Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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INPROVED PLEATED WRAPPER
RELATED APPLICATION8:
The subject matter of this application is
related to U.S. Patent No. 4,795,648 as well as the
following applications:
U.S. Serial Number: 687,381, filed on April 18,
1991 titled PLBATED PACRAGING WRAPPBR FOR OBJECT8,
now U.S. Patent No. 5,125,564 issued June 30, 1992;
U.S. Serial Number: 687,384, filed on April 18,
1991 titled CO~.~1NUOU8 8HEET PLEATING DEVICB FOR
HARING OVERLAPPING PLEAT8 AND ARRANGEMENT8, now
U.S. Patent No. 5,188,265 issued February 23, 1993;
U.S. Serial Number: 702,265, filed on May 17,
1991 titled IMPROVED PLEATED P~CR~TNG WRAPPER AND
METHOD OF WRAPPING OBJECT8 U8ING THE 8ANE, now U.S.
Patent No. 5,131,586 issued July 21, 1992;
U.S. Serial Number: 752,866, filed on August 30,
1991 titled A PROCES8 AND APPARATU8 FOR ~RTt'- A
WRAPPING FROM A THIN PLEATED 8HEET, now U.S. Patent
No. 5,201,697 issued April 13, 1993.
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BACRGROUND OF THE lNv~.,lON
FIELD OF THB lNv~..lON
This invention pertains to an improved pleated
wrapper, and more particularly to a wrapper made of
a pleated or partially thin sheet of material
folded on itself.
DE8CRIPTION OF THB PRIOR ART
U.S. Patent No. 4,795,648 describes a wrapper
for various complex objects, formed of a thin
pleated sheet of material. The wrapper can be
deployed around an object to form a self-closing
package. In the other applications mentioned
above, improvements to this wrapper and devices for
making the pleated sheet are described. One
problem with the wrappers so far has been that they
are more suited for objects having stable or
relatively fixed outlines, but are unsuited for
several objects or food stuff arranged in a random
configuration, such as for example, french fries or
chicken nuggets. In application S.N. 702,265 an
attempt has been made to alleviate this problem by
suggesting a wrapper formed of a thin pleated sheet
attached to an unpleated sheet made of a rigid,
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thicker material. Of course, this wrapper is made
difficult to make and handle since it is made of
two different types of materials.
OB~Jh~ v ~:8 AND 8~MMARY OF T~13 lNV~:NllON
s In view of the above-mentioned disadvantages of
the prior art, it is an objective of the present
invention to provide a wrapper made suitable for
one or more objects, particularly food-stuff,
having an indeterminate shape.
A further objective is to provide a wrapper made
of a thin, flexible and inexpensive sheet.
Yet another objective is to provide a wrapper
having a mouth which closes naturally as the
wrapper is expanded to provide thermal protection.
Other objectives and advantages of the invention
shall become apparent from the following
description.
A wrapper made in accordance with this invention
is formed of a thin sheet of pleated material which
is folded over itself transversely with respect to
the pleats to form a pouch, with the pleatings
extending longitudinally along the pouch sidewalls.
After the pouch is filled with objects, such as
french fries, chicken nuggets, etc., the two lower
corners may be extended to form a closed container.
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In an alternate embodiment, a pleated portion of
the sheet deployed is around a pouch.
BRIE~F DE8CRIPTION OF THE DRaWING8
Figure 1 shows an isometric view of a pouch
constructed in accordance with this invention.
