EP0972719A1 - Easy opening package - Google Patents

Easy opening package Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP0972719A1
EP0972719A1 EP98305604A EP98305604A EP0972719A1 EP 0972719 A1 EP0972719 A1 EP 0972719A1 EP 98305604 A EP98305604 A EP 98305604A EP 98305604 A EP98305604 A EP 98305604A EP 0972719 A1 EP0972719 A1 EP 0972719A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
bag
package
tab
sheet material
tabs
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP98305604A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Joachim Günter Bellmann
Stefan Johann Wolfgang Scheuch
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Kraft Foods R&D Inc USA
Original Assignee
Kraft Jacobs Suchard R&D Inc USA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Kraft Jacobs Suchard R&D Inc USA filed Critical Kraft Jacobs Suchard R&D Inc USA
Priority to EP98305604A priority Critical patent/EP0972719A1/en
Priority to CA002277588A priority patent/CA2277588A1/en
Publication of EP0972719A1 publication Critical patent/EP0972719A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D75/00—Packages comprising articles or materials partially or wholly enclosed in strips, sheets, blanks, tubes, or webs of flexible sheet material, e.g. in folded wrappers
    • B65D75/52—Details
    • B65D75/58—Opening or contents-removing devices added or incorporated during package manufacture
    • B65D75/5855—Peelable seals
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D33/00—Details of, or accessories for, sacks or bags
    • B65D33/007—Details of, or accessories for, sacks or bags for facilitating the separation of the two walls, e.g. walls of inequal height, tabs; for maintaining the mouth of the sack or bag open

