Patent Application
20180362238
The present application relates generally to retail packaging suitable for packaging medium to individual sized portions of liquid or flowable products such as juice, milk, syrup, wine, sauces, oils, soup, broth, sugar, salt, confectionary pieces, birdseed, food or non-food particles, pellets, or liquids, skin care products, jewelry beads, BB shot, etc.
Retail packaging for flowable solid and/or liquid products is commercially available in many styles and sizes e.g. 6-8 ounce single serve juice boxes, stand up pouches (SUPs) containing alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages, retort and aseptic boxes for a range of food items such as broths, soups, milk, fruit or vegetable juices or purees, etc. Both food and nonfood retail packages are available in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. For example, metal cans made from aluminum, steel and other materials are well known. Plastic and glass jars, bottles and tubs as well as plastic and paper bags including pouches, envelopes, stick packages, etc., are all ubiquitous in modern commerce. Suitable packaging, e.g. for flowable articles which comprise (i) liquids or (ii) a multitude of small solid products ranging from items such as cinnamon candies to BB shot, should contain the product within the package while protecting the product from contamination and deleterious effects from the external environment. Thus, containers may protect their contents from contact or exposure to unwanted materials such as dirt, dust, microbes, insects, air, moisture, sunlight, etc. Also, the materials used in constructing packaging and especially for a product such as a food (including drink or drug, the product contact interior surface layer of the package should resist migration of chemicals between the product and the package materials. Examples of prior art packaging include U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,157,462; and 3,314,210.
As previously noted, disposable, single serve, drink boxes and beverage pouches are well-known in the art, see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,380,646 (Doyen). Typically, a drink box comprises a cardboard box, laminated with plastic, and lined with a metal foil or plastic liner that contains a beverage, typically a fruit flavored drink or non-carbonated juice such as apple, grape, or orange juice, see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,126 for an example of a laminate material that may be employed. The beverage product contained in a single serve drink box is typically consumed through a straw. Often a rigid plastic straw is provided with each box for insertion through a hole in the cardboard box, which provides an access point for piercing the liner with an end of the straw, see e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,660,737 and 4,778,053.
A retail bag-in-box package having a flowable product contained in a thermoplastic bag which is inserted in or encased within an outer relatively rigid box or carton is provided. The box or carton may be constructed from a rigid or semi-rigid plastic or paperboard and has (i) a flat bottom panel, an opposing top panel, and a self-supporting, upstanding wall connecting the bottom and top panels, and (ii) an access port through the box for inserting a rigid implement, such as a drinking straw or other spout/tap therethrough to puncture the bag and withdraw the flowable product from inside the bag. The bag is a retail sized, flexible thermoplastic bag (capacity≤1 liter) attached to an interior surface of the box proximate the access port. In some preferred embodiments, the bag-in-box package of the present invention is hand-held, e.g., designed to be used while being held in one hand by the consumer.
An important aspect of the present invention is that the flowable product occupies less than 100% of the available volume of the bag and the remaining available head-space volume above the product is evacuated or collapsed in order to prevent spillage or leakage of product from the straw or spout when the bag is punctured. When a bag is pierced with a straw or other rigid implement, the consumer must manually hold the box to insert the straw. Typically, the box and bag are squeezed together by ones fingers creating a positive pressure within the bag. If the bag is completely filled with product or when there is a gas-filled head-space above the product in a less than a completely filled bag, the pressure inside the bag causes liquid product to rapidly exit through the straw and spill out onto the consumer. With the present invention, it is important to not only limit the amount of product within a particular volume of bag, but also provide a collapsed head-space above the product. It has been discovered that when the product occupies at most about 83% of the available volume of the bag and the remaining volume (“head-space”) above the product is collapsed and un-filled, spillage during piercing can be minimized or eliminated. In preferred embodiments, the flowable product occupies at most about 87%, 83%, 75%, 67% or 58% of the available volume of the bag and the remaining head-space, volume above the product is void of any injected gas and product. In these embodiments, the flowable product occupies at least about 33%, 42%, or 50% of the available volume of the bag.
