EP2135817B1 - Bag with side gusset - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a gusseted bag according to the preamble of claim 1. Gusseted bags are widely in use, especially since they allow a regularly desired parallelepiped shape with a rectangular or square cross-section and with suitable head and bottom shapes. However, the design of the gusseted bag is often unsatisfactory for in the head area with inserted gussets openings to be provided. This applies in particular to reclosable bags, in which an only gap-shaped opening can be obtained approximately over the width of the main surfaces, into which then, if appropriate, the upper ends of the gusseted walls protrude obstinately. Especially in bag contents that are not easily pourable or free-flowing and possibly require shaking or reaching to remove the bag contents, the opening of the bag for accessibility and handling is insufficient.

In the EP 1 442 992 A discloses a gusseted bag with a reclosure having a freely deployable gusset and thus a large, easily accessible opening. To close the pouch, to secure the gusset during transport and also to provide a tamper-evident closure, the gusseted pouch can be sealed at a distance below the reclosure with a horizontal tearable seal seam across the gusset and the front and back. However, this leads to a difficult opening with a tearing of the sealing seam across the entire width and to a loss of usable packaging height.

Next is in the WO 2004/026704 in the embodiment of FIGS. 16 and 17 a gusseted bag according to the preamble of claim 1 discloses the upper side with a slider ("Slider") operable reclosure and at a distance below a rupturable (peelable) sealed seam as a closure seam. This sealing seam closes the bag and fixes the folded side fold with the upper edge opposite the bag walls until the first tearing open.

Although such peelable sealing seams are to be applied together with the other fixed sealing seams in bag production, they require a pretreatment of the special sealing areas with separating varnish, corona treatment or the like in order to allow easy tearing by hand without tearing the bag walls. Such pretreatment, however, can not be narrowly limited to the line of peelable seal, but also applies to adjoining areas for solid seals, which are then undesirably weakened and easily ruptured.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a conveniently accessible side gusseted bag, which closable with a reclosure after a first opening against spilling or contamination of the content or at least coverable and with production techniques for gusseted bag made of flexible material such as plastic film, laminated film with metal layers or with paper layers or can also be made of paper material in a proven and reliable way to make in a form that can be sealed tightly and tightly during transport and storage, but is easy to open for putting into use, without sacrificing the shortcomings associated with easy tearability to accept. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a gusseted bag according to the preamble of claim 1, starting with the characterizing features of claim 1. This preserves the advantage that the opening provided with a reclosure is to be widened in that the main walls and the closure elements attached thereto are free to move apart at least on one side and that the gusseted wall folded on this side can be moved apart and thus correspondingly wide or , in everting the gusseted wall outwards, the opening can be extended across the width of the main walls. The so to be achieved larger and smoother surface discharge or removal opening is regularly advantageous in handling, even if the content of the side gusset bag is free-flowing. Conventional gusseted bags are not easy to empty quickly and clean even when folded or projecting into the opening gusseted walls. In contrast, the fold-out side gusset wall provides an enlarged opening and smooth surfaces for pouring. Even more significant is the enlarged discharge opening for lumpy contents that are otherwise difficult to pour out or take out with the hand or with a tool. These can be removed much more conveniently from the gusseted bag according to the invention.

With the configuration that the side gusset wall is fixed separable between the main walls before a first opening in a folding position, the side gusset wall was initially secured during transport and storage against folding out and also closed so that the bag contents neither leaks to the outside nor contaminated from the outside becomes. The separability allows for a use in a simple and obvious way to open the bag and release the unfolding of the gussets.

The gussets of the unopened bag are separable fixed. This can also be recommended for dry and lumpy contents to seal against contamination from the outside or to relieve the re-closure, which could otherwise arise during heavy handling of the gusseted bag during handling and transport. Even a head-side unfolding of the gusseted wall may give rise to the fixation of the gusset.

Such a fixation can be made as a bond between the adjacent side wall parts. Alternatively or additionally, the side wall parts can be glued to one or both of the main walls.

