Definitions

• the present invention relates to collapsible bags, of the type used in bag-in-box, for containing and dispensing liquids, such as post-mix, soft drink syrups, and to a method for making such bags. More particularly, this invention relates to such bags having syrup evacuation passageways accessible to the syrup to achieve complete withdrawal of the syrup from the bag as the bag collapses and regardless of how the bag and the bag spout are oriented.
• Bags for bag-in-box containers are well-known (see for example, U.S. Patents 4,601,410; 4,137,930; 4,138,036; 4,286,636; 3,171,571; and 2,859,899) and some include inserts placed inside of the bag to provide a passageway for complete withdrawal of the liquid from the bag as the bag collapses.
• Some of these inserts, such as dip tubes, are inserted into the bag after the bag is made and after it is filled with liquid and have the disadvantage of the added time and expense to carry out this separate, additional task. To avoid this disadvantage, inserts were subsequently made part of the bag. Such inserts are placed between the bag walls and attached to the spout before the bag walls are joined to form the bag.
• a collapsible bag for containing and dispensing a liquid, such as a post-mix soft drink syrup, and a method for making the bag.
• the bag is particularly useful in the bag-in-box system.
• the bag includes a one-piece spout and evacuation strip sealed to a bag wall.
• the evacuation strip has at least one elongated channel or groove therein.
• One or more openings are provided through the adjacent bag wall to provide at least one liquid passageway for syrup to be evacuated from inside of the bag to inside of the spout.
• the liquid passageway is in liquid communication with the spout.
• the channels in the strip are of such size and shape that as the bag collapses, the bag wall(s) cannot collapse into and close these liquid passageways, whereby the passageways permit and achieve complete withdrawal of the liquid from the bag as the bag collapses.
• the evacuation strip is integrally connected to one side of the spout, at which location the spout has a side opening in liquid flow communication with the channels or passageways in the strip.
• the spout has the normal spout opening.
• the one or more openings provided through the bag wall adjacent to the channels in the strip can be separate, spaced-apart holes or slits, for example.
• the method of this invention includes, in the preferred embodiment, heat sealing a flat peripheral flange of the one-piece spout and strip unit to the outside surface of the bag, before all of the bag walls are joined together to form the bag.
• One or more openings are provided through the bag wall for the liquid to flow from the bag chamber into the channels in the strip. Such opening(s) can be made either before or after the flat flange is sealed to the bag.
• Fig. 1 is a partly diagrammatic, partly broken away perspective view of an overall arrangement in which the bag of the present invention can be used;
• Fig. 2 is a perspective, top view of a bag of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• Fig. 3 is an enlarged, partial, exploded, perspective view of the bottom of the one-piece spout and evacuation strip of the present invention
• Fig. 4 is a partial plan view of the bag of Fig. 1;
• Fig. 5 is a partial, cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 4;
• Fig. 6 is a partial, top plan view of the bag of Fig. 1;
• Fig. 7 is a partial, cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 6;
• Fig. 8 is a partial top plan view of a second embodiment of the bag of the present invention.
• Fig. 9 is a partial, cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 8;
• Fig. 10 is a partial, top plan view of a third embodiment of the bag of the present invention.
• Fig. 11 is a partial, cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 of Fig. 10;
• Fig. 12 is a partial plan view of a bag wall with a cut-out portion according to one embodiment of this invention;
• Fig. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 13-13 of Fig. 12;
• Fig. 14 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 13 but of another embodiment
• Fig. 15 is a partial, top plan view of a portion of the bag wall 20 with another embodiment of the spout and evacuation strip unit;
• Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 16-16 of Fig. 15;
• Fig. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 17-17 of Fig. 15;
• Fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 17 but showing another embodiment of the evacuation strip
• Fig. 19 is a partly diagrammatic, cross-sectional view through the bag of this invention showing the syrup flow during evacuation;
• Fig. 20 is a cross-sectional view through the bag-in-box of Fig. 1 illustrating the bag after it has been partly evacuated;
• Fig. 21 is a partly diagrammatic, partly schematic diagram showing a preferred method of manufacturing the bag of this invention.
