US3164695A - Disposable packages - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 5, 1965 Filed Oct- 9. 1961 D. A. SANNI DISPOSABLE PACKAGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

DOMINIO A. SANNI ATTORN EYS Jan. 5, 1965 o. A. SANNI DISPOSABLE PACKAGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 9. 1961 INVENTOR. DOMINIC A. SANNI 1w ATTORN EYS United States Patent O 3,164,695 DISPOSABLE PACKAGES Dominic A. Sanni, 31 Ledgetree Road, Medfield, Mass. Filed Oct. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 143,753 2 Claims. (Cl. 206-56) This invention relates to the art of high-speed packaging and more particularly to disposable, flexible packages containing fluid commodities such as ketchup, mustard, and the like.

In recent years, there has been introduced an assortment of small disposable single-service foodstufl packages which are formed from webs of paper, cellophane or plastic, and which contain diverse products such as sugar, salt, pepper, mustard, and ketchup. While the packages which have contained solid or granular commodities have gained wide acceptance, the packages which contain liquid commodities such as ketchup and mustard have not been as widely accepted because they are messy to use. These packages generally are rectangular in shape and consist of two layers of packaging material which are secured together at their edges so as to form a pouch therebetween in which the liquid commodity is contained. Generally, the pouch is opened by tearing it at a corner or across the top. Although mustard and ketchup are viscous, the have a great tendency to leak out of the opened package when it is laid to rest on a dish or other surface. Needless to say, this is quite messy and unsightly.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved package for liquid commodities having means for sealing ofi the package after its contents have been partially consumed, whereby to avoid leakage.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a package for fluid commodities formed of a resilient non-porous material which can be torn open for use and can thereafter be resealed so as to avoid leakage of unused contents.

A further specific object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of manufacturing a sealed, fluid-containing package having means for reclosing the package after it has been partially used.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent as reference is had to the following detailed specification when considered together with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fluid-containing package embodying the present invention;

22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 showing the package after it has been opened;

FIG. 4 illustrates one way that the opened package of FIG. 3 may be reclosed so as to prevent leakage of its contents;

FIG. 4A illustrates another way of reclosing the package so as to prevent leakage; and

FIG. 5 illustrates how the package of FIG. 1 is manufactured.

It is to be understood that the packages which embody the present invention may be made of various commercially available materials. These materials may be transparent, translucent or opaque. Among the materials which are suitable for use in fabricating the package are polyethylene film, cellophane provided with a protective coating such as polyethylene and other plastic materials which are impervious to fluids and which are not easily ruptured; In the practice of this invention, it is preferred to use either polyethylene sheeting or cellophane having a polyethylene coating thereon.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a package embodying the FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line present invention will generally have a rectangular shape and will be formed of two layers, 2 and 4, of flexible, non-porous, relatively high strength material. Preferably, this material comprises an inner layer of polyethlyene and an outer layer of cellophane, the two layers forming a transparent or translucent laminate. The two sheets 2 and 4 are secured together at their four margins, thereby forming a pouch identified generally at 6 in which a commodity 10 such as ketchup or mustard may be contained. To the extent already described, the package of FIG. 1 is old.

The present invention consists of providing wire 14 along one side margin of the package. The wire 14 is captivated between the two sheets 2 and 4 in such a manner that it will not come loose. The wire 14 may be made of a suitable material which can be bent and which will retain its bend until forced to a new configuration. The wire will extend for the length of the package. Preferably, but not necessarily, the wire is cut in two by a slit 18 in the sealed side margin. Preferably also, a second slit 20 is provided in the opposite side margin. The two slits are located close to one end of the package (hereinafter identified as the top end) and terminate short of the pouch 6. These slits facilitate use of the package.

