AU2004212611B2 - Flexible plastic container - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: Flexible plastic container The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: Freehills Carter Smith Beadle Sydney\004718008 Printed 21 September 2004 (14:05) 27-JAN-2009 07:57 From:FREEHILLS00 62E240 To68:79P.31 001161293224000 To:062837999 P.3-11q 04J16(97 1 FLEXIBLEI .PLASTIC CONTAINER~ RE LATEID APPLICATIONS This application is related to U.S. Noniprovisional Patent applicaion Serial No.

10/037,295, Filed December 21, 2001, which claimis priolity r-omr United States Provisional Patent application Serial No. 60/332463 filedI onl November 9, 2001, both of which are inicor-porated herein by ref'erence and made a part heroulfC At, the dte of filing this application, the specifications of both these related applications are available from the United States Patent and Tradeniark Office website, wwwAuSPln.gOV, Using the search functions provided onl that website.

TECH-NICAL FIELD The present inrvention relates generally to a flexible plastic container and more particularly to a flexible container for directing a fIowable material contained therein to a fitment ofthe container and dispensing the flowable material.

BAC KG ROUNDI OF TI-IE INV Ii;NTl.ION Collapsible plastic bags are oftent used to store liquid prodUcts SuIchI Is uhernicals, soft drink syrup, fritjuices and food condiments. Thle plastic bags are typically housed in a corrugated paperboard box t~o aid in the transporting, handling and dispensing of the product. Such packaging systems are commonly referred to as "bag-i n-box" packaging systemls.

The plastic bags typically have sidewalls sealed alOn~g al peripheral seamr to definle 4 lid containing; chamber. A Spout or a fitment providos access to the f'luid chamber for filling and dispensing the product within the bag. Vacuum pump systems are somnetirnes, connected to the container to assist in draining fluid from the container.

Both g-ravity dispensing bags, and vacuum11 PUMP System5 suferC~ f'-rm the common drawback that fluid may becomre trapped within the folds of the bag during draining.

13ecause Of this, CvacGuation channels are often placed within the bag. Evacuation channels are typically elongate cylindrical tubes or flat strips with protruding ribs defining grooves. Typically, one end of the evacuation channel is disposed transverse to. or is connected to the spout, anFd the other end of the evacuiation channel extends, COMS ID No: ARCS-221182 Received by IP Australia: Time 09:46 Date 2009-01-27 27-JRN-2009 07:57 FrOm:FREEHILLS01129200 To: 062857999 -4 1,4 001161293224000 ('0471 7700v20 dnc 3 into the fluid contmllning chamber of the bag, As the bag is emptied by the force of the vacuum pump, or by the force of gravity, portions of the bag collapse unevenly, tending to leave pockets of product, typically liquid, which may become isolated from the rest of the liquid in the container. The evacuation channel, however, forms a conduit which cannot be closed off by the folds created in the bag. In this manner the entire chamber of the flexible bag remains in communication with the spout at all times during the dispensing such that all product within the bag can be removed.

Prior attempts to provide such bags are disclosed in U.S. Patent 'Nos, 4,601,410; 5,647,511 and 5,749,493. United States Patent Not. 4,601,410 and 5,647,511 disclose a liquid container with an) evacuation unit. In both the Al10 and 11 patents, the evacuation unit is shown attached directly to the spout by a mounting ring. Several problems have been encountered with these types of evacuation units.

'For example, during the filling process, which is typically done in a high speed and high pressure process, the evacuation unit is susceptible of being dislodged frm the spout thereby rendering the evacuation unit inoperative. Also, the attaching ring can impede the flow of liquid during the filling process thereby slowing the filling process.

United States Patent No. 5,749,493 discloses an evacuation unit positioned within a bag and transverse and perpendicular 10 a spout in the bag. Because the evacuation unit is positioned in a location that is in line with the incoming'fluid during the filling process, it is Susceptible of being dislodged from its mounting to the container thereby rendering it ineffective. The '493 Patent also discloses extruding a pair of ribs or a single rib or protuberance extending the length of the container.

Many of the designs which utilize an evacuation unit positioned within the bag require that the unit be placed into the bag after the bag has been substantially constructed. This is highly undesirable because it adds another step to the manufacturing process and increases the labour costs.