A permanently elastic adhesive allows a simple first opening. Thus, a detachable but possibly also recoverable connection can be produced in accordance with production with two-sided, "peelable" adhesive strips. The person skilled in the art thus has the possibility to create a releasable fixation of the gusseted wall with proven measures, which gives the gusseted bag at least before the first opening strength and possibly also tightness.

A (only) to a side free removal opening with an outwardly foldable side wall is provided in many cases by the shape of the reclosure ago, even if the gusseted bag in the usual form has two opposing gusseted walls between the main walls. Reclosures of complementary shaped plastic profile strip about as they are to lock without a slider as so-called "zipper" closures by hand with each other, as well as reclosures with such profile strips, which open like a zipper by a longitudinally movable slide or are closed, are appropriate or necessary connected to one side. In this respect, closure elements made of profiled strips are only on one side to perform a complete unconnected opening. On the other hand, then the profiled closure elements remain engaged with each other and are held together by hot deformation, sealing or welding of the closure elements themselves or adjacent wall areas. Closure elements with a slide in the open position are already held together by this engaged. Usually, a stop for the slider is then also provided by deformations of the closure elements, patch brackets or the like, so that it is not accidentally moved beyond the end of the closure elements and out of engagement.

However, the above considerations do not rule out in principle that also a second gusseted wall is designed foldable and that the reclosure completely opens. In this regard, a "zipper" closure with complementarily profiled fastener elements may be entirely separate. The same applies even more to reclosures in the form of a Velcro type or with detachable and wiederverbindenden tape.

To solve the problem, however, a one-sided foldability of the side gusset wall is generally sufficient and a fixation of a reclosure on the other hand from the handling point advantageous, so this is the preferred embodiment.

Fig. 1

einen Seitenfaltenbeutel gemäß der Erfindung, flachgelegt, in frontaler Ansicht

Fig. 2

eine abgewandelte Ausführungsform eines Seitenfaltenbeutels, flachgelegt, in Frontalansicht und

Fig. 3

Seitenfaltenbeutel nach Fig. 2 in geöffnetem Zustand.

Two embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and will be described in more detail below. In the drawing show:

Fig. 1

a gusseted bag according to the invention, laid flat, in frontal view

Fig. 2

a modified embodiment of a gusseted bag, laid flat, in frontal view and

Fig. 3

Side gusset bag after Fig. 2 in open condition.

An in Fig. 1 Overall with 1 designated side gusseted bag in a front view, but in partial view without the present not interested, trainee in a common ground area, shows a front main wall 2, which conceals a congruent underlying back main wall, and two in the flat state inwardly folded gusset walls 3 and 4 The side folding walls are connected to the main walls on both sides by longitudinal sealing seams 5 and 6 (and congruent longitudinal sealing seams behind). In principle, the main walls and the gusseted walls can also be made by external folding.

On the top side of the gusseted bag 1 is closed by a reclosure 7, which can be opened and closed, to allow about from the first still to be filled bag later partial withdrawals and interim storage. The reclosure 7 comprises two closure elements, of which an upper-side closure element 8 conceals an underlying closure element provided with a complementary latching profile. Both are to be opened or closed with a slide 9, wherein the slide 9 in Fig. 1 is shown in an open position near a clamp element 10, which connects the two closure elements 8 with each other and simultaneously represents a movement stop for the slider 9. In this position of the slide are the two closure elements 8 unconnected. An opposing stop element 11 is also connected only to one of the closure elements 8.

Each of the two closure elements 8 has a connection lug 12 for a sealed seam, which is to be produced with one or the other main wall 2, so that each of the closure elements 8 continues one of the two main walls upwards. The gusseted wall 3 protrudes with an upper end edge 13 in the region of one of the terminal lugs 12 and is sealed with. This gives the gusset top fixation in flat folded form, which also leads to a seal. This fixed side fold 3 faces the stop 10 for the open position of the slide 9.

