Guided clamps for quick easy opening and closing of dispenser outlet

Abstract

This invention relates to a novel device for small, extremely flexible thin film plastic bags having short flat dispenser outlets, thereby making it possible to easily grasp and squeeze it open while shearing off a tack-welded sealed outlet, and when up-ended, can, for some easy-flow products, regulate its flow; all done using only one hand; said device may be inserted within, and bonded therein to the thin film chamber walls of plastic bags having conventional simple reclosable outlets; or incorporated during the original fabrication of the thin film plastic bag, particularly those having “Zip-Loc” or equal interlocking closure joints, with the usual alignment problems; said simple device consists of a pair of nested flexible and resilient plastic curved quadrant clamps with novel guide mouth attachments which makes it possible to squeeze the thin gauge film chamber walls manually for opening and for dispensing when up-ended, which upon release of the squeeze effort, automatically self closes to form a dust tight seal; said nested clamps may be tack-welded at its outlet for protection against pilfering of contents which, upon the initial squeeze-to-open operation by the customer shears for dispensing; novel improvements for making the curved clamps more than dust tight are offered, along with closure outlets that do not require scissor cutting or so-called easy tear sealed closures.

Description

CROSS REFERRENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application relates to the “Self-Closing Valve With Tamper Evident Lip Seal Tab” Ser. No. 07/08/88, U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,267 granted Apr. 17, 1990, and to a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/033,640 which is a continuation in part of Ser. No. 09/010151, both which will be superceded upon approval of this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention pertains to the elimination of the usual time consuming problems, experienced with opening and occluding conventional flexible plastic bag dispenser outlets, particularly those having reclosable interlocking joints, and tear- to-open sealed outlets, by substituting novel devices, for quick opening, and automatic self-closing the dispenser outlet of conventional pre-manufactured flexible bags, or their integration with newly manufactured thin film flexible plastic bags by using the profile extrusion process.

Plastic bags provided with this novel “QUICK EASY OPENING AND CLOSING DISPENSER OUTLET”, can dispense while in the up-ended position, by manually squeezing its longitudinal outlet using only one hand; by placing its thumb at one end and fingers at the opposing end of said longitudinal outlet, when upon release of the squeeze effort, automatically self closes the plastic bag outlet. This novel device can be made from a flexible, resilient thermoplastic such as Low Density Polyethylene plastic, or equal, as an independent unit, for adding to existing standard thin gauge film flexible plastic bags, or as an integral part of a newly made thin gauge film plastic bag, with or without, another reclosable male and female interlocking joint, the likes of “Zip Loc” or equal, for added security. Depending upon the product stored and its intended market, the desired bag size and opening length will vary, and for this invention, is generally limited to the span between thumb and fingers required for squeezing, approx. 6 inches, however for easy squeeze 4 inches, which further shortens after bag filling causing flat bag edges to taper inwardly, Larger bags can be provided with small bag opening lengths under five inches, to permit dispensing, in any feasible manner at the top, bottom, side, cater-cornering, or instead make the quick easy opening and closing dispenser outlet full length, to match the larger bag length, for a two hand manual dispensing operation However, for easy pouring while holding bag with only one hand, the most practical size appears to be in the smaller sizes under 5 inches in length

This invention relies upon structural design features that enables the inherent memory of the plastic material used, such as Low Density Polyethylene, or its equivalent, to perform this invention's novel squeeze to open and self closing dispenser outlet operation, and retain its ability to flex and seal for several hundred repeated operations.

The ideas for developing this new invention were developed from the experience gained, selling and manufacturing small squeeze-to-open plastic pill boxes, made by thermoforming pre-molded cylindrical plastic vials based on U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,257 granted the applicant of this application. Research for improving the manufacturing, led to the conclusion that the profile extrusion process often used to make plastic bags with thin gauge plastic sheets integrally with “Zip-Loc” or equal, interlocking male and female elements, further led to solving their opening and closing interlocking problems per the following novel structural features.

There are many structural features, that make this invention perform; one of the more important being, the two short thick guide mouth pieces, each attached longitudinally to match the length of their related male and female curved quadrant clamps outlet, which when nested and in contact with one another, said short thick guide mouth pieces form an approximate 90 degree jaw inlet angle, symmetrically aligned crosswise, the full length of the mouth inlet of the nested clamps, which when superimposed for assembly and fastening to the side edges of the plastic bag, said 90 degree jaw inlet angle is compressed into a much smaller angle to form a bulge at the vertical mid section within the chamber of the assembled and sealed thin gauge plastic bag, which gradually tapers laterally to 0 degrees towards the opposing ends of the fastened short thick guide mouth pieces; said bulge within the plastic bag is formed, when the edges of the superimposed bag sheets are joined together, thereby forcing the short thick guide mouth pieces to bend, and form a highly stressed almost elliptical shape, parallel to and across the length of the bag opening, with its inherent plastic memory ready to flex back into said short guide mouth pieces' original flat shape, but instead, exerts its built-in flex pressure within the plastic bag's chamber walls, to keep the curved male and female portions of the longitudinal curved quadrant clamps nested in contact with one another, to form a dust tight seal after each squeeze-to-open operation of the simple longitudinal curved outlet slot, or to any other reclosable male and female interlocking joint that may be added for a tighter seal if preferred. Tests have shown that the thickness of the short guide mouth extension pieces must be approx. {fraction (1/32)} inch for bag openings of between 3 and 5 inches in length to prevent distortion and tendency to flex and bend in unison, thus making it impossible to open and form the desired dispenser outlet. Incidentally, depending upon the bag opening length, there may be enough squeeze power to unlock a “Zip-Loc” type reclosable interlocking joint for dispensing.

