This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Applications 62/145,638 filed April 10, 2015, and 62/147,807 filed April 16, 2015, the entirety of the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to animal supplements. In particular, the disclosure relates to a system for administering food or feed supplements to an animal including a plurality of aligned pouches configured for simultaneous opening to dispense the supplements.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Because livestock such as equines are frequently maintained in an artificial (to them) environment such as stalls, paddocks, fenced pastures, and the like, often their nutritional requirements cannot be met by food sources available free choice. Alternatively, the animal may be a working animal such as a competition horse, which, like any other elite athlete, may require nutritional supplements to support its level of work. For this reason, it is known to supplement livestock with various food/feed supplements, including without limitation needed or desirable vitamins, minerals, amino acids or proteins, electrolytes, and other nutrients. Likewise, particularly in the case of working livestock such as equines kept for pleasure riding and/or competition, often the owner will provide additional supplements such as preparations for joint care, herbal preparations, and other natural and synthetic preparations intended to improve or support the equine' s health. Still more, it is known to provide various medical and quasi-medical supplements for use in parasite control, as insecticides, and the like in supplement form.

[0003] Most conveniently, supplements are administered to the animal by simply depositing a desired quantity thereof in the animal's feed ration (most commonly a pelleted and/or grain based ration). This is particularly convenient in the case of substantially individually-fed animals such as working equines, which typically receive a predetermined amount of feed at predetermined feeding times throughout the day. For such animals, it is simple to add the desired supplement or supplements as a top-dressing to or mixed in with the animal's feed ration at one or more of the predetermined feedings. By this simple expedient, the owner is able to control the animal's supplement intake as desired.

[0004] However, a problem with this type of feeding is that different animals may require different supplement mixtures which must be provided to the animals with a degree of accuracy. As an example, for a barn with fifteen different working equines housed therein, up to fifteen different supplementation patterns may be required to meet each equines supplement requirements or at least the owner's perception of the equine' s supplement requirements. In turn, supplementation patterns may vary during the year, for example with additional and different supplements required during the winter months when grass is not available or the equine is less active, as compared to spring/summer months when the equine is able to graze free-choice for at least a portion of the day. Conventionally, animal food and feed supplements are shipped to consumers in bulk, and moreover supplements are provided in a wide variety of physical forms including liquids, powders, granules, meals, pellets, solids, cubes, and others. For this reason, the task of accurately preparing the individual supplement mixes for multiple animals is at least inconvenient, and may be extraordinarily time-, labor-, and cost-intensive for facilities housing many animals each requiring different supplementation patterns.

[0005] There is thus a need in the art for dispensing systems for animal food and feed supplements which provide specific combinations of supplements according to the animal owner's specification and the animals' supplement needs. Such dispensing systems should be accurate, simple, robust but inexpensive, and further should provide convenience to the user in opening and dispensing the supplements contained therein.

SUMMARY

[0006] To solve the foregoing and other problems, in one aspect of the present disclosure a pouch assembly for delivering a nutrient is described, comprising a plurality of pouches each defined by at least one panel of a material sealed at sufficient edges thereof to define an interior receiver. The plurality of pouches are co-aligned in parallel and adhered to one another across at least a top width dimension thereof to define an assembly top seal after dispensing the nutrient therein to provide an assembly. The at least one panel of material includes a predefined scoring disposed to provide the assembly with a frangible assembly tear line whereby each pouch of the plurality of pouches may be opened simultaneously at a same location. In embodiments, the frangible assembly tear line is oriented horizontally across a top portion of each pouch. The frangible assembly tear line may begin and end at opposed sealed side edges of each pouch.

[0007] In embodiments, the plurality of pouches is co-aligned in parallel to one another by aligning apertures defined in a portion of each pouch. In embodiments, the plurality of pouches is adhered to one another along at least a portion of a side edge thereof to define an assembly side seal. The assembly side seal may include a notch oriented substantially collinear with the frangible assembly tear line for ease of opening. In an embodiment, the predefined scoring is provided by laser scoring.

[0008] In embodiments, each interior receiver defines the same or a different volume.

The at least one panel of material may be fabricated of one or more materials selected from the group consisting of a foil, a plastic, a polymer, a metal-coated or metalized plastic or polymer laminate film, or combinations thereof.

[0009] In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for delivering a nutrient, comprising providing a plurality of pouches substantially as described above, adding the nutrient to each pouch of the plurality of pouches in an amount of 6 wt % or more of a predetermined dosage or amount for the animal, co-aligning the plurality of pouches in parallel, and adhering each pouch of the plurality of pouches to one another across at least a full top width dimension thereof to provide a pouch assembly including an assembly top seal.

