The present invention relates generally to containers for containing flowable material and, more particularly, to sealed containers or pouches having opposed sheets sealed together around their perimeter regions to define a cavity between the sealed sheets for containing the flowable material.
It is known to provide a container or package or pouch for holding a flowable material that has two opposed sheet portions that are sealed together around their perimeter regions to define a cavity within the pouch and between the unsealed portions of the opposed sheets. Such flexible pouches are commonly used for ketchup, mayonnaise, creams, gels, liquids and the like, and involve either two sheets of a flexible film or a fold over of a single sheet of flexible film, and adhesion or heat sealing along the perimeter edges or regions of the sheets so as to form a low cost small pouch containing the flowable material. The packages typically have an opening or tear off portion of flexible material to provide an opening for expulsion of the contents of the pouch. The dispensing end or portion of the container thus may be cut or torn to open or expose an opening for dispensing the material from the cavity of the container.
When opened, the container may be squeezed to force the flowable material within the container through the dispensing opening and onto the targeted object or surface. However, when a user squeezes the pouch, the material is forced in all directions within the pouch (typically a rectangular-shaped pouch) and not entirely toward and through the dispensing end or opening of the pouch. Thus, the user may have to selectively squeeze different regions of the pouch to attempt to force all of the material through the dispensing end or opening of the pouch. The problem is that finger pressure on the pouch drives some of the contents out of the opening, but typically forces or urges some of the flowable material in directions within the pouch other than toward the opening.
It is also known to provide a dispensing tube, where the end of the tube opposite the dispensing opening may be rolled up toward the dispensing opening to help force the material from within the tube through the dispensing opening of the tube. However, such tubes, typically as used for toothpaste and the like, are formed with a molded dispensing end attached to a flexible tube, and filled from the opposite end of the tube, whereby the end of the tube is sealed. Thus, such tubes may be costly to manufacture as compared to pouches formed from opposed sheet portions sealed together about their perimeter regions. Further, although such tubes allow a user to roll up the end of the tube toward the dispensing end, the rolling up of the tube is not controlled, and thus may not result in expulsion of all of the material within the tube.
Although it is known to provide such rollup tubes, such as for toothpaste or the like, it is difficult to roll up the low cost flexible pouches, since such pouches are relatively formless and various separate clips that may be used to assist in rolling or folding the pouches may add significantly to the cost and complexity of the economical pouches. Such additional costs are difficult to justify for such low cost flexible pouches, since such pouches are often used for samples of products, such as shaving gel or skin moisturizer, as well as single use applications of products, such as glue, grease, oil lubricant and/or the like.
The present invention provides a pouch or package or container for containing a flowable material, with the container being formed from sealed opposed sheet portions that are sealed about the perimeter regions to form a cavity or pouch between the unsealed portions of the sheets. The sealed base and/or side regions of the container are substantially rigid and have one or more weakened regions or creases or notches to facilitate controlled folding of the pouch or package to urge or force the flowable material within the pouch toward the dispensing end of the pouch as the pouch is folded from its end opposite the dispensing end. The pouch or package or container of the present invention thus provides an enhanced expulsion means or expulsion aid for expelling and dispensing the material from within the sealed pouch, and does so by utilizing the structure of the container (without additional costly elements or components) to more completely dispense the fluid from within the container.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a container containing a flowable material includes first and second sheet portions that are selectively sealed together about their periphery to define a closed cavity for containing the flowable material. The cavity includes a dispensing portion at a perimeter region or end of the container, with the dispensing portion being configured for dispensing the flowable material from the cavity when the dispensing portion is opened. The sealed perimeter includes a base and opposite side regions of the container, with the base being at a perimeter region or end generally opposite the dispensing portion. At least one of the base and the side regions of the container comprise at least one substantially rigid region with at least one weakened portion to facilitate folding of the side regions at the weakened portions to assist in dispensing the flow of the material from the container.