On the side facing away from the stop 10 of the side gusseted bag 1, the side gusset wall 4 is shortened with a lying below the terminal lug 12 end edge 14 is formed. Therefore, therefore, it lacks a head-side fixation of the gusset. 4

However, here two detachable adhesive strips 15, 16 are indicated, which are shaded in different directions and shown differently sized for optical distinction, even if they are likely to be congruent in practice. These adhesive strips attach the two halves of the side gusset wall 4 to the one or other main wall 2 and at the same time close off the side gusseted wall 4 in the folded state on the upper side. The adhesive strips 15, 16 serve as needed, the fixation and / or sealing of the gusset, the fixation also during transport or handling of the filled bag relieving the reclosure 7 and also prevents unwanted everting the gusset in the upper area.

The foldable side fold wall 4 (also in case of releasable fixation) in combination with the closure elements 8 to be completely separated when opening in the region of the stops 11 allows a large opening and thus good accessibility of the bag contents during the first and every subsequent opening, the side fold bag being over the reclosure 7 can in the meantime be closed, sealed or covered in a predetermined manner.

In Fig. 2 is a gusseted bag 21 having an unusual shape in practice with only one side gusset wall 22, in FIG Fig. 2 folded between a main wall 23 and a congruent underlying main wall, shown in which the opening is particularly descriptive of the gusseted bag 21 is provided with a reclosure 24, which, like the reclosure 7, is operated with a slider 25, here in the (left ) Opening position shown, wherein the slider 25 brings together two complementary profiled closure elements 26 and separates and in the left end position still holds these closure elements together. A stop 27 in the form of a clip engaging over the closure elements 26 fixes the connection of the closure elements in the same way. On the opposite side, two stops 28 arranged congruently with one another are arranged separately on the closure elements, that is to say they do not prevent the closure elements from moving away from one another.

How out Fig. 3 can be seen in an open position, the main wall 23 and a visible behind main wall 29 together with the closure element 26 and connected to the main wall 29 closure elements 30 widely spread, the side gusset wall 22 is even everting outwards.

In this embodiment, an adhesive strip 31 is provided along an upper edge 32 of the side gusset wall 22 on the outside, so that it is able to fix the side gusset wall in the folded state (possibly also repeatedly). Also, this adhesive strip 31 is formed so that it is easily detachable and does not hinder the unfolding when opening the gusseted bag.

Claims (7)

1. Side-gusseted bag (1, 21) of flexible material, in which two main walls (2, 23) situated opposite one another are connected at adjacent longitudinal sides (5, 6) by at least one (first) side-gusseted wall (4, 22) which can be folded-in between the main walls (2, 23), and have at the top end an opening which can be closed with a resealable closure (7, 24) comprising at least one pair of closure members (8, 26) situated opposite one another which are mounted on one and the other main wall (2, 23) respectively, the closure members (7, 24) not being fixed to one another at their ends above the side-gusseted wall, when the closure member is in the opened state, and the side-gusseted wall (4, 22) being fixed between the main walls (2, 23) in a folded position before any initial opening and being able to be folded open in the outward direction on the initial opening taking place, characterised in that, before the initial opening, the side-gusseted wall (4, 22) is held fixed in the folded-in state by at least one adhesive strip (15, 16, 31) arranged along a top edge (14, 32).
2. Side-gusseted bag according to claim 1, characterised in that the side-gusseted wall (4, 22) is releasably fastened to at least one of the two main walls (2, 23) by an adhesive strip (15, 16, 31).
3. Side-gusseted bag according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that, when the side-gusseted wall (4) is in the folded state, the adhesive strips (15, 16) close it off at the top simultaneously.
4. Side-gusseted bag according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the side-gusseted wall (4) is of a shortened form having a terminal edge (14) situated below a connecting flap (12) of the resealable closure (7).
5. Side-gusseted bag according to claim 4, characterised by a second side-gusseted wall (3) which, relative to the first side-gusseted wall able to be folded open on the opening taking place, projects at a top terminal edge (13) into the region occupied by one of the connecting flaps (12) and is firmly sealed to the connecting flap (12).
6. Side-gusseted bag according to claim 4, characterised in that the main walls (23) are connected together on the one hand via a side-gusseted wall (22) and on the other hand directly.
7. Side-gusseted bag according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the resealable closure has a slider (9, 25) and at least one stop (11, 28), which is connected to only one closure member (8, 26) on the side on which the side-gusseted wall able (4, 22) to be folded open is situated.

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