Another important structural feature of this unique invention, is the curved portion of the clamps, herein specified as, quadrant shaped, should retain its shape when profile extruded, whereas when thermoformed from pre-molded parts, the curved portion of the clamps slightly flattens, due to the tendency of the plastic's memory to return to its original pre-molded shape, enough to lessen its closure sealing ability. This thermoforming tendency was offset by increasing the curve arc lengths of the male and female clamps beyond the 90 degree quadrant to {fraction (13/16)} inch for a ¼ inch contact surface radius for maintaining a dust tight seal between the nested portion of the curved clamps, which for some products may not be sufficient. For these reasons, this invention includes alternate reclosable closure arrangements shown and described under the Brief Description of the Drawings section of this application, which includes the preferred arrangement by inserting the simple dust tight curved quadrant dispenser assembly within an existing pre-manufactured flexible plastic bag having a simple clear line single track seal top seal with short sleeve outlet, made by ELKAY Plastics Co. or equal, that can be tack welded at its mid point to enable the customer to shear off the tack weld, upon the initial squeeze to open dispenser operation, thus giving an additional tighter seal when needed, plus added protection against pilfering product.

As stated before, said profile extrusion process is often used to make plastic bags with thin gauge plastic film sheets integrally extruded with “Zip-Loc” or equal, reclosable male and female interlocking joints, to form two separate ribbons, one ribbon being a male profile assembly, consisting of the plastic bag film, and the curved quadrant clamp with guide mouth extension; the other ribbon being its counterpart female assembly, each ribbon; cut-to suit the bag opening length desired, then superimposed for nesting and alignment of the curved quadrant clamp ends for sealing said ends, and edges of the superimposed plastic sheets along their corresponding edges except at the edge along which is formed the open end of the bag. The aforesaid summarizes the construction of the finished product, and can be made in any manner known to those skilled in the art. For example, along the edges of the superimposed male and female cut ribbon assemblies, the plastic thickness varies in thickness, some which is too thick for conventional hot wire welding and may require special treatment such as possibly heating jaws shaped to the outline of the plastic bag. Consideration can also be given to using self adhesive plastic tape to join the edges of the superimposed ribbons, which has been successfully used for making prototype plastic bag test assemblies.

Prototypes for easy to open self closing plastic bag assemblies, having openings of 3 inches or 4 inches were made for testing performance and reliability of this invention, using the thermoforming process, prior to spending time and money on dies for profile extrusion. The following procedure used for making the prototypes, may be improved upon in any manner known to those skilled in the art for making production facilities based upon this invention, and the use of the profile extrusion method. The following is the manner in which thin gauge LDPE squeeze-to-open self closing 4 inch opening plastic bag prototypes were made:

Cut two 4 inch by 2⅜ inch pieces each {fraction (1/32)} inch thick low density polyethylene plastic; place them facing each other with edges parallel, and fasten the opposing 2⅜ inch wide edges with 2 inch wide self adhesive Scotch tape, or equal; then impulse hot wire weld both sides of the overlapped tape and also at its opposing taped edge; thermoform said assembled pieces for making the curved quadrant clamps and oval shaped guide mouth attachments; insert said thermoformed assembly into a 4 inch 0.006 inch LDPE film flat plastic bag, having a standard lightweight reclosable single track seal until lined up and adjacent to the clamps curved slotted outlet lips, which then may be tack welded at the mid point of the bag's outlet lips to serve as a shipping seal and protection against pilfering product, which may be ripped open by the customer for dispensing; much easier than tearing or scissor cutting full length. Inserting the assembled curved quadrant clamps with its oval shaped guide mouth attachment is done by folding the assembly for insertion within the opened plastic bag, thereby causing the bag to bulge when said assembly is unfolded and form a snug fit at the inside edges of the bag, which requires bonding the assembly to the plastic bag to prevent misalignment; done by hot wire welding full length of bag opening, on both sides of the plastic bag below and adjacent to the mouth inlet of the curved clamps, Flat LDPE plastic tubing may be used instead of plastic bags which will eliminate welding of side edges but will however require bottom seal welding.