The inventive package is suitable for packaging small lowable articles or products (including either solids and/or liquids) of a size typical for consumer or individual use. Examples of products which may be packaged in accordance with the present invention include without limitation: milk, fruit or vegetable juices or purees such as: apple, apricot, black currant, cherry, grape, peach, pear, pineapple, or pomegranate juice; citrus juices like orange, grapefruit, and lemon juice, carrot juice; tomato juice or puree; non-alcoholic or alcoholic drinks such, as water, flavored water, juice, tea, or wine; honey; syrups for sweetening foods e.g. pancake syrup; syrups for flavoring beverages e.g. soft drinks including homemade lemonade, juice flavored drinks or foods or food ingredients or condiments such as broth, soup, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, prepared mustard, mayonnaise, sauces, seeds, nuts, mints, or gum pieces; oils such as olive oil, coconut oil, walnut oil, peanut oil, etc.; salad dressings; personal care products such as soap, lotion, humectants, conditioners, nail polish, nail polish removers; and other small flowable items, such as household or garden chemicals, liquids such as alcohol, mineral oil, motor oil, or lubricants.
According to the invention, a hermetically sealed bag containing a flowable product is loaded into a rigid or semi-rigid box with attachment means such as adhesive disposed proximate to an access port to seal the bag thereto. After closing the box so that it contains the bag, the consumer or retail sized bag-in-box may be shipped to retail outlets and stored or displayed for sale on store shelves. A consumer will access the flowable or liquid product held therein by inserting a dispensing fitment, e.g., straw through the access port thereby piercing the bag film which is held in place against the box adjacent to the access port e.g. by adhesive. This helps to ensure a non-leaking connection. The straw or fitment may then be used to remove the contents of the bag-in-box. Although in many embodiments the access port will be located on the uppermost or top surface of the box or rigid container, it is contemplated that this port may be located on other surfaces including front, back, or side wall surfaces at any desired location whether proximate the top or not. In some embodiments in may be advantageous to have a bottom access port to permit use of a gravity feed dispenser e.g., for hand lotion, soap and the like.
For the package to function properly the bag and box need to interact. Thus, for a puncturing device to poke through the bag or pouch effectively, in one preferred embodiment, the bag ideally is attached to a top lid of the box or carton. This ensures the bag stays at the top of the carton and is not pushed down away from the top with the applied force. If the bag is not securely attached to the top lid of the box, the pressure created, e.g. from a straw, tends to force liquid contents out which creates a mess. For pre-applied attachment a registered printed wax coating or wax coated plastic film may provide good adhesion of the bag to the box and advantageously melt attaches at a very low temperature. For liquids packaged by a hot fill process (or by use of external heat in the downstream process) this heat may seal the bag to the box once the lid of the box is closed. Wax or a very thin film coating could cover the die cut access port hole in the carton as long as it does not increase puncture resistance significantly. However, it is advantageous for the access port to be free of adhesive or to have easily removable covers to facilitate puncture opening of the bag to access the bag contents.
Another option for adhesion of bag to box is be to use hot glue or a PSA type material to adhere the pouch to the carton. The best location for the hot glue is around the perimeter of the access port hole (creating a ring) without going into the area to be punctured. Glue in the area to be punctured may undesirably increase the force needed to puncture the pouch. Alternative attachment means include glue patterns of e.g. two or more dots or stripes of glue on either side of the hole. Patterns that do not work well include attaching the pouch to the carton far away from the punctured area (as in side flaps) or on only one side of the hole. This causes the bag to pull away from the box or deflects the path of the straw in straw plus drink box embodiments.