[0010] Each of the at least one panels of material is provided with a predefined scoring disposed to provide the pouch assembly with a frangible assembly tear line whereby each pouch of the plurality of pouches may be opened simultaneously at a same location to dispense the nutrient. In embodiments, the predefined scoring may be disposed whereby the frangible assembly tear line is oriented horizontally across a top portion of each pouch, further whereby the frangible assembly tear line begins and ends at opposed sealed side edges of each pouch. The scoring may be provided by a laser scoring process.

[0011] In embodiments, the plurality of pouches is co-aligned in parallel by aligning apertures defined in a portion of each pouch. In embodiments, the plurality of pouches is adhered to one another along at least a portion of a side edge thereof to provide an assembly side seal. The method may optionally include providing a notch in the assembly side seal positioned substantially collinearly to the frangible assembly tear line.

[0012] In embodiments, the nutrient may be selected from one or more of the group consisting of a vitamin, a mineral, an electrolyte, a protein, an herbal supplement, a nutraceutical, a joint supplement, a pro-biotic, a pre-biotic, a macronutrient, a micronutrient, an enzyme, an antacid, a hoof supplement, a fatty acid, an amino acid, and combinations. Each of the pouches of the assembly may define an interior receiver having a same or a different volume from others of the plurality of pouches. Each pouch of the assembly may hold a same or a different nutrient.

[0013] In the following description, there are shown and described embodiments of the disclosed pouch assembly. As it should be realized, the device is capable of other, different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the devices and methods as set forth and described in the following claims. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated herein and forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the disclosed pouch assembly, and together with the description serve to explain certain principles thereof. In the drawings:

[0015] Figure 1A shows a front view of an embodiment of a pouch for a pouch assembly according to the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure IB shows a front view of an alternative embodiment of a pouch for a pouch assembly according to the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 2 shows a side view of a pouch assembly according to the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 3 shows a top view of the pouch assembly of Figure 1; and [0019] Figure 4 shows a pouch including aligning apertures for forming a pouch assembly according to the present disclosure.

[0020] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the disclosed pouch assembly, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Preliminarily, the following description describes a pouch assembly primarily in the context of conveniently delivering a nutritional supplement for an animal. However, the skilled artisan will readily appreciate that any suitable nutrient food or feedstuff, or even non- nutrient materials, may be so delivered from the pouch assembly. Without intending any limitation, examples of nutrients, supplements, foods, and feedstuffs deliverable by the described pouch assembly include vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, proteins, herbal supplements, nutraceuticals, joint supplements, pro-biotics, pre-biotics, macronutrients, micronutrients, enzymes, antacids, hoof supplements, fatty acids, amino acids, and combinations. The supplements, foods, and feedstuffs may be delivered in solid, fluid, powder, and any other convenient physical form.

[0022] With reference to the appended drawing figures, a pouch assembly 10 is described herein. At a high level, the pouch assembly 10 includes a plurality of discrete pouches 12, each holding an individually sealed predetermined amount of a particular supplement. Each of the pouches 12 of the pouch assembly 10 are aligned and sealed one to another across a top length dimension of each pouch 12, and optionally also along a portion of a side length dimension of each pouch 12, thus providing an assembly.

[0023] In greater detail, as shown in Figures 1A and IB each individual pouch 12 is individually defined by at least one panel of material. In an embodiment, the pouch 12 may be formed by folding over a single panel of material 14 and providing sufficient edge seals to define a receiver for supplements. In another embodiment as shown in Figure 2, the pouch 12 may be defined by a pair of juxtaposed panels of material 14, 14' (see Figure 2), at least one pouch side seal 16, and a pouch bottom seal 18 forming a receiver or holder 15 for a desired supplement. It will be appreciated that as shown in Figure 1 the specific position of the optional pouch bottom seal 18 may be altered in accordance with the desired interior dimensions/volume of the receiver 15 to be formed, or may be omitted entirely if substantially the entire interior volume of the formed pouch 12 is to be used (see Figure IB).

