously mentioned, the term "longitudinal" should be understood herein as extending parallel to the geometric axis of symmetry of the package when it is in an upright position, resting on its lower panel. Consequently, the term "transverse" is to be understood as extending in a direction perpendicular to the geometric axis of symmetry of the package when it is in an upright position, resting on its underside.

(095) The present invention relates to processes for the manufacture of aseptic carton packages whose upper panels are substantially flat, free of welding regions. Consequently, it is possible to apply package opening devices to the upper panels of such packages which are provided with caps with larger diameters than those used in packages manufactured according to processes currently known in the art. As a result, gushes are prevented when the liquid product contained in the package is served. Such a feature will become apparent from the following description.

(096) Figure 9 depicts blank 1 of multilayer laminated packaging material of a aseptic carton package 1', the latter being depicted in Figures 10 to 19. For exemplification only, the package 1' is provided with a rectangular cross-section. The face of the blank 1 of the multilayer laminated packaging material shown in Figure 9 is the non printable face of the face multilayer laminated packaging material which contains the aluminium layer.

(097) The blank 1 has a transverse dimension B and a longitudinal dimension A. Creasing lines are depicted in Figure 9 which are intended to facilitate the folding steps for transforming the blank 1 in a package 1' during the steps of the processes to manufacture aseptic carton packages disclosed herein. The creasing lines divide the blank 1 in several areas.

(098) A larger central region lc is located in the central part of the blank 1, which will form the front panel lc of the package 1'. Two regions lb and Id of greater width are adjacent to the central region lc. Said regions lb and Id will form two lateral panels of greater width of the package 1' opposite to each other, as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

(099) Two regions la' and la" are located in the upper part of the blank 1, adjacent to the upper parts of regions lb and Id, respectively. Two regions le' and le" are located in the lower part of the blank 1, adjacent to the lower parts of regions lb and Id, respectively. The regions la' and la", and the regions le' and le" will form two sides of smaller width la and le of the package , respectively, as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

(100) A central upper region If and a central lower region lg are adjacent the upper and lower parts of the central region lc, respectively, which are interposed between the regions la' and la", and the regions le' and le", respectively. At the end of the various folding processes for producing the package 1' the regions If and lg will form two triangular lugs which will be folded towards the lateral panels la and le of smaller width of the package 1', respectively, as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

(101) Two regions lh' and lh" are located respectively in the central section of the left side portion and in the central section of the right side portion of the blank 1 of multilayer laminated packaging material of the package , which will form the lower panel lh of the package , as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

(102) Two regions lia and lib are respectively located at the upper right and upper left corners of the blank 1 of multilayer laminated packaging material of the package 1'. Two regions lja and ljb are respectively located at the lower right and left corners of the blank 1 of multilayer laminated packaging material of the package 1'.

(103) At the end of the various folding processes for the manufacture of the package 1' the regions lia and lib and the regions lja and ljb will form triangular lugs li and lj, respectively, which will be folded towards the lower panel lh of the package 1', as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

(104) A first region for joining and sealing 2 can be seen in the left end region of the blank 1 of multilayer laminated packaging material of the package 1'. A second region for joining and sealing 3 can be observed at the lower portion of the blank 1 of multilayer laminated packaging material, and a third region for joining and sealing 4 can be seen in the upper portion of the blank 1 of multilayer laminated packaging material.

(105) The first region for joining and sealing 2 is adjacent to the extreme portions of the regions lib, lh' and ljb. This joint and sealing region 2 will serve for the juxtaposition of end portions of the rear sides of the regions lia, lh" and lja, to form at this location a longitudinal joined and sealed region as will be described in more detail hereinafter. At the beginning of the operations of folding the blank 1 of multilayer laminated packaging material, the regions lia, lh'' and lja will align with the regions lib, lh' and ljb to form the lower panel lh of the package 1, as will be described hereinafter.

(106) The uppermost part of the second region for joining and sealing 3 is adjacent to the lower portions of regions ljb, le', lg, le'' and lja, and the lowermost part of the upper region of the third region for joining and sealing 4 is adjacent to the upper portions of the regions lib, la', If, la'' and lia. These two regions will serve to form longitudinal joining and sealing regions between the lateral panels la and le of smaller width of the package , as will be described in more detail hereinafter. (107) A hole 5 is depicted in Figure 1, which is made only in the paperboard layer of the multilayer laminated packaging material used to produce the package 1'. The hole 5 is punched in the paperboard layer during the manufacturing process of the multilayer laminated packaging material. The other layers are not provided with this hole 5, and consequently the other layers of the multilayer laminated packaging material will form a seal for the hole 5 in the paperboard layer. The provision of the hole 5 in the paperboard layer is optional, as the package 1' may be manufactured without this hole, the function of which is to facilitate the use of devices for opening the package , usually a device for automatically opening the aseptic carton package.

