Stand-Up Bag of a Heat-Sealable Plastic Film

Abstract

A stand-up bag with a film carry handle for transporting and dispensing liquid, granular or other flowable products is provided. The stand-up bag is made from a heat-sealable plastic film and includes two face panels connected to each other by a head weld and on their longitudinal edges by longitudinal welds. The stand-up bag further includes an inwardly folded film floor, a reclosable closure, and a film carry handle. The reclosable closure is a reclosable spout provided at a head seam connecting the face panels and has a screw closure. The film carry handle is attached approximately centrally to one of the face panels.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of European Patent Application No. EP 10 162 623.2 filed May 12, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention relates generally to a stand-up bag manufactured from a heat-sealable plastic film with two face panels that are connected by a head weld and, on their longitudinal edges, by longitudinal welds, with an inwardly folded film floor and with a reclosable closure. The plastic film can be a multilayered, coextruded film or a composite film that has a heat-sealable, polymer layer on the inside of the bag. The stand-up bag can be produced from a film web so that the film floor is made of the same film as the face panels. However, the embodiments of the stand-up bag described herein also include embodiments that have a film floor produced from a separate film. A stand-up bag with the features described herein is suitable for packaging liquid, pasty, powdery or granular products. The possible fields of application extend from the packaging of beverages, liquid concentrates, liquid cleaning agents, detergents, viscous body care products to cereals and rice.

European Patent Application No. EP 1 798 157, which relates to U.S. Publication No. 2008/0063319, describes a stand-up bag with a reclosable spout that is provided at a head seam connecting the face panels. The reclosable spout has a screw closure.

Stand-up bags with the features described above are known from practice. They are stable, characterized by low weight and, after they have been emptied, can be folded up again and disposed of in a space-saving manner. Due to their low dimensional stability, however, flexible bags are more difficult to handle when pouring out the contents. It is difficult to hold the bags while pouring out or tipping out the contents, since the bag's walls are resilient and the shape as well as the bag volume change constantly as the contents flow out. Metered pouring of the contents requires some skill, in particular with increasing package size.

In view of this, the object of the invention is to improve the handling of a stand-up bag used for packaging purposes. In particular, the object is to provide a stand-up bag that can be held securely while pouring out or tipping out the contents and that makes possible a metered dispensing of liquid, pasty and flowable products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter of the invention and solution for this object is a stand-up bag according to claim 1.

The exemplary embodiment of the stand-up bag includes a film carry handle attached to one of the face panels of the bag. It is provided approximately in the center on the face panel. The reclosable closure includes a reclosable spout that is provided at the head seam, which connects the face panels. The reclosable spout also includes a screw closure.

In the example embodiment of the stand-up bag, the positioning of the film carry handle on the face panel of the stand-up bag means that, while the contents are being poured out, the package is always held such that the removal opening provided with the reclosable closure inevitably lies at the lowest point. This makes possible a metered dispensing of the contents as well as an easy emptying of the residue. During the pouring operation, the volume and the shape of the stand-up bag may change. However, the stand-up bag, according to the embodiments described herein, can always be held securely in one hand and aligned such that the contents of the stand-up bag flow toward the removal opening. The film carry handle can thereby have a handle loop that is aligned either parallel or transversely to the longitudinal edges of the bag.

The film carry handle preferably lies inward of the outer edge of the stand-up bag and therefore is not in the way during transport of the flattened and initially unfilled bag. The film carry handle according to the invention furthermore makes it possible for the package to be folded up and discarded in a space-saving manner after it has been completely emptied.

The stand-up bag may include several different embodiments of the film carry handle. The selection of a particular embodiment of the film carry handle is determined by the amount of strain the film carry handle is required to withstand, which depends on the size of the stand-up bag or the fill weight for which it is designed. A first embodiment provides that the film carry handle is attached to the inner face of a face panel or of the film floor, and can be accessed via a handle opening in the face panel or in the film floor. Attachment is preferably a weld, although an adhesive connection may also be employed. The handle opening is closed by a film patch that is provided on the back of the film carry handle and is secured to the inner face of the bag. Preferably, the handle opening is closed by a tear-off section of the face panel or of the film floor, so that the film carry handle is provided entirely inside the outline of the stand-up bag. When the stand-up bags first leave a bag production plant, the bags are shipped as flattened, unfilled bags, having smooth surfaces and as a result can be stacked and easily transported. The transport of filled stand-up bags, in particular in boxes or other outer packaging, is not impaired either if the film carry handle is concealed behind a smooth outer surface of the bag.