In the case of a fitment, the fitment may be applied to either the box top or to the face of the inner bag with a die cut or perforated area of the box for the fitment to slot into or be pulled through respectively. In order to dispense a liquid without the top lid popping off, a top lid on the box must either be attached to the bag or the interior wall of the box.
Puncturing devices such as straws, pumps, or sprayers, may use a sharp end to puncture the bag. In the case of a pump or sprayer device, the device would need to adhere to the outside of the box. This may be accomplished by various means including e.g. the use of a liner on the top of the box that would expose a PSA when removed.
Fitments may also be placed on the face of the bag and not in the sealed area. The bag film may be die cut to form a hole and a fitment sealed over the hole or alternatively a suitable fitment that cuts into the film may be employed. Fitments may be placed in the seal area and protrude from the top of the box. A fitment attached washer may be used to connect to both bag and box with opposing sides of the washer being sealed by fusion or adhesive to bag and box, respectively.
After use, the bag may conveniently be separated from the box and each component may enter a recycling stream or the materials chosen for the bag and box may be selected for single stream recycling. Advantageously, the box may collapse flat to take up less space.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which:
As used herein with respect to packaging films, sheets, or planar container materials including plastic materials, the term “rigid” means a material having a Gurley stiffness of at least 1000 milligrams (mg) force in each of its machine direction and transverse direction. A standard test method for determining the rigidity, stiffness values described herein is a Gurley Stiffness test, a description of which is set forth in TAPPI Standard Test T 543 and ASTM D 6125-97. A suitable testing apparatus is a Gurley Digital Stiffness Tester: Model 4171DS1N manufactured by Teledyne Gurley (514 Fulton Street, Troy, N.Y. 12181-0088). This instrument allows the testing of a wide variety of materials through the use of various lengths and widths in combination with the use of a 5, 25, 50, or 200 gram weight placed in one of three positions on the pointer of the apparatus.
Referring to the drawings, in all of the figures it will be appreciated that dimensions and relative sizes are not to scale but are chosen to illustrate the invention and its various aspects and features.
Referring now to the drawings,
An example of a commercially available linear low-density polyethylene C2C8 LLDPE suitable for use in the present invention includes, but is not limited to, Dowlex® 2045G having a reported density of 0.920 g/cm3, a melt index of 1.0 dg/min., and a m.p. of about 122° C., which is supplied by The Dow Chemical Company of Midland, Mich., U.S.A.
Exemplary of commercially available VLDPEs suitable for use in the present invention include, but are not limited to, the C2C8 Attane® family of resins, e.g., Attane® NG 4701G having a reported density of 0.912 gram/cm3, a melt flow index of 0.8 decigram/min., which is supplied by The Dow Chemical Company of Midland, Mich., U.S.A.
Exemplary of commercially available anhydride-modified linear low-density polyethylenes (mod-LLDPE) suitable for use in the present invention include, but are not limited to, the BYNEL® family of resins, e.g., BYNEL® 41E710 grade having a reported melt index of 2.7 dg/min. (at 190° C.) a density of 0.91 g/cm3, and a melting point of 115° C., which is supplied by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del., U.S.A.
Exemplary of commercially available ethylene/vinyl alcohol copolymers suitable for use in the present invention include, but are not limited to, the SOARNOL® family of resins, e.g., SOARNOL® ET3803 grade having a reported bulk density of 0.64-0.74 gram/cm3, a relative density of 1.13-1.22 gram/cm3, a melting point of 164-188° C., which may be obtained from The Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Company, Ltd. (Nippon Gohsei), Osaka, Japan.
Exemplary of commercially available polyamides suitable for use in the present invention include, but are not limited to, the ULTRAMID® family of resins, e.g., ULTRAMID® B36 nylon 6 having a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 127° C., a density of 1.13 g/cm3, and tensile strength (at yield) of 131,000 psi, and C40 nylon 6/66 having a m.p. 193° C., and a density of 1.12 g/cm3, both of which may be obtained from BASF, Mount Olive, N.J., U.S.A.
