Claims
- 1. A bottle fabricated from flexible webs and including a fitment which comprises:
a bottom section; a body section comprising a front panel, a rear panel, and a pair of gusseted side panels, each of said front panel, rear panel and gusseted side panels having predetermined widths; a neck section formed from extended portions of said front and rear panels and extended portions of said gusseted side panels, the widths of said extended portions of said front and rear panels and said gusseted side panels being reduced at said neck section; a tapered transition section between said body section and said neck section; and a fitment positioned within said neck section, and sealed to said extended portions of said front and rear panels and to said extended portions of said gusseted side panels.
- 2. A bottle as recited in claim 1 wherein said neck section is sealed to said fitment by applying heat and pressure to said neck section against said fitment at least two times and from at least two different angular directions.
- 3. A bottle as recited in claim 2 wherein at least two of said applications of heat and pressure are applied from directions which differ by about 90 degrees.
- 4. A bottle as recited in claim 1 wherein said neck section is sealed to said fitment by applying ultrasonic energy to the interface between said neck section and said fitment.
- 5. A bottle as recited in claim 1 wherein the side edges of said front panel, said rear panel, and said pair of gusseted side panels are contoured.
- 6. A bottle as recited in claim 1 wherein said bottom portion is formed from extended portions portions of said front and rear panels and said gusseted side panels, the edges of said extended portions tapering at an angle of about 45 degrees.
- 7. A bottle as recited in claim 1 and further including a handle portion extending from said transition and neck sections.
- 8. A bottle fabricated from flexible webs and including a fitment having a cylindrical base which comprises:
a bottom section; a body section comprising a front panel, a rear panel, and a pair of gusseted side panels, each of said front panel, rear panel and gusseted side panels having predetermined widths; a neck section formed from extended portions of said front and rear panels and extended portions of said gusseted side panels, the widths of said extended portions of said front and rear panels and gusseted side panels being reduced at said neck section; a tapered transition section between said body section and said neck section; and a fitment having a cylindrical base positioned within said neck section, said cylindrical base being sealed to said extended portions of said front and rear panels and to said extended portions of said gusseted side panels.
- 9. A bottle as recited in claim 8 wherein said neck section is sealed to said cylindrical base by the application of heat and pressure.
- 10. A bottle as recited in claim 9 wherein said heat and pressure is applied more than one time, and at least two of said applications of heat and pressure are applied from directions which differ by about 90 degrees.
- 11. A bottle as recited in claim 8 wherein said neck section is sealed to said fitment by applying ultrasonic energy to the interface between said neck section and said cylindrical base.
- 12. A bottle as recited in claim 8 wherein the side edges of said front panel, said rear panel, and said pair of gusseted side panels are contoured.
- 13. A bottle as recited in claim 8 wherein said bottom portion is formed from extended portions portions of said front and rear panels and said gusseted side panels, the edges of said extended portions tapering at an angle of about 45 degrees.
- 14. A bottle as recited in claim 8 and further including a handle portion extending from said transition and neck sections.
- 15. A method of fabricating a flexible bottle that includes a neck section containing a fitment, a transition section, a body section, and a bottom section, which method comprises the steps of:
feeding a web into a fabricating machine, said web being comprised of flexible films, said web including i) a pair of folded gussets, each gusset having an upper face and a lower face, and ii) top and bottom laminations, said top and bottom laminations abutting the upper and lower faces of said folded gussets respectively, the folds of said gussets being adjacent each other; forming perimeter seams at the sides of at least said neck section and said transition section, but not including said bottom section, said neck section being the portion of said bottle fed into said machine first, said perimeter seams attaching said top lamination to the upper faces of said gussets, and attaching said bottom lamination to the lower faces of said gussets; cutting away the material outside said perimeter seams in the regions of said neck section and said transition section; inserting a fitment into said neck section through the unseamed bottom section, said insertion being in the direction said web is being fed; forming perimeter seams around the portions of said bottle not formed in the prior perimeter seaming step, said perimeter seams attaching said top lamination to the upper faces of said gussets, and attaching said bottom lamination to the lower faces of said gussets; severing said bottle from said web; and sealing said neck section to said fitment.
- 16. A method of fabricating a flexible bottle as recited in claim 15 wherein said sealing of said neck section to said fitment is accomplished by applying heat and pressure on said neck section against said fitment.
- 17. A method of fabricating a flexible bottle as recited in claim 16, wherein the step of applying heat and pressure to the interface between said neck section and said fitment is performed more than one time, at least two of said times said heat and pressure are applied being at at different radial angles.
