Patent Grant
8231029
This application generally relates to a flexible container having flexible handles and, in particular, a flexible container having a flexible top and bottom handle for facilitating dispensing of a flowable substance stored therein.
Large containers for storing flowable food products used in food service or in bulk product sales typically are provided in a rigid jar, made out of a rigid plastic material, and with a large opening. The large opening may be as large as or almost as large as the container is wide. A rigid handle can be located on the side of such jar for transporting and for assistance in transferring the product from the jar. The large opening can allow the user to be able to reach inside with a spoon or other utensil and scrape any residual product from the interior of the jar in an effort to transfer all or substantially all of the product to another smaller container or cup and to ensure that nothing is wasted. However, such a large opening in the jar does not readily facilitate controlled pouring into smaller dosing cups or containers. In order to transfer to a smaller sized container, a user often has to insert a utensil or cup into the jar and scoop out the necessary amount to transfer. Not only is an extra object being introduced into the container, but the user's entire hand may be inserted through the opening or otherwise in contact with the existing product, both of which can lead to product contamination if the product stored therein is contacted.
Another type of large container or bag can be made out of a flexible plastic film material having a rigid spout or fitment attached. A top handle can be attached and may be made of a rigid material, such as a rigid plastic material, and can be positioned on top of the container adjacent the pour spout or attached to the pour spout itself. The rigid handle can assist in carrying the bag and can be used to assist in holding and directing the bag during product transfer. However, the rigid handle on a flexible container can interfere with pouring the product from the container. When the product is being transferred from the flexible container by holding the rigid handle adjacent to or on the pour spout, the flexible container may bend or buckle at the flexible material around the neck of the spout, thus restricting the opening at the neck and making product transfer difficult. Furthermore, in order to pour the product out of such a large container, the user often has to grab the bottom wall or surface of the container for additional support when inverting the container, which is not practical for maintaining a firm grip on the container.
Other flexible containers may have a lower and/or an upper gripping flap that is an extension of the bag material and further having at least two small finger holes therein. This type of flexible bag does not have a top wall since the sidewalls terminate in this upper gripping flap. The bag only has a bottom wall and upstanding sidewalls that come together at the top to form a seal or closed edge. Thus, because there is no top wall of the bag, the pour spout is located in a sidewall of the bag. The position of the pour spout hinders the complete evacuation of the product inside the bag. If the bag is inverted in an upside down position, or approximately 180 degrees, in an attempt to fully evacuate the bag contents by letting gravity act upon it, some of the product can get stuck adjacent the upper gripping flap of the bag and below the inverted spout, unable to be poured out through the spout.
If it is desired to evacuate all of the product from within the flexible bag having a side spout, then the user may release the upper gripping flap and use that hand to apply pressure to the flexible bag in an effort to squeeze out the remaining product. When squeezing the remaining product, the bag is often in an inverted position with the top of the bag generally perpendicular to the receiving receptacle below. In this position, the remaining product can be squeezed out of the spout but it may drip out onto a portion of the sidewall of the bag and/or a portion of the upper gripping flap, which are positioned below the spout when the bag Is inverted, before it is received into the intended receiving receptacle below. This can cause sanitary concerns because the product can become contaminated since the exterior of the bag may not be fully clean or sterile.
A flexible container is provided with a plurality of flexible panels having at least two flexible handles. The two flexible handles comprise one top handle at a top end portion and one bottom handle at a bottom end portion, positioned generally at a center point, such as a center of gravity, of its respective end of the container to provide better control of the container when carrying or inverting the container to transfer the product out. The top and bottom handle structures can both surround a handle opening that can accommodate a user's hand for gripping while transporting or transferring the product therein, where the opening allows the entire hand to be inserted for better control of the container when pouring and transferring its contents. Moreover, both handles can be an extension of the body of the container, defined by at least one of the flexible panels, thus not requiring extra material for the handles and saving on manufacturing costs. Furthermore, the flexible top handle does not interfere with the transfer of liquid out of the container and through a rigid spout located in the top end portion and adjacent the top handle, due to its flexibility and ability to move with the container rather than constrict an opening in the rigid spout. The bottom handle can be folded underneath the bottom surface of the container to allow the container to stand upright and unsupported when in a rest position and at different content fill heights. The top handle is adjacent the pour spout through which the contents of the container are emptied. The top handle is in the same plane as the pour spout, which allows for better control at the upper surface when transferring. The positioning of the pour spout on the top end portion of the container allows for the container to be inverted upside down (i.e., about 180 degrees) for substantially complete product evacuation. The user can continue to hold the handles of the container while inverting the bag and positioning the opening of the spout in a position that is directly above the receiving receptacle without the handles crossing the food products path of exit from the spout.
