U.S. patent application number 13/192527 was filed with the patent office on 2012-07-26 for gusseted pouch with pinned gussets.
This patent application is currently assigned to ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.. Invention is credited to Eric Plourde.
Application Number | 20120187125 13/192527 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44533126 |
Filed Date | 2012-07-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120187125 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Plourde; Eric |
July 26, 2012 |
GUSSETED POUCH WITH PINNED GUSSETS
Abstract
The disclosure relates to a gusseted package, typically a
reclosable package, wherein the gusset walls are pinned or
otherwise secured or connected together. Alternatively, the gusset
walls may be folded so as to be pinned or otherwise secured or
connected to the body of the package. The connection may be
released thereby freeing the gussets. Alternatively, a line of
weakness may be formed in the package so that the connected
portions may be removed along with a removable header.
Inventors: |
Plourde; Eric; (Frankfort,
IL) |
Assignee: |
ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
Glenview
IL
|
Family ID: |
44533126 |
Appl. No.: |
13/192527 |
Filed: |
July 28, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61368435 |
Jul 28, 2010 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
220/266 ;
220/200; 220/666 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 75/5805 20130101;
B65D 33/25 20130101; B65D 31/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/266 ;
220/666; 220/200 |
International
Class: |
B65D 43/02 20060101
B65D043/02; B65D 25/42 20060101 B65D025/42; B65D 25/00 20060101
B65D025/00 |
Claims
1. A gusseted package, including: front and rear walls; a first
gusset formed between the front and rear walls; the first gusset
including a first front gusset wall and a first rear gusset wall;
and a first joining device for connecting the first front gusset
wall to the first rear gusset wall.
2. The gusseted package of claim 1 further including a second
gusset formed between the front and rear walls, the second gusset
including a second gusset front wall and a second gusset rear wall,
and a second joining device for connecting the second front gusset
wall to the second rear gusset wall.
3. The gusseted package of claim 1 wherein the joining device forms
a releasable connection.
4. The gusseted package of claim 3 wherein the first joining device
is chosen from the group consisting of pins, adhesive, heat
sealing, clips and tape.
5. The gusseted package of claim 1 further including a line of
weakness in the front and rear walls thereby forming a removable
header, further including a reclosure extending around an interior
of the front and rear walls, and wherein the first joining device
is formed in the removable header above the line of weakness.
6. The gusseted package of claim 1 further including a reclosure
extending around an interior of the front and rear walls and
wherein the first joining device is formed below the line of
weakness.
7. The gusseted package of claim 1 including a closure which
extends around the first gusset thereby forming a pour spout.
8. The gusseted package of claim 1 wherein the first joining
element is formed downwardly adjacent from the mouth.
9. The gusseted package of claim 1 wherein the front and rear walls
and the first gusset includes a line of weakness below the first
joining element thereby allowing the first joining elements to be
removed from the package.
10. The gusseted package of claim 9 wherein the line of weakness is
a perforated line.
11. A gusseted package, including: front and rear walls; a first
gusset formed between the front and rear walls; the first gusset
including a first front gusset wall and a first rear gusset wall; a
first front joining device for connecting the first front gusset
wall to the front wall; and a first rear joining device for
connecting the first rear gusset wall to the rear wall.
12. The gusseted package of claim 11 further including a second
gusset formed between the front and rear walls, the second gusset
including a second gusset front wall and a second gusset rear wall,
a second front joining device for connecting the second front
gusset wall to the front wall; and a second rear joining device for
connecting the second rear gusset wall to the rear wall.
13. The gusseted package of claim 11 wherein the first front
joining device and first rear joining device form releasable
connections.
14. The gusseted package of claim 13 wherein the first front
joining device and the first rear joining device are chosen from
the group consisting of pins, adhesive, heat sealing, clips and
tape.
15. The gusseted package of claim 11 further including a line of
weakness in the front and rear walls thereby forming a removable
header, further including a reclosure extending around an interior
of the front and rear walls, and wherein the first front joining
device and the first rear joining device are formed in the
removable header above the line of weakness.
