Patent Application
20160297581
The disclosure relates to closable containers, and more particularly, to a child-resistant, re-closable container.
Many products available on the market can be harmful to children, particularly young children under the age of three who may attempt to ingest or otherwise introduce such products into their bodies. Therefore, many industries have sought to limit the ability of young children to open packages containing harmful products.
Various types of child resistant packaging has been used to date, including, for example, squeeze and twist capped bottles, push-capped bottles, etc. However, these packages can be expensive to manufacture and can also present difficulties to certain adults trying to open such packages.
US 2014/0161374 discloses child-resistant plastic or polymeric containers with re-closable zippers. This is achieved by a zipper with a high internal opening force and a low external opening force, wherein three flanges are sealed to the bag walls, and one external flange is left unsealed. In order to encounter the low external opening force, the user must grab the unsealed external flange while applying an external opening force to the zipper.
It is accordingly a primary object of the disclosure to provide a child-resistant, re-closable container, that is simpler to manufacture and less difficult for adults to open.
In accordance with the disclosure, a closable container is provided. The closable container includes a first wall of flexible material having a first interior face, a second wall of flexible material having a second interior face, the first and second walls being laterally opposed and arranged to form an interior volume of the closable container with the first interior wall and the second interior wall at least partially defining the interior volume, a first cooperative panel having a first cooperating face and a first joining face opposite the cooperating face, at least a portion of the first cooperating face comprising a first fastener element, and a second cooperative panel having a second cooperating face and a second joining face opposite the second cooperating face, the second cooperating face comprising a second fastener element configured to engage with the first fastener element to form an interlocking connection, the second fastener element being substantially identical to the first fastener element. The first joining face is joined to the first interior face at a first joint and the second joining face is joined to the second interior face at a second joint, at least one of the first and second joints being narrower than a width of the respective first or second cooperative panel.
By providing such a closable container, it may be possible to limit the ability to open the container depending on a location on the container where opening force is exerted. Effectively, a shear condition may result from the one or more narrower joints based on where the opening force is applied. Therefore, a child, for example, a young child who may lack the cognitive skills to determine where to apply the force from opening the container, may be prevented from opening such a container. This may be useful when the container contains harmful substances, for example. Further, by utilizing cooperative panels having substantially identical fastener elements, manufacturing can be simplified such that only one type of cooperative panel, for example, manufactured as a continuous strand or a non-continuous strand, that is produced and cut to length.
At least one of the first and second joints may be positioned away from a longitudinal axis of symmetry of the respective first or second cooperative panel.
The first fastener element may include a first plurality of hooked protrusions and the second fastener element may include a second plurality of hooked protrusions, each hooked protrusion of the second plurality of hooked protrusions may be substantially identical to each hooked protrusion of the first plurality of hooked protrusions.
Each hooked protrusion may have a single shank from which two mutually opposed engaging portions extend.
Only one of the first or second joining face may be joined to the respective first or second inner wall over an entire width of the respective first or second cooperative panel.
Both the first and second joints may be narrower than a width of the respective first and second cooperative panel, and each of the first and second joints may be positioned away from a longitudinal axis of symmetry of the respective first or second cooperative panel.
The first and second joint may be at least one of an ultrasonic weld, an adhesive joint and a heat seal.
The closable container may include a first pull-tab joined to an exterior face of the first wall and a second pull-tab joined to an exterior face of the second wall.
At least one of the first pull-tab and the second pull-tab may be integrally formed with the first and second wall, respectively.
The first and second pull-tabs may be positioned away from the first and second cooperating panels and toward a bottom of the container.
The closable container may include a bottom wall affixed to the first and second walls to define the interior volume.
The flexible material may be a plastic material selected from one of polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polypropylene or a combination thereof.
According to further embodiments, a closable container is provided. The closable container includes a first wall of flexible material having a first interior face, a second wall of flexible material having a second interior face, the first and second walls being laterally opposed and arranged to form an interior volume of the closable container with the first interior wall and the second interior wall at least partially defining the interior volume, a first cooperative panel having a cooperating face and a first joining face opposite the cooperating face, at least a portion of the cooperating face comprising a first plurality of hooked protrusions, and a second cooperative panel having a second cooperating face and a second joining face opposite the second cooperating face, the second cooperating face comprising a second plurality of hooked protrusions configured to engage with the first plurality of hooked protrusions to form an interlocking connection, wherein each hooked protrusion of the first and second plurality of hooked protrusions has a single shank from which two mutually opposed engaging portions extend. The first joining face is joined to the first interior face at a first joint and the second joining face being joined to the second interior face at a second joint. A first pull-tab affixed to an exterior face of the first wall at a position away from the first joint, and a second pull-tab affixed to an exterior face of the second wall at a position away from the second joint are also provided. The first and second joints are configured such that when a tensile force is exerted upon one or both of the first and second pull-tabs, the interlocking connection may be disengaged without substantial force being exerted on the first and second plurality of hooked protrusions.
