US3315866A

US3315866A - Pouring spout

Info

Publication number: US3315866A
Application number: US486101A
Authority: US
Inventors: David A Kersh; Kersh Irving
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-09-09
Filing date: 1965-09-09
Publication date: 1967-04-25
Anticipated expiration: 1984-04-25

Description

pi 25, i967 D. A. KERSH ET AL POURING SPOUT Filed Jan.

United States Patent O 9 Claims. (Cl. 229-7) This application is a division of application Ser. No. 390,263, tiled Aug. 12, 1964, and now Patent Number 3,262,627, entitled, Pouring Spout, which, in turn, is a continuation of application Ser. No. 169,373, tiled Ian. 29, 1962, and now abandoned, entitled, Pouring Spout.

This invention relates to pouring spouts for cartons and particularly to -a pouring spout which snaps outwardly to pouring position when a portion thereof is forced inwardly.

The carton having the pouring spout of the present invention may be made of any material but is herein illustrated, by way of example, as being made from corrugated cardboard. The pouring spout is formed from the material of the carton at the time the sheet of material is die cut and scored to produce the carton. The spout is made by cutting the top edge through the material on adjacent faces of a corner edge above a pivot point in each face. The lower end of the spout is deformed by two pairs of score lines on the side faces, extending downwardly from the pivot points at an angle to each other. Another pair of score lines may extend downwardly from the pivot point on the two adjacent faces between the pairs of score lines when it is desired that the pouring spout move outwardly at a greater angle to the carton edge. By pushing inwardly at the corner edge of the carton Iat the point where the score lines define the bottom edge of the pouring spout, the bottom edge will snap inwardly moving the portion of the spout above the pivot points outwardly into pouring position. =By pushing the pouring portion of the spout upwardly, the lower portion below a line through the pivot points will move outwardly and move the lspout inwardly t-o closed position. Such a spout may be located anywhere along the corner edge of the carton and is usually placed near the top thereof.

The top portion of the spout may be disposed within the top surface of the carton at a corner thereof with the score line disposed therebelow along the adjacent side faces of the carton. Preferably a fold is provided inthe top cover portion of the spout, the fold herein illustrated being a portion of a handle extending upwardly from the top wall. The fold within the top wall portion of the spout provides a greater capacity thereto and a smaller outlet pouring area so that the material, when poured, may be yaccurately directed into a container.

When the material of the carton is extremely heavy or when a large-sized spout is desired, a second pair of score lines may be employed on the inner face of the material spaced from the score lines referred to above. When the score line defining the bottom of the spout is pushed inwardly, the top lip portion will snap outwardly to open position, When the score line spaced from the spout is pushed inwardly, the spout will move outwardly a greater distance than when only one of the score lines is moved inwardly. In any of the arrangements, the spout may be said to be of diamond shape, having a pair of opposite corners forming pivot points in adjacent faces of the container with the axis thereof forming a common base for the same or dissimilar triangular shaped corner portions. The portion above the pivot points being defined by cut lines through the material to form the 3,3 15,866 Patented Apr. 25, 1967 pouring edge while the material therebelow is secured to a flexible portion produced by crushing, scoring or the provision of resilient material so as to permit the lower portion of the spout to be moved inwardly.

Accordingly, the main objects of the invention are: to form a spout in a corner edge of a carton by severing the top edge of a diamond-shaped section and connecting the lower portion to a flexible section so that the lower portion may be moved inwardly to move the upper portion outwardly; to cut and score lines at the corner edge of a carton to provide a diamond-shaped section with the top edge cut through the material and the bottom edge joined to a hingeable section which permits the bottom edge t-o be moved inwardly and the top edge to pivot outwardly to open position; to form a pouring spout in the top corner of a carton by cutting through the material of the top wall to define the lip edge and by scoring the walls at the corner edge therebelow to permit the corner portion to be moved inwardly so that the top portion may hinge outwardly to form the spout, and in general, to provide a pouring spout at the corner edge of the cart-on made from the material thereof in a. manner which is simple in construction, positive in operation and economical to manufacture.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of the invention, to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompaying drawing wherein:

