PILESKI, Richard (2126 Grange Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5B 1P5, CA)
PILESKI, Richard (2126 Grange Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5B 1P5, CA)
| CLAIMS 1. A blank for forming a reclosable side gusset package comprising: a bag having a front wall, a rear wall, a closed end, an open end and two opposing gusseted side walls, said gusseted side walls being extendable to form a substantially square or rectangular bag opening in the open end one of said front wall and said rear wall being a closure-bearing wall and having a zipper receiver selected from the group consisting of: a notch extending from the open end; and a slot proximal to the open end; a reversible zipper closure comprising a first panel having a first mating structure and a second panel with a second mating structure, said first and second mating structures being configured to reversibly mate with each other to effect closing of said zipper closure, a surface of said zipper closure being fastened to the inner surface of the closure-bearing wall such that the first and second mating structures, when mated, occupy said closure receiver. 2. The blank of claim 1, wherein the zipper receiver is the slot and the surface of the zipper closure is sealed around the slot. 3. The blank of claim 1, further comprising a frangible strip secured to the closure-bearing wall to serve as a tamper-evident closure. 4. The blank of claim 3, wherein the zipper receiver is the slot, the frangible strip is formed integrally with the closure-bearing wall and the closure receiver is bounded and defined by a reduced strength portion connecting the frangible strip to the closure-bearing wall. 5. The blank of claim 4, wherein the reduced strength portion is defined by a perforation. 6. The blank of claim 3, wherein the zipper receiver is the slot and the frangible strip is formed separately from the closure-bearing wall and secured thereto so as to be readily removable therefrom. 7. The blank of claim 1, wherein the closure-bearing wall is the front wall. 8. The blank of claim 1, wherein the closed end is the bottom of the bag. 9. The blank of claim 7, wherein the closed end is the bottom of the bag. 10. The blank of claim 1, wherein the zipper closure is selected from the group consisting of press-to-close zippers, slider zippers and mechanical zippers. 11. The blank of claim 1, wherein the inner surface of the closure is heat sealed to the inner surface of the bag and the inner surface of the bag is heat sealable to itself. 12. The blank of claim 9, wherein upper segments of said gusseted side walls have one or more tag holes, said tag holes providing for contact therethrough of upper portions of the inner surface of said rear wall with the inner surface of said closure when said gusseted side walls are folded inwards, thereby to permit the bag opening to be closed by heat sealing, with the front and rear walls captured together throughout their width. 13. The blank of claim 1 further comprising a tamper-evident closure configured to fasten said first panel to said second panel, said tamper-evident closure being exposable upon opening of said reversible closure. 14. A reclosable package formed by filling the blank of claim 1 with a product and closing the bag opening. 15. A reclosable package formed by filling the blank of claim 12 with a product and closing the bag opening by heat sealing 16. A method of manufacturing a bag with a substantially square or rectangular upper opening comprising: unwinding a sheet from a roll; punching a plurality of tag holes in said sheet; defining a notch or a slot in said sheet; fastening a reversible closure to said sheet, said reversible closure being positioned so as to be accessible through said notch or slot; and folding, sealing and cutting said sheet to form the blank of claim 12. 17. A packaging apparatus comprising: apparatus for forming the blank of claim 1; apparatus for filling the blank to form a filled bag; and apparatus for closing the opening of the filled bag. |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of reclosable packaging. More particularly, the present invention relates to a package having side gussets and a reclosable zipper for accessing the contents.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Gusseted packages having reclosable zippers are known. In a typical prior art gusseted package having a reclosable zipper, the front and back walls and gussets of the package are joined together before filling to "sandwich" therebetween a reclosable zipper. This restricts against full opening the otherwise square or rectangular opening of the package. The restriction prevents efficient filling of the package with products and typically requires a means for widening the opening during filling.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention permits the manufacture of reclosable side gusseted packages which present during filling a full substantially rectangular or square opening to a product-filling apparatus.