The spout also can have an opening sized such that the user can easily pour the product from the container into a smaller sized receiving receptacle in a controlled fashion without the need to use other utensils or cups to remove the product. The opening of the spout is also sized to prevent a user from inserting their entire hand through the opening to contact the product stored therein.
Additionally, the top handle of the container may have a machine fold or score line along a portion of a pair of legs of the handle, which causes the handles to bend or fold to one side when in a rest position, (i.e., not transferring). If for any reason the product contents do not completely dispense while holding the container in an inverted position, the user can let go of the top handle to apply a force to the flexible container to squeeze out the additional contents. In doing so, the top handle will automatically fold back to one side of the container, due to the machine fold forcing it in that direction, to ensure that the top handle will clear the path of the product as it is squeezed out of the container and exits the spout into the receiving receptacle below. This can ensure that the product is evacuated from the container in a sanitary manner, without coming into contact with the top handle or any exterior portion of the container.
In one aspect, the container can be provided from multiple substrate films, such that each side panel and front and rear panel is made up of a separate web of film, for a total of four layers or, alternatively, only one web of film can be used. The top handle is an extension of the top end portion or segment and comprises all four layers as does the bottom handle, which is also an extension of its bottom segment. The layers are sealed together at the top and bottom segments to form the handle associated with it.
The bottom handle also can have a machine fold or score line to force it to fold in the same direction as the top handle. This provides for ease of dispensing when both handles fold the same way. The machine fold also aids the container to rest in a freestanding upright position on the folded bottom handle when not in use and stored on its bottom end. Typically, when multiple film layers are sealed together in this fashion, it is difficult for a flexible package to stand upright because all of the layers sealed together cause the bottom to be uneven and hence to tip over. However, with the combination of the machine fold crease, gussets, and a tack seal across the bottom handle at its intersection with the bottom segment, the bottom handle can assist the container to stand upright unsupported, especially after some of its contents have been evacuated and the container is not completely full.
Additionally, due to the flexible nature of the container and the fact that the container can be made having a smaller size or footprint yet still contain the same volume of product, a larger quantity of the flexible bags can be stacked and shipped versus the current rigid bottles. Thus, a savings in transportation costs can be realized by reducing the number of shipments that need to be sent or transported to customers. Moreover, the shift from current rigid food service jars to the flexible container disclosed herein also results in a reduction of container material as well as providing for efficient shelf space storage in comparison to the rigid jars.
A flexible container having a flexible top handle and a flexible bottom handle is provided for facilitating dispensing of a flowable substance stored therein, as illustrated in
Turning to
Where four webs of film are provided, the edges of each can be sealed to the adjacent web of film, such as by heat-sealing technology, to form sealed side edges 41 and sealed bottom edges 40 of the container 10. To form the top 28 and bottom 26 segments, the four webs of film converge together at the respective end and are sealed together. For instance, the top segment 28 can be defined by extensions of the side panels sealed together at the top end 44 and when the container 10 is in a rest position it can have four top panels 28a-28d (
Additionally, a fitment, such as a pour spout 30, can be positioned on the top segment 28, the fitment 30 having an access opening 50 through the top segment 28 to the interior. Alternatively, the fitment 30 can be positioned on one of the side panels, where the top segment would then be defined as an upper seal area defined by the joining together of at least two side panel ends. In one aspect, the pour spout 30 is positioned at generally a midpoint of the top segment 28 and can be sized smaller than a width of the container 10, such that the access opening 50 of the pour spout 30 can have an area that is less than a total area of the top segment 28. In another aspect, the spout area is not more than 20% of the total top segment area. This can ensure that the spout 30 and its associated access opening 50 will not be large enough to insert a hand therethrough, thus avoiding any unintentional contact with the product 58 stored therein.