An example of commercially available ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) includes, but is not limited to, Elvax® 3135XZ EVA having a reported vinyl acetate (VA) content of 12%, a density of 30 gram/cm3, a melt index of 0.35 gram/10 min., a melting point of 95° C., which is supplied by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del., U.S.A.
In this embodiment of the invention, a seven layer film tubular blown film is made and the bubble is collapsed with application of heat and pressure to form a thirteen layer film web 10 useful for making a bag in accordance with the present invention. It will be appreciated that a variety of film compositions and structures may be employed in the present invention and the depicted film web 10 is exemplary only. Web 10 has a first exterior surface 24 which is the product contact surface and may be designed with desirable properties for contact with the product to be packaged, e.g. inertness, heat-sealability, etc., and since in this collapsed bubble embodiment this surface is provided by layer 24 which is the same composition as distal opposing layer 11 having the same composition for second exterior surface 25, this layer 11 and surface 25 may also have suitable properties of abrasion resistance, heat-sealability, etc. Other functional layers are presented as intermediate layers 12-22 and these properties may beneficially include gas barrier e.g. oxygen barrier properties such as may be provided by EVOH containing layers 14 and 20, and to a lesser extent nylon containing layers 13, 15, 19, and 21. Polyethylene containing layers including surface layers 11, and 23 as well as intermediate layers 12, 16, 17, 18, and 22 all provide water barrier properties. Each layer is also designed for good adherence to adjacent layers and layers 12, 16, 18, and 22 contain special adhesive polymers blended therein to enhance delamination resistance. The central core layer 17 has an EVA polymer with self-wetting properties which promote bonding to itself in the bubble collapsing process. The entire film web structure cooperates to form a supple conformable film web 10 which will easily flex and bend to fit an interior shape of a rigid or semi-rigid box as shown e.g. in
Advantageously, in some preferred embodiments, the bags formed with web 10 as described herein have a WVTR of less than 0.5 g/100 in2/24 hours at 100° F. (38° C.), 90% Relative humidity (R.H.), and 1 atmosphere and less than 0.1 g/100 in2/24 hours at 100° F. (38° C.), 90% Relative humidity (R.H.), and 1 atmosphere.
In some preferred embodiments, bags ay also have O2TR value of less than or equal to 10 cm3/100 in2/24 hours at 1 atmosphere, 23° C. and 0% RH. In some preferred embodiments, the bags formed with web 10 have an Elmendorf tear strength value of at least 100 grams in at least one of the machine and transverse directions.
Advantageously, in some preferred embodiments, the bags formed with web 10 as described herein have has a Gurley stiffness of less than 50 grams.
In some preferred embodiments, the bag is a retail sized, flexible thermoplastic bag, i.e., having an available internal volume capacity of equal to or less than 1 liter.
Advantageously, in some preferred embodiments, the bags of the present invention will have a puncture resistance value of less than or equal to 22.2 N (5 pound-force), less than 17.8 N (4 pound-force), less than 13.3 N (3 pound-force) or less than 8.9 N (2 pound-force).
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Box blank 40 has a die cut perimeter edge 41 with a plurality of vertical fold lines 41, 42, 43, and 44 extending from box top 45 to box bottom 46, and a plurality of horizontal fold lines 47, 48, and 49 extending from a first box side edge 50 to an opposing spaced apart distal second box edge 51. Box black 40 also includes a back wall panel 52 is defined by vertical fold lines 41, 42 and horizontal fold lines 48 and 49. These fold lines may also be score lines, i.e., fold/score lines formed in a plastic material in order to fold a rigid plastic box blank into a container. The phrase “fold/score lines” should be understood to refer to folds and/or score lines formed in rigid or semi-rigid paperboard or plastic box blanks.
The vertical and horizontal fold/score lines in rigid and semi-rigid plastic webs may be formed by mechanical and/or optical ablation techniques well known in the art.
