Abstract:
The disclosure pertains to method for manufacturing reclosable packages, bags or pouches wherein, typically, a unisex zipper is looped so as to form a gap between the ends of the zipper and sealed inside of the package. The formation of the looped zipper segment causes the package to have a wide open mouth, and a natural tendency toward the open configuration.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 13/193,030, filed Jul. 28, 2011, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/368,496 filed Jul. 28, 2010, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Disclosure 
         [0003]    The present disclosure pertains to unisex zippered reclosable packages with a wide mouth opening feature and/or easy open and/or easy close features. The present disclosure further pertains to wide mouth opening pre-made or horizontal form, fill and seal pouches. The present disclosure further pertains to pre-made or horizontal form, fill and seal pouches with pour spout reclosures. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    Wide mouth gusseted packages are disclosed by U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2007/0258665 entitled “Wide Mouth Gusseted Packages”, published on Nov. 8, 2007 on behalf of Greco. While the Greco reference is well-adapted for its intended purposes, further improvements are sought with respect to simplifying the manufacturing process, particularly in transverse direction (TD) applications. 
         [0006]    Additionally, while vertical form fill seal (VFFS) machines are well-adapted for their intended purposes, some VFFS applications which include transverse placement of the joined zipper can deal with issues such as a propensity for inner flange sealing exacerbated by poor heat transfer films; slide between the male and female zipper elements resulting in “inch worming” or open zippers jamming the equipment; lateral movement of elements resulting in offset elements that jam in the cassette or on the lip of the filling tube; poor stomping of joined zipper ends required to prevent slide of male and female elements or to promote ease of closure which then fail upon forcibly being opened to full mouth opening; premature knife wear as a result of cutting the two elements together; and zipper camber due to unbalanced flanges and the complexity of different sized flanges resulting in unreliable zipper transport or jumping off of or out of the guide, improper placement of the zipper, or unwanted zipper curvature. 
         [0007]    Additionally, such applications may require jaw modifications in order to operate properly. The sealing of consumer side flanges to film may require more actions to take place under difficult operating conditions. The high heat conditions and the requirement to make these flange seals can also promote hot tack failure between the flanges and the film or flange-to-flange hot tacking. 
         [0008]    Similarly, some current transverse direction zipper production applications may incur increased costs. These increased costs may occur due to joining equipment which increases scrap and reduces production speeds, increased sensitivity to winding conditions, the use of more expensive materials to prevent inner flange sealing, increased costs of sealant layers and the inherent complexity of working with male female profiles. 
         [0009]    Moreover, the opening of sonic reclosable pouches may be restricted or smaller than the full mouth opening because of the zipper. In some transverse direction processes, it is necessary for the zipper to be shorter than the pouch in order to insert the zipper into the pouch. In addition, the zipper may be stomped which reduces the opening even further. Moreover, ease in opening is not always fully satisfactorily achieved by a pouch manufactured in a transverse direction application. Additionally, some single profiles do not close as well as some double zipper profiles. 
         [0010]    In a pillow-type bag, the percentage mouth opening lost is relatively small compared to that of gusseted bags, yet the end stomps of the zipper still remove some the mouth opening in the pillow bag. Many current gusseted bags use a zipper that is short of the width of the bag&#39;s front panel, thereby restricting the opening size of the bag. In many applications, it is desirable that the opening of a pillow or gusseted bag be as large as possible to enable ease of scooping out or pouring out the product, or filling. 
         [0011]    Other prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,862 entitled “Method of and Means of Making Reclosable Bags and Method Therefor”, issued on Apr. 7, 1987 to Christoff et al. 
       OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0012]    It is therefore an object of the present disclosure to provide improvements in wide mouth gusseted reclosable packages or bags. 
         [0013]    It is therefore a further object of the present disclosure to provide improvements in gusseted bags with respect to increased width of mouth, increased ease of opening and/or increased ease of closing. 
