Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to flexible containers,
and more particularly, to a transparent type of flexible con-
tainer for use in containing liquids directed for human
consumption.
In the bulk liquid container field, particularly with
regard to servicing restaurants and the like, a five-gallon size
container has been found to be the best size of container. In
the past, milk was delivered to restaurants and public dining
facilities in metal containers. Then came the advent of the
corrugated carton having a polyethylene liner fixed to the inside
of the carton, and a heavier density polyethylene spout attac~ed
to both the liner and the carton. These containers were ideal
for stacking and for handling, and the costs of shipping were
reduced since the containers were disposible. However, with the
ever-increasing cost of fiberboard material, such as corrugated
boxes, a new flexible disposible pouch has been d~veloped to
replace the corrugated box with the liner container.
The newer container is in the form of a five-gallon
pouch made up of a double wall of polyethylene material with a
heavier density polyethylene spout piercing a wall of the pouch
and adhered thereto in a peeled manner.
In the era of the carton box with the polyethylene
liner, it was reasonably easy to identify the product, the date
the product was filled in the flexible container, and the trade
mark label of the dairy supplying the bulk milk, since this
need merely be adhered to the outer box or printed thereonO
However, there are problems in labeling the present flexible
pouch made up of transparent polyethylene sheet material. It
is well known to print on such polyethylene sheet material by
first treating the sheet material with a corona discharge.
~lowever, sheet material which has been treated by corona dis-
charge tends to be less susceptible to heat sealing, and a strong
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heat seal bond is essential when one is dealing with five-gallon
liquid pouches.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide an
economic flexible transparent wall bulk liquid container with a
suitable identification label.
It is also an aim of the present invention to provide
an improved method for forming a flexible wall transparent con-
tainer having a label incorporated therein.
In a construction in accordance with the present inven-
tion, there is provided a container, the walls of which are oftwo-ply thickness and at least the outer ply being transparent,
an identifying label strip provided within the two plies of a
wall of the container and connected to opposed heat seal bonds
forming the container ends such that the label strip is held at
either end to the heat seal bond.
In a method in accordance with the present invention,
thera is provided a continuous process for forming two-ply
walled pouches, including advancing from a single roll a first
set of two separate films of flexible transparent material,
simultaneously advancing a second set of two continuous films of
flexible transparent material, momentarily spacing two films of
one of the sets and feeding a continuous flexible strip on which
intelligence material has been printed, between the films of the
first set of films, advancing the first and second sets of films,
heat sealing the edges of the first and second sets of films in
a four-ply unit with the label connected at the bond of the heat
seal, and separating each so-formed double walled bulk container
from the continuous series.
Having thus generally described the nature of the
invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying draw-
ings, showing by way of illustration, a preferred embodimen-t
thereof, and in which
Figure 1 is a perspective, partly fragmentary view of a
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container having a label in accordance with
the present invention;
Figure 2 is a vertical elevation, schematically
representing the feed unit of a pouch forming
apparatus, and
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken through
lines 3-3 of Figure 1.
Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a
flexible container only partly separated from a continuous
series of similar containers 10. Each container 10 includes a
spout 12 and a label strip 14. The container is formed with
four film thicknesses of polyethylene material forming a double
walled pouch. As shown in Figure 3, the container 10 can have
the film 16, 18, 20 and 22 with a heat seal bond 24 on either
longitudinal edge thereof and lateral heat seal bonds 26 along
the lateral edges thereof.
As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the container 10 is
approximately 23 inches square, and each film 16, 18, 20 and 22
is approximately 2 to 3 mils in thickness. On the other hand,
the label strip 14 which could be of a thinner polyethylene
would be approximately .5 to 1 mil thick. m e label strip 1~
would be a narrow continuous strip which may have been treated
with corona discharge or other process in order to make it more
susceptible to printing. The printed label portion would be
intermittently printed on the strip, thereby leaving a space
~ between the printed label on the strip in the area of bonding.
! It has been found that the heat seal bond does not take too well
! over the printed material.
The spout is heat sealed in a continuous process for
making the pouch and is welded to the upper two films 16 and 18
making up one of the walls of the pouch.
By placing the label as such between two layers making
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up one wall of the pouch, it is readily visible from outside
the pouch, and the strip can, of course, be custom fitted
according to a client's requirements. By providing such a
strip of printed film, it is not necessary to treat the outer
pouch for receiving labels and, therefore, it does not interfere
with the actual structure of the pouch.
Referring now to Figure 2, a feed mechanism for making
up a series of double walled flexible polyethylene pouches is
shown at 30. A pair of rolls 32 and 34 are provided, and these
rolls each supply a double film of polyethyle~ne sheet material
in the proper size. If the feed mechanism is automatic in
nature, alternate feed rolls can be provided, as shown in dotted
lines. As shown, the films 16 and 18 are paid off from the roll
32 and proceed towards the heat sealing station. However, a
roller 36 forces the films 16 and 18 to be spread apart and a
label strip supply roller 38 is provided between the films 16
and 18 and supplies a continuous label strip 14. The roller 38
can be controlled to retard and therefore stretch slightly the
label strip 14 so as to centrally locate the printed label area
of the strip as it is being fed in the pouch assembly. Finally,
the other double wall is formed by supplying films 20 and 22 of
suitable polyethylene material in the same manner over a series
of rollers to the heat seal station, not shown. The four layers,
16, 18, 20 and 22, are then heat sealed in a conven~ional manner,
and the heat seal process also binds the edges of the strip of
the label film 14 at 26.