(108) In case the package 1' is manufactured by a sleeve process, such sleeves are creased to facilitate the folding operations that will be performed during manufacturing process of the package. During the process to manufacture the multilayer laminated packaging material the printable face of the paperboard layer is printed with the commercial identification of the product.

(109) At the beginning of the manufacturing process to produce the package 1' the first region for joining and sealing 2 will be juxtaposed by end portions of an opposite end portion of the blank 1 which comprises an extension of the regions lia, lh" and lja, so that these juxtaposed surfaces can be joined, usually by applying pressure and heat, to weld the layers of plastic material in this region of contact. A transverse welded region 9 is then formed between the regions lia, lh" and lja and the regions lib, lh' and ljb, as shown in Figure 10.

(110) The formation of the transverse welded region 9 at this stage of the process results in the formation of a hollow body with open ends, the printable face of the paperboard layer being apparent on the outer region of the hollow body and the aluminium layer being apparent on the inner region of the hollow body.

(111) This operation is usually made in the factory that manufactures the multilayer laminated packaging material. The hollow body is usually called sleeve, and after its formation it is collapsed by folding the body at two folding lines which will form two diametrically opposed longitudinal edges of the package which will be formed from the sleeve.

(112) After the transverse welded region 9 and the hollow body are formed, folding operations occur so as to form the longitudinal lateral edges of the package 1', resulting in the formation of the longitudinal edges that define the lateral panels la, lb, Id and le of the package 1'. In this operation, a parallelepipedal straight section body of the package 1' is formed, with the end portions open, as depicted in Figure 10.

(113) Next, opposing portions of the second region for joining and sealing 3 are joined so that the surfaces le' and le" are aligned and joined, as well as the surfaces lja and ljb are also aligned and joined, thereby forming a first longitudinal joined and sealed region 6, as shown in Figures 11 and 12. This operation is made usually by welding, with the application of pressure and heat. The joining and welding of the surfaces le' and le" forms a first lateral panel le of smaller width, and the joining and welding of the surfaces lja and ljb forms a first lower triangular lug lj. (114) By performing this process of folding and joining of opposing parts of the upper end region 3, a first upper triangular lug is formed in the region lg.

(115) Next, as depicted in Figures 13 and 14, the first lower triangular lug lj is folded toward the lower panel lh to which it is adhered to, and the first upper triangular lug lg is folded toward the first lateral panel le, of smaller width, to which it is also adhered to. At the end of this step, the package 1' will only be opened by the portion in which the second lateral panel la, of smaller width, will be formed.

(116) Thereafter, the package 1' will be filled with the product to be stored. For this purpose, the package 1' will be supported on the first lateral panel le, of smaller width, and the product will be poured into the package. After the desired amount of product has been poured into the package 1' through the open portion of the package, the closing operation of that upper portion will be performed.

(117) Next, opposing portions of the third joining and sealing region 4 are joined so that the surfaces la' and la"are aligned and joined, as well as the surfaces lia and lib are also aligned and joined, to form a second longitudinal joint region 7, as depicted in Figure 15. This operation is made usually by welding, with the application of pressure and heat. The joining and welding of the surfaces la' and la" forms a second lateral panel la of smaller width, the joining of the surfaces lia and lib forms a second lower triangular lug li, and the joining and welding of the surfaces la' and la" forms a second lateral panel la of smaller width, and the joining of the surfaces lia and lib forms a second lower triangular lug li.

(118) By performing this process of folding and joining of opposing parts of the upper end region 4, a second upper triangular lug is formed in the region If.

(119) In the next step, depicted in Figures 16 and 17, the second lower triangular lug li is folded towards the lower panel lh to which it is adhered to, and the second upper triangular lug If is folded towards the second lateral panel la, with lower width, to which it is also adhered to. At the end of this step the package 1' will be in its final shape, as shown in Figures 18 and 19.

(120) If a hole 5 has been provided in the blank 1, then an additional operation will be performed to apply an opening device over the hole 5. Other types of opening devices may be used, and some may even be formed concomitantly with the manufacturing of the package. Figures 18 and 19 depict package 1' at the end of the manufacturing process, in which an exemplary automatic opening device 8 was applied to the upper panel 51f.