In the case where the film carry handle has to be designed for great stresses, another embodiment of the film carry handle may be used. In this case, the film carry handle has a loop made of a film strip that surrounds a support patch. The support patch projects past both ends of the loop and is attached to the rear film patch and/or to the inner face of the bag, preferably by welding. The particular embodiment of the carry handle has the advantage that the force acting when the stand-up bag is being carried is initially transmitted to the support patch and thus over a larger surface area. The uniform distribution of force makes it possible to transfer larger loads. In the case of smaller stand-up bags, which are designed for a lower fill weight, the film carry handle can also be embodied as a simple film strip. To attach a simple film carry handle of this type, it is advisable to connect the ends through openings in the bag sheath with a film patch that is attached to the inside of the bag and close the openings. According to a further possible embodiment of the film carry handle, a reinforcement sheet is provided on the inner face of the bag and secured to the inner face, and a grip loop is formed from a section of the bag film and the reinforcement sheet, wherein the section of the bag film forming the grip loop is defined by two slits, one slit on each side edge of the section. In addition, a closure sheet is provided that covers an opening formed by the handle loop on the inside of the bag. In order to achieve increased carrying capacity, the slits defining the handle loop can be provided between two welds connecting the reinforcement sheet to the inside of the bag or inside an adhesive surface connecting the reinforcement sheet to the inside of the bag.

The face panels and the film floor can be shaped by folding a flat material web. The fold edges between the film floor and the film surfaces of the face panels are advantageously reinforced by welds, so called blind welds. Alternatively, there is the possibility of making the film floor and the film parts of the face panels from different films and to connect them to one another by welds.

A multiplicity of polymers and material combinations lend themselves as plastic film for producing stand-up bags. In particular, the stand-up bag can be produced from transparent polymers or equipped with windows in order to be able to recognize the fill level. Advantageous material combinations are, for example, PET/PE, OPP/PE, PET/OPA/PP, OPP/PP and PE/PE. In addition, transparent barrier layers can be provided by SiOx coated or by coextruded barrier polymer layers, e.g. EVOH. Composite materials that have one or more layers of biologically degradable and renewable raw materials can also be used as plastic films. Cellulose/starch-polyester and OPLA/PLA polyester compounds can be cited as examples. For forming the exemplary embodiments of the stand-up bag as described herein, composite materials may be used that include a metallic intermediate layer or an intermediate layer of a metallized polymer. Advantageous material combinations include PET/Alu/PE, PET/Alu/PP and OPP (metallized)/PP.

The thickness of the plastic film depends largely on the size of the bag and the fill weight for which the stand-up bag is designed. A stand-up bag for liquids with a fill volume of approximately 2.5 liters, for example, can be made from a plastic film that has a triple-layer structure with an outer layer of PET 12 μm thick, an intermediate layer of PET 12 μm thick and a polyethylene layer 100 μm thick on the inside of the bag. To increase the drop resistance, finally woven fabric can also be used in the film composite. A plastic film of this type has, for example, a layer composite of PE/woven fabric/PE.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained below based on illustrated embodiments. Therein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a flattened stand-up bag with a film carry handle attached to a face panel,

FIG. 2 is a detail view of the film carry handle for use on a stand-up bag according to FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 3 illustrates the handling of a stand-up bag shown in FIG. 1 when pouring out liquid or pasty contents and

FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of a film carry handle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The stand-up bag shown in the figures is made of a heat-sealable, preferably multilayer plastic film and is used for holding powders, granules, pastes or liquids. The stand-up bag is manufactured as a flat bag and filled with contents in a filling machine. In its basic structure it is formed by two face panels 1 connected to each other by a head weld 2 and on their longitudinal edges by longitudinal welds 3, an inwardly folded film floor 4, and a reclosable closure 5. The stand-up bag can be made from a film web by folding. Here, the film floor 4 and the face panels 1 are made of the same film. However, it is also possible to make the film floor 4 and the face panels 1 from different films and to connect them to one another by welds.

