FR2696718A1 - Method of reclosing a package or bag of flexible packaging, device for its implementation and use of such a device. - Google Patents

Abstract

Reclosing method and device for a flexible package or packaging bag enclosing, in an envelope (e), a relatively rigid product (b) which can, preferably, be extracted from it in fractions, whilst retaining a relatively stable geometric shape in the filled section of the said envelope. The emptied section of the envelope (e) is trapped by crumpling and/or folding it over itself in a relatively rigid lid whose shape and size are paired with those of the section which has remained full and over which the said lid is fitted in order to cap it and close it.

Description

The invention relates to a method for reclosing a packet or bag

  flexible packaging, a device for its implementation, the use of such a device and a pack or bag of flexible packaging, especially for food products, comprising such a device. In response to consumers' desire to have flexible packaging that can be easily closed after first opening, the market has appeared on the market, particularly in the area of food products, zippered packaging with a sensitive self-adhesive label the pressure, clamp, etc., some of which are described in FOOD & DRUG PACKAGING, Vol 56, No. 2, February 1992, pp 20-22, 26, 30, 34, 36 If the achievements presented are satisfactory, some are however d a cost too high to be used with consumer products (zipper) or an inconvenient use when they can not be directly associated with the packets or bags they must equip (clamps) or implementation sometimes delicate (adhesive means constituting the envelope of the package or reported on this envelope). The problem therefore arises, therefore, to provide a method of reclosing a pack or bag of flexible packaging and a device for its implementation that overcome the disadvantages of known devices. It is, in this respect, an object of the invention to provide an extremely simple method and apparatus for implementation which does not increase in a

  considerable consumption of packaging materials.

  It is, again, an object of the invention to provide such a method and a device for its implementation which, when applied to packets or sachets of food packaging likely to see their quality deteriorate. over time,

  allow to promote the conservation of these products.

  It is also an object of the invention to provide a method and a device for its implementation suitable for being associated with flexible packaging packages or bags without having to be modified the packaging techniques and / or or manufacturing

  said packets or sachets of packaging.

  It is also an object of the invention to provide a method and a device which allows numerous openings and reclosures of the package or sachet to which they apply and which, in addition, allow these

  multiple openings and reclosures hygienically.

  Finally, it is an object of the invention to provide a method and a device which do not adversely affect the appearance and / or presentation of the packages to which they apply but, on the contrary,

  increase the appeal to consumers.

  A method of reclosing a package or flexible packaging bag enclosing in a casing a relatively rigid product which can, preferably, be extracted in fractions while keeping the filled portion of said casing a relatively stable geometric shape is characterized according to the invention, in that the emptied portion of the envelope is trapped, in creasing and / or folding on itself, in a relatively rigid cover of shaped and conjugate dimensions of the portion remaining filled on which said cover is nested for styling and

close it.

  In what precedes and in what follows "shape and conjugate dimensions" of the lid and the filled part of the packet or bag must be understood as meaning, on the one hand, that the cross-sectional shape of the lid is substantially that of the filled part of the package or bag of packaging, without necessarily having shape identity, and that, on the other hand, the dimension of this straight section is substantially equal to or slightly greater than that of the part filled for that the lid can be held on the latter when it is attached to

she's doing it.

  Thus, and for example for a generally cylindrical package enclosing products such as round biscuits, can the cover be of circular cross section and of a circumference length slightly greater than that of biscuits or, alternatively, to polygonal straight section of a perimeter slightly greater than the length of the cross-section (perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder) of the filled part of the packet or bag on which the lid is

  simply maintained by depressing.

  A device for carrying out the method according to the invention then comprises a relatively rigid lid consisting of a bottom and a skirt of shape and dimensions conjugate to those of the package or packaging bag and is made of any suitable material: cardboard, plastics, sheet metal or thin metal alloy of the kind used for the manufacture of packaging boxes for

  drinks, or in a similar material.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, the height of the lid is substantially equal to the thickness of one or more products contained in the bag or packing package, so that the device can be used until said package

or bag is almost empty.

  According to the invention, also, the skirt of the lid has a shape similar to that of the packet or bag and an inner perimeter substantially equal to the length of the cross section of the packet or packaging bag with which it is associated. The lid is advantageously provided with means facilitating or contributing to its attachment to the remaining filled part of the package or packaging bag with which it is associated. In one embodiment, said means are constituted by elastic tabs which, in their unsolicited condition, project into the interior of the body.

the skirt of the lid.

