EP2076378A2

EP2076378A2 - Method of producing a packaging pouch, and resulting packaging pouch

Info

Publication number: EP2076378A2
Application number: EP07858505A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jérôme Faytre
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-10-03
Filing date: 2007-10-03
Publication date: 2009-07-08
Also published as: CA2665308A1; WO2008040916A2; US20100027919A1; WO2008040916A3; FR2906526A1

Abstract

Method of producing a packaging pouch, of the type consisting in forming a tube (21) on a rotary machine by longitudinally rolling at least one band (2) of flexible material which is paid out, and then dividing said tube (21) into lengths (22) and forming the bottom (10) of each pouch (1) to form a compartment. It consists in: paying out and driving and feeding into the forming tube (21) at least one other band (3), of another material or the same material; simultaneously dividing the tube (21) into lengths (22) and the other band (3) into segments (31); causing the front part of the tube (21) to become staggered relative to the front part of the other band (3), or the lengths (22) to become staggered relative to the segments (31); and finally forming the bottom (10) of each pouch by folding each length (22) transversely.

Description

METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING PACKAGING BAG, AND PACKAGING BAG OBTAINED

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a packaging bag, and the packaging bag obtained.

The invention relates, essentially but not exclusively, to the field of food, and more particularly that of fast food, the packaging bag obtained by the manufacturing method according to the invention being able to be used for pack food products such as sandwiches or other similar products.

One of the problems set forth in the present application and which the present invention seeks to solve, has been the subject of many proposals without finding a solution that is as effective, economically and technically feasible.

When eating a sandwich or other similar product, it is obviously necessary to wipe the mouth and / or the fingers, which is done by means of a towel generally provided with the sandwich. This towel is either self-service for the consumer or distributed with the sandwich by the seller, which, in one case as in the other, generates disadvantages.

Indeed, when towels are available self-service, the consumer may forget to take, or it may take more than necessary which causes an additional cost for the seller, and moreover it affects Other towels that are not intended for him, which may cause hygienic problems.

In another case, when the napkins are distributed by the seller, in addition to the specific act that it is necessary to repeat each time, the seller may, by mistake, give the buyer more towels than must, engendering also an additional cost, but it can also forget to provide with the risk of causing discontent of said buyer.

To overcome these disadvantages it has been proposed packaging bags that incorporate a towel, so that there is a towel and only one by packaging, and there is no risk of forgetting.

Some have proposed to introduce, manually, a towel in each bag, which is an additional cost in terms of manpower, however with the disadvantage of risking the soil with the sandwich, and thus make it difficult to use .

Others have proposed, in particular in US 4 941 756, a packaging bag, part of which, including the opening, consists of a detachable towel. Such packaging does not solve the problem of soiling the towel.

Also known from DE 86 30 396 is a packaging bag comprising two compartments, one of which contains a napkin. The formation of the two compartments is obtained by adding an inner wall which separates the inside of the bag, while one of the compartments contains a towel. However, the towel remains held by the bottom of the bag so it is necessary to provide perforations to be able to tear and extract the bag.

Also known from EP 858 951, a packaging bag which comes from the superposition of three sheets, welded on two or three sides according to the shape of said sheets, so as to create two pockets, intended for one to contain a sandwich, and for the other a towel. If such a package overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks, it presents no less numerous difficulties from the point of view of manufacture, and therefore a significant additional cost. In addition to having to glue or weld two, three or more sides, the introduction of the napkin into the pocket can be carried out only after the manufacture, possibly manually, thereby substantially increasing the cost price of said package.

EP 1 203 726 proposes a bag on an outer face of which is releasably attached a towel. This towel is glued on the outer face through a portion connected to the rest of the towel by a perforated area and therefore breakable.

Such a bag, if it overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks, however also has disadvantages. Indeed, the towel hangs outside the bag, and it can be soiled at any time, both before and after the sale, and therefore no longer be clean when it comes to use.

On the other hand, the part that remains stuck on the bag is not used.

