MXPA99004818A - Easy open flexible pouch - Google Patents

Abstract

A flexible pouch (10) is formed from a first and second sheet (12, 14) which are in sealing engaged along their side edges. Two gussets (28, 60) are provided at the top and bottom, respectively, of the sheets. The bottom of the uppermost gusset is recessed such that a pocket (52) is formed at one end of the pouch. A compartment (16) is formed within the pouch by the two sheets and the two gussets. A straw (44) or other suitable instrument can be used to puncture the uppermost gusset in order to remove the contents from the compartment of the pouch. This pocket has a wide mouth and will enable easy insertion of the straw while minimizing or eliminating product spillage.

Description

"FLEXIBLE BAG WITH EASY OPENING" BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a flexible bag with easy opening. This bag has a wide-mouth cavity in which a straw is inserted to pierce a frangible membrane for discharge of the contents of the bag.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND OF THE TECHNIQUE Several flexible bags are known in the prior art. These flexible bags are often difficult to open. In particular they are very hard to be able to penetrate with a straw. Frequently, when it comes to piercing the packages with the straw, the product will spill. Also, the straw may pierce both the front and the rear wall of the bag resulting in an unsatisfactory device. For example, the US Patent Number 3,337,117 discloses a beverage package that requires a large amount of precision to insert a straw during opening. Correspondingly, there is a need in the industry for a bag that can be easily opened while minimizing spillage of the product.

COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a main object of the present invention is to provide a flexible bag that can be easily opened and in which spillage of the product is minimized or eliminated. It is further a further object of the present invention to provide a flexible bag that can be opened with a straw and to prevent inadvertent drilling of both the front and the rear of the package. A further object of the present invention is to provide a wide-mouth cavity in the bag that will assist in the insertion of the straw into the bag. These and other objects of the present invention are satisfied by providing a flexible bag comprising a first sheet having a first edge and a second edge; a second sheet having a first edge and a second edge. The first edges of the first and second sheets are sealed and the second edges of the first and second sheets are sealed; forming a compartment partly through the first and second leaves between the first - - and second sealed edges thereof; and a frangible element extending between the edges of the first and second sheets, the frangible member defines a portion of the compartment and an opening towards the compartment easily formable in the frangible element. In addition, these and other objects of the present invention are also satisfied by a combination of the flexible beverage bag and the drinking straw comprising a combination of the flexible beverage bag and a drinking straw comprising a drinking straw having a diameter; and a flexible bag, including the flexible bag: a first sheet having a first edge and a second edge; a second sheet having a first edge and a second edge and conforming to the first and second edges, respectively of the first sheet when the second sheet is mounted on the first sheet; the first edges of the first and second sheets are sealed together and the second edges of the first and second sheets are sealed together; a compartment is formed between the first and second leaves between the first and second edges thereof; and a frangible element that is provided between the edges of the first and second sheets; the frangible element forming a portion of the compartment and an opening for the compartment which is capable of being easily formed on the frangible member by the straw, a length of the frangible element in a direction between the ends of the first and second sheets being considerably greater than the diameter of the straw. In addition, these and other objects of the present invention are satisfied by a method for distributing the contents of the flexible bag, the method comprising the steps of providing a compartment within the flexible bag, the compartment being initially sealed; providing two sheets and a corner to form at least a portion of the compartment, the two sheets having edges sealed along the first side and a second side of the compartment and the corner being at the first end of the compartment; separating a portion of the first sheet from a portion of the second sheet adjacent the first end of the compartment to thereby expose the corner; maintaining the compartment in a sealed state during the step of