When the package is to be used, its top end is torn off along the slits 18 and 20, leaving the package in the con dition illustrated in FIG. 3 with the pouch 6 open for dispensing of the commodity 10 contained therein. After the package has been used, it is reclosed so that any unused commodity 10 will not leak out. This is done simply by rolling up the open end of the package, as illustrated in FIG. 4, or by simply bending the open end over at a sharp angle to the rest of the package, as shown in FIG. 4A. The wire 14 will bend quite easily. However, once the wire is bent, it will tend to remain in its bent position. As a consequence, the wire will prevent the package from unrolling or unbending back to the open condition illustrated in FIG. 3, thereby preventing the contents from escaping.

Of course, the package need not have two slits 18 and 20. One slit will sufiice. Either slit may be retained, in which case the top end of the package probably will not be torn off completely but only to the opposite side margin. In other words, the top end will remain attached to the bag at one side margin.

FIG. 5 illustrates how the package of FIG. 1 may be manufactured two at a time.

In manufacturing the package, two continuously movings webs 2 and 4 of flexible laminar material of the type described previously in connection with FIG. 1 are caused to travel downward around a pair of filling tubes 24 and 26. As the two webs pass the filling tubes 24 and 26, they are acted on by a pair of opposed longitudinal heated sealing rolls (not shown) which seal the two webs adjacent their edges and also along their center lines so as to form two tubular sections into which liquid commodity can be discharged by the filling tubes. The two longitudinal edge seals are shown at a and b and the center line seal is shown at c. After the webs pass below the two filling tubes, they travel between a pair of opposed heated transverse sealing rolls (not shown) which are located below the filling tubes and which form a series of evenly spaced transverse seals d. As each transverse seal d is formed, measured charges of commodity 10 are discharged into the two tubular sections through the two filling tubes 24 and 26. Successive transverse seals transform the two tubular sections into two series of discrete pouches 6 in which the discharged commodity is captivated.

At this point it is to be observed that the longitudinal seals a and b and the transverse seals do not extend out to the edges of the two webs. As a consequence the webs are left witha discrete, unsealed, longitudinally extending area e along each edge. Disposed between the edges of the two webs at each area e are identical curved hollow guide tubes 30. Each hollow tube acts to guide an endless strand of wire 14 which is fed by a pair of drive rolls 34 at the same surface speed as the Webs. The guide tubes 30 guide the wires 14 in between the two webs at the unsealed areas 2. It is to be noted that only the discharge ends of the two guide tubes 30 extend into the areas e so as not to impede movement of the two webs. Ata point just below where wire 14 is inserted, the two webs pass between additional heat longitudinal sealing rolls (not shown) which seal together their adjacent edges as indicated at f. Seals f lock the wires 14 in place between the two webs.

Thereafter the series of pouches passes through a first knife section (not shown) which makes the slits 18 and 20, then through a second knife section which slits the center seal along its center line as shown at 36, and thereafter through a third knife section which covers the webs along the center lines of the transverse seals d as shown at 38, each transverse cut forming a pair of identical packages having the construction shown in FIG. 2. The knife section which forms slits 18 must act with sufiicient force to sever the wire 14.

It is to be noted that the guide tubes 30 do not extend parallel to the edges of the webs; instead they come in at an angle, preferably in the range of 30, which will tend to force wires 14 up against the seals a and b. This is necessary in order not to hamper production of seals Otherwise, the wires will not feed in properly and will not be captivated properly; By controlling infeeding of wires 14 and by properly dimensioning the widths of seals a, b and f, the wires captivated in each package will be held tight and will not tend to shift longitudinally.

It is to be observed that it is not necessary to make the transverse seals d before inserting the wires 14 between the edges of the webs. Instead, it is possible to insert the wires beforehand, just after making the longitudinal seals a and b or contemporaneously therewith. In the latter case the wires would not be fed in via guides 30 but would be introduced by means of other guides arranged above the sealing rolls which make seals a and b and also the rolls which make transverse seals d. However, in order to prevent the wires from wandering, the secondary longitudinal seals 1 are made contemporaneous with seals a and b. In this way, seals 1 are formed as close as possible to the point of entry of the wires. Otherwise, the wires will not be held snugly and their cut-01f sections will tend to slip axially in the packages. This is not only untidy in appearance, but it also is dangerous since a person handling the packages may be injured by the projecting end of a wire.