  In a variant, said means consist of tabs resulting from cutouts of the skirt and which are formed at the end thereof.

away from the bottom of the lid.

  In an advantageous embodiment, the bottom of the lid is lined, on all or part of its inner surface, with a pressure-sensitive adhesive which contributes to holding the lid on the lid.

package or packaging bag.

  The invention also relates to the use of a cover consisting of a bottom and a skirt of shape and dimensions combined with those of a pack or bag of flexible packaging for reclosing

said packet or bag.

  It also comes within the scope of the invention a pack or bag of flexible packaging, especially for food products, comprising a

  device as defined above.

  The invention will be well understood by the

  following description, given as an example and in

  reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a package or bag of packaging prior to its first opening and which is associated with a device according to the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the packet or bag opened after being extracted part of its contents; FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the packet closed by implementing the method and using a device according to the invention; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing, for another embodiment, a packet or bag to which another device according to the invention is associated; Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 3 for this other embodiment; Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view, and cut away, illustrating the use of two devices of the type shown in Figure 6; Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view and cutaway of an alternative embodiment of a device according to the invention; Figure 8 is a view similar to that of Figure 7, but for yet another embodiment; Figure 9 is a view similar to those of Figures 3 and 5, but for yet another form of

production.

  Referring first to Figures 1 to 3 which illustrate a method according to the invention of reclosing a package or flexible packaging bag and a first embodiment of a device for its implementation as clearly visible in these figures , a pack or bag of flexible packaging S comprises an envelope e in one or more thickness (s) of paper, plastic film, optionally a metal sheet and / or, sometimes, corrugated paper The package or sachet S, of generally cylindrical shape in the embodiment described and shown, encloses products such as round biscuits, b, stacked one above the other and which give the package a cylindrical geometric shape, relatively stable, its opening as shown in Figure 1, after opening in the part R thereof which remains filled after extraction of one or more biscuit (s) b. According to the invention, said package or packaging bag S is associated with a cover 10, relatively rigid, of shape and size conjugate with those of the packaging prior to its opening or those of part R which remains filled of said package The lid 10, which is constituted by a bottom 11 and a skirt 12, is made of any suitable material such as cardboard, a plastics material, a sheet of metal or of a thin metal alloy of the type used in the manufacture boxes

packaging for drinks.

  The shape and dimensions of the skirt 12 are conjugated with those of the package S, or the part R thereof which remains filled after the package or bag has been opened and one or more biscuit (s) b has (have) been withdrawn (s), "form and dimensions conjugées" being understood as meaning that the shape of the cross section (perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the packet or bag) of the cover is, here, substantially circular or alternatively and as shown in the drawing, is polygonal in outline, the inner circumference of the skirt 12 (in the case of a circular straight section) or the inner perimeter of the contour (in the case of a polygonal cross-section) being slightly greater than the circumference of a straight section (perpendicular to the longitudinal axis) of the packet or bag S. As also shown in the figures, the height h of the lid, measured perpendicularly to the bottom 11, is substantially equal to the thickness of one or

some cookies b.

  To close the pack or bag S, after it has been opened and one or more biscuits b have been removed, it is sufficient to imprison, by creasing and / or by folding on itself-, the part of the envelope e corresponding to the (x) product (s) removed (s) of the bag S, Figure 2, by enclosing it in the lid that is reported on the remaining part filled R pack or bag S, until the cover caps said part and is maintained there by simple depression,

figure 3.

  When the packet or bag S is thus closed again it resumes its original cylindrical general shape, but with a shorter length, and can, under these conditions, be easily transported without

risk of opening.

  It is also observed that the conservation of products, especially food products such as biscuits, enclosed in a package or bag and closed up is up to five times longer than that of products kept in a bag not closed or badly

closed.

  The implementation of the method and the device according to the invention are extremely easy, require no modification of the production lines of the packet or bag S, the lid 10 being most simply reported, by interlocking, on one of the ends of the package, Figure 1, after making the latter on a

packaging chain.