- 18. A method of fabricating a flexible bottle as recited in claim 17 wherein said different radial angle is about 90 degrees.
- 19. A method of fabricating a flexible bottle as recited in claim 15 wherein said sealing of said neck section to said fitment is accomplished by applying ultrasonic energy to said neck section against said fitment.
- 20. A method of sealing the base of a fitment in a container, which container has a neck portion within which said fitment can be placed, comprising the steps of:
providing at least one heated split clamp having an internal shape substantially corresponding to the shape of said base; inserting the base of said fitment into said neck portion; causing one of said clamps to exert pressure on said neck portion against said base a first time; and causing one of said clamps to exert pressure on said neck portion against said base a second time, said second exertion of pressure being at a different angular direction with respect to said base.
- 21. A method of sealing the base of a fitment in a container as recited in claim 20 wherein said first and said second exertions of pressure are accomplished by different clamps.
- 22. A method of sealing the base of a fitment in a container as recited in claim 21 and further including the step of turning said container between said first and second exertions of pressure.
- 23. A method of sealing the base of a fitment in a container as recited in claim 20 wherein said first and said second exertions of pressure are accomplished by the same clamp.
- 24. A method of sealing the base of a fitment in a container as recited in claim 23 and further including the step of turning said container between said first and second exertions of pressure.
- 25. A method of inserting a fitment into the neck portion of a flexible container being fabricated, said container having a top section and a bottom section, said neck portion being in said top section, and said fitment having a base, which comprises the steps of:
intermittently feeding a plurality of webs as the material for a flexible container; forming seams attaching said webs along at least a portion of what is intended to become the perimeter of said container at said top section, said seams being discontinuous and defining a neck portion of said container therebetween; placing a fitment on a mandrel; separating said webs at said bottom section; inserting said mandrel between said webs through said bottom section of said container and positioning the base of said fitment in said neck portion; sealing said neck portion to said base of said fitment; and withdrawing said mandrel.
- 26. A method of inserting a fitment into the neck of a flexible container being fabricated as recited in claim 25 wherein said plurality of webs includes first and second flat webs and first and second folded gusset webs therebetween, and wherein said seams attach said first and second flat webs to said first and second folded gusset webs to form said neck portion.
- 27. A method of inserting a fitment into the neck of a flexible container being fabricated as recited in claim 26 wherein said first and second flat webs and first and second folded gusset webs each have predetermined widths, and further including the step of reducing said widths at said neck section whereby said neck portion will have a reduced size.
- 28. A method of inserting a fitment into the neck of a flexible container being fabricated as recited in claim 25 wherein said first and second folded gusset webs are portions of the same piece of material as one of said flat webs.
- 29. A method of inserting a fitment into the neck of a flexible container being fabricated as recited in claim 25 wherein said first and second folded gusset webs and said first and second flat webs are four separate pieces of material.
- 30. A method of inserting a fitment into the neck of a flexible container being fabricated as recited in claim 25 wherein the insertion motion of said mandrel is in the direction said webs are fed.
- 31. A method of inserting a fitment into the neck of a flexible container being fabricated as recited in claim 30 wherein said plurality of webs includes first and second flat webs and first and second folded gusset webs therebetween, and wherein said seams attach said first and second flat webs to said first and second folded gusset webs to form said neck portion.
- 32. A method of inserting a fitment into the neck of a flexible container being fabricated as recited in claim 30 wherein said first and second flat webs and first and second folded gusset webs each have predetermined widths, and further including the step of reducing said widths at said neck section whereby said neck portion will have a reduced size.
- 33. A method of inserting a fitment into the neck of a flexible container being fabricated as recited in claim 30 wherein said first and second folded gusset webs are portions of the same piece of material as one of said flat webs.
- 34. A method of inserting a fitment into the neck of a flexible container being fabricated as recited in claim 30 wherein said first and second folded gusset webs and said first and second flat webs are four separate pieces of material.
- 35. A method of inserting a fitment into the neck of a flexible container being fabricated as recited in claim 25 wherein the inner circumference of said neck portion is no greater than about 3% larger than the circumference of the base of said fitment.
PRIOR APPLICATION
[0001] This is a Continuation-In-Part of application Ser. No. 10/133,436, filed Apr. 27, 2002.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10133436 |
Apr 2002 |
US |
Child |
10195097 |
Jul 2002 |
US |