Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Packing bag with outer packing
The invention relates to a packing bag made of a flexible foil-like first
material,
with a front bag wall and a rear bag wall, with an opening part which is
separable
along a tear line running transverse to the bag longitudinal direction, and
with a
substantially form-stable outer packing of a second material.
Rigid or form-stable containers, usually produced by 3D thermoforming or
injection moulding, made of plastics material with a sealed-on lid, and rigid
bags
produced from plastics material laminate, are known for the portion-wise
packing
of drinkable and/or spoonable products, such as, for example, fruit juices,
water or
soups. Packing containers and packing bags of this type are not ecologically
harmless and are also relatively expensive because of their increased material
requirement to achieve stability. In addition, the packings are generally
directly
printed as advertising media and therefore basically involve the danger of
migration of undesired materials into the filling product.
The invention is based on the object of providing a packing for drinkable and
spoonable products, such as, for example, fruit juices, water or soups, and
also
for products with liquid and solid portions or semi-solid products, such as,
for
example, animal food, which does not, or only to a lesser degree, have the
disadvantages described above of the packings according to the prior art.
In a packing bag of the type mentioned at the outset, the object is achieved
according to the invention in that the outer packing has a front wall
substantially
adjoining the bag walls and a rear wall, the front wall and rear wall being
connected by means of lateral sealing edges extending in the bag longitudinal
direction, and the bag being sealed into the sealing edges of the outer
packing or,
for example, being bonded in at points by means of hot-melt, so a removal
opening forms by lateral pressure on the outer packing when the opening part
is
separated.
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The bag material and the outer packing material are preferably
organoleptically
and chemically neutral monomaterials with regard to the filling product.
The front bag wall and rear bag wall may be connected to one another in the
longitudinal direction of the bag by means of laterally extending sealing
edges and
sealed or bonded into the sealing edges of the outer packing.
In a first preferred embodiment of the packing bag according to the invention,
the
bag end with the opening part projects out of the outer packing and the end of
the
outer packing which is located further away from the opening part forms a
stand-
up face.
In this first embodiment, the packing bag itself may be a stand-up bag without
its
own stability or a tubular bag. The bag material for the packing bag according
to
the invention may have a smaller thickness in comparison to the rigid material
required for a stand-up bag with its own stability and is accordingly more
economical. The removal opening which is formed after removal of the opening
part by lateral pressure on the outer packing remains completely and
permanently
opened owing to reinforcements in the outer packing. This packing, which
cannot
be closed again, is therefore suitable, in particular, for spoonable filling
products.
In a second preferred embodiment of the packing bag according to the
invention,
the bag end with the opening part is arranged between the front wall and rear
wall
of the outer packing and the outer packing has a tear-away part which can be
separated along a tear line located over the tear line of the opening part, so
the
opening part of the packing can be separated together with the tear-away part
of
the outer packing. The part of the outer packing remaining on the bag after
separation of the tear-away part forms a closure part which is easy to open by
pressing together and letting go the sealing edges and closes again
automatically.
The removal opening which is formed after separation of the tear-away part by
lateral pressure on the outer packing closes again automatically when the
lateral
pressure ceases. This packing is therefore particularly suitable for drinkable
filling
products.
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This second embodiment is suitable for producing multiple packs made of a
plurality of packing bags. The outer packings are lined up next to one another
in
a strip shape here and perforation lines are provided for separation into
individual
packs. Multiple packs with, for example, three, four or more units may be
arranged to form a stable polygon, so even in this embodiment, the packing bag
itself may be an economical stand up bag without its own stability, a tubular
bag
or an extruded bag.
Another multiple pack consists of a plurality of packing bags and a single
outer
packing made of plastics material. The bags are firstly snapped into the outer
packing before use and, after use, removed again from the outer packing.
The bag material of the packing bag according to the invention is preferably a
plastics material film or a paper laminated with plastics material. To avoid
migration of foreign materials into the interior of the bag, the packing bag
is
unprinted.
The outer packing material may be made of any economical monomaterial. A
preferred outer packing material is cardboard or a transparent or opaque
plastics
material. The outer packing may be printed in any manner.