A portion of the four webs of film that make up the top segment surface can also terminate at the spout 30. For instance, a portion of an end section of the four webs of film can each be sealed or welded to an outer, lower rim 52 of the pour spout 30 to form a tight seal. Furthermore, the spout 30 can contain a removable closure 32.
As shown in
Furthermore, the bottom segment 26 can have a pair of gussets 54 and 56 formed thereat, which are essentially extensions of the bottom segments panels 26a-26d. The gussets 54 and 56 can facilitate the ability of the container 10 to stand upright. These gussets 54 and 56 are formed from excess material from each bottom segment panel 26a-26d that are joined together to form the gussets 54 and 56. The triangular portions of the gussets 54 and 56 comprise two adjacent bottom segment panels sealed together and extending into its respective gusset. For example, adjacent bottom panels 26a and 26d extend beyond the plane of their bottom surface along an intersecting edge and are sealed together to form one side of a first gusset 54. Similarly, adjacent portions 26c and 26d extend beyond the plane of their bottom surface along an intersecting edge and are sealed together to form the other side of the first gusset 54. Likewise, a second gusset 56 is similarly formed from adjacent bottom segment panels 26a-26b and 26b-26c. The gussets 54 and 56 can contact a portion of the bottom segment 26, where the gusset portions gussets 54 and 56 can contact bottom segment panels 26b and 26d covering them, while bottom segment panels 26a and 26c remain exposed at the bottom end 46.
As shown in
The bottom handle 14 can comprise up to four layers of film sealed together when four webs of film are used to make the container 10. Any portion of the bottom handle 14 where all four layers are not completely sealed together by the heat-sealing method, can be adhered together in any appropriate manner, such as by a tack seal to form a fully-sealed multi-layer bottom handle 14. The bottom handle 14 can have any suitable shape and generally will take the shape of the film end. For example, typically the web of film has a rectangular shape when unwound, such that its ends have a straight edge. Therefore, the bottom handle 14 would also have a rectangular shape.
Additionally, the bottom handle 14 can contain a handle opening 16 or cutout section therein sized to fit a user's hand, as can be seen in
Furthermore, a portion of the bottom handle 14 attached to the bottom segment 26 can contain a dead machine fold 42 or a score line that provides for the handle 26 to consistently fold in the same direction, as illustrated in
Additionally, as the container 10 is evacuated and less product remains, the bottom handle 14 can continue to provide support to help the container 10 to remain standing upright unsupported and without tipping over. Because the bottom handle 14 is sealed generally along its entire length extending between the pair of side panels 18 and 20, it can help to keep the gussets 54 and 56 (
As seen in
The bottommost edge of the upper handle portion 12a when extended in a position above the spout 30, can be just tall enough to clear the uppermost edge of the spout 30. A portion of the top handle 12 can extend above the spout 30 and above the top segment 28 when the handle 12 is extended in a position perpendicular to the top segment 28 and, in particular, the entire upper handle portion 12a can be above the spout 30 and the top segment 28. The two pairs of legs 13 and 15 along with the upper handle portion 12a together make up the handle 12 surrounding a handle opening that allows a user to place their hand therethrough and grasp the upper handle portion 12a of the handle 12.
As with the bottom handle 14, the top handle 12 also can have a dead machine fold 34 that permits folding in a first direction toward the front side panel 22 and restricts folding in a second direction toward the rear side panel 24. The machine fold 34a-34b can be located in each of the pair of legs 13a-13b and 15a-15b at a location where the seal begins. The handle 12 can be adhered together, such as with a tack adhesive, beginning from the machine folded portion 34 up to and including the horizontal upper handle portion 12a of the handle 12. The positioning of the machine fold 34 can be in the same latitude plane as the spout 30 and, in particular, as the bottommost portion of the spout 30. The two machine folds 34a-34b in the handle 12 can allow for the handle 12 to be inclined to fold or bend consistently in the same first direction X as the bottom handle 14, rather than in the second direction Y. As shown in
When the container 10 is in a rest position, such as when it is standing upright on its bottom segment 26, as shown in
Alternatively, in another aspect the container can contain a fitment or pour spout positioned on a sidewall, where the top handle is essentially formed in and from the top portion or segment. The top handle can be formed from the four webs of film, each extending from its respective sidewall, extending into a sidewall or flap positioned at the top end of the container, such that the top segment of the container converges into the handle and they are one and the same, with the spout to the side of the extended handles, rather than underneath.
