U.S. patent application number 09/834345 was filed with the patent office on 2001-10-18 for flexible container for products to be kept separate and mixed before use.
Invention is credited to Bottini, Ing. Giorgio, Goglio, Dott. Franco.
Application Number | 20010030134 09/834345 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 11444855 |
Filed Date | 2001-10-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010030134 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Goglio, Dott. Franco ; et
al. |
October 18, 2001 |
Flexible container for products to be kept separate and mixed
before use
Abstract
A flexible container for products to be kept separate and mixed
before use, made of single-layer or multi-layer plastic material
comprising two compartments (11, 12), intended to contain
respective products which are kept separate and mixed before use by
breaking a line of separation between said compartments, in which
the line of separation is obtained by means of a strip (15) of
easy-open material interposed between the walls (13, 14) of the
container and extending from one side to the other thereof, so that
a weld made along said strip (15) is not permanent, but can be
broken upon exceeding a certain force.
Inventors: |
Goglio, Dott. Franco;
(Milano, IT) ; Bottini, Ing. Giorgio; (Gallarate,
IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Robert D. Traver
SHERIDAN ROSS P.C.
Suite 1200
1560 Broadway
Denver
CO
80202-5141
US
|
Family ID: |
11444855 |
Appl. No.: |
09/834345 |
Filed: |
April 12, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/221 ; 383/38;
383/69 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 81/3266
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/221 ; 383/38;
383/69 |
International
Class: |
B65D 025/08; B65D
030/22; B65D 033/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 13, 2000 |
IT |
MI 2000A 000827 |
Claims
1. A flexible container for products which are to be kept separate
and mixed before use, said container (10) being made by means of
peripheral welds (16, 17, 20, 21) of sheets or walls (13, 14) of
single-layer or multi-layer plastic material, and comprising at
least two compartments (11, 12), kept separate from one another,
able to contain respective distinct products, characterized in that
the separation between said compartments (11, 12) is obtained at
least in part by means of a strip (15) of easy-open material
interposed between said walls (13, 14) of the container (10), such
that a weld along said strip (15) is not permanent and is breakable
at the time of use to allow mixing of said products.
2. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that said
strip of easy-open material (15), partially involves said line of
separation between the compartments (11, 12).
3. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that said
strip of easy-open material (15) involves said line of separation
between the compartments (11, 12) on the inside and extends between
two opposite edges of the container.
4. A container according to claim 3, characterized in that said
container (10) has a substantially rectangular plan and said strip
(15) of easy-open material extends for the entire length of a side
of said rectangle, from one end to the other thereof.
5. A container according to claim 4, characterized in that at the
ends of said strip (15) of easy-open material respective triangular
welds (22, 23) are provided between the walls (13, 14) of the
container, joining respective portions (16, 17) of said peripheral
weld of the container to said strip (15), so as to avoid possible
loss of the tight seal at the ends of said strip (15) of easy-open
material.
6. A container according to any one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that said strip (15) of easy-open material is
preferably of the same material as the inner layer of said walls
(13, 14) of the container, suitably modified to make the subsequent
weld less strong, in particular polyethylene or modified
polypropylene.
7. A container according to any one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that said compartments (11, 12) have respective
openings (18, 19) at opposite head ends of the container, for
filling with the respective products, before making the
corresponding peripheral closing welds (20, 21).
8. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized
in that said compartments (11, 12) have respective openings (18',
19') on a same side of said container (10), for filling with the
respective products, before a corresponding peripheral closing weld
(17) is made.
Description
DESCRIPTION
[0001] The present invention refers to a flexible container for
products normally in a gelatinous state, which must be kept
separate from one another and mixed immediately before use.
[0002] Purely by way of example, the products in question can be
two substances which, after mixing, form a thermosetting product
which can be used, for example, to make perfectly tight connections
of electrical cables, for example in desert regions.
[0003] In practice, such containers consist of bags or envelopes of
plastic material, with an intermediate transverse closure, so as to
define two separate compartments, able to receive the corresponding
products.