16. The gusseted package of claim 11 further including a reclosure
extending around an interior of the front and rear walls and
wherein the first front joining device and the first rear joining
device are formed below the line of weakness.
17. The gusseted package of claim 11 including a reclosure which
extends around the first gusset, thereby forming a pour spout.
18. The gusseted package of claim 11 wherein the first front
joining device and the first rear joining device are formed
downwardly adjacent from the mouth.
19. The gusseted package of claim 11 wherein the front and rear
walls and the first gusset include a line of weakness below the
first front joining device and first rear joining device thereby
allowing the first front joining devices and first rear joining
device to be removed from the package.
20. The gusseted package of claim 19 wherein the line of weakness
is a perforated line.
Description
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/368,435,
filed on Jul. 28, 2010, the contents of which are hereby
incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] 1. Field of the Disclosure
[0003] The present disclosure relates to a gusseted flexible pouch,
which may be reclosable, wherein the gussets are pinned or
otherwise joined in a closed position.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] In the prior art, gusseted flexible pouches are well-known.
The pouches may be reclosable by way of a zipper-type closing,
hook-and-eye (Velcro), adhesive, mushroom head closures or a
similar configuration. Typical prior art includes U.S. Pat. No.
6,971,794 entitled "Package Having Reclosable Pour Spout and Method
of Forming Same" issued on Dec. 6, 2005 to Yeager and U.S.
Published Patent Application No. 2007/0258665 entitled "Wide Mouth
Gusseted Pouches" filed on Nov. 8, 2007 by Greco and Ausnit.
[0006] As shown in FIG. 1, gussets of gusseted pouches tend to
splay open at the top. This splayed open appearance often makes the
top of the package appear to be unfinished, particularly when
compared to the rectangular filled out bottom of the pouch. These
splayed gussets may also result in a package similar to that
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,810 entitled "Flexible Package
with a Transverse Access Panel Device", issued on May 9, 2006 to
Steele.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0007] It is therefore an object of the present disclosure to
provide a gusseted package which is able to avoid a splayed open
appearance.
[0008] It is therefore a further object of the present disclosure
to provide a gusseted package which tends to maintain a neat
appearance.
[0009] These and other objects are attained by providing a gusseted
package wherein the gussets may be pinned or otherwise joined to
each other or to the face of the pouch. Typical methods of joining
include, but are not limited to, pins, adhesive, heat sealing,
clips and tape, as well as various similar methods.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] Further objects and advantages of the disclosure will become
apparent from the following description and from the accompanying
drawings, wherein:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a top view of a typical prior art package without
pinned gussets.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a top view of a first embodiment of the present
disclosure, wherein the gussets are pinned or otherwise joined
together.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the
present disclosure, with a reclosure, prior to the pinning or
joining together of the gussets.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a top view of a second embodiment of the present
disclosure, wherein the gussets are pinned or otherwise joined to
the face of the pouch.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a top view of the first embodiment of the present
disclosure, with a reclosure, after the gussets have been
opened.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a top view of the second embodiment of the present
disclosure, with a reclosure, after the gussets have been
opened.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like
numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views, one
sees that FIG. 1 is a top view of a prior art gusseted package 100
wherein the first and second gussets 102, 104 have splayed apart,
as indicated by the angle .alpha. (alpha). Gusseted package 100 is
formed from polymeric material forming a front wall 106 and a rear
wall 108. The polymeric material may be provided as a single sheet
or as two or more sheets. Particularly in the case of a gusseted
package formed from a single sheet, a fin seal 110 may be formed on
the rear wall 108, wherein the two edges 112, 114 of the single
film are brought together and sealed to each other. First gusset
102 includes first front gusset wall 120 and first rear gusset wall
122, shown splayed apart from each other at the angle .alpha.
(alpha). This angle .alpha. (alpha) can be slight or, as
illustrated in FIG. 1, may exceed ninety degrees. Second gusset 104
includes second front gusset wall 124 and second rear gusset wall
126, shown splayed apart from each other at the angle .alpha.