The above method of making prototypes may be used for low production demands by small packaging companies.

From the aforegoing, it is obvious, this invention's method of dispensing snacks from an up-ended plastic bag; having a quick easy squeeze-to-open self-closing outlet; employing only one hand may be greatly appreciated, especially by arthritics, and those driving and/or telecommunicating. Therefore, this invention relates to mainly bags, that can be held in one hand for dispensing from outlets ranging 1 to 5 inches in length, made using low density polyethylene or polypropylene thin film plastic ranging in thickness from 0.006 to 0.00075 inches.

2. Description of the Prior Art

It is acknowledged that many efforts have been made to facilitate the opening of plastic bags, particularly those having the likes of “Zip-Loc” reclosable interlocking male and female joints suggesting the use of stiffeners and even color coding, to assist and/or identify when said closure is occluded, as per the following briefs from a few patent abstracts:

SCHEIBNER U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,345: “A reclosable container features ridges near the opening of the container to provide improved gripping of the container by the user during the opening and loading of the container”

AUSNIT U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,147 “A pair of stiffener ribs is formed integrally with the bag but of a thermoplastic material more rigid than that from which the bag is formed to provide increased lateral rigidity along the open end of the bag to prevent inadvertent separation of the interlocking elements.”

WILLIAMS U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,321 “An interlocking closure device whereby the closing and opening of the closure is more easily detected by visual inspection” Needless to say the novel quick easy opening self-closing device specified herein solves most of the above problems. The following are briefs of prior patents with comments as to why they differ from the invention patent applied for herein:

U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,849 (HERZIG) discloses a collapsible tube type container having a flattened bent neck opening part that requires a metal clip fastener to keep the plastic lips in the bent position for discharging the likes of toothpaste and viscous materials by applying pressure to the container. Needless to say it can not be used for free flow discharge of solid material when up-ended for dispensing.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,477 (HERZIG) discloses a squeeze bottle having an automatic closure. The automatic closure is the result of forming the end of the container, as by heat sealing. Different embodiments are disclosed, such as reinforcing ribs for the closure, a clip which fits over the container outlet, and nested curves formed in panels at the outlet, designed for expelling liquids only, and also can not discharge solid materials when up-ended.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,257 (HERZIG) discloses a container having a pinch-off fold at an outlet. Discharge of the container requires the use of pressure being applied at its different areas. When the pressure is released, the outlet closes automatically due to internal pressure of the material within the container. The discharge of material requires two hands, with the fingers of one hand applying pressure at a specific area to cause the discharge opening to open and then pressure on the container for discharging the contents Liquids only may be discharged from the apparatus since the internal pressure of the liquids is required to maintain the seal. Also like the above HERZIG patents can not be up-ended to discharge solid materials.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,686 ( DOUGHERTY) discloses a drop dispenser apparatus with a patent configuration of seal elements or valves at the discharge portion of the apparatus. As with the Herzig U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,257, the apparatus is designed only for discharging liquids, and the apparatus is specifically designed for discharging drops of liquids. The container is deformable, and pressure is applied to the container to discharge the liquid drops only; therefor can not be used for discharge of dry solids.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,663,461 (F. E. BROWN) discloses a small type capsule for dispensing metered quantities of viscous pharmaceutical materials, by applying external pressure or from the dead weight of the material within the container for dispensing through the small orifice at it dispenser lips, and therefor also can not be used for discharge of dry solids.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,312 (T. PARADY) discloses a reservoir that is mountable in each cell of a battery and accordingly maintains the liquid level therein at its proper level depending therefrom upon a generally wedge shaped spout with a narrow opening which depends upon the weight of the liquid therein to provide a metered flow which obviously can not discharge dry solids.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,509 (AMNEUS) discloses a narrow curled flexible spout having a flat slotted outlet that tapers away from a flexible metering chamber that discharges liquids when pressure is applied to the tube walls. The curled slotted outlet tapers inwardly which makes it impossible to self close if discharging dry solids were possible.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,318 (H. S. RUEKBERG) discloses a novel container having a slotted outlet with soft rubber gasket for making a self sealing closure, said closure is defined by a flexible housing having a top wall, an elongated slot in the top wall, the slot terminating at opposite ends and being adapted to form a dispensing opening upon application of opposed forces to the housing adjacent the slot ends, and the dispensing container being of a one piece molded construction, said apparatus discharge outlet slot is limited to the discharge of the likes of pills and possibly candy such as M & Ms etc. and not for discharging the usual bulky items stored in plastic bags such as French Fries, sausage, shredded salads, dried fruit, wrapped candy etc. etc. etc.. Furthermore, the narrow slotted outlet being in the flat portion of the container housing, when standing up-right does not provide access for hand picking product from the container, nor when up ended for dispensing product will restrict flow and conceivably plug the outlet.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,773,233 (SOUZA) discloses a narrow flat outlet consisting of two concave curved flexible plastic sheets facing one another and in contact to form the self-closing dispenser outlet designed to discharge viscous material by applying manual pressure to the flexible container body; which upon release of said pressure self closes. As stated in the first paragraph of SOUSA's patent is directed for dispensing only viscous material and therefor not designed to compete with quick opening and self-closing plastic bag outlets, capable of hand picking product when opened in the up-right position or its discharge of solids when up-ended.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,593 (DUER) discloses a valve having nested curved quadrant clamps exactly the same as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,267 granted to me (LAVERDURE) almost 8 years prior to the approval of DUER'S patent, and therefor, may not be considered as a prior art to my patent; and furthermore, upon first observation, seems to be an infringement, but again upon further review appears not to be, for the following reasons. DUER's patent discloses an item used to prevent back flow into city streets from flooded rivers that often contain sewerage, that may be as large as six feet or more in diameter, and therefor not intended to be built as a dispenser outlet from a portable hand held container; furthermore, it is constructed differently without using thermoplastic material such as low density polyethylene, whereas DUER's curved outlet comprises of two lips which are opposed to each other and which are pre-formed to define a curvilinear bill, said lips are preferably of one layer of an unreinforced elastomer material one layer of a reinforced elastomer material and a cover. The lips are preferably pre-formed by vulcanization to form a “C” shaped bill. Needless to say, it can not be used for dispensing product from a thin film plastic flexible bag.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,267 (LAVERDURE) discloses a cylindrical container having a self-closing valve portion thermoformed and shaped by clamping, heating and compressing the container's elongated discharge outlet nozzle until it outwardly tapers to an adjoining widened, flattened, smooth curved quadrant discharge slot, which when manually squeezed laterally, at its thick walled tapered container outlet, opens for dispensing; and upon release self closes.

