Transverse direction zipper tape

Abstract: A zipper strip for a reclosable package having a transverse zipper is provided. The zipper strip comprises a male interlocking profile (12) and a female interlocking profile (14). Each profile includes an interlocking member (16,18) and an integral web which defines a leading flange. The leading flanges (22,24) are sealed to thermoplastic film material which is used to make the reclosable packages and to each other. One of leading flanges is provided with a perforation (32) along its length so that it can be separated by pulling the profiles apart.

Description: The present invention relates to reclosable plastic bags and packages of the type in which food products, such as crisps otherwise known as chips and cereal, and other goods are packaged for sale to consumers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a reclosable zipper strip for use in transverse-zippered reclosable plastic bags made on form-fill-seal (FFS) machines. The present invention relates to improvements in the package-making art and may be practiced in the manufacture of thermoplastic bags and packages of the kind that may be used for various consumer products, but which are particularly useful for food products which must be kept in moisture and air-tight packages, free from leakage until initially opened for access to the product contents, which packages are then reclosable by zipper means to protect any remainder of the product therein. The prior art is fairly well-developed, but nevertheless remains susceptible to improvement contributing to increased efficiency and cost effectiveness. In particular the present invention relates to the area of reclosable packaging known as the transverse zipper. When making a bag with a transverse zipper, the zipper is attached transverse to the longitudinal axis of the material used to make the bag, as opposed to being attached to the material parallel to the longitudinal axis. A method and apparatus for making reclosable plastic bags with a transverse zipper on a FFS machine is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,909,017. Prior to the introduction of the transverse zipper to the reclosable packaging field, reclosable plastic bags made on FFS machines were typically made with a longitudinal zipper, i.e. a zipper parallel to the longitudinal axis of the thermoplastic film used to make the bags. However, there are two primary problems with the longitudinal zipper. First, there is a problem in attaining satisfactory sealing of the bags against leakage since the transverse, or side, sealing bars of the FFS machine must flatten and seal the zipper at the same time they are sealing the thermoplastic film from which the packages are being made. The difficulty with which this sealing is consistently and successfully achieved is reflected by the high occurrence of leaking packages. Second, the length of reclosable bags made on FFS machines when the zipper is attached parallel to the longitudinal axis of the thermoplastic film is limited to the diameter of the filling tube of the FFS machine. Thus, generally bags of this type are wider than they are long. While such bags are suitable for certain products where shorter bags are desirable, such as cheese and chicken parts, these bags are not suitable for applications in which longer bags are desirable, for example chips and other snack foods. Among the approaches taken to solve these problems has been the substitution of a transverse zipper for the longitudinal zipper. When a transverse zipper is provided, the transverse sealing bars associated with the FFS machine do not flatten the zipper during formation of the top and bottom seals of the package since the transverse sealing bars may seal the zipper to the thermoplastic sheet material transversely thereacross without contacting the zipper. In addition, when a transverse zipper is used the length of the packages made on the FFS machine can be varied and is not limited to the diameter of the filling tube. The present invention relates to a method for making reclosable bags using zipper-equipped thermoplastic film. A typical zipper strip used in transverse zipper applications has interlocked male and female profiles. Each profile has an interlocking member and a laterally extending web defining a leading flange and a trailing flange on either side of the interlocking member. The zipper strip is initially secured to the thermoplastic film by sealing the leading flange of one of the profiles thereto. This allows the film to carry the zipper strip into the FFS machine where the bag is formed and the final seals are made. The problem with this approach, however, is that the leading flange which is not secured to the film has a tendency to flare out as the film enters the FFS machine and folds around the filling tube. The result of this flaring is that the unsecured leading flange has a tendency either to jam the FFS machine or to become caught on the machine and thereby cause the profiles to separate. While the zipper strip can be made without the second leading flange and thereby avoid this problem, the absence of this second leading flange and its subsequent attachment to the film can result in poor zipper opening mechanics and a weak seal between the zipper strip and the bag when the bag is opened for the first time by pinching the front and rear panels of the bag and pulling them apart (the current practice for opening snack packages). A four-flange seal, that is the male and female leading and trailing flanges being sealed to the bag walls, is the best and most secure method of attaching the zipper. US-A-5085031 describes a method of forming a series of tray containers from plastic sheet film including intermittently continuously advancing a sheet of film, forming pockets in the film by heating and pressure differential across the film, laterally delivering closure strips between the pockets with the closure strips doubled, and having upper and lower layers with rib and groove fastener profiles therebetween, attaching the lower layer of the fastener to the web at the upper and lower edges of the fastener, laying an upper layer of film over the lower layer and attaching it to the lower layer around the edges of the pockets and attaching the upper layer of film to the top edge of the doubled fastener