Patent Application
20220348394
The present invention relates to a pouch for storing a liquid in a storage space and allowing a user to drink the liquid, and more particularly to a pouch for allowing the user to drink the liquid without a separate straw or a cup by forming a drinking tunnel in a flat or standing pouch.
In general, a pouch is a small packaging container for storing and transporting liquids in a sealed state, and liquids such as beverages are stored between a pair of sheet materials by adhering edges of the pair of sheet materials (e.g., heat fusion). As is widely known to one of ordinary skill in the art, a beverage pouch uses a sheet material of a high-density laminated film to improve an effect such as barrier characteristics, food stability such as freshness preservation, and heat adhesion.
The pouch is torn or cut at a top thereof to allow a user to drink contents stored inside the pouch. In this case, when excessively torn or cut, there is a problem in that the contents pour out at once while a user drinks the contents.
To overcome the problem, a user tears or cuts the pouch to the minimum and inserts a straw into a hole formed thereby and drinks contents. As another method, as a pouch equipped with a straw therein is developed, a user is capable of easily drink contents without a separate straw or a cup.
The prior art “Packaging structure of portable beverage bag (Korean Utility Model No. 20-0319892)” is configured to externally discharge contents to a second space part 130b separated in fluid communication from a first space part 130a formed inside a portable beverage bag through a partition wall (refer to
According to the prior art, a user puts his or her mouth on an end of the second space part and drinks contents in a beverage bag. In general, because only a flat tunnel space for fluid communication is formed in a stiff laminated film sheet material due to high density thereof, one pair of sheet materials forming the second space part are narrowed together and do not frequently perform a function of a straw properly.
When a user does not drink contents and does not hold the second space part, there is a problem in that the beverage bag is tilted to one side and the contents are discharged to the outside and on the user's clothes, etc.
To overcome the above problems, the present invention provides a pouch for overcoming a problem in that sheet materials are narrowed together.
The present invention provides a pouch in which a portion functioning as a straw is maintained in a shape thereof without being inclined in a situation in which a user does not drink a liquid.
To overcome the above problems, according to an exemplary embodiment the present invention, a pouch including an upper fusion part, a lower fusion part, a first side fusion part, and a second side fusion part, which are formed by adhering edges of a first sheet material and second sheet material, and a liquid accommodation space for storing a liquid therein includes a partition fusion part spaced apart from a first side fusion part inside a liquid accommodation space, and a drinking tunnel formed between the partition fusion part and the first side fusion part, wherein the drinking tunnel includes a first curved part and a second curved part that are formed between the first side fusion part and the partition fusion part by making the first sheet material and the second sheet material protrude outward, and the first and second curved parts are formed via thermoforming.
In this case, the first curved part and the second curved part may be formed by positioning an upper mold and a lower mold outside the first sheet material and the second sheet material, positioning a middle mold having a rod shape between the first sheet material and the second sheet material, and performing heating and pressurization, and the heating and the pressurization may be performed in at least one of the upper mold, the lower mold, or the middle mold.
First and second protrusions protruding inward may be provided on internal surfaces of the upper and lower molds.
The lower fusion part may be formed to be inclined downward in direction toward the drinking tunnel, and auxiliary rings shaped liked a perforated pipe may be provided at upper and lower portions of the drinking tunnel.
According to the present invention, a first curved part and a second curved part may be formed and may be maintained in shapes thereof by making a first sheet material and a second sheet material between a first side fusion part and a partition fusion part protrude outward.
First and second curved parts may be formed by positioning an upper mold and a lower mold outside the first and second sheet materials, positioning a middle mold having a rod shape between the first sheet material and the second sheet material, and performing heating and pressurization. In this case, first and second protrusions may be provided on internal surfaces of the upper and lower molds, and the first and second protrusions may be formed on internal surfaces of the first and second curved portions. Thus, even if the drinking tunnel is compressed due to external impact, a space through which a liquid passes may be ensured by the first and second protrusions.