The packing bag is suitable, in particular, for packing drinkable or spoonable
filling
products and filling products which can be stirred with liquid to form
drinkable or
spoonable products. The packing is also suitable for animal food.
Foods such as soups, for example, can be heated in the packing bag according
to
the invention together with the outer packing in the opened state, optionally
after
stirring with cold water, directly in a microwave apparatus.
In the case of carbonated or uncarbonated water, the packing system is used
for
storing the filling product and simultaneously as a drinking vessel.
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For reasons of hygiene, a label or package band to be removed prior to
drinking
may be provided on the part of the outer packing, which is guided to the mouth
for
drinking. In this manner, a contamination-free drinking edge is provided.
epending on the type of filling product, this is also agitated with fluid,
such as, for
example bag soups with hot water, or the filling product is already present in
a
liquid or spoonable form, for example yoghurt.
Further advantages, features and details of the invention emerge from the
following description of preferred embodiments and with the aid of the
drawings,
in which schematically
Fig. 1 shows an oblique view of a packing bag with an outer packing;
Fig. 2 shows an oblique view of the packing bag with the outer packing of Fig.
1
with a separated opening part;
Fig. 3 shows a section through a part of the packing bag with the outer
packing of
Fig. 1 along its line I-I;
Fig. 4 shows an oblique view of a different embodiment of a packing bag with
an
outer packing;
Fig. 5 shows an oblique view of a packing bag of Fig. 4 with a separated
opening
part;
Fig. 6 shows a longitudinal section through a part of the packing bag with an
outer packing of Fig. 4 along its line 11-I1;
Fig. 7 shows a cross section through a part of the packing bag with the outer
packing of Fig. 4 along its line III-III;
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Fig. 8 shows a plan view of a multiple pack of packing bags with the outer
packing of Fig. 4;
Fig. 9 shows a plan view of an arrangement of a multiple pack according to
Fig. 8
5 with three packing bags;
Fig. 10 shows a plan view of an arrangement of a multiple pack according
to Fig. 9 with four packing bags.
A packing bag 10 shown in Fig. 1 in the form of a tubular bag made of a
flexible
sheet material, such as, for example, polyamide, has a sealed-in base 12, a
front
wall 14 and a rear wall 16. Two laterally arranged longitudinal sealing seams
18,
19 defining a bag longitudinal direction I connect the two bag walls 14, 16
projecting from the base 12 and, together with a transverse sealing seam 20
connecting the longitudinal sealing seams 18, 19 at the end remote from the
base, lead to the closed packing bag 10.
The transverse sealing seam 20 which is at the end of the packing bag 10
remote
from the base is part of an opening part 26 which can be separated from the
bag.
To open the packing bag 10, the opening part 26 is torn away along a tear line
24
which is arranged in the bags walls 14, 16 parallel to and at a short distance
from
the transverse sealing seam 20. Tear notches 22, 23 with a tip ending at the
tear
line 24 are provided as a tear aid in the longitudinal sealing seams 18, 19.
An outer packing 28 made of a form-stable material, such as, for example
cardboard, has a front wall 30 and a rear wall 32. The outer packing 28
surrounds the packing bag 10, extends from the base 12 thereof by way of the
bag walls 14, 16 towards the opening part 26, and ends at a short distance
from
the tear line 24.
The outer packing walls 30, 32 are connected to one another by means of two
lateral sealing seams 34, 35 extending in the longitudinal direction of the
bag.
During the sealing of the two outer packaging walls 30, 32, the lateral
longitudinal
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sealing seams 18, 19 of the packing bag 10 arranged between the front wall 30
and rear wall 32 of the outer packing 28 are sealed into the lateral sealing
seams
34, 35 of the outer packing 28 (Fig. 3). In addition, the bag walls 14, 16 of
the
packing bag 10 are partially fastened by means of adhesive locations 36 at
points
to the inside of the outer packing 28.
