US2998340A - Bags - Google Patents

Description

29, 1961 w. P. CONWAY ET AL 2,998,340

BAGS

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 4, 1957 1961 w. P. CONWAY ET AL 2,998,340

BAGS

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1957 1961 w. P. CONWAY ET AL 2,998,340

BAGS

Filed April 4, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. IO. FIG. I I. FIG. l2.

123 M BQ 4 l 1 133 I35 I l 1" 'T "H 13/ MAE} 1 5 Ma Ma @oyx,

Patented Aug. 29, 1961 soul-i Filed Apr. 4, 1957, Ser. No. 650,646 16 Claims. (Cl. 154-116) This invention relates to bags, and more particularly to methods of making bags for holding liquid or semiliquid materials having an integral spout.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of methods of making bags for holding liquid or semiliquid which are formed to have an integral spout facilitating the filling of the bag and the emptying of the filled bag (one example being a plastic bag for holding milk); the provision of methods for economically manufacturing the bags in quantity production; and the provision of methods of making bags of this class which are especially suitable for use where sanitation is important, as in packing milk. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the methods hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which several of various possible embodiments of the invention are illustrated,

FIG. 1 is a View in plan illustrating a first mode of this invention for manufacturing spout bags;

FIG. 2 is a view in plan illustrating one of the bags formed according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in plan showing the FIG. 2 bag with the end of the spout clipped off and a filling tube inserted for filling the bag;

FIG. 4 is a perspective illustrating the bag partially filled;

FIG. 5 is a perspective illustrating the bag completely filled and the spout resealed;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective showing the assembly of the filled bag of FIG. 5 with a carton to make a package including the bag;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross section taken online 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross section of the completed package;

FIG. 9 is a perspective showing how the carton may be opened for withdnawal of the spout of the bag;

FIGS. 10-13 are views similar to FIG. 1 illustrating alternative modes of this invention for manufacturing bags; and,

FIG. 14 is a view in plan of a bag made according to FIG. 13.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawmgs.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a method of this invention for forming a first type of bag. As shown therein, bags are formed in a continuous process from a continuous tube 1 of flexible heat-scalable sheet plastic material such as polyethylene. This tube is shown as a flat seamless tube made, for example, in a wellknown manner by extruding polyethylene around a bubble of air. In the extrusion process, measures may be taken to assure that the interior surface of the tube is uncontaminated. For example, the air in the bubble may be decontaminated so that it is sterile. Or the tube, as it is extruded, may be subjected to ultraviolet light, or both. The leading end of the tube is sealed off, and when extrusion of the entire tube is completed, its trailing end is sealed off. This assures sterility of the interior surface of the tube until it is converted into spout bags in accordance with one method of this invention.

The tube 1 is segmented into individual sealedbags 3 by heat-sealing together the walls of the tube onlines 5 and 7 extending completely across the tube and segmenting the tube on aline 9 between the lines orseals 5 and 7. Theseals 5 and 7 are liquid-tight pressure seals. Adjacent eachseal 7, the tube is slit as indicated at 11 on a line extending inward from one edge of the tube and terminating short of the other edge of the tube, and the walls of the tube are heat-sealed together all around the slit as generally indicated at 13. The heat seal around theslit 11 is a liquid-tight pressure seal. This may be carried out by making a narrow U-shaped pressure seal and slitting between the sides of the U (but not slitting the end of the U). Or it may be carried out by making a relatively wide pressure seal, and slitting along the center line of the wide pressure seal almost but not quite to the end of the pressure seal. In any event, the seal at 13 includes twoside portions 15 and 17 on opposite sides of theslit 11 andend portion 19 connectingside portions 15 and 17 around the inner end of theslit 11.