Finally, from the manufacturing point of view, on such a bag, the cutting, perforation and gluing of the towel require specific equipment, likely to generate additional production costs. Document US Pat. No. 5,590,783 also discloses a sandwich packaging of the type consisting either of a sheet folded in two and intended to grip said sandwich, or of a kind of horn to be known comprising two walls secured to each other. the other by two adjacent edges. In this document it is proposed to manufacture this package using a multilayer sheet comprising an intermediate sheet consisting of an extractable towel and usable by the consumer.

The disadvantage of such a package lies in the complexity of its manufacture, which requires specific tools, which increases the cost.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a packaging bag to overcome these various disadvantages, but the primary object of the present invention is to provide an industrial manufacturing process for continuously producing such a packaging bag to a minimal cost, and especially using the existing means of production. Various packaging production techniques are known, it is necessary to distinguish the packages made from paper sheets shaped and glued, and those based on sheets of sealable materials, according to the technique called "form seal" which is described in WO 2003 07331, US 4,009,778 and US 5,407,278, for example.

The so-called "form seal" technique is essentially intended to allow the manufacture of bags and the bagging of the product to be packaged simultaneously, and it is not suitable for the manufacture of packaging bags which are the subject of the the present invention, essentially because of the materials used.

In the manufacture of paper-based packaging bags, it is also necessary to distinguish different techniques.

The technique using rotary machines with continuous operation is known, where the sachets are derived from the operations of shaping and gluing a strip of paper, and then cutting the shaped strip to separate the bags. an operation of forming the bottom of the bag. It will be noted that there are essentially three ways of separating the bags, either by prior embrittlement, by means of perforations, then tearing by pulling, or embrittlement and, almost instantaneously, tearing off, or by clean cut.

Also known is the technique using alternative machines operating in cycles, where the original paper tape is cut before formatting in the machine. Such machines make it possible to manufacture sachets provided with one or more external pockets created by applying and gluing one or more sheets on one and / or the other side of the bag.

Documents US Pat. No. 4,993,845 and GB 2 211 079 also disclose sachets made by superposing several sheets, and in particular a sheet making it possible to constitute a pocket intended to contain an object. The technique of bag making would not allow continuous manufacture of the packaging bag object of the present invention.

The present invention therefore aims to remedy the various aforementioned drawbacks and relates to a continuous manufacturing process of a paper packaging bag incorporating an extractable element, such as a towel, fully implemented by means of existing production tools.

The method of manufacturing a packaging bag according to the invention is of the type consisting in forming on a rotating machine a hose by the longitudinal bending of at least one strip of flexible material which is unwound and driven, and then optionally to sticking, after a sizing operation, the lateral edges of said strip, then separating said hose in sections and forming the bottom of each of the bags to form a compartment and it is essentially characterized in that it consists:

unwinding and driving, simultaneously with the unwinding and training of the forming strip of said hose, so as to make it run inside the latter in formation, at least one other strip, of another material or the same, to simultaneously realize the separation of the hose sections and said other band into segments,

to obtain a positioning phase shift between the anterior part of said casing with respect to the front part of said other band, or said sections with respect to said segments,

and finally to form the bottom of each bag by transverse folding of each section. The aim of the positioning phase shift operation is to achieve, in the end, a shift of the position of the segment relative to that of the section, thus releasing a portion of segment empty segment, and intended for the formation of the bottom by transverse folding , thus allowing the free extraction of the segment. According to a particular mode of implementation of the manufacturing method according to the invention, the separation operation is carried out in the following manner: one weakens, simultaneously, or possibly simultaneously, the band before formation of the casing, as well as the other one bandaged ,

the casing and the other band are expanded so that the zone of weakness of said casing is offset with respect to the zone of weakness of said other band; said casing and said band are simultaneously torn off.

Note that the embrittlement of the two strips can be made simultaneously on the same tool, or simultaneously or not on two different tools, one for each band, but respecting a particular setting. According to the additional characteristic of the manufacturing method according to the invention, the phase shift is carried out by making the paths of different lengths borrow from the casing and from the other band.

According to another particular embodiment of the manufacturing method according to the invention, the separation operation is carried out as follows:

the gut and the other band are driven at different speeds,

the casing and the other band are cut transversely and simultaneously, or the casing and the other band are simultaneously weakened and torn off simultaneously or almost simultaneously.