The material of construction of the container 10 can comprise any conventional food-grade plastic. For instance, nylon, polyethylene, high density polyethylene (HDPE) and/or low density polyethylene (LDPE) may be used. The film of the plastic container 10 can have a thickness that is adequate to maintain product and package integrity during manufacturing, distribution, product shelf life and customer usage, such as about 4.0 to about 9.0 mils. The film material can also be such that it provides the appropriate atmosphere within the container 10 to maintain the product shelf life of at least about 180 days. Such films can comprise an oxygen barrier film, such as a film having a low oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of about 0 to about 1 cc/100 in2/24 hrs at 73° F. and 80% relative humidity (RH). Additionally, the film can also comprise a water vapor barrier film, such as a film having a low water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of about 0 to about 1 g/100 in2/24 hrs at 100° F. and 90% RH. The film used can be either printable or compatible to receive a pressure sensitive label or other type of label for displaying of indicia on the container 10.
The container 10 can be any size that is appropriate for the food product being stored therein and, in one aspect, can be at least one gallon size or larger. In that aspect, the one gallon size container 10 can have a length of about 16½ inches when in a flattened, evacuated state as shown in
The spout 30, in
The container 10 can be used to store any number of flowable substances therein. In particular, a flowable food can be stored within the container 10. In one aspect, flowable food products such as salad dressings, sauces, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, other condiments, beverages, and the like can be stored inside of the container 10.
During the sealing process, i.e., heat-sealing with dies, when the multiple film layers are pressed together to form the seals and/or handles, air bubbles or air pockets may form. In order to compensate for the air pockets, the die used for sealing can have a pattern thereon that allows the air from these pockets to escape, however, often leaving behind a pattern in the film that matches that shown on the die. For instance, small circles may be imprinted upon the sealed edges and handles of the container that correlate to the pattern on the die used for heat-sealing. Any other pattern can be provided as long as it is appropriate for evacuating the air from the pockets within the film. Alternatively, a pattern from the die may not transfer at all to the container.
A method of pouring or transferring the contents from the container 10 to another smaller container or receiving receptacle is also disclosed herein, and illustrated in
As shown in
At any time during evacuation of the product, the user can aid in the evacuation by applying pressure to the walls or segments 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 of the container 10 to squeeze out additional product. In order to squeeze the container walls or segments 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, the user will need to remove one of their hands from the handles 12 or 14. In most cases the user will continue to hold the bottom handle 14, since it is most convenient to continue holding at the bottom end 46 while holding the container 10 upside down or at an angle maintaining the spout 30 in a downward position, in which case the user would let go of the top handle 12. Because of the machine fold 34 in the top handle 12, the handle 12 will revert back to the folded position in the first direction X once the user releases the handle 12. As a result, when the product is squeezed from the container 10 it can exit the spout 30 without any interference from the top handle 12 and without effecting any dripping down the side of the container 10. This allows a sanitary transfer of product and ensures that the top handle 12 will not dangle or hang down in the path of the access opening 50 due to the force of gravity as a result of its machine fold 34. This procedure allows for at least 95% evacuation of the product inside and, in particular, allows for complete (i.e., 100%) evacuation of product.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated a flexible container having flexible handles is provided. However, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the container set forth in the claims. Therefore, the disclosure is not limited to the aspects and embodiments described hereinabove, or to any particular embodiments. Various modifications to the container could be made which can result in substantially the same container and flexible handles.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/241,213, filed Sep. 10, 2009, hereby incorporated herein by reference.
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