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
  • B65D33/00—Details of, or accessories for, sacks or bags
  • B65D33/16—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices
  • B65D33/25—Riveting; Dovetailing; Screwing; using press buttons or slide fasteners
  • B65D33/2508—Riveting; Dovetailing; Screwing; using press buttons or slide fasteners using slide fasteners with interlocking members having a substantially uniform section throughout the length of the fastener; Sliders therefor
• • 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
  • B65D33/16—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices
  • B65D33/25—Riveting; Dovetailing; Screwing; using press buttons or slide fasteners
• • 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
  • B65D33/16—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices
  • B65D33/18—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices using adhesive applied to integral parts, e.g. to flaps
  • B65D33/20—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices using adhesive applied to integral parts, e.g. to flaps using pressure-sensitive adhesive
• • 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
  • B65D33/16—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices
  • B65D33/25—Riveting; Dovetailing; Screwing; using press buttons or slide fasteners
  • B65D33/2508—Riveting; Dovetailing; Screwing; using press buttons or slide fasteners using slide fasteners with interlocking members having a substantially uniform section throughout the length of the fastener; Sliders therefor
  • B65D33/2541—Riveting; Dovetailing; Screwing; using press buttons or slide fasteners using slide fasteners with interlocking members having a substantially uniform section throughout the length of the fastener; Sliders therefor characterised by the slide fastener, e.g. adapted to interlock with a sheet between the interlocking members having sections of particular shape
  • B65D33/255—Riveting; Dovetailing; Screwing; using press buttons or slide fasteners using slide fasteners with interlocking members having a substantially uniform section throughout the length of the fastener; Sliders therefor characterised by the slide fastener, e.g. adapted to interlock with a sheet between the interlocking members having sections of particular shape being provided with special visual, audible or tactile indicating means, e.g. indicating proper engagement

