Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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STAND-UP BAG OF A WELDABLE FOIL FOR HOLDING POURABLE CONTENTS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a stand-up bag. More particularly this
invention
concerns such a bag intended to hold pourable contents such as a liquid, a
viscous
material, or particles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a stand-up bag composed of weldable film for
packaging a
liquid, paste-like, or pourable packaging product. The stand-up bag is
prefabricated as
a flat-lying film bag. After it is filled, the bag is closed by a weld to seal
the filler opening
so as to create a package. The weldable film can be a multilayer coextruded
film or a
composite film that has a heat-weldable polymer layer on the inside of the
bag.
Possible areas of application for the stand-up bag range from the packaging of
beverages, liquid concentrates, liquid cleaning agents, liquid fertilizers,
viscous body-
care products, and even dry feed for animals.
US 7,497,624 discloses a stand-up bag that has front and back face panels, a
bottom
panel that is folded inward and attached to the bottom edge of the face
panels, and side
gusset panels between the face panels. The side gusset panels each have a
central
crease and are attached by welds to side edges of the face panels. Triangular
gores
are provided at the corners of the side gusset panels, together form an inlaid
fold
between the halves of the respective side gusset panels at its upper and lower
ends,
and are attached to the bottom panel. The side gusset panels terminate below
an
upper edge of the stand-up bag and are sealed shut at their top ends at the
triangular
gores and welds. Above the side gusset panels, the face panels are attached
directly to
each other at their longitudinal edges by welds and create a two-ply header
region for
the stand-up bag in which a reclosable means can be provided in the form of a
pressure
closure. After the bag has been filled with the packaging product, the side
gusset
panels and the folded down bottom panel expand and define a filling product
space that
is formed by flat film areas. The header region above the side gusset panels
cannot be
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used as filling product space and creates a lobe-shaped section of the bag,
with the
result that the shape of the filled stand-up bag deviates from a
parallepipedal shape.
US 2011/0229060 discloses a stand-up bag of weldable film that has two face
panels, a
folded in bottom panel attached to the bottom edges of the face panels, and a
folded-in
top panel attached to the top edges of the face panels. The face panels are
directly
attached to each other by side-edge welds in a center section of the bag
between the
bottom panel and the top panel. The face panels, bottom panel, and the top
panel
define a filling product space that can be used extending from the floor
surface up to the
top panel surface. After being filled, the package has a footprint that tapers
toward the
longitudinal edges of the bag. The shape of the package is not parallepipedal.
US 6,796,712 also relates to a stand-up bag with two face panels that are
attached to
each other by their longitudinal wherein a foldable floor panel located
between the side
walls and functioning as a standing floor is at the bottom of the stand-up
bag, while a
foldable top panel is between the face panels at the top end of the stand-up
bag. In
addition, a dispensing opening is provided between the top transverse edge of
a face
panel and the associated edge of the top panel component in which a sealing
element
or closure is provided. The filling product space extends from the floor
surface up to the
top panel component, and has a floor surface of hexagonal shape when in the
filled
state. The hexagonal base surface impedes storing the filled packages in a
space-
saving manner in a stack that comprises multiple adjacent and stacked
packages.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved
stand-up film
bag.
Another object is the provision of such an improved stand-up film bag that
overcomes
the above-given disadvantages, in particular that can move from a flattened
condition to
a parallepipedal shape with four side surfaces extending at right angles to
one another
after it is filled.
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A further object is for the package to have good shape stability both in the
filled state as
well as in the partially emptied state. It should furthermore be easy to
manipulate and
preferably include a reclosable opening that enables the product to be
dispensed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A bag capable of moving between a flattened generally planar condition to an
open
generally parallelepipedal shape has according to the invention in the
flattened
condition closely juxtaposed flat rectangular front and back face panels each
having a
horizontal top edge, a horizontal bottom edge therebelow, and a pair of
horizontally
spaced vertical side edges bridging ends of the top and bottom edges. A
rectangular
top panel has front and back edges joined to the top edges of the respective
front and
back face panels and side edges bridging ends of the respective front and back
edges.
The top panel has a crease between the respective front and back edges and is
folded
inward therefrom to lie between the face panels, and a rectangular floor panel
has front
and back edges respectively joined to the bottom edges of the front and back
panels
and side edges bridging ends of the respective front and back edges. The floor
panel
also has a crease beween the respective front and back edges and is folded
inward
therefrom to lie between the face panels. A pair of rectangular side gusset
panels each
have vertical front and back edges respectively joined to the side edges of
the front and
back panels and upper and lower edges joined to the side edges of the top and
bottom
panels. Each side panel is subdivided by a central vertical crease into a pair
of
subpanels each formed at a respective corner of the side panel with a
respective corner
crease extending diagonally inward from the respective corner to the center
crease and
each defining at the respective corner a triangular gore. The side panel is
folded inward
at the respective center creases between the face panels and the gores are
folded
inward at the diagonal creases between the subpanels. The top, bottom, and
side
panels are wholly between the face panels in the flattened condition and
extending
generally perpendicular to the face panels in a filled condition of the bag.
The stand-up bag according to the invention is manufactured as a flat-lying
film bag and
creates a parallepipedal package after it has been filled. A filler opening
provided for
filling the stand-up bag between the top panel and the top edge of one of the
face
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panels is closed by a longitudinal weld after the stand-up bag is filled,
which seam
attaches the face panel to the top panel.
The bottom panel and the top panel are preferably attached along their
periphery by
longitudinal welds to the face panels and the triangular gores of the side
gusset panels.
Filling the stand-up bag causes the side gusset panels between the face
panels, as well
as the folded-in bottom panel and the folded-in the top panel, to expand. As a
result, a
completely flat floor surface is created, which imparts good stability to the
package, and
a flat top panel surface is also created. The filled package is distinguished
by a
parallepipedal shape and has a product space that can be utilized from the
floor surface
up to the top panel surface. As a result, the package can be stacked both
vertically and
horizontally in a space-saving manner.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the face panels are attached to
the adjacent
film area of the side gusset panels by welds. The welds impart a high degree
of shape
stability to the package by stiffening the panels at the edges.
The stand-up bag can include a handle to provide improved manipulation of the
package. A film handle is preferably provided on one area of the bag, or a
grip
composed of a textile strip or film strip reinforced by a textile strip is
provided.
The stand-up bag according to the invention can furthermore have a reclosable
opening
for dispensing the product. The configuration and design of the reclosable
opening
depend on the filling product.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a closure is provided between the
top panel
and a face panel and is tightly attached to bordering areas of the top panel
and the face
panel. The closure is, for example, a spout that has a cap to enable
reclosing, or is
composed of mutually attachable closing strips in the form of a zipper, slide
fastener, or
a hook-and-loop fastener.
The reclosable opening for dispensing product can also be provided in a
section of the
bag that is composed of a portion of the top panel and a portion of the face
panel
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attached thereto forming a spout. The bag is preferably closed at its top end
by a
connecting seam, and a recloseable closure is provided inside the bag section,
which
closure is accessible after tearing off a strip comprising the connecting
seam. The
reclosable closure can be provided, in particular, in the form of a zipper or
slide
fastener. The invention also comprises an approach whereby the reclosable
opening is
provided in a face panel or in a side gusset panel, and has a reclosable
closure that is
fastened to the inside of the bag.
The stand-up bag is advantageously also equipped with a handle to provide
improved
manipulation of the package. This can be composed of a film handle that is
provided on
one area of the bag. Another handle that can be considered is a grip produced
from a
textile strip or from a film strip that is reinforced by a textile strip.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily
apparent from the following description, reference being made to the
accompanying
drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an assembled stand-up bag in
flattened
condition before it is filled;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the flattened stand-up bag of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view a side gusset panel of the stand-up bag of
FIGS. 1
and 2;
FIG. 4 is a view of the foldable blank for making the side gusset
panel of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 1 after filling with
pourable
contents;
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FIG. 6 shows the bag of FIG. 5, but with a reclosable pour spout for
liquid
products;
FIG. 7 shows the bag of FIG. 5 but with a slide fastener for use with
particulate
contents;
FIG. 8 shows the bag of FIG. 5 with a reclosable top flap;
FIG. 9 shows the bag of FIG. 6 with a handle on the back face panel;
FIGS. 10, 11, and 12 are perspective views of spout bags according to the
invention with different handle configurations.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A stand-up bag 13 made of a thermoplastic weldable film is fabricated to lie
flat when
empty as shown in FIG. 1. When filled with a liquid, a pasty material, or
particles it
assumes a generally parallepipedal shape as shown in FIG. 5. This bag 13 has
as
shown also in FIG. 2 rectangular front and back face panels 1 each with two
long
vertical side edges 9 and two shorter horizontal bottom and top edges 2 and 4.