  In the embodiment according to FIGS. 4 and 5, the packet or bag S 'encloses products b' with a square contour and the lid 15 is then also square-sectioned square It comprises complementarily, at the end of its skirt 16 opposite the bottom 17, tabs 18 resulting from cuts 19 of said skirt which facilitate the attachment and maintenance of the lid 15 on the remaining filled part, R ', packet or bag S', Figure 5, by trapping the emptied part of the envelope el. Two devices 15a and 15b, of the type just described, can be associated with each other to form a box allowing the transport and preservation of a certain number of products b 'extracted from the packaging, FIG. 6, thus conferring on the method and the device of the invention an additional commercial appeal. A device according to the invention can be used to close a plurality of same packets or packaging bags, thus making it possible to limit the consumption of packaging materials, which consumption can also be reduced by the suppression, in the envelope constituting the packets or sachets, corrugated paper whose rigidity effect is then provided

by the device of the invention.

  The latter is not limited to the embodiments described and shown. Thus, it may also comprise, to facilitate its attachment to the remaining filled part of the packet or bag, and as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 7, resilient tabs. who, in the unsolicited condition,

  protrusion inside the skirt 21 of the cover 22.

  A device according to the invention may also, as shown in FIG. 8, comprise a bottom 23 lined on a part or all of its internal face with a pressure-sensitive adhesive, 24 which also contributes to its connection to the packet or bag of flexible packaging prior to its opening, that is to say in the condition shown in Figure 1, that the reclosing said package or packaging bag due to a weak adhesion of said adhesive and of the folded part

and / or crumpled envelope e.

  The method and the device according to the invention also find application for packets or wrapping bags of shapes other than those illustrated, for example flat outline shapes of the type of those illustrated in FIG. 9 where the pack or sachet of flexible packaging, S ", enclosing biscuits b" is capped by a cover 25, the bottom 26 and the skirt 27 have a shape and dimensions of the conjugate portion filled with the packaging on which said

  lid is fitted to style and close it.

Claims (6)

  A method of reclosing a package or flexible packaging bag enclosing in a casing (e, e ') a relatively rigid product (b, b', b ") which can preferably be extracted in fractions while retaining at the filled portion (R, R ') of said casing a relatively stable geometrical shape, characterized in that the emptied portion of the casing (e, e') is trapped, by creasing and / or folding it on itself-, in a relatively rigid cover (10, 15, 22, 25) of shape and conjugate dimensions of the part remaining filled (R, R ') on which said cover is fitted to style it and close it.   2 Device for implementing the method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a relatively rigid cover (10, 15, 22 25) constituted by a bottom (11, 17, 23, 26) and a skirt ( 12, 16, 21, 27) of conjugated shape and dimensions of those of the flexible packaging packet or bag (S, S ', S ") and which is made of cardboard, plastic, sheet metal or thin metal alloy or A device according to claim 2, characterized in that the height (h) of the cover is substantially equal to the thickness of one or more product (s) (b, b ', b ") contained in the bag or package packing (S, S ', S ").   4 Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the skirt (12, 16, 27) of the cover (10, 15, 22, 25) has a shape similar to that of the packet or bag (S, S ', S ") and an inner perimeter substantially equal to that of the cross section of said   package or packaging bag (S, S ', S ").   Device according to any one of   Claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the skirt is   provided with means (19, 20) facilitating or contributing to its attachment to the remaining filled part of the package or packaging bag with which it is associated. 6 Device according to claim 5, characterized in that said means are constituted by elastic tabs (20) which, in their unsolicited condition, protrude inside the skirt (21) of the cover (22).   7 Device according to claim 5, characterized in that said means are constituted by tabs (18) resulting from cuts (19) of the skirt (16) and which are formed at the end of said skirt   remote from the bottom (17) of the cover (15).   8 Device according to any one of   Claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the bottom of the   lid (23) is lined on all or part of its inner surface with a pressure-sensitive adhesive (24).   9 Use of a lid constituted by a bottom (11, 17, 23, 26) and a skirt (12, 16, 21, 27) of shape and dimensions conjugate with those of a pack or bag of flexible packaging (S , S ', S ") for reclosing said packet or bag.   Package or bag of flexible packaging, especially for food products, characterized in that it comprises, for its reclosing, a cover device consisting of a bottom (11, 17, 23, 26) and a skirt (12, 16, 21, 27) of shape and size combined with those of products such as biscuits or the like (b, b ', b ") that it encloses.