CH678614A5 - - Google Patents

Description

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Description

The present invention relates to a group comprising a flexible packaging for liquid products and a clamp intended to be associated therewith, comprising means for withdrawing the packaged products.

In all of the packaging used for liquid products such as beverages, milk, sauces and edible creams, the flexible packaging has, substantially like the recovered glass bottle, the lowest charges for environment, considered in its simplest form, that is to say in the form of a sealed bag to be torn or cut to extract the product contained therein, and then to be discarded.

This particular advantage emerges from an ecological assessment of packaging materials published by the Federal Office for Environmental Protection in 1984.

We can also add to this advantage that of economic gain in production and that of inviolability, this last advantage coming from the fact that a simple needle prick is enough to empty it of its content.

In return and at the consumer level, flexible packaging has the disadvantage, once opened, of requiring immediate decanting of the liquid product which it contains into a container, an awkward operation which is a source of splashes or loss of product, because it is not of sufficient rigidity to ensure its own maintenance.

As a result, the liquid product is completely withdrawn from its packaging and the part not used in the immediate future is subjected to air pollution, which considerably reduces its shelf life.

Considered in itself, flexible packaging has not been used recently to contain and protect a liquid product. In the countries of the Mediterranean and the Near East, and since ancient times, goatskin goatskin sewn in the shape of a bag has been used, and some of these goatskins, used in particular by shepherds, have a means of racking contained liquid constituted by a teat or a blowtorch closed at the end by a removable stopper retained by a link.

This withdrawal means that only the quantity of liquid desired can be removed from the bottle each time it is used, and the remaining liquid is protected by taking the precaution of closing the teat or the torch with the cap after expelling the air which would have possibly penetrated during racking, by simple pressure.

To facilitate their transport and storage, these wineskins are generally equipped with a suspension means constituted by a strap of rope or leather.

The clever principle of these wineskins, which makes it possible to largely overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of flexible packaging at the level of the consumer, was recently taken up in a commercial application for "packaging" wine, known under the name of "box addition" .

This is the association of a flexible pocket provided with a withdrawal means constituted by a tap located in its lower part, and a cardboard holding and protection box in which the flexible pocket is placed. .

As and when consumption and substantially until the end of the racking of wine contained in the flexible bag, it shrinks collapsing under the effect of atmospheric pressure without allowing air to enter , its maintenance being ensured by the fund.

Combined with the material used for the flexible pouch, which is a metallized film screened with oxygen, these characters ensure, according to the manufacturer, conservation for several months during storage and several weeks during the consumption period.

Here is a packaging system using a flexible pouch which is advantageous for the consumer.

On the other hand, it is clearly less economical and presents greater environmental burdens than the flexible packaging considered per se, as it is sold in large quantities in its simplest form, that is to say in the form of a sealed bag to be torn or cut and emptied into a container, and this by the fact that it requires for each packaging the addition of a box and a relatively complex withdrawal means, the set of these elements are to be discarded after use.

The object of the invention is to improve the shelf life of a liquid food product from a flexible packaging, after opening the latter, and to facilitate the racking operation, while retaining the economic and ecological advantages. that this type of packaging presents.

To this end, the group comprising the flexible packaging for liquid products and the clamp intended to be associated therewith according to the invention is characterized in that it is provided with at least one channel adjacent to at least one of its walls, extended from a first end located in and close to the bottom of the package to a second end located at the top and out of the package, at least one of these two ends being closed and intended to be open for allow the withdrawal of packaged products, and in that this channel is formed by bringing together and pinching two distant parts of this wall obtained by the action of an independent clamp intended to be associated with it at least during its use.

In this way, by means of the channel playing the role of a siphon after opening its closed end, the liquid product can only flow through it from the bottom of the packaging, and this considerably reduces or even eliminates the risks of splashing and loss of product during racking, the section of this channel being necessarily reduced compared to that of the packaging. Due to this reduced section of the channel, it is easy for the consumer, after removal of the desired quantity of liquid product, to close its upper end, for example using a clothespin or a paper clip, and place the packaging in an upright position in any container, without having to empty it of the rest of its contents. The product remaining in the packaging is not in contact with

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air and only a very small quantity of this product, corresponding substantially to the cross section of the channel, was brought into contact with air during sampling, and this means that its shelf life is much longer than after transfer to a container. As for the clamp, it can be put in place at the packaging or by the user himself. In the latter case, it is obvious that the attached clamp, once in the possession of the user, can be kept by him for later use with other packaging of the same type. And this makes that this clamp, which already allows a simple manufacture of the packaging, practically does not count for "account in the expenses of the packaging for the environment.