[0024] For example, a particular supplement may need to be provided to an animal in a lesser physical amount than another supplement, thus requiring less space, and so a pouch bottom seal (depicted in Figure 1 as bottom seal 18') may be positioned at an intermediate location across panels 14, 14' to define a smaller holder and so ensure that smaller amounts of supplement can more easily be fully dispensed. By this feature it is possible to provide adjoining pouches 12 of similar exterior dimensions but defining different receiver 15 dimensions. Thus, by keeping the exterior dimensions of each pouch 12 the same, manufacturing and assembly processes for providing pouches 12 having different supplement capacities are simplified, while still providing a pouch assembly 10 having the advantages summarized above and described in greater detail below.

[0025] Each pouch 12 further individually includes an oriented, aligned scoring 20 defined across at least a portion of a width dimension thereof. In an embodiment, the oriented, aligned scoring is disposed in a top layer of a multi-layer film, thus providing a degree of weakening for ease of opening without significantly disrupting the integrity of the pouch 12. As will be appreciated, scoring 20 is positioned similarly across a width dimension of each pouch 12, ensuring that each pouch 12 of the pouch assembly 10 can be opened simultaneously and at substantially the same relative position in each pouch 12 by the simple expedient of grasping the pouch assembly 10 and tearing each pouch 12 open along each scoring 20. Any suitable method for forming scoring 20 is contemplated. In one embodiment, scoring 20 is formed by laser scoring of the one or more panels of material 14, 14' whereby on assembly of each pouch 12, the scoring 20 will be disposed in a desired location adjacent a top portion of each pouch, alternative methods of providing the oriented, aligned scoring are contemplated, including for example defined perforations in the material of the pouches 12.

[0026] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a plurality of pouches 12 formed as described above are similarly oriented and aligned, and after dispensing a predetermined amount of a supplement (not shown) into each of the sealed pouches 12, a pouch assembly top seal 22 is formed across a top length dimension of each pouch 12 whereby each pouch 12 is attached at a top portion to each other pouch 12. Optionally, each individual pouch 12 may be provided with an individual top seal (embodiment not shown) before forming the pouch assembly top seal 22.

[0027] Likewise, an optional pouch assembly partial side seal 24 may be formed along a portion of a side length dimension of each pouch 12 whereby each pouch 12 is attached at least at a partial side length to each other pouch 12. By the pouch assembly top seal 22 and optional pouch assembly partial side seal 22, pouch assembly 10 is defined, and further pouch assembly top seal 22 and pouch assembly partial side seal 24 provide convenient points for a user to grasp pouch assembly 10 when opening pouches 12 as described above. Further, when a plurality of pouches 12 are so aligned and sealed as described, it will be appreciated that each pouch scoring 20 is similarly substantially aligned, thus providing a common frangible tear line 25 for the pouch assembly 10.

[0028] As will be appreciated, any suitable sealing method may be used to form one or more of pouch side seal 16, pouch bottom seal 18, pouch assembly top seal 22, and pouch assembly partial side seal 24 of in accordance with equipment available to the manufacturer and the materials of which panels 14, 14' are made. This can include heat sealing, adhesives, mechanical clamps or clasps, and combinations. In an embodiment, a heat sealing method is used to form the desired seals.

[0029] Likewise, any suitable material is contemplated for pouch panels 14, 14' in accordance with common manufacturing considerations including cost, durability, compatibility with intended supplements to be held within pouches 12, and others. Non-limiting examples include foils, plastics, polymers, metal-coated or metalized plastic or polymer laminate films, laminate oriented polypropylene (OPP) film, biaxially orientated polypropylene (BOPP), and combinations thereof.

[0030] In one embodiment, a laminate oriented polypropylene (OPP) film, which may be metalized, is used to manufacture pouches 12. In an embodiment, the OPP film may be cut to provide a panel of material having any desired dimensions according to the desired size of the finished pouches 12, and folded in half before one or more pouch side seals 16 and pouch bottom seal 18 are formed. In another embodiment, two equally sized panels of OPP film may be cut and overlapped to define front and back panels 14, 14', followed by forming opposed pouch side seals 16 and pouch bottom seal 18.

[0031] In an embodiment, the laminate OPP is laser scored at each edge (right and left) in the direction of the web prior to forming the pouches 12, whereby when the OPP film is folded to begin forming a pouch 12 the right and left laser scorings will be directly opposed to one another respectively on pouch panels 14, 14' and so will be aligned. The laser scoring cuts are positioned at substantially equal distances from a side edge of the OPP film, typically disposed whereby the scoring 20 will be positioned in a top portion of the finished pouch 12 and traversing a width of the finished pouch between the sealed side edges.

