U.S. patent application number 10/381604 was filed with the patent office on 2004-02-19 for rollable re-closeable packaging and method for producing such a packaging.
This patent application is currently assigned to MARS INC. Invention is credited to Ellenrieder, Michael, Marschall, Robert, Sander, Heike, Specht, Julia.
Application Number | 20040032994 10/381604 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26007189 |
Filed Date | 2004-02-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040032994 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Marschall, Robert ; et
al. |
February 19, 2004 |
Rollable re-closeable packaging and method for producing such a
packaging
Abstract
The invention relates to a package with a roll-up re-sealing
system and a process for the production of such a package,
especially flexible bags. It was the object of the invention to
develop a package of the generic kind described, and also a process
for producing it which is suitable for the repeated sealing,
storage and repeated removal of liquid, dry, powdery, granular or
pelletised contents, such that the package is inexpensive to
produce, meets the requirements of protecting the integrity of the
product, and is user-friendly, characterised in that a package
consists completely or partially of a conditioned multi-layer
composite material, or that it at least has an adhesive label made
from the conditioned multi-layer composite material on one package
wall, beginning in the region of the opening, that the package
repeatedly rolls up monoaxially, automatically and in a controlled
manner, from the package opening in the direction of the bottom of
the package as far as the level of the contents at any particular
time and seals itself, and that the process of rolling up and
sealing is implemented by the properties of the conditioned
multi-layer composite material of the package or the adhesive
label.
Inventors: |
Marschall, Robert;
(Schorndorf, DE) ; Sander, Heike; (Neckarsulm,
DE) ; Ellenrieder, Michael; (Augsburg, DE) ;
Specht, Julia; (Stuttgart, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FULBRIGHT & JAWORSKI, LLP
1301 MCKINNEY
SUITE 5100
HOUSTON
TX
77010-3095
US
|
Assignee: |
MARS INC
McLean
VA
22101-3883
|
Family ID: |
26007189 |
Appl. No.: |
10/381604 |
Filed: |
July 3, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
September 26, 2001 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP01/11161 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
383/43 ; 383/109;
383/89 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 75/008 20130101;
B65D 33/1658 20130101; B65D 33/16 20130101; B65D 31/02 20130101;
B65D 33/004 20130101; B32B 27/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
383/43 ; 383/89;
383/109 |
International
Class: |
B65D 033/24 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 27, 2000 |
DE |
100 47 869.7 |
Sep 12, 2001 |
DE |
101 44 997.6 |
Claims
1. A package made of flexible material that can be repeatedly
sealed by rolling up, characterised in that a package (1) consists
entirely or partially of a conditioned multi-layer composite
material (2), or that the package (1) consists of any multi-layer
composite material (3) and an adhesive label (4) made from the
conditioned multilayer composite material (2) is disposed on at
least one package wall (1') beginning in the region of the opening,
that, after conditioning, the package (1) repeatedly rolls up
monoaxially, automatically and in a controlled manner, from the
package opening in the direction of the bottom of the package as
far as the level (5) of the contents (6) at any particular time and
seals itself, and that the process of rolling up and sealing is
implemented by the properties of the conditioned multi-layer
composite material (2) of the package (1) or of the adhesive label
(4), the properties being transferred to the package (1) either
directly or by the adhesive label (4).
2. The package as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the
multi-layer composite material (3) consists of a composition of at
least two layers, which are laminated or pasted in a conventional
manner, that at least one layer as desired (3') or (3"), consisting
of a polymer, varnish or foam, possesses an internal frozen-in
stress that expands or contracts during a conditioning process as a
result of heat treatment and thus forms a conditioned multi-layer
composite material (2) which rolls up monoaxially, and that by
giving the layers of the composition different material thicknesses
and/or different dimensional stabilities, different roll-up
diameters and roll-up thicknesses can be implemented.
3. The package as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that, in
addition to the conditioned multi-layer composite material (2) of
the package (1) or the adhesive label (4), the package (1) is
combined in the region of the opening with a conventional
reinforcement (7) to catch the upper edges of the package
opening.
4. The package as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the
process of rolling up and sealing can be transferred to the
unspecified multi-layer composite material (3) of the package (1)
by tapes or strips (8) of rubber or flat elastomer disposed on at
least one package wall (1') of the package (1) and applied under a
tensioning force.
5. A process for manufacturing the package as claimed in claim 1,
characterised in that the unspecified multi-layer composite
material (3) is conditioned on conventional machines or facilities
for manufacturing packages (1) before, during or after the process
of shaping, filling and sealing the package (1), by means of heat
treatment, that the conditioning is extended to the entire
multi-layer composite material (3) or is limited partially to
definable regions of the multi-layer composite material (3) of the
package (1) or of the adhesive label (4), and that the adhesive
label (4) is conditioned before or after it is stuck to the
multi-layer composite material (3) of the package (1).