Both the first and second joints may be narrower than a width of the respective first and second cooperative panel, and each of the first and second joints may be positioned away from a longitudinal axis of symmetry of the respective first or second cooperative panel.
The first and second joints may be configured such that exerting a tensile force on a top portion of the first and second walls results in a force being exerted on the first and second interlocking connection.
The first and second joint may be selected from at least one of an ultrasonic weld, an adhesive joint and a heat seal.
Each of the two mutually opposed engaging portions may extend away from the shank in a direction substantially parallel to a lateral axis of the first and second cooperative panels.
The closable container may also include a bottom wall affixed to the first and second wall to define the interior volume.
The flexible material may be a plastic material selected from one of polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polypropylene or a combination thereof.
According to still further embodiments of the present disclosure, a child resistant, closable container is provided. The container includes a bag of flexible material having an opening with a first interior wall of the bag and a second interior wall of the bag at least partially defining the opening, a closure device configured to close the opening, the closure device being of an automatically gripping type, comprising a first cooperative panel having a cooperating face and a first joining face opposite the cooperating face, at least a portion of the cooperating face comprising a first fastener element, and a second cooperative panel having a second cooperating face and a second joining face opposite the second cooperating face, the second cooperating face comprising a second fastener element, the first and second fastener elements being substantially identical to one another, wherein the first joining face is joined to the first interior wall of the bag at a first joint and the second joining face being joined to the second interior wall of the bag at a second joint, at least one of the first and second joints being positioned asymmetrically with respect to a longitudinal axis of symmetry of the first and/or second cooperative panel, a first pull-tab affixed to an exterior portion of the bag opposite the first interior wall, and a second pull-tab affixed to an exterior portion of the bag opposite the second interior wall. Application of a tensile force to the first pull-tab and/or the second pull-tab result in opening of the closure device without substantial force being exerted on the first and second fastener elements.
The closure device may be of a hook-in-hook type, and the first fastener element may include a first plurality of hooked protrusions while the second fastener element includes a second plurality of hooked protrusions. Each hooked protrusion of the second plurality of hooked protrusions may be substantially identical to each hooked protrusion of the first plurality of hooked protrusions.
Except where otherwise contradictory, it is intended that combinations of the above features may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
Additional objects and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure. The objects and advantages of the disclosure will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one (several) embodiment(s) of the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
First and second walls 105 and 110, respectively, may be laterally opposed and arranged to form an interior volume 210 of the closable container 100 with the first interior wall 120 and the second interior wall 125 at least partially defining the interior volume 210. In addition, edge portions of the first and second walls 105 and 110 may define an opening 115 of container 100, while a junction between first and second walls 105 and 110 may form a bottom 200 of container 100. Alternatively, where desired, an additional bottom wall 205 may be joined to first wall 105 and second wall 110 to form a bottom 200 of container 100. Such a joint may be formed by way of adhesive, heat sealing, ultrasonic welding, etc.
For purposes of understanding the present disclosure, opening 115 will be assumed to comprise the highest portion of container 100, while bottom 200 shall be assumed to comprise the lowest point of container 100. Therefore, when the relative term “above” is used it shall be taken to mean “toward the opening 115,” while the relative term “below” shall be taken to mean “toward the bottom 200.” One of skill will recognize that the definitions of the relative terms “above” and “below” apply even where container 100 is inverted.
The flexible material forming each of first and second walls 105 and 110 may comprise any suitable material, for example, a polyethylene (PE), a polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene, and any combination thereof. Additionally, first and second walls 105 and 110 may be of any suitable size and shape, for example, corresponding to a product to be contained therein. According to some embodiments a monolayer film or a multilayer film may be implemented.
Cooperative panels 130 and 131 may each present a cooperating face 7 and a joining face 8, joining face 8 being opposite the cooperative face (reference numerals shown only at
Each cooperative panel 130 and 131 may be joined by its respective joining face 8 to an interior face 120 and 125 of the first and second walls 105 and 110 at one or more joints 135. According to some embodiments, a joint spanning an entire surface of only a cooperative panel's joining face may be provided for only one of the cooperative panels 130 or 131.