(121) A package identical to package 1' may also be manufactured by a process in which the multilayer laminated packaging material is supplied to a package manufacturing equipment by rolls containing a web provided with a plurality of blanks, such as the blank 1. The printable face of the paperboard layer of the multilayer laminated packaging material has been previously printed with the commercial identification of the product to be stored in the packages, the opposite non printable face has been creased, and the other thermoplastic a aluminium layers have already been laminated. (122) Figures 20, 21 and 22 depict schematically the sequence of the main steps of such a process. In Figure 20 the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 11 is wound in a roll 14. At the beginning of the process, the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 11 is unwound from the roll 14 undergoes operations such as polishing and sterilization, not necessarily in that order. Other sections may be added to perform preparatory operations for forming aseptic carton packages.

(123) In the next step the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 11 passes through a section into which it is continuously converted into a tube 10 by longitudinally juxtaposing its end side portions, which are firmly joined together by pressure and heat, thereby forming a welding in the said end regions so as to form a tube 12. The welded regions of the tube 10 comprise by one side a sequence of joining and sealing regions 2 of blanks 1, and by the other side a sequence of opposed end portions of regions lia, lh" and lja of the same blank 1.

(124) The product to be packaged is continuously fed into the tube 10 by means of a feeder 12 located just before the section in which the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 11 is folded to form the tube 10. The arrow F In Figure 6 indicates the direction of feeding of the product to the feeder 12.

(125) As the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 11 that forms the tube 10 displaces downwardly, pairs of molding and sealing devices 13 operate at regular intervals to perform subsequent actions to form, seal and cut the web of multilayer laminated packaging material 11.

(126) The pairs of molding and sealing devices 13 perform initially an operation of compression of opposed portions of segments of the tube 10, thereby causing the welding of opposed parts of the plastic material which coats the aluminium layers contacting each other as a result of the compression, causing them to be welded, thereby sealing a volume of product into said sealed segment of the tube 10, which is next severed by cutting means of the molding and sealing devices 13, thereby producing semi-finished packages 14. In Figure 20 only a pair of forming, sealing and cutting devices 13 is shown.

(127) In this operation first and second longitudinal joined and sealed regions 6 and 7 are formed in the portions of the semi-finished packages 14 where the lateral panels la and le are formed, whose directions are orthogonal with respect to the transverse welded region 9. The first and second longitudinal joined and sealed regions 6 and 7 are transverse to the downward direction of the tube 10.

(128) In the next step the two lower side lugs li and lj formed in the lower part of the semi-finished packages 14 are folded towards the lower panel lh, to which they are adhered to, and the two upper side lugs If and lg formed in the upper part of the semi-finished packages 14 are folded towards the adjacent lateral panels la and le of smaller width, respectively, to which they are adhered to. In such folding procedures the longitudinal joined and sealed regions 6 and 7 are folded to so as to rest on the lateral panels le and la, respectively. (129) At the end of the process, aseptic carton packages 1' (i) having flat upper panels lc have been produced, wherein (ii) the lateral panels la and le are provided with first and second longitudinal joined and sealed regions 6 and 7 which are parallel to the longitudinal edges of the lateral panels la and le, and (iii) with a transverse welded region 9 whose direction is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the package 1'.

(130) Figure 22 depicts an aseptic carton package provided with an opening device on its upper panel overlapping the orifice 5.

(131) As noted from the descriptions made hereinbefore, the package 1' may be manufactured either by means of the sleeve process or by the process employing a web of multilayer laminated packaging material fed in rolls to an equipment to produce and fill aseptic carton packages.

(132) What distinguishes these two processes of the present invention, if compared with the prior art processes is the feature that the packages produced by the process of the invention have (i) flat upper panels, (ii) are provided with joined and sealed regions which close and seal the packages being parallel to the longitudinal edges of the lateral panels and (iii) the first welding operation that is made to unite opposed parts of the blanks from which the packages are produced results in a transverse welded region whose direction is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the package.

(133) In order to carry out this first welding operation between the juxtaposed end edges of the multilayer laminated packaging material, aiming to form a transverse welded region whose direction is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the package, it is necessary to make some modifications in the blanks of the multilayer laminated packaging material and also some modifications in the equipment for manufacturing the carton packages.

