US2008659A - Package and method of making same - Google Patents

Description

July 1 6, 1935. L SALFIQBERG 2,008,659

PACKAGE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Dec. 10, 1931 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL INVENTOR iii Patented July 16, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PACKAGE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Leroy L. Sallisberg, South Orange, N. J.

ApplicationDccember 10, 1931, Serial No. 580,116

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improvement in packages and method of making the same, and finds application more particularly to the packaging of products such as medicinal or mical preparations, edible articles in tablet or similar form, articles of hardware, buttons and/or other relatively small articles.

In some respects this invention constitutes an improvement over the invention described and claimed in my Patent No. 1,413,064 dated April 18th, 1922, wherein I have described a package in which the articles are carried separated by crimped sealing po in compartments rtions, the packaging material being of paper having a coating of paraffin.

An object of the present invention has been to provide a package which embodies some of the advantages and desirable qualities of the package described and claimed in my patent aforesaid as well as other novel features permitting effective use of transparent cellulose as the packaging material, and a method of making such a package.

One difficulty in the use of p transparent coated cellulose h ackages made of aving properties otherwise suitable for the purpose is its relative toughness or resistance to tearing which prevents ready access to or removal of the contents.

I provide a package whereobviate this difficulty,

in different portions of the walls have different characteristics or degrees of toughness. For example, those portions of the walls which engage the packaged contents or which form the compartment or space in which the packaged articles are confined, retain the normal toughness of the material; whereas other walls, namely those which are portions of the pressed together to define or close the article containing space are relatively more brittle than the first mentioned portions.

A further object of my inven provide a method of making a these features of construction. pose, I preferably employ tran tion has been to package having For this pursparent cellulose sheet material provided with a fusible coating to form the walls of my package. applied to portions thereof in sufficient When heat is amount,

said coating is melted or fused and embrittlement of the underlying cellulose substance occurs. In-

terior surfaces of said heated portions of the walls are pressed into adhering contact to define or close the contents receiving compartment or space above referred to.

In the drawing accompanying ification, I have illustrated a p the present specreferred form of,

package embodying my invention and also have shown portions of apparatus in connection with the use of which my improved method may be effectively practiced. In thisdrawing 2-- Figure '1 is a plan view of a portion of a strip of transparent cellulose with articles arranged a comportion Figure 4, a transverse section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5, a transverse section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6, a schematic side elevation of apparatus for longitudinally sealing and for forming transversely separated compartments; and

Figures 7 and 8 are detail views in perspective, illustrating cutting or punching devices for reducing the cross sectional area of the compartment separating portions of the package.

In making one type of package according to the method forming a part of my present invention astrip 8 of transparent cellulose or like transparent flexible material having a fusible coating of transparent substance, such for example as that described in United States patent to Charch and Prindle, No. 1,737,187, is folded longitudinally to form in effect a tubular container with its inner surface coated adapted to enclosespaced articles 2 either with or without a marker or insert l4. Devices for folding strips of this type are shown in the patent to C. H. McDonald,

1,531,804. In connection therewith I employ platen l is supported to extend in the direction of movement of the strip I and underlies folded over portions thereof in such a manner that, when the heatedroller 3 is pressed downwardly against the upper folded over portion or layer,

the overlapping portions or layers are pressed together and subjected to heat at the same time. This fuses or melts the coating of the heated and pressed together parts and forms a closure or sealing represented at 6, Figures 4 and 5, ex-

tending longitudinally of the tube.

The patent to McDonald also illustrates crimping devices in advance of the folding devices.

For the purposes of my inventidn, insofar as ittions of the layers or walls of the package by,-

means of thedies 1 produces melting or fusing of the coating of opposed interior surfaces of said portions and the pressing together of said fused surfaces into adhering contact. A further effect of heating portions of the walls by said dies is a localized chemical or physiochemical change in structure of the package material whereby said heated portions after cooling are relatively more brittle and more readily torn than the unheated portions.

Another way of weakening the cross section of the illustrated type of package at the transversely sealed or adhering portions is to provide opposed notches IO and II, Figure 2, formed by punching out or cutting away portions of the adhering walls. For this purpose, one of thedies 1 is provided with recesses l2 which co-operate with projections [3, Figures 7 and 8, to form a punch or cutter whereby, when the package forming tube passes between thedies 1, portions of the material of the compartment separating or adhering parts of the package walls are punched out or cut away.

In cases where it is desirable to incorporate with the packaged articles a suitable marking to indicate origin, to identify the contents, or for some other purpose, I provide an insert or marker in the form of a strip as I4, preferably of relatively opaque material or bearing markings Ii arranged to be visible through the walls of the compartments. As shown in Figure 6, themsert I4 is conveniently incorporated in the package simultaneously with the article depositing and strip folding operations, as shown in Figure 5, portions of the marking strip are secured between the opposed crimped or pressed together walls of the tube, so that the marker remains in substantially fixed relation to the compartment walls.

It will be understood, in connection with the above description of apparatus for producing a package embodying my invention and for practicing my improved method, that the showing of resistance elements is merely diagrammatic, it being contemplated that such devices will preferably be designed and located to meet the spe cial requirements of various kinds of packages, or to co-operate, as an attachment, with various types of folding and/or crimping or pressing instrumentalities.

I claim:-

1. In the method of commodity packaging utistricted area of said coated material to an extent greater than that required to produce the mere adherence of said packaging material with another portion of packaging material but to anextent less than that which would cause the crumbling of the material, whereby a package is produced utilizing the essential wiry nature of said .material in a commodity retaining area while utilizing an embrittled bonded area adjacent said retaining area as an integral seal susceptible to facile tearing for ready access to the commodity retaining area for removal of the commodity therefrom.

2. A package in the form of a commodity en'- closing sheath comprising regenerated cellulose packaging mater al of an essentially wiry nature and having a coated area of said packaging material joined in bond with another portion of packaging'material adjacent said commodity enclosure, said area of bond of said packaging material being of an oxidized brittle nature whereby said package utilizes the normally wiry nature of said packaging material for the commodity enclosing area and utilizes said brittle'area of bond as a seal for said enclosing area susceptible to facile tearing for ready access to the commodity retaining area to permit removal of the commodity therefrom.

3. A package composed of opposed layers of regenerated cellulose of an essentially wiry nature joinedtogether in restricted areas in an inseparable and embrittled bond, diifering in tearing characteristics from said normal wiry nature of said material, as distinguished from a separable adhering bond, to form a seal joining said layers in a commodity containing enclosure composed of said other areas of said'layers of said wiry nature, said bond being susceptible to facile tearing for permitting ready access to the commodity retaining enclosure formed by the areas of material of a nature relatively more resistive to tearing.

4. A package in accordance withclaim 3 in which said layers are interdigitated in said bond.

5. A package comprising a plurality of commodity containing envelopes of flexible regenerated cellulose packaging material of an essentially wiry natureinter-joined by sealing areas of packaging material of a different physiochemical nature less resistive to tearing and of an oxidized embrittled nature whereby said package utilizes the wiry nature of said material in said containing envelopes for commodity retaining purposes and utilizes said embrittled sealing areas of said material to permit facile separation of said envelopes.

6. A package in accordance withclaim 5 in which said sealing areas have portions of reduced dimensions to further facilitate tearing at said areas.

LEROY L. SALFISBERG.

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