Patents Assigned to Sonoco Development, Inc.
  • Patent number: 11338977
    Abstract: The invention comprises, in an embodiment, a resealable packaging structure comprising a container having a bottom and at least one sidewall extending upwardly therefrom, wherein the sidewall terminates in a flange. A flexible resealable lid is sealed to the flange. The lid comprises a polyethylene terephthalate layer disposed adjacent the flange, a pressure sensitive adhesive layer disposed adjacent the polyethylene terephthalate layer, and an oriented polypropylene layer disposed adjacent the pressure sensitive adhesive layer. The polyethylene terephthalate layer comprises a laser scored line which penetrates through the thickness of the inner layer but not through the outer layer and defines an opening portion that can be lifted out of the plane of the inner layer, thereby creating an opening through the lid defined by the laser score line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Charles Hebert, Scott William Huffer, Barry Roland Reese, John A. Prizzi
  • Patent number: 11338498
    Abstract: A method of manipulating thermoplastic film to create integrated features and particularly relates to an improved method of manufacturing a packaging bag that is reclosable after initial opening. Multiple sections of thermoplastic film are layered on top of themselves to form a multi-layer portion of the thermoplastic film. The multi-layer portion may then be conglomerated into a unitary thicker portion of the film that can then be shaped into a closure strip. In order to form a bag, a second such closure strip may be made. The two closure strips are then aligned and the remaining open portions of the bag are then sealed such that the closure strips form a reclosable opening that may be opened and closed repeatedly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: SONOCO DEVELOPMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Scott William Huffer, Jacob Donald Prue Branyon
  • Publication number: 20220152938
    Abstract: A heat sealing machine may include a heater assembly, a heat plate lock assembly supporting a heat plate in proximity to the heater assembly, and a lock mechanism allowing the heat plate lock assembly to alternately open and close. The heat plate may be replaced by a second heat plate by moving the lock mechanism to a retracted position, moving a heat plate lock assembly to move the first heat plate away from the heater assembly, removing the first heat plate from the heat plate lock assembly, inserting the second heat plate into the heat plate lock assembly, moving the heat plate lock assembly to move the second heat plate into engagement with the heater assembly, and moving the lock mechanism to a locked position to maintain the engagement between the second heat plate and the heater assembly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2022
    Publication date: May 19, 2022
    Applicant: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventor: Ronald F. Worden
  • Publication number: 20220144473
    Abstract: A heat sealing machine and method form blister packages. A backing material web extends between a nesting tray assembly and a seal and cut tooling assembly and a blister tray is resident within a blister nest of the nesting tray assembly. The backing material web is clamped between a clamping gasket support shoulder of the nesting tray assembly and a clamping shoulder of the seal and cut tooling assembly, and between a sealing gasket support shoulder of the nesting tray assembly and a heat seal shoulder of a heater assembly. A knife of the seal and cut tooling assembly extends between the clamping gasket support shoulder and the sealing gasket support shoulder to cut a backing sheet from the backing material web that is heat sealed to an attachment surface of the blister tray to form the blister package.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Publication date: May 12, 2022
    Applicant: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventor: Marvin Levan
  • Patent number: 11325759
    Abstract: Containers are described that allow a consumer to see inside the container and to more easily access the products. One form of the container includes a base member with a lid defining a window. A flexible laminate with a peelable flap portion is attached to the lid to provide access to the products inside. The flexible laminate includes a first film layer laminated to a second film layer. The first film layer includes a first cut line defining a peelable flap portion and the second film layer includes a second cut line offset from the first cut line that defines an opening into the container. First and second reclose surfaces defined between the cut lines on the corresponding film layers include pressure-sensitive adhesive to allow the container to be re-sealed via movement of the peelable flap portion back into engagement with the flexible laminate remaining with the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: SONOCO DEVELOPMENT, INC.
