Flexible Container

Abstract

A flexible container has a bag body and a sealing portion at the upper end of the bag body's sidewalls. The sealing portion includes a strip and a groove which are relatively arranged on the inner side of the sealing portion. The strip has a convex mushroom-shaped cross-section, and the groove has a concave mushroom-shaped cross-section. The strip and groove interlock by an interference snap fit connection. The ends of the strip and groove transition from the mushroom-shaped cross-section to a rectangular-shaped cross-section which also snap fit together. The mushroom-shaped cross-section in the middle portion of the strip and groove create a sealing portion that is easy to seal and difficult to open. To help open the sealing portion, tabs extend up from the bag body's sidewalls. There is a cross-sectional transition design near the end, and the transitional shape can increase the sealing force to optimize the anti-leak effect.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design patent application No. 29/890,596 filed on Apr. 25, 2023, which is incorporated by reference herein, and also claims priority from Chinese Patent Application No. ZL202222836170 filed on Oct. 27, 2022.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable.

APPENDIX

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of flexible sealing container technology and specifically relates to a new type of sealing structure for a flexible sealing container.

Related Art

Flexible containers are commonly used in daily life. Most flexible containers on the market are now integrated with a sealing structure at the opening of the flexible container, which includes a slender concave strip with grooves on one side and a corresponding slender convex strip on the other side. During use, the convex strip is pressed into the concave strip to achieve the sealing of the flexible container. The main problem with the seal design of the bags on the market is that the sealing is not tight enough. To achieve a high degree of leakage prevention, adhesive must be applied to both sides of the silicone bag, which greatly affects the size of the bag opening. If the emphasis is on the size of the opening, it will sacrifice the leakage prevention performance. The main cause of the two flaws is due to the poor design of the sealing and closing method at the sealing strip joint.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the technical deficiency of insufficient sealing tightness in existing technologies for sealing flexible containers.

To solve the above technical problem, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is a new flexible container sealing structure, which includes a bag body and a sealing part set at the upper end of the bag body's sidewalls. The sealing part includes a sealing strip and a sealing groove located on the inner side of the sealing part. The sealing strip is a longitudinally extending bar-shaped structure with a cross-sectional shape like a mushroom, and the sealing groove is a concave channel-shaped structure with a cross-sectional shape like a mushroom. The sealing strip and the sealing groove have an interference snap-fit connection.

The two sides of the tail end of the sealing strip gradually change from a mushroom-shaped cross-section to a rectangular-shaped cross-section, and the two sides of the tail end of the sealing groove gradually change from a mushroom-shaped cross-section to a rectangular-shaped cross-section, and the rectangular-shaped sealing strip and the rectangular-shaped sealing groove have a snap-fit connections. There can be multiple sealing strips and sealing grooves.

Furthermore, the bag body is symmetrically provided with bag-opening assisting tabs at the upper ends of both sidewalls, and the bag body and the sealing strip are made of silicone material.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the several beneficial effects. The present invention focuses on the design of the cross-sectional shape of the sealing strip. The middle section of the cross-sectional shape is like a mushroom, which can form an easy-to-seal and difficult-to-open sealing part. The sealing density is good when the hardness of the silicone is between 45 and 70 degrees. The shape changing design of the sealing strip at the end is to enhance the sealing strength which is insufficient on most bags on the market, leading it easy to leak. The present invention has a cross-sectional gradual change design near the end, which can increase the sealing strength and optimize the anti-leakage effect.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to better illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments or prior art of the present invention, the drawings are briefly introduced below. The drawings described below are representative embodiments of the present invention, and ordinary skilled persons in the field will appreciate how the innovative features of the present invention can be incorporated into other flexible containers based on these drawings without any creative labor or departing from the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flexible container according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the flexible container shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the cooperation between the sealing strip and the sealing groove of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the transition of the mushroom-shaped cross-section of the sealing strip to the rectangular-shaped cross-section at both ends according to the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the transition of the mushroom-shaped cross-section of the sealing groove to the rectangular-shaped cross-section at both ends according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses. Accordingly, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are described clearly and completely with regard to the embodiment shown in the drawings. It will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiment which is shown and described is representative of the present invention and does not exclude the invention from being incorporated into other embodiments. Based on the embodiment of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary skilled technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1-7, a new type of sealing structure for a sealing container includes a bag body 1 and a sealing portion 2 located at the upper end of the bag body 1. The sealing portion 2 includes a sealing strip 21 and a sealing groove 22, which are arranged relatively on the inner side of the sealing portion 2. The sealing strip 21 is an outwardly convex longitudinally extending bar-shaped structure with a cross-sectional shape like a mushroom, while the sealing groove 22 is an inwardly concave longitudinally extending channel-shaped structure with a cross-sectional shape like a mushroom. When closed, the sealing strip 21 and the sealing groove 22 are in an interference fit. As particularly shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, there are opening assist tabs 3 symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the upper end 4 of the bag body 1 which help the user to separate the sealing strip from the sealing groove and thereby open the bag body.

