U.S. patent application number 12/486974 was filed with the patent office on 2010-01-28 for reclosable flexible packaging having header with customer takeaway.
Invention is credited to Steven Ausnit, Eric Plourde.
Application Number | 20100021093 12/486974 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41568727 |
Filed Date | 2010-01-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100021093 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Plourde; Eric ; et
al. |
January 28, 2010 |
RECLOSABLE FLEXIBLE PACKAGING HAVING HEADER WITH CUSTOMER
TAKEAWAY
Abstract
A package is provided of the type with a tear-away header which
is separated from the product contents of the package by a zipper
sealed to the interior of the package walls. The space within the
header is used to package and an item such as a toy, game card,
game token, coupon, or punched foam strip which can be used as a
promotional or gift item. In this way, the item packaged within the
header is kept separate from the product contents of the
package.
Inventors: |
Plourde; Eric; (Frankfort,
IL) ; Ausnit; Steven; (New York, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DAY PITNEY LLP;ACCOUNT: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
7 TIMES SQUARE
NEW YORK
NY
10036-7311
US
|
Family ID: |
41568727 |
Appl. No.: |
12/486974 |
Filed: |
June 18, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61083832 |
Jul 25, 2008 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
383/204 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 33/2591 20130101;
B65D 33/004 20130101; B65D 31/12 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
383/204 |
International
Class: |
B65D 33/00 20060101
B65D033/00 |
Claims
1. A package including: a first wall and a second wall, the first
and second walls joined to each other along sides thereof, a
closure connected to an interior of the first and second walls,
thereby forming a header above the closure and dividing an interior
of the package into a product compartment and a header compartment;
and the header compartment including a promotional item, separate
from the product compartment.
2. The package of claim 1 wherein the closure is a zipper.
3. The package of claim 2 wherein the zipper includes first and
second profiles with respective first and second flanges and
wherein the first and second flanges are sealed to the respective
first and second walls along respective first and second flange
seal lines.
4. The package of claim 3 further including lines of weakness in
the first and second walls above the respective first and second
flange seal lines, thereby allowing the header to be torn from the
package.
5. The package of claim 2 further including a slider on the
zipper.
6. The package of claim 1 wherein a hard seal between the first and
second wall above the closure divides the package into the product
compartment and the header compartment.
7. The package of claim 1 wherein the promotional item is chosen
from the group consisting of a coupon printed on an interior wall
of the header, a coupon on material separate from the header, a
toy, a game token, and a foam strip with at least one toy punched
therefrom.
8. A package comprising: a front wall and a rear wall joined to
each other along sides thereof; a first hard seal between the front
wall and the rear wall, thereby separating the package into a
product portion and a header portion; and a zipper attached to the
front wall thereby providing access to the product portion.
9. The package of claim 8 wherein the first hard seal is separate
from a hard seal between a second zipper flange and the rear
wall.
10. The package of claim 8 wherein the front wall, the rear wall
and the header portion are formed from a single sheet of web.
11. The package of claim 8 wherein the second zipper flange, the
rear wall and the header portion are joined at the first hard
seal.
12. The package of claim 8 wherein the front wall and rear wall are
formed from a single sheet of web.
13. The package of claim 8 wherein said header portion is provided
with a promotional item chosen from the group consisting of a
coupon printed on an interior wall of the header, a coupon on
material separate from that of the header, a toy, a game token, and
a foam strip with at least one toy punched therefrom.
14. The package of claim 8 further including a slider on the
zipper.
15. The package of claim 8 wherein the zipper includes first and
second profiles with respective first and second flanges.
16. The package of claim 8 wherein the first flange is attached to
the front wall and the second flange is attached to the rear
wall.
17. The package of claim 8 wherein the header portion includes
lines of weakness for access to the header portion.
18. A package comprising: a front wall and a rear wall joined to
each other along sides thereof; a zipper joining the front wall and
the rear wall thereby providing access to the product portion; and
the rear wall extending above the zipper and being folded and
sealed to itself so as to form a header portion.
19. The package of claim 18 wherein the header portion is provided
with a promotional item chosen from the group consisting of a
coupon printed on an interior wall of the header, a coupon on
material separate from that of the header, a toy, a game token, and
a foam strip with at least one toy punched therefrom.
20. The package of claim 18 wherein the header portion includes at
least one line of weakness for access to the header portion.
21. The package of claim 18 further including a slider on the
zipper.