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a package, more specifically a package for a food product, such as roast and ground coffee.
  • Food products such as roast and ground coffee
  • the bag has a closed bottom end and an openable top end which is closed by a transverse peelable seal formed by peelably sealing opposed areas of the inner surface of the sheet material one to another at the openable end of the bag.
  • Such a bag can be opened by pulling free end portions of the sheet material apart at the openable end of the bag thereby to cause separation of the opposed areas one from another in order to enable the contents, or more often a part only of the contents, of the package to be removed.
  • a resealable peelable adhesive is used the bag can be resealed by pressing the opposed areas together again in order to retain the remaining product in as fresh a condition as possible until the next occasion upon which it is desired to use the food product.
  • a pair of tabs may be provided at the openable end as described in US-A-5352466.
  • Such tabs are exterior to the peelable seal and are intended to be grasped each between a thumb and an opposed forefinger of a respective hand of person wishing to open the package for access to its contents. By grasping the two tabs firmly, one in each hand, and drawing them apart the operation of opening of the sealed package is facilitated.
  • the impermeable sheet material is normally smooth because this tends to give a desirable glossy appearance to the package.
  • the use of a sheet material with a glossy finish can make opening of the package difficult because a person wishing to open the package cannot, due to the glossy finish, exert a sufficient grip upon the tabs to be able to separate them to break the peelable seal, particularly upon the first occasion when the package is opened.
  • a package according to the invention comprises a sealed bag which is formed from impermeable sheet material having an inner surface and an outer surface.
  • the bag defines an interior for reception of the package contents and has a closed bottom end and an openable end longitudinally separated from the closed bottom end.
  • the interior of the bag is closed at the openable end by a peelable seal extending substantially transversely across the bag and formed by peelably sealing an inner surface of a first portion of the sheet material to an inner surface of a second portion of the sheet material.
  • the bag is provided with first and second tabs exterior to the peelable seal and formed integrally with the first and second portions respectively.
  • the first and second tabs are each further provided with digital grip enhancement means to enhance gripping of the first tab between a thumb and an opposed finger of one hand of a person and gripping of the second tab between a corresponding thumb and opposed finger of the other hand of the person thereby to facilitate opening of the package.
  • a package comprising a sealed bag which is formed from impermeable sheet material having an inner surface and an outer surface and which defines an interior for reception of the package contents, wherein the bag has a closed bottom end and an openable end longitudinally separated from the closed bottom end for access to the contents of the package, wherein the interior of the bag is closed at the openable end by a peelable seal extending substantially transversely across the bag and formed by peelably sealing an inner surface of a first portion of the sheet material to an inner surface of a second portion of the sheet material, wherein the bag is provided with first and second tabs exterior to the peelable seal and formed integrally with the first and second portions respectively, and wherein the first and second tabs are each provided with digital grip enhancement means to enhance gripping of the first tab between a thumb and an opposed finger of one hand of a person and gripping of the second tab between a corresponding thumb and opposed finger of the other hand of the person thereby to facilitate opening of the package and access to the contents thereof.
  • said first tab may be laterally offset on the closed end of the bag from the second tab along the length of the peelable seal.
  • said digital grip enhancement means comprises a plurality of holes punctured through the thickness of the respective tab.
  • each of the first and second tabs may be provided with a plurality of holes punctured through the thickness of the respective tab.
  • said digital grip enhancement means may comprise at least one aperture punched through the thickness of the respective tab, said aperture being of a size sufficient to enable contact of the skin of the thumb with the skin of an opposed finger of a person when the respective tab is grasped therebetween.
  • the first and second tabs may each be provided with at least one aperture punched through the thickness of the respective tab, said aperture being of a size sufficient to enable contact of the skin of the thumb with the skin of an opposed finger of a person when the respective tab is grasped therebetween.
  • the bag can be without gussets in which case the peelable seal can extend transversely across substantially the entire width of the openable end of the bag from one side to the other.
  • the closed bottom end of the bag can be formed without gussets and sealed by a transverse bottom seal which extends transversely across substantially the entire width of the bottom end of the bag from one side to the other.
  • the openable end can be formed with gussets and the peelable seal formed between respective areas of the inner surfaces of opposed portions of sheet material.
  • the bag can comprise a length of sheet material formed into a tube and sealed along a longitudinal fin seal.
  • a first form of sealed package made in accordance with the invention comprises a sealed bag 1 of the so-called monobag type.
  • a sealed bag is made of a barrier sheet material and is filled with appropriate contents, such as a food product, e.g. roast and ground coffee.
  • the barrier sheet material is preferably a synthetic plastics material such as a printed laminate 100 ⁇ m thick consisting of a layer of polyethylene terephthalate, a layer of low density polyethylene, and a layer of peelable polyethylene, with the peelable layer on the inside of the bag 1.
  • the bag 1 has a front wall 2, side walls 3 and 4, a rear wall 5, a gusseted bottom end 6, and a gusseted top end 7 which together define an interior for the contents (not shown). Access to the interior of the package can be achieved through the top end 7 of the bag 1 as will be explained further hereafter.
  • Bag 1 can be formed from a length of barrier sheet material by passing it around a suitable former so as to impart a tubular shape to it and then heat sealing it longitudinally so as to form a longitudinal fin seal 8 (see Figure 2).
  • An appropriate length of the thus formed tubular shape can be formed into a gusseted bag with a transverse bottom fin seal 9 and an open top.
  • the top of filled the bag 1 can then be sealed in any suitable manner by heat sealing or by application of a peelable adhesive so as to form a peelable seal 10.
  • a tamperproof indicator may be incorporated in peelable seal 10 so as to provide a visible indication of any attempt to open the package having been made before selection and purchase by a customer.