[0004] In one aspect of the invention there is provided a blank for forming a reclosable side gusset package. The blank includes a bag having a front wall, a rear wall, a closed end, an open end and two opposing gusseted side walls. The gusseted side walls are extendable to form a substantially square or rectangular bag opening in the open end of the bag. One of the front wall and the rear wall is a closure-bearing wall and has a closure receiver selected from the group consisting of a notch extending from the open end and a slot proximal to the open end. A reversible zipper closure is provided and comprises a first panel having a first mating structure and a second panel with a second mating structure. The first and second mating structures are configured to reversibly mate with each other to effect closing of said zipper closure. A surface of the zipper closure is fastened to the inner surface of the closure-bearing wall such that the first and second mating structures, when mated, occupy said closure receiver.
[0005] In another aspect of the invention there is provided a reclosable package formed from the blank described above. The package is created by filling and closing the blank.
[0006] In another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing. The method includes the steps of: unwinding a sheet from a roll; punching a plurality of tag holes in said sheet; defining a notch or a slot in said sheet; fastening a reversible closure to said sheet, said reversible closure being positioned so as to be accessible through said notch or slot; and folding, sealing and cutting said sheet to form the blank.
[0007] In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a packaging apparatus. This apparatus comprises: apparatus for forming the blank; apparatus for filling the blank to form a filled bag; and apparatus for closing the opening of the filled bag.
[0008] Other advantages, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as methods of operation and functions of the related elements of the structure, and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, the latter being briefly described hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Figure 1 is a partially cut away front perspective view of a prior art recloseable bag having a closure disposed on the edges of the upper opening and being filled with a product;
[0010] Figure 2 is a partial front perspective view of an embodiment of the blank of the invention showing a filling arrangement;
[0011] Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the blank of Figure 2;
[0012] Figure 4 is a front plan view of an embodiment of a reclosable package according to the invention;
[0013] Figure 5a is a cross sectional view along line 5A-5A of Figure 4 with the reversible closure shown in the closed position and the frangible portion substantially occluding the slot;
[0014] Figure 5b is a view similar to Figure 5a with the frangible portion removed and the reversible closure in the open position; and
[0015] Figure 6 is a process diagram of an embodiment of a system for manufacturing a reclosable package according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] Referring to Figures 2 and 3, there are shown embodiments of a blank
10 which may be used to form a reclosable package. In one embodiment, the blank 10 includes a bag 21 having a front wall 12, a rear wall 14 two opposing gusseted side walls 16, a closed bottom 18 and a substantially rectangular opening W at the upper end of the bag 21. This upper opening W may also be a substantially square opening if the relative dimensions chosen for the walls of the bag 21 are substantially square. The gusseted side walls 16 are segmented by gusset folds 17. The bag 21 is formed from a sheet of material such as an aluminum foil, plastic, paper, composite or other material known to those skilled in the art.
[0017] In the embodiment illustrated, the front wall 12 has a slot 20, the interior of the slot 20 being substantially occluded by a frangible strip 99 formed integrally with remainder of the front wall 12. A perforation defines the boundary of the frangible strip 99.
[0018] In this embodiment, the front wall 12 is a closure bearing wall and has a reversible zipper closure 22 fastened onto its inner surface with a closure seal (not shown) between the zipper closure 22 and the front wall 12 surrounding the slot 20. The closure seal can be a seal as typically found in the industry including but not limited to heat and ultrasonic type seals. The reversible closure 22 is formed of a first panel 26 and a second panel 28. The first panel 26 has a first mating structure 30 fixed thereto and the second panel 28 has a second mating structure 32 fixed thereto. The first and second mating structures 30 and 32 are configured to reversibly mate with each other to effect closing of the reversible closure 22. In the completed blank 10, the mating structures, i.e. the zipper, occupies the slot 20. The closure 22 also includes a slider 34 to facilitate the process of mating and disengaging the first and second mating structures 30 and 32, thereby closing and opening the reversible closure 22.
