Patent Application
20090129707
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reclosable package or bag, and a method of manufacture thereof, wherein the zipper and slider are in the fin seal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art includes several reclosable packages or bags wherein the zipper is placed in or near the fin seal. This prior art includes U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/054,032 entitled “HFFS Slider Bags with Zipper in Fin Seal” filed on Feb. 9, 2005 by Owen and McCracken. Moreover, the method of manufacture disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,907 entitled “Horizontal Form-Fill-And-Seal Machine with Zipper Attachment” can be applied to similar reclosable packages or bags.
Similar methods for forming reclosable packages or bags are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,241 entitled “Apparatus for Forming Bags of Thermoplastic Material” issued on Jul. 7, 1981.
While these packages and methods have been found to be satisfactory for their intended purpose, further improvements in reclosable packages are sought, particularly for increasing the ease of removal of the header of the package.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a reclosable package for products, wherein the ease of removal of the header is increased.
This and other advantages are achieved by incorporating a notched zipper profile into a package or bag manufactured by a horizontal form-fill-and-seal process wherein the package or bag includes a bottom wall and two side walls formed by folding a single sheet of web or film. Similarly, the method to manufacture the package or bag uses a driven band, band sealer to decrease the drag induced to the film by the zipper. An encoder is used to send a signal to the stepper motors to match the film speed. Band sealers are used to seal the zipper onto a continuously moving web. The band prevents the film from sticking to the seal bars.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views, one sees that
Folds 14, 19 are typically formed as a longitudinal or machine direction fold as the edges of the traveling web are brought together to form fin seal 24. Web 12 is typically formed from polymeric material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, or other similar materials as known to those skilled in the art.
As shown in
Zipper 30 includes first profile 32 and second profile 34. First profile 32 includes first flange 36 and first interlocking element 40. Likewise, second profile 34 includes second flange 38 and second interlocking element 42. Zipper 30 further includes slider 44 which operates in a conventional way in that slider 44 is mounted on first and second profiles 32, 34. Movement of slider 44 in an opening direction separates first and second interlocking elements 40, 42 from each other. Movement of slider 44 in a closing direction, opposite to the opening direction, interlocks first and second interlocking elements 40, 42.
First notch 50 and second notch 52 are formed at the ends of zipper 30 so that first lower portion 54 of first and second flanges 36, 38 has no interlocking elements immediately thereover and second lower portion of first and second flanges 36, 38 likewise has no interlocking elements immediately thereover.
First lower portion 54 of first and second flanges 36, 38 extends into side seal 20 and are sealed therewith and to each other. Second lower portion 56 of first and second flanges 36, 38 extends into second side seal 22 and are sealed therewith and to each other. The formation of first and second notches 50, 52 prevents the first and second interlocking elements 40, 42 from extending into first and second side seals 20, 22.
The lower portion of first flange 36 is sealed to front portion 16 along first flange seal 60 while the lower portion of second flange 38 is sealed to rear portion 18 along second flange seal 62.
First line of weakness 66 is formed on front portion 16 immediately above first flange seal 60. Likewise, second line of weakness 68 is formed on rear portion 18 immediately above second flange seal 62. First and second lines of weakness 66, 68 are typically formed by perforation, scoring, or similar methods known to those skilled in the art. First and second lines of weakness 66, 68 thereby form removable header 70 encompassing zipper 30 thereby providing tamper evidence as the removable header 70 must be removed by tearing along first and second lines of weakness 66, 68 prior to opening zipper 30.
Second side seal 22 is formed slightly inwardly adjacent from the rightmost edge of front and rear panels 16, 18 thereby providing free side ends of front and rear panels 16, 18 wherein optional hang aperture 72 is formed, allowing package 10 to be hung in an orientation ninety degrees counter-clockwise from the orientation shown in
Additionally, first and second flanges 36, 38 are sealed to each other along first vertical face 74 facing first notch 50 thereby forming first internal vertical seal 76 and first endstop 77. Likewise, first and second flanges 36, 38 are sealed to each other along second vertical face 78 facing second notch 52 thereby forming second internal vertical seal 80 and second endstop 81. First and second endstops 81 are typically formed ultrasonically and prevent slider 44 from sliding from the ends of zipper 30.
As shown in
Thus the several aforementioned objects and advantages are most effectively attained. Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed and described in detail herein, it should be understood that this invention is in no sense limited thereby and its scope is to be determined by that of the appended claims.