Note that in this embodiment an appropriate friction between the materials, allows the displacement of the band in the casing before separation, while ensuring after separation the solidarity necessary for other shaping operations.

The manufacturing method according to the invention makes it possible, by using an existing rotary machine, to produce packaging bags incorporating a manufacturing extractable element, these bags can thus consist, not limited in sandwich bags incorporating an extractable towel.

The process according to the invention makes it possible to produce sachets of different shapes and having various characteristics.

Thus, according to a particular embodiment of the manufacturing method according to the invention, it consists in forming in addition to the main compartment, at least one secondary compartment, or by a bonding operation of the lateral edges of the band forming the hose, in at least two distinct lines, continuous or not, and / or by at least one longitudinal folding operation of a portion of said strip, and / or by the addition of at least one additional internal or external wall, secured to the bag at least by pinching during the formation of the bottom and after the unwinding of another strip, while simultaneously is unrolled the other band so as to take place inside said secondary compartment.

According to an additional characteristic of the particular embodiment of the manufacturing method according to the invention, the lateral edges of the band of formation of the casing are secured to the remainder of the latter, by gluing, according to at least two distinct lines, continuous or not, so as to delimit between these two lines a region constituting the secondary compartment. According to another additional characteristic of the particular embodiment of the manufacturing method according to the invention, the band of formation of the casing is folded longitudinally to form, from one edge of said band, a flap, folded towards the inside or out, so as to form the secondary compartment.

According to another additional characteristic of the particular embodiment of the manufacturing method according to the invention, another strip is unrolled, parallel to the unwinding of the band of formation of the casing, it is secured by its lateral edges, by the outside one of the walls of the casing, so as to form the secondary compartment. According to another additional feature of the particular embodiment of the manufacturing method according to the invention, is unrolled, parallel to the course of the forming band of the casing, and inside the casing, another strip, and is secured by gluing and / or by pinching in the bottom.

Note that the manufacturing method according to the invention also allows to provide upstream of the combination of the napkin and the bag, a printing station of said towel, or other processing stations.

The packaging bag obtained by the method according to the invention can be flat, bellows, flat bottom or square bottom, or other.

In the case of the manufacture of a packaging bag for packaging food products such as sandwiches or the like, the other band advantageously consists of paper of the towel type namely cellulose wadding for example, so that, of manufacture, the napkin is integrated in the bag.

The manufacturing method as described allows many variations of the product obtained. Thus, for example, it is possible, according to the embodiment chosen, to vary the length of the towel with respect to the depth of the secondary compartment.

Even if this manufacturing method is perfectly suitable for producing a packaging bag for food products such as sandwiches or the like, it can of course be the subject of other applications, the napkin being, for example, replaced by a information card relating to the contents of the bag, by reinforcements, by advertising documents, by game bulletins, etc.

Similarly, the method according to the invention is reserved for the manufacture, from a continuous material, of packaging bags, containing extractable element manufacturing material from a continuous material. The advantages and characteristics of the process according to the invention, and pouches manufactured according to this process, will become more clearly apparent from the description which follows and which refers to the attached drawing, which represents several non-limiting embodiments thereof.

In the accompanying drawing: - Figure 1 shows a schematic view reproducing steps of the manufacturing method according to the invention.

FIG. 2 represents a schematic view reproducing steps of a variant of the manufacturing method according to the invention. - Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a packaging bag manufactured by the method according to the invention.

- Figure 4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the same packaging bag.

- Figure 5 shows a partial schematic plan view of an element for the manufacture of the same packaging bag.

- Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 each show a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the packaging bag manufactured by the method according to the invention.

With reference to FIG. 1, various steps of a method of manufacturing a packaging bag 1 containing an extractable towel S can be seen.

The bag 1 is made from a strip 2 of flexible material such as paper, packaged in a roll 10 while the towel S is made from a strip 3 of flexible material such as wadding, packed in a roll

30.

The formation of the bag S is carried out in a conventional manner, that is to say that the band 2 is shaped in a casing 21 by the approximation, the overlap and the joining of its lateral edges, before the formation of the bottom obtained by a transverse folding.

According to the method according to the invention, simultaneously with the unwinding and the driving of the band 2, the band 3 is made to run inside the casing 21 in formation, and, for obtain the bag 1 containing its extractable towel, the whole is subjected to a succession of operations.

One of these operations is to cut the hose 21 into sections 22 and the band 3 into segments 31. For this, we begin by transversely weaken the band 2 and the band 3 through embrittlement means P, for example by perforation , then it makes travel to the band 3 a longer path than that traveled by the band 2, so as to obtain a shift of the weakening zones, then after formation of the casing around the band 3, it proceeds, through M holding means, at the separation to obtain a segment 22 containing a segment 31, the positioning of the latter being offset with respect to the section, so as to disengage a portion 23 dedicated to the formation by folding of the bottom 10 of the bag 1, without pinching the segment 31.

Note that the method as described is feasible on an existing machine. However, it is possible to consider a variant, at the cost of a modification of existing machines. It is thus possible to add to the existing machine an additional embrittlement tool, to weaken the band 2, and the band 3 independently.

Referring now to Figure 2, we can see a variant of the manufacturing method according to the invention, which differs in the manner of performing the separation into sections 22 and 31 segments.

The casing 21 is driven at a speed greater than that of the band 3, and through cutting means C, the casing 21 and the band 3 are cut simultaneously to form a section 22 and a segment 31. The speed difference creates the offset that allows the formation of the bottom 10 of the bag 1.

Note that in a variant, the cut can be replaced by simultaneous or almost simultaneous operations of embrittlement and tearing.

It will also be noted that whatever the embodiment of the method according to the invention, the band 3 can undergo before its introduction into the casing 21, various transformations, such as a longitudinal fold for example.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there can be seen a packaging bag 4 according to the invention, also manufactured by the method according to the invention, but having differences with respect to the bag 1.

The bag 4, as can be the bag 1, is, not limited to, bellows, and is made from a strip 5 of material such as paper, shaped into a hose by the approximation and recovery of side edges. This packaging bag 4 thus comprises two end walls 41 and 42 connected laterally by two side walls 43 and 44 folded to form bellows. It also comprises a bottom 45 obtained by the folding of the front walls 41 and 42, and an opening 46 allowing access to the interior of a compartment 47 delimited by the walls 41, 42, 43 and 44, and the bottom 45.

Referring also to Figure 4, it can be seen that the packaging bag 4 further comprises a compartment 48 created at the front wall 41, which comes from the doubling thereof.

Indeed, as can be seen more precisely in FIG. 2, the lateral portions 50 and 51 of the strip 5 are not secured to one another by their extreme edges, respectively 52 and 53, to form the wall 41, but the latter are secured to the rest of the strip 5 in two regions distant from each other, through lines of glue 54 and 55 respectively deposited on the outer face of the lateral portion 50, or on the inner face of the lateral portion 51, so as to release between these two lines, an unsized area which constitutes the compartment 48, and in which is housed a towel S.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a portion of a band 5 can be seen before the formation of the casing.

The lines that were to be made during the formation and the lines discontinuous embrittlement, perforations, which will, after tearing, allow separation.

It will be noted that the bags produced by means of the strip 5 shown in FIG. 5, are provided with cutouts facilitating opening and access to the inside of the compartments, namely a cutout 56 made in the wall 42 and intended to equip the edge of the compartment 47, and a cutout 57 made in the lateral portion 41 and intended to equip the edge of the compartment

48. Note also that it is possible that the bag has only one of these cuts, and possibly none. The manufacture of the sachet 5 is identical to that of the sachet

1, except that the strip 3 runs between the parts 50 and 51, so that the towel S is ultimately in the compartment 58.

Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and

12, 6, 6 ', 6 ", 7, 8, 9 and 9' of the packaging bag according to the invention can be seen, but not limited to, all these bags are provided for, according to the invention. invention, comprising manufacturing at least two compartments, including at least one housing an extractable element, incorporated manufacturing.

In FIG. 6, the bag 6 is made from a strip

5 of flexible material, such as paper, shaped in a casing, by joining together the lateral portions 50 and 51 of the band 5, to form a compartment 47.