    Inventor: Scott William Huffer
  • Patent number: 11325767
    Abstract: A packaging container for holding contents such as fresh food. The container comprises a tray having a flange, a pre-formed scaling ring and a flexible film for sealing in the contents of the tray. The sealing ring is made from fiber, filament or tape (“FFT”) that is shaped into a shape that matches the shape of the tray flange. The sealing ring is adhered to the tray flange by heat welding or other means and the flexible film is adhered to the sealing ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard A. Schwarz
  • Patent number: 11325749
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a container including a container body with a removable tray wherein the container can house at least two materials that must be kept separate until use. The container also may have upwardly extending fingers in the removable tray for securing a material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: SONOCO DEVELOPMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Slawek Witkowski, R. Michael Schock, Laura Boatwright, Michael L. Thornton
  • Publication number: 20220126755
    Abstract: A container that can be installed and removed from the storage area of a land vehicle. The container rests on the load floor and defines one or more compartments for storing goods. The lid allows for storage on op of the container. The container has outward dimensions that engage the land vehicle to prevent the container from substantially moving in either a lateral or forward/rearward direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2020
    Publication date: April 28, 2022
    Applicant: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventors: Carl Edwin Kraus, Jon Scott Novak, James Lowry
  • Patent number: 11312558
    Abstract: A tub support that fits inside the top opening of a washing machine to prevent the wash tub from moving relative to the cabinet during shipping and handling, and a blank for making a tub support. The tub support may comprise a rear folded portion having a plurality of rear tub contact points that contact the wash tub, and a sidewall configured to contact the top edge of the wash tub along a plurality of tub contact points and to contact the rim of the washing machine cabinet along a plurality of cabinet contact points.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventor: Clifton Moore
  • Patent number: 11305493
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for providing a product viewing window in a container. The container has at least a body ply and a liner ply, wherein the body ply has at least one aperture therethrough. The liner ply is adhered across the aperture, forming a window into the container. A window-finishing machine that comprises at least two platens and, optionally, a machine pocket positioned between them, a heating element extending through at least one of the platens, and a pressurized air device engages a container. The heating element heats the window of the container to the desired temperature, pressurized air is injected into the container such that the window is forced at least partially through the aperture of the container (and optionally into contact with the machine pocket wall), and the container window is then cooled to the desired temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: SONOCO DEVELOPMENT, INC.
    Inventor: Kenan James Clougherty
  • Patent number: 11299334
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a resealable membrane lid for a container comprising a peelable portion and a removable portion. When the resealable peelable portion is peeled back, the seal onto the container is not disturbed. When the removable portion is removed from the container, the container contents may be accessed. The peelable portion may be resealed onto the container at any point in the process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventor: Scott William Huffer
  • Patent number: 11292648
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a resealable container comprising: a polyethylene terephthalate-based container body comprising a bottom side and at least one upwardly extending sidewall, wherein the sidewall terminates in an open end of the container; a flexible film sealed to the container body, over the open end of the container, wherein the flexible film comprises: a polyethylene-based first film layer; a pressure sensitive adhesive layer adjacent a lower surface of the first film layer; a polyolefin plastomer skin layer adjacent a lower surface of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer, wherein the first layer, pressure sensitive adhesive layer, and skin layer are coextruded; and a heat seal layer printed onto a lower surface of the skin layer and heat sealed to the container body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: SONOCO DEVELOPMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Scott William Huffer, Rod Pettis
  • Patent number: 11292654
    Abstract: The invention comprises an ovenable packaging structure having an integral one-way valve. The laminate structure comprises an outer layer having a cut line which defines a flap that is separable from the outer layer, wherein the outer layer is adhered to an inner layer having a cut line which is offset from the outer cut line and defines a portion that is separable from the inner layer along the inner cut line and defines an opening into the packaging structure. The adhesive between the layers comprises, in an embodiment, a channel of pressure sensitive adhesive which surrounds both the outer cut line and the inner cut line, wherein the channel of pressure sensitive adhesive defines the perimeter of at least one adhesive-free valve chamber within said channel. The valve chamber comprises at least a portion of the outer cut line and the inner cut line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: SONOCO DEVELOPMENT, INC.
    Inventor: Scott William Huffer
  • Publication number: 20220089403
    Abstract: A reel for carrying cable, wire or other wound materials is provided. The reel comprises a paperboard drum and molded flanges. The drum forms a friction fit with a hub located on each flange and forms an adhesive bond at an annular groove defined by each flange. The friction fit and the adhesive bond secure the flange to the drum sufficiently to eliminate the need for bolts or other attachment means.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2020
    Publication date: March 24, 2022
    Applicant: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventor: Harvey Charles Echols, JR.
