Patent Publication Number: US-2004050745-A1

Title: Bag for vacuum sealing an item within

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] This invention relates to a bag capable of vacuum sealing at least one item within the bag and allowing a user to identify the item within the bag.  
       [0003] 2. General Background and State of the Art  
       [0004] There are many types of bags available that allow a user to extract air within the bag so that perishable items such as meat, fruit, and pasta stay fresh longer in the bag. These bags are generally formed from two panels where the outer edges are sealed except for one opening end. The user then use the opening end to insert and extract the item from the bag. The two panels are formed from two layers of outer and inner transparent plastic sheets, where the outer layer prevents air from penetrating through the panels and the inner surface is heat sealable with the opposing panel. At least one inner surface of the bag is entirely embossed to form air channels that allow air to flow from the areas within the bag during the vacuuming process. The air channels are designed to prevent the two panels from collapsing onto themselves when suction is applied so that no air gets trapped between the two panels. Once the air is removed from the bag, the opening end is heat sealed to vacuum seal the bag. This way, the item within the bag stays fresher for a longer period of time so that it may be enjoyed later.  
       [0005] One of the drawbacks of current vacuum bags is that the entire inner surface of one or both panels are embossed to form the air channels so that at least one panel is opaque. This means that the item in the bag may not be clearly seen through the embossed panel. Another drawback with current vacuum bags is that it is difficult to keep items separated within the bag. For example, with left over spaghetti, the pasta and the sauce either needs to be combined into one bag or use two bags to keep the items separated. When both the pasta and sauce are put into one bag, and served later, the combination may not look pleasing. On the other hand, when one bag is used to hold the pasta and a second bag is used to hold the sauce, one or both of the bags may be misplaced.  
       INVENTION SUMMARY  
       [0006] This invention provides a bag adapted to vacuum seal an item and allow the user to see through the bag so that the item within the bag may be later identified. This may be accomplished by providing a bag with two panels, a first panel and a second panel, that may be sealed along the outer edges except for at least one opening end. A portion of the interior surfaces of the two panels may be embossed to form air channels to remove the air within the bag. For example, the first panel may be embossed on one-half of the bag where the air channels may extend into the depth of the bag from the opening end. The second panel may be embossed on the other one-half of the bag where air channels may extend into the depth of the bag from the opening end. With this arrangement, both the first and second panels of the bag may have a portion that is embossed and the remaining portion that is transparent for identifying the content or item in the bag. The portion of the panels that is embossed may vary from embossing substantial portion along the opening end of the bag to less than one-half along the opening end of the bag.  
       [0007] The bag may also include a divider panel between the first and second panels. The divider panel may be sealed along the outer edges of the bag along with the first and second panels forming two storage areas. The first storage area may be formed between the first panel and the divider panel, and the second storage area may be formed between the second panel and the divider panel. With this bag, two items may be stored in the bag but separated from each other. For instance, spaghetti pasta may be stored in the first storage area and the spaghetti sauce may be stored in the second storage area.  
       [0008] Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
     [0009] The invention can be better understood with reference to the following figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.  
     [0010]FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the bag adapted to vacuum seal an item within the bag.  
     [0011]FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view along the line  1 B- 1 B in FIG. 1A.  
     [0012]FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of the bag in FIGS. 1A and 1B after the bag has been sealed.  
     [0013]FIG. 3 is a top view of an embossment having square protrusions to form air channels there between.  
     [0014]FIG. 4 is a top view of an embossment having triangular protrusions forming air channels there between.  
     [0015]FIG. 5 is a top view of an embossment having circular protrusions forming air channels there between.  
     [0016]FIG. 6 is a top view of an embossment having pentagon protrusions forming air channels there between.  
     [0017]FIG. 7 is a top view of an embossment having pyramid protrusions forming air channels there between.  
     [0018]FIG. 8 is a cross section view of the left side of the bag showing the second panel having saw-tooth like embossment.  
     [0019]FIG. 9 is a prospective view of the second panel showing the saw-tooth like embossment extending along the length of the bag.  
     [0020]FIG. 10 is a cross section view of the left side of the bag showing the second panel having sine wave like embossment.  
     [0021]FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the opening of the bag illustrating the embossment formed on portions of the first and second panels.  
     [0022]FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the opening of the bag showing the embossment formed on the outer edges of the bag.  
     [0023]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the bag illustrating a divider between the first and second panels.  
     [0024]FIG. 14 is a cross section view of the bag illustrating an embossment layer over the inner layer of the bag.  
     [0025]FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the encircled area  15  in FIG. 14.  
     [0026]FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the bag illustrating a divider between the first and second panel.  
     [0027]FIG. 17 is a side view of the bag illustrating a line of weakness along the center of the bag.  