Each cooperative panel 130 and 131 may be positioned along a vertical axis Y, such that an axis of symmetry S of each of the first and second cooperative panels 130 and 131 are coincident such that upon exerting a force causing first and second walls 105 and 110 to move toward one another, i.e., a closing force along the axis X, fastener elements of cooperative panels 130 and 131 are entrained to engage one another in an interlocking connection. One of skill in the art will recognize that in order to achieve such an interlocking connection, various offsets may be implemented with regard to positioning of first and second cooperative panels 130 and 131 with respect to vertical axis Y, the present description being exemplary only.
Such a joining may be accomplished using one or more joints 135 that may be any of an ultrasonic weld joint, an adhesive joint, a heat seal joint, or any other suitable joint.
At least one joint 135 may have a width Wj that is narrower than a width Wp of the respective first or second cooperative panel 130 and 131. In other words, where first cooperative panel 130 has a width of Wp, and first cooperative panel 130 is joined to a first interior wall 125 of first wall 105, at a joint 136, width Wj of the joint 135 is less than width Wp. For example, a joint 136 of reduced width may have a width Wj equal to between 1 and 95 percent of a total width Wp of a cooperative panel, in particular, equal to between 20 and 65 percent of a total width Wp of a cooperative panel, in some embodiment equal to between 5 and 45 percent of a total width Wp of a cooperative panel.
A joint 136 of reduced width present on at least one of the first and second cooperative panels 130 and/or 131 may be positioned away from a longitudinal axis of symmetry S of the respective first and/or second cooperative panel 130 and 131. In other words, a joint 136 of reduced width may be placed at an offset distance D away from axis of symmetry S to result in a free edge 137 of first and/or second cooperative panel 130 and 131, thereby resulting in asymmetric positioning with respect to longitudinal axis of symmetry S of the first and/or second cooperative panel 130 and 131.
According to some embodiments the joint 136 having a reduced width Wj may be present at only one edge of first and/or second cooperative panel 130 and 131, so as to create a proximal edge at joint 136 and a distal edge at an edge opposite the proximal edge, i.e., at joint 136, for example, as shown at
Importantly, joint 136 may also be provided offset from an edge of cooperative panel 130 and/or 131, as shown at
For example, a first joint 135 between first joining face 7 of first cooperative panel 131 and first interior wall 120 may be provided over substantially an entire width Wp of first cooperative panel 130, while a second joint 136 having a reduced width of Wj between joining face 7 of second cooperative panel 131 and second interior wall 125 may be provided below (i.e., toward bottom 200 of container 100) axis of symmetry S.
According to further embodiments, for example, as shown at
As additionally shown at
One or more pull tabs 145 may be provided and joined to exterior faces of first and/or second wall 105 and 110 and be configured to allow application of a tensile force F to first and/or second wall 105 and 110. Pull-tabs 145 may be formed integrally with walls 105 and/or 110, or alternatively, joined to walls 105 and/or 110 for example, by heat sealing, ultrasonic welding, adhesive, etc.
For example, fabric pull-tabs 145 may be provided based on a particular design and application, with such fabric pull-tabs 145 being affixed via an adhesive to exterior portions of walls 105 and 110. Alternatively, other materials, such as plastics may be used to form pull-tabs 145, particularly when pull-tabs 145 are formed integrally with container 100. For example, a material and/or strip (s) (rib(s)) that may help the user grip the pull tabs may be provided.
Pull tabs 145 may be positioned away from the first and second cooperating panels, for example, toward a bottom 200 of the container 100. By positioning pull tabs 145 in this way, a tensile force is exerted upon one or both of the first and second pull-tabs results in the interlocking connection being disengaged without substantial force, e.g., a substantial shear force, peeling force, tensile force, or a combination thereof, being exerted on fasteners elements, e.g., a first and second plurality of hooked protrusions. In other words, an interlocking engagement between fastener elements can be undone without the fastener elements being subjected to forces large enough to cause damage thereto. By configuring pull tabs 145 in this way, a child who may be inclined to open a container 100 from a lip formed at opening 115 may not have sufficient strength to do so, while an adult who recognizes that the pull tabs should be pulled, can open container 100 with relative ease.
Turning to
Hooks 1 may be fixed by way of adhesive-bonding or any other means (thermal or ultrasound welding, etc.) to a cooperating face 7 of cooperative panels 130, while a joining face 8 of each cooperative panel 130, 131 remains void of such fastening elements. Alternatively, hooks 1 may be formed integrally with cooperative panels 130, 131, for example, by way of an extrusion molding or profile extrusion.
According to some embodiments, a conventional system or process referred to as REPLA or De Navas (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,593) may be implemented. In such a system/process, ribs can be produced by means of extrusion having, in cross-section, the shape of the final double hook desired. These extruded ribs can then be cut in a transverse direction, for example, a perpendicular direction (or with an angle less than 20 degrees to form hooks in staggered repartition), relative to the extension direction of the ribs (which direction substantially corresponds to the direction of the rows). The knife cuts can be offset by a dimension which corresponds to the thickness which it is desirable to obtain for each hook 1 at the end.