Figure lA shows cross-sectional view of a
pleated sheet used in the subject invention;
Figure 2 shows an isometric view of another
embodiment of the pouch of Figure l;
Figure 2A shows a cross-sectional view of the
pouch of Figure 2;
Figure 3 shows the pouch of Figure l in a closed
configuration;
Figure 4 shows an alternate closed configuration
for the pouch of Figure l;
~-- Figures 5 and 6 show the pouch of Figure 1
filled with french fries in the open and closed
configurations;
Figures 6A and 6B show another method of opening
the pouch of Figure 2 to form a serving basket;
Figures 7, 8 and 9 show another embodiment of
the invention in the pleated and closed
configuration and opened configuration after use;
Figure 10 shows yet another embodiment of the
invention in the open configuration;
-
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Figures 11 and 12 show yet another embodiment of
the invention in the opened and closed
configurations;
Figures 13 and 14 show yet another embodiment of
the invention in the open and closed configurations
and
Figure 15 show another embodiment suitable for
popcorn;
Figure 16 shows the embodiment of Figure 15
after the popcorn has been popped; and
Figure 17 show the bag of Figure 16 as it is
opened.
DETAILBD DB8CRIPTION OF THE l~.v~.~lON
The subject invention pertains to a receptacle
or container formed of a pleated sheet, said
pleated sheet being formed by unsymmetrical pleats
defined by preferably parallel folds. As shown in
Figure lA, a typical pleated sheet 100 is formed of
two sections, 100A, 100B, having widths A and B,
respectively, with width A being larger than width
B. The two edges of the sheet perpendicular to the
pleats are fixed, by using an adhesive material or
tape. This type of pleated sheet is disclosed in
U.S. Patent No. 4,795,648. In U.S. Patent No.
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4,79S,648, a wrapper is made from a simple thin
sheet having a planar rectangular shape.
In the first embodiment of the Figure 1, a
pleated sheet 101 similar to sheet 100 in Figure lA
is used which has been folded over itself along a
fold 1 perpendicular to the pleats 3. The two
opposed edges 4, 5 of the sheet are then glued,
soldered or otherwise affixed to each other to form
a pouch with two sides, a closed base 8 and an open
mouth 10. Along the open mouth 10, the pleats 3
have a fixation zone 7 for fixing the pleats as
described above.
Sheet 101 may be formed for example, from paper
coated with a plastic material such as
polyethylene. Importantly, the pouch of Figure 1
could be deployed into one of two configurations.
In one configuration the two corners 9 can be
pulled apart to expand base 8 to form a roughly
semicircular shape as shown. Importantly, the
sidewalls of the pouch are urged together to close
mouth 10, as shown in Figure 3. Therefore the
pouch may be placed on a straight surface on its
side without spilling its contents. Moreover, the
interior of the pouch will be substantially closed
to insure that its contents do not cool off.
However, sufficient space remains between the
2~223~4
sidewalls to allow some ventilation. Figures 5 and
6 indicate the use of this pouch, such as for
storing french fries. Importantly, the french
fries are first introduced through the mouth 10.
During this step, the fingers of the operator are
protected from by being burned (if the french fries
are too hot) by the sidewalls of the pouch. The
thickness of the sidewalls depends on the ratio
A/B. If this ratio is less than 2, then the pouch
sidewalls consists of between one and three layers.
If this ratio is greater than 2, then the several
pleats overlap so that the walls consists of three
to five layers.
Once the pouch is filled, its two corners 9 may
be pulled apart causing the pleats 3 to expand
along the bottom 8. The ~pAn~ion of the pleats
increases the volume of the pouch allowing the
french fries to settle inside, as shown in Figure
6. The mouth of the pouch also closes for heat
protection.
The ratio A/B also controls the size and shape
of the pouch in the open configuration. If A/B >
2, the interior angle between sides 4 and 5 is less
than 180.
If the ratio A/B is smaller, for example 1.5,
and if the width and length of the pouch (29, 30)
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remain approximately equal, then the angle between
sides and 4 and 5 as the pouch is deployed,
increased exceeds 180 substantially, as shown in
Figure 4. However, the mouth 10 remains closed by
the biasing of the pouch sides thereby insuring the
contents of the pouch do not spill. Of course, a
consumer can easily insert his fingers through
opening 10 and retract to withdraw the french fries
at will.
