The invention relates to a paper bag according to the preamble of claim 1.
Paper bags are usually provided as valve bottom bags or block bottom bags for storing bulk material, having a standing bottom, a valve bottom, a front wall, a rear wall and a valve tube inserted in the valve bottom to be mounted onto the filling nozzle of a filling device, wherein said valve tube may be closed by turning it over or in case of thermo-material to be heat sealed. Such a valve bottom bag is for example known from the German Utility Patent DE-20 2005 004 750 U1.
Valve bottom bags are principally equipped with cover sheets in order to protect the folded and glued bottoms, i.e. the standing bottom and the valve bottom, from coming undone accidentally. A cover sheet is a paper strip or slip which is glued to the bottoms of the paper bag. Most cover sheets are smaller than the bottom and normally glued not only to the bottom, but also to the valve tube protruding laterally from the bottom. However, it is already known as well to extend the cover sheets over the edges of the standing bottom and the valve bottom up to the region of the front wall and the rear wall of the paper bag.
In order to open the paper bag filled with bulk material, the cover sheet has been traditionally torn off the standing bottom, the disadvantage being, however, that paper fibres could fall into the product—a fact that is not tolerated in every case. In this context, it is also already known to provide the cover sheet with a tear-open strip as to the German Patent Publication 1 761 750 for an easier tear-off.
The object of the invention is to further modify a paper bag with tear-open strip, so that no paper fibres can get into the product when torn open.
As a solution to this object, a foil is placed below the standing bottom cover sheet and/or below the valve bottom cover sheet of a paper bag as mentioned above which is removably glued to the paper bag in such a manner that after tearing open of the standing bottom cover sheet or of the valve bottom cover sheet the foil still closes the paper bag completely and sets the product free only after peeling off said foil.
Both bottom parts may thus be unfolded after tearing open of the standing bottom with the bag still remaining closed for the time being due to the foil. Thus, no paper fibres can fall into the product. The bag is opened only when the foil is grabbed at one edge and torn off the paper and the product can now be accessed freely.
The foil may be a plastic foil, a metal foil, a coated or uncoated paper foil, a fibre glass foil, a woven foil or a spunbonded foil made of woven fibres. In addition, the foil material should be biodegradable, compostable or recyclable if necessary.
The invention is hereinafter further illustrated by means of a drawing, wherein:
Identical parts in the figures are referenced with like numerals. Thus
Further, a valve tube 7 is incorporated into the valve bottom 3 in the illustrated embodiment as it is known in the art, e. g. from the Utility Model Document DE 20 2005 004 750 U1.
In
In order to open the paper bag 1, foil 9 needs to be separated from the side strips 5″, which is indicated in
Only
In another variant, a closure 13 is provided on the inside of the side strips 5″ of the paper bag 1, said closure being located in one embodiment below the foil 9 which is not bonded in that region, whereas in another embodiment the foil 9 is smaller and does not extend to the edges of the side strips 5″, but spares a strip, in which both parts 13′, 13″ of the closure 13 are disposed. In one embodiment, the closure 13 is a snap lock with groove and tongue, in another embodiment it is a hook-and-loop fastener. Snap locks with groove and tongue are well known from plastic bags and thus known to the person skilled in the art. The same is true for the aforementioned hook-and-loop fastener. To reclose the bag, the side strips 5″ of the torn open cover sheet 5 are pressed towards each other after the foil 9 has been peeled off, thus causing the tongue 13′ to engage with the groove 13″ of the closure 13. A hook-and-loop fastener is closed in a similar way, namely by pressing its two parts towards each other. The once opened paper bag 1 may thus be easily re-closed.
The foil 9 of the invention may be printed or blank. Furthermore, it may be provided with safety features, such as pictures, holograms or stripes, ensuring that the foil 9 is marked as damaged once it has been peeled off or removed from paper bag 1. In addition to the mentioned safety features, the foil may also be provided with information on the content of the product or with instructions on how to handle the paper bag or the product contained therein.
In another embodiment of the invention, the foil 9 may serve to form a distribution device together with the inwards folded bottom, wherein the foil 9 is advantageously not glued to the paper bag 1 in the region and in the vicinity respectively of one of the side walls 8 or 8′. Although the foil 9 covers the interior of the paper bag 1 in this region, it may, however, be manually turned up after tearing open the tear-open strip 6, as illustrated in
The foil 9 may furthermore be provided with recesses 14, 14′ near the side edges 8 or 8′ in the form of holes or punchings that allow the foil 9 to be hung up alone or together with the opened paper bag 1, e. g. to a nail or to a hook. This is particularly favourable when the foil is provided with instructions for use that may assist the user in recycling the product after removing the foil from the paper bag 1.
Finally, the paper bag 1 of the present invention may be provided with a handle on the cover sheet 5 of the standing bottom 2 and/or the valve bottom 3 which runs parallel to the tear-open strip 6. In case the handle is disposed in the centre of the bottom, however, the tear-open strip (6) does not run centrically to the cover sheet (5, 5′).
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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20 2009 003 080.6 | Mar 2009 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP10/01210 | 2/26/2010 | WO | 00 | 10/26/2011 |