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
  • B65D77/00—Packages formed by enclosing articles or materials in preformed containers, e.g. boxes, cartons, sacks or bags
  • B65D77/04—Articles or materials enclosed in two or more containers disposed one within another
  • B65D77/06—Liquids or semi-liquids or other materials or articles enclosed in flexible containers disposed within rigid containers
  • B65D77/062—Flexible containers disposed within polygonal containers formed by folding a carton blank
  • B65D77/065—Spouts, pouring necks or discharging tubes fixed to or integral with the flexible container
• • 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
  • B65D75/5861—Spouts
  • B65D75/5872—Non-integral spouts
  • B65D75/5877—Non-integral spouts connected to a planar surface of the package wall
• • 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
  • B65D77/00—Packages formed by enclosing articles or materials in preformed containers, e.g. boxes, cartons, sacks or bags
  • B65D77/04—Articles or materials enclosed in two or more containers disposed one within another
  • B65D77/06—Liquids or semi-liquids or other materials or articles enclosed in flexible containers disposed within rigid containers
  • B65D77/062—Flexible containers disposed within polygonal containers formed by folding a carton blank
• • 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
  • B65D2231/00—Means for facilitating the complete expelling of the contents
  • B65D2231/001—Means for facilitating the complete expelling of the contents the container being a bag
  • B65D2231/002—Means for facilitating the complete expelling of the contents the container being a bag comprising strips forming channels or liquid passageways