         [0014]    These and other objects are attained by a method which typically includes the steps of attaching a multi-track, self-mating reclosure across a web; providing a space or gap in the web between each end of the reclosure and each edge of the web, leaving enough room to form a fin or lap seal from the web material in the space or gap between the ends of the reclosure and the edges of the web; bringing the edges of the web together; so that the interlocking elements of the reclosure are in unmated opposing end-wise alignment with each other; and attaching the spaces or gaps together at each end of the web to form a fin seal or to form a lap seal. 
         [0015]    These and other objects are further attained in the first and second embodiments of the disclosure by providing a package, pouch or bag, that includes a zipper reclosure which is typically a unisex style zipper, possibly including double profiles. The zipper or reclosure is attached to the pouch film by a transverse direction process. Because the zipper or reclosure is a unisex configuration, it can be fully attached to the film in a transverse direction application. The zipper or reclosure is attached to the width of the pouch film at the applicator position, but is configured so that there is a gap between the ends of the zipper or reclosure, whereby the ends of the zipper are spaced away from the fin seal or other seal. This gap makes it easier to form to fin or other seal, as compared to a similar embodiment without such a gap. The zipper or reclosure can have one or two flanges. The flanges are sealed to the pouch film in the transverse direction applicator. 
         [0016]    These and other objects are attained in a third embodiment of the disclosure by applying a unisex zipper in the transverse direction to the width of the film web on a VFFS machine, whereby the zipper is configured so that there is a gap between the ends of zipper or reclosure, whereby the ends of the zipper are spaced away from the fin seal or other seal. The VFFS machine forms a package from the web. Often the machine will form a bag with side gussets. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  is a first perspective view of a first embodiment of the present disclosure, showing a reclosable package, using a unisex zipper or reclosure, in a closed configuration. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a second perspective view of a first embodiment of the present disclosure, showing a reclosable package in an open configuration. 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a first perspective view of a second embodiment of the present disclosure, showing a reclosable package in a closed configuration. 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  is a second perspective view of a second embodiment of the present disclosure, showing a reclosable package, using a double unisex zipper or reclosure, in an open configuration. 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a typical zipper (or reclosure) profile, a double unisex multiple alignment zipper. 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  is a plan view of the reclosure in an open configuration across a width of the film or web. 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the zipper or reclosure proximate to a lap seal. 
           [0025]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the zipper or reclosure proximate to a fin seal. 
           [0026]      FIG. 9  is a view of the reclosure of  FIG. 6 , further including a peel seal type zipper. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0027]    Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views, one sees that  FIGS. 1 and 2  disclose a first embodiment of the disclosure, including a package  10 , formed from front wall  12  and rear wall  14  (including fin seal  60 ), and a double profile, unisex, multi-track, self-mating zipper or reclosure  20 , illustrated as including two flanges  22 ,  24 .  FIGS. 3 and 4  disclose a similar second embodiment of the disclosure, including a package  10  and a unisex multiple alignment zipper or reclosure  20 ′, illustrated as including only one flange  22 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , a unisex zipper or reclosure is one which can be folded and mated or interlocked with itself. It is envisioned that this reclosure is not limited to a zipper, and that various kinds of reclosures, such as those made by Aplix or hook-and-eye closures such as Velcro®, may be substituted for the zipper. 
         [0028]    In both the first and second embodiments, the zipper  20  or  20 ′ is attached in a transverse direction to the film which is subsequently formed into a tubular shape thereby forming front and rear walls  12 ,  14  of package  10 . This attachment is performed by a transverse direction applicator so that gap  23  is formed between the ends of the zipper  20  or  20 ′.  FIG. 9  illustrates a variation of a zipper applied in a transverse direction across a web, further including a peel seal. All flanges are sealed to the pouch seal in the transverse direction. 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , the zipper or reclosure  20  (or  20 ′) extends across the web  42 . The zipper or reclosure  20  has first and second ends  20 A,  20 B which are separated from respective first and second edges  42 A,  42 B of the web  42 . First space  61  (a portion of web  42  free of zipper  20 ) is formed between the first end  20 A of zipper  20  and first edge  42 A of web  42  and second space  62  (a portion of web  42  free of zipper  20 ) is formed between the second end  20 B of zipper  20  and second edge  42 B of web  42 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , the edges  42 A,  42 B are brought together, thereby bringing spaces  61 ,  62  together, to form a lap seal  58 , or, alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 8 , a fin seal  60 , and additionally aligning the ends  20 A,  20 B of the zipper or reclosure  20  (or  20 ′) so that the interlocking elements proximate to the ends  20 A,  20 B of the zipper or reclosure  20  (or  20 ′) are placed into unmated opposing end-wise alignment, it is further envisioned within this disclosure that some embodiments may have only a single space  61 , formed between first end  20 A of zipper or reclosure  20  (or  20 ′) and first edge  42 A of web  42 , while the second end  20 B of the reclosure  20  (or  20 ′) extends to second edge  42 B of web  42 , thereby eliminating space  62 . 