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a package with a roll-up re-sealing
system and a process for the production of such a package,
especially flexible bags for the repeated sealing, storage and the
repeated removal of liquid, dry, powdery, granular or pelletised
contents.
[0002] Known flexible packages are sealed by sealing seams and tear
perforations and are offered for sale in this way. In this context,
most manufacturers are only interested in protecting the integrity
of the product as long as the package remains sealed until the
sell-by date is passed. In many packages, no attention is paid as
yet to ease of handling and thus consumer-friendliness. It is
merely ensured that the product is protected until it reaches the
consumer. In most cases, however, a package is not emptied
completely. when it is opened for the first time. For these
packages, it is a disadvantage that, once the package has been
opened, the contents, such as foodstuffs, animal feed and
detergents in granular or powder form, can easily trickle out or
turn lumpy or be spoiled as a result of environmental influences,
such as oxygen and moisture; in the case of foodstuffs, they may
even become inedible. The methods conventionally used by consumers
to keep a package sealed until the contents are used up completely
involve rolling up the opening manually and holding it shut with a
rubber band or clip, but these approaches have not been very
successful in reducing, let alone overcoming, the disadvantages
described above. Packages are also known in the art which are
equipped with seals known as zipper strips. These are seals
consisting of two extruded plastic sections, one of which is formed
as a groove and the one opposite as a tongue, so that they
interlock with one another and can be separated again when
necessary. They make it possible repeatedly to seal or open
packages in the form of flexible bags. When this kind of seal is
used, the problem is that the user may not notice the zipper strip
when he opens the package for the first time and might perhaps
damage it with a pair of scissors or even cut it off completely. In
the case of pelletised or powdery contents, there is also a risk
that, after the package has been opened and closed a number of
times, contents may become embedded in the groove, as a result of
which the seal no longer works properly, especially with regard to
its tightness, or it may fail completely, or the sealing material
may suffer from fatigue, so that no seal at all is possible any
longer. A further known method of enabling a flexible package to be
resealed is the provision of self-adhesive tabs or straps at the
upper end of the bag, which are folded over the package after
individual portions of the contents have been removed, thus sealing
in the remainder of the contents. Experience has shown that this
type of seal likewise involves the risk that contents might stick
to the self-adhesive tabs or straps and thus reduce or cancel out
the adhesiveness of the seal.
[0003] The patent specification U.S. Pat. No. 3,201,030 also
discloses a package with a roll-up re-sealing system. As one
variant, the proposed solution provides for the insertion of
pre-stressed, resilient aids, such as wires, in the packaging
material. The production and disposal of such packages has proven
complicated and expensive. A second variant of the solution
proposed in that patent specification provides for the use of a
composite material with two layers of film with different
pre-tensioning, which are laminated on top of one another and are
thus intended to create a roll-up effect for a package. This
variant of the solution involves the disadvantage that the creation
of the roll-up effect takes place in an uncontrolled way and is
lost again during the process of shaping, filling and sealing the
package, because of the seal. Furthermore, this kind of composite
material can only be processed on a highly modified shaping,
filling and sealing machine, which results in high investment
costs.
[0004] It was therefore the object of the invention to develop a
package of the generic kind described, and also a process for
producing it which is suitable for the repeated sealing, storage
and repeated removal of liquid, dry, powdery, granular or
pelletised contents, such that the package is inexpensive to
produce, meets the requirements of protecting the integrity of the
product in the package, and is user-friendly.
