Abstract: There is provided a double rib overcap for a container with a removable membrane. The skirt of the overcap includes a first inwardly projecting rib and a second inwardly projecting rib that are axially separated and includes inside surfaces of the skirt that are axially above each rib. The container has an opening that is encircled by a rim and the membrane covers the opening such that the membrane extends radially onto an outer surface of the rim. A first inside surface above the first rib of the overcap is dimensionally sized to create an interference-fit with the membrane and the rim when the overcap is connected to the container. Likewise, a second inside surface above the second rib of the overcap is dimensionally sized to create an interference-fit with the rim of the container when the overcap is connected to the container after the membrane has been removed.

Abstract: A free-standing flexible pouch is disclosed which includes a front panel, a rear panel and a bottom panel. The panels are attached to one another so as to form three or more projections. The projections each include an internal volume for containing a portion of a product in the pouch. The projections provide the pouch with a stable support for maintaining the pouch in an upright position.

Abstract: The present invention includes methods and apparatus for making a tubular composite container having paperboard body plies and an unsupported polymer film liner adhered thereto. The polymer film liner is comprised of, in order, a first sealant layer, a second adhesive layer, a third polyamide layer, a fourth layer comprising an ethylene/vinyl alcohol copolymer, a fifth polyamide layer, a sixth adhesive layer, a seventh high density polyethylene layer and an eighth high density polyethylene layer. The resulting liner and the paperboard body plies are wound about the tube forming mandrel and adhered together so as to produce a lined tubular composite container.

Abstract: A pressure-activated flexible valve for use with a container for dispensing fluid material such as ink. The valve has a single sealing surface and comprises a base portion having a valve seat and a cap having an annular rim that seats against the valve seat when the valve is closed. The cap has an annular flexible portion that changes shape in response to pressure from the container material, thereby opening and closing the valve. The valve may be locked closed, and the space between the valve rim and valve seat can be adjusted to accommodate a variety of fluids, including inks having different viscosities.

Abstract: There is provided an overcap for a resealable container that includes a drying agent layer. The drying agent layer is included in a top portion of the overcap and is positioned below a top layer of the top portion such that the drying agent layer is exposed to the interior of the container. The overcap may be formed from a multilayered coextruded sheet having a top layer of polymer material and a drying agent layer mixed with a polymer material. The multilayered coextruded sheet may also include a barrier layer, a polymer layer, and/or additional drying agent layers. Alternatively, the drying agent layer may be joined to the overcap by an injection molding process or by an adhesive. The drying agent layer is exposed to moisture in the interior of the container such that the drying agent layer is operable to absorb moisture from the air that enters the interior of the container during the opening and resealing of the container.

Abstract: A modular packaging system for shipping and displaying palletized products comprising vertically stacked trays for holding the products, formed tubular spacer sleeves located over openings in each tray such that their hollow interiors communicate with the openings, and support posts inserted inside the spacer sleeves and through the tray openings to lock the trays together. The system is strong enough not only to support the weight of the products on the trays and withstand the vibration and impact forces that can occur during shipping, but to withstand the weight of one or more units stacked on top.

Abstract: A spool for optical fiber ribbon or other flexible media has an opening communicating with an interior of the spool in which a first end of a helical guide is located. The helical guide receives the ribbon from an exterior winding space to direct the ribbon to an auxiliary winding surface located outside one of the main flanges at an end of the spool.

Abstract: A sealed composite container for products is provided having a paperboard body ply with a liner ply adhered on the inner surface thereof. One end of the container is rolled outwardly to form a rim and exposing the inner surface of the liner ply, which comprises a heat sealable composition. A lid for the container, also having a layer of heat sealable composition, is placed adjacent to the exposed heat sealable composition of the container liner and heat sealed thereto. The heat seal has both an inner and an outer bead formed on either side of the heat sealed area, wherein the inner bead comprises a larger amount of the heat seal compositions than the outer bead. A method and apparatus for forming the heat seal is also provided.

Abstract: A composite container of paperboard has a polymeric film barrier layer on the inner surface thereof. A rolled bead is formed at a top end of the container and a membrane closure is bonded to the bead by a first heat seal material on the bead and a second heat seal material on the membrane. The heat seal materials preferably comprise ethylene acid copolymer such as methacrylic acid or acrylic acid, partially neutralized with zinc or sodium ions. A primer layer is disposed between the heat seal material on the bead and the polymer barrier layer of the container. The primer provides a high z-direction bond strength but is designed to fail in a shear tearing mode when peeling the membrane from the bead, such that the heat seal material on the bead is detached from the bead and remains attached to the membrane. The primer prevents tearing of the polymer barrier layer of the container.

Abstract: A yarn dye tube includes end portions having male and female elements for aligned stacking of multiple tubes. The female end portion includes a cylindrical ring having non-perforating recesses defining reduced wall portions having a thickness of at least one-half of a wall thickness of ring. Each recess also includes arcuate ends for reducing stress concentrations. The diameter of the inner surface of the female element is greater than that of the inner surface of the ring defining an annular distance therebetween. A radially extending shoulder at the terminal end of the ring contacts the male element of an adjacent tube in a stack of aligned tubes. A fillet at the terminal end of the first end portion ring extends over a substantial portion of the annular distance for reducing stress concentrations.

Abstract: There is provided a container with an opening formed by cutting a panel from the container body. A pull feature is joined to the panel and the panel is reattached to the container to cover the opening. The panel is reattached with a sealed, frangible interface so that pulling the pull feature of the panel removes the panel from the container to provide access to the contents within the container through the opening. The pull feature may be a pull tab joined to an outer surface of the panel or may be a pull tab and a ring. To facilitate the formation of the sealed, frangible interface, the ring may be positioned between an outer edge of the panel and an inner edge of the container or may be positioned to overhang the outer edge of the panel and to contact the container proximate the opening. The container may also include a second opening at an opposite end of the container that includes a closure sealed to the container.