(134) Initially, it is necessary to modify the spatial orientation for printing the commercial identification of the product in the laminated multilayer laminated packaging material which will form the carton packages. Further, it is also necessary to modify the orientation of the creasing operations, both printing and creasing operations made in the factory that manufactures the laminated multilayer laminated packaging material.

(135) It will also be necessary to make changes in the sections of the pieces of equipment which manufacture the carton packages, so that they are adapted to operate with the new laminated multilayer laminated packaging material printed and creased in accordance with the disclosure of the present invention.

(136) From the foregoing it is noted that the spatial orientation of the first welded region formed between the juxtaposed portions of the multilayer laminated packaging material determines the spatial orientation of the two joined and sealed regions that close and seal the packages. In the processes known in the art, the orientation of said of the two joined and sealed regions is orthogonal with respect to the first welded region formed between the juxtaposed portions of the multilayer laminated packaging material. (137) Consequently, the packages manufactured according to processes known in the art are provided with two joining and sealing regions which are transverse to the first welded region formed between the juxtaposed parts of the multilayer laminated packaging material and are located on the lower and upper panels of the packages, and in the side lugs extending from them.

(138) This becomes apparent by comparing the blanks depicted in Figure 1 and Figure 9, which respectively depict the blank 51 of a package manufactured according to processes known in the art and the blank 1 of a package made in accordance with the processes of the present invention.

(139) In Figure 1, depicting the blank 51, raw material for producing packages 51' according to processes known in the art, the first region for joining and sealing 52 is parallel to the crease lines which will form the longitudinal edges of the lateral panels of the packages 51'. Consequently, in these processes known in the art the first welding operations which unites the first region for joining and sealing 52 to the opposed end portion of the blank 51 results in the formation of a longitudinal welded region 57.

(140) The longitudinal welded region 57 is parallel to the creasing lines which will form the longitudinal longer edges of the lateral panels 51a, 51b, 51c and 51d of the package 51', as can be seen in Figure 5. Consequently, the only possibility to close and seal the package 51' when the package is formed is by the lower transverse joining region 58 and the upper transverse union region 59, as described hereinafter.

(141) Therefore, the provision of a longitudinal welded region 57 parallel to the creasing lines which will form the longitudinal longer edges of the lateral panels of the package 51' has led to the formation of two transverse joining regions for closing and sealing the package, which is a peculiar feature of the processes for manufacturing of carton packages known in the art. In other words, the closure of the package 51' will necessarily be made by the opposed upper and lower panels of the package which are transverse to the longitudinal welded region 57.

(142) As the upper transverse joining region 59 located on the upper panel 51f of the package 51' divides the upper panel 51f in two parts, this causes a reduction of the space for the application of devices for opening the package, which usually are provided with caps and threaded spouts having suitable diameters to prevent dripping from occurring when the product in the package is poured.

(143) The invention disclosed herein solves this problem by providing a new and inventive layout arrangement of the blank 1 of the multilayer laminated packaging material used to produce packages 1', whichever is the process used to manufacture such package. As noticed from the foregoing description, said inventive new layout arrangement is different from the layout arrangements of blanks used to manufacture packages according to the processes known in the art.

(144) The inventive new layout arrangement of a blank 1 formed according to the methods of the present invention is depicted in Figure 9, wherein the first region for joining and sealing 2 is orthogonal with respect to the creasing lines that will form the longitudinal edges of the lateral panels lb and Id of the package 1'. Conversely, the region for joining and sealing 52 of the blank 51 depicted in Figure 1, formed according to methods known in the art, are parallel to the longitudinal edges of the lateral panels 51c and 51d of the package 1'.

(145) According to the inventive new processes disclosed herein, during the juxtaposition operation of the right end of the blank 1, which contains portions of the regions lh", lia and lja, over the first region for joining and sealing 2, a transverse welded region 9 is formed, which is orthogonal to the creasing lines that will form the lateral longer edges of the lateral panels la, lb, Id and le of the package , as shown in Figures 18, 19 and 22.

(146) As disclosed hereinbefore, whichever is the process of the invention being used to produce carton packages 1', the fact that the transverse welded region 9 previously formed is orthogonal to the creasing lines that will form the lateral longer edges of the lateral panels la, lb, Id and le of the package 1' inevitably determines that the first and second longitudinal joined and sealed regions 6 and 7 must be parallel to the lateral longer edges of the lateral panels la, lb, Id and le of the package 1'.