[0032] In an alternative embodiment, the laminate OPP is laser scored across a full width dimension of the film panel in the direction of the web prior to forming the pouches 12, whereby when the OPP film is folded to begin forming a pouch 12 the right and left laser scorings will be directly opposed to one another respectively on pouch panels 14, 14' and so will be aligned. The laser scoring cuts are positioned at substantially equal distances from a side edge of the OPP film, typically disposed whereby the scoring 20 will be positioned in a top portion of the finished pouch 12.

[0033] Each receiver 15 of each pouch 12 is filled with a predetermined quantity and type of supplement or other feedstuff. In an embodiment, a supplement or other feedstuff is added to each receiver 15 in an amount of about 6 wt% or more of a predetermined amount, which predetermined amount may be a predetermined dosage or amount determined as needed or recommended for an animal based on a daily recommended intake or other metric. As will be appreciated and as is well-known in the art, this may be calculated based on a number of factors, including without intending any limitation animal gender, age, weight, activity level, geographic area, season of the year, and others. For example, a sport horse during eventing season will have different requirements than a gestating mare, etc.

[0034] As will further be appreciated, adding the supplement or other feedstuff in an amount of 6 wt % or more of the predetermined amount allows accounting for wastage. As an example, in the case of a horse a portion of a ration is typically wasted during feeding due to the horse's tendency to salivate, bad teeth, poor feeding habits, etc. Thus, supplement/feedstuff is wasted during the process of ingestion. Moreover, supplement/feedstuff may adhere to a feed bin or bunk, etc. By providing supplement or other feedstuff s in an amount of 6 wt % or more above an amount determined as optimal, required, or recommended for an animal, the animal is assured of ingesting at least the predetermined amount determined as optimal for the animal.

[0035] At least side and optionally top positioning apertures 28 are provided in predetermined positions of the sealed pouches 12, within the borders of where pouch assembly top seal 22 will be formed and optionally within the borders of to-be-formed assembly side seal 26, and are used to correctly co-align each pouch 12 prior to forming pouch assembly top seal 22 and pouch assembly partial side seal 24. Pouches 12 are positioned in a film sealing machine (not shown) using the positioning apertures to correctly align each set of pouches 12 to one another by way of positioning pins associated with the packaging machine. Next, the film sealing machine forms pouch assembly 22 by sealing each pouch 12 at least to an adjacent other pouch 12 as described above, thus providing a "saddle pack" or "saddle bag"-style pouch assembly 10 defined by pouch assembly top seal 22, pouch assembly partial side seal 24, and multiple pouches 12 each containing the same or a different supplement or feedstuff, provided in a same or a different amount as other pouches of the assembly.

[0036] Prior to or during the sealing process, a notch or cut 26 is placed in the material of each side pouch 12, disposed substantially adjacent to the scoring 20 and below a bottom edge of pouch assembly top seal 22, to facilitate opening each pouch 12 simultaneously. When the optional pouch assembly partial side seal 24 is provided, the notch or cut 26 may be placed therein. In use, a user simply need grasp pouch assembly 10 above and below the notch or cut 26, and tear each pouch 12 of the pouch assembly 10 open simultaneously beginning at the notch 26 and along the scoring 20. As shown in Figure 1, a portion of pouch assembly side seal 24 is below the laser scoring 20, and so each of the pouches 12 may be emptied simultaneously, for example into an animal's feed bin. Likewise, once emptied, pouches 12 remain connected, and so the user has at most two items of refuse (the removed top of pouch assembly 10 and the still- connected pouches 12) to discard. In an embodiment (not shown), the scoring 20 is disposed whereby the top of the pouch assembly 10 is only partially removed and remains connected to the remainder of the pouch assembly, for example by a side seal 16. In this embodiment, the user need only discard one item of refuse. [0037] As will be appreciated, the nature and amount of each supplement or other feedstuff dispensed into each pouch 12 is subject to infinite variation, and so a system is provided whereby an owner, a nutritionist, etc. may specify a particular combination of desired supplements or other feedstuffs to be administered on a regular basis to a particular animal. The specified supplements may be dispensed individually as a premeasured daily or other regular amount into individual pouches 12, which are then formed into a pouch assembly 10 as described above, with each pouch assembly containing the entire predetermined daily supplement or other feedstuff amount for a particular animal. Each pouch may be identified to a particular animal, such as by bar-coding and/or other labeling to ensure proper identification and for quality control and safety. Thus, a simple and convenient system is described for providing an animal with a daily or other regularly dispensed amount of a specified mixture of supplements or other feedstuffs.

[0038] The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled.