Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TRANSLATION OF PCT/AT2008/000275
BAG FOR BULK MATERIAL
The present invention relates to a bag for bulk material, in particular,
animal feed and/or
foodstuffs, with flexible bag walls and a reclosable removal opening for
removing the bulk
material from the bag. In addition, the invention relates to a flap that is
suitable as a reclosable
removal opening for a container for bulk material.
In the case of the state of the art, it is known to purchase bulk material
sealed in a bag, such as,
e.g., dog or cat food or other foodstuffs for people or animals. These bags
have flexible bag
walls. The contents are usually provided for successive consumption over a
long period of time.
In order to be able to reclose the bag after removing a portion of the bulk
material, that is, e.g.,
after removing a portion of' animal feed, in the state of the art, reclosable
removal openings are
known in the form of slide-i:astener-like zippers usually made from plastic.
Previously common reclosable removal openings are difficult to handle,
especially when the bag
has already been partially ernptied, and also often hinder the refilling of
the bag.
The objective of a first aspect of the invention is therefore to disclose a
reclosable removal
opening for bags according; to this class, wherein this opening avoids the
disadvantages noted
above for the state of the art.
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According to the first aspect of the invention, this is achieved in that the
removal opening is
constructed as a flap.
The flap has the advantage that it can be reclosed in a simple way also in a
partially emptied state
of the bag or it is automatically reclosed in the case of an appropriate
biasing tension. The flap is
here understood as, in particular, at least two components that are connected
in an articulated
way to each other and that can pivot or unfold relative to each other,
wherein, in a first position,
one component at least partially closes an opening in the other component and,
in the other
position, at least partially opens this opening. The bulk material that can be
stored in bags
according to the invention can have a varying consistency. Here, the material
can involve, e.g.,
granular material whose grain size can be very different. This usually lies in
the sub-millimeter,
millimeter, or centimeter range. However, it is also conceivable to use bags
according to the
invention for liquids, emulsions, or the like as bulk material. The invention
is in no way limited
to bulk material such as animal feed and/or foodstuffs, it could also involve,
e.g., laundry
detergent powder, dishwasher detergent powder, or liquid laundry or dishwasher
detergents and
the like, to name only a few examples.
The removal opening according to the invention is primarily provided for
discharging bag
contents. For a corresponding size of the removal opening, however, it could
also be provided
that one could reach into the bag interior, in order to remove the bulk
material from the bag. The
bag is usually completely closed by sealing or bonding after being filled with
the bulk material.
After this sealing process, io open the bag, there is only the flap. In
particular, in the case of
animal feed and/or foodstuffs, after its production and after filling and
sealing of the bag, the flap
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is initially completely closed at first, so that no gas exchange can take
place through the flap, so
that, in the sealed bag state after the filling process, the bulk material is
stored gas-tight in this
bag. Now it could be necessary according to the type of the bulk material to
let air into the bag or
out of the bag while the bullc material is stored in the closed bag, that is,
before the first opening
of the flap.
To allow this, an independent aspect of the invention provides that, in the
case of a flap suitable
as a reclosable removal opening for a container for bulk material, a valve is
provided in the flap,
advantageously in the flap cioor or in a flap frame, wherein this valve allows
gas throughput in
one direction, advantageously into the container, and blocks gas throughput in
the opposite
direction.
Such a flap could be used both for bags with flexible bag walls and also for
containers with
essentially rigid walls, such as, e.g., cardboard boxes or other cartons. The
use of bags has the
advantage that these could be folded together into a relatively small overall
volume already in a
partially emptied state. For containers with rigid walls, such as cardboard
boxes or cartons, this is
not possible. However, it is often provided to fold these containers together
after complete
emptying, in order to keep their waste volume as small as possible when they
are disposed.
In this context, the objective of disclosing a flap is presented that likewise
can be folded together
as small as possible both for bags with flexible bag walls and also for other
containers with
essentially rigid walls.
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This is achieved according to another independent aspect of the invention in
that, in the case of
flaps that are suitable as a reclosable removal opening for such containers,
it is provided that the
flap has a flap frame and a flap door that is attached to this frame and that
can pivot relative to
the flap frame about an imaginary flap axis, wherein the flap frame and/or the
flap door can be
folded about at least one folding axis, advantageously in a closed position of
the flap door. Thus
it is provided that, on one hand, the flap door can pivot relative to the flap
frame for removing
the bulk material, in order to be able to open and close the container. On the
other hand,
however, the flap frame and/or the flap door can be folded about at least one
folding axis, above
all in the closed position of the flap door, in order to be able to fold the
flap as a whole as small
as possible.
The one or more folding axes of the flap can also lie basically parallel to or
directly on the flap
axis. Preferably, however, it is provided that the folding axis is arranged in
the closed position of
the flap door at an angle that: is different from 0 and 180 , advantageously
orthogonal to the flap
axis. In the case of bags that have folds running advantageously in their
longitudinal direction, it
is favorable to arrange the flap in the region of the fold. Here it is
especially preferred when the
folding axes of the flap and the fold of the bag lie one on top of the other.
This has the effect that
the flap is automatically folded in the closed position of the flap door by
the fold in the bag and
the flap door is therefore held closed.
Additional details and feattires are shown with reference to the following
fieure descriptions.
Shown here are:
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Figs. 1 to 3 different views of a bag equipped according to the invention
before being filled
and the subsequent sealing of the bag, and
Figs. 4 to 7 different views and positions of a flap according to the
invention.
Fig. 1 shows a bag 1 accorciing to the invention before this is filled with
the bulk material and is
sealed or closed in some other way in the area between its upper edge 15 and
the flap 3. Fig. I
here shows a view into the interior of the bag of the flap 3 arranged in the
region of the
longitudinal fold 4. This flap has a flap frame 5 and a flap door 7 attached
to this flap frame 5 so
it can pivot. The pivoting attachment of the flap door on the flap frame is
here constructed by
means of a film hinge 9. However, other hinge-like connections between the
flap door 7 and flap
frame 5 could also be provided. In any case, it is favorably provided that the
flap 3 is produced in
one piece. For example, in the case of the flap 3 it could involve an
injection-molded part made.
from plastic. Suitable plastics for the production of the flap 3 are, e.g.,
polyethylene or
polypropylene. In this embodiment, the flap 3 or the flap frame 5 is welded
from the inside onto
the bag wall 2. Instead of the welding, bonding or also different types of
connections could also
be provided. The flap 3, however, does not absolutely have to be constructed
as a standalone
component. It is also possible to construct the flap 3 in one piece with the
bag walls 2. The
completion from initially two separate components, however, has the advantage
that stiffer
material could be used for the flap 3 than for the bag walls 2, so that the
flap 3 is overall more
dimensionally stable, which is favorable both for the discharge or removal of
the bulk material
and also for the reclosing.
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For the bag walls 2, different composite or mono materials known in the state
of the art could be
used. In particular, for the animal feed and foodstuffs industry, composite
materials with a carrier
film made from polyester or polyamide and a barrier coating made from, e.g.,
metal, have proven
effective. This, however, is in no way to be viewed as limiting. Other
plastics, papers,
paperboards, metals, or the like could also be used individually or in
composite as the bag walls
2, to name only a few examples.
As is to be seen particularly well in Fig. 1, the bag walls 2 have folds 4. In
order to be able to
fold the bag 1 as small as possible in the partially or completely emptied
state, it is preferably
provided that the flap 3 which can be folded about the folding axis 8 is
arranged on the bag walls
2 so that the folding axis 8 of the flap 3 essentially coincides with the fold
4 of the bag. Here it is
to be seen that the fold 4 always has the tendency toward folding together, by
means of which,
for a closed flap door 7, the flap 3 is also automatically folded. Through
this automatic folding,
the flap door 7 is also folded together, by means of which it is automatically
held in the closed
position shown in Fig. 1. Another advantage of the illustrated arrangement of
the flap 3 on the
bag walls 2 is that the flap 3 does not interfere with the refilling of the
bag.
Fig. 2 shows a view from outside onto the bag walls 2 before the bag 1 is
filled. This is also the
state before the first opening of the flap 3 - as far as the area of the flap
3 is concerned. In this
embodiment, the flap 3 is hidden behind a region of the bag walls 2 surrounded
by the
nerforations 14. For the first-time opening of the flap, the bag walls 2 are
initially ripped open in
the region of the perforations 14, by means of which the flap 3 becomes
visible and able to be
gripped from the outside and can be opened.
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Fig. 3 shows the bag 1 in the completely empty and folded-together state in
which the flap 3 is
also folded about its folding axis 8, so that, as a whole, the smallest
possible volume is produced
for the bag 1.
Figs. 4 to 7 show the flap 3 in the state detached from the bag 2. As already
explained, this
embodiment of the flap 3 lias a flap frame 5, as well as a flap door 7
attached to this frame by
means of the film hinge 9 so that it can pivot. The flap door 7 can be folded
or can pivot about
the flap axis 6 specified by the film hinge 9. For activation, the grip region
11 is formed on the
flap door 7 so that it can be gripped from the outside also in the closed
position of the flap door 7
and simplifies the opening and closing of the flap door. Fig. 4 shows the flap
3 in the opened
position of the flap door 7 in which the bulk material can be removed from the
bag or poured out
from it. For reclosing - to the closed position shown in Fig. 6 - a peripheral
flexible lip 10 is
provided on the edge of the flap door 7 facing the flap frame 5 in the closed
position. This
engages behind the flap fraime 5 in the closed position of the flap door 7, so
that the flap door 7 is
again held in the frame 5. Before the first opening of the flap door 7, the
sealing lip 10 could be
connected integrally with the flap frame 5, so that it rips open in the case
of the first activation of
the flap door 7 and is theri used as a holding device for holding the flap
door 7 in the closed
position for the reclosing pi-ocess.
Shown only with dashed lines are optional side walls 13 that are preferably
made, if they are
provided, from a flexible nZaterial. Through these side walls 13, a funnel-
like opening could be
created in the flap 3 together with the flap door 7, wherein this opening
simplifies the targeted
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pouring of the bulk material in a specified direction. These side walls 13,
however, do not
necessarily have to be provided.
Fig. 5 shows a view from t:he inside, that is, from the bag interior of the
flap 3 with an opened
flap door 7. Fig. 6 shows - as already mentioned - the closed position. Here,
it is particular easy
to see that the imaginary folding axis 8 could be constructed in the form of a
material reduction
in the flap frame 5 and in the flap door 7. This embodiment thus involves a
type of film hinge.
Both the flap axis 6 and also the folding axis 8 do not absolutely have to be
constructed as exact
axes in the mathematical sense. In reality they could definitely involve
bendable, spatially
extended regions, as is the case, for example, for film hinges. Instead of the
illustrated film-
hinge-like constructions, however, it is naturally also possible to provide
other hinges that can
pivot about exact axes. Inclependent of the embodiment, it is preferable, in
any case, that the
folding axis 8 and the flap axis 6 are designed for multiple cycles of folding
and unfolding
together, without resulting in material fatigue. Preferably, the flap 3 should
also be able to be
folded and unfolded together about the folding axis 8 at least 100 times,
without resulting in
breakage or material fatiguie. The same naturally also applies for the film
hinge 9 that allows
folding about the flap axis 6.
As shown in Fig. 6, the flap axis 6 and the folding axis 8 are arranged
orthogonal to each other in
the embodiment illustrated here. This does not have to be the case, because
any other angle is
also conceivable.
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Fig. 7 shows the state of the flap 3 folded together about the folding axis 8.
In order to allow a desired filling and release of air into and out of the bag
interior after the
filling and sealing of the bag 1 and before the opening of the otherwise
advantageously gas-tight
flap 3, according to one special aspect of the invention, a valve 12 is
provided. This is arranged
in the flap door 7 in the illustrated embodiment. However, it could also be
provided just as easily
in the flap frame 5 or in the region of the reduced walls of the folding axis
8 or the film hinge 9.
In the shown embodiment, the valve 12 is constructed as a slot. This could be
lasered, e.g., into
the material of the flap 3. 'The slot or the valve 12 is constructed so that
the gas throughput is
allowed in one direction, that is, e.g., into the container or the bag 1,
while the gas throughput is
blocked in the opposite direction. In the case of strongly outgassing bag
contents, it could also be
provided that gas could be clischarged from the bag interior through the valve
12 but cannot enter
into the bag. Preferably it is provided that the valve opens only in the case
of a differential
pressure of at least 30 to 60 millibar between the bag interior space and the
bag exterior space
and is otherwise closed. Iri addition to the slot-like construction of the
valve 12 shown here,
however, all other valve types known in the state of the art and suitable for
this application could
naturally also be used in the flap 3.
The invention has been explained in the figure description with reference to a
flap 3 constructed
especially for bags 1 with flexible bag walls 2. As mentioned above, however,
the illustrated flap
3 could also be used according to preferred aspects of the invention in
combination with
containers with essentially irigid walls.
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Legend for the reference syrnbols:
1 Bag
2 Bag wall
3 Flap
4 Fold
Flap frame
6 Flap axis
7 Flap door
8 Folding axis
9 Film hinge
Flexible lip
11 Grip region
12 Valve
13 Side wall
14 Perforation
Upper edge
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