A
rectangular top panel 5 has parallel long front and back edges 25 that are
joined by
welds to the top edges 4 and a rectangular floor panel 3 has parallel long
front and back
edges 29 welded to the bottom edges 2. The panels 5 and 3 have respective
central
creases 24 and 28 parallel to the respective edges 25 and 29 that divide them
each into
two identical rectangular flaps.
As also shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, rectangular side gusset panels 6 having short
straight
upper and lower edges 31 and long straight vertical side edges 32 are
subdivided by a
central crease 7 into two subpanels 8. Diagonal corner creases 11 define at
the upper
and lower outer corners of each subpanel 8 right-triangular gores 10 joined to
the
respective subpanel by the 45' diagonal crease 11 and to each other by an end
portion
of the central crease 8. In the assembled bag 13, the end edges 26 of the top
panel 5
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are welded to the upper edges 31 of the side panels and the end edges 30 of
the
bottom panel 3 are welded to the bottom edges 31.
According to the invention in the flattened condition the side panels 6 are
folded in with
the two subpanels 8 between the face panels 1, the top and bottom panels 5 and
31 are
similarly folded in with the gores 11 between their two halves.
The stand-up bag that is prefabricated as a flat-lying film bag is filled
through a filler
opening in the top with a pourable packaging product. Such filler opening is
formed by
leaving open part of the seam or weld between one of the edges 25 and the
respective
edge 4. After filling, this opening is sealed shut by a longitudinal weld.
Once it is filled
as shown in FIG. 5, the stand-up bag forms a parallepipedal package 13 that
has a flat,
rectangular standing surface, a flat and rectangular top panel surface, as
well as four
side panels extending at right angles to each other.
The stand-up bag described based on FIGS. 1 through 5 can include a reclosable
opening for dispensing the product. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, a closure 14
is
provided at the seam between the top panel 5 and the face panel 1, tightly
attached to
bordering areas of the top panel 5 and face panel 1. The closure 14 is
provided in the
form of a spout 15 that has a cap 16 for reclosing. The package 13 shown in
FIG. 6 is
well suited, in particular, for liquid or viscous products.
The package 13 shown in FIG. 7 is intended for solid or granular pourable
products and
has a zipper formed mutually attachable closing strips as the closure 14. One
closing
strip of the zipper 17 is on the top edge 4 of the face panel 1. The other
closing strip is
attached to the front edge 25 of the inwardly folded top panel 5.
As indicated in FIG. 8, the reclosable opening can also be in a bag section 18
that is
created by a section of the top panel 5 and a section attachable thereto of
the face
panel 1 so as to form a spout. The spout-forming sections can be folded over
and laid
against face panel 1, and can also be secured to the face panel 1 as required.
The
section 18 is closed at its top end by a seam 19. A reclosable closure 20 is
provided
within the bag section defined by the connecting seam. This closure 20 is left
after
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tearing off a strip 21 comprising the connecting seam 19. This reclosable
closure 20
can be provided, in particular, in the form of a zipper or slide fastener.
In the embodiment of FIG. 9, a handle 22 is provided on one of the face panels
of the
stand-up bag on the side opposite the spout 16. In FIG. 10 a more complex
handle 23
is formed by a horizontal top strip with two strips extending down from each
end for
connection to a respective upper corner of the bat, above the spout 16. In
FIG. 11 a
single U-shaped handle 24 a handle flap is provided at the upper edge of the
rear face
panel, and in FIG. 12 a handle flap is provided at the lower edge of the rear
face panel.
The handles 22, 23, 24, and 25 can be formed by a film strip, a textile strip,
or a film
strip reinforced by a textile layer. The material of the handles 22-25 can be,
in
particular, a polyolefin film, a multiple-layer coextruded film including a
weldable layer,
or a composite material composed of a foldable film and a non-weldable
reinforcement
layer.