22. The package of claim 18 wherein the front wall and rear wall
are formed from a single sheet of web.
23. The package of claim 18 wherein the zipper includes first and
second profiles with respective first and second flanges, and
wherein the first flange is attached to the front wall and the
second flange is attached to the rear wall.
24. The package of claim 18 wherein the header portion can be
detached from the package along a line of weakness.
25. The package of claim 18 wherein the rear wall is folded and
attached to itself at a location of attachment of the second flange
to the rear wall.
Description
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) of provisional application Ser. No. 61/083,832 filed
on Jul. 25, 2008, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention pertains to a reclosable package or
bag with a tear-away header, wherein an object such as, but not
limited to, a prize, a toy, a coupon or similar item is packaged
within the header and available to the consumer after the header
has been removed from the package or bag.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] In the prior art of reclosable packages or bags, the use of
a tear-away header is well-established. Representative examples of
reclosable packages with tear-away headers are disclosed in U.S.
patent application publication 2004/0058039, entitled "Reclosable
Bag for Filing with Food Product(s) and Method" to Strand et al.,
published on Mar. 25, 2004; U.S. Pat. No. 6,918,234 entitled
"Process for Attaching Slider-Operated Closure on Form-Fill-Seal
Packaging Machinery", issued on Jul. 19, 2005 to Thomas et al.; and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,939,041, entitled "Fastener Closure Arrangement for
Flexible Packages", issued on Sep. 6, 2005 to Kinigakis et al.
[0006] In such packages, the header protects the zipper profile and
provides tamper evidence.
[0007] Moreover, it is known in the prior art that certain consumer
packaged goods have included various small novelty items used to
entice a consumer into purchasing the packaged product. Examples
include small toys in cereal or candy boxes, including Cracker
Jacks boxes. Similarly, it is known to print a coupon on the
exterior of a header of a package, so that the coupon is visible to
the consumer prior to purchase and prior to the removal of the
header.
[0008] However, placing such a toy or other customer take-away into
the contents of a reclosable package or bag may not be practical if
the reclosable package or bag includes such products as cheese or
other oily or powdery products. This could even result in the
customer perception that the contents had been contaminated.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a customer takeaway, such as, but not limited to, a toy, a
prize, or a coupon, within a reclosable package or bag without the
customer takeaway being placed into the product contents of the
reclosable package or bag.
[0010] This and other objects are attained by providing a
reclosable package or bag with a tear-away header, wherein the
customer takeaway is provided within the tear-away header. With
this configuration, the customer takeaway can be readily visible to
the potential purchaser, thereby possibly even increasing sales of
the product.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] Further objects and advantages of the invention will become
apparent from the following description and from the accompanying
drawings, wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first alternative of the first
embodiment of the present invention, including a package with a
coupon printed on the inside of the header.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along plane 2-2 of FIG.
1.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a second alternative of the first
embodiment of the present invention, including a package or bag
with small toy being contained within the header.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a plan view of a third alternative of the first
embodiment of the present invention, including a package or bag
with a game token and a folded game card being contained within the
header.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a plan view of a fourth alternative of the first
embodiment of the present invention, including a package or bag
with a toy made from a strip of foam being contained within the
header.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a fifth alternative of
the first embodiment of the present invention, including a
compartment for a promotional item separated from the zipper.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of
the present invention, including a compartment for a promotional
item formed at the upper portion of the package.
[0019] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of
the present invention, including a compartment for a promotional
item connected to the package.
[0020] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a further alternative to
the second embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0021] Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like
numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views, one
sees that FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a first alternative of the first
embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the
typical package 10 with a header 12 includes front and rear walls
14, 16 which are joined by side seals 18, 20, a bottom seal 22, and
a top seal 24. Front and rear walls 14, 16 are typically formed
from polymeric material and are typically at least partially
transparent in order for the contents to be visible to the
consumer. Various alternatives may provide the front and rear walls
14, 16 as a single sheet and replace bottom seal 22 or top seal 24
with a fold. Zipper 30 is provided within the package 10, including
first and second profiles 32, 34 with respective first and second
flanges 36, 38. A slider 40 is mounted on the zipper 30 to
interlock the first and second profiles 32, 34 when moved in a
closing direction and to separate the first and second profiles 32,
34 when moved in an opening direction. The first and second flanges
36, 38 are sealed to the interiors of respective front and rear
walls 14, 16 downwardly adjacent from top seal 24 along respective
seal lines 41, 42 thereby separating package 10 into a product
compartment 50 and a header compartment 60. As described below,
various promotional items are placed within header compartment 60.