Of course, it is not necessary for the packages to be made twoat a time as just described. Instead, they may be made one by one. However, since costs are. directly affected by the rate of production, it is preferred to make the packages two at a time. It is to beobs erved that if the packages are made one by one, they need not be made from two separate webs but can be made from a single web folded longitudinally. The wire 14 would be captivated along the single longitudinal seal that is formed.

While wire 14 may be made of a variety of materials, it is preferred that it be made of a non-corrosive material such as dead soft aluminum.

One of the outstanding advantages of the foregoing method is that it does not require construction of a machine which is entirely new. Instead, it is possible to modify a conventional liquid bagging machine. The modifications required to be made to a conventional bagging machine are relatively small, for the most part consisting of the means for feeding wires 14 at the same linear speed as the packaging material, sealing rolls adapted to make seals a, b and f, and a heavy duty knife capable of severing wire 14.

Although the primary object of the invention is to elimimate a leakage problem attendant to packages containing liquid food commodities such as ketchup, mustard and the like, it may be used in connection with packages for other liquid such as lubricating oils, chemicals, drugs, cosmetics, etc. Moreover it may also be embodied in packages containing free-flowing granular or powdery commodities such as powdered foods, medicines and cosmetics. Accordingly, as used herein, the term fluid shall be understood to include not only liquids and viscous masses but also free flowingpowders and granular materials.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts specifically described or illustrated, and that within the scope of the appended claims it may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described or illustrated.

What is claimed is:

. 1. A sealed commodity package comprising rectangular front and rear walls sealed together along their edges to form a sealed pouch, said package containing a fluid commodity within said pouch and a single bendable bend-retaining Wire, said wire captivated between said walls in the seal along one edge thereof, said wire extending for the full length of said one edge, and an edge slit extending across said seal and dividing said wire into two discrete pieces, whereby to facilitate tearing open one end of said package to permit dispensing of said fluid commodity.

2. A sealed commodity package comprising rectangular front and rear walls of heat-scalable fluid-impervious material secured together by top and bottom edge seals and opposite side edge seals so as toform a pouch, a fluid commodity within said pouch, said package containing a single bendable bend-retaining wire, said wire extending along and captivated in one of said'side edge seals, said one side edge seal being partly slit at a predetermined location, said slit dividing'said wire into one relatively long piece and one relatively short piece, whereby (1) to facilitate opening said package by tearing off one end along a line starting with said slit and (2) to permit the opened package to be reclosed by bending back said walls and said relatively long piece of wire.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,960,232 Corbe May 29, 1934 2,329,360 Salfisberg Sept. 14, 1943 2,347,509 Salfisberg Apr. 25, 1944 2,490,057 Irmscher Dec. 6, 1949 2,760,629 Thagard Aug. 28, 1956 2,923,404 Adell Feb. 2, 1960 2,946,434 B-rina July 26, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS,

France Jan. 18, 1960

Claims (1)

1. A SEALED COMMODITY PACKAGE COMPRISING RECTANGULAR FRONT AND REAR WALLS SEALED TOGETHER ALONG THEIR EDGES TO FORM A SEALED POUCH, SAID PACKAGE CONTAINING A FLUID COMMODITY WITHIN SAID POUCH AND A SINGLE BENDABLE BEND-RETAINING WIRE, SAID WIRE CAPTIVATED BETWEEN SAID WALLS IN THE SEAL ALONG ONE EDGE THEREOF SAID WIRE EXTENDING FOR THE FULL LENGTH OF SAID ONE EDGE, AND AN EDGE SLIT EXTENDING ACROSS SAID SEAL AND DIVIDING SAID WIRE INTO TWO DISCRETE PIECES WHEREBY TO FACIILTATE TEARING OPEN ONE END OF SAID PACKAGE TO PERMIT DISPENSING OF SAID FLUID COMMODITY.

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