Optionally, the dispensing portion or end may be opened by cutting or tearing the container at or near the dispensing end, such as via removal of a portion of the low cost container itself rather than costly additions (such as a cap or the like) to the container. The weakened portion or portions may comprise notches, such as graduated notches or the like, established at or along substantially rigid base and/or side regions of the container (such as via removal of a portion of the low cost container), with the notches of one side region generally corresponding to the notches of the other side region to facilitate folding of the container at the corresponding notches. Optionally, the weakened portion or portions may comprise one or more creases established at the base and/or side regions to facilitate folding of the container at the corresponding creases. Optionally, the container may include indicia established thereon (such as via printing or screening or the like, and such as part of the printing or screening of the text and graphics on the sheet portions of the container), such as fastener indicia and/or fold line indicia or the like, to provide an indication to the user that the container is to be folded at the weakened portions to assist the user in using the container for its intended purpose.
In one form, the side portions of the container may comprise substantially rigid side portions with weakened portions spaced therealong. Optionally, a gap or spacing between consecutive weakened portions may be progressively greater for each set of weakened portions approaching the dispensing end of the container.
In another form, the base of the container may comprise a substantially rigid sealed base, and may be foldable along a selectively weakened portion or crease of the base to form an expulsion element, such as a squeegee or squeegee clip or trowel or scraper or the like, to assist in folding the container at the weakened portions of the substantially rigid side regions and forcing the flowable material toward the dispensing end and out the dispensing opening of the container. The base thus may comprise a grasping element or clip or other element that enhances the folding of the container to enhance expulsion of the flowable material from the container.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for expelling flowable material from a sealed pouch or container includes providing first and second sheet portions and selectively sealing the sheet portions together along a perimeter region of the container to define a closed cavity for containing a flowable material therein. The perimeter includes a base and opposite side regions of the container, and the cavity includes a dispensing portion at a periphery of the container. The base and/or the side regions of the container may comprise substantially rigid regions with at least one weakened portion. The dispensing portion of the container is opened and the rigid region is folded at a first one of the weakened portion or portions to assist in dispensing the flowable material through the opened dispensing portion and from the container.
Optionally, the first weakened portion may be at the side regions, while a second weakened portion or portions may also be at the side regions and closer to the dispensing portion or end or opening of the container than the first weakened portion or portions. Optionally, the first weakened portion may be at the base, while a second weakened portion be at the side regions. The base may be folded to at least partially overlay the cavity region of the pouch container, and the base may be squeezed or urged against the cavity portion to force or expel the flowable material from the pouch container. The side regions may be folded at the second one of the weakened portions to further dispense the material from the container.
Therefore, the method or container or flexible pouch of the present invention provides enhanced expulsion means for forcing and dispensing flowable material from within a flexible sealed pouch. The substantially rigid base and/or side regions of the pouch provide structural rigidity to the flexible pouch, while the selectively spaced apart weakened regions of the sides of the pouch allow for selective folding of the pouch in a controlled manner to assist the user in forcing the flowable material within the sealed pouch toward and through a dispensing opening of the pouch. The expulsion means of the present invention provide enhanced expulsion of the fluid or flowable material within the pouch and are integrally formed with the low cost flexible pouch so as to provide such enhanced expulsion of the flowable material without additional or costly elements or moldings. The present invention may have the weakened portions or notches formed or established via removal of portions of the existing side regions or base, or via creasing or otherwise weakening the existing side regions, and thus without adding a costly additional element, such as a separate clip or the like, such that the container or flexible pouch of the present invention provides a controlled expulsion means for a low cost container or pouch.
These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of the present invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification in conjunction with the drawings.
Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depicted therein, a flexible pouch or package or container 10 is formed of opposed flexible sheets or sheet portions 12a, 12b that are sealed together around their perimeter regions to define a cavity 14 within the pouch and between the unsealed portions of the sheets 12a, 12b for holding a flowable material therein (
The flexible sheet portions or film or films of the pouch may be sealed along the perimeter regions via any known or suitable sealing means. For example, the pouch may be heat sealed or adhered about its perimeter regions to seal the perimeter regions of the pouch and to define the pouch within the perimeter regions and between the unsealed portions of the sheets or films. The pouch may comprise two opposite sheet portions that are selectively sealed together around their perimeter regions, or may comprise a single sheet portion that is folded over on itself to form the two opposed sheet portions of the pouch, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The flexible pouch may utilize aspects of the flexible pouches described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,075 and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/818,775, filed Apr. 6, 2004 for CONTAINER FOR FLOWABLE PRODUCTS, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,241,066, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
As can be seen in
The side regions 18a, 18b of pouch 10 are formed so as to be at least partially and preferably substantially rigid to resist or limit bending or folding of the side regions 18a, 18b, except at the weakened portions 22 spaced along the side regions 18a, 18b. The rigidity or strengthening of the side regions may be provided via any suitable means, such as via establishing ridges or ribs or corrugations along the side regions to limit or resist bending, or such rigidity may be provided via the heat sealing or adhesive process or via indentations or the like formed along the side regions to add strength to the side regions. Although the side regions and/or base of the container or pouch may be semi-rigid or non-flexible, the un-sealed portions of the sheet portions (that define the cavity for containing the flowable material) remain flexible to allow for compression of the sheet portions toward one another to expel the flowable material from within the cavity.
The spaced apart weakened portions 22 are formed or established at and along the side regions to allow for bending or flexing of the side regions at the selectively weakened portions. As can be seen in
In the illustrated embodiment, weakened portions 22 comprise a series of notches formed in the side regions 18a, 18b and spaced along each of the side regions 18a, 18b. Although shown as notches formed or established along the side regions of the pouch, the weakened portions may comprise any other suitable weakening means for selectively weakening the side regions of the pouch at the spaced apart locations. For example, the weakened portions may comprise creases or indentations or slight perforations at least partially across the respective side regions to facilitate folding of the side regions of the pouch at the respective weakened portions or regions of the pouch. Other suitable weakening means or elements or configurations may be implemented at spaced apart regions along the sides of the pouch while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Optionally, the weakened regions may be substantially evenly spaced or distributed along the respective side portions, or the weakened regions may be unevenly spaced along the respective side regions (such as discussed in detail below), while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Such an increased longitudinal space (the space along the side portions) between the adjacent or consecutive weakened portions may accommodate the increase in size or longitudinal dimension of the base and folded portions of the folded up pouch as the pouch is folded multiple times toward its dispensing end. However, other suitable spacings or configurations of weakened regions or elements along the side portions of the sealed pouch may be implemented.
The base portion 20 may also comprise a substantially rigid portion of the pouch, such that a user may grasp the base portion 20 to fold the pouch at the weakened portions, whereby the substantially rigid base portion will resist bending or flexing during the folding and expulsion process. Optionally, the base portion 20 may form or utilize or incorporate or receive a grasping element or clip to further enhance the user's ability to readily grasp the base portion and fold the container at the weakened portions to force the flowable material toward the dispensing end and out of the dispensing opening of the pouch. The pouch may utilize the relatively stiff base and/or sealing edges of the flexible pouch to make a clip that can be moved toward the evacuation opening to efficiently direct the flowable product within the pouch toward and through the evacuation opening, even to the extent of creating enough pressure to squirt the flowable product if desired, such as by building up a controllable pressure within the pouch via the folding of the pouch at the weakened regions of the side portions of the pouch.