United States Patent No. Re. 34,929 discloses a plastic bag having interconnected air channels on its inner surface for the vacuum packaging of perishable items. The air channels arc formed by the spaces between a plurality of raised protuberances having uniform thickness and formied in a generally regular and wafflelike pattern. The protuberaneces prevent the total collapse of the bag during air evacuation. There is no disclosure to utilize a fin-nent to provide access to the contents COMS ID No: ARGS-221182 Received by IP Australia: Time (I-tm) 09:46 Date 2009-01-27 27-JriN-2009J 07:57 Frorn:FREEHILLS 001161293224000 To:062837999P5i 000000615S 4 of the container. There is also no disclosure of'remnoving the stored contents of the haV, but, rather only remnoving air from the package to prevent spoilage of the perishable itemi contained therein.

United States Patent No, 2,778,171 discloses the production of airtight packages for pmukaging perishable itemns such Lis fod. Projections are provided near an opening of the airtight paickage for keeping sidewulls of the container fromn Fully collapsing against once another while air is being evacuatud ftrm the container. There is no discloisure Of eV001uating a stored product fromn the container and n10 disclosu1re of providing a litinent with the bag to provide access to the stored content.

United States Patent No. 5,728,086 discloses a flexible container having mul1tiple tiCCeSS ports and particularly discloses a container th~r storing fluids tbr parenteral administration to a Patient. An inner surface of a sidewall of the container caun have various patternis embossed thereon to assist in draining the contents of the container.

References to the background art in this specification is not, and should not W~ taken as an acknowledgement or any form of'sugestion that this backgwuOI.nd art formis pairt of the common general knowledge in Australia or in any oither jurisdiction or that backgrouind art could reasonably be expected to be 11SCUrtalined, understood and re~garded as relevanit by a person skilled in the art.

SUMMARY OF 'l'-lE INVENTION B~roadly, the present invention relates to a flexible container Comprising a chamber having an Inner surface. A dispenser is incorporated into the container and establishes Iluid communication between the cham-ber and a location o.utside the chamnber A pattern of raised protrusions is on the inner surface of the churnber. The protrusions enable a flowable material contained in the chamrber to flow to the dispenser when the dispenser is activated.

In particular, the present invention provides a flexible polymeric container for storing and dispensing liquids, The container has a 1irst sidewall and a second sidewall connected together to define a fluid chamnber thmrbetween. The First sidewall and the second si dcwall each have an iIner orI' cc facing the fl-uid chamnber and an opposed outer surface- The con1tainer also has a dispenser Secured to an ouLter planar surface of one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall and having ain uxis essentially perpendicular to the pa~nel SUrIace and establishes fluid communication betwoen thle fluid chamnber and a location outside the PIld chamber. A pitiralitv 01' first set ob~ects art: positioned on the inner -SurtbCe of at least one of the first sidewall or the second sidewall to de-fine a pltLilt of pathways having at least a first pathway and a second pathway Intersecting one another.

The p-luirality of pathways are ofa depth ota range oft-reater than I mil to less than 8 mils.

COMS ID No: ARCS-221182 Received by IP Australia: Time (i-Pm) 09:46 Date 2009-01-27 27-JAN-2009 07:58 From:FREEHILLS 001161293224000 To;062837999 P.6-114 0047 17700v20 (do The present invention further provides a flexible polymeric container for storing and dispensing liquids. The container has a first sidewall and a second sidewall connected together to define a fluid chamber therebetween, the first sidewall and the second sidewall each having an inner surface facing the fluid chamber and an opposed outer surface.

The container has a dispenser secured to an outer surface of one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall that establishes fluid communication between the fluid chamber and a location outside the fluid chamber. A plurality of a first set of objects is formed on the inner surface of one of the first sidewall or the second sidewall during fabrication of the sidewall, the objects each having substantially the same shape and defining a pattern of a plurality of pathways having at least a first pathway and a second pathway intersection one another, each pathway having a depth greater than 1 mil but less than 8 mils.

