Patent Application
20180244435
The present invention relates generally to primary packaging for fluid or viscous products and the like, and in particular to pouches having a flexible self-sealing dispensing valve.
Many different types of packages or containers are presently available for packaging non-solid products of the type which are capable of flowing, such as fluid or fluidized materials, including liquids, pastes, powders, and the like, which substances are collectively and generically referred to herein as “fluids”. Fluid material also includes viscous food products like pancake batter, syrups and various types of condiments that include mayonnaise, guacamole, ketchup and mustard. Such foods are often provided to restaurants and food service providers in rigid or flexible plastic tubes. Some such packages include a dispenser which permits a selected amount of fluid to be discharged from the package, and then reseals to close the package. Typically, these self-sealing dispensing values are formed rigid plastic fitments heat fused or adhesively sealed to a flexible tube or pouch.
The present invention is directed to flexible fluid-dispensing pouches having at least a first wall portion, a second wall portion and a means to manually discharge a fluid product from inside the pouch. The means to manually discharge a fluid from inside the pouch comprises an orifice formed in either one of the first or second wall portions or a patch, and a flexible self-sealing dispensing valve having at least two intersecting lines of weakness formed in either one of the first or second wall portions or the patch. The means to manually discharge a fluid from inside the pouch may be configured such that either: (i) the orifice is formed in one of the first or second wall portions, and the flexible self-sealing dispensing valve is formed in the patch and the patch is superimposed over the orifice; or (ii) the flexible self-sealing dispensing valve is formed in one of the first or second wall portions, and the orifice is formed in the patch and the patch is superimposed over the flexible self-sealing dispensing valve.
As used herein, the phrase “flexible self-sealing dispensing valve” refers to a frangible discharge area formed in either one of the first or second wall portions of the pouch or a patch applied to the pouch. The valve is created by at least two intersecting lines of weakness that define three of more sections in the wall portion or in the patch which open in response to an applied force supplied by a fluid product contained therein and close themselves when the deflection force is removed. The efficacy of the self-sealing dispensing valve, i.e., the tightness of the discharge area, will depend on the resilience or stiffness of the material surrounding the valve and the material from which the valve is made.
Surprisingly, it was discovered that this resilience or stiffness can be controlled more effectively by the combination of an orifice and a flexible self-sealing dispensing valve when each is superimposed over the other in the construction of the pouch. When a fluid product inside the pouch is urged against the combined orifice and valve by manually squeezing the pouch, the sections formed by the intersecting lines of weakness of the valve must bend outwardly to permit the product to flow out of the pouch. The orifice provides additional bending resistance to the sections of the valve and limits the amount of the fluid product passing through the valve. Typically, the higher the viscosity of the product, the more force is required to bend the flexible sections outwardly. Generally, it is easier to manually control larger amounts of force than smaller amounts of force. It becomes more difficult to control the amount of low viscosity products exiting the pouch because the valve sections require a relatively weak force to bend outwardly with these products. With the combined orifice and valve of the present invention, the amount of force required to bend valve sections can be augmented for low viscosity products. The bending force of the valve sections can be readily controlled for both low and high viscosity products by one or more of the following stiffness parameters: the material used to form the orifice, the thickness of the material and the size of the orifice, and the material used to form the valve and its thickness, and the size of valve sections formed by the at least two lines of weakness. When the force used to deflect the valve sections is removed, the sections return to their original position and close the opening in the pouch.
Thus, the present invention advantageously provides a pouch having a means to manually discharge a fluid product from inside the pouch that can be tailored to permit its use with products of various viscosities. The option of configuring the means to manually discharge a fluid by either: (i) an orifice formed in one of the first or second wall portions and a flexible self-sealing dispensing valve formed in the patch which is superimposed over the orifice: or (ii) a flexible self-sealing dispensing valve formed in one of the first or second wall portions and an orifice formed in the patch with the patch superimposed over the flexible self-sealing dispensing valve adds more flexibility to adjust the stiffness parameters to meet the needs of a particular desired application.
In some preferred embodiments, the first wall portion forms a front panel of the pouch, and the second wall portion forms a rear panel of the pouch.
In other preferred embodiments, the pouch further comprises a third wall portion. In such embodiments, the first wall portion forms a front panel of the pouch, the third wall portion forms a rear panel of the pouch, and the second wall portion forms a bottom gusset which is disposed between the front and rear panels of the pouch.
In some preferred embodiments, the first and third wall portions are formed from a first film and the second wall portion is formed from a second film.
In other preferred embodiments, the first film is flexible and the second film is rigid or semi-rigid.
In still other preferred embodiments, the first, second and third wall portions are formed from a single film. In such embodiments, the single film may be flexible.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which:
The present inventions now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
One preferred embodiment of flexible fluid-dispensing pouch 10 of the present invention is illustrated in
To illustrate the means to manually discharge a fluid product 20 in greater detail, attention should be drawn to
Alternatively, an orifice 21b may be formed in a patch 23b and a flexible self-sealing dispensing valve 22b formed in in, first wall portion 17. To better illustrate this second configuration, attention should be drawn to
In one preferred embodiment, patch 23 has a multilayer construction of at least a first layer having the lines of weakness formed therein and a second layer of an adhesive, preferably a pressure sensitive adhesive coated onto the first layer. The first layer may include a multilayer film having any number of layers, including but not limited to one or more of the following: a moisture barrier layer, an oxygen barrier layer, and an abuse layer. In another preferred embodiment, patch 23 may include a multilayer construction having a heat sealable layer which permits patch 23 to be heat sealed to either the inner or outer surface of the pouch. In one preferred embodiment, the wall portions of pouch 10 may be formed the single film laminate described above with the patch heat sealed on the polyethylene (PE) exterior face of the wall portion. In this embodiment, the patch may be formed from a collapsed bubble film having the structure: polyethylene (PE)/anhydride-modified polyethylene (tie)nylon/ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH)/nylon/anhydride-modified polyethylene (tie)/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)/anhydride-modified polyethylene (tie)/nylon/ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH)/nylon/anhydride-modified polyethylene (tie)/polyethylene (PE). The total thickness of some preferred embodiments of suitable films and film laminates for use as patches may vary from about 191 μm (0/5 mil) to about 254 μm (10 mil), most typically from about 63.5 μm (2.5 mil) to about 127 μm (5.0 mil).
In an alternative embodiment, pouch 10 of the present invention may further comprise a third wall portion 19 as illustrated in
In yet further preferred embodiments as illustrated in
The above description and examples illustrate certain embodiments of the present invention and are not to be interpreted as limiting. Selection of particular embodiments, combinations thereof, modifications, and adaptations of the various embodiments, conditions and parameters normally encountered in the art will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are deemed to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US15/52568 | 9/28/2015 | WO | 00 |