Lines of weakness 62 or 62' are formed in the front and rear walls
14, 16 above seal lines 41, 42 thereby giving the ability of header
12 to be torn from package 10, thereby providing access to header
compartment 60 and further providing tamper evidence to package 10.
Lines of weakness may be provided above the zipper 30 as
illustrated by lines of weakness 62 or may be provided somewhat
lower, but still above seal lines 41, 42, as illustrated by lines
of weakness 62'.
[0022] Package 10 is typically manufactured by a form fill and seal
(FFS) process although other processes may be used. Packages can be
made using methods commonly referred to as machine direction
applied zipper, or transversely applied zipper. Transversely
applied zipper methods including, but not limited to, the
commercially available Inno-Lok.RTM. process may be used.
Typically, the various promotional items can be placed into the
header compartment 60 during manufacture of the package 10 by
inserting discrete promotional items into the header area where the
promotional items are affixed. Alternatively, a promotional item
can be affixed to the packaging material while it is in a flat
state and the item incorporated into the package header as the
package 10 is formed.
[0023] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a coupon 70 is printed on the
interior surface 64 of header 12, typically so as not to be visible
to the consumer until the header 12 is removed by tearing along
lines of weakness 62 or 62' thereby gaining access to header
compartment 60.
[0024] As illustrated in FIG. 3, a toy 72, such as, but not limited
to a toy car, truck, airplane or other vehicle; a figure of an
animal; a figure of a cartoon, superhero or other fanciful
character; or a decorative element such as a piece of plastic
jewelry, is packaged within the header compartment 60. Access to
the toy 72 is gained by purchasing the package 10 and removing the
header 12 thereby gaining access to header compartment 60.
[0025] As illustrated in FIG. 4, a game token 74 and/or a game card
76 (typically folded so that at least a portion of the operative
information is obscured from the consumer until after purchase and
removal of the header 12) is packaged within the header portion 60.
A folded structure similar to that of game card 76 can be used in
the alternative of FIG. 3 to obscure toy 72. Access to the game
token 74 and/or game card 76 is gained by purchasing the package 10
and removing the header 12 thereby gaining access to header
compartment 60.
[0026] As illustrated in FIG. 5, a strip of foam rubber 78 or
similar material is packaged within the header portion 60. The
strip of foam rubber 78 contains at least one punched element 80,
such as, but not limited to an airplane, car or element similar to
those described for toy 72. Access to the strip of foam rubber 78
and the associated punched elements 80 is gained by purchasing the
package 10 and removing the header 12 thereby gaining access to
header compartment 60.
[0027] As illustrated in the alternative in FIG. 6, the contents of
the header portion 60 may be separated from the zipper 32 by use of
a hard seal 61 between front and rear walls 14, 16, above zipper
30. Lines of weakness 63, 65 may be formed above hard seal 61 to
provide for access to the contents of header portion 60. Header
portion 60 is illustrated as being formed by the looping of a sheet
of web. Additional tear lines 62 can be provided to permit removal
of the entire header from the package 10.
[0028] As illustrated in FIG. 7, a second embodiment of package 10
can be formed wherein a single sheet of web is folded to form the
front and rear walls 14, 16. The interior of first zipper flange 36
of zipper 30 is sealed to the single sheet of web at hard seal 41.
Zipper 30 typically includes slider 40. The single sheet of web is
then folded at fold 90 and sealed to second zipper flange 38 at
hard seal 42. A free end of the single sheet of web above hard seal
41 is then folded at fold 92 and sealed back to the single sheet of
web at hard seal 93 thereby forming header compartment 60.
Alternately, the free end when folded back can be sealed at hard
seal 41 instead of hard seal 93 as shown in FIG. 9. Lines of
weakness 96, 98 are formed in the single sheet of web above hard
seal 93 to provide access to header compartment 60, which may
contain any of the previous items 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80.
[0029] FIG. 8 includes the various elements of FIG. 7, but the
exterior (rather than the interior) of first zipper flange 36 of
zipper 30 is sealed to the single sheet of web at hard seal 41.
Additionally, line of weakness (tear line) 94 can be provided to
permit removal of the entire header from the package 10.
[0030] 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.
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