Said thermoformed curved quadrant outlet slot as described above, can not be used for dispensing product from a flat flexible thin film plastic bag having its chamber walls ranging from between 0.00075 and 0.006 inches thickness, rather, than from the aforementioned heavy walled cylindrical container. This is mentioned to pin point the major difference between LAVERDURE's original patent and this new application, which is the addition of thick guide mouth attachment pieces adjacent to and below to the mouth portion of the nested curved quadrant clamps to assist the flat plastic bag's flexible film transmit the squeeze power necessary to force the clamps elongated slot outlet to open when manually squeezed for dispensing. Other major differences are; the use of the profile extrusion method rather than the thermoforming process; the addition of the guide mouth attachment pieces to “Zip-Loc” or equal reclosable male and female interlocking elements to keep them in alignment per FIG. 4; the ability to profile extrude the curved quadrant clamps and guide mouth attachments independently for fastening to existing plastic bags or profile extrude them integrally to a complete assembly, includes reclosable slotted joints within the nested curved portions of the male and female clamps per FIG. 4A and serrated edges within the curved nested units per FIG. 5.

It is acknowledged that other types of closures for plastic bags have been made towards eliminating problems of misalignment, opening, closing sealing, shipping seals, tamper proofing, and durability such as “snap-back” of the closures to retain its tightness. About ten years experience of selling and thermoforming a small squeeze-to-open self closing pill box made of low density polyethylene as defined above under U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,267 (LAVERDURE) has experienced that the closure defined herein has satisfactorily performed the quick opening self- closing manual squeezing operation repeatedly for at least several hundred cycles.

Regarding shipping seals and protection against pilfering of contents many attempts have been made which could succeed if one had the strength to tear open such devices, which more often requires cutting with a pair of scissors. The squeeze-to-open self closing plastic bag herein defines a simple way of protecting bag contents against pilfering by simply providing the squeeze-to-open self-closing outlet with a standard conventional item referred to in the trade as a clear line single track seal which is reclosable, and when located at the tip of the curved clamp outlet may be opened along with the opening of the curved outlet per the usual squeezing effort initially, thereafter depending upon the customer's wish which would require hand pressing along the single track seal. For protection against pilfering contents, the outer lip sleeve portion of the seal track may tack welded at its mid point for a simple tear for easy discharge of products as defined under the making of 4 inch wide plastic bag prototype

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention promotes the use of the profile extrusion process for manufacturing, rather than the thermoforming practice allowed under U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,267 granted to LAVERDURE for making only the curved quadrant clamps portion of this novel invention which now requires the addition of a guide mouth attachment to said curved quadrant clamps and revisions thereto which includes new sealing joints plus modifications to the “Zip-Loc” interlocking joint for elimination of misalignment problems, thus making it possible to dispense the contents of a plastic bag, with its chamber walls made from very thin film plastic which are unable to transmit the squeeze effort required for opening this invention's “guided clamps for quick easy opening and closing of dispenser outlet.” Furthermore, using the profile extrusion method will speed production, in that the practice of using pre-formed cylindrical plastic items for compressing into curved outlets via thermoforming may be eliminated.