strip with the upper layer of the fastener strip having a tear perforation sealed by a sealing strip below the rib and groove elements. In accordance with the present invention, a method of making reclosable packages comprises the steps of: providing thermoplastic film having a longitudinal axis and advancing said thermoplastic film along said axis in amounts equal in length to that of said packages; providing a length of zipper strip having male and female interlocking profiles; said male profile including a male interlocking member and an integral web defining a male leading flange; said female interlocking profile including a female interlocking member and an integral web defining a female leading flange; wherein one of said leading flanges is provided with a perforation along its length; disposing said length of zipper strip upon said film transversely to said longitudinal axis with one of said profiles positioned above the other of said profiles and said leading flanges directed in the direction of motion of said thermoplastic film each time said film is brought to rest; sealing said lower leading flange to said thermoplastic film on the side of said perforation opposite to said interlocking members, said leading flanges being sealed to each other or being integral with each other on the side of said perforation opposite to said interlocking members; forming the package; and, thereafter sealing said leading flanges to the inner surfaces of opposing package walls on the same side of said perforation as said interlocking members without sealing said leading flanges to each other so that said profiles will be on opposing inner surfaces at the package opening. Said leading flanges may be sealed to each other during the sealing steps of sealing said lower leading flange 22, 24 to said lower thermoplastic film 34. Alternatively, said leading flanges sealed to each other on the side of said perforation 32 opposite to said interlocking members 16, 18 prior to said length of zipper strip 10 being disposed upon said film 34. In a further arrangement said leading flanges 22, 24 are integral with each other and are connected by a nose portion 41, said nose portion being located on the side of said perforation 32 opposite to said interlocking members 16, 18; and, wherein said nose portion 41 is sealed to said thermoplastic film 34 during said sealing steps in which said leading flanges 22, 24 are sealed to said thermoplastic film 34. Typically, the finished bag is opened by pulling outwardly on the bag walls, which pulling results in the breaking of the perforation, thereby separating the profiles, disengagement of the interlocking members, and opening of any top seal, thus giving the consumer access to the interior of the bag. Particular embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a zipper strip for use with the one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of a length of the zipper strip; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the zipper strip being attached to thermoplastic film; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the zipper strip and the thermoplastic film after the leading flanges of the zipper strip have been attached thereto; Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of an alternate zipper strip which may be used to practice the present invention; Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of an alternate zipper strip which may be used to practice the present invention; Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of an alternate zipper strip which may be used to practice the present invention; Figure 8 is a perspective view of an FFS machine used to make transverse-zippered reclosable plastic bags; Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the FFS machine cross-seal jaws disposed to complete the top of a bag and the bottom of a succeeding bag; Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of a sealed completed bag; Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of an open completed bag; and Figure 12 is a cross-sectional of an alternate sealed completed bag. Referring specifically to the figures identified above, Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a zipper strip 10. The zipper strip 10 comprises a male profile 12 and a female profile 14. The profiles 12, 14 are made of a plastic commonly used in the packaging industry, such as polyethylene. The male profile 12 has a male interlocking member 16 which may have an arrow-shaped cross-section, or as shown in Figure 1, an asymmetrical arrow-shaped cross section designed to make the zipper strip 10 easier to open from one side or the other. The female profile 14 includes a female interlocking member 18 comprising two inwardly curving members forming a receptacle or channel into which male interlocking member 16 may be engaged. It should be noted that while these configurations for male and female members 16, 18 are preferred, any configuration which provides for interlocking may be used. The male and female profiles 12, 14 include male and female leading flanges 22, 24 and male and female trailing flanges 26, 28 which are defined by a folded U-shaped web 20 which may be coextruded with male and female interlocking members 16, 18 or extruded separately and attached at a later time. The leading flanges 22, 24 are so called because these flanges first enter the FFS machine after the zipper strip 10 is attached to the thermoplastic film. Ultimately, the leading flanges 22, 24 will reside inward of the mouth of the plastic bag or package manufactured on the FFS machine. The web 20 may be equipped with a heat activated adhesive 30 to aid in the sealing of the zipper strip 10 to the film. Figure 2 is a plan view of a length of the zipper strip 10. As is clear from Figures 1 and 2, the female leading flange 24 is provided with a weak perforation 32 across its length so that the female leading flange 24 may be separated by pulling the profiles 12, 14 apart. As discussed below, the perforation 32 allows the consumer to gain access to the contents of the bag upon first opening the same. Figure 3 depicts how a zipper strip 10 is attached to the thermoplastic film 34 having a longitudinal axis X in accordance with the present invention. The zipper strip 10 is supplied from a continuous roll 35 and is pulled or pushed