The present invention further provides a method for evacuating a fluid from a container. The method includes the steps of: providing a liquid filled container having a sidewall having an inner surface and an outer surface, providing a plurality of objects on the inner surface of the sidewall, the objects including a first set of objects with a first shape and a second set of objects with a second shape different from the first shape to define a plurality of channels having at least a first channel and a second channel intersecting one another, the first channel and the second channel each having a depth of greater than 1 mil but less than 8 mils; providing a fitment attached to the sidewall, the fitment having an opening therethrough having an axis substantially perpendicular to the outer surface; and applying a suction to the fitment to draw fluid from the container, BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a container having a fitment; Fig. 2 is a side view of the container of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sidewall of the container of Fig. 1 having objects having varying shapes; Fig. 4 is a sidewall of the container of Fig. I having a plurality of regularly spaced rectangular protuberances to define a checkerboard pattern; and Fig. 5 is a sidewall having circular protuberances together forming a circular pattern with a series of X-shaped protuberances forming S-shaped lines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, herein will be described in detail with the accompanying figures, a preferred COMS ID No: ARCS-221182 Received by IP Australia: Time 09:46 Date 2009-01-27 27-JAN-2009 07:58 From:FREEHILLS 001161293224000 To:062837999 P.7/14 0041?l7700v20 .doc 6 embodiment of the invention. The present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated and described.

Figures I and 2 show a flexible container assembly 10 having a first sidewall 12 and a second sidewall 13 attached at peripheral edges 14 to define a fluid tight chamber 16. A spout 18 is attached to an outer surface of the sidewall 12 and provides fluid flow access to the chamber 16. In a preferred form of the invention, the first and second sidewalls 12 and 13 are a flexible polymeric material having a modulus of elasticity of less than 50,000 psi. The sidewalls preferably are made from materials such as homopolymers and copolymers ofpolyolefins, polyamides, polyesters or other material that are capable of being sealed using industry standard sealing techniques.

These techniques include, but are not limited to, heat sealing, radio frequency welding, and ultrasonic sealing. The sidewalls may be multilayered or single layered and may be fabricated from any suitable polymer processing technology including extrusion, coextrusion, extrusion lamination, lamination or other. The container can be made from individual sheets placed in registration and sealed along the periphery 14 or can be made from a blown film process where only opposing ends of a tube need be sealed to complete the container Figure 3 shows a plurality of objects 20 on the sidewall 12, The objects 20 can be positioned on a single sidewall or both. The objects, in a preferred form of the invention, are provided over an entire surface of the sidewall but could be provided only in select areas of the surface. Providing objects over the entire sidewall surface eliminates the need for registration of the sidewalls. Moreover, providing objects over the entire surface ensures that fluid is evacuated from all parts of the container, including corner regions. The objects can be of any shape including regular shapes such as circular, polygonal, straight or curved lines, symbols or the like. The objects can also be irregular shaped. These objects 20 assist in draining fluid from the chamber 16.

The objects 20 can be raised protuberances or indentations in these shapes.

The objects can be all of the same shapes or be of a combination of shapes. The objects can be of varying sizes provided the objects are effective to provide miniature fluid pathways through the container when the fluid or particulate contents of the container is being evacuated.

COMS ID No: ARCS-221182 Received by IP Australia: Time 09:46 Date 2009-01-27 27-JAN-2009 07:58 From:FREEHILLS 001161293224000 To:062837999 P.8-111 U047?17700v20 doc 7 The objects can be formed on the inner surface of sidewall 12 or sidewall 14 or both by techniques well known in the art including embossing during the fabrication of the sidewall, or embossing afterwards. The pattern can also be applied by an extrusion coating process or similar process. The objects can be pressed into the sidewalls with a shaped die. Numerous other mechanisms and processes come to mind for forming the objects which are well known in the art and the present invention should not be limited to these processes recited. The pathways 32 and 33 of the pattern are preferably of a depth of greater than or equal to 1 mil, or less than 8 mils, and even more preferably less than 5 mils. Most preferably, the pathways 32 and 33 will have a depth of from about Imil to about 4 mils The fitment 18 has an opening 50 having an axis essentially perpendicular to a panel surface of sidewall 12 of the container. It is contemplated the fitment 18 can be mounted at various angles to the sidewall without departing from the present invention. The fitment 18 provides fluid access to the contents of the chamber 16.

Typically, container 10 is used for housing liquids such as soft drink syrup which are withdrawn from the container with a hose and mixed at a fountain with a diluent such as soda water. The hose (not shown) has an attachment for connecting to the fitment in a fluid and airtight arrangement. A vacuum is applied to the fitment 18 through the hose to withdraw fluid from the container. The vacuum creates a pressure difference to initiate a fluid flow. Of course, the fitment 18 may be attached to the first or second sidewall 12, 13 or both and may be located at any location thereon.