(alpha). The various assigned numerals in the illustrated prior art
package of FIG. 1 will be assigned to corresponding elements in the
subsequent figures. However, the gusseted packages of the
subsequent figures will be illustrated as corresponding to numeral
101.
[0018] In FIG. 2, first front and rear gusset walls 120, 122 of
first gusset 102 have been joined together by first joining element
130 and second front and rear gusset walls 124, 126 of second
gusset 104 have been joined together by second joining element 132.
First and second joining elements 130, 132 may include, but are not
limited to, pins, adhesive, heat sealing, clips and tape, as well
as various similar methods or devices. In this configuration, the
first and second gussets 102, 104 stay virtually parallel with the
mid portion of the pouch top, thereby presenting a much neater
appearance.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the
gusseted package 101, prior to the installation of the first and
second joining elements 130, 132 of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 shows the sealed
bottom 117 and mouth 119. Mouth 119 is reclosably sealed by
reclosure 121. Typically, the reclosure 121 has opening flanges
with an attached removable head 125, or the front and rear walls
106, 108 form the removable header 125 and include tear lines.
Reclosure 121 typically wraps completely around the inner
circumference of the package 101 and can fold back and mate, or
join, to itself. Optionally, a line of weakness 123 (such as, but
not limited to, a perforated line) may be formed upwardly adjacent
from reclosure 121 and an optional removable header 125 is formed
above the line of weakness 123. If the line of weakness 123 and
removable header 125 are included, then the first and second
joining elements 130 and 132 may be formed within the removable
header 125, upwardly adjacent from line of weakness 123, and do not
need to be releasable. Rather, tearing along the line of weakness
123 allows for removal of the removable header 125, along with the
first and second joining elements 130 and 132. In the absence of
such a line of weakness 123 and removable header 125, first and
second joining elements 130, 132 are typically releasable and
formed below the reclosure 121.
[0020] Similarly, in FIG. 4, first front and rear gusset walls 120,
122 of first gusset 102 have been joined to front wall 106 and rear
wall 108 of the gusseted package 101 by first front and rear
joining elements 130' and 130'', respectively, while second front
and rear gusset walls 124, 126 of second gusset 104 have been
joined to front wall 106 and rear wall 108 of the gusseted package
101 by second front and rear joining elements 132' and 132'',
respectively. As above, the various joining elements may include,
but are not limited to, pins, adhesive, heat sealing, clips and
tape, as well as various similar methods or devices. This results
in a neat appearance. Further, in some instances, such as a
standard bag top opening transverse direction package, it may be
preferable to pin back or join only the first and second rear
gusset walls 122, 126 to the rear wall 108 of the pouch or package
101.
[0021] FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the gusseted package 101 after the
various joining elements have been released or the pinned or
otherwise joined portion of the gussets have been removed.
Furthermore, FIG. 5 illustrates how the top of the package 101
would look once the top of the package 101 with the header 125 and
the pinned portion of the gussets have been removed and reclosure
121 wraps around the interior of the opening of the package 101.
The header 125 can be removed by providing score lines or
perforations to aid in removal, or the header 125 can be cut off.
In FIG. 5, the gussets 102, 104 are open and a wide mouth opening
pouch is achieved, which is similar to the Greco and Ausnit
application cited above. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 6, after the
release or removal of the various joining elements (typically by
removal of the portion of the header above the reclosure), a pour
spout arrangement is achieved which is similar to the Yeager
reference cited above. In this style package, the reclosure wraps
from a portion of the interior of front wall 106, across first
gusset 102 (but not second gusset 104), and onto a portion of the
interior of the rear wall 108. The reclosure 121 extends across the
front and rear walls only far enough to create a pour spout.
[0022] The use of the joining elements is applicable to any number
of gusseted package styles, with or without reclosures. In the
resulting package, the gusset flaps are controlled at the top of
the package, rather than allowing the flaps to assume various
angles. Moreover, these embodiments result in improved appearance
of the package.
[0023] Thus the several aforementioned objects 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.
* * * * *