across the film 34 and disposed thereon by a positioning device 72 (not shown in Figure 3 for clarity). The positioning device 72 can take any of a variety of forms well known to those skilled in the reclosable packaging art, such as a vacuum conveyor for pulling the zipper strip 10 across the film 34 and a knife for cutting the zipper strip 10 from the continuous roll thereof 35. The thermoplastic film 34 is paid off from a continuous roll 36, as shown in Figure 3, in increments equal to the length of the bags which will ultimately be formed from the film 34. The longitudinal axis of the film 34 is parallel to the direction of travel of the film 34. Each time the film 34 comes to rest, the zipper strip 10 is disposed on the film 34 transverse to the longitudinal axis X with one of the profiles on top of the other profile and the leading flanges 22, 24 projecting in the direction of motion of the film 34. The orientation of the profiles depends on which side of the zipper, if any, is adapted to be the opening side. As disclosed in US-A-4,909,017, the zipper strip 10 has a length approximately equal to half the width of the film 34 and is disposed centrally thereon. Heater seal bars 37 are positioned to seal the portions of the leading flanges 22, 24 on the side of the perforation 32 opposite to the interlocking members 16, 18 to the film 34 and to each other. Figure 4 shows a cross section of the zipper strip 10 and the film 34 after the zipper strip 10 has been sealed thereto. The portions of the leading flanges 22, 24 to the left of the perforation are sealed to each other and to the film at 38. Seal 38 may be a spot seal or a full seal across the length of the flanges. The film 34 is thus able to carry the strip 10 into the FFS machine, and the perforation 32 is strong enough such that there is no danger of the perforation 32 breaking and causing female leading flange 24 to flare out and jam the FFS machine or to otherwise get caught in the machine and pull the zipper strip 10 apart. The transverse zipper-equipped material may either be re-rolled for later use on a FFS machine, or may be fed directly into a FFS machine to make reclosable bags. Alternate embodiments of the zipper strip 10 may be used to practice the present invention. Figures 5, 6 and 7 show examples of these alternate embodiments. In Figure 5, the leading flanges 22, 24 are initially separated and are attached to each other at 39, such as by heat sealing or through the use of an adhesive, either in the factory, ahead of the FFS machine, or at the FFS machine. This zipper strip may then be attached to the thermoplastic film in the same manner as the strip of Figure 1. Alternatively, this zipper strip may be disposed on the thermoplastic film with the leading flanges detached, the sealing bars sealing the leading flanges to each other for the first time. In Figure 6, the web 20 is U-shaped as in the embodiment of Figure 1. However, the leading flanges 24, 26 are presealed to each other at 41, which presealed area is sealed to the thermoplastic film. In Figure 7, the web is extruded with a nose 43 which joins the leading flanges 22, 24 and which is sealed to the thermoplastic film. In the third aspect of the present invention, the transverse zipper-equipped film is fed into an FFS machine, as shown in Figure 8. The thermoplastic film 34 is fed downwardly over collar 40 and folded around filling tube 42. The edges of the film are brought together and pressed together by a pair of rollers 44. The edges are then welded together by heater bars 46 to form a longitudinal back seam 48. Contents may then dropped through the tube 42 into the bag 50 which has a lower seam 52. As discussed below, the lower seam 52 was made when the preceding bag was completed. After introduction of the contents, the top of the bag is completed by the action of cross seal jaws 54, which perform five simultaneous functions. First, as shown in Figure 9 which is a cross sectional view of bag 50 and cross seal jaws 54, cross seal jaw portions 60 seal the portions of the leading flanges 22, 24 between the perforation and the interlocking members to the front and back walls 56, 58 of the bag without sealing them to each other. Second, cross seal jaw portions 62 seal the trailing flanges 26, 28 of the zipper strip 10 to the front and back walls 56, 58 without sealing the trailing flanges 26, 28 to each other. The use of the heat activated adhesive 30 makes it possible to seal the flanges to the bag walls 56, 58 without sealing the flanges to each other. Third, cross seal jaw portions 64 seal the top of the bag to form a pilfer evident seal 70. Fourth, cross seal jaw portions 66 make the lower seam 52 for the next succeeding bag. And fifth, knife portions 68 cut the completed bag 50 from the film 34. The completed bag 50 has a pilfer evident seal 70, a transverse zipper 10, a lower seam 54 and a back seam 48. In accordance with the fourth aspect of the present invention, a cross section of the completed bag 50 is shown in Figure 10. Connected male and female profiles 12, 14 are each sealed to the opposite bag walls 56, 58. This four-flange seal, as discussed above, eliminates any zipper pealing problems and opening mechanics problems. A consumer desiring to gain access to the contents of the bag need only pull outwardly on the bag walls 56, 58 as shown by arrows A. This pulling action will first cause perforation 32 to break, thereby separating the profiles 12, 14. Next, the interlocking members 16, 18 will separate. And third, the pilfer evident seal 70 will open. The consumer thus has access to the interior of the bag as shown in Figure 11, which bag may be reclosed by the interlocking of the profiles 12, 14. In an alternate embodiment the zipper strip can be provided at the bottom of the bag 50, as shown in Figure 11. It would be a simple matter to one skilled in the art to modify the operation of the FFS machine, as discussed above, to produce such bags. A consumer would, of course, re-orient the bag during use so that the zipper strip is at the top. However, the vertical orientation of the zipper strip is reversed, resulting in different opening mechanics. When the bag of Figure 11 is initially opened, first the interlocking members 16, 18 separate, then the perforation 32 breaks, and finally the pilfer evident seal 70 opens.