These basic concepts of the invention are explained and shown clearly by the description which follows and the appended drawing, as well as developments, in particular as regards structures and subsidiary functions of the clamp associated with the packaging to form the channel.

The accompanying drawing shows, by way of example, various embodiments of the subject of the invention, as well as two variants of one of its elements.

Fig. 1 is an overview of a flexible package.

Fig. 2 is a partial view of a first embodiment of the packaging according to the invention.

Fig. 3 is a front view of another embodiment of the packaging.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are three sections along the cutting axis l-l of FIG. 3 showing three successive phases of a use of this embodiment.

Fig. 7 is an overview of the first variant.

Figs. 8 and 9 are two views of the second variant, shown respectively in two different positions.

The packaging shown in fig. 1 is in the form of a substantially polyhedral bag with developable walls, obtained by folding and heat-bonding the joining edges 2 and 3 of a sheet of flexible synthetic material, such as for example a low density polyethylene or a sandwich of plastic and aluminum, depending on the consumable liquid product to be packaged. It can be produced in the usual way, for example by shaping and tubular welding from one or more coils.

Designed for packaging a single liquid product, this packaging is made up of a single compartment 4 and has a channel 5 adjacent to a wall 6 which here forms one side of the packaging, and which is extended vertically from a first end 7 located in and near the bottom of the package to a second end 8 located at the top and out of the package.

The channel 5 is formed and limited along its extent by a welding line 9 joining at the top the junction edge 2 of the walls of the package and leaving below a small passage 10 communicating with the compartment 4. The upper end channel 5 is thus closed and the packaged liquid fills compartment 4 and channel 5, these two elements communicating through passage 10.

Thus designed, it is the closed top of the channel 5 which is intended to be opened to allow the withdrawal of the packaged liquid product, for example by cutting using a pair of scissors along a cutting line 11 indicated by a sign affixed to it which, at the same time, serves as an element of distinction between the top and the bottom of the packaging.

The location of the cutting line 11 is provided so that only the channel 5 is open, without being able to communicate with the compartment 4, and the cross section of the channel 5 is provided sufficiently reduced, depending on the degree of fluidity of the packaged liquid product. , to avoid too much racking flow, and also to allow it to be closed, after each withdrawal of product, using a simple means within the reach of all consumers, such as for example a clothespin or a trombone.

The shape of the packaging is asymmetrical here thanks to two tucked corners forming two bellows 12 on the side opposite the channel 5, which gives the latter two projecting ends. The upper projection forms a practical pouring spout for the consumer and the lower projection a receptacle making it possible to take up almost all of the liquid product contained in the packaging without it being brought into contact with air, exception, however, of a very small quantity corresponding to the cross section of channel 5.

Indeed, during the withdrawal of the liquid product, the channel 5 plays the role of a siphon preventing any entry of air into the compartment 4, the product necessarily passing through the passage 10, at the bottom of this channel, while the volume of this - compartment decreases accordingly, under the effect of atmospheric pressure.

Thus, after withdrawing the desired quantity of liquid product, and after closing the end of the channel 5 forming a pouring spout, the consumer can place the packaging in any container, preferably in an upright position, or else suspend it by its upper border 2, without having to empty it of its content.

The consumable liquid product remaining in the packaging is thus unvented and non-oxidized, its taste and aromas are preserved and its shelf life extended.

The economic and ecological gain is evident here, and this is all the more so since the consumer will have less use of the fridge than with a liquid product that had to be transferred to a container.

As illustrated in fig. 2, the channel is advantageously formed by a mechanical means independent of the packaging, intended to be associated with it at least by the consumer at the time of its use, if not sold with it.

To clarify matters, it is considered in what follows that the packaging proper is of shapes identical to those of FIG. 1, with the exception, however, of the welding line 9 delimiting the channel, which is nonexistent here.

The associated mechanical means intended to form the

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channel is a clamp 13 constituted by a tube split over its entire length and the channel, which here bears the mark 14, is formed by bringing together and pinching two distant parts of the wall constituting the side of the packaging opposite the bellows 12 by the action of this clamp 13, as it is threaded around and along this side.

