Patent Publication Number: US-6662829-B2

Title: Process for the manufacture and delivery of small beverage pouches

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/217,820, filed on Aug. 12, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,874, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/547,089, filed on Apr. 11, 2000, abandoned. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to fluid pouches and more particularly relates to pouches intended for small amounts of a beverage, such as syrups or concentrates, and a method for the delivery and the use of these pouches. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Various types of plastic pouches have long been used in the beverage industry to deliver liquids such as syrups or concentrates for carbonated soft drinks, juices, sports drinks, and similar types of beverages. The most common design for the delivery and use of such beverages is a “bag-in-box” package. As the name implies, a bag-in-box package usually includes a pouch positioned within a corrugated box. The pouch is usually a single or a multi-ply thermoplastic bag with a spout and an internal dip strip. The pouch is formed with the internal dip strip and then filled with the beverage through the spout. The pouch generally holds about one (1) to about five (5) gallons with about five (5) gallons of syrup being a common size. A valve with an attached cap is then installed within the spout so as to seal the pouch. The pouch is then placed within the corrugated box. The box is sealed and shipped to the customer. 
     Upon delivery of the package to the customer, the customer opens one end of the box and attaches a suction line from the dispensing equipment to the valve of the pouch. The pouch generally stays within the box during use. The box functions to support and protect the pouch while the beverage is being drained from the pouch. Likewise, the dip strip provides a liquid pathway within the pouch. The dip strip prevents the pouch from falling upon itself and cutting off access to the valve. Examples of known bag-in-box designs include commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,893,732; 4,998,990; and 5,147,071, all entitled “Collapsible Bag With Evacuation Pathway And Method For Making The Same”. The disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference. 
     One drawback with the known bag-in-box package designs is that most packages are simply too big for lower volume customers. The customer may not be able to consume all of the beverage in the package before the recommended expiration date. As a result, some of the beverage may be wasted. Likewise, the total cost of the typical beverage delivered in a bag-in-box package may be too expensive for a lower volume customer. This expense may be related to the cost of the beverage itself, the cost of the bag-in-box package, or the cost of delivering the package to the customer. It may not make economic sense for such a customer to purchase a beverage in a bag-in-box format if the beverage will not be consumed in time, if the packaging costs are too high, or if the delivery costs are too high. 
     What is needed, therefore, is a means for the delivery and use of smaller of amounts of beverages than is currently available with conventional bag-in-box designs. The means should be able to provide beverages, such as syrups and concentrates, to lower volume customers in a practical, efficient, but inexpensive manner. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a pouch for dispensing a beverage. The pouch includes a pair of opposing walls with a first half and a second half. A valve is inserted within one of the walls at the first half of the pouch. The valve is configured to be operable with conventional beverage dispenser equipment. The pouch also includes various elements for hanging the pouch by its second half such that the pouch may be hung and dispense the beverage through the valve. 
     Specific embodiments of the present invention include the walls being substantially rectangular in shape. The walls may be made from a single or a multiple ply thermoplastic material. The material may be a linear low density polyethylene. The walls may be made from one or more sheets of material. If two sheets are used, the walls may include a first edge, a second edge, a third edge, and a fourth edge. The walls are heat-sealed along these edges. If multiple sheets are used, the sheets of material form a first edge, a second edge, third edge, and a base. The walls are heat-sealed together along these edges and the base. 
     The hanging elements may include a hanging hole positioned within the second half of the walls. The hanging hole may be positioned within the heat seal. The hanging hole may include a metal or plastic reinforcing layer or a connector positioned therein. The hanging elements also may include a rod seam or a hook fitment. 
     The method of the present invention provides for the use of a fluid pouch. The method includes the steps of inserting a valve into a first end of the pouch; forming the pouch along a first side, a second side, and a third side; filing the pouch with a fluid through a fourth side; sealing the fourth side of the pouch; delivering the pouch to a customer; hanging the pouch by a second end; and attaching a beverage dispenser line to the valve. The delivery step also may include shipping the pouch by mail or by a package delivery service. The method may further include the steps of placing one or more pouches in a delivery box before the delivery step and then removing the pouches from the delivery box after the delivery step. The method may further include the step of draining the fluid from the pouch via the valve. 