As to each of the bags 3 (see FIG. 2) segmented from the tube 1 as above described, theseal 5 constitutes a closure for one end of the bag, and the seal 15 (which lies on the side of theslit 11 toward seal 5) constitutes a closure for the other end of the bag. The portion of the tube bounded byseals 17 and 7 constitutes aspout 21 and there is a gap at 23 (betweenportion 19 of theseal 13 and the adjacent edge of the tube) to provide an opening from the bag proper into thespout 21. The end of the spout, indicated at 25, is closed, being constituted by a portion of the edge of the tube.

The sealing, segmenting and slitting of the tube may e carried out by any of conventional well-known means for the purpose, the operations being such that each bag is sealed at 5 and 7 before the segmenting occurs online 9, and sealed at 13 before being slit at 11. This, in addition to the fact that the operations are carried out on the tube in the flat, assures that the interior surface of each bag remains sterile.

The tube 1, instead of being initially cut completely through onlines 9 and 11, may be perforated to provide lines of weakness at 9 and 11 so that the tube, with the lines of weakness at 9 and 11 and the seals at 5, 7 and 13, may be wound into a roll, andindividual bags 3 tom oif one-by-one and the spouts torn loose at a later time, as when filling the bags.

While the tube 1 is shown as a seamless tube, it will be understood that it may be a tube consisting of a single web of sheet plastic material formed into a tube having a longitudinal heat-sealed seam, or it may be a tube consisting of two superposed webs of sheet plastic material having longitudinal heat-sealed seams at the side margins. Also, while the tube 1 is described above as a heat-sealable sheet plastic tube such as polyethylene, it will be understood that the tube may consist essentially of a non-heat-sealing material such as cellophane having a heat-sealing coating thereon, or multi-ply material the inner ply of which is a heat-scalable material. The term heat-scalable is intended to apply to such materials. The tube may even be made from a web of paper, for example, which may be specially treated to be liquidproof, in which case the seals may be made by means of suitable adhesive applied as the web is being formed into the tube.

To fill abag 3, the end of thespout 21 is cut off or pierced, the bag is held in position with the spout extending upward and a filling tube F is inserted in the spout, as illustrated in FIG. 3. These operations may be carried out in the presence of a sterile gas or under ultraviolet light, or both, to insure sanitation. As the liquid (milk, for example) is delivered into the bag, the bag expands from its FIG. 3 flat condition. The bag, in its original flat condition, is virtually devoid of air, hence there is no displacement of air from within the bag by the liquid in the filling operation. As the bag is filled, ear-like formations develop at its corners. When the bag has been partly filled, the ear-like formation at the heel of the spout may be flattened out and folded over away from the spout as indicated at 27, and secured in folded-over position as by means of a piece of pressuresensitiveadhesive tape 29, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

When the bag has been completely filled, i.e., when the bag has received a volume of liquid equal to either the volume of the bag in its fully expanded state or the volume of a container in which it is to be packed, the filling tube F is withdrawn and the end of the spout is rescaled. As shown in FIG. 5, rescaling is accomplished by heat-sealing the end of the spout as indicated at 31.

It will be understood that the end of the spout may be rescaled by pinching it closed with a suitable type of clamp or other suitable means. Also as shown in FIG. 5, the filled bag is of generally rectangular pillow-shaped form. Thespout 21 extends from one end of thewall 33 of the filled bag to the other. The wall of the filled bag oppositewall 33 is designated 35. The side walls of the filled bag are each designated 37. The remaining two walls of the bag are each designated 39. As shown in FIGS. and 6, the ear-like formations at the three corners of the bag other than the corner at the heel of the spout may be flattened out and folded over as indicated at 41 and secured in folded-over position as by means of pieces oftape 29.

To empty the bag, it is simply necessary to cut oif or pierce the end of thespout 21. The bag collapses under atmospheric pressure, and the liquid runs out through the spout.