When the dispensing opening of the pouch is opened or exposed (such as via tearing or cutting the header portion), the fluid or flowable material may be dispensed from the pouch via selective folding of the pouch at the weakened portions of the side regions. As the base 20 is folded over the pouch via bending of the pouch at the lowermost weakened portions (in other words, the weakened portions that are furthest from the dispensing end 14b, such as the weakened portion 22a of side regions 18a, 18b, or such as a weakened portion at the base), the flowable material within the pouch is directed or forced or urged toward and through the dispensing opening 14b. Further folding of the pouch at the next weakened portion 22b urges and dispenses additional flowable material from the pouch 10. This process may be repeated until the pouch is substantially or entirely emptied of its flowable material or contents.
The substantially rigid or relatively stiff bottom and/or side sealed regions of the pouch thus may be utilized to make a low cost clip or folding element or expulsion aid without adding any new components or elements to the sealed pouch. Thus, the present invention provides a low cost flexible pouch, such as a generally rectangular-shaped pouch, made of opposed sheets or sheet portions sealed together around their perimeter regions, and provides for controlled expulsion of the flowable pouch via the selective folding of the pouch at the weakened regions spaced along the substantially rigid or relatively stiff side regions of the pouch.
Optionally, and with reference to
Optionally, the base portion 20′ may be folded at the weakened portion 20a′ such that a portion of the base folds over or overlays or encompasses a portion of the pouch or cavity (such as can be seen with reference to
Optionally, and as shown in
Optionally, and as discussed above, the weakened regions may be substantially evenly spaced or distributed along the respective side portions, or the weakened regions may be unevenly spaced along the respective side regions, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the space or gap or substantially rigid or unweakened portion of the sides may be incrementally or progressively greater for each set of adjacent weakened portions toward the dispensing end. For example, and with reference to
Optionally, and as shown in
Optionally, and with reference to
As can be seen in
Optionally, the sheet portion or portions of the pouch may have indicia thereon to assist a user in recognizing or discerning the foldable feature of the pouch. For example, and with reference to
The base 120 of the container 110 thus may be folded to provide an assist feature or function for the expulsion of the flowable material from the cavity of the container. Optionally, the weakened portion of the base 120 may be at the lower end of the cavity, such that substantially the entire base is folded over the cavity portion, whereby the first or upper base portion may actually be at the lowermost portion of the cavity itself. Optionally, the container 110 may include substantially rigid side regions 118a, 118b with one or more weakened portions 122a, 122b established along the respective side regions 118a, 118b to assist in folding of the container at the weakened portions along the side regions, such as in a similar manner as discussed above. Optionally, the container may include indicia or demarcations 122c at the side weakened portions 122a, 122b and/or across or partially across the container between the respective weakened portions (such as the dashed lines 122c at the side regions 118a, 118b in
A user of the container 110 may tear or cut the header portion 116 of container 110 to open the dispensing end or portion 114a, and may then fold the base 120 (at the weakened portion 120a, such as notches or a crease or perforation at least partially across the base) and squeeze or urge the lower or second base portion 121b toward and against the cavity region of the container to expel some of the flowable material from the cavity 114. The user may then further fold the container 110 at the first weakened portion 122a of the side regions 118a, 118b to expel more of the flowable material from the cavity, and may further fold the container at the second weakened portion 122b of the side regions 118a, 118b to expel more of the flowable material from the cavity of the container. The substantially rigid base and/or side regions with one or more weakened portions (such as creases, notches, perforations or the like) thus provide a controlled folding of the container to expel substantially all of the contents of the container in a controlled manner. Although shown as having two weakened portions 122a, 122b along the side regions 118a, 118b, clearly more or less weakened portions may be provided depending on the particular container, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Optionally, additional indicia may be provided to provide a step-by-step indication of the folding feature of the container. For example, the container may be marked as shown in
Optionally, the fastener indicia may be selected so that it is clear to the user as to which fastener indicia match or go together. For example, fastener indicia 123a may represent a male fastener element, while fastener indicia 123b may represent a female fastener element so that a user may readily understand the folding process. Likewise, fastener indicia 123c may represent a male fastener (so that a user is less likely to fold the base and fastener indicia 123a too far along the container since the two male fasteners would not intuitively go together), and the fastener indicia at the back of the base portion may represent a female fastener to correspond with the male fastener indicia 123c, and so on. Other indicia, such as color coded or alphanumeric indicia or the like, may be utilized to assist the user in folding the container at each of the weakened portions, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The fastener indicia thus may be spaced apart along both the front and rear sheet portions of the container to provide step-by-step or fold-by-fold instructions or map or guide to assist the user in recognizing the foldable feature and folding the container at the weakened portions to expel the flowable material from within the cavity in a controlled manner.