separating the first and second leaves; piercing the corner post after the steps of separating and maintaining in order to form an opening in the corner; and remove the contents from the compartment through the opening in the corner. In addition, these and other objects of the present invention are satisfied by providing a flexible bag comprising a membrane and a sealed compartment, the compartment being formed at least in part by the membrane, the membrane having two walls, the two walls of the membrane they meet in a fold between them, the two walls of the membrane forming a "V" configuration and the walls of the membrane being movable towards and away from each other to define a cavity, the edges of the walls of the membrane on each side of the fold remaining in sealed engagement to thereby form the sides of the cavity, the membrane being easily frangible at least in the fold to provide an opening to the compartment, the fold extending towards the outer edges of the membrane. A scope of the additional applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description that will be given below. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and the specific examples even when indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are provided by way of illustration only since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention for those persons will become apparent. skilled in the art, of this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be more fully understood from the detailed description that will be provided below and in the accompanying drawings that are provided by way of illustration only, and therefore, are not limiting of the present invention, and wherein: Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the flexible bag of the present invention, with certain portions separated; Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 without the separate portions; Figure 3 is a front view of an unfilled bag of the present invention; and The Figure is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES Referring in detail to the drawings and with specific reference to Figure 1, a flexible bag 10 is shown. This flexible bag can be made of a thermally weldable, thermally weldable or ultrasonically sealed flexible laminate such as an aluminum sheet covered with a plastic material or any other suitable material. The bag 10 can be filled with liquids such as beverages, a liquid, pasty media, a fine granular material or any other suitable objects. It is proposed that the flexible bag be used primarily as a beverage container. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, this flexible bag 10 generally has a shape of number eight. The flexible bag is made of a first sheet 12 and a second sheet 14. In Figure 1, the first sheet 12 is on the front of the second sheet 14. The shape of the first sheet 12 coincides with the second sheet 14 except on the upper edge of it as will be explained in detail below. The two sheets 12 and 14 are sealed together around their periphery to form a compartment 16. The compartment 16 is formed between the first and second sheets 12 and 14 and will retain the contents of the flexible bag 10. For example, a beverage may be placed within the compartment 16. A seam 18 extends along the sides of the first and second sheets 12 and 14. Although this seam is shown as being continuous in the figures, it should be appreciated that it could be discontinued as long as a sealed compartment has been provided. This seam 18 can be formed by thermal sealing, thermal welding or ultrasonic sealing of the two sheets 12 and 14 together. Otherwise, adhesives, beading or any other appropriate arrangement could be used in order to bind these two sheets together. Also, a single extruded tube can be used instead of the two sheets. Alternatively, a single sheet can be bent over itself and it can have its free ends linked together to thereby define a portion of the sealed compartment 16. It is only necessary that an appropriate sealed component 16 be provided. It is proposed that this compartment 16 be hermetically sealed to the fluid. A first edge 20 of the first sheet 12 and a first edge 22 of the second sheet 14 are provided on the left hand side of the bag 10 as seen in Figure 1. The seam 18 extends along these first edges 20, 22. In addition, a second edge 24 of the first sheet 12 and a second edge 26 on the second sheet 14 are provided along the right-hand side of the flexible bag 10. The edges 22, 26 of the second sheet 14 lie behind the first edges 20, 24 respectively of the first sheet 12. The edges 20, 22 and the edges 24, 26 are shaped in such a way that the configuration of the first and second sheets 12, 14 along the sides of the bag 10 are uniform. As mentioned above, the first edges 20, 22 are sealed together and the second edges 24, 26 are sealed together.