The present invention further provides a process for evacuating the container shown in Figure 1. The method for evacuating a fluid from a container comprises the steps of: providing a liquid filled container having a sidewall having an inner surface; providing a plurality of objects on the inner surface of the sidewall to define a plurality of channels having at least a first channel and a second channel intersecting one another wherein the plurality of pathways are of a depth of a range of greater than 1 mil to less than 8 mils; providing a fitment having an opening therethrough having an axis substantially perpendicular to the outer surface; and (4) applying a suction to the fitment to draw fluid from the container.

While the specific embodiments have been described, numerous modifications COMS ID No: ARCS-221182 Received by IP Australia: Time 09:46 Date 2009-01-27 27-JAN-2009 07:58 From:FREEHILLS 001161293224000 To:062837999 P.914 004717700v2 0 doc 8 come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying claims. This design is just one example of a pattern design having these favourable characteristics, and disclosure of it is merely one example of a design having its favourable characteristics, others of which are not significant departures from the spirit of the invention.

Reference to any prior art in the specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment, or any form of suggestion, that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia or any other jurisdiction or that prior art could reasonably be expected to be ascertained understood and regarded as relevant by a person skilled in the art..

Throughout the specification the term "comprise" and variations on this term including "comprising" and "comprises" are to be understood to imply the inclusion of a feature, integer, step or element, and not exclude other features, integers, steps or elements, COMS ID No: ARCS-221182 Received by IP Australia: Time 09:46 Date 2009-01-27

Claims (2)

1. 27-JAN-2009 07:59 Frorn:FREEHILLS 001161293224000 001612322000 To:062837999 P. 101e1
2. 900000-1909 6 CLAIMS WV claimi: I. A flexible polymeric contlainer for storing and dispensing liquids comprising, a first sidewaill and a second sidewall connected together to define a fluid chamber therebetween, the irst sidewall and the second sidewall each having Lin inner SUrface facing the ld chamber and an opposed outer surface; a dispeniser seCUrd toI anl ou.ter panel surflace of one ofihe first sidewallI and the 1 0 second sidawall and having an axis essentially perpenrdicular to the panel S1.ifa11Ce, the dispenser est!ablishing fluid con-mnUnication between the 1fluid chamber' und a location outside the flu.id chamber; and a plurality of a first set of objocts on the i nnter tsur face ol' at least ot the first sidewall or the second sidewall to define a pattern ol' a plurality of. pathways having at least a first pathway and a second pathway inteacing one another, wherein the plurality of' pathways are of a depth of a range of greater than I mail to less thanl 8 mils. 2. The container of' claim- 1, wherein the plurality of obJects are florm-ed during fabrication of thu sidewall. 3. The containcr of claim I or claim- 2 wherein the pattern is generally a checkerboard pattern. 4. The (container of claim I or clairn 2 wherein the plurality of objects are protuberances deti ni ng a Pattern. The container of claim 4 wherein the protuberaLncos have a generally circular shape. 6. 'The container of claim 4 wherein the protuberances have a p)olygonal shape. 7. The c;ontainer or claim 4 wherein the protuborances have an irregular shape. S. The container of claim 4 whlerein the protubernces have a first set of' protuberances with a irsi shape and a Second Set of prOtUberances with a second shape different from the first shape 9. The container of claim 4 wherein the pm-tUherances are generally S- COMS ID No: ARCS-221 182 Received by IP Australia: Time (H-Im) 09:46 Date 2009-01-27 27-JRN-2009 07:59 From:FREEHILLS 001161293224000 00116293~400 To:062837999 P.11'1i1 qh'aped. The container of claim 9 wherein the S-shaped protuberances extend From a first end of the container to a second end of the container. 1 1. The container of any Line of the preceding clainim wherein the pattern cxtends over an entire SUIiaC of the first sidewull or the second ".idewull. 1? 12, he container of' any one of the preceding claimns wherein the pattern extends over the inner surraces of both the first and second sidewalks. 13- The container of' any one of the preceding claims wherein the plurality of pathways are of a depth olfa range of greater than I muil to less than 5 mils. 14. The container of any one of the preceding claim-s wherein the plurality of pathways are of a depth of a range oF greater than I mil to 4 niks. The container of any one of'the preceding claimrs wherein the container does not Impart organoleptic properties to the stored liquids. COMS ID No: ARCS-221 182 Received by IP Australia: Time (Hm) 09:46 Date 2009-01-27