  • the adhesive can be a resealable peelable adhesive.
  • FIG 3 which shows the peelable seal 10 in cross section
  • the peelable seal 10 is formed between opposed inside faces of the panels 11 and 12 in the central area of the peelable seal 10 as indicated in Figure 3 and, in the gusseted region, between opposed inside faces of the panel portions 13 and 14 and of the panel portions 15 and 16, as well as between the contacting faces of the panel portions 17 and 18. Care has to be taken that the peelable seal is complete in the regions 19 and 20 in order to achieve an airtight seal, particularly if the package is vacuum packed.
  • peelable seal 10 is positioned below the top end of bag 1 and so there is an unsealed area 21 on panel 11 above peelable seal 10 and a corresponding unsealed area 22 on panel 12. Integrally formed with these unsealed area are corresponding tabs 23 and 24.
  • the purpose of tabs 23 and 24 is to facilitate opening of the sealed package by enabling a consumer to grasp each tab 23 or 24 between an opposed thumb and finger, e.g. a forefinger, and then to open the package by pulling the tabs 23 and 24 apart so as to peel peelable area 10 apart along its length to permit access to the contents of the package.
  • each of them is provided with a corresponding digital grip enhancement means in the form of an aperture 25 which is sufficiently large to allow the skin of the consumer's thumb to contact the skin of the opposed finger as the consumer grasps the tab 23 or 24.
  • the consumer can thereafter re-close the bag by pressing the areas of the bag together again corresponding to the peelable seal 10.
  • Figure 4 shows a second embodiment of the invention comprising a bag 31 which is generally similar to bag 1 of Figures 1 to 3. Accordingly like reference numerals have been used in Figure 4 to indicate like parts to those of bag 1.
  • Bag 31 differs from bag 1 in that, in place of the apertures 25, the tabs 23 and 24 are provided with an alternative form of digital grip enhancement means, i.e. a number of punched apertures 32 formed by needle punching or the like.
  • digital grip enhancement means i.e. a number of punched apertures 32 formed by needle punching or the like.
  • a certain roughness is created on the surface of the tab 23 or 24 opposite to that from which the needle pierces the corresponding tab 23 or 24 due to displacement of material of the tab 23 or 24 above the surface of thereof by the needles used for piercing. This surface roughness enhances the frictional force that can be exerted on the tab 23 or 24 by an opposed thumb and finger.
  • FIG 5 is a front perspective view of the top part of a third form of package comprising a bag 41 of the so-called "bag-in-bag” type.
  • a cross section of bag 41 is shown in Figure 6; as with Figure 3, the thickness of the barrier sheet material is greatly exaggerated in Figure 6.
  • the bottom end (not shown) of the bag 41 is sealed in conventional manner.
  • Bag 41 has a front face 42, a rear face (not shown), a left side face 43, and a right side face (not shown).
  • the top face 44 of bag 41 is extended on each side to form wings 45 and 46.
  • a peelable seal 47 extends across the entire width of the bag 41 and is formed between corresponding areas of the layers 48 and 49 of barrier sheet material. Above peelable seal 47 the layers 48 and 49 are extended by tabs 50 and 51, in which are formed apertures 52, similar to apertures 25 of the bag 1. For the sake of clarity the bag 41 has been depicted with the tabs 50 and 51 having being pulled slightly apart.
  • the rear side of bag 41 has a fin seal 53.
  • FIG 7 there is shown a further form of package in accordance with the invention. This is generally similar to the package of Figures 5 and 6 and so like reference numerals have been used to indicate like parts.
  • This package comprises a bag 61 and differs from that of Figures 5 and 6 in that, in place of apertures 52, the tabs 50 and 51 are each needle punched as indicated at 62.
  • FIG 8 illustrates yet another embodiment of the invention which includes a bag 71 which is generally similar to the bag 1 of Figures 1 to 3.
  • Bag 71 differs from bag 1 in that the tabs 72 and 73 are laterally offset one from another across the transverse dimension of the bag 71.
  • the apertures 25 are, however, still positioned centrally transversely with respect to the peelable seal 10.
  • This arrangement there is a visible ear 74 on tab 73 and a corresponding 75 on tab 72 whose left hand edge is defined by the right hand edge 73' of tab 73.
  • These ears 74 and 75 make it more apparent to the consumer that the line of sealing 10 is peelable and that the bag 71 can be opened by pulling tabs 72 and 73 apart.
  • Bag 81 of the package shown in Figure 9 is similar to bag 31 of the package of Figure 4. As with the package of Figure 8, the difference between bags 31 and 81 is that the tabs 82 and 83 are slightly laterally offset one from the other so as to form an ear 84 on tab 83 and also a corresponding ear 85 whose laterally inner edge is defined by the right hand laterally outer edge 83' of tab 83.
  • ears 84 and 85 The purpose of ears 84 and 85 is to make it more readily apparent to a consumer that the seal 10 is peelable and that the way to open the package is to pull the tabs 82 and 83 apart.
  • the bag 91 is generally similar to the bag 41 of Figure 5 except that the tabs 92 and 93 are slightly laterally offset one from another so that they have ears 94 and 95 to facilitate opening of the package.
  • Ear 95 is bounded along its left hand edge by the right edge 93' of tab 93.
  • FIG 11 shows a still further package constructed in accordance with the invention.
  • This comprises a bag 101 which is generally similar to bag 51 with the exception that the tabs 102 and 103 are laterally offset one from another by a small amount so as to form ears 104 and 105.
  • the left hand edge of ear 105 is formed by the right hand edge 103' of tab 103.
  • the ears 104 and 105 make it more readily apparent to a consumer that the bag 101 can be opened by grasping the tabs 102 and 103 and pulling them apart to open the peelable seal 47.
  • a peelable adhesive consists of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), with magnesium silicate as additive.
  • EVA ethylene-vinyl acetate
  • the peelable adhesive consists of about 10 to 20% by weight magnesium silicate and the remainder ethylene-vinyl acetate, for example a composition comprising 15% magnesium silicate and 85% ethylene-vinyl acetate.
  • laminate materials from which a bag can be made include a 4-ply structure which consists of an aluminium foil layer or ply, a polyethylene inner layer or ply, a nylon intermediate layer or ply, and a clear polyester outer layer or ply.
  • Other materials which may be used include a laminate which consists of a layer or ply of polyvinylidene chloride coated cellophane or like material laminated to a polyethylene layer or ply. Such materials are also disclosed in US-A-4488647.
EP98305604A 1998-07-14 1998-07-14 Easy opening package Withdrawn EP0972719A1 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP98305604A EP0972719A1 (en) 1998-07-14 1998-07-14 Easy opening package
CA002277588A CA2277588A1 (en) 1998-07-14 1999-07-13 Package

