Patent Publication Number: US-2007122067-A1

Title: Pouch with widened seal for elongated diagonal cut

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/737,802, filed Nov. 18, 2005, which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The invention is directed to an improvement in what is known as “pouch” or “pouch-style” packages. Pouch packages are the well-known type of dispensing packages that are used, for example, in the packaging of condiments such as ketchup as may be found at typical fast-food restaurants. Pouch packages are formed of thin films (e.g., of aluminum foil or foil/plastic laminates) sealed together to form a containment pouch for a product to be dispensed. The product to be dispensed is contained within the pouch package until the package is opened, for example by tearing.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,030 relates to pouch packages and explains their universal use. It states, at col. 1, lines 44-48, “The universal use of pouch style packages for a broad spectrum of products ranging from ketchup and other condiments to health and beauty aids as well as medical products in addition to various other foods and technical products is well known.” U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,030 discloses layered films and aperture forming means for pouch packages. U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,030 also discloses the formation of preformed bulges in pouches to increase product containment capacity, reduce materials costs and/or eliminate wrinkles in the pouches. U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,030 is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.  
      Regular pouches often have tear directions written on the end corner of the pouch and depend on a serrated cut at the end to start the tear. An example is shown in  FIG. 1 . The pouch  1  in  FIG. 1  has an edge seal  3  which extends around all four edges of the pouch  1 . The edge seals on the two side edges (the right and left edges) of the pouch are substantially uniform in width and may have substantially the same width as each other. The edge seals on the top and bottom edges of the pouch may also be substantially uniform in width and may have substantially the same width as each other. The edge seals on the top and bottom edges of the pouch may also have substantially the same width as the edge seals on the side edges of the pouch. The pouch  1  has tear directions written on the end corner. However, forming a tear in this prior art package is often difficult and is not directionally controlled.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      A pouch-style containment package for containing and dispensing products is provided, comprising a front film and a back film sealed to the front film along a series of edge seals. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the pouch-style containment package comprises a widened seal portion extending inwardly from a first edge seal of the series of edge seals and an elongated diagonal cut extending substantially across the first edge seal and into the widened seal portion. The widened seal portion and elongated diagonal cut facilitate simple, directionally controlled tearing.  
      The series of edge seals may comprise edge seals at two side edges and top and bottom edges of the pouch. The edge seals at the two side edges of the pouch may be substantially uniform in width and substantially the same width as each other. Similarly, the edge seals at the top and bottom edges of the pouch may be substantially uniform in width and substantially the same width as each other. The edge seals at the two side edges and the top and bottom edges of the pouch may be substantially the same width as each other.  
      The widened seal portion may extend inwardly from one of the side edge seals, the top seal, or the bottom seal. More than one widened seal portion may be provided, extending from any combination of these seals. The elongated cut may extend substantially across the edge seal from which the widened seal area extends, and the elongated cut may extend into the widened seal portion. The elongated cut may extend substantially across the widened seal portion.  
      The width of the widened edge seal may be substantially the same as, greater than, or less than the width of the edge seal from which it extends.  
      In an embodiment of the invention, a pouch-style containment package for containing and dispensing products is provided, comprising a front film and a back film sealed to the front film along a series of edge seals. In accordance with this embodiment, the pouch-style containment package has a preformed bulge in the front film, the back film, or both. The pouch-style containment package comprises a widened seal portion extending inwardly from at least a first edge seal of the series of edge seals and an elongated diagonal cut extending substantially across the first edge seal and into the widened seal portion. In a specific embodiment, the pouch-style containment package comprises a widened seal portion extending inwardly from two edge seals adjacent the corner where the two edge seals meet. The widened seal portion can form a generally triangular shape. An elongated diagonal cut can extend substantially across one of the edge seals and into the widened seal portion. In a specific embodiment, two elongated diagonal cuts can extend substantially across adjacent edge seals into the widened seal portion, facilitating tearing off a generally triangular corner portion. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  shows a prior art pouch.  
       FIG. 2  shows an embodiment of a pouch in accordance with the present invention  
       FIG. 3  shows the pouch of  FIG. 2  with an end corner torn off.  