In the upper part of the flexible bag 10, a frangible member or membrane 18 is provided. This element or membrane 28 is partially shown in Figure 1 because a portion of the first sheet 12 has been removed. Referring to Figure 4, the frangible element or membrane 28 is shown better. This Figure 4 is a side view between the first and second sheets 12, 14 which is taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 3. As can be seen in Figure 4, the frangible element or membrane 28 includes a first flexible corner that It is provided at the end of the bag. When the bag 10 is placed in an upright position, this end will be the upper part of the bag. This corner generally has a V-configuration. "Two walls 30, 32 are provided in the one-piece corner, These walls 30, 32 converge to form the" V "configuration in side section view. the first flexible corner forming the frangible member or membrane 28 is a single sheet that has bent to form a fold 34. This fold 34 is generally linear and extends to the edges 36, 38 further outward of the first and second sheets 12, 14 as indicated in Figure 3. This length of the fold is achieved because the first corner has the same length and shape as the sheets 12, 14 on the upper part of the flexible bag 10. Of course, Any other appropriate configuration for the corner be provided, in other words, the frangible member or membrane could be formed of a flexible corner that does not extend completely to the outer edges 36, 38 of the sheets or e extends beyond those edges. While it is proposed that the contour of the outer edges of the frangible member or membrane 28 coincide with the contour of the upper portion of the bag 10, other designs for the frangible member or membrane 28 are possible. Also, instead of using a single corner bending to form the fold 34, two membranes could be welded or otherwise adhered to one another to form a fold along the joint between them. Two seams 40, 42 are provided at the upper end of the bag 10. The wall 30 of the frangible member or membrane 28 is thermally sealed or heat sealed or otherwise sealed to the second sheet 14 at the seam 40. This element or membrane 28 frangible is also adhered by its wall 32 with the first sheet 12 along the seam 42. It should be noted that the seam 40 is longer than the seam 42. Therefore, the frangible member or membrane 28 is not completely symmetrical In addition, the second or later sheet 14 is slightly longer than the first sheet 12. As seen in Figure 3, this seam 40 provides an exposed area that a user can hold in order to retain the bag. This arrangement can be useful when it comes to inserting a straw 44 into the wide mouth bag 30, as will be described below. Of course, the present invention will work regardless of where it is retained by the user. In other words, it is not necessary for the user to hold this seam 40 in order to insert the straw 44 into the bag 10. Therefore, it is possible that the lengths of the first sheet 12 and the second sheet 14 are equal. In this modified arrangement, the upper edges of the seams 40 and 42 would be aligned. In this modified arrangement or in the arrangement shown in the drawings, it should be noted that the upper part of the bag between the first and the second edges 22, 26 of the second sheet 14 is generally planar. It is proposed that when the bag 10 is filled and placed vertically, the upper edge 46 will remain horizontal. As will be described below, the corner of the frangible member or membrane 28 will define a cavity 52. At least, when the cavity is closed, the upper edge 48 of the first sheet will also be flat and generally horizontal when the bag is placed vertically.