Thebag 3 may be used by itself or it may be packed in an outer container such as another bag (for example, in a multiwall paper bag), or a carton (for example, a corrugated fiberboard carton). It is particularly useful, for example, in making up a carton-type package as illustrated in FIG. 6. This package (designated in its entirety by the reference character P) comprises arectangular carton 43 made, for example, of double-faced corrugated fiberboard. The double-faced corrugated board comprises acorrugated layer 45 and facinglayers 47 and 49 (see FIG. 7). FIG. 6 shows the carton erected and open at the top for receiving a filledbag 3. The bottom panel of the carton, as shown in FIG. 6, is designated 51, its side panels are each designated 53, and its end panels are designated 55 and 57. Flaps for closing the carton are indicated at 59 and 61. In one end panel (endpanel 55 as shown) both facing layers of the corrugated board are cut through on lines indicated at 63 and 65 to provide a rip-outportion 67 in this end panel which extends centrally from one end of the panel toward the other. The width of this rip-out portion is somewhat greater than the diameter of the filledbag spout 21. Thelines 63 and 65 extend crosswise of the corrugations of thecorrugated layer 45 of the double-faced board. Thelines 63 and 65 are shown as flared out at the bottom end of thepanel 55.Lines 63 and 65 extend slightly into thebottom panel 51 andend panel 55 is cut all the way through on aline 69 extending between the ends oflines 63 and 65 adjacent the upper end ofpanel 55 to provide an end of the rip-outportion 67 for grasping and pulling to rip it out of thepanel 55.

A filled bag is placed in the carton with thespout 21 of the bag extending upward along the rip-outportion 67 of theend panel 55 of the carton, and with the free end of the spout coming into position adjacent the end of the rip-out portion atline 69. Prior to inserting the filled bag in the carton, a strip of adhesive 71 (such as a latex adhesive) is applied to the inside ofend panel 57 of the carton extending centrally of thepanel 57 from near one end thereof to near the other. This adheres the wall of the bag to thepanel 57 of the carton. Finally, theflaps 59 and 61 are closed and secured by gummedtape 73.

The carton is dimensioned so that the filled bag has a close fit therein. Consequently, the carton walls act to take the hydrostatic pressure of the liquid in the filled bag and relieve the bag of strain. To dispense the liquid from the bag in the carton, the rip-outportion 67 of the end panel of the carton is ripped out as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 9, thespout 21 is pulled out through the resultant opening in thepanel 55 of the carton, and the end of the spout clipped off or pierced to allow the liquid to pour out through the spout. The bag collapses under atmospheric pressure as the liquid runs out and, due to the securement of the top of the bag to the top of the carton by adhesive 71, the bag collapses completely for complete emptying of the bag.