When the opening part 28 is torn away, an opening 38 is produced, which can be
adjusted to the desired maximum opening size by pressing together the sealing
seams 34, 35 of the outer packing 28. As shown in Fig. 2, the outer packing
walls
30, 32 are made to buige out, by pressure in the arrow direction A on the
lateral
sealing seams 34, 35 below the bag opening 38, in the arrow direction B with
enlargement of the opening 38. So the opening 38 does not close again
automatically, channels 40 running in the longitudinal direction I of the
packing
bag 10 may be arranged in the outer packing 28. The adhesive locations 36 at
points between the packing bag 10 and the outer packing 44 in the region of
the
bag opening 38 ensures that the bag follows the opening movement of the outer
packing 44 which is deforming through pressure.
A window 42 which is indicated by dashed lines in Fig. 1, is cut out in the
front
wall 30 of the outer packing 28 in Fig. 2. In combination with a packing bag
10
made of transparent material, the window 42 allows a view of the filling
product in
the packing bag 10. This transparency may also be achieved without the
installation of a window by using transparent plastics materials both for the
packing bag 10 and for the outer packing 28.
In the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, the outer packing 44 extends substantially
onto the opening region and in the form of two lateral side piece strips 60,
62
along the longitudinal sealing seams 18, 19 of the packing bag 10. The outer
packing 44 consists of a front wall part 46 adjoining the front bag wall 14 in
the
opening region of the packing bag 10 and a rear wall part 48 adjoining the
rear
bag wall 16, the front and rear wall part 46, 48 covering the separable
opening
part 26 of the packing bag 10 on either side (Fig. 6).
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The front wall part 46 and rear wall part 48 of the outer packing 44 are
connected
to one another at their lateral side piece strips 60, 62 by means of sealing
seams
50, 51 and in the region of the opening part 26 by means of a transverse
sealing
seam 52. The longitudinal sealing seams 18, 19 located between the front wall
part 46 and the rear wall part 48 of the outer packing 44 are sealed into the
lateral
sealing seams 50, 51 during sealing of the outer packing 44, so the outer
packing
44 is fastened to the packing bag 10 (Fig. 7).
To open the packing bag 10, a tear-away part 49 of the outer packing 44 is
torn
away along a tear line 54 which is arranged in the front wall part 46 and in
the
rear wall part 48 and located over the tear line 24 of the opening part 26 of
the
packing bag 10. Tearing notches 56, 57 are arranged as a tear aid in the
lateral
sealing seams 50, 51 at the two ends of the tearing line 54.
As shown in Fig. 5, the part of the outer packing 44 remaining in the opening
region after the packing bag 10 has been opened, surrounds the bag opening 58
which is produced in the form of two material strips 64, 66, which are
connected
to one another to form a collar 68 by means of the lateral sealing seams 50,
51.
By means of pressure in the arrow direction A on the lateral sealing seams 50,
51
of the collar 68, the collar is made to bulge out with enlargement of the
opening
58 in the arrow direction B. Without pressure on the lateral sealing seams 50,
51
of the collar 68 in the arrow direction A, the bag opening 58 remains closed
or
closes again automatically. By means of adhesive locations 70 at points
between
the packing bag 10 and the outer packing 44 in the region of the collar 68 it
is
ensured that the bag follows the opening movement of the outer packing 44 or
collar 68 which is deforming owing to pressure.
The lateral side piece strips 60, 62 adjoining the material strips 64, 66 or
the collar
68, and partially surrounding the longitudinal sealing seams 18, 19 of the
packing
bag 10, stabilise the bag in its longitudinal direction I. As indicated by
dashed
lines in Fig. 5, the side piece strips 60, 62 may extend over the entire (1)
or else
only a part (2) of the bag length, or else be omitted (3), so the outer
packing is
substantially limited to the collar 68.
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As indicated in Fig. 4 and 8, the outer packings 44 may be connected together
as
a strip and combine a plurality of packing bags 10 to form a multiple pack.
The
individual packing units of a multiple pack may be separated along perforation
or
other weakening lines 72 between adjacent outer packings 44 of the multiple
pack.
To improve the stability of multiple packs, they can be arranged annularly,
for
example according to Fig. 9 and 10.