The following is a brief summary of the proposed profile extrusion method for integrating quick easy opening and closing devices with plastic bag film for the making of a complete squeeze-to-open self-closing plastic bag dispenser, which those familiar in the profile extrusion art may modify:

Extrude two ribbon assemblies;

• • A/ a male ribbon assembly consisting of the following parts:
    • 1/ one a male ribbon consisting of the male portion of the curved quadrant clamp with guide mouth attachment tapered to match the thickness of the preferred plastic bag film thickness,
  • 2/ the plastic bag film portion
    • 3/ the resilient shipping lip seal parts when selected
    • 4/ the added reclosable interlocking elements when selected
  • B/ the other ribbon being a female assembly with matching male counterparts. Each ribbon assembly cut to suit the bag opening length desired, then superimposed for nesting and alignment of the curved quadrant clamp ends and edges of the plastic bag film portion for joining their corresponding edges, except at the edge is formed the open end of the bag.

For improving the dispensing of product from thin film plastic bags that are presently being manufactured and distributed, only the above listed Item 1, “the curved quadrant clamp with guide mouth attachment” need be profile extruded for its fastening to presently made plastic bags. Furthermore, depending upon whether the plastic bag of choice has a reclosable outlet, only the “guide mouth attachment” need be profile extruded for its fastening to the presently made reclosable portion of the plastic bag.

For short production runs, taping and hot wire welding a portion of the curved quadrant clamps and guide mouth attachment for thermoforming may be preferred as outlined in the making of 4 inch prototypes.

As stated above those familiar with the art of making profile extrusion dies may want to consider the likes of a die used for integrally forming an interlocking joint with a plastic bag per U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,147 (AUSNIT)

This novel invention expects to ease the task of opening small up-ended plastic bags using only one hand for direct feeding to one's mouth for quick access to snacks, candy the likes of jelly beans and pills by busy individuals away from home, in offices, telecommuticating or while driving a car, and most of all, by arthritics or handicapped

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1. Shows split elevation Section “A-A” for installation of the curved quadrant clamps portion of the guide mouth on the outer part of a pre-manufactured flexible plastic bag, and Section “B-B” for its installation within and attached to the chamber walls of the flexible plastic bag.

FIG. 1A is a split top view of FIG. 1 showing the guide mouth installation on the outer portion portion of the flexible plastic bag versus its installation within said flexible bag.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the top portion of a flexible plastic bag showing the installation of the curved quadrant clamps with its guide mouth attachment inserted within a pre-manufactured flexible thin film plastic bag provided with its own single track reclosable outlet with added tack weld for additional shipping protection.

FIG. 2A is a side cross-sectional elevation of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2B is the top elevation of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the curved quadrant clamps with its guide mouth attachment integrally formed as part of the thin film plastic bag using the profile extrusion process.

FIG. 3A is a side elevation of FIG. 3 showing squeeze point locations between arrows “X”-“X” with flat bag edges tapering inwardly to “Y”-“Y”.

FIG. 3B is the top elevation of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a blow-up of a partial cross sectional view of the thin film plastic bag chamber wall bonded to a typical “Zip-Loc” or equal reclosable interlocking male and female joint elements amended with this invention's guide mouth attachments for curing its typical misalignment problem.

FIG. 4A is a cross sectional elevation showing the curved portion of the quadrant clamps having a key shaped reclosable interlocking joint.

FIG. 5 is a blow-up of a partial cross sectional view of an alternate reclosable curved quadrant male and female clamps assembly, each profile extruded for {fraction (1/64)}^th inch intermeshing projections equally spaced and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongated curved quadrant clamps.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a typical easy to open self closing dispenser outlet cater-cornered on to a large flexible plastic bag.

FIG. 6A is a front view showing a typical easy to open self closing dispenser outlet offset at the top of a large flexible plastic bag.

FIG. 6B is a front wiew showing a typical easy to open self closing dispenser outlet centered at the top tapering sides towards the large flexible plastic bag.

FIG. 6C is a front view showing an easy to open self closing dispenser outlet full length of the large flexible plastic bag.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view showing the curved quadrant clamps with shorter reinforced arc length than the full 90 degree unreinforced curved quadrant clamps.

FIG. 8A shows plastic bag up-ended ready to be manually opened.

FIG. 8B shows plastic bag open when manually squeezed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following embodiments describe novel ways to eliminate problems with opening and reclosing dispenser outlets of flexible thin film plastic bags, particularly those having “Zip-Loc”, or equal reclosable male and female interlockijng joints. Depending upon the contents to be stored within the flexible plastic bag most preferred embodiment appears to be FIG. 2 using pre-manufactured flexible bags having clear line single track seal top bags which protects during shipment and against pilfering of contents until the customer performs the initial squeeze to open operation.