Even if a user does not drink a liquid, a drinking tunnel may be prevented from being inclined to one side by forming a curved part. In addition, the curved part molded by heating and pressurization may have curing properties, and thus a stronger tunnel than a fabric of a body of a pouch as one body may be maintained.
Hereinafter, one or more embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following examples. However, in the description of the present invention, explanations of related art are omitted when it is deemed that they may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the present invention.
The pouch 10 according to the present invention may store a liquid such as beverage to allow a user to easily drink the liquid and may include a liquid accommodation space 115 formed therein while an upper fusion part 111, a lower fusion part 112, a first side fusion part 113, and a second side fusion part 114 are formed by adhering edges of a first sheet material 110A and a second sheet material 110B to each other.
The first and second sheet material 110A and 110B may be adhered to each other using various methods including all heat sources. For example, this may be achieved through pressurization and heating using a method with a laser or an ultrasonic wave or a high frequency and a general electric heating wire, etc.
A partition fusion part 116 spaced apart from the first side fusion part 113 inside the liquid accommodation space 115, a drinking tunnel 117 formed between the partition fusion part 116 and the first side fusion part 113, and a liquid inlet 116a through which a liquid is introduced to the drinking tunnel formed between the partition fusion part 116 and the lower fusion part 112 may be formed.
The partition fusion part 116 may separate a space for storing a liquid and a space for drinking the liquid while forming the drinking tunnel 117. The partition fusion part 116 may be formed by adhering the first and second sheet material 110A and 110B to each other. In this case, in order to form the drinking tunnel 117, the partition fusion part 116 may be spaced apart from the first side fusion part 113.
The drinking tunnel 117 may function as a passage through which fluid communication is possible to allow a user to easily drink the liquid stored in the liquid accommodation space 115. The drinking tunnel 117 may include the first side fusion part 113, the partition fusion part 116, and a first curved part 101a and a second curved part 101b that are each shaped like a pipe formed by making the first and second sheet material 110A and 110B between the first side fusion part 113 and the partition fusion part 116 protrude outward.
The first and second curved parts 101a and 101b may maintain the shape of the drinking tunnel 117 and may be manufactured via thermoforming to position the first and second sheet material 110A and 110B to correspond to each other. The drinking tunnel 117 may be manufactured in this shape using various methods, and for example, may be formed in a shape such as a square or a hexagon, but may be formed in a cylindrical shape as an exemplary example.
Thus, the first and second curved parts 101a and 101b formed via curing using thermoforming may continuously maintain the shapes thereof rather than being narrowed or tilted even if a user removes his or her mouth from the pouch while drinking a liquid using the drinking tunnel 117.
In thermoforming of the first curved part 101a and the second curved part 101b, the middle mold 400 having a rod shape may be positioned between the first sheet material 110A and the second sheet material 110B, the upper mold 200 and the lower mold 300 may be positioned outside the first and second sheet material 110A and 110B, and the first and second sheet material 110A and 110B may be fused and hardened via heating and pressurization.
Internal surfaces of the upper mold 200 and the lower mold 300 may have corresponding shapes, and the middle mold 400 may have a shape corresponding to the internal surfaces of the upper mold 200 and the lower mold 300. These shapes may include various shapes such as a square or a hexagon, but in detail, the internal surfaces of the upper mold 200 and the lower mold 300 may be formed in a semicircular shape and the middle mold 400 may be simply formed in a rod shape or may also be formed in a pipe shape with a through hole formed therein.
In this case, first and second protrusions 201 and 301 that protrude outward may be formed together on the internal surfaces of the upper mold 200 and the lower mold 300, but may be formed only one internal surface of the upper mold 200 or the lower mold 300 (refer to
Groove parts 202 and 302 corresponding to the first and second protrusions 201 and 301 of the upper mold 200 and the lower mold 300 may be formed on an external surface of the middle mold 400.