Definitions

• the present invention relates generally to a flexible plastic container and more particularly to a flexible container for directing a flowable material contained therein to a fitment of the container and dispensing the flowable material.
• Collapsible plastic bags are often used to store liquid products such as chemicals, soft drink syrup, fruit juices and food condiments.
• the plastic bags are typically housed in a corrugated paperboard box to aid in the transporting, handling and dispensing of the product.
• Such packaging systems are commonly referred to as "bag-in-box" packaging systems.
• the plastic bags typically have sidewalls sealed along a peripheral seam to define a fluid containing chamber.
• a spout or a fitment provides access to the fluid chamber for filling and dispensing the product within the bag.
• Vacuum pump systems are sometimes connected to the container to assist in draining fluid from the container. Both gravity dispensing bags and vacuum pump systems suffer from the common drawback that fluid may become trapped within the folds of the bag during draining. Because of this, evacuation channels are often placed within the bag. Evacuation channels are typically elongate cylindrical tubes or flat strips with protruding ribs defining grooves.
• one end of the evacuation channel is disposed transverse to, or is coimected to the spout, and the other end of the evacuation channel extends into the fluid containing chamber of the bag.
• the evacuation channel 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.
• United States Patent No. 5,749,493 discloses an evacuation unit positioned within a bag and transverse and perpendicular to 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.
• 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 are formed by the spaces between a plurality of raised protuberances having uniform thickness and formed in a generally regular and waffle-like pattern. The protuberances prevent the total collapse of the bag during air evacuation.
• United States Patent No. 2,778,171 discloses the production of airtight packages for packaging perishable items such as food. Projections are provided near an opening of the airtight package for keeping sidewalls of the container from fully collapsing against one another while air is being evacuated from the container. There is no disclosure of evacuating a stored product from the container and no disclosure of providing a fitment with the bag to provide access to the stored contents.
• United States Patent No. 5,728,086 discloses a flexible container having multiple access ports and particularly discloses a container for storing fluids for parenteral administration to a patient.
• An inner surface of a sidewall of the container can have various patterns embossed thereon to assist in draining the contents of the container.
• the present invention 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 have an inner surface facing the fluid chamber and an opposed outer surface.
• a fitment is attached to an outer surface of one of the first sidewall or the second sidewall, the fitment having an opening therethrough having an axis substantially perpendicular to the outer surface.
• a plurality of objects are positioned on the inner surface of one of the first sidewall or the second sidewall to define a plurality of pathways having at least a first pathway and a second pathway intersecting one another.
• 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 and an access member for accessing the fluid chamber.
• a plurality of a first set of objects having a first shape is positioned on the inner surface of one of the first sidewall or the second sidewall.
• a plurality of a second set of objects having a second shape different from the first shape is positioned on the inner surface of one of the first sidewall or the second sidewall.
• the present invention further provides a method for evacuating a fluid from a container.
• the method includes the steps of: (1) providing a liquid filled container having a sidewall having an inner surface and an outer surface, (2) providing a plurality of objects on the inner surface of the sidewall to define a plurality of pathways having at least a first channel and a second channel intersecting one another; (3) providing a fitment attached to the outer surface, the 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.
• 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. 1 having a plurality of regularly spaced rectangular protuberances to define a checkerboard pattern;
• Fig. 5 is a sidewall having circular protuberances together forming a circular pattern with a series of X-shaped protuberances forming S-shaped lines.
• Figures 1 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.
• 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 of polyolefms, 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 10.
• 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.
• 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 fluid pathways through the container when the fluid or particulate contents of container is being evacuated.
• the objects 20 on the sidewall 12 provides an advantage over prior art containers having an evacuation unit positioned within and attached to an inside surface of the container.
• the evacuation unit is typically made from a polymer material, and is heat sealed or welded to the inside of the container.
• the weld area in such containers, contacts the contents of the container.
• the weld area may have an undesired organoleptic effect on the container contents.
• Providing objects directly on the sidewall as disclosed herein eliminates any organoleptic residue arising from heat sealing the evacuation unit in the container.
• the evacuation unit is typically a rigid member. The present invention eliminates the rigid member resulting in a bag having a thinner profile, thereby reducing shipping and storage volume.
• the rigid member type evacuation unit is not entirely effective in evacuating fluid from comers of the container.
• the present invention removes fluid that would otherwise remain in the corners.
• the objects 20 can form a regular pattern or an irregular pattern.
• the regular pattern includes objects being placed at the same or essentially the same spacing or a repeating sequence of spacings.
• the irregular pattern is one where the objects are generally randomly distributed.
• This checkerboard pattern has at least a first pathway 33 intersecting a second pathway 34.
• the pathways intersect at substantially perpendicular to one another.
• Figure 5 shows another preferred form of the invention having a series of circular protuberances 40 together with X-shaped protuberances 44.
• the circular protuberances 40 define a circular shape 42.
• the X-shaped protuberances 44 define a S-shaped pattern 46.
• protuberances can be used and that more than two different shapes can be used.
• the present invention further contemplates that the individual protuberances can fo ⁇ n varying indicia such as a trademark, tradename, logo, instructions for use or other identifying or useful information or advertising that can be viewed through the sidewall 12 or 14 or both.
• the objects can be formed on the inner surface of sidewall 12 or sidewall 14 or both by techniques well l ⁇ iown 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.
• the pathways 32 and 33 will have a depth of from about lmil to about 4 mils for fluids having the viscosity of a soft drink syrup. For fluids having a greater viscosity a greater depth will be necessary to provide adequate flow of the fluid through the pathways to evacuate the fluid from the container assembly.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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: (1) providing a liquid filled container having a sidewall having an inner surface; (2) 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 chaimel intersecting one another; (3) providing a fitment attached to an outer surface of the sidewall, the 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.

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• 2002
  • 2002-11-08 US US10/291,344 patent/US20030136798A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-11-12 CA CA002466182A patent/CA2466182C/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2002-11-12 PT PT02793913T patent/PT1453737E/pt unknown
  • 2002-11-12 JP JP2003542041A patent/JP4231904B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2002-11-12 BR BRPI0214010-1B1A patent/BR0214010B1/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2002-11-12 MX MXPA04004438A patent/MXPA04004438A/es active IP Right Grant
  • 2002-11-12 AU AU2002359380A patent/AU2002359380B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2002-11-12 ES ES02793913T patent/ES2395015T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-11-12 AT AT02793913T patent/ATE531643T1/de active
  • 2002-11-12 NZ NZ533364A patent/NZ533364A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2002-11-12 CN CNB028245784A patent/CN100400392C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
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