[0005] The solution according to the invention, in accordance with
claim 1, therefore proposes a package characterised in that it
consists completely or partially of a conditioned multilayer
composite material, or that the package consists of any unspecified
multi-layer composite material and that there is disposed on one
package wall, beginning in the region of the opening, an adhesive
label made from the conditioned multi-layer composite material. The
advantages of these packages consist in the fact that they can be
manufactured from multi-layer composite materials of the kind
conventionally used in packaging, such as standard polymers, whose
composite layers are arranged by laminating or pasting one on top
of the other. The characteristics of the conditioned multi-layer
composition cause the package to be rolled up automatically and in
a controlled manner from the package opening in the direction of
the bottom of the package. The process of rolling up and sealing
can be repeated as often as desired. It continues until it reaches
the level of the contents and securely seals the package when it is
not yet completely empty. In this way, the ease of handling and the
service life of the package are increased, the contents can be
removed in any quantities desired and at any times desired, and the
quality characteristics of the contents, such as their aroma or
pourability, are preserved for considerably longer than in
conventional packages, since the tightness of the package is
ensured. As the package always rolls up as far as the level of the
contents, the amount of contents remaining is always visible at the
same time. An alternative version of the solution consists in the
fact that the process of rolling up and sealing is transferred from
an adhesive label made from conditioned multi-layer composite
material to the multi-layer composite material of the package,
which material may be of any other kind. This variant offers the
advantage that the conditioning process may also be carried out
outside the shaping, filling and sealing machine, and the adhesive
label can be applied to the package, beginning in the region of the
opening, after it has been manufactured and filled. The adhesive
label can vary in length and width if need be, beginning at the
edge of the opening. The process of rolling up and sealing can of
course also be transferred to the unspecified multi-layer composite
material by tapes or strips of rubber or flat elastomer disposed on
at least one wall of the package and applied under a tensioning
force. The package, combined with any kind of reinforcement, such
as a conventional snap closure, for catching the upper edges of the
package opening, simplifies the handling of the package of the
invention still further. It should also be emphasised that the
package rolls up completely once it has been finally emptied, which
means that it can be disposed of in a space-saving manner.
[0006] Particular emphasis, according to claim 2, should be placed
on the properties of the multi-layer composite material which are
activated by means of a conditioning process in accordance with
claim 5. In at least one layer of the multi-layer composite
material, a state of stress must already be generated and frozen in
during the film production process. Thanks to the conditioning of
the entire surface, or at least part of it, by means of
heat-treating the multi-layer film composition produced in this
way, the layer of the composition provided with the state of stress
expands or contracts monoaxially. This process is transferred by
the composition to the multi-layer composite material of the entire
package or to partial areas of the package, or by the adhesive
label made of conditioned multi-layer composite material to the
package, and in this way the roll-up re-sealing system of the
invention is created. The fact that these material properties are
obtained by means of a conventional conditioning process that has
so far been used in order to achieve different technical effects
ensures that there is a substantially broader range of possible
uses for the packages with the roll-up re-sealing system of the
invention. By means of different material thicknesses, which can be
defined in production, and/or by giving the layers of the
composition different dimensional stabilities, different roll-up
diameters and roll-up thicknesses can be implemented in the package
as the need arises.
[0007] Another particular advantage is that the process for
producing the packages according to claim 5 can be carried out on
conventional shaping, filling and sealing machines. Expensive
capital expenditure is not necessary. The process permits the use
of standard films. The conditioning of the material is likewise
possible with these machines. The conditioning of the entire
surface, or at least part of it, by means of heat-treating the
packaging material can be carried out during or after the process
of shaping, filling and sealing the package. This permits great
technological variety in the manufacturing process.
[0008] Finally, the process and the package of the invention
considerably increases the variety of uses to which the multi-layer
film compositions can be put. The roll-up and sealing process of
the invention guarantees clean handling of the packages for the
consumer. Ineffective makeshift solutions, such as rolling up and
holding the package shut with rubber bands or the like, are no
longer needed. The package protects the contents for a longer time
and increases the storage life of foodstuffs or luxury goods even
after the package has been opened.
[0009] The invention is described below with reference to a number
of working embodiments exemplified by drawings, in which
[0010] FIG. 1 shows a perspective front view of a filled package
with a conditioned multi-layer composite material as a roll-up
re-sealing system,
[0011] FIG. 2 shows a perspective front view of a half-empty
package made from a conditioned multi-layer composite material as a
roll-up re-sealing system,
[0012] FIG. 3 shows a perspective front view of a package made from
any unspecified multilayer composite material with a shortened
adhesive label made from a conditioned multi-layer composite
material as a roll-up re-sealing system,
[0013] FIG. 4 shows a perspective front view of a package made from
any unspecified multilayer composite material with a longer
adhesive label made from a conditioned multilayer composite
material as a roll-up re-sealing system,
[0014] FIG. 5 shows a front view of an opened package made from a
conditioned multi-layer composite material as a roll-up re-sealing
system combined with any reinforcement to catch the opening
region,
[0015] FIG. 6 shows a perspective front view of a package made from
any unspecified multilayer composite material with tapes or strips
applied under a tensioning force as a rollup re-sealing system,
[0016] FIG. 7 shows a section through a piece cut from any
unspecified multi-layer composite material,
[0017] FIG. 8 shows a section through a piece cut from a
conditioned multi-layer composite material,
[0018] where the same parts are indicated by the same reference
numerals.