The upper end 15 of the tube forming the clamp 13 is cut in a miter to facilitate opening by cutting the upper end of the channel 14 after its installation, and the length of this tube is provided to leave a communication passage between the channel and the compartment thus formed, as the passage 10 shown in fig. 1.

As will be shown below, the essential function of the clamp 13, which consists in forming a simple and advantageous way of the packaging channel, can be extended to other subsidiary functions advantageous for the consumer, by developments of its structure.

The embodiment of the packaging shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 is provided for two separate liquid products intended to be mixed during racking, before consumption, products which in the drawing have been shown to be differentiated, one by small dots, the other by small circles.

It is made up for this purpose of two compartments 16 and 17 and comprises a channel 18 adjacent to a wall of these two compartments, placed between them.

This packaging is formed by thermo-welding the edges of two rectangular sheets of synthetic material and two parallel strips 19 and 20 bordering the channel 18, the welded zones being shown hatched in FIG. 3.

The channel 18 is closed at its upper end 21 by welding a thin strip of the edge of the packaging and is also closed at its lower end 22 by an appropriate conformation intended to communicate with the two compartments 16 and 17 after opening.

This conformation, the operation of which is illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, is constituted by two reduced bonding zones 23 situated on either side of the lower end 22 of the channel and separating the latter from two reduced passages 24 communicating with the two compartments 16 and 17.

The section l-l practiced at the right of the two bonding zones 23 shows that before opening, according to FIG. 4, the channel 18 is isolated by the two bonding zones 23 of the two passages 24.

By transverse traction of the packaging, according to the arrows f in FIG. 5, the two bonding zones 23 drop, which makes the channel 18 communicate with the two passages 24, and these three elements are filled with the mixture of the two liquid products packaged as soon as the upper end 21 of the channel 18 opens, as shown by fig. 6.

In addition to the channel 18 adjacent to the two compartments 16 and 17, two other lateral channels adjacent one to the compartment 16 and the other to the compartment 17 can be formed using pliers like the pliers 13 shown in fig . 2 to allow the consumer who would not want to mix the two products, to select them.

Fig. 7 shows a first variant of the clamp intended to be associated with a packaging 25 of the same kind as that of FIG. 2 to form its channel, the structure of which is developed to at the same time constitute a support to be placed or suspended.

This clamp, which is particularly suitable for flexible packages of small capacity, is composed of a pair of vertical jaws 26 extended over the height of the package 25 and articulated at their upper and lower parts by a horizontal articulation 27 integrating a spring clamp, not visible, above and below this package, like a pair of scissors.

The upper and lower parts of each jaw 26 are connected beyond the articulation 27, by a hoop 28 surrounding the side of the bellows 12 opposite to the side enclosed by the two jaws 26.

The active clamping parts of the two jaws 26 are extended and shaped so that they can pinch the channel 14, in the same way as by the clamp 13 of FIG. 2.

To ensure the stability of this clamp loaded with the packaging 25, after laying on a horizontal surface, the lower part of each arch 28 has a lower projection 29 intended to compensate for the additional thickness formed by the articulation 27.

Preferably, the package 25 carries, marked along its side intended to form the channel 14, lines for locating the area to be pinched, as well as the cut line 11.

When the consumer uses this clip, the packaging 25 is introduced between the two arches 28, the two jaws 26 are spread by manual pressure on these arches 28 and released for tightening on the aforementioned marking lines, to form channel 14.

After opening this channel and withdrawing the desired quantity of liquid, the consumer no longer necessarily has to close the channel using any means within his reach since he can place the clamp loaded with the packaging in vertical position, or else suspend it, for example by a hoop 28. Only a very small surface of the remaining liquid product corresponding to the cross section of the channel 14, as already said, is exposed to air.

The second variant of the clamp shown in the open position in FIG. 8 and in the closed service position by FIG. 9 is preferably suitable for flexible packaging of medium to large capacity, the general shape of which has been shown to be identical to that of the packaging already shown in FIG. 1,2 and 7 in a spirit of simplification.

This clamp is composed of two parts 30 and 31 hinged together by a hinge 32 joining their bases 33 forming two support feet, and which each have a side cheek 34 and a front cheek 35, the latter defining a clamping jaw 36 intended to form the channel 14 of a package 37 of the aforementioned kind to meet the corresponding jaw of the other part, when this clamp is closed.