In the case of the stand-up bag shown in FIG. 1, a reclosable spout 6 is the reclosable closure 5 and is provided at the head weld 2 connecting the face panels 1. A film carry handle 8 is attached to one of the face panels and has the structure shown in FIG. 2. The film carry handle 8 lies inside the outer edge of the stand-up bag. It is attached to the inner face of the face panel 1 and can be accessed through a handle opening in the face panel. The handle opening is closed by a film patch 9 that is provided on the rear of the film carry handle 8 and is secured to the inner face of the bag. FIG. 1 shows that the handle opening is formed by tearing out a section 10 of the film of the face panel 1.

The detail view of the film carry handle 8 shown in FIG. 2 shows that the film carry handle 8 has a loop 11 made of a film strip and engaged around a support patch 12. The support patch 12 projects on both sides of the loop 11 and is attached on the projecting ends by a weld to the rear film patch 9. In addition or alternatively, it can also be attached directly to the inner face of the bag.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the film carry handle 8 that can be provided on a film wall 1. A handle loop 17 of the film carry handle 8 is defined long its side edges by two slits 18, and is formed by a section of the bag material and of a reinforcement sheet 19 attached to the inner face of the bag. The reinforcement sheet 19 is, for example, adhered with a large-area application of adhesive to the inner face of the bag, but other types of attachment are not to be excluded. The opening formed by the handle loop 17 is covered by a closure sheet 20 on the inside of the bag.

The face panels 1 and the film floor 4 can be shaped by folding a flat material web. The fold edges between the film floor 4 and the film areas of the face panels 1 are reinforced by welds 14. The welds 14 form blind welds and do not have a sealing function. They are used exclusively to reinforce or stiffen the stand-up bag.

FIG. 3 shows the handling of a stand-up bag used as a package for liquids or viscous products when pouring out the contents. Providing the film carry handle 8 on the face panel 1 of the stand-up bag means that while the contents are being poured out the package is always held such that the spout opening is at the lowest point and a complete emptying of the package is easily possible. In the illustrated embodiment, the reclosable spout 6 is provided approximately in the center of the head weld 2. Arrangements off-center are also easily possible. Likewise, the film carry handle 8 can be aligned parallel or transversely to the longitudinal edges of the bag.

Claims

1. A stand-up bag for transporting and dispensing liquid, granular or other flowable products, the stand-up bag formed from a heat-sealable plastic film, the stand-up bag comprising:

two face panels connected by a head weld along a top edge and by longitudinal welds along longitudinal edges of the face panels,

an inwardly folded film floor,

a reclosable closure, and

a film carry handle,

wherein the reclosable closure includes a reclosable spout having a screw closure, the reclosable spout being positioned at the head weld, and wherein the film carry handle is attached approximately centrally to one of the face panels.

2. The stand-up bag according to claim 1, wherein the film carry handle is attached to an inside surface of one of the two face panels of the bag.

3. The stand-up bag according to claim 1, wherein the film carry handle is attached to at least one of an inside surface of one of the two face panels and an inside surface of the film floor, and is accessible via a handle opening in the at least one of the respective face panel and respective film floor, and wherein the handle opening is closed by a film patch provided on a back of the film carry handle that is secured to an inside surface of the bag.

4. The stand-up bag according to claim 3, wherein the handle opening is closed by a tear-off film section defined within at least one of one of the two face panels and the film floor.

5. The stand-up bag according to claim 3, wherein the film carry handle comprises a loop (11) made of a film strip that extends over a support patch (12), wherein the support patch projects outwardly on both sides of the loop and is attached to at least one of the film patch and the inner face of the bag.

6. The stand-up bag according to claim 1, wherein the film carry handle further comprises ends that are secured through openings in one of the two face panels to a film patch that is attached to an inside surface of the bag.

7. The stand-up bag according to claim 1, wherein the film carry handle further comprises a handle loop and a reinforcement sheet attached to an inside surface of the bag, wherein the handle loop of the film carry handle is formed from a portion of the reinforcement sheet and having side edges defined by two slits each extending longitudinally along the handle loop, and wherein a closure sheet partially defining the inside of the bag covers an opening formed by the handle loop.