         [0030]    Both the first and second embodiments are produced by bringing the edges  42 A,  42 B of the web  42  together, thereby forming the pouch over a forming machine, such as, but not limited to, a vertical form fill seal (VFFS) fill tube, in pillow pouch fashion. The interlocking elements of the zipper (or reclosure)  20  or  20 ′ are placed into unmated opposing end-wise alignment with each other and first and second spaces  61 ,  62  are sealed to each other to form a fin seal  60  (or alternatively, a lap seal  58 ). The zipper  20  or  20 ′ is formed in a circular or tubular shape around the fill tube along with the film, with a gap  23  formed from spaces  61  and  62  between the ends  20 A,  20 B of the zipper  20  or  20 ′. This gap  23  makes it easier to form to the fin seal  60 , the lap seal  58 , or other seal, as compared to a similar embodiment without such a gap. As the pouch makes its way to the seal jaws of the VFFS apparatus (or similar apparatus), the package  10  is sealed above the zipper  20  or  20 ′ with the intention that the zipper  20  or  20 ′ is not hit by seal jaws forming the bottom of the subsequent package or pouch. The pouch can be cut to open or perforated to open, in the case of a consumer application, the top may frequently not be sealed, but merely cut off as the bottom of the next bag is sealed in the jaws.  FIGS. 1 and 3  are illustrations of the package  10  with the zipper  20  or  20 ′ sealed and the package  10  closed above the zipper  20  or  20 ′. The package  10  may be left open and unfilled until a subsequent process. The formation of sequential bags or packages typically includes a cross-sealing step to form transverse direction seals at the top and bottom of the packages. 
         [0031]    Because the pouch was preferably created without the zipper  20  or  20 ′ hitting the seal jaws of the VFFS equipment (or similar equipment), no permanent deformation of the zipper  20  or  20 ′ is expected. Therefore, the pouch created is essentially a sealed tube of film with a zipper  20  or  20 ′ attached in the transverse direction (not including the gap  23 ) along the entire circumference. Because the pouch was created with the film in tubular or circular form, the natural tendency of the film is typically to stay open in the tube shape, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 . This is counteracted at the bottom of the package  10  by the bottom seal  30  created by the seal jaws to close the bottom of the bag. Prior art zippers with end stomps in the zipper, and wherein the zipper is attached to the pouch in the flat state, typically have a tendency to remain in a flat and interlocked state rather than a circular state. 
         [0032]    The package  10  of first and second embodiments  10 ,  10 ′ is well-adapted as a consumer storage bag. The tendency of the package  10  to remain open when the zipper is not interlocked is desirable to many consumers who may hold the package or bag  10  with one hand, while the mouth of the bag remains wide open, which typically may make it much easier for the consumer, compared with a typical consumer bag. 
         [0033]    This disclosure further includes improvements in form fill seal pouches in that the wide mouth feature of the pouch will allow the user to efficiently dispense the contents. In the first embodiment, reclosure of the pouch has been rendered easier through the double unisex profile zipper logic. The combination of double profile with a multi-alignment or unisex profile design creates the most forgiving package from a reclosure point of view. In either the first or second embodiment, the zipper could be designed to have a single flange or could have two flanges of equal or different lengths. The profile could be placed in the center of the two flanges to form a symmetric design but it could also be an asymmetric design. 