  • Patent number: 11279077
    Abstract: An improved core for mounting on one or more core engaging elements such as a pair of chucks and a method of making an improved core are provided. The core is adapted to wind and unwind material thereon. The core comprises a high coefficient of friction coating disposed on the inner surface of the core to improve core-chuck interaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: SONOCO DEVELOPMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Neil Roland Davis, John Franklin Auten, Jr., Michael Lee Thompson, Kevin Manly Kelley, Xiaokai Niu, David E. Rhodes, Michael David Zold
  • Publication number: 20220081200
    Abstract: A container suitable for use in a shipment of a cargo by air may include a container body having a top wall, a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall and oppositely disposed side walls and defining a cargo space within the container. The container body may be fabricated as a structure that is a compliant unit load device (ULD) container meeting specified aviation authority structural requirements. A passive temperature control system is located within the cargo space and may have a plurality of insulation panels connected to inner surfaces of the walls of the container body, at least one rack proximate a corresponding wall of the container body, and a plurality of refrigerant bottles filled with a thermal medium and received by the at least one rack to passively maintain a cargo space temperature in the cargo space during the shipment of the cargo.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2020
    Publication date: March 17, 2022
    Applicant: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin Gerald VanderPlas, Bradley Morrison DeGrow, Iftekhar Ahmed, John David Foster
  • Patent number: 11267203
    Abstract: A heat plate lock assembly for a heat scaling machine may include clamp plates mounted on either side of a heater assembly that are movable relative to the heater assembly and engage and support a heat plate beneath a heater platen of the heater assembly. Lift arms may be mounted to and movable relative to the heater assembly, and operatively connected to the clamp plates so that movement of the lift arms causes movement of the clamp plates relative to the heater assembly. In an open position, the heat plate can be inserted between and removed from between the clamp plates. In a closed position, the clamp plates move the heat plate into contact with the heater platen and a lock mechanism engages the heater assembly to retain the heat plate lock assembly in the closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventor: Ronald F. Worden
  • Patent number: 11267672
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a reusable yarn carrier tube around which yarn may be wound at high speeds (e.g., within winding machines). The yarn carrier tube may include a pick-up groove having structural features configured to better snag yarn to initiate winding of the yarn around the cylindrical body of the yarn carrier tube. The structural features may include an adaptable snagging feature that is adaptable to many different yarn types (e.g., diameter, denier, texture, material). The structural features may include projections (e.g., teeth) with incremental narrowing therebetween in the direction opposite to the rotational winding direction. The teeth may increase in sharpness (e.g., decreasing radii of curvature) as the yarn moves further into the pick-up groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: SONOCO DEVELOPMENT, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian P. Couchey, Edmond Fratianni
  • Publication number: 20220061423
    Abstract: A glasses mounted face shield for mounting on a nose bridge of a pair of eyeglasses may include a shield bib fabricated from a flexible, translucent material and having a lock slot cut into the shield bib proximate a bib top edge from a shield front surface to a shield rear surface. A glasses engagement portion with a lock finger may extend upward from the the bib top edge. The lock finger is inserted through the lock slot and engages the shield bib proximate the lock slot to retain the lock finger within the lock slot. The glasses engagement portion may be wrapped around the nose bridge of the eyeglasses and the lock finger inserted through the lock slot to hang the glasses mounted face shield from the eyeglasses and in front of a face of a person wearing the eyeglasses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 25, 2020
    Publication date: March 3, 2022
    Applicant: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Manella, Jack Fuechsl, Brian Gaster, Karen Berard, Mark Brasel
  • Patent number: 11225370
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a dispensing device comprising a rigid container, a flexible bladder, and a rigid stopper. The container is adapted to contain a product to be dispensed. The flexible bladder is disposed below and in fluid communication with the container. The bladder comprises a top end, a sidewall extending downwardly from the top end and terminates in a spout. The bladder is in a liquid tight engagement with the container and the product contained in the container is adapted to flow into the bladder. The rigid stopper is disposed within the flexible bladder and comprises a top end, and at least one sidewall extending downwardly from the top end, and terminates in an open bottom end. The stopper comprises a plurality of through holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: SONOCO DEVELOPMENT, INC.
    Inventor: Kurt A. Ziegenfelder