[0004] The most widely used solution of the prior art for obtaining
such separate compartments is illustrated in appended FIGS. 1 and
2, which show respectively an axonometric view of the container and
a median section taken along the line II-II.
[0005] As can be seen, the container, designated with reference
numeral 1, is obtained from a tube, which before closure at both
ends, is clamped in a transverse median area between an elastic
element 2 of iron or plastic, substantially circular in section,
and a corresponding rod 3, of relatively soft material, for example
rubber.
[0006] In this manner, the tube 4, being clamped between the
elements 2 and 3, determines a separation of the container into two
compartments, indicated respectively with 5 and 6, which are open
at the respective ends, to be able to be filled with the
corresponding products, and subsequently sealed along the welding
lines denoted by reference numerals 7 and 8.
[0007] As illustrated schematically in FIG. 1, the rod 3 protrudes
at least from one side of the container 1, so as to allow the
elastic element 2 to be gripped and withdrawn when the products
have to be mixed. Once the rod has been withdrawn, the elastic
element 2 can also be removed, thus placing the two compartments 5
and 6 in communication for mixing the products.
[0008] Such a solution proves rather complex, laborious and not
entirely reliable.
[0009] In fact, it is necessary to resort to additional elements,
in different materials, to divide the container into two
compartments, making automated filling of the container extremely
difficult, if not impossible.
[0010] Moreover, there is the risk of said additional elements
becoming disengaged, following accidental knocks, for example,
causing premature mixing of the components.
[0011] Also, the presence of said additional elements makes the
containers awkward to handle.
[0012] The object of the present invention is to eliminate the
above-mentioned drawbacks, providing a container in flexible
material for products that are to be kept separate and mixed before
use, that is extremely simple to make, cheap, reliable and above
all does not have additional external elements.
[0013] This object is achieved, in accordance with the invention,
with the characteristics expressed in appended independent claim
1.
[0014] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in
the dependent claims.
[0015] Essentially, the container according to the invention has,
in the area of delimitation between the two compartments containing
the respective products, a strip of easy-open material, which holds
the two walls of the container together during storage and
transportation but allows separation thereof when the two products
must be mixed, for example by exerting pressure on at least one of
the compartments containing said products.
[0016] The strip of easy-open material, which is of the same
material as the inner layer of the walls of the container, for
example polyethylene or modified polypropylene, advantageously
extends to the side edges of the container, in order to make the
weld in said area stronger. Therefore, to avoid the risk of
possible loss of the tight seal at the side edges of the strip, the
welds of the side edges of the container in this area have a
triangular shape which joins up to said strip of easy-open
material.
[0017] During formation of the container, the two compartments can
be left open at the opposite head ends of the container or at the
same side of the container, depending upon the type of filling that
is to be done.
[0018] Further characteristics of the invention will be made
clearer by the detailed description that follows, referring to a
purely exemplary and therefore non-limiting embodiment thereof,
illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:
[0019] FIGS. 1 and 2 are respectively an axonometric view and a
sectional view of a flexible container for two products which are
to be kept separate and be mixed immediately before use, according
to the prior art;
[0020] FIG. 3 is an axonometric view of a container in flexible
material according to the invention;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a container according to
the invention, in an embodiment in which the products are
introduced into the corresponding compartments from respective
opposite head ends of the container;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a view like that in FIG. 4, in which the products
are introduced into the container from the same side thereof;
[0023] FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the plane VI-VI of
FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.
[0024] A flexible container according to the invention, shown in
its final form in FIG. 3, is designated as a whole by reference
numeral 10. In a plan view said container has a substantially
rectangular shape, and is divided along the centre line into two
separate compartments 11, 12 intended to receive two products to be
mixed immediately before use.
[0025] The material making up the container 10 is a multi-layer
material, with at least one weldable inner layer, for example in
polyethylene or polypropylene, so as to be able to obtain the
container 10 by means of welding along the edges of sheets or
rectangular walls 13, 14, visible in particular in the section of
FIG. 6.