The upper parts of the side cheeks 34 of the two parts 30 and 31 form two plates

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gripping 38 and 39 comprising means of interpenetration by force constituted on one side by pins 40 integral with the plate 38 and on the other side by corresponding holes 41 drilled in the plate 39. In addition, the one of these two gripping plates, the plate 39, carries a stiffener 42 in a cap, bent downwards, on the side opposite to the jaws 36, to form a handling handle 43.

The gripping plate 38, respectively 39 and the jaw 36 of each of the two parts 30 and 31 are inscribed substantially in a plane containing the longitudinal axis of the hinge 32, so that when the clamp is closed these gripping plates and these jaws apply well both against the upper edge 12 of the packaging and the two walls on its side intended to form the channel 14.

The upper edge 2 of the packaging 37 includes notches 44 in the form of a U intended to be crossed by the pins 40 of the plate 38 when the packaging is placed between the two parts of the clamp.

Similarly, two marking lines 45 can advantageously be provided on the packaging to facilitate the precise positioning of the jaws 36, given its flexibility.

During the tightening of the gripping plates 38 and 39 the stiffener 42 facilitates the manual forcing of the pins 40 of the plate 38 through the notches 44 of the packaging and in the holes 41 of the plate 39.

After closing the clamp and after opening the channel 14, the assembly thus constituted by the clamp and the packaging is presented in the appearance of FIG. 9.

This assembly, placed on its feet 33 is stable and ensures good retention of the flexible packaging which is thus suspended by the upper edge 2 between the two gripping plates 38 and 39. It is also well retained between the cheeks 34 and 35 and the jaws 36 during the pouring of the liquid product, and this pouring is facilitated by. the use of the handle 43.

These pliers can be constituted in a simple, light and economical manner by two plastic shells. It can constitute for the consumer, as well as the clamp shown in fig. 7, a usual kitchen item that he can keep and reuse. It can also be made of all kinds of materials since it will never get dirty in principle, not coming into contact with the contents of the packaging, which represents a clear advantage compared to other kitchen utensils.

For heavy packaging, of large capacity, the side cheeks 34 of this clamp can be fitted, in a variant not shown, with two horizontal pins intended to rest in the vertical forks with a suitable support. In this way, the consumer can use it by simply tilting the packaging.

In a variant not shown of this clamp, a hinge is no longer provided at the bottom of the side walls 34 but above the gripping plates 38 and 39. To ensure the closure of this variant, a snap retainer located between the feet 33, is planned.

In this variant, the gripping means 40-41 can be replaced by horizontal striations, which avoids the need for the notches 44 of the upper edge 2 of the packaging 37.

In the forms of flexible packaging also, the invention is obviously not limited to those given in examples.

Claims (5)

Claims 1. Group comprising a flexible packaging for liquid products and a clamp intended to be associated therewith, comprising means provided for withdrawing the packaged products, characterized in that it is provided with at least one channel (14) adjacent to at least one of its walls, extended from a first end (7, 22) located in and near the bottom of the package to a second end (8, 21) located at the top and out of the package, at least one of these two ends being closed and intended to be open to allow the withdrawal of the packaged products, and in that this channel adjacent to at least one of its walls is formed by bringing together and pinching two distant parts of this wall obtained by the action of an independent clamp (13, 26, 36) intended to be associated with it at least during its use. 2. Group according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamp consists of a tube (13) split over its entire length intended to be threaded around and along the side intended to form the channel (14). 3. Group according to claim 2, characterized in that the split tube (13) constituting the clamp has its upper end (15) cut in miter. 4. Group according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamp consists of a pair of vertical jaws (26) extended over the height of the packaging and articulated above and below the latter to a horizontal joint (27) integrating a clamping spring, each jaw being extended, beyond this articulation, by a hoop (28) surrounding the side of the packaging opposite the canai (14), the latter being formed by clamping the two vertical jaws (26) . 5. Group according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamp is composed of two vertical front jaws (36) with lateral holding cheeks (34) articulated to one another and having at their upper parts two plates of gripping (38, 39) intended to ensure the retention by suspension between them of the packaging (37), the channel (14) being formed by the closing of the clamp. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 5