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP98305604A EP0972719A1 (en) 1998-07-14 1998-07-14 Easy opening package

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0972719A1 true EP0972719A1 (en) 2000-01-19

Family

ID=8234943

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP98305604A Withdrawn EP0972719A1 (en) 1998-07-14 1998-07-14 Easy opening package

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0972719A1 (ja)
CA (1) CA2277588A1 (ja)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1437311A1 (en) * 2003-01-10 2004-07-14 Amcor Flexibles Europe A/S A box-shaped package of a flexible and sealable packaging material
US7024857B2 (en) 2002-07-02 2006-04-11 Yeda Research And Development Company Ltd. Solar receiver with a plurality of working fluid inlets
WO2007056693A1 (en) * 2005-11-08 2007-05-18 Colgate-Palmolive Company Easy open thermoformed package
WO2007108741A1 (en) * 2006-03-17 2007-09-27 Hans Hedlund Tearable closure

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE94831C (ja) * 1897-01-03 1897-11-09
US4953708A (en) * 1989-08-23 1990-09-04 Fes-Co System Usa, Inc. Flexible package with pour spout and handle
US5352466A (en) * 1991-10-15 1994-10-04 Kraft General Foods, Inc. Tabbed easy-open brick coffee package
US5385251A (en) * 1993-05-11 1995-01-31 Munchkin Bottling Inc. Disposable bottle bags for use with infant nursing system
US5706961A (en) * 1994-10-03 1998-01-13 Morano; Emanuel P. Nurser liner with textured tabs

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE94831C (ja) * 1897-01-03 1897-11-09
US4953708A (en) * 1989-08-23 1990-09-04 Fes-Co System Usa, Inc. Flexible package with pour spout and handle
US5352466A (en) * 1991-10-15 1994-10-04 Kraft General Foods, Inc. Tabbed easy-open brick coffee package
US5385251A (en) * 1993-05-11 1995-01-31 Munchkin Bottling Inc. Disposable bottle bags for use with infant nursing system
US5706961A (en) * 1994-10-03 1998-01-13 Morano; Emanuel P. Nurser liner with textured tabs

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7024857B2 (en) 2002-07-02 2006-04-11 Yeda Research And Development Company Ltd. Solar receiver with a plurality of working fluid inlets
EP1437311A1 (en) * 2003-01-10 2004-07-14 Amcor Flexibles Europe A/S A box-shaped package of a flexible and sealable packaging material
WO2007056693A1 (en) * 2005-11-08 2007-05-18 Colgate-Palmolive Company Easy open thermoformed package
WO2007108741A1 (en) * 2006-03-17 2007-09-27 Hans Hedlund Tearable closure
EP2004514A1 (en) * 2006-03-17 2008-12-24 Hans Hedlund Tearable closure
EP2004514A4 (en) * 2006-03-17 2013-06-26 Hans Hedlund CRASHABLE CLOSURE

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA2277588A1 (en) 2000-01-14

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US5692837A (en) Gussetted flexible package with reclosable mouth using a snap type reclosure strip
US5186543A (en) Tear-open bag having guide strips
EP1679270B1 (en) Resealable food container with tamper-evident indicator
US4713839A (en) Resealable reusable flexible plastic bag with loop handle
US4834245A (en) Pouch having tearing zone for taking out content packed therein
US7963413B2 (en) Tamper evident resealable closure
US3687358A (en) Manually openable leakproof package construction
US6139187A (en) Pour-spout closure for flexible packages, and flexible packages including a pour-spout closure
JP5462065B2 (ja) 包装袋及び包装容器
EP0443867A1 (en) Easy open tamper-evident recloseable package
EP0972719A1 (en) Easy opening package
JPH07291350A (ja) 袋 体
EP3694787B1 (en) Resealable packages for snack products
EP2067711B1 (en) Package
EP0457617A1 (en) Tamper-evident tandem recloseable package and method of making same
JP3340536B2 (ja) 袋 体
CA1222485A (en) Easy open bag having rupture strip
CA1286643C (en) Flexible pilfer proof reusable bag with tearable handle and method of making same
JP3033226U (ja) ガゼット袋及び包装体
JP2542213Y2 (ja) 易開封性包装袋
JP4241191B2 (ja) 易開封性背貼袋および包装体
CN217261798U (zh) 一种外卖包装袋
JP2000062801A (ja) 易開封性包装袋及びその開封方法
JP5101054B2 (ja) 易開封性包装体
CA1240651A (en) Resealable reusable flexible plastic bag with loop handle

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AT BE CH DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI NL PT SE

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Free format text: AL;LT;LV;MK;RO;SI

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20000419

AKX Designation fees paid

Free format text: AT BE CH DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI NL PT SE

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 20020531

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN

18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 20021011