MULTI-COMPARTMENT FLEXIBLE PACKAGE
A flexible package having a main package compartment and a segregated internal compartment package. The main package generally includes a plurality of outer panel portions. These panel portions can include a front panel portion, a back panel portion, and a bottom panel portion. The formation of these panels into the main package defines an internal cavity for holding material contents. The main package includes the segregated internal compartment package, wherein the compartment package can include at least one internal panel portion having a transverse edge portion adapted joined to an inner surface of one of the main package panels, i.e. the front or back panels, within the internal cavity, and a longitudinal seal intermediate the edges to define a pair of compartment cavities distinct from the internal cavity of the main package. The compartment cavities may be notched at a common corner and adapted to enable selective tearing transverse to the longitudinal seal for access to both the inner cavity and the second compartment cavity.
This application is a Divisional of application Ser. No. 10/456,971, filed Jun. 6, 2003, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/386,798, entitled “M
The present invention claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/386,798 filed Jun. 6, 2002 and entitled “MULTI-COMPARTMENT SEGREGATING FLEXIBLE PACKAGE,” which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to flexible packaging and, more particularly, to flexible packaging having at least one segregated internal compartment designed for selective compartmental use.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONConventional flexible packaging does not generally include compartments within the internal cavity of the package. Those packages that do, merely provide for a positioned wall down a section of the internal cavity of the main packaging such that a division is merely created within said internal cavity. Distinct and selectively usable compartments within the cavity are not provided for in these conventional package designs.
For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,201,031, 4,993,844, 5,335,478, and 5,409,116 disclose packages having a divider panel disposed between the two main panels to create a partition. However, since the partition panel spans the full longitudinal distance and is equal in width to the two main panels, the two compartments are accordingly of equal size. Consequently, such partitioned package configurations are not ideal for selective applications and uses where one of the segregated compartments is not required to be identically volumetrically sized with respect to the other. Further, such designs are not ideally compatible with flexible packaging designs employing side or bottom gusset panels. Since the edges of the partition panel are bonded intermediate the edges of the main panel portions, allowing the full length gusseted panels would be rendered unusable as expansion and contraction at the gusset would be restricted by the intermediately bonded partition panel.
Other conventional techniques include creating multi-compartment packages by heat sealing or otherwise bonding two parallel panels proximate the middle portion of the panels such that a divider strip is established. Such designs are demonstrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,507, U.S. patent application No. 2002/0067865, and E.P. Patent Publication 594,449A1. The formation and design of these conventional packages merely creates two adjacent packaging portions of substantially equal size. Again, gusseted features are unacceptably limited.
As a result, there is a need for a flexible package that substantially solves the above-referenced problems with conventional package designs, configurations, and manufacturing methods.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention solves many of the problems that plague conventional flexible packages and packaging methods. Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to a main package and a segregated internal compartment package. The main package generally includes a plurality of outer panel portions. These panel portions can include a front panel portion, a back panel portion, and a bottom panel portion. In addition, the main package can include a first side panel portion, and a second side panel portion. The formation of these panels into the main package defines an internal cavity for holding material contents. Any of the panels can be gusseted with the processes and techniques known to one skilled in the art. The main package includes the segregated internal compartment package, wherein the compartment package can include at least one internal panel portion having a transverse bottom edge portion joined to an inner surface of one of the main package panels within the internal cavity to define a second compartment cavity distinct from the internal cavity of the main package. Further, the present invention can include at least two separate openings into the package to enable selectively separate access into the internal cavity of the main package and the second compartment cavity of the segregated internal compartment package.
In one embodiment, the internal compartment is some size generally smaller than the vertical or longitudinal length of the front and back panels, of varying available width. The internal panel portion can be of a polyethylene, or like plastic or plastic laminate, and is uniquely sealed within the inner cavity at an inner surface of the front or back panels, within the inner cavity. While the outside of the package may look much like any stand up flexible package, there are nonetheless dual top accesses that can be created by a vertical/longitudinal seal of the internal panel portion to clearly identify the two separate cavities.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to
The segregated internal compartment package 14 generally includes at least one internal compartment panel portion 24, wherein the compartment panel portion 24 is peripherally joined to the inner surface of at least one of the main package 10 panel portions to create a second compartment cavity 28. The at least one internal compartment panel 24 includes an internal panel sealant surface 30, longitudinal compartment panel edges 32a, 32b and transverse compartment panel edges 34.