• Fig. 1 shows a typical arrangement in which a bag 10 of the present invention can be used.
• the bag 10 is contained in a paperboard box 12 (this arrangement is known as bag-in-box) and supplies liquid, such as soft drink syrup, to a post-mix, countertop, beverage dispenser 14 through a syrup conduit or line 16 via a syrup pump 18.
• liquid such as soft drink syrup
• the bag 10 collapses (see Fig. 16) . It is desirable to be able to put the bag in any orientation (such as with a spout 26 adjacent the top as shown in Fig. 1) and still have substantially all of the liquid dispensed from the bag leaving little or no liquid remnant.
• the present invention provides this advantage.
• Figs. 1-7 show the collapsible bag 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention including a pair of liquid-tight, flexible bag walls 20 and 22, joined (as by heat sealing) at their periphery 25, a one-piece, spout-evacuation strip unit 24 joined (preferably by heat sealing) preferably to the outside surface of one bag wall 20 along a peripheral flange 29 of the unit 24 and one or more openings 40 through the bag wall 20 to provide liquid passages from the bag chamber 32 into the strip passageways 36.
• the unit 24 includes a spout 26 and an integral evacuation strip 28.
• the spout 26 includes a spout opening 30 therethrough in liquid communication with the syrup chamber 32 inside of the bag 10 through a discharge opening 21 in the bag wall 20.
• the elongated evacuation strip 28 extends from a proximal end thereof in contact with the spout 26 to a distal end remote therefrom.
• the "inside surface” of the bag wall 20 is the surface facing into the bag chamber 32 and the “outside surface” is the other or outer surface thereof.
• the strip 28 includes a plurality of straight, elongated, channels 34. These channels provide syrup evacuating passageways 36 (see Fig. 15) which cooperate with the openings 40 to provide syrup passageways for the syrup to flow from the bag chamber 32 to the spout opening 30, even as the bag 10 collapses.
• the passageways 36 have a depth and a width such that as the bag walls collapse during the dispensing of liquid from the bag, the bag wall 22 (or even 20) cannot collapse into and block the liquid flow through the passageways 36, such that these passageways remain open and permit and achieve complete withdrawal of the liquid from the bag as the bag collapses.
• the openings 40 are circular openings about one-fourth inch in diameter. There are three such openings 40 spaced apart along the length of the strip 28. Additional openings can be provided if desired, and they can be of different sizes and shapes.
• Fig. 2 shows the finished bag 10 with the unit 24 attached and with the bag flat as it appears prior to filling with syrup.
• Fig. 3 is a partial view of the bottom of the unit 24 showing the spout 26 and part of the strip 28, exploded away from the bag wall 20 to which it is heat sealed. The shaded area in Fig. 3 shows the location of the heat sealing along the peripheral flange 29 of the unit 24.
• the spout 26 includes a plurality of radial spider arms 42 and a ring 44 which assist in preventing the opposite bag wall 22 (or even 20) from being sucked into and blocking the spout opening 30.
• the spider arms 42 and ring 44 can alternatively be formed so as to extend axially further toward the opposite wall 22, if desired, to prevent blockage. Also, other shapes of elements can be used in place of the ring and spider arms shown.
• Figs. 6 and 7 show a portion of the bag 10 including the unit 24 sealed to the bag wall 20.
• Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view along line 7-7 of Fig. 6 showing the opening 40 providing liquid communication to the channels 34.
• Figs. 8 and 9 show a second embodiment of the invention in which, instead of separate openings 40, the bag wall 20 is provided with one or more slits, such as three slits 46, one under each of the channels 34.
• the slit can be a single cut through the wall 20 (meaning through all of the layers of the wall 20 if it is a multilayered wall) or it can be a slot with some width of the wall material removed.
• Figs. 10 and 11 show a third embodiment in which the opening is a single wavy slit 48.
• the opening 40 and the slits 46 and 48 are preferably (although not necessarily) made in the bag wall 20 prior to attaching the unit 24 thereto.
• Fig. 12 shows another embodiment of the present invention and shows a plan view of a portion of the wall 20 showing a cut-out 50.