         [0034]    In both the first and second embodiments, the use of a unisex zipper across a substantial portion of the web width (with the unisex zipper or reclosure being somewhat less long than the width of the web, thereby allowing a gap to be formed between the edges of the reclosure or zipper when the web is formed into a tubular shape with a fin seal) will produce a process that addresses many of the problems of current transverse directional processes, resulting in more process latitude and higher pouch making or process speeds and improved commercial prospects. In summary, the following concerns are expected to be addressed by the embodiments: 
         [0035]    1. Sealing the zipper to the film from the zipper side in front of the tube eliminates or reduces propensity for inner flange sealing exacerbated by poor heat transfer films. 
         [0036]    2. Sealing the zipper to the film from the zipper side eliminates or reduces the need for jaw modifications and tight registration requirements between zipper placement and the jaws. 
         [0037]    3. Using one continuous unisex zipper element eliminates or reduces male/female slide between the elements and thus “inch worming”, open zipper or lateral movement causing jamming within the FFS equipment in the cassette or on the lip of the tube. 
         [0038]    4. Elimination of end stomping is expected to achieve various advantages. 
         [0039]    5. Knife life is increased because only a single element zipper is being used versus double the mass. 
         [0040]    6. Using a continuous unisex zipper should reduce camber and promote straight zipper, good zipper transport and positioning of the zipper. 
         [0041]    Moreover, production costs are typically reduced as less costly materials are used, no joining is required, less sensitive winding is required, and less complex profiles typically have reduced scrap. 
         [0042]    The embodiments are typically expected to achieve many or all of the following advantages: 
         [0043]    1. The resulting package will open up wide and stay open thereby allowing the user to use one hand to manipulate the bag, leaving one hand free for easier filling. 
         [0044]    2. An improved form fill seal pouch allows for ease of product dispensing. 
         [0045]    3. An improved and reliable transverse direction manufacturing process is achieved. 
         [0046]    4. A fully open pouch may be achieved, without losses caused by gussets, stomping or a zipper shorter than full bag width. 
         [0047]    5. Reduced cost zipper may be used in that the need for high density polyethylene is eliminated or reduced, the need for film may be eliminated or reduced, and linear low density polyethylene materials are expected to be able to be run at higher speeds. 
         [0048]    6. The pouch may be easier to close in view of the unisex multiple alignment double zipper profile. 
         [0049]    7. Zipper cutting and feeding may be simplified with reduced mass, no male/female slide, and reduced camber. 
         [0050]    8. Zipper sealing is simplified due to the expected reduction or elimination of jaw modifications (particularly those which would otherwise be done in response to changes of film) and the expected reduction or elimination of hot tack problems. 
         [0051]    9. As the zipper is not sealed in the jaw area, a more robust process is possible. 
         [0052]    10. The need for ultrasonics may be reduced or eliminated. 
         [0053]    The embodiment of the present disclosure illustrated in  FIG. 9  adds hermeticity to the packages of the first and second embodiments by adding a peel seal coating to the flange above the profile. A unisex zipper segment  20  or  20 ′ (single or double flange zipper segments may be used) is applied in the transverse direction to the width of the film web  42  on a VFFS machine, but is configured so that spaces  61  and  62  form gap  23  when the zipper is in closed configuration, whereby the ends  40 A,  40 B of the zipper are spaced away from the fin seal  60  or other seal. The web  42  is formed by the VFFS machine. While not illustrated, the resulting package may include side gussets. As described with respect to the first and second embodiments, the use of a unisex zipper also allows for a full mouth opening for gusseted bags. However, the web  42  which forms the walls of the bag or package cannot be perforated if hermeticity is desired. Hermeticity can be achieved by the structure of  FIG. 9  by the peel seal  50 . The zipper or reclosure segment  20  includes first and second flanges  22 ,  24  as well as interlocking profile  48 . Additionally, as indicated, a strip of peel seal material  50  is provided on first flange  24 . 
         [0054]    Thus the several aforementioned objects and advantages are most effectively attained. Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed and described in detail herein, it should be understood that this invention is in no sense limited thereby and its scope is to be determined by that of the appended claims.