Optionally, and with reference to
Optionally, container 110′ may include fastener indicia or the like at the base 120′ to indicate to the user how the base is to be folded. For example, the container 110′ may have a first fastener portion or element or indicia 123a′ printed or screen printed or otherwise established at the second or lower base portion 121b′, and a second fastener portion or element or indicia 123b′ printed or screen printed or otherwise established at the first or upper base portion 121a′. As discussed above, the fastener indicia are graphical representations that are indicative or representative of first and second fastener portions (such as male and female fastener portions, such as snap elements or the like), and are established at the sheet portion in a manner whereby the first and second indicia 123a′, 123b′ may be generally aligned when the second base portion 121b is folded generally over the first base portion 121a′. The first and second fastener indicia thus provide an indication to the user of the pouch container that the second base portion is to be folded at the weakened portion of the base. Optionally, the base portion may also or otherwise include indicia 121c′ across or partially across the base portion 120′ and generally at the weakened portion 120a′ to provide an indication of where the base portion is to be folded (such as a dashed line or text, such as “fold here”, or the like). As stated above, such indicia or demarcation is particularly useful when the weakened portion of the base is a crease or other form of weakening of the base and thus may not be readily discernible to the user of the container. Container 110′ may otherwise be substantially similar to container 110, such that a detailed discussion of the containers need not be repeated herein.
Thus, the present invention provides a means for directing and/or controlling the flow of the flowable material within the container or pouch toward and through and out from the dispensing opening of the pouch. The foldable substantially rigid region of the container, such as the substantially rigid side regions and/or foldable substantially rigid base region, allow for controlled directing of the fluid flow of the pouch and may build up the pressure internally within the pouch to provide a more complete evacuation or expulsion of the flowable material within the pouch. The weakened portion or portions are formed at or near the base region to allow folding of the container at or near the base region (such as across the base region or at the side regions and across a lower or distal portion of the cavity opposite the dispensing end) so that the pressure due to the folding of the pouch starts at the end of the pouch that is opposite from the dispensing and/or evacuation point. The present invention provides a weakened portion of the substantially rigid base and/or side regions to allow for controlled bending or folding of the container at the weakened portions, while the rest of the base and/or side regions (the non-weakened portions) remain relatively rigid or stiff. Optionally, indicia may be provided at one or both of the sheet portions of the container to provide an indication to a user of the folding feature of the pouch container. Optionally, tapered shoulders may be provided near the dispensing end of the pouch to further direct the flow of the material within the pouch toward the dispensing opening of the pouch.
Therefore, the present invention provides a relatively simple and inexpensive one or two piece pouch construction with no cap or molded shoulders or re-sealable outlet or the like, but with the ability to readily dispense the flowable material within the pouch via controlled folding of the pouch along the series of weakened portions at or in the side regions of the pouch. The simple, low cost pouch of the present invention provides a cavity that is framed by a series of side ridges and weakened portions that are made of the same material and same sheet or sheets as the pouch holder such that no additional material or element is added to the pouch to provide the desired controlled expulsion of the materials within the pouch. The selective use of the substantially rigid side and bottom regions with weakened portions, such as creases, notches, folds or the like, produces a means for constructing a fold up device or container or pouch that directs product pressure and outflow of material to and through the dispensing opening of the pouch in a controlled manner.
Changes and modifications to the specifically described embodiments may be carried out without departing from the principles of the present invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents.
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