Through the first and second protrusions 201 and 301, when the upper mold 200 and the lower mold 300 applies pressure and heat to the first and second sheet material 110A and 110B, first and second protrusions 117a and 117b protruding inward may be formed on the first and second curved parts 101a and 101b of the first and second sheet material 110A and 1108. Even if the first and second curved parts 101a and 101b are deformed flat by strong external impact, the first and second protrusions 117a and 117b may ensure a space of the drinking tunnel 117.
The second protrusions 117a and 117b may be formed on any one of the first and second curved parts 101a and 101b along with the first and second protrusions 201 and 301 formed on the upper mold 200 and the lower mold 300.
Pressurization and heating may be simultaneously performed in the upper mold 200 and the lower mold 300 based on the middle mold 400 but may also be performed in any one of the upper mold 200 and the lower mold 300. In addition, pressurization and heating may also be performed in the middle mold 400. In addition, an upper end of the drinking tunnel 117 formed by the first curved part 101a and the second curved part 101b may be positioned above the liquid accommodation space 115.
As shown in
When edges of the first sheet material 110A and the second sheet material 110B are adhered to each other, the edges may be adhered to each other to make the lower fusion part 112 be inclined toward the drinking tunnel 117 to easily guide the liquid stored in the liquid accommodation space 115 to the drinking tunnel 117.
A water collection part 112a may be further formed between the drinking tunnel 117 and the lower fusion part 112.
The water collection part 112a may collect the liquid guided from the lower fusion part 112 inclined downward, and the liquid that remains in the liquid accommodation space 115 may be collected in the water collection part 112a along the lower fusion part 112 inclined downward. Thus, the liquid may be collected in the water collection part 112a to allow the user to more easily drink the liquid.
In the pouch formed as shown in
The third protrusion 125 may prevent the first and second sheet material 110A and 110B from being narrowed to each other, and thus the liquid introduced from the liquid accommodation space 115 may more easily flow to the drinking tunnel 117.
The upper end of the pouch 10 may be exposed to the outside, and thus may have a lot of contact with foreign substances. Thus, in order to prevent this, the pouch may further include a sanitary cover 140.
The sanitary cover 140 may be made of easy peel, wrap, a PE film, or other thin films.
In the pouch 10 according to the present invention, in order to drink the liquid stored in the liquid accommodation space 115, a portion of the drinking tunnel 117 needs to be separated from the pouch 10.
In order to separate the drinking tunnel 117 from the pouch. 10, a first perforated line 118a may be used, and in this case, the first perforated line 118a may have a shape Π corresponding to the first and second curved parts 101a and 101b. Thus, in order to drink the liquid stored in the pouch 10, the user may push the first curved part 101a or the second curved part 101b with his or her finger and may drink liquid stored in the liquid accommodation space 115 from the drinking tunnel 117. Thus, only the drinking tunnel 117 may be separated from the pouch 10, and thus scrap waste may not be generated.
In this case, when the drinking tunnel 117 is not easily separated, a notch 119 may be formed at one side of the first side fusion part 113, and a second perforated line 118b may be formed from the notch 119 to the first perforated line 118a.
The notch 119 may be formed below the upper end of the drinking tunnel 117. Thus, the drinking tunnel 117 may be easily separated from the pouch 10 using the notch 119.
As another embodiment of the perforated line shown in
The notch 119 may be formed at an end of the second perforated line 118b formed in the first side fusion part 113, and thus the second perforated line 118b of the first side fusion part 113 or the second side fusion part 114 may be more easily torn.
In this case, an air inlet 115a formed beyond the second perforated line 118b may be formed at upper ends of the second perforated line 118b and the liquid accommodation space 115.
The air inlet 115a may connect the liquid accommodation space 115 to the outside while tearing the second perforated line 118b, and thus when a user drinks a liquid through the drinking tunnel 117, outside air from the air inlet 115a may be introduced into the liquid accommodation space 115 to allow the user to more easily drink the liquid.