The frangible member or membrane 28 is made of an easily breakable material such as a flexible laminate. A straw 44 can be inserted into the area formed between the walls 30, 32 of the frangible element or membrane 28. Then, a small portion of the fold 34 will be punched through the straw to form an opening 50 towards the compartment 16. It should be noted that the diameter of the straw 44 is relatively small compared to the length of the fold 34. In other words, the length of the straw The frangible membrane element 28 is considerably larger than that of the diameter of the straw 44. Only a small opening 50 is punched into the bag 10. It is not proposed that the entire seam or crease 34 be broken 34. In other words, the opening 50 extends through over a portion of the corner, but is out of contact with the first and second sides of the bag 10 at the seams 18. However, the entire length of the fold 34 could be broken if desired. Within the areas between the first and second sheets 12, 14 in the upper part of the bag, the aforementioned cavity 52 is formed. This cavity 52 has a wide mouth or opening that can easily accommodate the insertion of the straw 44. A portion of the first and second leaves 12, 14 is movable towards and away from each other to define this cavity 52. The first and second edges 48, 46 of the sheets 12, 14 are sealed in the frangible member or membrane 28. The corner of this frangible member or membrane 28 will be exposed when the first and second sheets 12, 14 move away from each other. It is not proposed that the seams 18 on the sides of the sheets 12, 14 and the corner 28 break. Instead, the leaves and the corner will warp to open the cavity 52. Of course, the seams 18 on the top of the bag could break if the sheets 12, 14 pulled sufficiently apart. Because the frangible membrane element 28 extends completely through the bag to the edges, further outwardly of the sheets 12, 14, this opening of the sides of the cavity 52 should not detrimentally affect the sealing of the bag. In other words, as seen in Figure 3, the fold 34 of the frangible member or membrane 28 will completely extend between the outer edges 36, 38 of the membrane. Therefore, the closed sides of the cavity 52 are formed by the edges of the sheets 12, 14 and the edges of the membrane 28 will be welded or otherwise sealed along the seam 18. As will be seen, this seal between the side edges of the seams 40, 42 could be omitted. It is, however, preferred to extend these side seams 18 to the upper portions of the sheets 12 and 14 in such a way that cavity 52 is clearly defined. However, as mentioned above, it is proposed that either one or both of the sheets 12, 14 are bent in their upper portion in order to open the cavity 52 and insert the straw 44. In addition, it should be noted that it is not necessary for the consumer to expressly open that cavity 52. Instead of this, the insertion of the straw 44 will act to wedge lightly these sheets 12, 14 as well as the walls 30, 32 of the frangible member or membrane 28 separating them in order to open the cavity. Accordingly, only a very small opening of the cavity 52 will be carried out. On the other hand, the cavity 52 is sufficiently large such that a user could insert his fingers in order to more fully open the cavity before or during the insertion of the straw 44. As seen in Figure 4, a majority of the element or frangible membrane 28 is contained between the first and second sheets 12, 14. A small portion of the rear wall 30 of the membrane 28 extended above the upper part of the upper seam 42 of the first sheet 12. However, the upper edge of this wall 30 could end at or below the upper edge of the first sheet 12. In other words it is now proposed that the upper edges of the walls 30, 32 extend to the upper edges of the seams 40, 42 to coincide with the upper edges of the walls 12, 14. However, these upper edges of the walls 30, 32 of the membrane 28 could be terminated before the upper edges. of walls 12, 14 if desired. When the element or frangible membrane 28 is bent, it will have a length that is shorter than that of the first and second sheets. For example, the rear wall could have a length of 3.02 centimeters, while the total length of the second wall 14 would be 16.51 centimeters. Also, the length of the front wall 32 could be 2.01 centimeters while the length of the first sheet 12 would be 15.49 centimeters. Therefore, there would be a total length of 5.03 centimeters from the frangible member or membrane 28 and that total length is considerably less than that length of 16.51 centimeters or 15.49 centimeters from the second and first sheets 14, 12 respectively. These specific lengths are presented only as an example and it should be appreciated that the present bag can be of any appropriate size. As mentioned above, it is proposed that the frangible member or membrane 28 be a unitary single piece structure. Before the cavity 52 opens or even when this cavity 52 only opens slightly to accommodate a straw, the upper edges 46, 48 of the sheets 12, 14 will generally be parallel to the fold 34 formed by the frangible element or membrane 28 bent . As seen in Figure 3, the inner edges 54, 56 of the seams 18 terminate at the sides of the cavity 52. In other words, the edges of the first sheet 12 as the second sheet 14 and the frangible element or membrane 28 , all are sealed in such a way that the sides 52 of the cavity are closed. As mentioned above, it is not proposed that these sides normally break during the use of the bag 10, however, a wide mouth area is formed by the cavity 52 for easy insertion of the straw 44. The distance between the edges 54 , 56 on the upper side of the bag 10 can be 4.78 centimeters, for example. Therefore, a relatively wide area is provided. This allows easy insertion of the straw. It is proposed that the crease 34 be perforated at any location along its length between these edges 54, 56. It is not proposed that the entire crease 34 be broken even when this is possible if desired. The inclined walls 30, 32 of the frangible member or membrane 28 will act to cam or guide one end 58 of the straw 44 