Patent Application
20070066470
Reclosable seals are used in a variety of applications, one example being for sealing the opening of a bag. A variety of methods for applying reclosable seals to containers currently exist, but no one prior to the inventors has created or used the invention described in the appended claims.
While the specification concludes with claims that particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements. The drawings and detailed description which follow are intended to be merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
The following description should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. Other examples, features, aspects, embodiments, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, which includes by way of illustration, one of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different and obvious aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. It should therefore be understood that the inventors contemplate a variety of embodiments that are not explicitly disclosed herein.
In
In the present left interlocking section (14), a hinge (24) is located adjacent teeth (22). It will be appreciated that hinge (24) may prevent inadvertent disengagement of teeth (22), such as by outward separation of flanges (11). Of course, right interlocking section (12) may include a hinge (24) in addition to or as an alternative to left interlocking section (14) having hinge (24). Alternatively, any suitable alternative to hinge (24) may be used, including but not limited to no hinge (24) at all.
As used herein, terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “right,” “left,” “above,” “below,” and the like are used simply to refer to the relative positioning of elements in the drawings, and are not intended to be limiting in any way.
Zipper (10) of the present example is configured to be secured to bag (30). It will be appreciated that interlocking sections (12, 14) of zipper (10) may be secured to bag (30) in any suitable fashion. In one embodiment, interlocking sections (12, 14) are secured to bag (30) by a pre-applied, heat-activated adhesive. Such adhesive may be activated by hot air, by hot rolling, or by any other suitable method. In another embodiment, interlocking sections (12, 14) are secured to bag (30) by an epoxy bond. In this embodiment, a first compound is applied to each interlocking section (12, 14) and a second compound is applied to the portions of bag (30) that will ultimately come into contact with interlocking sections (12, 14). The first and second compounds are configured such that, when joined together, the compounds form a physical bond. Accordingly, a bond is formed when interlocking sections (12, 14) are placed in contact with the aforementioned portions of bag (30), thereby securing interlocking sections (12, 14) to bag (30). Alternatively, any other technique may be used to secure interlocking sections (12, 14) to bag (30), including but not limited to heat-sealing, stitching, adhesives, press-sealing, cold welding, pressure bonding, double-sided tape. Where interlocking sections (12, 14) are stitched to bag (30), it will be appreciated that such stitching may include, by way of example only, sewing or ultrasonic stitching. Still other suitable techniques for securing interlocking sections (12, 14) to bag (30) will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. In addition, it will be appreciated that zipper (10) may be secured to any other container.
In the present example, closure of zipper (10) results from engagement of teeth (22) of right interlocking section (12) with teeth (22) of left interlocking section (14), thereby effecting a seal of bag (30). As used herein, the term “seal” and its variants shall be read to generally imply the prevention of at least a substantial portion material (e.g., solids, gases, and/or liquids) from escaping or entering the container. However, such a “seal” need not per se be perfectly “air tight” or “water tight” as those phrases are commonly used and understood.
Interlocking sections (12, 14) of the present example comprise an extruded plastic material. In some embodiments of the methods disclosed herein, interlocking sections (12, 14) are joined together to form zipper (10) before being secured to bag (30). In some embodiments, extruded interlocking sections (12, 14) joined to form a continuous zipper strip (90). As used herein, the term “zipper” shall be read to include a zipper having a length that corresponds with the length of a container opening. The term “zipper strip” shall be read to include a continuous strip of zippers. In other words, a “zipper” is sized to be secured to a single container, whereas a “zipper strip” is sized such that it may be used to provide a plurality of zippers for a plurality of containers. Of course, interlocking sections (12, 14) and zippers (10) may be formed of any other suitable material, and by any other suitable process. Additionally, interlocking sections (12, 14) may be manipulated in any suitable fashion before, during, and/or after being secured to bag (30) or any other container.