     [0028]FIG. 18 is a perspective view of another bag adapted to vacuum seal an item within the bag.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0029]FIG. 1A illustrates a bag  10  capable of substantially vacuum sealing items within the bag. The bag  10  has a width “W” and a length “L” formed from a first panel  12  and a second panel  14  coupled to each other along the outer edges  16  except for the opening end  18 . The opposite end of the opening  18  of the bag may be provided with an opening as well. The bag  10  may have various outer configuration such as a rectangular shape as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, however, the bag  10  may also have other configuration such as square, half-circular, and triangular configurations. The opening may be also formed along the longitudinal side L rather than on the width side as shown in FIG. 1A. The coupling the two panels  12  and  14  may be done through heat sealing along the outer edges  16  of the two panels together. Within the bag  10 , air channels  20  may be formed on the interior side of the first panel  12 , and air channels  22  may be formed on the interior side of the second panel  14 . The air channels may be formed by embossing the first and second panels  12  and  14  so that protrusions may be formed, and between the protrusions channels  20  and  22  may be formed. The air channels  20  and  22  are adapted to provide paths to remove the air within the bag during the vacuuming process. The configuration of the air channels  20  and  22  may vary as discussed later. Note that the embossments on the bag  10  are shown for illustration purpose and are not drawn to scale.  
     [0030]FIG. 1B illustrates the two panels  12  and  14  separated from each other before the vacuuming process. And FIG. 2 illustrates the two panels  12  and  14  substantially adjacent to each other during and after the vacuuming process. FIGS. 1B and 2 also illustrate enlarge cross-sectional views of the second panel  14  having two layers, an outer layer  24  and an inner layer  26 . The inner layer  26  may be formed from a heat sealable thermoplastic material, and the outer layer  26  may be formed from a gas-impermeable material to provide a barrier against the influx of air to the interior of the bag  10  after it has been sealed. A variety of materials may be used for the inner layer  26  such as polyethylene that is food safe but does not provide an oxygen barrier, and may not provide sufficient mechanical strength for vacuum bag applications. To compensate for this, the outer layer  24  may be made of polyester or polyamide (nylon) that has good mechanical properties, and provides a good oxygen barrier. The outer layer may be formed from other materials such as waxed sheet material, suitable coated cellulous acetate film, suitably coated regenerated cellulose film, rubber hydrochloride film that is a rubber hydrochloride film, polyvinyl films, metal foil, and laminated materials such as polyethylene-cellulose acetate, polyethylene-regenerated cellulose, or triple laminates. The first panel  12  may be also formed of two layers  24  and  26  similar to the second panel  14 . U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 34,929 and 2,778,171 are hereby both incorporated by reference into this application. The first and second panels may be also formed from Notran® Film manufactured by SK Corporation, and other materials known to one skilled in the art.  
     [0031]FIG. 2 also illustrates at least a portion of the second panel  14  may be embossed to form the channels  22  between the protrusions  28 . As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the bag  10  may be divided into different portions such as a first portion  13  of the bag  10  that may be a left one-half width or along the opening  18  of the bag  10 , and a second portion  15  that may be a right one-half width or along the opening  18  of the bag  10 . In this example, the first panel  12  may be embossed along the second portion  15 , and the second panel  14  may be embossed along the first portion  13 . Alternatively, the first panel  12  may be embossed along the first portion  13 , and the second panel  14  may be embossed along the second portion  15  of the width or opening  18  of the bag. The embossing formed on the first and second panels may extend along the length of the bag  10 . Another alternative is to have the opening formed along the longitudinal side “L” of the bag  10 , and have the embossing running along the width of the bag  10 .  
     [0032] As illustrated in FIG. 2, during the vacuuming process, the protrusions  28  may bear against the first panel  12  but the channels  22  may remain substantially open to provide paths for air within the bag to be withdrawn through the opening end  18 . The channels  20  formed on the first panel  12  may also provide paths for air to evacuate through the opening end  18  during the vacuuming process. As illustrated in FIGS.  3  to  7 , the embossing on the panels may have a variety of configurations so that the protrusions may have shapes such as a square, rectangle, triangle, circular, and pentagon, or any other configuration known to one skilled in the art. These shapes may be also combined with one another, such as having a embossing with a combination of triangular shape protrusions and circular protrusions.  
     [0033]FIG. 8 illustrates that the portion of the second panel  14  may have saw tooth like configuration where the channels  22 ′ are formed between the protrusions  28 ′. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the channels  22 ′ may run longitudinally along the length of the bag  10 . FIG. 10 illustrates that the embossment may have a sinusoidal shape as well where the channels  22 ″ are formed between the protrusions  28 ″.  
     [0034]FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate that the embossment may be formed along any portion of the first and second panels  12  and  14  along the width of the bag  10  or its opening end  18 . For instance, in FIG. 11, embossing may be formed near the outer edges  27  of the first panel  12  with the center portion  29  being substantially planer. On the second panel  14 , the center portion  29  of the panel  14  may be embossed with the outer edges  27  being substantially planer. FIG. 12 illustrate that not every portion of the bag  10  along the width needs to be embossed. In FIG. 12, the first panel  12  may be embossed along the right edge portion  31 , and the second panel  14  may be embossed along the left edge portion  33 , which leaves the center portion  29  of the bag  10  without any embossment. This allows the item(s) within the bag to be later identified through the transparent panels  12  and  14 . In many instances, air pockets form along the outer edges during the vacuuming process, and few if any may form along the center portion of the bag. This is mainly due to positioning the item within the bag along the center portion of the bag, and with items having irregular shapes, gaps are formed between the bag and the item that provide paths for air to be withdrawn from the bag. As such, most if not all of the air within the bag may be withdrawn from the air channels formed along the outer edges of the bag  10 .  
