RELEASABLE DISPENSER CONTAINER

Abstract: A flexible dispenser/container comprises a flexible pouch (1) formed of flexible plastics material and having an aperture (2) in one face of the pouch for dispensing objects therefrom; a flap (3) of flexible material secured at one end to the said face of the pouch for releasably sealing the aperture in that face by means of the action of the releasable adhesive (4) between the flap and the outer surface of the pouch; a further sheet (6) of flexible plastics material being attached to the undersurface of the said face to underlie the whole area of the aperture in that face, the further sheet being provided with an aperture corresponding to the aperture in the major face of the pouch but of such dimensions that an inner rim (7) of the said further sheet material extends inwardly of the margins of the aperture in the said face.

Description: RESEALABLE DISPENSER CONTAINER This invention is concerned with improvements in and relating to resealable flexible dispenser/containers, especially for sheet-like materials. A variety of flexible dispenser/containers for sheet-like materials have been proposed, particularly for containing and dispensing moistened or dampened sheets of material for cosmetic, toilet or cleaning purpose. In essence, such containers generally comprise a pouch formed of flexible plastics material having, in one face thereof, an aperture for dispensing sheets contained in the pouch, and a resealable closure overlying the aperture, resealing generally being effected by means of a releasable adhesive. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved resealable container of the sort described above. Basically, the invention provides a flexible dispenser/container comprising a flexible pouch formed of flexible plastics sheet material and having an aperture in one face of the pouch for dispensing objects therefrom; a flap of flexible material secured at one SUBSTITUTESHEET end to the said face of the pouch for releasably sealing the aperture in that face by means of the action of a releasable adhesive between the flap and the outer surface of the pouch; a further sheet of flexible plastics material being attached to the undersurface of the said face to underlie the whole of the area of the aperture in that face, the further sheet being provided with an aperture corresponding to the aperture in the major face of the pouch but of such dimensions that an inner rim of the said further sheet material extends inwardly of the margins of the aperture in the said face. The inner rim of flexible material provided by the further sheet attached to the underside of the face of the pouch serves to minimise possible contamination, by liquid present on the contents to be dispensed from the container.of that part of the outer surface of the pouch which serves to bond with the closure flap by means of the releasable adhesive, by liquid present on the material to be dispensed from the container. The aperture in the said further sheet may simply be cut out and the material therefrom discarded. However, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the aperture in the further sheet is formed as a flap which is, in turn, bonded to the flap serving to close the aperture in the pouch. This arrangement serves two purposes. Firstly, the sealing flap is SUBSTITUTESHEET thereby securely bonded to the pouch as a whole and, secondly, the undersurface of the sealing flap is provided, at that area where it may come into contact with the contents of the container, with a layer of impervious material masking any adhesive thereon. In order that the invention may be well understood reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of container in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a cross-section on the line I-I, through the container shown in Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a perspective view of a modified embodiment of container in accordance with the invention. As shown in Figure 1, a container in accordance with the invention comprises a pouch 1 formed of flexible plastics material which may be of monolayer or multilayer construction. An aperture 2 is formed in upper face of the pouch for dispensing the contents of the pouch. A sealing flap 3, which commonly takes the form of a label bearing information as to the contents of the container, is bonded at one end to the surface of the pouch and is provided on its undersurface with a SUBSTITUTESHEET layer of releasable adhesive 4, partially masked by masking layer 5 bonded to the adhesive 4. Typically, the adhesive 4 will be a pressure sensitive release adhesive. A further layer 6 (see Figures 1 and 2) is attached to the undersurface of the upper face of pouch 1 by being bonded thereto and has an aperture formed therein but of smaller dimensions than aperture 2 in the upper face of the pouch, whereby a rim 7 of the further sheet extends around the inside margin of aperture 2. This, as noted above, serves to protect the surface of the pouch 1 immediately adjacent the aperture 2 from contamination with any liquid present in or on the contents of the container. The further sheet 6 is also formed of flexible plastics material, and may, as shown in Figure 2, at 6' , overlay the edges of a stack of sheets in the pouch. As will be appreciated, the container is sealed by closing flap 3 over aperture 2 whereby it is temporarily bonded by means of adhesive 4. Similarly the container is opened by releasing flap 3. The embodiment of container shown in Figure 3 of the drawings also comprises a pouch 1 having an aperture 2 sealed by flap 3 provided with an underlayer of adhesive 4. Similarly, in the case of the container shown in Figure 3 a further sheet 6 of flexible plastics material SUBSTITUTESHEET is attached to the underside of the surface of pouch 1 and is provided with an aperture corresponding with but of somewhat lesser dimensions than aperture 2, whereby to provide a rim 7 around the inner margins of aperture 2. In this case, however, the further sheet 6 is attached to the pouch 1 by extending to and being incorporated in, the transverse end seals defining the end of pouch 1. Further, in the case of the embodiment of Figure 3, that portion of the further sheet 6 which has been cut out to form the aperture in that sheet is not fully severed from the sheet but takes the form of a flap 8 which is adhered to the underside of closure flap 3, by means of adhesive 4, and serves to firmly hold one end of flap 3 to the body of the container. Operation of the device of Figure 3, of course, similar to that of the container of Figures 1 and 2. SUBSTITUTESHEET

Claims: CLAIMS : 1. A flexible dispenser/container comprising a flexible pouch (1) formed of flexible plastics material and having an aperture (2) in one face of the pouch for dispensing objects therefrom; a flap (3) of flexible material secured at one end to the said face of the pouch for releasably sealing the aperture in that face by means of the action of the releasable adhesive (4) between the flap and the outer surface of the pouch; a further sheet (6) of flexible plastics material being attached to the undersurface of the said face to underlie the whole of the are of the aperture in that face, the further sheet being provided with an aperture corresponding to the aperture in the major face of the pouch but of such dimensions that an inner rim (7) of the said further sheet material extends inwardly of the margins of the aperture in the said face. 2. A flexible dispenser/container as claimed in claim 1 in which the aperture in the said further sheet is formed as a flap (8) which is, in turn, bonded to the flap serving to close the aperture in the pouch. SUBSTITUTESHEET

Inventors: ANDERSSON THOMAS, ANDERSSON, THOMAS
Applicants: ANDERSSON THOMAS, JEYES GROUP PLC, ANDERSSON, THOMAS
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B65D75
IPC codes: B65D75