FIG. 1 is a split elevation of the top portion of a preformed conventional plastic bag 10 with standard reclosable closure 9 having a bag opening under 6 inches in length; aided for opening and closing by the addition of throat guide mouth attachments 17 and 18 when fusion welded 7 at their opposing outer edges 22, with plastic bag 10 sheets 19 and 20 causes said bag to taper 22′ downwardly from top bag disharge opening; forms a throat 8 at mouth entry 16 at closure 9 which when digitally squeezed at its lengthwise opposing ends opens closure 9; upon release of squeeze effort automatically guides the closure elements 9 to reseat at mouth 16; the right hand half of the split elevation shows throat guide mouth attachments 17 and 18 fastened to the outside of plastic bag 10, whereas the left hand elevation shows said attachments fastened on the inside of said plastic bag 10; section“A-A” shows bulge 8; mouth 16 and the addition of short elongated portions 17′ and 18′ to attachments 17 and 18 to facilitate allignment for fusion weld 7 at opposing elongated ends; section “B-B” shows throat guide mouth attachments 17 and 18 on the inside portion of plastic bag 10 and juncture at mouth 16.

FIG. 1A is a split view of the top portion of plastic bag 10 of FIG. 1; showing in the right hand half of the view mounting of throat guide mouth attachments 17 and 18 on the outer walls of plastic bag sheets 19 and 20 and the location of weld 7 for bonding said 17 and 18 attachments to said plastic sheets 19 and 20; in the left hand half of the view the mounting of throat guide mouth attachments 17 and 18 are on the inside walls of plastic bag sheets 19 and 20 and the location of weld 7 for bonding said 17 and 18 attachments to said plastic sheets 19 and 20; both views show the outward bulge of said plastic bag sheets 19 and 20 caused by adding throat guide mouth attachments 17 and 18 to a preformed plastic bag 10.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the top portion of a pre- manufactured flexible thin film plastic bag 10 showing the addition of the male portion 12 and female portion 11 of the curved quadrant clamps and adjoining guide mouth 17 and 18 attachments; fastened together at their opposing longitudinal ends with self adhesive plastic tape 14 prior to installation within plastic bag 10 for a snug fit therein to retain the shape of bulge 8 formed upon insertion of the curved clamps 17 and 18 and adjoining guide mouth attaahments 11 and 12, which causes the bag edges 22′ to taper at point of contact between guide mouth portions 11 and 12 and plastic bag chamber walls; dispenser outlet is shown in the closed position with tack weld 21 at mid point.

FIG. 2A. is a cross sectional side view of FIG. 2 showing the snug fit between bag 10 chamber walls 19 and 20 and the male portion 17 and female portion 18 of the nested curved quadrant clamps with adjoining guide mouth 11 and 12 fastened together at opposing ends with self adhesive plastic tape 14 with outlet lips of the curved quadrant clamps protected for shipping by the pre-manufactured plastic bag's reclosable closure 9 within its outlet lips 22 and 23 and seal weld.

FIG. 2B is a top elevation of FIG. 2 showing mainly the almost elliptical bulge 8 and the location of the sipping seal tack weld 21 at the mid point of the outlet.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the plastic bag assembly consisting of two separate plastic profile extruded ribbons, the male portion consisting of male curved quadrant clamp 12, male throat guide mouth attachment 17; thin plastic film sheet 19 to the desired gauge thickness for assembly as shown with the following female profile extruded counterpart portions, female curved quadrant clamp 11, female throat guide mouth attachment 18, and thin plastic film sheet 20, each cut to suit the bag opening length desired, then superimposed for nesting and alignment of the curved quadrant clamps 11 and 12; fusion welded at their nested ends 13, and fusion welding the flat superimposed plastic film sheets along their corresponding edges 22 as shown on FIG. 3A the side view of FIG. 3 which also shows the elongated slotted outlet of the curved quadrant clamps 11 and 12 for dispensing contents by applying digital force as shown by the ARROWS for opening the outlet.

FIG. 3B is a top view of FIG. 3 which pin-points the bulge 8 at the throat section of the plastic bag 10 which occurs after the seam welding at the outer edges 22 of the superimposed flat profile extruded thin film bag sheets 19 and 20; said thick throat guide mouth attachments 17 and 18 when appropriately squeezed, as defined herein, guides the mouth of the nested curved quadrant clamps 11 and 12 to open, which upon release of the squeeze effort self closes, due to the additional plastic thickness of throat guide mouth attachments 17 and 18 gained by its use rather than thin gauge plastic film sheets 19 and 20 0.006 inches and under used for flexible plastic bags, thereby benefiting from the additional inherent plastic memory of the low density polyethylene to regain its original flexible shape, which furthermore, said throat guide mouth attachments 17 and 18 withstand the tendency of the curved quadrant clamps 11 and 12 to bend in unison without opening during the squeeze to open operation.

