Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FLEXIBLE POUCH HAVING DISPENSING NOZZLE
AND FRANGIBLE SEAL
Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to containers and more particularly to
flexible
pouches for containing liquids.
Background of the Invention
[0002] Conventional containers for engine lubricating oils include a molded
plastic
body defining a substantially rectangular storage volume. T'he conventional
container further
includes a circular discharge port closed by a threaded cap. Engine
lubricating oil is dispensed
from the conventional container, into an automobile engine for example, by
removing the
threaded cap and inverting the container A funnel, or other dispensing
accessory, however, is
needed to limit spillage of the oil when the open container is inverted. Also,
the discharge of
the lubricating oil from tire conventional container can be difficult to
control.
[0003] The lack of venting provided by the relatively rigid conventional oil
container
causes a "chugging" form of delivery in which the oil is dispensed from the
container in period
bursts. The delivery of oil in bursts increases the probability that oil be
spilled fi~om the
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conventional container. In addition, the molded plastic containers maintain
their shape when
emptied. The volume occupied by the empty container creates bulky refuse to be
disposed.
[0004] U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,949,857 to Russell and No. 4,938,390 to Markva
disclose
containers for engine lubricating oils made from molded plastic and having a
body portion and
a neck portion. The containers further include a frangible seal closing the
neck portion to
provide for inversion of the container following removal of the threaded cap
without discharge
of the oil. The body of the Russell '857 container utilizes the conventional
rectangular shape.
The body portion of the Markva '390 container is substantially cylindrical in
shape.
Application of pressure to body portions of the molded plastic containers of
Russell '857 and
Markva '390 causes the neck seals to rupture.
[0005] The molded plastic containers of Russell '857 and Markva '390, however,
do
not provide venting and, therefore, deliver oil in period bursts in the
chugging manner
described above. Each of the relatively rigid molded plastic containers of
Russell '857 and
Markva '390 also will maintain its shape when emptied creating inefficient
bulky refuse to be
disposed.
[0006] Flexible pouches are used to package a variety of products. The
conventional
flexible pouch includes front and rear panels of laminated foil or film
materials that are heat
sealed together along opposite sides of the pouch. LJ.S. Pat. No. 4,998,646 to
Sherman
discloses a flexible pouch for a liquid having a gusseted bottom wall for self
support of the
pouch. The Sherman pouch includes a rounded pour spout that is opened by
cutting a corner
of the pouch. Flexible pouches, such as the Shennan pouch, are collapsible
such that the
interior volume defined by the pouch is reduced as the liquid is discharged.
As a result, the
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discharge of the liquid is not subject to the above described "chugging"
associated with
unvented containers that do not collapse as they are emptied. The collapsing
nature of the
flexible pouch construction also provides for less refuse volume for the
packaging in contrast
to containers that maintain their shape when emptied.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,157 to Gentile discloses a pouch for pastes and
semi-solids
that includes a removable cap portion designed to close the pouch following
removal of the
cap portion by tearing. It is not known, however, to include an elongated
nozzle in a flexible
pouch adapted for dispensing an engine lubricating oil from the pouch. It is
also not known to
provide a flexible pouch having a frangible closure that is adapted to burst
when pressure is
applied to the pouch contents.
Summary of the Invention
[0008] The invention provides a collapsible pouch for motor oil. The pouch
includes a
bulb-shaped storage chamber and an elongated dispensing nozzle. The storage
chamber and
the dispensing nozzle include first and second panels of a flexible laminate
material secured
together along opposite sides. The polrch further includes a burstable closure
seal located in
the dispensing nozzle including strips of an adhesively bondable material. The
strips are
capable of forming a bond having sufficient strength to maintain closure of
the dispensing
nozzle in the absence of a predetermined pressure applied to the motor oil.
The pouch may
include a bottom panel secured to the first and second panels to provide for
self support of the
pouch when filled. The pouch may also include a removable end portion
connected to the
dispensing nozzle opposite the storage chamber.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
[0009) For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the
drawings a form
that is presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention
is not limited to
the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
[0010] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a self standing pouch according to
the present
invention;
[0011] Figure 2 is a side view of the pouch of Figure 1;
[0012) Figure 3 is a bottom view of the pouch of Figure 1.
[0013] Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of Figure 1; and
[0014] Figure 5 is a perspective view of a pouch according to the present
invention
being used to dispense oil contained by the pouch.
Detailed Descriptio>rw of the Drawings
[0015) Referring to the drawings, where like numerals identify like elements,
there is
shown in Figures l and 2 a flexible pouch 10 according to the present
invention providing
packaging for an engine lubricating oil. The flexible pouch 10 includes front
and rear panels
I2, l4 that consist of film layers, or alternatively foil and film layers,
that are adhesively
bonded together to form a laminate. A preferred laminate for the panels 12,
14, from the
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inside surface to the outside, includes layers of polyethylene (PE), nylon,
and
polyethyleneterephthalate (PET).
[0016] The front and rear panels 12, 14 are secured along opposite sides 16,
18
preferably in a heat sealing process in which adjacent film layers are fused
together. The
present invention is not limited to heat fused film layers and could
alternatively comprise
laminates secured together using a heat seal adhesive that is pattern applied
along the sides 16,
18 of the panels 12, 14. The panels 12, 14 of the pouch 10 could be made from
any flexible
material that is suitable for forming a flexible pouch.
[0017) The front and rear panels 12, 14 define a storage chamber 20 and an
elongated
dispensing nozzle 22 extending from the storage chamber 20. As shown in Figure
2, the
storage chamber 20 of the pouch 10 is rounded to define a substantially bulb-
like shape.