Claims: A method of making reclosable packages comprising the steps of: providing thermoplastic film (34) having a longitudinal axis and advancing said thermoplastic film (34) along said axis in amounts equal in length to that of said packages; providing a length of zipper strip (10) having male and female interlocking profiles (12,14); said male profile (12) including a male interlocking member (16) and an integral web defining a male leading flange (22); said female interlocking profile (14) including a female interlocking member (18) and an integral web defining a female leading flange (24); wherein one of said leading flanges (22,24) is provided with a perforation (32) along its length; disposing said length of zipper strip (10) upon said film (34) transversely to said longitudinal axis with one of said profiles (12,14) positioned above the other of said profiles (14,12) and said leading flanges (22,24) directed in the direction of motion of said thermoplastic film (34) each time said film (34) is brought to rest; sealing said lower leading flange (22,24) to said thermoplastic film (34) on the side of said perforation (32) opposite to said interlocking members (16, 18); said leading flanges being sealed to each other or being integral with each other on the side of said perforation (32) opposite to said interlocking members (16,18); forming the package (50); and, thereafter sealing said leading flanges (22,24) to the inner surfaces of opposing package walls (56,58) on the same side of said perforation (32) as said interlocking members (16,18) without sealing said leading flanges (22,24) to each other so that said profiles (12,14) will be on opposing inner surfaces at the package opening. A method according to claim 1, wherein said leading flanges (22, 24) are sealed to each other during the sealing steps of sealing said lower leading flange (22, 24) to said lower thermoplastic film (34). A method according to claim 1, wherein said leading flanges (22, 24) are sealed to each other on the side of said perforation (32) opposite to said interlocking members (16, 18) prior to said length of zipper strip (10) being disposed upon said film (34). A method according to claim 1, wherein said leading flanges (22, 24) are integral with each other and are connected by a nose portion (41), said nose portion being located on the side of said perforation (32) opposite to said interlocking members (16, 18); and, wherein said nose portion (41) is sealed to said thermoplastic film (34) during said sealing steps in which said leading flanges (22, 24) are sealed to said thermoplastic film (34). A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said package (50) is seamed after it is formed. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said profiles (12, 14) are sealed to the package (50) adjacent its top end. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said profiles (12, 14) are sealed to the package (50) adjacent the bottom end. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said zipper strip (10) is disposed upon said thermoplastic film (34) by moving transversely across said longitudinal axis. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said zipper strip (10) length is substantially equal to one-half the width of said thermoplastic film (34). A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said zipper strip (10) is sealed to said thermoplastic film (34) at the center thereof midway between its longitudinal edges. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of forming the package (50) includes the steps of: folding said thermoplastic film (34) so as to bring the longitudinal edges (48) together; sealing the longitudinal edges (48) to form a package having front and back walls (56, 58); cross sealing said package walls (56, 58) to each other above said zipper strip (10) to form the bottom end of a succeeding package; and, cutting said thermoplastic film (34) between said cross seal (52) and said zipper strip (10) to remove a completed package (50) from said thermoplastic film (34). A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said package (50) is formed by drawing said thermoplastic film (34) forwardly over a tube (42) before joining longitudinal edges (44) of said thermoplastic film (34). A method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the longitudinal edges (44) of said thermoplastic film (34) are joined in a back seam prior to sealing said leading flanges (22, 24) to said package wall inner surfaces (56, 58). The method according to any one of the preceding claims, including the step of cross-sealing said package (50) above said zipper strip (10).

Inventors: MALIN ART, SHARE LAWRENCE, VAN ERDEN DONALD L, MALIN, ART, SHARE, LAWRENCE, VAN ERDEN, DONALD L.
Applicants: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS, ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B65D33
IPC codes: B31B19, B65D75, B65D33