FIG. 4 is a blow up view of a conventional “Zip-Loc” or equal reclosable interlocking joint shown in phantom lines, fastened to thin film plastic sheets 31 and 32 of a standard plastic bag, with both male and female standard joints modified, during their original profile extrusions, to eliminate misalignment and distortion problems, as follows: to male joint element 27 a closure guide mouth jut attachment 29 is added, and to female joint element 28 a closure guide mouth jut attachment 30 is added. Depending upon the the plastic bag manufacturer, plastic sheets 31 and 32 may be integrally prole extruded with individual joint elements 27 and 28, or else may be bonded together by other means for making a complete plastic bag assembly capable of being quickly and easily opened ready for manual reseating of the interlocking closure elements without misalignment.

FIG. 4A is a blow-up cross sectional view of a simple resilient plastic interlocking joint with its knobby shaped male element 23 attached to and extending above the convex portion of the curved quadrant clamp 12 and nested within its keyhole shaped female counterpart 24 imbedded within the concave portion of the female curved quadrant clamp 11 when in its occluded position showing the throat guide mouth attachments 17 and 18 each extending from each of the nested curved quadrant clamps 11 and 12 at its nested mouth portion to form the required throat portion 8 for guiding the opening and closing of the nested joint during the squeeze to open self closing dispenser operations, after its initial opening by the user, which tore off the tack weld 21 located at the outlet's mid-point.

FIG. 5 is a blow up of a partial cross sectional view of a resilient reclosable joint which can be made during the profile extrusion of the indidual curved quadrant clamps, consisting of serrated notches running full length on each of the thick male 11 and female elongated curved quadrant clamps each with saw like teeth 25 and 25 profile extruded as “V” shaped intermeshing teeth with 1/64 inch projections atop the thickness of the curved quadrant clamp's nested concave and convex surfaces, equally spaced and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongated quadrant shaped curved clamps 11 and 12 to form a resilient intermeshing of teeth when nested in its occluded position ready for opening the dispenser outlet upon the initial squeeze to open operation by the user for tear off of the tack weld 21 located at the outlet's mid-point.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a typical easy to open self closing curved quadrant clamps 11 and 12 dispenser outlet cater-cornered on to a large flexible plastic bag 10.

FIG. 6A is a front view showing a typical easy to open self closing curved quadrant clamps 11 and 12 dispenser outlet offset at the top of a large flexible plastic bag 10.

FIG. 6B is a front view showing a typical easy open self closing curved quadrant clamps 11 and 12 dispenser outlet centered at the top, tapering sides 22 towards the large flexible plastic bag 10.

FIG. 6C is a front view showing an easy to open self closing curved quadrant clamps 11 and 12 dispenser outlet full length of the larger bag 10.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a flexible plastic bag 10 with guide mouth attachments 17 and 18 forming the throat portion 8 tapering inwardly towards the curved clamps 11 and 12; apparatus FIG. 7 differs in that the curved outlet portion 44 has a shorter arc length than the nested 12 and 11 curved 90 degree quadrant of FIG. 3 and that it requires lip reinforcing 43 to attain the same plastic memory and resiliency.

FIG. 8A is perspective view of the upper portion of a flexible plastic bag 10 showing top portion of dispenser outlet female curved quadrant clamp 11; opposing bonded ends 13 for nested curved quadrant clamps 11 and 12 as shown below in FIG. 8B; tack weld 21 at mid point of longitudinal outlet lips; said flexible plastic bag 10, hand-held by 2, with thumb 3 and index finger 4 ready to apply necessary squeeze force, at a point adjacent to just below nested curved quadrant clamps' bonded ends 13, in order to apply enough squeeze effort to shear tack-weld 21 for dispensing contents from the consumer's initial squeeze to open operation:

FIG. 8B is the same perspective shown above in FIG. 8A but, with top portion of flexible plastic bag 10 dispenser outlet in its open position with thumb 3 and index finger 4 applying the necessary squeeze force effort.

Claims

1. A prefabricated standard flexible thin film plastic bag having a bag outlet 6 inches or under in length, improved upon for quick easy dispensing, by inserting within said flexible thin film plastic bag, through its outlet opening an assembly, made of low density polyethylene or equal, consisting of occluded male and female curved quadrant clamps, with adjoining stubby guide mouth attachments, running fall length of the clamps, spaced apart at an appropriate angle, which when compressed towards one-another decreases its angle and forms an elliptical shaped bulge within the chamber walls at the throat portion of the plastic bag upon its insertion within said plastic bag, but only after the opposing ends of the longitudinal male and female clamps and adjoining stubby guide mouths have been bonded together, prior to insertion within said standard flexible plastic bag; said, curved quadrant assembly is arranged to have a snug tight fit with the chamber walls of the flexible plastic bag, to maintain contact with the stubby guide mouth elements for applying the squeeze effort required for dispensing, plus making it possible to fusion weld the outer chamber walls full length, on both sides of the bag outlet, adjacent to the curved portion of the quadrant clamps to prevent misalignment of clamp jaws.

2. A prefabricated standard flexible thin film plastic bag as in claim 1 whereby said plastic bag has a conventional single track closure which offers extra sealing protection to the inserted normally dust tight curved quadrant clamps dispenser outlet.