As shown in
In the present example, when zipper (10) is positioned in bag (30), flanges (11) are positioned between flap portion (80) and inner surface (40) of bottom wall (38). The sizing of the slits in bag (30) relative to the sizing of zipper (10) is such that top portion (13) of zipper (10) protrudes from the end of bag (30) when zipper (10) is positioned in bag (30). As shown in
In another embodiment, slits are made adjacent bottom bag wall (38) and bottom portion (48, 68) of each gusset (44, 64). In this embodiment, zipper (10) is inserted through the slits in a manner similar to that described above. In yet another embodiment, slits are made adjacent top portion (46, 66) of each gusset (44, 64) and bottom portion (48, 68) of each gusset (44, 64), and zipper (10) is inserted therethrough. Still other suitable locations for slits will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
In still another embodiment, only a single interlocking section (12 or 14) is inserted through the slits. In such an embodiment, the other interlocking section (14 or 12) may be positioned anywhere between bag walls (32, 38) or adjacent the outer surface (36, 42) of either bag wall (32, 38). Of course, any other relative configuration of zipper (10) and bag (30) may be used.
In the present example, a zipper strip (90) is inserted in a plurality of bags (30) as shown in
Those of ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that it may be desirable to provide some kind of assurance or indication as to whether a zipper (10) and/or bag (30) has been previously opened. In other words, it may be desirable to provide a device that is configured to show whether a zipper (10) and/or bag (30) has been tampered with. As used herein, the term “tamper evidence device,” including its variants, shall be read to include any feature, technique, and/or structure that is configured to provide evidence or indication that a bag (30) has been opened or otherwise tampered with. As used herein, the term “tamper” and its variants shall be read to include, but need not be limited to, an act of opening a bag (30) substantially or completely and/or gaining substantial or full access to its contents. An exemplary device for providing tamper evidence are shown in
Engagement or disengagement of interlocking sections (12, 14) at teeth (22) may be effected or otherwise facilitated by a slider (20), which is shown in
In
With zipper (10) secured to bag (130), hood (158) is folded over zipper (10) and secured to outer surface (136) of top wall (132), as shown in
In the above-described embodiment having a folded-over hood (158), hood (158) may need to be breached, torn, peeled away, or otherwise manipulated in order to gain initial access to the contents of bag (130). Accordingly, hood (158) may provide tamper evidence. For instance, a torn hood (158) or a hood that has been peeled away from top wall (132) may provide an indication that bag (130) has been opened; while an intact hood (158) may provide an indication that bag (130) has not been opened.
Various features may be provided to facilitate initial access to contents of bag (130). For instance, a tab or pull string may be provided to create a tear through the folded-over hood (158). Alternatively, or in addition, a perforation or similar weakening feature may be provided in hood (158). Of course, any other feature for facilitating initial access to contents of bag (130) may be used. It will also be appreciated that hood (158) may be comprise one or more features to facilitate partial removal of hood (158) from bag (130) (e.g., by tearing one side of hood) or complete removal of hood (158) from bag (130). In addition, it will be appreciated that removal of hood (158) may result in partial or full exposure of slider (20) and zipper (10). Still other variations of hood (158) and hood (158) manipulation will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
While the foregoing tamper evidence device has been described as providing a way in which tampering may be detected, it will be appreciated that such device may provide other uses as well. By way of example only, it will be appreciated that during the normal course of handling of a given container, for instance from the time it is filled to the time it reaches a shelf in a retail setting, the handling may urge slider (20) to move, interlocking sections (12, 14) to separate, or lead to other potentially undesirable results. The foregoing tamper evidence device may provide resistance to those and other results. For instance, and without limitation, engagement between slider (20) and windows (160) may prevent undesired movement of slider (20) along zipper (10). In other words, windows (160) may substantially hold slider (20) in place. By permitting viewing of slider (160) through hood (158), windows (160) may also provide a visual indication that slider (20) remains in an initial position. Other results that may be provided by windows (160) and hood (158), as well as alternative features for providing similar results, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Of course, the foregoing examples are merely illustrative, and are not intended to be limiting in any way.
Having shown and described various embodiments and concepts of the invention, further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein can be accomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Several of such potential alternatives, modifications, and variations have been mentioned, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing teachings. Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as may fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings.