(147) Consequently, the upper panel of the package 1' will be totally flat, free from joined and welded regions, unlike packages manufactured according to processes known in the art, which are provided with joined and welded regions in their upper panels.

(148) The fact that upper panels of packages produced according to the present invention is flat, free free from joined and welded regions, enables the application of devices for the opening of packages whose spouts are provided with an internal diameter sufficient to prevent dripping flows from occurring when the product of the package is poured.

(149) While the processes for manufacturing aseptic carton packages object of the present invention have been described with respect to a package having a parallelepipedal shape, it is important to note that such processes are not limited to this shape, as other shapes of package may be obtained from the use of these processes, for example, prismatic shapes, among others.

(150) In the exemplary parallelepipedal package 1' described hereinbefore the transverse welded region 9 extends through the lower panel lh and the sides of the two laterally opposed lower side lugs li and lj which rest and are adhered to the lower panel lh, therefore the transverse welded region 9 practically cannot be seen by users. However, the location of the transverse welded region 9 is not restricted to the lower panel lh the two laterally opposed lower side lugs li and lj. Depending on the layout adopted of the blank 1, the transverse welded region 9 may be located in other portions of the panels of the package 1, being possible to be located in a lateral panel or even in the upper panel of the package, as will be seen hereinafter with respect to Figures 23, 24 and 25.

(151) Figure 23 depicts a blank 21 for producing a package 21' comprising a region 21h, which will form the lower panel of the package 21'; a first region for joining and sealing 22 connected to the left side of the blank 21; two regions 21i and 21j, respectively connected to the upper side and the lower side of the region 21h, which will form the lower triangular lugs of the package 21'; two regions 21b and 21d, which will form two opposed lateral panels of the package 21', two regions 21a' and 21e', respectively connected to the upper and lower part of the region 21b; two regions 21a” and 21e”, respectively connected to the upper and lower part of the region 21d; the two regions 21a' and 21e' and the two regions 21a” and 21e” will form two opposed lateral panels 21a and 21e, respectively, after the manufacturing of the package 21'; and a region 21c, which will form the flat upper panel of the package 21'; two regions 21f and 21g, respectively connected to the upper side and the lower side of the region 21c, which will form the opposed upper side triangular lugs of the package 21'.

(152) A second lower region for joining and sealing 23 is located in the lower portion of the blank 21, and a third upper region for joining and sealing 24 is located in the upper portion of the blank 21.

(153) The first region for joining and sealing 22 is adjacent to the extreme portions of the regions 21i, 21h and 21j. This first region for joining and sealing 22 will serve for the juxtaposition of outermost portions of the rear region of the right lateral end of the regions 21a, 21d' and 21e, to form at this location a transverse welded region 27, as will be noticed hereinafter.

(154) The uppermost part of the second lower region for joining and sealing 23 is adjacent to the lower portions of regions 21j, 21e', 21g and 21e”, and the lowermost part of the third upper region for joining and sealing 24 is adjacent to the upper portions of the regions 21i, 21a', 21f and 21a”. The second lower region for joining and sealing 23 and the third upper region for joining and sealing 24 will serve to form longitudinal joined and sealed regions between the lateral panels 21a and 21e of smaller width of the package 21', formed by the joining of regions 21a'/21a” and 21e'/21e", respectively.

(155) The second lower region for joining and sealing 23 and the third upper region for joining and sealing 24 will also serve to form a union between the regions 21i and 21j, thereby forming the lower lateral triangular lugs of the package 21', and a union between the two regions 21f and 21g, which will form the opposed upper lateral triangular lugs of the package 21'.

(156) In Figures 24 and 25 the package 21' can be observed at the end of the manufacturing process, which may be manufactured by any of the methods of the invention described hereinbefore. The arrows S indicate the position of the transverse welded region 9 formed by the juxtaposition of the regions 21ia", 21d and 21e" over the first region for joining and sealing 22.

(157) Therefore, the transverse welded region 9 can be located at any panel of the package, in any position, either on the lower panel, on the lateral panels, or even on the upper panel of the package 21', depending on the arrangement of the package in the blank of the multilayer laminated packaging material. In case the transverse welding is located on the upper panel of the package, it preferably should be located in proximity to the edge between that upper panel and the contiguous lateral panel, so as not to cause difficulties for the application of a device for opening the package, if such a device is used in the package.