towards the fold 34, as will be seen from Figure 4. The opposite walls 30, 32 of the - 1 - corner that forms the frangible element or membrane 28 act as a guide for the straw. As seen in Figure 1, the end 58 of the straw 44 is tapered. This taper may assist in piercing the fold 34. However, a flat end similar to the upper end of the straw 44 could be used at the end 58. In addition, even when a generally straight straw 44 is shown, it is proposed that a flexible straw could be used. or any other known straw with the bag 10 of the present invention. When the present invention is used, the straw 44 will be inserted from the outside of the compartment 16. This straw 44 can be bonded or otherwise secured to the outside of the bag 10 if desired. This bond must be easily breakable so that the straw can be removed from the bag 10 and inserted into the cavity 52, in order to pierce the frangible member or membrane 28. While it has been discussed that the straw will pierce a portion of the fold 34, any suitable portion of the frangible member or membrane 28 could be punctured. For example, it would be possible to form the frangible member or membrane 28 such that the fold is inclined downward in a "V" shape from the sides 20, 22 to the sides 24, 26, for example. Then, this arrangement guides the straw towards the central part of the cavity 52 relative to the two seams 18. In addition, the frangible element or membrane 28 could be formed without a fold 34 in such a way that it could be pierced by the straw 44 to any area of this membrane. For example, a flat membrane could extend between the first and second sheets 12, 14. Any suitable portion of this membrane can be punched. However, due to the provision of the relatively large cavity 52, the straw may be more easily inserted into the bag 10. It is unlikely that a user will pierce the front and back of the bag 10 in the present invention. Instead, there is a tendency for the frangible member or membrane 28 to break only in such a way as to maintain an appropriate seal for the bag 10 except in this broken area. This break or opening 50 will allow the contents of the bag to be removed. In other words, the beverage can be drunk from the bag through the straw 44. This limited opening arrangement will minimize or eliminate spillage of the product from the bag 10. The cavity 52 will act as a reservoir that will contain any liquid that is expelled from the bag from the opening 50. As indicated in Figure 1, a second corner 60 is provided in the lower part of the bag 10. This second corner 60 is also a flexible element or membrane and can be made of the same material as the second. of the sheets 12, 14. A seam 62 will connect the second corner 60 with the first and second sheets 12, 14. The first sheet 12, the second sheet 14, the first corner of the frangible element or membrane 28 and the second corner 60, It will define the compartment 16. When the bag 10 is filled, it is proposed that a majority of the second corner 60 is generally flat. In a folded unfilled state, the cornerback will have a generally flat lower portion 64. Figure 3 indicates the connection of the fold line 68 for the second corner 60 at its connection 64. When the bag is filled, the second corner 60 will unfold to have a flat bottom portion 64. Heat sinks 66 are provided in the second corner 60. These heat sinks 66 are only areas that are cut off or omitted from the seal matrices when the bag 10 is formed. Any suitable number or shape of the heat sinks can be used. heat 66 or can be omitted completely. As seen in Figure 4, content such as a beverage can be filled to level 70 within compartment 16. If bag 10 is compressed, liquid level 70 will rise above fold 34. Alternatively, this level 70 of the contents will always remain above the fold 34 when the bag is initially filled. Either way, due to the provision of the spaces 72, 74 within the compartment 16, a level of the contents 70 may be above the opening 50 if desired. In addition to the flexible bag, a method for distributing the contents from a flexible bag is disclosed by the present invention. In this method, the step of providing a compartment 16 within a flexible bag 10 is provided. This compartment is initially sealed. In addition, two sheets 12, 14 and a corner of a frangible member or membrane 28 are provided. The two sheets 12, 14 and the corner 28 will form a portion of the compartment 16. The two sheets 12, 14 will have sealed edges 18 and the corner of the frangible member or membrane 28 will be at a first end of the compartment 16. The method further includes the step of separating a portion of the first sheet 12 from a portion of the second sheet 14 adjacent the first end of the compartment 16, in order to expose the corner 28. The compartment is maintained in a sealed state during the separation step. The corner of the frangible element or membrane 28 is then pierced by a straw 44. As mentioned above, this step of inserting the straw 44 can actually cause separation of the portions of the first and second leaves 12, 14. Then, the contents inside the compartment 14 is removed through the opening 50 in the corner. Instead of using a straw 44, an appropriate tool such as a pin, funnel, or nail could be used, for example, to puncture the frangible member or membrane 28. This tool is then removed and the contents of the bag 10 emptied through the opening. However, it is proposed that bag 10 is normally used as a beverage container and therefore, a straw 44 will normally be used to download the contents. When the opening 50 is formed, it is proposed that this be the only opening towards the compartment 16. Of course, a plurality of openings could be provided in the frangible element. With this bag 10, a beverage or any other contents of the compartment 16 can be easily distributed. It is very easy to open the container and the spill of the product is minimized or eliminated. Inadvertent damage to the bag 10 is prevented as by piercing both front and back walls when it comes to inserting the straw. The flexible bag can be easily manufactured and provides a secure device for retaining a product.