FIGURE l is a broken plan view of a carton having a closed pouring spout thereon embodying features of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view of the structure illustrated in FIG- URE 1, with the spout in open position;

'FIGURE 3 is a view of structure, similar to that illustrated in FIGURE 1, showing a further form of the invention with the spout in closed position;

FIGURE 4 is a view of the structure illustrated in FIG- URE 3, with the spout in partially open. position;

FIGURE 5 is a 'View of a structure illustrated in FIG- URES 3 and 4 with the spout in fully open position;

FIGURE 6 is a view of a spout, similar to that illustrated in FIGURE 3, showing a still further form of the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a View -of the structure illustrated in FIG- URE 6, showing the spout in open position; and

FIGURE 8 is a view of the structure similar to that illustrated in FIGURE 1, showing another form of the invention.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2, a carton 10v of conventional form, made of paper or corrugated board, is provided with a pouring spout 11 constructed in accordance with the present invention. The lip portion |12 of the pouring spout is formed from the corner portion of the top 13 of the carton. An edge l14 of the lip portion is completely cut through the top material and also through the handle portion 15 provided on the top portion. From the points 16 and v17 at the ends of the cut line 14, two angularly disposed pairs of

score lines

18 and 19 are provided in the sides 21 and 22 of the carton. These lines could be formed by crushing the corrugated portion of the 'board or a score or cut line can be made to produce the lines. In such an arrangement the line 19 would be scored on the outer face of the sides 21 and 22 while the line 18 would be scored on the inner side. By pressing inwardly at the point 23 where the score line 18 meets at the corner edge 24, the portion of the carton along the scored line 11S snaps inwardly causing the lip portion 12 to snap outwardly pivoting about the points 16 and 17 to open positionV as clearly illustrated in FIGURE 2.

The spout portion 25 is formed from the section of the handle 15 to provide a narrow pouring channel at the center of the lip portion 12 so that the substance being poured from the carton can be accurately directed into a small aperture or contained. By moving the pouring spout portion 2S upwardly to cause it to pivot inwardly about the points 16 and 17, the lip portion 12 will snap inwardly to the position illustrated in FIGURE l as the score line 18 moves outwardly to be in the plane of the sides 21 and 22.

A similar construction is illustrated in FIGURES 6 and 7 wherein a cut line 27 extends between the points 16 and 17 in the sides 29 and 31 of a carton 30 to dene the lip portion of the pouring spout. Score lines 27 yand 28 are provided in the panels in the same manner as provided in the panel of FIGURE l below the lip portion 32 cut from the sides rather than the top wall 33. W-hen the corner edge 34 is pressed inwardly at the point 23, the lip portion 32 will snap outwardly to open position as illustrated in FIGURE 7. By pus-hing the lip portion upwardly, the pouring spout will snap back to the closed position as illustrated in FIGURE 6.

In FIGURES 3, 4 and 5, a still further form of the invention is illustrated, that wherein a pouring spout 36 has an arcuate cut lip portion 37 with a score line 38 in addition to score lines 39 and 41 which are similar to

score lines

18 and 19 labove described. With this arrangement, when pushing inwardly on the corner edge point 42, the pouring spout 36 will snap outwardly into partially open position as illustrated in FIGURE 4 and, when the point 43 of the corner edge is pushed inwardly thereafter or at the same time, the lip portion 36 will move into fully open position substantially parallel to the top wall 33, as illustrated in FIGURE 5. When the pouring spout is in either Of the positions illustrated in FIGURES 4 or 5, the movement of the lip portion upwardly will cause it to snap into closed position, as illustrated in FIGURE 1. To prevent t-he lip portion from passing beyond the plane of the sides 21 and 22 a strip of material 44 on the inner face of the sides 21 and 22 extends below the cut edge 37 in position to be engaged by the lip portion when moved to closed position. The strip may be secured in any Inanner to the sides and may be an extension of the overlap portion of the container at a corner adjacent to the corner 24.