[0019] The first embodiment is shown in more detail in FIG. 1. For
the package 1, a standing bag was chosen in preference, of the kind
that is used today in many fields for a variety of contents 6, such
as for foodstuffs and for animal feed. The standing bag was
manufactured from a conventional multi-layer composite material 3,
preferably consisting of three layers 3', 3" and 3'". One of the
three layers, the outer layer 3', for example, was placed in a
state of stress during the manufacture of the multi-layer composite
material 3, which at first produces no effects in the composition.
A conventional shaping, filling and sealing machine was used to
make the standing bag from this multi-layer composite material 3,
which had been subjected to this standard pre-treatment. In the
embodiment, the standing bag is filled with the contents 6, which
could be dry feed for dogs, for example, and sealed. After sealing,
the standing bag is subjected to conditioning by means of heat
treatment, produced by UV radiation for instance, over its entire
surface for example. It would also be possible to partially
condition only one package wall 1', namely the one with the outer
activated layer 3'. Now the outer layer 3', which has been
activated by a state of stress, expands, and the package 1, in this
embodiment the standing bag, rolls up monoaxially from the package
opening towards the bottom of the package, until it reaches a level
5, which is the upper level of the contents 6. The consumer opens
the package 1 and removes the desired amount of contents 6 each
time. Every time contents 6 have been removed, the package 1 rolls
up until it reaches the next lower level 5 of the contents in each
case, as is shown in FIG. 2, until the package 1 has been emptied
completely. In a second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the package
1 preferably consists of any, preferably three-layered, multi-layer
composite material 3, the layers 3', 3" or 3'" of which do not have
any stress frozen in. Before the shaping, filling and sealing
process, a short adhesive label 4 is applied to one of the two
package walls 1', beginning in the region of the opening of the
package 1. The adhesive label 4 consists, for example, of a
three-layer multi-layer composite material 3, the layer 3'" has
been pre-stressed during manufacture. Preferably after the package
1 has been filled and sealed, partial conditioning of the adhesive
label 4 now takes place, in the form of heat treatment, so that its
layer 3'", which has been activated by tension, now contracts, and
the adhesive label 4 is caused to roll up monoaxially. The roll-up
effect is transferred by the adhesive label 4 to the package 1. In
this example, the package 1 rolls up as needed only as far as the
end of the adhesive label 4. FIG. 4 shows the second embodiment,
with an adhesive label 4 attached over the entire package wall 1',
as a result of which this, too, rolls up monoaxially as far as the
bottom of the package 1, until it has been emptied completely. The
roll-up effect is transferred to the package by the adhesive label
4 in this example. The adhesive label 4 can be stuck on and
conditioned before, during or after the shaping, filling and
sealing process. A third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, provides
for a combination of the package 1 according to the first two
embodiment versions. In this case, the package 1 is provided with a
reinforcement 7 at the edges of the opening region, such as in the
form of a conventional snap closure or the like, for catching the
upper edges of the package opening. Finally, a fourth embodiment
version, as shown in FIG. 6, provides for the rollup re-sealing
system to be transferred to the package 1 made of any multi-layer
composite material 3 preferably by tapes or strips 8 of rubber or
flat elastomer applied under a tensioning force at least to one
package wall 1' of the package 1. FIG. 7 shows a conventional
multi-layer material composition 3, which is preferably formed from
three layers 3', 3" and 3'" laminated or pasted on top of one
another in a conventional manner. For the intended purpose of
manufacturing the package with a roll-up re-sealing system, it is
sufficient for at least one of the layers 3' or 3" or 3'" to
consist of a polymer, varnish or foam which is provided with an
internal frozen-in stress during the lamination process and which
expands or contracts during a conditioning process as a result of
heat treatment and thus forms a conditioned multi-layer composite
material (2). If necessary, however, it is also possible to
manufacture a multi-layer composite material 3 whose outer layer 3'
and inner layer 3'" have a frozen-in state of stress and whose
middle layer 3" is dimensionally stable. When a multi-layer
composite material 3 of this kind is conditioned, the inner layer
3'", for example, contracts, the outer layer 3' expands. and the
middle layer 3" is rolled up monoaxially by the other two layers 3'
and 3'" at the same time. The result is, for example, a conditioned
multi-layer composite material 2, such as is shown in more detail
in FIG. 8. By having different material thicknesses and/or
different dimensional stabilities in the layers of the composition,
the roll-up behaviour of the material for the packages 1 can be
controlled such that different roll-up diameters and roll-up
thicknesses can be achieved. As a further control means, additional
layers of conditionable material can be integrated into the
multi-layer composite material 3, which assist in regulating the
build-up of tension within the composition.
* * * * *