After the cut has been made, the sheet is drawn in order to draw a cooperative panel and separate the hooks from each other, as previously formed by the cut.
The final product thereby obtained is illustrated in
Hooks 1 may have two left and right extension portions which form hook projections 13 and 14 protruding laterally to one side and the other in a direction perpendicular relative to the direction of the rows of the upper portion of the shank 10, i.e., mutually opposed to one another. According to some embodiments, each hooked protrusion may have only a single shank 10 from which two mutually opposed engaging portions extend.
Projections 13 and 14 may form the engaging portions of each hook 1. In each row of hooks, hooks 1 are arranged spaced apart from each other. This distance between hooks, measured by the distance in the region of the base (or the upper surface of the cooperative panel) of shank 10 between the mutually facing planar lateral surfaces of a hook and an adjacent hook in the same row, respectively, and measured in the direction of the row, is designated d in
Hooks 1 may be offset in the extension direction of a row relative to the hooks of an adjacent row by a predetermined distance which may be generally less than a thickness of the hooks, but greater than or equal to a ratio of the distance between hooks 1 divided by the number of rows (d/n, where n is the number of rows of hooks 1).
According to some embodiments, the thickness e of the hooks 1 may be between 0.1 and 1.3 mm, and may in some examples be 0.3 mm. A height i.e., the vertical distance of the shank 10 from the base up to its top, may be between 0.3 and 1.5 mm. The cooperative panel may have a thickness of, for example, between 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm, and 0.16 mm according to some examples.
One of skill in the art will recognize that variations may be made to structures and methods described herein. For example, according to some embodiments, seals 140 may be provided at one or more locations along the cooperative panels and/or on walls of container 100 to aid in sealing container 100 when an interlocking connection between the cooperative panels has been achieved. For example, such seals may comprise one or more flexible undulations configured to interact (e.g., interleave) with undulations present on another cooperative panel and/or wall of container 100 so as to create a liquid and/or air tight seal. The first and/or second cooperative panel could comprise strips 140 in order to avoid the welding of the first and second cooperative panels together. In particular, these strips could comprise a cross sectional having a triangular form, for example.
According to further embodiments of the disclosure, the first and/or second cooperative panel could each comprise at least two parts, a base comprising the fastener element and a plate affixed to the first and/or second wall of flexible material.
According to still further embodiments, the first and/or second cooperative panels could each be affixed to a plate belonging respectively to the first and/or second wall of flexible material.
In an alternative of the embodiment of
According to still further embodiments, one and/or both of the pull tabs 145 may be configured so as to not attract the attention of a child. For example, pull tabs 145 could be maintained respectively parallel to the first interior wall 120 and/or the second interior wall 125. In such a case, the pull tabs could comprise fastener elements (hooks—hooks fastener, hooks—loops fastener, male-female profile, male-male profile, adhesive, . . . ) to maintain the pull tabs 145 sensibly parallel to the respective first and second walls 120, 125 until time of use, when they may be separated and pulled to open container 100.
According to further embodiments (not shown), one or more of the pull tabs 145 may be removable from the respective first and/or second walls 105 and 110. Container 100 may comprise coupling means between such removable pull tab(s) 145 and the respective first and/or second walls. Such coupling means may comprise, for example, fastener elements (e.g., hooks-hooks fastener, hooks-loops fastener, male-female profile, male-male profile, etc.), adhesives, and combinations thereof. The one or more removable pull tabs 145 may be joined to the wall such that a resistance to shear force and/or a tensile force or a combination thereof, is higher than a force need to open container 100, but having a low resistance to peeling force, thereby allowing the removable pull tab(s) 145 to be to easily removed from the wall when desired.
According to some embodiments, one of skill in the art could implement the systems described herein in the domain of pour spouts for a closable container or re-closable container.
Throughout the description, including the claims, the term “comprising a” should be understood as being synonymous with “comprising at least one” unless otherwise stated. In addition, any range set forth in the description, including the claims should be understood as including its end value(s) unless otherwise stated. Specific values for described elements should be understood to be within accepted manufacturing or industry tolerances known to one of skill in the art, and any use of the terms “substantially” and/or “approximately” and/or “generally” should be understood to mean falling within such accepted tolerances, unless otherwise specified herein.
Where any standards of national, international, or other standards body are referenced (e.g., ISO, etc.), such references are intended to refer to the standard as defined by the national or international standards body as of the priority date of the present specification. Any subsequent substantive changes to such standards are not intended to modify the scope and/or definitions of the present disclosure and/or claims.
It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.