In this case, the end edge 53 of the part 51 is secured by gluing, through a line of glue C, not to the end edge 52 of the lateral part 50, but on the latter at a crease. longitudinal 58 which creates a flap 59 forming with the rest of the lateral portion 50, a compartment

48 by the partial doubling of the front wall 41.

It will be understood that this compartment 48 is closed lower during the formation of the bottom, and that it can incorporate, manufacturing, an extractable element, not shown, such as a towel for example. In Figure 7 is shown the bag 6 'which consists of a variant of the bag 6, namely that it further comprises at the end of the flap 59, another flap 59' folded to extend between the flap 59 and the part lateral 50, inside the compartment 48 and intended to allow increased enveloping of the extractable element, not shown.

In FIG. 8, the bag 6 'constitutes another variant of the bag 6, in that the end edge 53 of the lateral part 51 is not secured to the end edge 52 of the lateral part 50, but to the latter therefore present within the compartment 47 an extension 50 ', which has at its end a flap 59 which is folded not inwardly of the bag, but outwardly so as to be placed opposite the lateral part 51. In FIG. 9 is represented the bag 7 which is also made from a strip 5 of flexible material, such as paper, shaped in a hose by bonding, by gluing, between them the extreme edges 52 and 53 of the side portions 50 and 51 of the strip 5 to form a compartment 47.

The bag 7 further comprises an inner wall 70, extending over the entire width, or substantially the entire width, of the front wall 41, and intended to be secured to the rest of the bag during the formation of the bottom thereof. . The inner wall 70 is made of a portion of another web of flexible material, such as paper, fed simultaneously to the web 5 during the manufacturing process.

The wall 70 creates the doubling of the front wall 41, and thus creates the compartment 48, which can contain an extractable element, such as for example a towel, and which comes from another strip of flexible material delivered simultaneously to the other strips.

In FIG. 10 is represented the bag 8 which is also made from a strip 5 of flexible material, such as paper, shaped in a hose, by joining together extreme edges 52 and 53 of the lateral portions 50 and 51 of the strip 5, to form a compartment 47.

The bag 8 further comprises an outer wall 80, extending over the entire width, or substantially the entire width, of the front wall 41, and intended to be secured thereto by bonding its lateral extreme edges 81 and 82, through lines of glue C, as well as by the formation of the bottom of the bag. The outer wall 80 is made of a portion of another web of flexible material, such as paper, fed simultaneously to the web 5 during the manufacturing process.

The outer wall 80 creates the doubling of the front wall 41, and thus creates the compartment 48, which can contain an extractable element, such as for example a towel, and which comes from another strip of flexible material discharged simultaneously to the other strips .

In Figure 11 is shown the bag 9, which is particularly suitable for packaging sandwiches of the type comprising, for example and not limited to, a roll of bread having a side opening through which are introduced ingredients. Such sandwiches are generally presented in approximately wedge shaped pouches.

The bag 9, which constitutes a particular evolution of the bag 8, is made from a strip 5 of flexible material, such as paper, shaped in a casing, but this is not closed, the front walls 41 and 42 being not connected, except by the bottom, not shown, so as to create a lateral opening 90 for the introduction of the sandwich.

The front wall 41 is lined externally by a wall 91 secured by its two side edges 92 and 93 through lines of adhesive C, and preferably gripped during the formation of the bottom. The doubling of the wall 41 by the wall 91 creates a compartment 48, which may contain an extractable element, such as for example a towel, and which comes from another strip of flexible material delivered simultaneously to the other strips. Referring now to Figure 12, we can see the bag 9 ', which is intended for the same use as the bag 9, and is a particular development of the bags 6, 6' and 6 ".

It is made from a strip 5 of flexible material, such as paper, shaped in an unclosed hose, the end walls 41 and 42 being not connected, except by the bottom, not shown, so as to create a lateral opening 90 'for the introduction of the sandwich.

The doubling of the front wall 41 to form the compartment 48, is obtained by the longitudinal folding of the portion 51, to form a flap 51 'and the bonding of the extreme edge 53' of the latter on the portion 51, in this case near the side wall 43.

Note that in the embodiment shown, the flap 51 'is folded outward, it could however be expected to fold inward.