Abstract: Wide ply gaps are intentionally introduced into one or more plies in a radially intermediate zone of the wall of a spirally wound tube. Each ply having wide ply gaps is narrower than the width that would ordinarily be employed at a given spiral winding angle to achieve a butt joint between adjacent edges of consecutive turns of the ply, and the ply is wound at that given spiral winding angle in such a manner that gaps are defined between the adjacent edges of the consecutive turns of the ply. The wide ply gaps have the effect of increasing the compliance of the intermediate zone of the tube wall in the radial direction. Such increased radial compliance has been found to improve the ID stiffness of the tube relative to a tube constructed of the same materials but having no ply gaps in the intermediate zone.

Abstract: The present invention provides an improved apparatus for measuring and dispensing powdered products. The apparatus includes a cup portion and a funnel-shaped dispenser. The cup holds the powdered material to be measured is sized to contain a desired volume of the powder when filled to its upper edge. The upper edge of the cup has a flat surface to accommodate leveling of the powdered ingredients. The funnel-shaped dispenser serves as a leveler and aids in accurately dispensing the measured powder into a mixing area. The funnel-shaped dispenser thus defines a flat edge at its receiving opening for engaging the upper edge of the cup.

Abstract: A laminate packaging material for use with food products, and a retortable pouch comprising that material, are disclosed. The laminate material includes an outer polyethylene terephthalate layer, a nylon second layer, and a polypropylene inner layer. A solventless adhesive is used to bond the layers together. The solventless adhesive includes surface-modified exfoliated montmorillonite clay platelets. The platelets lie generally parallel to the plane of the laminate, and overlap to form a barrier to oxygen and other volatile materials. The retortable pouch is formed by heat sealing the edges one of more sheets of the laminate such that the polypropylene layers face inward and are welded together. The pouch and its contents can then be pasteurized by heat-treatment without degradation of the laminate or the heat seal.

Abstract: Compositions for injection-molding of long, thin-walled, one-piece squeeze tubes include low-density polyethylene having a density less than about 0.925 g/cc and a melt index of at least about 50 g/10 minutes, and polypropylene having a high melt index greater than about 800 g/10 minutes, wherein the high melt index is attained by peroxide degradation of the polypropylene during melt processing. The compositions can also include a polymer that is miscible and compatible with low-density polyethylene and polypropylene for enhancing flow of the molding composition in the mold, the polymer having a glass transition temperature Tg of about ?20 to ?40° C., and/or metallocene resin having a density less than about 0.915 g/cc.

Abstract: There is provided a lid with a center panel, a rim portion, and a hinge portion for sealing a container. The rim portion is designed to fit around an opening of a container and includes an inner wall for engaging a surface of the container opening. The hinge portion connects the rim portion to the center panel and includes flex points to allow axial movement of the center panel and corresponding radial movement of the rim portion to alternate the lid between an unsealing position and a sealing position. The sealing position provides an improved seal between the inner wall of the rim portion of the lid and the container. The lid may be formed by a two shot mold process in which the hinge portion consists of a more compliant material than the center panel and rim portion. The, lid may also include a flexible barrier membrane for enhanced sealing of the container.

Abstract: A mandrel assembly is provided for testing the peel strength between an outer layer and an adjacent inner layer of a tubular laminate. The assembly includes a cylindrical mandrel rotatably mounted to a clamping bracket. The mandrel has a retaining surface on its outer periphery which frictionally retains a sleevedly mounted sample of the laminate. The mandrel is attached to an axle by a pair of rotational bearings. The axle is fixedly attached to the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket is generally L-shaped and has a radial leg radiating from the axle and a clamping leg for being clamped into a testing machine. Testing the peel strength of the laminate includes mounting a test sample onto the mandrel assembly, mounting the assembly in a conventional tensile testing machine, attaching a starting end of the outer layer of the sample to the testing machine, starting the machine and measuring the force required to peel the outer layer from the inner layer.

Abstract: A tubular container for vacuum packaging products is provided according to the present invention that includes an overcap secured to at least one of the opposed ends of a tubular container that defines a bias member for biasing a membrane-type flexible lid inwardly towards products contained within the tubular container before a vacuum is applied. The flexible lid is maintained in a biased shape until the bias member is removed. As such, the flexible lid is sufficiently restrained during the vacuum packaging process, thus preventing the breakage of products located adjacent the flexible lid.

Abstract: A textile tube on which yarn is wound to form a pack comprises a body having a tubular body extending between opposed ends and an outer surface. At least one recessed score is defined proximate at least one end of the tube body. The recessed score has a substantially rectangular shape wherein the width of the recessed score is at least about five times the depth of the recessed score. As such, the recessed score provides more surface area for capturing yarn during a winding procedure. The recessed score also retains a substantially constant shape regardless of the moisture content of the tube, which is particularly advantageous when the tube body is formed of paperboard or other hygroscopic material. Methods of reconditioning the surface of the recessed score in order to improve the tube lifespan are also provided.

Abstract: A frame for packaging goods consists essentially of long, extruded edge pieces, and corner pieces. Each corner piece has projections that fit into the ends of two edge pieces, to form a rectangular frame, or three edge pieces, to form a cuboidal frame. The edge pieces are preferably L-shaped, and oriented to cradle the edges of a rectangular object fitted within the frame. In one embodiment, the projections may be in the form of three round pins in an L shape to fit into one L-shaped edge piece. In another embodiment, the corner pieces consist of two halves hinged together, so that the sides of the frame can be folded out into a straight line without being separated.