As shown in FIG. 1, the closure seals 5 and 7, the lines ofsegmentation 9, theslits 11 and theseals 13 are at right angles to the side edges of the tube, so that the spout of each bag is at right angles to the side edges of the tube. FIG. 10 shows a variation in which the spout is formed to the oblique with respect to the side edges of the tube. In this case, the walls of the tube are heat-sealed together at double bag length intervals on lines and 77 extending completely across the tube at right angles to the side edges of the tube, and segmented on aline 79 between the lines or seals 75 and 77. Intermediate the successive sealings and segmentations at 75, 77 and 79, the walls of the tube are heat-sealed together onlines 81 and 83 extending completely across the tube which are oblique with respect to the side edges of the tube, and segmented on aline 85 between the lines or seals 81 and 83. On one side of the group oflines 81, 83 and 85, adjacent theline 81, the tube is slit as indicated at 87 on a line extending inward from one edge of the tube and terminating short of the other edge of the tube, and the walls of the tube are heat-sealed together all around the slit as indicated at 89. The slit 89 is oblique with respect to the side edges of the tube, being parallel to thelines 81, 83 and 85. On the other side of the group oflines 81, 83 and 85, adjacent eachline 83 the tube is slit as indicated at 91 on a line extending inward from the other edge of the tube and terminating short of the said one edge of the tube, and the walls of the tube are heat-sealed together all around the slit as indicated at 93. Theslit 91 is oblique with the side edges of the tube, being parallel to thelines 81, 83 and 85. Accordingly, the portions of the tube between successive groups oflines 81, 83 and 85 is segmented into two identical bags, each having an oblique spout. It will also be understood thatlines 81, 83 and 85, instead of being oblique, may be at right angles to the side edges of the tube, in which case the spout will be tapered.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show methods of this invention for making bags from a tube 1a having twice the desired width for the bags. In each case, the tube has its walls heat-sealed together on twolongitudinal lines 95 and 97 which lie on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line L of the tube, and it is slit between these lines or seals 95 and 97 along its longitudinal center line as indicated at 99. In each case, the walls of the tube are heatsealed together on lines and 107 extending completely across the tube (corresponding tolines 5 and 7 of FIG. 1) and segmented on a line 109 (corresponding to theline 9 of FIG. 1) between the lines or seals 105 and 107. In FIG. 11, the spouts are shown as being formed by making aslit 111 adjacent eachseal 107 on a transverse line which extends from near one side edge of the double-width tube 1a to near the other side edge of the tube, and heat-sealing the walls of the tube together all around the slit as indicated at 113. In FIG. 12, the spouts are shown as being formed by slitting the double width tube 1a adjacent eachseal 107 on twolines 115 extending inward from the side edges of the tube and terminating short of the longitudinal center line of the tube, and heat-sealing the walls of the tube together all around theslits 115 as indicated at 117.

FIG. 13 shows another method of this invention for forming another type of bag, a single bag being shown in FIG. 14. As illustrated in FIG. 13,bags 123 are formed from a continuous tube 1 of heat-scalable sheet plastic material such as polyethylene, the same as in FIG. 1. The walls of the tube 1 are heat-sealed together at double-length bag intervals onlines 125 and 127 extending completely across the tube, and the tube is segmented on aline 129 between thelines 125 and 127. Midway between successive groups oflines 125, 127 and 129, the walls of the tube are heat-sealed together on spacedtransverse lines 131 and 133 which extend from near one side edge of the tube to near the other side edge of the tube, and segmented on aline 135 between thelines 131 and 133. The Walls are also heat-sealed together on spacedlongitudinal lines 137 and 139 extending longitudinally in one direction from one end oflines 131 and 133 to a first group oflines 125, 127 and 129, and segmented on aline 141 between thelines 137 and 139. The walls are also heat-sealed together on spacedlongitudinal lines 143 and 145 extending longitudinally in the opposite direction from the other end oflines 131 and 133 to a second group oflines 125, 127 and 129, and segmented on aline 147 between thelines 143 and 145. This divides the tube into individual bags having a closure at one end constituted by theseam 125 or 127, as the case may be, closed at the other end by aseam 131 or 133, as the case may be, and having a spout extending at right angles to one end of the bag constituted by a side edge of the tube and aseam 137 or 145, as the case may be.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above methods without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. The method of making bags with each bag having aspout, comprising the steps of sealing and segmenting a continuous tube of bag material at bag length intervals on lines extending completely across the tube and, adjacent but spaced from the seal at one end of each bag length, slitting the tube on a line extending inward from one edge of the tube and terminating short of the other edge of the tube and sealing together the walls of the tube all around the slit.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the tube is heatsealable and the sea-ling is accomplished by heat and pressure.

3. The method of making bags with each bag having a spout, comprising the steps of sealing and segmenting a continuous tube of bag material at double bag length intervals on transverse lines extending completely across the tube, and sealing and segmenting the tube on transverse lines extending partially across the tube from near one side edge of the tube to near the other side edge of the tube midway between said intervals, and on lines extending longitudinally in one direction from one end of said partial transverse lines to a first group of said complete transverse lines, and on lines extending longitudinally in the opposite direction from the other end of said partial transverse lines to a second group of said complete transverse lines.