Figure 2 shows a pouch similar to the one in
Figure 1, except that its bottom 2 is formed by
folding sheet 101 three times as shown at lA, lB
and lC to form a gusseted flap 8A. The advantage
of this embodiment is that when corners 9 are
extended or pulled sideways to close the pouch, the
flap 8A comes out and forms a relatively straight
bottom surface for holding the pouch in upright
position (as seen in Figure 4). In this
configuration, the pouch with its contents remains
stable. For consumption, the pouch may be opened
slightly, by ripping the sidewalls if necessary to
provide an easier opening. Obviously, the pouch of
Figures l and 2 may be formed in other ways as
well. In Figure 6A an alternate method of opening
the pouch of Figure 2 is shown. For this method,
the pleats 3A are fixed in zone 7A by a weak
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adhesive. The pleats are also fixed at the bottom
along pleating zone 8A. The pouch is filled up and
closed in the same manner as shown in Figures 5 and
6. However, prior to consumption, the pouch is
opened up by pulling the upper corners 9A apart.
This action causes the pleats to open in zone 7A
thereby allowing the pouch to open and form a
serving basket.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 7 a sheet is
shown having a pleated and an unpleated section
(13, 14). The sheet is folded in two along a line
perpendicular to the pleats 3, and the edges 15 of
the unpleated section is fixed to form a partial
pouch.
A product is placed in the partial pouch and the
pleated section is then deployed around the partial
pouch. The shape of the pleated section again
depends on height 17, and length of the pleated
section as well as ratio A/B. If desired, the
height 16 of unpleated section 13 may be different
then height 17. One advantage of this
configuration is that in order to consume the
product within the pouch, the pleated section need
be opened only partially, as indicated in Figure 9.
In a variation shown in Figure 10, both edges
19, 20 of an unpleated section 18 are fixed to form
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a pouch which is then covered at will by the
pleated section 21.
In another variation of the invention shown in
Figure 11, non-pleated section 14 of Figure 7 is
replaced by a pleated section 22, having pleats
fixed along one side 24 along one side 25A, and
along bottom 25. Pleated section 23 is attached to
section 22 as shown. The two sections 22, 23 may
be made of different materials. For example,
section 24 may be made for example of a thermally
insulated material, set into a pouch-shaped formed
by one or more fixation lines 25. Alternatively,
pleated section 22 may be made with more
overlapping pleats then section 23 to provide more
thermal insulation. In this manner, an opened and
closed pouch may be forced as shown in Figures 11
and 12 which is thermally insulated.
In the embodiment of Figures 11 and 12, pleats
of section 22 are fixed both at the top and bottom
so that they do not open as the section 23 is
deployed around section 22.
In the embodiment of Figures 13 and 14, section
26 is formed in such a manner that the pleats can
be opened at least partially to form a double based
package as shown in Figure 14. Advantageously, the
border 27 of section 26 is formed at an angle to
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allow the section 28 to be wrapped around section
26 more tightly.
In Figures 15-17 an embodiment of the invention
is shown which is suitable for microwave pop-corn.
S In this embodiment, a pouch 120 similar to the
pouch in Figure 1 is provided. This pouch is
provided with an adhesive strip 112 at mouth 111 of
the pouch along one or both inner surfaces of
sidewalls 118, 119. Under this adhesive strip,
sidewalls 118, 119 are provided with a plurality of
partial cuts 113 extending in line in a parallel
with edge 121.
The pouch 120 is used as follows. First,
special corn kernels 110 are placed into pouch 120
as shown in Figure 15, after which the pouch is
sealed with adhesive strip 112. The pouch filled
with the corn kernels are then shipped to stores
for sale to customers.
For consumption, a customer takes a pouch with
the corn and places it into a microwave oven so
that the corn kernels can be subjected to heat for
popping. During this process the popped corn
forces the pouch to expand by opening its pleats as
shown in Figure 16. After the pouch is removed
from the microwave oven, it is opened by separating
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its top 122 along the cuts 113 as shown in Figure
17.
Obviously numerous modifications may be made to
this invention without departing from its scope as
defined in the appended claims.