• Fig. 13 shows the unit 24 installed in the cut-out area with the peripheral flange 25 sealed to the bottom surface (the inside of the bag surface) of the wall 20.
• Fig. 14 is similar to Fig. 13 except that the unit 24 is sealed to the outside surface of the wall 20.
• Figs. 15-17 show another embodiment of the present invention of a bag 60 having a one-piece spout and evacuation strip unit 62 sealed thereto.
• the strip 64 is attached to the inside surface of the bag wall 20; thus, no openings are required to be made through the bag wall 20 to provide liquid communication into the channels 34.
• the spout 66 extends up from the peripheral sealing flange 68 and the strip extends down from the flange.
• Fig. 18 shows an alternative embodiment to that of Fig. 17 in that the sealing flange is omitted from the strip 64 portion of the unit 62.
• the flat bottom wall 70 of the strip 64 is sealed to the wall 20.
• the evacuation strip can be tubular (with any cross-sectional shape, such as square or circular) with holes in it, rather than having U-shaped channels.
• the proximal end of the channels are in liquid communication with the spout opening without the need for a side opening in the spout as shown in Fig. 3.
• the unit of this invention avoids any sharp angles to avoid damage to the bag.
• Fig. 19 diagrammatically illustrates the syrup flow out of the bag 10 of Fig.
• Fig. 20 illustrates the bag 10 in a box 12 after the bag has been partially evacuated. Even though the wall 22 has collapsed against wall 20 at the upper ends thereof, syrup can still be withdrawn from the bag 10 because of the liquid passageways 36 through the channels 34 which remain open and which continue to provide an evacuation avenue for the syrup.
• Fig. 21 illustrates a method of making the bag 10 according to the present invention.
• Fig. 21 shows a manufacturing system 80 including a pair of rolls 82 and 83 supplying layers 84 and 85 of material to make bag wall 20, a pair of rolls 86 and 87 supplying layers 88 and 89 of material to make bag wall 22, a spout hole cutter 90, an evacuation opening cutter 91 (to cut openings 40 or slits 46 or 48), a unit sealer 92, a valve inserter 94, a side sealer 96 for sealing the side edges of the bag 10, an end sealer 98 for sealing the end edges of the bag 10, and a perforator 100 for providing perforations between each bag 10 in the continuous web 102 of bags.
• the unit sealer 92 also holds a supply of the units 24 to be sealed to the wall 20.
• the valve inserter 94 inserts a known valve into the spout opening 30 as is known in the art.
• the unit 24 of this invention is preferably made of LLDPE having a thickness of 20 mil. However, other thicknesses and other materials can be used. It is preferably heat sealed to the wall 20 but it can be sealed in other ways.
• the bag walls are preferably plastic.
• the flexible wall layers may comprise any desired number of layers, although two are preferred. Layers 85 and 89 are preferably a web of 2 mil. Pol ⁇ athelene disposed adjacent to the layers 84 and 88 which are preferably a coextruded web made up of the following three materials: 2 mil. polyethelene, 1/2 mil. nylon PET, and 2 mil. polyethelene.
• the size and shape of the passageways are such as to prevent the bag wall 22 from collapsing thereinto and closing off the passageways. The dimensions depend, for example, on the stiffness of the bag wall. For example, the passageways can have a width of about 150 mil. and a depth of about 120 mil.
• the unit 24 is preferably connected to a bag wall before all of the walls are joined to form the bag, however, this is not essential.
• the unit 24 is preferably one-piece, however, two separate pieces could be used, if desired, and later heat sealed together or even left separate but adjacent, and the spout can in that case have an internal side extension channel to provide liquid communication with the strip channels.
• the evacuation strip can be attached to the inside or outside surface of the bag wall 20. If the evacuation strip is separate from the spout, it can alternatively be sealed to the other bag wall 22 and run directly underneath the spout.

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Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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Country Status (4)

• 1992
  • 1992-09-08 EP EP92919799A patent/EP0659152A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1992-09-08 JP JP6507135A patent/JPH08504706A/ja active Pending
• 1995
  • 1995-03-07 NO NO950869A patent/NO950869L/no unknown
  • 1995-03-07 FI FI951049A patent/FI951049A/fi not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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