4. The method ofclaim 3 wherein the tube is heatsealable and the sealing is accomplished by heat and pressure.

5. The method of making spout bags from a continuous flattened tube of bag material, comprising sealing together the walls of the tube to form a first transverse seal along a first line extending completely across the tube from one side of the tube to the other and segmenting the walls of the tube on a first line of segmentation extending completely across the tube adjacent and on one side of said first transverse seal, sealing together the walls of the tube to form a second transverse seal along a second line extending completely across the tube from one side of the tube to the other spaced longitudinally of the tube from said first lines and located on the opposite side of said first transverse seal from said first line of segmentation and segmenting the walls of the tube on a second line of segmentation extending completely across the tube adjacent said second transverse seal and on the side of said second transverse seal opposite the first transverse seal, separating the walls of the tube on a line extending inward from one side edge of the tube adjacent but spaced from one of said transverse seals and terminating short of the other side edge of the tube and sealing together the walls of the tube all around the line of separation, thereby to segment from the tube a bag having walls constituted by portions of the original tube walls joined at two opposite edges thereof where vthe original tube walls were joined at the sides of the tube, joined along another edge thereof by the other of said transverse seals, and having a spout constituted by the portions of the tube walls between the said one transverse seal and said line of separation, and repeating the operation to segment additional spout bags from the tube.

6. The method ofclaim 5 wherein the tube is heatsealable and the sealing is accomplished by heat and pressure.

7. The method ofclaim 6 wherein the walls of the tube are separated on said line of separation by slitting, the walls being heat-sealed together all around the slit.

8. The method ofclaim 5 wherein all of said lines are at right angles to the length of the tube.

9. The method ofclaim 5 wherein said line of separation is oblique with respect to the length of the tube.

10. The method ofclaim 5 wherein the said other transverse seal is at right angles to the length of the tube and said one transverse seal and said line of separation are oblique with respect to the length of the tube.

11. The method of making spout bags from a continuous flattened tube of bag material having twice the width of the bags to be made, comprising sealing together the walls of the tube on longitudinal seals lying on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the tube and slitting the tube on its longitudinal center line between said longitudinal seals, sealing together the walls of the tube to form a first transverse seal along a first line extending completely across the tube from one side of the tube to the other and segmenting the walls of the tube on a first line of segmentation extending completely across the tube adjacent and on one side of said first transverse seal, sealing together the walls of the tube to form a second transverse seal along a second line extending completely across the tube from one side of the tube to the other spaced longitudinally of the tube from said first lines and located on the opposite side of said first transverse seal from said first line of segmentation and segmenting the walls of the tube on a second line of segmentation extending completely across the tube adjacent said second transverse seal and on the side of said second transverse seal opposite the first transverse seal, separating the walls of the tube on a line located adjacent but spaced from one of said transverse seals and extending from near one side of the tube across the longitudinal center line of the tube to near the other side of the tube and sealing together the walls of the tube all around the line of separation, thereby to segment from the tube two bags each having walls constituted by portions of the original tube walls joined at one edge where the original tube walls were joined at one side, at the opposite edge by one of said longitudinal seals, at another edge by thev other of said, transverse seals, and, having a, spout.v

constituted by portions. of the tubewalls, between the said one. transverse seal and said line, of separation, and repeating the operation to. segment additional spout bags from the tube.

12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the tube is heat,- sealable and the sealing is accomplished by heat and pressure.