Integrally connected to the back wall panel 52 at fold/score line 48 is top panel 53 which is defined by fold/score line 48, top edge 54, first top panel side edge 55 and second top panel side edge 56. A portion of the top panel between the top edge 54 and fold/score line 47 forms a top fold tab 57 which is adapted to be folded about fold/score line 47 to close the box after assembly and loading with a product filled bag as further described below. Top panel 53 is provided with an access port shown as hole 58. Also, integrally connected to the back wall panel 52 at fold/score line 49 is first bottom panel 59 which is defined by fold/score line 49, back panel bottom edge 60, first back bottom panel side edge 61 and second back bottom panel side edge 62.
Integrally connected to the back wall panel 52 at vertical fold/score line 41 is a first side wall panel 63 which is defined by fold/score lines 41, 48, and 49 and first box side edge 50. Integrally connected to the first side wall panel 63 at fold/score line 48 is first side wall panel top flap 64 having an inverted “U” shaped first side wall panel top flap edge 65. Integrally connected to the first side wall panel 63 at fold/score line 49 is first side wall panel bottom flap 66 having a “V” shaped first side wall panel bottom flap edge 67.
Integrally connected to the back wall panel 52 at vertical fold/score line 42 is a second side wall panel 68 which is defined by spaced apart vertical fold/score lines 42, 43 and spaced apart horizontal fold/score lines 48, 49. Integrally connected to the second side wall panel 68 at fold/score line 48 is second side wall panel top flap 69 having an inverted “U” shaped second side wall panel top flap edge 70. Integrally connected to the second side wall panel 68 at fold/score line 49 is second side wall panel bottom flap 71 having a “V” shaped second side wall panel bottom flap edge 72.
Integrally connected to the second side wall panel 68 at vertical fold/score line 43 is a front panel 73 which is defined by spaced apart vertical fold/score lines 43, 44, horizontal fold/score line 49 and spaced apart front panel top edge 74. Integrally connected to the front panel at fold/score line 49 is second bottom panel 75 which is defined by fold/score line 49, second bottom panel bottom edge 76, first front bottom panel side edge 77, and second front bottom panel side edge 78. In addition, integrally connected to front wall panel 73 at fold/score line 44 is a side connecting flap 79 defined by fold/score line 44, spaced second carton side edge 51, top side flap edge 80 and spaced apart bottom side flap slant edge 81.
To assemble the box blank 40 into a box as shown in
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
It will be appreciated that a variety of folding patterns, box dimensions and access port locations may be employed in the present invention and the folding pattern, box dimensions and access port location described herein are exemplary only.
Referring now to
Advantageously, in some preferred embodiments, bag 26 may be formed from a flexible plastic web which is partially or completely transparent. In other preferred embodiments, box 84 may include one or more “windows” where the paperboard is removed. In these preferred embodiments, when bag 26 is partially or completely transparent and box 84 is transparent or includes a window, advantageously the consumer may view the flowable product within the package.
Turning now to
As previously mentioned, when bag is completely filled with product or when there is a gas-filled head-space above the product in a less than a completely filled bag, the pressure inside the bag causes liquid product to rapidly exit through the straw and spill out onto the consumer. Therefore with the present invention, it is important to not only limit the amount of product within a particular volume of bag, but also provide a collapsed head-space above the product. To this end, a test was performed on bags to find the ideal amount of volume of product within a bag to minimize or eliminate product from spilling out of a straw when the straw is inserted into the bag. Bags similar to that described in
As is evident from the above data, the best performing bags are those filled to 87% or less of its available volume which creates a head-space above the water which is collapsed and void of water.
The above description and examples illustrate certain embodiments of the present invention and are not to be interpreted as limiting. Selection of particular embodiments, combinations thereof, modifications, and adaptations of the various embodiments, conditions and parameters normally encountered in the art will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are deemed to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US16/16094 | 2/2/2016 | WO | 00 |