Definitions

• the present invention relates to closures such as those commonly employed on flexible storage bags, particularly those suitable for use in the containment and protection of va ⁇ ous items including perishable mate ⁇ als.
• Flexible storage bags for use in the containment and protection of va ⁇ ous items, as well as the preservation of pe ⁇ shable mate ⁇ als such as food items, are well known in the art.
• Such bags typically comp ⁇ se a rectangular sheet of polyme ⁇ c film folded upon itself and sealed along two edges to form a semi-enclosed container having two flexible opposed sidewalls, three sealed or folded edges, and one open edge.
• a closure integrally formed with the bag such as an interlocking ⁇ b-type seal or separately provided such as a plastic or paper-clad-wire tie completes the containment assembly.
• flexible is utilized to refer to mate ⁇ als which are capable of being flexed or bent, especially repeatedly, such that they are pliant and yieldable m response to externally applied forces. Accordingly, “flexible” is substantially opposite in meaning to the terms inflexible, ⁇ gid, or unyielding. Mate ⁇ als and structures which are flexible, therefore, may be altered in shape and structure to accommodate external forces and to conform to the shape of objects brought into contact with them without losing their integrity.
• Flexible storage bags of the foregoing vanety are typically formed from polyme ⁇ c film, such as polyethylene or other members of the polyolefin family, in thicknesses of between about 0.0002 inches to about 0.002 inches. Such films are frequently transparent but sometimes are opaque and/or colored.
• Flexible storage bags of the currently commercially available vanety provide a means of conveniently sto ⁇ ng a wide range of objects and matenals in a generally disposable containment device
• Many commercially available flexible storage bags utilize mechanical interlocking seals to achieve closure of the bag opening, and some such bags additionally employ a sliding mechanical closure to improve the ease of opening and closing mechanical interlocking seals.
• mechanical interlocking seal With either type of mechanical interlocking seal, there remains the issue of determining whether complete closure has in fact been completed across the mouth of the bag to achieve the desired completion of the closing operation.
• Currently there are two color change systems on the market for such closures One system involves the interlocking of blue and yellow elements to produce a green seal, while the other involves the interlocking of red and blue elements to produce a purple seal.
• the present invention provides a flexible storage bag having an opening and a closure system for the opening, wherein the closure system provides a high contrast color indication when complete closure of the closure system has been achieved.
• the closure system may be a mechanical interlocking seal or an adhesive-based closure system.
• the high contrast color indication may be a change from colorless to colored, from white to black, and/or from translucent to opaque.
• Figure 1 is an elevational view of a flexible storage bag employing a closure m accordance with the present invention
• Figure 2 is an elevational view of another flexible storage bag in accordance with the present mvention
• Figure 3 is a perspective view of a further flexible storage bag m accordance with the present invention.
• Figure 4 is an elevational view of yet another flexible storage bag in accordance with the present invention.
• Figure 1 depicts a presently preferred embodiment of a flexible storage bag 10 according to the present invention.
• the flexible storage bag 10 includes a bag body 20 formed from a piece of flexible sheet mate ⁇ al folded upon itself along fold line 22 and bonded to itself along side seams 24 and 26 to form a semi-enclosed container having an opening along edge 30
• Flexible storage bag 10 also includes a mechamcal closure system 40 located adjacent to edge 30 for sealing edge 30 to form a fully-enclosed container or vessel. Bags such as the flexible storage bag 10 of Figure 1 can be also constructed from a continuous tube of sheet mate ⁇ al, thereby eliminating side seams 24 and 26 and substituting a bottom seam for fold line 22.
• the mechanical closure system 40 includes an interlocking mechanical seal of any suitable conventional design.
• the closure system 40 provides a high contrast color indication when complete closure of the closure system has been achieved.
• the term "high contrast color indication” is used to refer to refer to a change in visual appearance that is catego ⁇ cal rather than a matter of degree.
• the high contrast color indication may be a change from colorless to colored, from white to black, and/or from translucent to opaque, rather than a change from one color to another of the same degree
• the high contrast color indication may be visible from one or both sides of the bag.
• the closure system 40 provides a high contrast color indication in the form of a change from the initial clear/transparent/colorless appearance indicated by the numeral 60 to the purple color appearance indicated ' ⁇ the numeral 50 when the hand 70 of the consumer is translated along the closure system 40 to interlock the opposing elements of the mechanical interlocking seal.
• Figure 2 illustrates a similar flexible storage bag 10 wherein the high contrast color indication is in the form of a change from the initial white appearance indicated by the numeral 60 to the black color appearance indicated by the numeral 50.
• Figure 3 illustrates a flexible storage bag 10 which utilizes a pressure-activated adhesive- based closure system 45 which provides a high contrast color indication in the form of a change from the initial clear/transparent/colorless appearance indicated by the numeral 60 to the green color appearance indicated by the numeral 50.
• a suitable adhesive-based closure system comprises a selectively activatible adhesive-bea ⁇ ng structure protected from inadvertent contact by a plurality of compressible, collapsible protrusions surrounded by adhesive which provides a secure closure seal upon activation.
• Suitable representative three-dimensional mate ⁇ als of this vanety which include a thin layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive protected from inadvertent contact, as well as methods and apparatus for manufactu ⁇ ng them, have been developed and are described in detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Patent Nos. 5,662,758, issued September 2, 1997 to Hamilton and McGuire, entitled “Composite Matenal Releasably Sealable to a Target Surface When Pressed Thereagamst and Method of Making", and 5,871,607, issued February 16, 1999 to Hamilton and McGuire, entitled “Mate ⁇ al Having A Substance Protected by Deformable Standoffs and Method of Making", and commonly-assigned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Nos.
• 08/745,339 (allowed), filed November 8, 1996 in the names of McGuire, Tweddell, and Hamilton, entitled “Three-Dimensional, Nestmg-Resistant Sheet Matenals and Method and Apparatus for Making Same", 08/745,340, filed November 8, 1996 in the names of Hamilton and McGuire, entitled “Improved Storage Wrap Matenals”, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
• Figure 4 is a flexible storage bag 10 similar to that of Figure 1, but employing a sliding mechanical closure (not numbered) as a mechanism for closing the interlocking mechanical closure 40.
• the sliding mechanical closure may be of suitable conventional design for the type of interlocking mechanical seal employed.
• Any suitable means for generating the high contrast color indication consistent with the matenals utilized for bag and closure system construction, the intended contents of the bag (i.e., food grade, stenle, etc.), and the environmental conditions foreseen may be utilized. Colors and indications can be selected depending upon the color of the bag components, bag contents, and chemical/structural approaches utilized. For example, the high contrast color indication from translucent to opaque or black can be accomplished through opposing surfaces having coatings that when pressed together blocked enough light to appear much darker when together.
• Another more exotic approach would be to use coatings that pola ⁇ zed light so that when they were separate they appeared completely clear but when together would block sufficient light transmission to make them appear opaque.
• Another suitable approach to generating a high contrast color indication would be to use a system of chemicals that when contacted created a color via chemical reaction
• One such system would include a microencapsulated phenolthalene solution sprayed on one side of a seal and a microencapsulated basic solution sprayed on the other. When the two sides were pressed together under sufficient pressure to make a seal the capsules would break, the indicators would react, and a pmk color would be apparent. Potentially this could be done without the microcapsules if adequate water could be entrained in an adhesive.
• encapsulated ink similar to that utilized for carbonless forms. These could be pnnted within the texture of the adhesive closure sytem opposite the adhesive and covered with a varnish or other impervious coating, or potentially between the adhesive and the bag mate ⁇ al. For mechanical closure systems, the encapsulated ink could be located withm the mechanical interlocking seal.
• Va ⁇ ous compositions suitable for constructing the flexible storage bags of the present invention include substantially impermeable mate ⁇ als such as polyvmyl chlo ⁇ de (PVC), polyvmyhdene chloride (PVDC), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), aluminum foil, coated (waxed, etc.) and uncoated paper, coated nonwovens etc., and substantially permeable materials such as scnms, meshes, wovens, nonwovens, or perforated or porous films, whether predominantly two-dimensional in nature or formed into three-dimensional structures Such materials may compnse a single composition or layer or may be a composite structure of multiple mate ⁇ als, including a substrate mate ⁇ al utilized as a earner for a substance.
• PVC polyvmyl chlo ⁇ de
• PVDC polyvmyhdene chloride
• PE polyethylene
• PP polypropylene
• aluminum foil coated (waxed, etc.) and uncoated paper, coated nonwovens etc.
• the bag may be constructed in any known and suitable fashion such as those known in the art for making such bags in commercially available form. Heat or adhesive sealing technologies may be utilized to join various components or elements of the bag to themselves or to each other.
• the bag bodies may be thermoformed, blown, or otherwise molded rather than reliance upon folding and bonding techniques to construct the bag bodies from a web or sheet of mate ⁇ al.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Bag Frames (AREA)
• Packging For Living Organisms, Food Or Medicinal Products That Are Sensitive To Environmental Conditiond (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=23230888

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (10)

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• 2000
  • 2000-05-19 EP EP00939315A patent/EP1181206A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-05-19 CA CA002373261A patent/CA2373261A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-05-19 KR KR1020017014776A patent/KR20020001890A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2000-05-19 BR BR0010780-8A patent/BR0010780A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2000-05-19 WO PCT/US2000/013850 patent/WO2000071433A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2000-05-19 JP JP2000619703A patent/JP2003500298A/ja not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-05-19 AU AU54419/00A patent/AU5441900A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-05-19 MX MXPA01011928A patent/MXPA01011928A/es unknown
  • 2000-05-19 CN CN00807862A patent/CN1351567A/zh active Pending
  • 2000-05-20 TW TW089109762A patent/TW462938B/zh active

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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