The package portions 12-22 are generally constructed of flexible sheet material such as polyethylene, polyester, metal foil, polypropylene, or polyethylenes laminated with other materials such as nylon, polyester, and like films. To provide for higher barriers, embodiments can use combination layers of said materials and material of the like. Generally, the confronting or joinable materials of the main package 12 and the internal compartment package 14 must have acceptable sealing characteristics for bonding to the respective target material. For instance, the sealant surface 30 of the internal panel 24 is constructed of a plastic web of polyethylene, or a material with like characteristics and heat bonding qualities for joining to the target main sealant surface 27 of one of the main package panels, such as the front 16 or back 18 panel portions. One skilled in the art will understand that a myriad of materials and material laminates are available for selective use for the main sealant surface 27 and the internal sealant surface 30 to facilitate the bonding attachment described herein. In one embodiment, at least one of the sealant surfaces 27, 30 will comprise “contaminants” that permit a varying level of bonding, wherein the level of bondable attachment is dependent on the heat applied from a corresponding heat sealing bar or other device. Higher temperatures will create “destructive”, i.e., permanent, bonds while lower temperatures will create a more temporary bond for selective disengagement. Such bonding techniques can be applied at any sealable surface or region of the main package 12 or the internal compartment package 14 to create the desired level of bonding.
Preferably, the package of the present invention is to be formed into a stand-up pouch, but it could be a three-side-seal pouch, a pouch that displays lying down, or other known pouch or packaging designs and configurations. The internal panel or web 20 can be of the same width and height as the back and/or front panels, or it can be some size smaller, depending on the compartmental needs of the manufacturer or end user. Regardless, and unlike conventional techniques, the transverse compartment panel edge 24 of the internal panel 24 will not be bound to both the front and back panel portions. Instead, the edges 32 of the internal compartment panel 24 will be bonded intermediate the front 16 and back panels 18 and the transverse edge 34 will be bonded to only one of the front 16 or back 18 panels some distance intermediate the bottom and top edges of said one of the front 16 and back 18 panels. In embodiments including the at least one side panel 22, the longitudinal edges 32a, 32b will also be bonded to the same one of the front 16 or back 18 panels at respective edges 17, 19. Bonding descriptions of the internal compartment panel 24 to various panel designations herein will generally require particular panel portion descriptions for ease of explanation, i.e., panels 16 and 18, but it must be noted that each of the panel portions 16, 18 are interchangeably capable of providing the inner target surface for the internal panel 24 attachment, and the transverse edge 34 in particular. For instance, specific embodiments will require attachment or bonding of the internal panel 24 to the inner surface 27 of the back panel 18 where the outside surface of the front panel 16 includes graphical indicia. Attachment of the internal panel 24 to the back panel 18 will protect the indicia on the front panel 16 as specific sealing processes may require sealing bars to contact the outside of the package to bond the internal panel 24 in place.
In
In
While the transverse seal 36 can create a continuous bond between the front 16 panel and the internal panel 24 along the transverse edge 34, attachment of the back panel 18 to the transverse edge 34 and seal 36 is preferably avoided to maintain the capacity and configuration of the inner cavity 26. Since seal bars and other bonding mechanisms and techniques known to one skilled in the art are easily utilized and often implement a seal bar across the entire width of the package 10 at the line defined by the transverse edge 34, it may be necessary to include a material barrier 40 protection along the line of the transverse edge 34 extending from the longitudinal seal 38 to the longitudinal edges 17b, 32b. Like the previous embodiment, a barrier material 40 such as Teflon, Teflon coated materials, or materials of like heat barrier qualities and characteristics can be selectively disposed between the back panel 18 and the front panel 16 along the width of the panels. This barrier 40 will prevent bonding of the back panel 18 to the transverse edge 34 along the seal 36 between the edges 17a, 32a and the edges 17b, 32b, thus also providing a barrier along the seal 36 between the longitudinal seal 28 and the edges 17b, 32b. At the same time, a bond is created between the front 16 panel and the internal panel 24 along the length of the transverse seal 36. Various applications of such a barrier material to a selected portion of a package panel known to one skilled in the art can be employed without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The described attachment of the internal panel portion 24 creates the compartment cavity 28, wherein the capacity or volumetric limitations of the compartment cavity 28 are measurably smaller than that of the inner cavity 26 of the main package 10. The boundaries of the compartment 14 and compartment cavity 28 are generally defined in this embodiment by the u-shaped sealed continuity of the longitudinal edge 32a, the transverse edge 34, and the longitudinal seal 38.