[0019] The slider 34 protrudes through that portion of the slot 20 which is not occluded by the frangible strip 99. A number of different designs of mating structures and sliders are known and can be configured appropriately by persons skilled in the art with the embodiments described herein. [0020] The perforation, being a connection of reduced strength between the frangible strip 99 and the reminder of the front wall 12, permits the ready removal of the frangible strip 99, thereby to permit movement of the slider 34 and operation of the closure 22.
[0021] In some embodiments, the blank IO can be sealed to form a sealed package 11. In forming the package 11, the inner surface of the closure 22 is sealed to a portion of the inner surface of the rear wall 14 and to adjacent segments of the gusseted sidewalls 16, and portions of the inner surface of the rear wall 14 are sealed to adjacent segments of the gusseted sidewalls 16. This seal thereby captures the gusseted sidewalls 16 between the inner surface of the second panel 28 and the inner surface of the rear wall 14. Prior to performing the above- mentioned sealing step, the gusseted side walls 16 are extendable to form the substantially rectangular or square upper opening W which is convenient for filling by a conventional product filling apparatus Z. The seal can be effected by heat- sealing. Alternatively, adhesives or mechanical fastening methods such as stitching or the like may be used, which are also well known to those skilled in the art. The mechanism for closing the bag opening W to form the package 11 will advantageously often be selected so as to permit the blank 10 to be closed using conventional bag-closing machinery, so as to permit conventional gusset-bag- closing machines to be redeployed without major modification for the production of recloseable gusset style packages.
[0022] In one embodiment, upper portions of the gusseted side walls 16 are provided with tag holes 36 which each are superimposable upon a corresponding tag hole 36 in the other segment of the same sidewall 16, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The tag holes 36 provide an opening such that the inner surface of the second panel 28 of the reversible closure 22 can be connected to the inner surface of the rear wall 14, to "pin" the top corners of the package 11 together. This is illustrated schematically in Figure 5a by a top seal 38, although it will be understood that the connection can be effected through heat sealing, such that no additional "sealing element" need be provided. As well, adhesives and other closures, such as stitching, can be utilized.
[0023] Additional means for closing the upper opening W are possible in other embodiments. For example, instead of a means for sealing the second panel 28 to the inner surface of the rear wall 14 using, for example, tag holes 36 to communicate the top seal 38 from the second panel 28 to the rear wall 14, (a) the inner surface of the second panel 28 may be connected to a portion of the front segment of each one of the inner surfaces of the gusseted side walls 16 (b) the rear half of each one of the inner surfaces of the gusseted side walls 16 may be connected to the inner surface of the rear wall 14; and (c) in each sidewall, the outer front segment may be connected to the outer rear segment.
[0024] In one embodiment shown in Figures 5a and 5b, the reversible closure
22 is provided with a secondary tamper-evident closure 40 configured to seal the first panel 26 to the second panel 28. The tamper-evident closure is exposable upon opening of the first and second mating structures 30 and 32. which, of course, is preceded by removal of the frangible strip 99, as indicated by the sequence of Figures 5a and 5b. The secondary tamper-evident closure 40 may be in the form of a strip of tape or other such sealing structure which can be disconnected only in an irreversible, tamper-evident manner, as readily known to those with skill in the art.
[0025] In some embodiments, the corners where the front 12 and rear 14 walls meet the gusseted side walls 16 may be reinforced with side seals 42 also made by heat-sealing or other conventional methods.
[0026] In one embodiment, the bottom 18 is formed by folding the gusseted side walls 16 inward and making a bottom seal 44 between the front wall 12 and the rear wall 14. In other embodiments, the package may also include diagonal seals, known as K-seals 46 which extend between the side seals 42 and the bottom seal 44. These seals may also be made by heat-sealing or other conventional methods. Also, Doyen seals may be employed (not shown)
[0027] The blank 10 may be filled with a product in a manner as depicted in
Figure 2 where it is shown that the blank 10 is brought into proximity of a product filling apparatus Z such that the substantially rectangular or square upper opening W engages the product filling apparatus 2 which feeds a product Y into the opening W to fill the package. The substantially rectangular or square upper opening W allows for efficient engagement and obviates the need for pinning one edge of the package to retain an opening as shown in Figure 1. Thereafter, the blank 10 can be closed in any conventional method, in a manner analogous to the closure methodologies employed for closing conventional side gusset bags to form packages.