Having thus described the invention, it will be apparent that it can be varied in many ways. These variations should not be considered as a deviation from the spirit and scope of the invention and all these modifications that will be evident to a person skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (25)

R E I V I N D-I C A C I O N E S

1. A flexible bag (10) having a first sheet (12), a second sheet (14) and a compartment (16), the first sheet (12) has a first edge (20) and a second edge (24) and the second sheet (14) has a first edge (22) and a second edge (26), the first edges (20, 22) of the first and second sheets are sealed together by a seal and the second edges (24, 26) of the first and second sheets are sealed together by a seal, the compartment (16) being formed in part by the first and second sheets (12, 14) between the first and second sealed edges thereof, the improvement comprising a frangible element ( 28) that defines a cavity (52), an opening towards the cavity (52) extending from and between the seals of the edges of the first and second sheets (12, 14), the frangible element defines a portion of the compartment (16) and an opening for drink (50) into the compartment that is capable of easily forming into the frangible element.

The flexible bag according to claim 1, wherein the frangible member (28) is a flexible corner that is provided between the first and second sheets (12, 14) and wherein the first and second edges (20, 24). ) of the first sheet conform to the first and second edges (22, 26) of the second sheet, respectively.

3. The flexible bag according to claim 2, wherein the corner (28) is folded when there is a fold (34) between the first and second sheets, the drinking aperture (50) being formable in the fold (34). towards the compartment (16).

The flexible bag according to claim 3, wherein the corner (28) is bent only once and is provided at one end of the bag (10), the end of the bag being flat between the first and second edges of the second sheet.

5. The flexible bag according to claim 3, wherein the corner (28) is made of a material that is easily breakable and wherein a majority of the corner is contained between the first and second sheets (12, 14).

The flexible bag according to claim 5, wherein a portion of the first and second sheets 12, 14) are movable towards and away from each other to expose a portion of the corner (28), the first and second edges. of the first and second sheets are sealed in the corner, the corner being between the cavity (52) and the compartment (16).

7. The flexible bag according to claim 5, wherein: the first edge (20) of the first sheet (12) is shorter than the first edge (22) of the second sheet (14), the first edge of the first sheet being sealed to the first edge of the second sheet along an entire length of the first sheet (12); the second edge (24) of the first sheet (12) is shorter than the second edge (26) of the second sheet (14), the second edge of the first sheet being sealed to the second edge of the second sheet throughout of a whole length of the first sheet (12); and the corner (28) is shorter than both the first and the second leaves (12, 14).

The flexible bag according to claim 7, wherein the corner (28) is a first corner and wherein the flexible bag further comprises a second corner (60), the second corner being at the opposite end of the compartment (16). ) from the first corner, and the second corner being sealed to the first and second leaves (12, 14), the compartment (16) is formed entirely by the first sheet (12), the second sheet (14), the first corner (28) and the second corner (60). - -

9. The flexible bag according to claim 2, wherein: the first edge (20) of the first sheet (12) is shorter than the first edge (22) of the second sheet (14), the first edge of the first sheet being sealed to the first edge of the second sheet along a whole length of the first sheet (12); the second edge (24) of the first sheet (12) is shorter than the second edge of (26) the second sheet (14), the second edge of the first sheet being sealed to the second edge of the second sheet throughout of a whole length of the first sheet (12); and the corner (28) is shorter than both the first and second leaves, the first and second edges of the first and second leaves (12, 14) being sealed with the corner (28).

The flexible bag according to claim 1, wherein the first and second edges (290, 22, 24, 26) of the first and second sheets (12, 14) form the sides of the bag and the sides of the bag. bag (10) are curved to in this way resemble a shape of the number eight.

The flexible beverage bag according to claim 1, further comprising a drinking straw (44) having a diameter, a length of the frangible element (28) in a direction between the ends of the first and second sheets ( 12, 14) being considerably larger than the diameter of the straw (28).

12. A method for distributing the contents of a flexible bag according to claim 1, the method comprising the steps of: separating a portion of the first sheet (12) from a portion of the second sheet (14) adjacent to the first end of the compartment to in this way expose the corner (28); maintaining the compartment (16) in a sealed state during the step of separating the first and second leaves (12, 14); piercing the corner (28) after the steps of separating and maintaining in order to form the opening (50) for drinking in the corner; and removing the contents of the compartment through the drinking opening (50) in the corner.

The method according to claim 12, further comprising the step of moving one end (58) of a straw (44) through a cavity (52) between the first and second leaves (12, 14), the step of moving resulting in the step of separating the first sheet (12), the second sheet (14), and the step of perforating includes using the end (58) of the straw to pierce the corner (28) to form the opening to drink (50) in it.

14. A flexible bag (10) having a membrane (28) and a sealed compartment (16), the compartment is formed at least in part by the membrane (28), the membrane has two walls (30, 32) two walls of the membrane form a fold (34) in the form of "V" and the walls (30, 32) of the membrane define a cavity (52) between them, the improvement comprises the edges of the walls (30, 32). ) of the membrane on each side of the fold (34) being in sealed engagement to thereby form the sides of the cavity (52), the membrane being easily frangible to provide a drinking aperture (50) to the compartment, the fold ( 34) extends to the edges most outwardly of the membrane (28) and a majority of a length of the fold (34) being coupled with the cavity, the majority of the length of the fold (34) having a length equal to the length of the opening towards the cavity (52) in such a way that a wide-mouth cavity is provided.