With such an embodiment, it may be necessary to additionally bond at least a portion of the top region of the internal panel 24 to the top portion of the front panel 16, distal the transverse seal 36, as shown in
Various embodiments of the present invention can include a temporary seal 42 bond along any of the edges or seals of the internal panel 24. Preferably, the temporary seal 42 is provided along the transverse edge 34 of the internal panel 24 to create at least a portion of the transverse seal 36, as shown in
In one embodiment, the temporary seal 42 will include a compatible tape material such that the temporary bond is broken upon sufficient pressure by the end user on the internal compartment 14 and/or main package 10 structures. In another embodiment, the temporary seal 42 is created by heat sealing the transverse edge 34 of the internal panel 24 to the front 16 or back panel 18 portions in such a manner as to not create a permanent bond. As described herein, this temporary seal 42 generated from a heat sealing technique can comprise selectively utilizing materials with known contaminant characteristics such that a relatively low heat application along the seal 42 provides temporary sealing and avoids a destructive or permanent seal. Various selective and temporary bonding techniques known to one skilled in the art can be employed to implement and create the temporary seal 42 without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Further, the temporary seal 42 techniques and methods can be included along the longitudinal seal 38 rather than the transverse edge 34 in those packages 10 implementing the compartment package 14 of
Various embodiments can further include a notch 44, as shown in
Each of the embodiments of the present invention can further include a tab or lip portion 39 at the top end portion of the internal panel 24 as shown in
In the embodiments of
Referring to
During formation of the package, the internal panel 24 is fed between the front 16 and back 18 panel portions such that the internal panel 24 extends from the top of the pouch down a distance short of where the folded gusset bottom 20g starts, depending on the length of longitudinal edges 32a, 32b. As shown in
Referring primarily to
As the now forming package 10 leaves the side seal station 58 along the web path of the machine, each package 10 can enter a cooling station 60. The cooling station 60 can include at least one cooling bar 78 which is applied along the various seals, i.e., the seals created at the side seal station 58, to lower the web material temperature to further promote and stabilize the bonds created. Once the cooling bars 78 have performed the cooling functions required upon application, each package 10, still contiguously linked, can be separated to define the distinct package 10 at the cut-off station 62. The cut-off station 62 can include a cutting device 80 such as a blade or other known mechanism that can trim the edges of the package 10 and cut the end package 10 from the adjacently joined package 10. Other trimming devices and mechanisms can further be employed to trim the various edges of the package 10.