[0028] Referring to Figure 6, there is shown an embodiment of a system 100 for use in a process for manufacturing the blank 10. The system includes a single unwind system 102 for unwinding a sheet 111 from a single roll 106. The sheet 111 unwinds and passes through a slitter assembly 108 to split the sheet into a portion which defines the front wall of the bag and a portion which defines the side and rear walls. The latter portion of the sheet 111 passes through a diverting unit 104 followed by a tag hole punch assembly 110 which punches tag holes 36 in the portion of the sheet 111 that will become the gusseted side walls 16. The sheet 111 then passes through a series of folding boards 112 and capstan compensators 114 and 116 and web steering frames 118 and 120. The former portion of the sheet 111 passes on to a driven reversible closure insertion and sealing unit 124 for sealing of the reversible closure 22 to the sheet 111. The sheet 111 next passes through a series of registration systems 126, a series of servo-driven infeed rollers 128, a three roller drive 130 and an additional web steering frame 132 on its way to a servo-driven longitudinal sealing unit 134 which seals the side seals 42 that define the corners between the gusseted side walls 16 and the front 12 and rear 14 walls. The sheet 111 next passes through a web trimming station 136 where excess sheet is trimmed from the side seals 42. Next, the sheet 111 continues to a servo-driven mid nip draw roller 138, after which it enters a servo- driven K-sealing station 140 where the K-seals 46 (or Doyer seals) are applied to the sections of the sheet 111 that will become the lower portions of the front 12 and rear 14 walls of the blank 10. The sheet 111 next passes to a servo-driven K- seal cooling station 142 where the K-seals 46 are cooled prior to the sheet 111 continuing onwards through a series of servo-driven transverse sealing stations 144 and 146 where the bottom seal 44 is added and then cooled via transverse seal cooling stations 148 and 150. The sheet 111 then enters a web-steering registration system 152, passes through an exit draw roller 154 and is then cut to the length of the package using a double cut guillotine 156 after which the blank 10 passes through a gate 158 and a jog indexer 160 before exiting the manufacturing system. At this stage, the blank 10 is now ready for filling with product and sealing to form the package. In an alternative embodiment, not shown, additional folding and sealing steps can be performed on this blank 10 prior to filling and sealing, to provide a flat bottom or the like.
[0029] The embodiments of the invention described herein have several advantages. The embodiments of reclosable packages described herein do not require the side gussets to be folded down during manufacture to insert the reversible closure. The manufacturing methods described herein allow the package to be constructed from a single sheet. This overcomes the problems associated with registering separate sheets within the manufacturing equipment and thus reduces the potential for generation of scrap during set up of the manufacturing equipment. During the filling process, the side gussets may be completely extended, thereby presenting a substantially rectangular or square upper opening to the product filling apparatus. The package can be produced using conventional bag-filling and closing machines without substantial modification. Alternatively, the package can be created in a form-fill-seal process, in which event, packaging apparatus will be provided which includes apparatus for forming the blank; apparatus for filling the blank to form a filled bag; and apparatus for closing the opening of the filled bag.
[0030] One skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments of the reclosable package described herein are useful for packaging a wide range of products including food, pet food, chemicals, fertilizers or any other substance benefiting from being packed in reclosable packaging that is easily accessible by the consumer.
[0031] While various embodiments of this invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described above, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that various changes could be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, and without limitation, it will be appreciated that, in the preferred embodiment, the closure is positioned on the front and upper end of a completed package. However, the closure could easily be positioned on the rear or bottom of the completed package. As well, whereas a slot for receiving the zipper is shown in the closure-bearing wall, a notch for receiving the zipper could equally be utilized. Further, whereas as a slider zipper is shown, press-to-close and other mechanical zippers could be utilized. As well, it should be understood that, although unspecified, the package can be constructed so as to be hermetic.
[0032] All such modifications and variations are believed to be within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto, purposively construed.
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