The closer the point 23 is to the line connecting the points 16 and 17, the greater will be the outward tilt to the pouring spout. When the point 42 of the structure illustrated in FIGURES 3 to 5 is pressed inwardly, the lip portion will only move out a short distance, but when the point 43 is pushed inwardly alone or with the point 42, the pouring spout will pivot out a substantial distance. The points 16 annd 17 function as pivot points for the pouring spout. When the portion of the pouring spout below the line joining the points 16 and 17 is moved inwardly, the portion thereabove will move outwardly to open position. The further the bottom portion of the pouring spout is moved inwardly, the greater amount of angular movement will occur to the pouring spout to move it to open position. It can be seen therefore that there 'are no specific lengths to the various points on the spout since these can be varied depending upon the amount of opening required of the pouring spout.

A relationship of the line lengths and angularity can be obtained from examining the figures, but these will be relative in view of the fact that the carton may be of any size. For example, the cartons of FIGURES l and 2 may be only 4 inches square, l2 inches square or a yard square and the lengths of the lines cannot be set forth as being a predetermined length in inches. The relationship however is such that pivoting will occur at the points 16 and 17 when the lower portion of the pouring spout is pushed inwardly at the point 23, the amount of inward movement being limited by the angularity of the score line 19. As has been pointed out above, the score lines may merely be crushed or may be actually scored, the line 19 being scored on the exterior face while the line 18 will be scored on the interior face. In the structure illustrated in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5, the score lines 38 and 39 will be cut on the inner face while the score line 41 is cut on the outer face. In any of the constructions herein illustrated yand described, the lip portion of the pouring spout will snap open when the corner of the container is pushed inwardly at the points 23, 42 and 43. While a corner of a container is referred to herein it is to be understood that an arcuate portion of a round, oval or other shaped container would permit the pouring spout to function in the manner above described.

In FIGURE 7, a pouring spout 36 is illustrated which is similar to that illustrated in FIGURES l and 2 with the handle 15 omitted. Before the point 23 is pressed inwardly the spout portion 37 in the top 13 must be severed therefrom. A folded-over portion 38 of the spout portion 37 is severed along the tear line 39 and the side edge is severed along the tear line 41. The portion 38 is then moved to vertical position along the scored line 42. This releases the spout portion 37 from the top 13 'and permits it to swing out about an axis through the points 16 and 17 to open position as illustrated in FIGURE 2. The spout portion 37 is moved to closed position in the manner described above and the portion 38 is folded down and locked to the top material along the tear lines 39 and 41 from which it must be released before it can be moved to open position. An L-shaped strip of material 45 may be secured to the under face of the top 13 located at either side of the tear lines 39 and 41 to form a ledge for the edges of the spout portion 37 when in closed position.

We claim:

1. In a container, a spout portion having a pair of spaced points which forrn a pivotal axis across t-he interior of the container, the portion of the spout on one side of the axis being severed from the container, the portion of the spout on the other side of the axis being in hinged relation with the container portion therebelow, said severed portion of the spout being cut from the top of the container to hinge upwardly therefrom, said severed spout portion having a central reversely bent section therein forming a pouring trough portion.

2. In a container, a spout portion having a pair of spaced points which form a pivotal axis lacross the interior of the container, the portion of the spout on one side of the axis being severed from the container, the portion of the spout on the other side of the axis being in hinged relation with the container portion therebelow, said severed portion of the spout being cut from the top of the container to hinge upwardly therefrom, said severed spout portion having a central reversely bent section therein forming a pouring trough portion, said container having a reversely bent section forming a handle portion extending upwardly from the top in extension of the reversely bent section of the spout portion.