[0026] In practice, the container 10 is formed by making a weld
along the perimeter of the rectangular walls 13, 14, leaving some
sides unwelded to allow the products to be introduced into the
respective compartments 11, 12 and subsequently closing said sides.
This can be done in the manner that will be better described
hereinunder, with reference to the embodiments illustrated in FIGS.
4 and 5 respectively.
[0027] According to a basic characteristic of the invention, in
order to obtain the separation of the container 10 into two
compartments 11, 12, disposed between the two walls 13, 14, along
the midline, or in any case in an intermediate area of the
container, there is a strip 15 of easy-open material, that is of a
material of the same type as that of the inner layer of the walls
13, 14, thus polyethylene or polypropylene, suitably modified, so
that a weld in the area where said material is disposed is not
permanent, but allows separation of the welded walls 13, 14 when a
certain force is exceeded.
[0028] During formation of the container 10, the strip 15 of
easy-open material is disposed between the two opposite walls 13,
14 and then the welds which allow the two open compartments 11, 12
to be obtained are made.
[0029] According to FIG. 4, two side welds 16, 17 are made along
the entire length of the container, obviously besides a transverse
weld on the strip of easy-open material 15. In this manner,
respective openings 18, 19 remain, at opposite head ends of the
container 10, for filling of the compartments 11, 12, openings that
are subsequently closed, after filling of the container, with weld
lines 20, 21.
[0030] As can be seen in FIG. 4, in order to improve the hold of
the side welds 16, 17, triangular welds 22, 23, which determine
corner joining areas between the lateral welds 16, 17 and the
easy-open strip 15, are made at the ends of the strip of easy-open
material 15, which are disposed thereunder.
[0031] This solution has been found to be the most reliable for
avoiding breaking of the seal in these areas and at the same time
ensuring a safe separation between the compartments 11, 12.
[0032] The alternative of interrupting the strip of easy-open
material 15 at the edges of the container, that is inside the
lateral welds 16, 17 might impair the separation between the
compartments 11, 12.
[0033] The strip of easy-open material 15 may only partly involve
the line of separation between the two compartments 11, 12, so as
to allow the passage of products from one compartment to another in
any case during the mixing stage.
[0034] The container thus realized allows mixing of the products
contained in the compartments 11, 12 before use, by breaking the
line of separation obtained along the strip of easy-open material
15, by exerting a certain pressure on at least one of the
compartments 11, 12.
[0035] FIG. 5 shows a different method of forming the container 10,
whereby two welds 20, 21 are first made along the head sides of the
container, whereas the lateral weld 17 is made after filling of the
compartments 11, 12, which in this case takes place through
openings 18' and 19' provided on the same side of the
container.
[0036] Having the openings 18, 19 at opposite head ends of the
container (FIG. 4) or the openings 18', 19' on a same side (FIG. 5)
depends upon the type of machine that is used to form the
container.
[0037] Thus, for example, in the case of FIG. 5, the container 10
is made by forming a vertical tube, welding along the edges 20, 21
and after cutting, making the bottom weld 16, so that the container
has the two compartments 11, 12 with the respective openings 18',
19' facing upward, in order to be able to be filled at the same
time by means of two respective nozzles.
[0038] In the case in FIG. 4, on the other hand, normally first one
compartment, for example compartment 11, is filled and than sealed,
making the head weld 20, and then the other compartment 12 is
filled and sealed, making the corresponding head weld 21.
[0039] The afore going description makes clear the advantages of
the invention, which makes it possible to obtain a container in
flexible material for products to be kept separated and mixed
immediately before use, which does not require additional external
elements and is made in an extremely simple and economical way.
[0040] Of course the invention is not limited to the particular
embodiment described above and illustrated in the appended
drawings, but numerous modifications of detail within the reach of
a person skilled in the art can be made thereunto, without thereby
departing from the scope of said invention, defined solely by the
claims that follow.
* * * * *