Specifically, as particularly shown in FIGS. 2, 4, 6 and 7, the tail ends of both sides of the sealing strip 21 gradually change from the convex mushroom-shaped cross-section 210 to a convex rectangular-shaped cross-section 211. The tail ends of both sides of the sealing groove 22 gradually change from the concave mushroom-shaped cross-section 220 to a concave rectangular-shaped cross-section 221. The rectangular-shaped cross-section 211 and the rectangular-shaped cross-section 221 are in a snap fit connection. Preferably, there are two sealing strips 21 which are adjacent to each other and are also parallel to each other. Similarly, there are two corresponding sealing grooves 22 which are adjacent to each other and are also parallel to each other. The bag body 1 is preferably made of silicone material, and the sealing strip 21 is also preferably made of silicone material.

The sealing portion is preferably formed in the sidewalls 5 of the bag body which extend from a closed bottom 6 to the upper end and which have an interior side 7a and an exterior side 7b. The sealing strip protrudes from the interior side of one of the sidewalls, and its convex rectangular-shaped cross-sections 211 extend to the opposite side ends of the bag body from each side of the convex mushroom-shaped cross-section 210 in the center portion of the sealing strip. The sealing groove is recessed into the interior side of the other of the sidewalls, and its concave rectangular-shaped cross-sections 221 extend to the opposite side ends of the bag body from each side of the concave mushroom-shaped cross-section 220. To close the bag body and seal the flexible container, the sealing strip and the sealing groove are pressed together so they interlock with each other with an interference snap fit connection between the sealing strip and the sealing groove that have matching convex and concave shapes, respectively, which mate with each other. As explained above, to open the bag body and unseal the flexible container, the user grasps the tabs extending up from the sidewalls and pulls the tabs outwardly to separate the sealing strip from the sealing groove.

The main focus of the present invention is on the design of the sealing strip cross-sectional shape and the corresponding cross-sectional shape of the sealing groove. The cross-sectional shape of the middle section is like a mushroom, which can form an easy-to-seal and difficult-to-open sealing portion of the flexible container. When the silicone hardness is between 45 and 70 degrees, the sealing density is good. The shape change at each end of the sealing strip and the sealing groove to the rectangular-shaped cross-section enhances the closing force of the tail end. The insufficient closing force of the tail end of silicone bag sealing strips on the market can easily cause water leakage, whereas the rectangular-shaped cross-section of the sealing portion's sealing groove and sealing strip in the present invention better protects against leakage of water and other liquids. The present invention has a gradual cross-sectional design near the tail end, and the gradual shape can increase the sealing force to optimize the anti-leakage effect.

The foregoing description is for a particular embodiment of the present invention which should not limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, and/or improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention. In addition, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments in accordance with implementation methods, not every implementation method contains only one independent technical solution. This kind of description in the specification is only for clarity. Technicians in this field should regard the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in various embodiments can also be appropriately combined to form other implementation methods that can be understood by technicians in this field. Accordingly, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A flexible container, comprising:

a bag body comprising sidewalls extending from a closed bottom to an upper end, wherein the sidewalls have an interior side and an exterior side; and

a sealing part located at the upper end of the bag body on the interior side of the sidewalls, wherein the sealing part is comprised of a sealing strip and a sealing groove arranged opposite from each other on the interior side of the sidewalls, wherein the sealing strip protrudes from the interior side of one of the sidewalls and has a convex mushroom-shaped cross-section, wherein the sealing groove is recessed into the interior side of the other of the sidewalls and has a concave mushroom-shaped cross-section, and wherein the sealing strip and the sealing groove interlock with each other with an interference snap fit connection.

2. The flexible container of claim 1, wherein the sealing strip and the sealing groove each extend between a pair of side ends, wherein the sealing strip is further comprised of a convex rectangular-shaped cross-section proximate to at least one of the side ends, wherein the sealing strip transitions from the convex mushroom-shaped cross-section to the convex rectangular-shaped cross-section, wherein the sealing groove is further comprised of a concave rectangular-shaped cross-section proximate to at least one of the side ends, wherein the sealing groove transitions from the concave mushroom-shaped cross-section to the concave rectangular-shaped cross-section, and wherein the convex rectangular-shaped cross-section of the sealing strip and the concave rectangular-shaped cross-section of the sealing groove snap together.

3. The flexible container of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of sealing strips and a plurality of sealing grooves located at the upper end of the bag body on the interior side of the sidewalls.

4. The flexible container of claim 3, further comprising a pair of tabs connected to the sidewalls at the upper ends of the bag body and extending away from the sealing part.

5. The flexible container of claim 4, wherein the bag body and the sealing strip are each made of silicone material, and wherein the pair of tabs are symmetrical.

6. The flexible container of claim 3, wherein the sealing strips are adjacent to each other and are parallel to each other, and wherein the sealing grooves are adjacent to each other and are parallel to each other.

7. The flexible container of claim 2, wherein the sealing strip is further comprised of another convex rectangular-shaped cross-section proximate to the other of the side ends, and wherein the sealing groove is further comprised of another concave rectangular-shaped cross-section proximate to the other of the side ends.