       FIG. 4  shows a second embodiment of a pouch in accordance with the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  shows the pouch of  FIG. 4  with an end corner torn off. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       FIG. 2  shows an embodiment of a pouch in accordance with the present invention. The pouch may be made of any pouch material known in the art. In the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , pouch-style containment package is rectangular and the series of edge seals comprises four edge seals, with one edge seal extending along each side of the rectangular pouch-style containment package.  
      The pouch shown in  FIG. 2  has an elongated diagonal cut  2  made into a smooth edge seal  4 , with the cut  2  extending well beyond the width that the seal would have if the seal were just the straight seal. However, this cut  2  does not extend into the product containment area of the pouch because the invention includes sealing a small widened portion  6  from the straight seal  4 . The cut  2  extends into this widened seal portion  6 .  
      The cut  2  provides a directional tearing to the pouch. The widened seal portion  6  allows the long cut  2  which facilitates tearing. The invention allows relatively simple and consistent tearing off of the pouch corner to create an outlet.  
      A user of the pouch can simply begin the tear along the cut  2 . The cut  2  provides a direction to the tear and allows the tear to easily continue along the direction of cut  2  across the corner of the pouch.  
       FIG. 3  shows the pouch of  FIG. 2  with an end corner torn off. As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , the tear continued generally in the diagonal direction of the cut  2 . An end corner  8  of the pouch is easily torn off, creating an outlet opening  10  for dispensing the product from the pouch.  
      The edge seals and widened seal portion  6  may be made by any suitable means. For example, heat sealing may be utilized. As persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, this may be accomplished by sealing dies.  
       FIGS. 4 and 5  show another embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 4  shows a pouch-style containment package  20  for containing and dispensing products, comprising a front film and a back film sealed to the front film along a series of edge seals  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 . In accordance with this embodiment, the pouch-style containment package has a preformed bulge  32  in the front film. A bulge may also be formed in the back film. The pouch-style containment package  20  comprises a widened seal portion  25 ,  26  extending inwardly from two edge seals  22 ,  23  adjacent the corner where the two edge seals  22 ,  23  meet. The widened seal portion  25 ,  26  can form a generally triangular shape. A channel  29  is left unsealed. Thus, in the widened seal portion  25 ,  26 , the front film is sealed to the back film, except at the unsealed channel  29 . Two elongated diagonal cuts  27 ,  28  extend substantially across the adjacent edge seals  22 ,  23  into the widened seal portion  25 ,  26 , facilitating tearing off a generally triangular corner portion. The arrangement of the cuts causes the tear to be made across the unsealed channel  29 .  
       FIG. 5  shows the pouch of  FIG. 4  with an end corner torn off. As can be seen in  FIG. 5 , a tear started at cut  27  continued generally in the diagonal direction of the cut  27  and through the cut  28 , which is generally linearly aligned with the cut  27 . With the two cuts  27 ,  28 , the tear may be facilitated by twisting. An end corner  30  of the pouch is easily torn off, creating an outlet opening  31  for dispensing the product from the pouch. Because the tear was directionally controlled across the unsealed channel  29 , the channel  29  serves as a dispensing channel for the product, the dispensing channel ending at the outlet opening  31 .  
      The channel  29  may take various shapes. For example, the channel may be made narrower or wider, longer or shorter. Changes to the channel shape or size can be accomplished by changing the seal areas. For more viscous products, the channel may be wider. For less viscous products, the channel may be narrow to permit a controlled dispensing steam. In fact, the channel may be shaped narrow enough to prevent product from spilling out, allowing product to be dispensed only when finger pressure is applied to squeeze the pouch.  
       FIG. 4  shows the two cuts  27  and  28  generally along the same line as each other. In a variation, the cuts may be angled with respect to each other. For example, the two cuts may be angled such that the imaginary continuations of the cuts intersect at an oblique angle.  
      It will be appreciated that numerous variations may be made to the embodiments shown and described herein. For example, the widened seal portion may extend inwardly from a side edge seal or a top or bottom edge seal or any combination. The size of the widened edge seal may be any suitable size, for example having a width substantially the same as, greater than, or less than the width of the edge seal from which it extends. The shape of the widened edge seal may also vary. The length and direction of the cut may also vary. It need not be straight, but can be curved. The cut may be a series of smaller cut portions, like a dashed line. The word “cut” is used to include continuous or dashed cuts, continuous or dashed notches of various shapes, and the like. Other variations will be readily envisioned based on the disclosure herein.