Referring to Figure 3, the pouch 10 further includes a bottom panel 24 secured
to the front
and rear panels 12, 14, preferably by heat sealing. The pouch 10 includes
folded portions of
the front and rear panels 12, 14 that fol-!n gusset reinforcement at opposite
sides of the pouch
in the known manner. The inclusion of the gusset reinforced bottom panel 24 in
the oil
pouch 10 provides for self support of the pouch. Such self support for the
pouch 10 is
desirable for presentation of the product on a store display shelf, for
example. The self
supporting construction of pouch 10 also desirably results in the engine
lubricating oil being
downwardly directed by gravity forces away from a discharge end 26 of the
dispensing nozzle,
to be described in greater detail.
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(0018] Referring to Figure 4, the pouch 10 includes a closure seal 28 that is
located in
the dispensing nozzle 22 between the front and rear panels 12, 14 adjacent the
discharge end
26 of the dispensing nozzle. The closure seal 28 preferably includes strips
30, 32 of an
adhesive material pattern applied onto the inner surfaces of the front and
rear panels 12, 14,
respectively. Each of the adhesive strips 30, 32 extends laterally between
opposite sides 16,
18 of the discharge nozzle 22 as shown in phantom line in Figure 1. The
adhesive strips 30,
32 are positioned on the panels 12, 14 such that the strips contact each other
as shown in
Figure 4, to seal the chamber 20 and a portion of the discharge nozzle 22.
[0019] The adhesive strips 30, 32 of the closure seal 28 preferably provide
sufficient
bonding between the panels 12, 14 such that the closure seal 28 will not be
break in response
to relatively weak pressure applied to the contents of the package, as may be
expected during
shipping and handling, for example. The closure seal 28 is adapted, however,
to provide for a
limited bond between the adhesive strips 30, 32 such that the strips 30, 32
will separate as
shown in Figure 5 in response to a predetermined, moderate, pressure. Such a
moderate
pressure would be that pressure applied to the oil contained in pouch 10 when
an average user
squeezes the bulb-shaped chamber 20 with the hand, for example, as shown in
Figure 5 and
described below, for example.
(0020] The adhesive strips 30, 32 of the closure seal 28 preferably consist of
a cold
seal adhesive material to provide the limited pond strength desired for
separation of the strips
when the bulb-shaped chamber 20 of the pouch 10 is squeezed by an average user
of the
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pouch 10. Cold seal adhesives, per se known, will seal to themselves under
compression
without the need for heating of the adhesive.
[0021] The present invention, however, is not limited to the use of a cold
seal adhesive
for the strips 30, 32 of the closure seal 28. The strips 30, 32 could,
alternatively, consist of a
heat sealable adhesive material. It is known that, by reducing the temperature
at which a heat
sealable adhesive material is joined together, reduced bond strength will
result. Furthermore,
the present invention is not limited to the use of a separate adhesive
material applied to the
inner surfaces of the panels 12, 14 to form the strips 30, 32 of the closure
seal 28. It is
conceivable, for example, that the panels 12, 14 could include inner layers of
a heat sealable
material bonded together. To provide the linuted bond strength required for
the frangible seal
of closure seal 28, the inner layers of the panels 12, 14 would be bonded
together under a
lower temperature than that used to join the opposite sides 16, 18 of the
pouch 10.
(0022] The pouch 10 includes a tear notch 34 formed in side 18 between the
closure
seal 28 and an end portion 36 of the pouch 10. The tear notch 34 facilitates
removal of the
end portion 36 of the pouch 10 for exposure of the closure seal 28 to provide
for discharge of
the pouch contents. As shown in Figure I , the panels 12, 14 are sealed
together around the
periphery of the end portion 36. In this manner., the end portion 36, prior to
its removal from
the pouch 10, will function as a cap to contain the contents of the pouch 10
in the event
inadvertently applied pressure is sufficient to rupture the closure seal 28.
[0023] The deliver-~~ of the contained oil from the pouch 10 is achieved in
the following
manner. A user grasps the end portion 36 of the pouch 10 and removes the end
portion by
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tearing the pouch between the opposite sides 16, 18 beginning at the tear
notch 34 in side 18.
The removal of the end portion 3fi from the pouch forms a torn end 38, shown
in Figure 5,
exposing the closure seal 28. The closure seal 28, however, functions to
contain the oil within
the pouch 10 providing for spill-free inversion of the pouch 10 to position
the nozzle 22
beneath the chamber 20 in position to dispense oil from the pouch I 0.
[0024) The pouch 10 is shown in Figure 5 dispensing oil from the nozzle 22.
Following removal of the end portion 36, pouch 10 is inverted and pressure is
applied to the
chamber 20 by hand 40 of a user, for example. The pressure applied to the
contents of pouch
ruptures the closure seal 28 thereby opening the nozzle 22 for discharge of
oil 42. As
illustrated in 1~igure S, the flexible; pouch 10 collapses as the chamber 20
is squeezed by hand
40. As discussed previously, the collapsible construction of the pouch 10
facilitates spill-free
discharge of the oil from the pouch 1 () by preventing "chugging" discharge
associated with
rigid molded plastic container of the prior art in which oil is released in
period bursts.
[0025] The collapsing of the pouch 10 upon removal of the oil also provides
for much
more compact refuse to be disposed of upon use of the pouch 10. The pouch 10
of the
present invention is capable of L~eing collapsed into a space that is up to 20
times smaller than
that occupied by the relatively rigid and non-collapsing molded plastic
containers of the prior
art. Such reduction in refuse space would be highly desirable for an entity
such as a gas
station that may utilize large numbers of containers of oil during a given
trash cycle.
(0026] While the present invention has been described in connection with the
preferred
embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar
embodiments may
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be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described
embodiments for
performing the same function of the present invention without deviating
therefrom. Therefore,
the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment, but
rather should be
construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the recitation of the
appended claims.