15. The flexible bag according to claim 18, further comprising a first sheet (12) and a second sheet (14) both sheets being fixed to the membrane (28) and both sheets forming a portion of the compartment (16), the first sheet (12) has a first edge (20) and a second edge (24), the second sheet (14) has a first edge (22) and a second edge (26), the first edges (20, 22) of the first and second sheets remaining in sealing engagement and the second edges (24, 26) of the first and second sheets remaining in sealing engagement, the membrane (28) extending between a portion of the first and second edges of the first and second edges; second leaves (12, 14).

16. The flexible bag according to claim 14, wherein the membrane (28) is at one end of the bag and wherein the membrane (28) extends into the compartment (16) with the portions of the compartment remaining above. of the fold (34) in such a way that a level of the contents inside the compartment can be above the fold, a majority of the compartment (16) being below the fold (34), and the cavity (52) being on the side towards outside the membrane (28) from the compartment (16).

The flexible bag according to claim 14, wherein the membrane (28) is a unitary single piece sheet and wherein the bag (10) has curved sides to thereby resemble the configuration of a number eight. . - 0 -

18. The flexible bag according to claim 14, wherein the fold (34) is generally linear and wherein the bag further comprises a first sheet (12) and a second sheet (14) forming a portion of the compartment (16). ), both sheets being fixed to the membrane (28) and an upper edge of one of the sheets (12, 14) being generally parallel to the fold (34).

19. A flexible bag (10) having a membrane (28), a sealed compartment (16) and an access cavity (52), the compartment (16) being formed at least in part by the membrane (28) if the access cavity (52) being formed by the membrane (28), the compartment (16) being on an opposite side of the membrane (28) from the access cavity (52), the membrane (28) being easily frangible for providing a drinking opening (50) in the compartment (16), the membrane (28) has at least four edges with the first and second edges of the membrane being opposite each other and third and fourth edges (40, 42) of the membrane being opposite one from the other, the first and second edges of the membrane each being in sealed engagement and remaining on opposite sides of the cavity (52), wherein the improvement comprises third and fourth edges (40, 42) of the membrane that are opposite each other, the first and second edges of each of the membrane remaining in sealed engagement and remaining on opposite sides of the cavity (52), wherein the improvement comprises third and fourth edges (40, 42) of the membrane that are offset from each other and the access cavity (52) having a means for easily identifying an opening towards the access cavity, the means for easily identifying includes third and fourth edges (40, 42) of the membrane that are off-center whereby a consumer can easily identify an area of the bag (10) to open.

The flexible bag according to claim 19, further comprising at least one sheet (12, 14) which is sealed in the membrane (28), the compartment (16) being formed by at least one sheet and one membrane, the compartment being sealed until the membrane (28) breaks when the drinking aperture (50) is formed towards the compartment.

21. The flexible bag according to claim 20, wherein an exposed portion of the membrane (28) is of a different material color from an exposed area of at least one sheet (12, 14) in order to thereby improve identification of the access cavity (52) by means of the medium to easily identify.

22. The flexible bag according to claim 19, wherein the membrane (28) has a fold (34) therein with the fold extending toward the outer edges of the membrane (28).

23. The flexible bag according to claim 1, further comprising means for preventing pressure on the bag during the opening of the bag (10), the frangible element (28) has two walls (30, 32) with each wall having an upper edge, the upper edges of the walls (30, 32) being offset from one another, the means for preventing pressurization includes an area (40) at one of the upper edges of the wall that is capable of being held by the consumer in such a way that an increase in the pressure of the compartment (16) can be avoided.

24. The flexible bag according to claim 1, wherein the compartment (16) has a lower part and wherein the opening of the cavity (52) extends above a majority of a width of the lower part of the compartment. , the width of the lower part of the compartment extends in one direction between the seals at the edges of the first and second sheets.

25. The flexible bag according to claim 14, wherein the compartment (16) has a lower part and wherein the length of the opening of the cavity (52) extends through a majority of a part width. bottom of the compartment, the width of - - the lower part of the compartment generally extends in the same direction as the length of the opening of the cavity (52).