The second perforated line 118b formed toward the second side fusion part 114 may also be formed to a lateral surface of the liquid accommodation space 115. Thus, the upper fusion part 111 that is torn when the pouch 10 according to the present invention is opened may be connected to an upper portion of the second side fusion part 114, and thus scrap waste may not be generated.
The first and second auxiliary rings 120a and 120b shaped like a pipe may be positioned at upper and lower portions of the drinking tunnel 117, respectively. The second auxiliary ring 120b may be positioned at the lower portion of the drinking tunnel 117, into which a liquid is introduced, and the first auxiliary ring 120a may be positioned at the upper portion of the drinking tunnel 117, from which the liquid is discharged, and thus the shapes of the first and second curved parts 101a and 101b may be maintained despite a stronger external impact and simultaneously user's feeling may be improved.
According to the present invention, although the pouch 10 manufactured using the first and second sheet material 110A and 110B has been described above, the present invention may also be applied, in the same way, to a standing pouch 10 that further includes a base 130 shaped like a shape A, which corresponds to a bottom, and formed at the lower fusion part 112 of the first and second sheet material 110A and 110B, as shown in
The base 130 may allow a user to stop drinking the liquid and to place the pouch directly on the floor and may include a first fusion piece 131 adhered to a lower portion of the first sheet material 110A, a second fusion piece 132 adhered to a lower portion of the second sheet material 110B, and a folding part 133 formed by folding the first and second fusion pieces 131 and 132.
In this case, in the base shown in
The furrow part 134 and the protrusion 125 may collect the remaining liquid between the first sheet material 110A and the first fusion piece 131 to allow the user to easily drink the liquid and may protrude outward from the first sheet material 110A, may protrude outward from the first fusion piece 131 of the base 130, or may protrude outward or inward to position the first sheet material 110A and the first fusion piece 131 to have corresponding shapes.
The furrow part 134 may be formed in a direction toward the second side fusion part 114 between the first sheet material 110A and the first fusion piece 131. Thus, the remaining liquid flowing into the furrow part 134 may allow the user to easily drink the remaining liquid while being collected toward the drinking tunnel 117.
In this case, although not shown, when the first and second curved parts 101a and 101b are formed, the furrow part 134 may be formed to make a portion of a lower portion of the middle mold 400 protrude toward the second side fusion part 114.
Thus, when the first and second curved parts 101a and 101b are formed by the upper mold 200, the lower mold 300, and the middle mold 400, the furrow part 134 may be formed together below the drinking tunnel 117 formed by the first and second curved parts 101a and 101b.
The first fusion piece 131 and the lower fusion part 112 of the pouch 10 according to the present invention may include a first inclined surface 127 that is curved upward in a direction toward the second side fusion part 114 and a second inclined surface 128 that is curved toward the partition fusion part 116, and thus may be configured in the form of an arch that is wide at the top and is narrow at the bottom.
In this case, the second inclined surface 128 may include a horizontal passage 128a connected to the liquid inlet 116a and a vertical passage 128b connected to the horizontal passage 128a. Thus, the liquid flowing along the first inclined surface 127 may be introduced to the drinking tunnel 117 through the horizontal passage 128a. However, a blank state may be maintained without forming the vertical passage 128b and the second inclined surface 128, and only the first inclined surface 127 may be formed.
The first inclined surface may be curved toward the liquid inlet 116a, and thus the liquid accommodated in the liquid accommodation space 115 may easily flow to the drinking tunnel 117. As shown in
Although not shown in the drawings, a measurement scale display window for checking a liquid stored in the uid accommodation space 115 may be formed vertically on any one of the first and second sheet material 110A and 110B.
The scale display window may allow a user drinking the liquid to visually check the remaining amount of contents in real time.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2019-0074936 | Jun 2019 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2020/007868 | 6/18/2020 | WO |