As can be seen, the method according to the invention makes it possible to produce numerous bags, comprising one or more compartments, of which at least one contains, of manufacture, an extractable element such as a towel. However, other packaging bags are feasible, if only because of the characteristics of the machines used, such as for example the fact that they are shaped to close the hose below or above. Moreover, some sachets are only feasible flat, without bellows, and / or with a certain type of background.

On the other hand, it can be provided the creation of a window, facing one or the other of the compartments, which is obtained in a known manner through a strip of transparent material simultaneously and parallelly debited to another band, and stuck to it.

Claims

1) A method of manufacturing a packaging bag, of the type consisting of forming on a rotary machine, a hose (21) by the longitudinal bending of at least one strip (2; 5) of flexible material which is unwound, then possibly to stick, after a sizing operation, the lateral edges of said strip (2; 5), then to separate said hose (21) in sections (22) and to form the bottom (10; 45) of each of sachets for forming a compartment, characterized in that it consists of:

unwinding and driving, simultaneously with unwinding and driving the band (2; 5) forming said hose

(21), so as to make it run inside the latter in formation, at least one other band (3), another material or the same,

simultaneously effecting separation of the casing (21) into sections (22) and said other band (3) into segments (31),

- to obtain a positioning phase shift between the anterior portion of said casing (21) relative to the front portion of said other band (3), or said sections (22) with respect to said segments (31), - and finally to form the bottom (10; 45) of each bag by transverse folding of each section (22).

2) A method of manufacturing a packaging bag according to claim 1, characterized in that the separation operation is performed in the following manner: - one weakens, simultaneously, or possibly simultaneously, the band (2) before formation the hose (21) and the other band (3),

the casing (21) and the other band (3) are expanded so that the zone of weakness of said casing (21) is offset relative to the zone of weakening of said other band (3),

said casing (21) and said band (3) are simultaneously torn off. 3) A method of manufacturing a packaging bag according to claim 2, characterized in that the phase shift is made by borrow the hose (21) and the other strip (3) paths of different lengths. 4) A method of manufacturing a packaging bag according to claim 1, characterized in that the separation operation is carried out as follows:

the gutter (21) and the other band (3) are driven at different speeds; the casing (21) and the other band (3) are cut transversely and simultaneously, or they are simultaneously weakened and torn off, or almost simultaneously, the casing (21) and the other band (3).

5) A method of manufacturing a packaging bag according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it consists in forming in addition to the main compartment (47), at least one secondary compartment (48), or by an operation for bonding the lateral edges (52, 53) of the band (2; 5) for forming the casing (21), according to at least two distinct lines (54, 55), continuous or not, and / or by at least one longitudinal folding operation of a portion of said strip, and / or the addition of at least one additional wall (70, 80, 91) internal or external, secured to the bag at least by pinching during the formation of the bottom (10; 45) and the result of the unwinding of another band, while simultaneously is unwound the other band (3) so as to take place inside said secondary compartment (48).

6) A method of manufacturing a packaging bag according to claim 5, characterized in that one secures the lateral edges (52, 53) of the band (2; 5) forming the hose to the rest of the latter, by gluing, according to at least two distinct lines (54, 55), continuous or not, so as to delimit between these two lines (54, 55) a region constituting the secondary compartment (48). 7) A method of manufacturing a packaging bag according to claim 5, characterized in that it folds longitudinally the band (2; 5) for forming the casing to form, from one of the edges of said band (2; 5), a flap (59; 51 ') folded inwards or outwards , so as to form the secondary compartment (48). 8) A method of manufacturing a packaging bag according to claim 5, characterized in that one unrolls, parallel to the unwinding of the band (2; 5) of formation of the casing, another band, one solidarize thereof by its side edges (81, 82; 92, 93), from the outside to one of the walls of the casing (21), so as to form the secondary compartment (48).

9) A method of manufacturing a packaging bag according to claim 5, characterized in that unrolled, parallel to the unwinding of the band (2; 5) forming the casing, and internally to the casing (21), a another band, and it is secured by gluing and / or by pinching in the bottom.

10) Packaging bag comprising at least one compartment and containing, manufacturing an extractable element, characterized in that it is manufactured by the manufacturing method according to any one of the preceding claims.