3. A prefabricated standard flexible thin film plastic bag as in claim 1 whereby said plastic bag has a conventional single track closure with standard elongated outlet, may be tack-welded at the mid-point of its outlet lips, capable of being severed by the customer, upon the initial squeeze-to-open dispenser operation.

4. A prefabricated standard flexible thin film plastic bag as in claim 1 whereby said prefabicated bag is cut for inserting occluded male and female curved quadrant clamps and adjoining stubby guide mouth attachments after which said cut is resealed.

5. A prefabricated standard flexible thin film plastic bag as in claim 1 whereby said plastic bag is made anew for a snug fit over the contour of the occluded male and female curved quadrant clamps and adjoining stubby guide mouth attachments

6. A prefabricated standard flexible thin film plastic bag as in claim 1 whereby only the stubby guide mouth assembly, made from low density polyethylene or equal, is added to said standard plastic bag

7. A flexible thin film plastic bag made using the profile extrusion process for integrating this invention's curved quadrant clamps with adjoining stubby guide mouth attachments therewith, made from low density polyethylene or equal, to form the flexible thin film plastic bag's dispenser outlet.

8. A thin film plastic bag as in claim 5 wherein a tack-weld is added at the mid-point of the closure's occluded elongated outlet lips capable of being severed by the customer upon the initial squeeze to open dispenser operation.

9. A small hand held reclosable flexible thin film plastic bag, made from low density polyethylene or equall, having a “Zip-Loc” or equal interlocking closure, having bag outlet 6 inches or under in length, capable of being manually squeezed at its opposing outlet ends, while holding said bag with the same hand; said squeezing opens the closure, but only when stubby guide attachments are added to the flexible thin film chamber walls at the outlet neck portion of the plastic bag; when upon release of the squeeze effort the closure automatically self closes; said stubby guide attachments being made stiff enough to withstand the squeeze effort required to open the occluded closure, and made part of the “Zip-Loc” or equal male and female interlocking closure elements when originally extruded, said guides being stubby attachments to the male and female “Zip-Loc” or equal interlocking closure elements running full length of the bag outlet, each spaced at an appropriate angle, apart from each other sufficiently to, when compressed towards one another forms an elliptical shaped bulge within the chamber walls at the throat portion of the plastic bag lengthwise of the closure, said compression required to bond the edges of the superimposed plastic sheets to form the plastic bag assembly, which when grasped lengthwise and manually squeezed at the guide attachments, guides the mouth of the nested closure elements to open, and upon release of the squeeze effort automatically occludes, all due to the addition of the stubby guide mouth attachments at the throat portion of the thin flexible plastic bag chamber walls, and the inherent resilience and plastic memory of the thermoplastic used, such as low density polyethylene.

10. A reclosable flexible thin film plastic bag according to claims 1, 5 and 7 wherein said reclosable flexible thin film plastic bag length is longer than 6 inches, said 6 inch and under reclosable outlet can be fastened by cater-cornering or at any other suitable location for fastening to a larger than 6 inch long plastic bag.

11. A reclosable flexible thin film plastic bag according to claim 7, wherein a tack-weld is added at the mid-point of the closure's occluded outlet lips capable of being severed by the customer upon the initial squeeze to open dispenser operation.

12. A reclosable plastic joint such as “Zip-Loc” or equal having male and female interlocking elements may when initially extruded include stubby guide mouth attachments.

13. The normally dust tight resilient reclosable curved quadrant clamps, made from low density polyethylene or equal may be provided with a tighter seal, by the addition of interlocking elements to the male convex and female concave portions of the curved clamps, consisting of a knobby shaped male element extending above full length of its mating male curved quadrant clamp, and nested within its keyhole shaped female counterpart imbedded within the concave portion of the female curved quadrant clamp when in its occluded position.

14. The normally dust tight resilient reclosable curved quadrant clamps, made from low density polyethylene or equal, may be provided with a tighter seal, by using the profile extrusion process for making serrated notches running full length on each of the male and female elongated curved quadrant clamps, each with saw like teeth extruded as “V” shaped intermeshing teeth approx. {fraction (1/64)} inch projections atop the thickness of the curved quadrant clamp's nested concave and convex surfaces, equally spaced and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongated quadrant shaped curved clamps to form a resilient intermeshing of teeth when nested in its occluded position.

15. The arc length of the curved quadrant clamps, made from low density polyethylene or equal, may be shortened and rib reinforced at its slotted discharge outlet.

16. Any suitable means for making this invention's apparatuses, other than the profile extrusion process, may be used.

17. Plastic bags may be made of plastic material other than low density polyethylene, as long as it is resilient, flexible and capable of being welded or bonded to low density polyethylene.

18. Thin film flexible plastic bags may be reinforced by the addition of stiffeners and gussets for making said bag capable of standing.