13. The method of making spout bags from a continuous flattened tube of bag material having twice the width of the bags to be made, comprising sealing together the walls of the tube on longitudinal seals lying on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the tube and slitting the tube on its longitudinal center line between said longitudinal seals, sealing together the Walls of the tube to form a first transverse seal along a first line extending completely across the tube from one side of the tube to the other and segmenting the walls of the tube on a first line of segmentation extending completely across the tube adjacent and on one side of said first transverse seal, sealing together the walls of the tube to form a second transverse seal along a second line extending completely across the tube from one side of the tube to the other spaced longitudinally of the tube from said first lines and located on the opposite side of said first transverse seal from said first line of segmentation and segmenting the walls of the tube on a second line of segmentation extending completely across the tube adjacent said second transverse seal and on the side of said second transverse seal opposite the first transverse seal, separating the walls of the tube on lines located adjacent but spaced from one of said transverse seals extending inward from the sides of the tube and terminating short of the said longitudinal seals and sealing together the Walls of the tube all around said lines of separation, thereby to segment from the tube two bags each having walls constituted by portions of the original tube walls joined at one edge where the original tube walls. were joined at one side, at the opposite edge by one of said longitudinal seals, at another edge by the other of said transverse seals, and, having a spout constituted by portions of the tube Walls between the said one transverse seal and one of said lines of separation, and repeating the operation to segment additional spout bags from the tube.

14. The method ofclaim 13 wherein the tube is heatsealable and the sealing is accomplished by heat and pressure.

15. The method of making spout bags-from a continuous flattened tube of bag material having a width exceeding the width of the bags to be made by an amotrnt correspending to the width ofthe spouts on the bags, comprisingv sealing: together the walls of the tube to form a first transverse seal along a first line extending completely across the tube from one side of the tube to the other and segmenting the walls of the tube on a first line of segmentation extending completely across the tube adjacent and on one side of said first transverse seal, sealing together the walls of the tube to form a second transverse seal along a second line extending completely across the tube from one side of the tube to the other spaced longitudinally of the tube irom said first lines and located on the opposite side of said first transverse seal from said first line of segmentation and segmenting the Walls of the tube on a second line of segmentation extending completely across the tube adjacent said second transverse seal and on the side of said second transverse seal opposite the first transverse seal, severing the walls of the tube on a third transverse line extending only partially across the tube midway between said first and second transverse seals from a point spaced the spout width from one side of the tube to a point spaced the spout width from the other Side of the tube, also severing the walls of the tube on a longitudinal line extending from one end of said third transverse line to said first line of segmentation and on a longitudinal line extending from the other end of said third transverse line to said second line of segmentation, and sealing together the walls of the tube on opposite sides of said third transverse line and said longitudinal severance lines, thereby to segment from the tube two bags each having a long narrow spout extending endwise from one corner thereof, and repeating the operation to segment additional spout bags from the tube.

16. The method ofclaim 15 wherein the tube is heatsealable and the scaling is accomplished by heat and pressure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,103,389 Salfisberg Dec. 28, 1937 2,195,740 Salfisberg Apr. 2, 1940 2,347,439 Shea Apr. 25, 1944 2,436,061 Waters Feb. 17, 1948 2,446,308 Smith Aug. 3, 1948 2,496,753 Salfisberg 'Feb. 7, 1950 2,541,674 Snyder Feb. 13, 1951 2,707,581 Kapl-an et a]. May 3, 1955 2,707,985 Binnall May 10, 1955 2,737,860 Randall Mar. 13, 1956 2,789,728 Britton Apr. 23, 1957 2,866,488 Thompson Dec. 30, 1958

Claims (1)

1. THE METHOD OF MAKING BAGS WITH EACH BAG HAVING A SPOUT, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF SEALING AND SEGMENTING A CONTINUOUS TUBE OF BAG MATERIAL AT BAG LENGTH INTERVALS ON LINES EXTENDING COMPLETELY ACROSS THE TUBE AND, ADJACENT BUT SPACED FROM THE SEAL AT ONE END OF EACH BAG LENGTH, SLITTING THE TUBE ON A LINE EXTENDING INWARD FROM ONE EDGE OF THE TUBE AND TERMINATING SHORT OF THE OTHER EDGE OF THE TUBE AND SEALING TOGETHER THE WALLS OF THE TUBE ALL AROUND THE SLIT.

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