(158) Figure 26 depicts an equipment 20 comprising a preparation section 20a in which a multilayer laminated packaging material 11 undergoes a sequence of packaging preparation and is sterilized to be able to enterthe aseptic section 20b. In this aseptic section 20b the multilayer laminated packaging material 11 is continuously converted into a tube 10 by continuous longitudinal juxtaposition of its extreme side portions, which are firmly joined together by longitudinally welding the layers of the plastic material in the extremities of those side portions, the welding being usually done by applying pressure and heat, as described hereinbefore.

(159) What differentiate this equipment 20 from equipment known in the art is that the aseptic section 20b can be angled with respect to the preparation section 20a, as depicted in Figure 26, where an angle Y can be observed between the section 20a and the aseptic section 20b, the angle Y being formed between the longitudinal symmetry axis of the preparation section 20a and the longitudinal symmetry axis aseptic section 20b.

(160) The possibility that the aseptic section 20b may be angled with respect to the preparation section 20a allows to vary the location of the transverse welded region 9 of package. Besides the possibility shown in the Figures 23, where the transverse welded region 9 is located in the lower part of a lateral panel, it is also possible to locate the transverse welded region 9 in any of the lower or upper panel of the package 21'.

(161) Actually, the transverse welded region 9 may be located in any part of the lower, side and upper panels of the package, depending on the layout used in the blank, although it be more adequate to locate it near an edge between the panels, as depicted in the Figures 24 and 25, which facilitate the printing of the market identification of the product.

(162) Therefore, depending on the layout adopted for the blank of multilayer laminated packaging material, it will only necessary to adjust the angle Y of the aseptic section 20b with respect to the preparation section 20a. The curved arrow T in Figure 26 depicts the possibility of angulation of the aseptic section 20b relative to the preparation section 20a.

(163) Figures 27 and 28 depict some possibilities for locating the transverse welded region 9 in the package 1', depending on the angular location of aseptic section 20b relative to the preparation section 20a. In case the aseptic section 20b has no angulation with respect to the preparation section 20a, consequently the transverse welded region 9 would be located at the middle region of a lateral panel of the package 1', as depicted in Figure 27.

(164) The equipment 20 may advantageously be provided with a molding and sealing device 14 having a plurality of molding and sealing elements 14', which are mounted on endless tracks or caterpillar 15a and 15b, as shown schematically in Figure 29.

(165) These two endless tracks or caterpillars 15a and 15b synchronously rotate in opposite directions so as to make a molding and sealing elements 14' from caterpillar 15a to perfectly engage a respective molding and sealing elements 14' from the opposed caterpillar 15b to interact and mold, seal and cut semi-finished packages 14, as depicted in Figure 29.

(166) Figure 3 shows a block diagram depicting the sequence of steps for the manufacture of the multilayer laminated material that is used in the processes for the production of aseptic carton packs with the characteristics of the invention disclosed hereinbefore. The said process comprises the following steps:

- continuously supplying a printing equipment with a web containing a paperboard layer comprising a printable face and non-printable face;

- printing the product identification on the printable face of the paperboard layer, to form a plurality of blanks 1;

- forming creasing lines on the printable face of the paperboard layer, to form folding lines necessary to produce packages 1' from each blank, in which a first region for joining and sealing 2 is created, whose direction is orthogonal to the direction of said creasing lines, which will form the lateral edges of the lateral faces of each package 1' to be formed from each blank 1;

- forming a second region for joining and sealing 3 and a third region for joining and sealing 4, in which the longitudinal axis of the planar segments containing said regions are parallel to the creasing lines that will form the lateral edges of the lateral faces of each package 1' produced from each blank 1;

- laminating a first adhesive layer, then an aluminum layer, then an internal sealing layer on the non-printable face of the paperboard layer;

- laminating an outer sealing layer on the printable face of the paperboard layer;

- winding the web of laminated multilayer material to form a master roll.

(167) A second adhesive layer may be laminated between the aluminium layer and the inner sealing layer.

(168) If packages 1' are supposed to have caps, or straws should be used to perforate the layers laminated onto the non-printable face of the paperboard layer, which contain the aluminium layer and form the inner part of the packages, holes should then be punched in the layer of paperboard layer for the application of opening devices or to allow the perforation of the inner layers of the packages 1' by using straws, before the lamination operations of said inner layers are made.

(169) The master roll is usually cut after the lamination process is finalised, in order to facilitate transportation and the following manufacturing operations.

(170) The present invention has been described with regard to the various embodiments thereof. Modifications or substitutions may be made without, however, departing from the inventive concept described and disclosed herein. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein, being only limited to the content of the appendant claims.