With this manufactured package product, a compartmentalized package is created such that there is no mingling or intrusion of the contents of the distinct compartments 12, 14 and corresponding cavities 26, 28. In addition, the transverse edge 34 of the internal panel 24 is bonded only to one of the selected target panels 16, 18. This leaves the remaining panel not targeted for receiving the internal panel 24 free for movement. For instance, a bottom panel 20g and/or a side panel 22g are free to expand or contract contingent upon the insertion or removal of contents within the inner cavity 16, thus not detrimentally affecting the functionality of the package 10 or the capacity or functionality of the compartment cavity 28. Each cavity 26, 28 and package portion 12, 14 is substantially independent from the other. Various handles, graphics, closeable and re-closeable devices, gusseted portions, and like features known to one skilled in the art are also envisioned for use with this invention and can be implemented without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention. All references to front, back, bottom, and the like are merely for demonstrative purposes and are not intended to limit the variations and positional references and orientations of the panels in the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is, therefore, desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Similarly, the above-described methods and techniques for manufacturing the present invention are illustrative sequential processes and are not intended to limit the methods of manufacturing the present invention to those specifically defined herein. It is envisioned that various depicted steps can be performed in differing substantive and sequential order. In addition, various unspecified steps and procedures can be performed in between those steps described herein without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention and the method of manufacturing the sam
Claims
1. A multi-compartment flexible package, comprising:
- a main package having at least a first panel including an inner first panel surface, an outer first panel surface, a plurality of first panel edge portions, a top portion, and a bottom portion; a second panel including an inner second panel surface, an outer second panel surface, and a plurality of second panel edge portions joined to the plurality of first panel edge portions to define an inner cavity of the main package, wherein the inner second panel surface and the inner first panel surface are within the inner cavity; at least one gusseted panel; and
- an internal compartment panel including two longitudinal edge portions, and a transverse edge portion transverse to the two longitudinal edge portions, wherein the two longitudinal edge portions are joined to the inner surface of the first panel within the inner cavity and the transverse edge portion is joined to the inner surface of the first panel intermediate the top portion and the bottom portion of the first panel to define a second compartment cavity distinct from the inner cavity of the main packages
- wherein the first panel further includes a longitudinal seal intermediate the edge portions of the first panel and substantially traversing from the transverse edge portion to the top portion of the first panel to longitudinally seal the internal compartment panel to the first panel to define the second compartment cavity.
2. The multi-compartment flexible package of claim 1, wherein at least one barrier is disposed between the longitudinal seal and the second panel to prevent joining of the internal compartment panel to the inner second panel surface.
3. The multi-compartment flexible package of claim 1, wherein a top portion of the internal compartment panel distal the transverse edge portion is joined to the inner surface of the second panel creating a first top seal.
4. The multi-compartment flexible package of claim 3, wherein the first top seal is a temporary seal providing selective disengagement of the top portion of the internal compartment panel from the second panel.
5. The multi-compartment flexible package of claim 4, wherein another top portion of the internal compartment panel distal the transverse edge portion is joined to the inner surface of the first panel creating a second top seal.
6. The multi-compartment flexible package of claim 5, wherein the second top seal is a temporary seal providing selective disengagement of the top portion of the internal compartment panel from the first panel.
7. A multi-compartment flexible package, comprising:
- a main package having at least a front panel including an inner front panel surface, an outer front panel surface, a plurality of front panel edge portions, and a top and bottom front portion; a back panel including an inner back panel surface, an outer back panel surface, a plurality of back panel edge portions, and a top and bottom back portion, wherein the back panel is joined to the plurality of front panel edge portions to define an inner cavity of the main package, wherein the inner back panel surface and the inner front panel surface are within the inner cavity; and
- an internal compartment panel including two longitudinal edge portions, and a transverse edge portion transverse to the two longitudinal edge portions, wherein the two longitudinal edge portions are joined to the inner surface of the back panel within the inner cavity and the transverse edge portion is joined to the same inner surface of the back panel intermediate the top and bottom portion of the back panel to define a second compartment cavity distinct from the inner cavity of the main packages
- wherein the back panel further includes a longitudinal seal intermediate the edge portions of the back panel and substantially traversing the longitudinal length of the back panel portion from the transverse edge portion to longitudinally seal the internal compartment panel to the back panel to define the second compartment cavity.
8. The multi-compartment flexible package of claim 7, wherein at least one barrier is disposed between the longitudinal seal and the front panel to prevent joining of the internal compartment panel to the inner surface of the front panel.
9. The multi-compartment flexible package of claim 7, further including a notch extending a distance into at least a portion of the longitudinal seal proximate the top portion of the back panel and adapted to enable selective tearing transverse to the longitudinal seal for access into both the inner cavity and the second compartment cavity.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 18, 2007
Publication Date: Jan 3, 2008
Inventor: Mark Steele (LeSueur, MN)
Application Number: 11/857,292
International Classification: B65D 30/22 (20060101);