     A further method of the present invention provides for the use of a fluid pouch. The method includes the steps of forming the pouch from multiple sheets of material along a base, a first side, and a second side; filing the pouch with a fluid through a third side; inserting a valve into the third side of the pouch; sealing the third side of the pouch; delivering the pouch to a customer; hanging the pouch; and attaching a beverage dispenser line to the valve. 
     Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings and the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pouch of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the pouch of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the pouch of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the pouch of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the pouch of the present invention with a delivery hook and a beverage dispenser line. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows a pouch  100  of the present invention. The pouch  100  may be substantially rectangular in shape. The pouch  100  may be formed from two (2) opposing sheets of material, an upper wall  110  and a bottom wall  120 . (The use of the terms “upper” and “lower” is meant as a description of the relative relationship of the walls as opposed to an actual physical position.) 
     The walls  110 ,  120  of the pouch  100  may be made from a conventional thermoplastic material. Further, the walls  110 ,  120  may be a single ply or a multiple ply material. A preferred wall  110 ,  120  may have two plies of material, an inner ply and an outer ply. The inner ply may be a web of two (2) mil linear low density polyethylene (“LLDPE”) or similar materials. The outer ply may be a four (4) mil co-extrusion layer of LLDPE/nylon/LLDPE, with tie layers on each side of the nylon, or similar materials. The two (2) LLDPE layers are preferably about 1.4 mil, the nylon about 1.0 mil, and the tie layers about 0.1 mil. The pouch  100  may hold about one (1) to about three (3) liters or so of a beverage. The pouch  100  may be about six (6) to about fourteen (14) inches in length and about five (5) to about ten (10) inches in width. The pouch  100 , however, may be manufactured in any convenient size or shape. 
     The walls  110 ,  120  are sealed together in a conventional fashion such that the pouch  100  has a first edge  130 , a second edge  140 , a third edge  150 , and a fourth edge  160 . A heat seal  165  may be formed along the edges  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160 . One of the walls  110 ,  120  has a hole  170  punched therein with a valve  180  positioned within the hole  170 . The valve  180  is generally heat sealed into place within the wall  120 ,  130 . The valve  180  is generally closed with a cap  190 . A spout is generally not used herein. 
     One of the edges  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160  preferably has a hanging hole  200  positioned therein. The hanging hole  200  may be a hole in the material of the pouch  100 , preferably along the heat seal  165 . The size of the heat seal  165  may be increased in the vicinity of the hanging hole  200  or multiple heat seals  165  may be applied such that the hanging hole  200  can support the pouch  100  without pulling or tearing. The hanging hole  200  may be re-enforced with a metal or plastic layer. The pouch  100  may be hung directly by the hanging hole  200 . Further, a connector  202  or some similar structure may be inserted within the hanging hole  200  such that the pouch  100  also may be hung by the connector  202 . The connector  202  may be in the form of a hook, a ring, or the like capable of supporting the pouch  100 . The pouch  100  may have any number of hanging holes  200  and connectors  202 . 
     The pouch  100  may be manufactured by the “form, fill, and seal” method. This method is in contrast to the usual method of filling a pre-made bag-in-box pouch through the spout of the formed pouch. The form, fill, and seal method includes the steps of heat sealing the second edge  140 , the third edge  150 , and the fourth edge  160  of the walls  110 ,  120  in a conventional manner (the “form” step). The valve  180  is generally inserted into one of the walls  110 ,  120  before the forming step. The pouch  100  is then filled with a beverage  205  through the unsealed first edge  130  (the “fill” step). The first edge  130  is then sealed to form the pouch  100  (the “seal” step). Alternatively, the pouch  200  may be completely sealed and then filled through the valve  180 . The hanging hole  200  may then be inserted within the heat seal  165  of the first edge  130 . Alternatively, the hanging hole  200  could have been inserted into any of the edges  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160  at any time before the final sealing step. 
     FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a gusset pouch  210 . The gusset pouch  210  is made from one or more sheets  220  of a thermoplastic material. The gusset pouch  210  also may be created and filled in the form, fill, and seal method. The sheets  220  are arranged so as to form an upper panel  230 , a lower panel  240 , and a base panel  250 . The base panel  250  is heat sealed to the upper and lower panels  230 ,  240 . The upper and lower panels  230 ,  240  form a first edge  260 , a second edge  270 , and a third edge  280 . The second and third edges  270 ,  280  of the pouch  210  also are heat-sealed together in a conventional manner. Alternatively, the pouch  210  may be constructed from a single sheet  220  of material that is folded to form the panels  230 ,  240 ,  250 . The pouch  210  is then filled with a beverage  285  through the first edge  260 . A valve  290  is inserted along the first edge  260  and the first edge  260  and the valve  290  are heat sealed together. Alternatively, the pouch  210  may be completely sealed and then filled with the beverage through the valve  290 . The valve  290  is generally enclosed with a cap  300 . A hanging hole  310  may be positioned within a beat seal  305  along the second edge  270 , the third edge  280 , or surrounding the base panel  250 . The hanging hole  310  thus supports the alternative pouch  210  without pulling or tearing. 
     FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of the present invention. Instead of a hanging hole  200 ,  310 , a pouch  320  has a rod seam  330  formed therein. The rod seam  330  may be formed by heat sealing a substantially rectangular strip of material  340  along its edges  350  to one wall  360 ,  365  of the pouch  320  via heat seal  367 . Alternatively, the heat seal  367  forming the walls  360 ,  365  could simply be repeated with a space in between such that the seam  330  is created. 
     FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of the present invention. An alternative pouch  370  has a hook fitment  380 . The hook fitment  380  is positioned within a heat seal  385  or otherwise attached to one of the walls  390 ,  395  of the pouch  370  by conventional means. The hook fitment  380  acts in a similar manner to the hanging holes  200 ,  310  or the rod seam  330  in that the hook fitment  380  can support the alternative pouch  370  with pulling or tearing 
     After the pouch  100 ,  210 ,  320 ,  370  (hereinafter “pouch  100 ”) has been formed, filled, and sealed, the pouch  100  is delivered to the customer. Although the pouch  100  could be delivered to the customer in the conventional manner, i.e., delivered directly to the customer by a delivery truck or similar means, the pouch  100  generally is small enough such that it may be sent to the customer via the mail or via conventional types of package delivery services. The pouch  100  may be shipped in a delivery box  400  or in any conventional type of delivery package that would prevent the pouch  100  from being punctured or otherwise damaged in transit. The delivery box  400  need not be the rigid corrugated normally associated with bag-in-box packages. More than one pouch  100  per box  400  may be sent to a customer at a time. 
     As is shown in FIG. 5, after the customer receives the pouch  100 , the customer removes the pouch or pouches  100  from the delivery box  400  and hangs the pouch  100  on a hook  410  via the hanging hole  200 ,  310 , the connector  202 , or the hook fitment  380 . Alternatively, a rod could be used with the rod seam  330 . The customer then attaches a line  420  leading to a conventional beverage dispenser  430  to the valve  180 . The beverage  205 ,  285  then drains from the pouch  100  such that the beverage dispenser  430  provides a carbonated soft drink, juice, or the like in a conventional manner. The valve  180  is configured to be operable with the beverage dispenser  430 . 
     Because the pouch  100  is hung from the hook  410 , the pouch  100  does not need a conventional dip strip positioned therein. Likewise, the pouch  100  does not need to remain in its box  400  as in typical bag-in-box designs. The use of the hook  410  to provide a gravity feed ensures that the beverage  205 ,  285  will flow out of the pouch  100  without blockage or delay. Further, because the pouch  100  is manufactured according to the form, fill, and seal method, a conventional spout is not needed. Finally, because the pouch  100  is relatively small, the pouch  100  can be sent through the mail or other conventional types of delivery services in an economically reasonable fashion. 
     The present invention thus provides an inexpensive means to deliver smaller amounts of beverages, such as syrups, concentrates, or other fluids, to customers than is currently possible with known bag-in box designs. Not only is the pouch  100  smaller, but the pouch  100  requires less material, fewer elements, and less cost to construct and use than is possible with known bag-in-box designs. The pouch  100  herein allows smaller customers the same benefits of a bag-in-box packages without the usual cost, size, or expense. 
     It should be understood that the foregoing relates only to the preferred embodiments of the present invention and that numerous changes may be made herein without departing from the general spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.