     [0035]FIG. 13 illustrates a bag  30  having a divider  32  between the first panel  12  and the second panel  14  adapted to hold two items within the bag  30  and keep the items separated. The divider may be coupled to the first and second panels  12  and  14  along the outer edge  16  of the bag  30 . The divider  32  forms two pockets: a first pocket  38  defined by the first panel  12  and the divider  32 , and a second pocket  40  defined by the second panel  14  and the divider  32 . The divider  32  may have embossing on both sides where the embossing  34  may be formed on the side facing the first panel  12 , and the embossing  36  may be formed on the side facing the second panel  14 . The embossings  34  and  36  may be formed along any portion of the divider  32  along the opening end. For instance, the embossing  34  may be formed on the left one-half side of the divider  32 , and the embossing  36  may be formed on the right one-half side of the divider  32 . And as discussed above, the embossing may be formed near the outer portion(s) or along the center portion of the divider  32 . With the divider  32 , at least two items may be vacuum sealed within the bag  30  and kept separated.  
     [0036]FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate another bag  40  having the outer and inner layers  24  and  26 , and including an embossed layer  42  over the approximate one-half left side of the inner layer  26  of the second panel  14 , and an embossed layer  44  over the approximate one-half right side of the inner layer  26  of the first panel  12 . With the embossing layers  42  and  44 , more stiffness may be provided to the bag  40  for strength. The embossing layers  42  and  44  may be adapted to heat sealable to the respective exposed inner layer  26  of the opposite panels  12  and  14 . For instance, the embossed layer  42  on the left side of the bag  40  may be heat sealable to the left side of inner layer  26  of the second panel  14 , and the embossed layer  44  on the right side of the bag  40  may be heat sealable to the right side of the inner layer  26  of the first panel  14 . With the embossed layers  42  and  44  being heat sealable, the inner layer  26  may be made of material that is safe for food products but not heat sealable. To ensure a complete heat seal between the first and second panels  12  and  14 , the embossed layers  42  and  44  may extend more than one-half of the width of the bag  40  so that the embossed layers  42  and  44  overlap when heat sealed.  
     [0037]FIG. 16 illustrates a bag  50  having a divider  52  between the first panel  12  and the second panel  14  adapted to hold two items within the bag  50  and keep the items separated. The divider  52  may be coupled to the first and second panels  12  and  14  along the outer edge  16  of the bag  60 . The first and second panels may not be embossed so that the two panels are transparent, but at least a portion or all of the divider  52  may be embossed on both sides to provide air channels in a first pocket  54  and a second pocket  56 . The first pocket  54  may be defined by the first panel  12  and the divider  52 , and a second pocket  56  may be defined by the second panel  14  and the divider  52 . With two pockets, items may be separated from each other to keep them fresh. Even with two pockets, only one pocket may be used with the other pocket being empty. For better marking, first pocket  54  may be used to vacuum seal an item and the second pocket  56  may be inserted with a piece of paper with information that defines the item in the second pocket, along with the date the item was stored in the first pocket and the expiration date of the item, for example. The bag  50  may have more than two pockets by adding additional panels and dividers to the bag. And where the second pocket is specifically designed to hold a piece of paper for providing information about the item in the first pocket, the divider wall may not need the embossing on the side that is facing the second panel  14 .  
     [0038]FIG. 17 illustrates a bag  60  having a first pocket  62  and a second pocket  64 . The two pockets  62  and  64  may be formed from the two panels  12  and  14  sealed along the edges  16 . The two pockets  62  and  64  may be coupled together along the centerline  66  that runs along the width of the bag  60 . To keep the items stored in the two pockets separated, a heat seal may be formed between the two openings  62  and  64 , such as along the centerline  66 . This way, two items may be kept separated but together for use later. The bag  60  may be also formed with a line of weakness along the centerline  66  so that the first and second pockets  62  and  64  may be separated from each other along the line of weakness by pulling the two pockets away from each other. This way, when only one pocket is need, a user may tear the first pocket away from the second pocket. The bag  60  may have air channels formed within the pocket in a variety of ways as discussed above.  
     [0039]FIG. 18 illustrate another bag  70  capable of substantially vacuum sealing items within the bag. The bag  70  has a width “W” and a length “L” formed from a first panel  12 ′″ and a second panel  14 ′″ coupled to each other along the outer edges  16  except for the opening end  18 . With the bag  70 , the first and second panels  12 ′″ and  14 ′″ may be formed from two layers: the outer and inner layers  24  and  26 , where the outer layer  24  may be substantially planer along their entire outer surfaces and the inner layer  26  may have protrusions that form channels  20  and  22  between the protrusions.  
     [0040] While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.