3. In a container, a spout portion having a pair of spaced points which forni a pivotal axis across the interior of the container, the portion of the spout on one side of the axis being severed from the container, the portion of the spout on t-he other side of the axis beingV in hinged relation with the container portion therebelow, said severed portion of the spout being cut from the top of the container to hinge upwardly therefrom, said severed spout portion having a central reversely bent section therein forming a pouring trough portion, said container having la reversely bent section forming a handle portion extending upwardly from the top in extension of the reversely bent section of the spout portion, said reversely bent sections moving into interlocked relation when the spout portion is in closed position.

4. In a carton having a pair `of sides and a top wall, :the top wall having a cut line extending through the material at a corner to a point in each side which forms a 4corner edge therebelow, and score lines in the sides extending from the points to the corner edge permitting 5 the material at the corner edge to move inwardly to cause the top corner portion to move outwardly.

5. In a carton having a pair of sides and top Wall, the top wall having a cut line extending through the material at a corner to a point in each side which forms a corner edge therebelow, and score lines in the sides extending from the points to the corner edge permitting lthe material at the corner edge t-o move inwardly to cause the top corner portion to move outwardly, said corner portion having a fold therein to permit the top corner portion to move outwardly a greater distance.

6. In a carton having a pair of sides and a top wall, the top wall having a cut line extending through the material at a corner to a point in each side which forms a corner edge therebelow, and score lines in the sides extending from the points to the corner edge permitting the material at the corner edge to move inwardly to cause the top corner portion to move outwardly, said top corner portion having a fold therein to permit the top corner portion to move outwardly a 4greater distance, said top portion having a handle and said fold being a portion in extension thereof.

7. In a carton having a pair of sides and a top wall, the top wall having a cut line extending through the material at a corner -to la point in each side which forms a corner edge therebelow, and score lines in the sides extending from the points to the corner edge permitting the material Iat the corner edge to move inwardly to cause the top corner portion to move outwardly, said cut line and said score lines comprising a pouring spout, said ftop corner portion having a fold therein to permit the top corner portion to move outwardly a greater distance, said top portion having a handle and said fold being a portion in extension thereof, said fold being disposed at an angle to extend under and lock with the handle to positively maintain the pouring spout in the plane of the top of the carton.

8. In a carton having a pair of sides and a top wall, the top wall having a cut line extending through the material at a corner to a point in each side which forms a corner edge therebelow, and score lines in the sides extending fr-om the points to the corner edge permitting the material at the corner edge to move inwardly to cause the top corner portion to move outwardly, said top corner portion having a fold therein to permit the top corner portion to move outwardly a. greater distance, when in open position and to lie at on the top of the carton when in `closed position.

9. In a carton having a pair of sides and a top wall, the top wall having a cut line extending through the material at a corner to a point in each side which forms a corner edge therebelow, and score lines in the sides extending from the points to the corner edge permitting the material at the corner edge to move inwardly to cause the top corner portion to move outwardly, said top corner portion having a fold therein to permit the top corner portion to move outwardly a greater distance when in open position and to lie flat on the top of the carton when in closed position, the top corner portion having an opening, and means extending into the edge of the opening to postion the corner portion when in closed position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,818,207 12/ 1957 Wilson 229-17 JOSEPH R. LECLA'IR, Primary Examiner. R. PESHOOK, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A CONTAINER, A SPOUT PORTION HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED POINTS WHICH FORM A PIVOTAL AXIS ACROSS THE INTERIOR OF THE CONTAINER, THE PORTION OF THE SPOUT ON ONE SIDE OF THE AXIS BEING SEVERED FROM THE CONTAINER, THE PORTION OF THE SPOUT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AXIS BEING IN HINGED RELATION WITH THE CONTAINER PORTION THEREBELOW, SAID SEVERED PORTION OF THE SPOUT BEING CUT FROM THE TOP OF THE CONTAINER TO HINGE UPWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID SEVERED SPOUT PORTION HAVING A CENTRAL REVERSELY BENT SECTION THEREIN FORMING A POURING TROUGH PORTION.