Abstract:
A reclosable animal feed container is disclosed. The reclosable animal feed container comprises a flexible body defining a cavity to contain animal feed and having a closed bottom portion and a top portion; a removable portion coupled to the top portion removable to define an opening that provides access to animal feed contained within the body; and a closure device coupled to the body proximate the top portion and comprising a first deformable member extending from a first side of the body. The opening is reclosable by providing one or more folds to the top portion of the body and bending the first deformable member to engage the first side of the body.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to the field of animal feed bags or containers, and more specifically, to reclosable animal feed bag or container that also includes a quick-release opening feature. 
         [0002]    Feed bags used for animal feed are generally known. Many conventional feed bags are made with a plastic-lined paper bag that is opened by tearing off a portion of the top of the feed bag (e.g., by way of a perforated seam, etc.). The feed bags may be designed to accommodate rather large quantities of animal feed (e.g., 50 pounds) that is not entirely used after the feed bag is originally opened, but is used up over time. The unused animal feed is typically stored within the opened feed bag until the animal feed within the food bag is fully used. Therefore, it is often desirable to be able to reclose and/or reseal the animal feed bag between uses to, for example, preserve the freshness of the animal feed and avoid spillages of the animal feed should the feed bag be tipped over, dropped, etc. However, difficulties often arise in providing a simple, low-cost way to reclose and/or reseal feed bags. For example, some feed bags may be provided with no way to reclose or re-reseal the feed bag, and users may attempt to fold or roll the feed bag to reclose the feed bag. This may be difficult to do because feed bags are often made of relatively stiff materials that resist being folded, rolled, etc. without being restrained in the rolled or folded position. Also, such folding, rolling, etc. may obscure indicia (such as text or graphics). 
         [0003]    Some feed bags may be provided with a resealable portion (e.g., a plastic “zipper,” tape adhesive, etc.) that enables a user to reseal the top of the bag between uses. However, these seals often become less effective and unreliable as fines (e.g., small particles of animal feed, etc.) and other undesirable items become trapped in or on the seal material. 
         [0004]    Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an animal feed bag having a quick-release opening feature and an improved closure device that permit easy and reliable opening and reclosure of an animal feed bag. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    The present invention relates to a reclosable animal feed container. The reclosable animal feed container comprises a flexible body defining a cavity to contain animal feed, the body having a closed bottom portion and a top portion; a removable portion coupled to the top portion removable to define an opening that provides access to animal feed contained within the body; and a closure device coupled to the body proximate the top portion, the closure device comprising a first deformable member extending from a first side of the body. The opening is reclosable by providing one or more folds to the top portion of the body and bending the first deformable member to engage the first side of the body. 
         [0006]    The present invention also relates to a method of packaging animal feed. The method comprises providing a flexible hollow body that contains animal feed, the body having a top and a bottom, each having an opening; closing the opening in the top by application of a removable portion; coupling a closure device to the body proximate the top, the closure device comprising a deformable member and configured to engage the body during a reclosing operation by the consumer; introducing animal feed through the opening at the bottom to a cavity defined by the body and the top; and closing the opening in the bottom to contain the animal feed within the body. 
         [0007]    The present invention further relates to a method of using an animal feed container having a flexible body with a closed bottom portion and a top portion. The method comprises opening the top portion of the body and closing the top portion of the body. The top portion is closed by providing one or more folds to the body and engaging the body with a closure device that is coupled to the body proximate the top portion by bending a first deformable member extending from a first side of the body. 
         [0008]    The present invention further relates to various features and combinations of features shown and described in the disclosed embodiments. Other ways in which the objects and features of the disclosed embodiments are accomplished will be described in the following specification or will become apparent to those skilled in the art after they have read this specification. Such other ways are deemed to fall within the scope of the disclosed embodiments if they fall within the scope of the claims which follow. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an animal feed bag according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the animal feed bag of  FIG. 1  according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a cross-section of the animal feed bag of  FIG. 1  taken along line  3 - 3  shown in  FIG. 3  according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of a closure device for the animal feed bag of  FIG. 1  according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a detail view of a portion of material for the animal feed bag of  FIG. 1  taken along line  5 - 5  shown in  FIG. 2  according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of animal feed and an animal feed bag according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0015]      FIGS. 7A-7B  illustrate various stages of an animal feed bag being opened according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0016]      FIGS. 8A-8B ,  9  and  10  illustrate various stages of an animal feed bag being reclosed according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0017]      FIG. 11  is a cross-section of a portion of an animal feed bag according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0018]      FIG. 12  is a flow chart illustrating a portion of the process of manufacturing an animal feed bag according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0019]      FIG. 13  is a flow chart illustrating a portion of the process of opening and reclosing an animal feed bag according to an exemplary embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , a reclosable animal feed bag  10  (e.g., a container, sack, carrier, etc.) is shown according to an exemplary embodiment. Animal feed bag  10  is used to store feed, or the like, for animals or pets. Feed bag  10  includes a generally flexible, hollow, body portion  12 , a top portion or top  14 , and a bottom portion or bottom  16 . Feed bag  10  also includes two gusseted side portions  20 ,  22 , as shown best in  FIG. 1 . According to various alternative embodiments, feed bag  10  may be used to store a wide variety of animal feed materials. 
         [0021]    According to an exemplary embodiment, feed bag  10  has an interior portion or cavity  18  that is used to store various animal feed products such as animal feed  62 . Cavity  18  is defined by body  12 , which is closed at bottom  16  by a thread  42 , and closed at top  14  with a quick-release opening mechanism  24  (e.g., a removable portion, etc.) Body  12  includes a first or front portion  44  (e.g., a wall, surface, etc.) and a second or rear portion  46  (e.g., a wall, surface, etc.). Feed bag  10  is also provided with a closure device  26  that enables users to reclose or seal feed bag  10  and store unused portions of animal feed  62 . Body  12  may further include one or more indicia  38 ,  40  (e.g., text, graphics, etc.) on front surface  44 . According to one embodiment, indicia  40  is provided at a 180 degree orientation (e.g., with inverted text graphics, etc., when feed bag  10  is in the upright position) with respect to indicia  38 . According to yet another embodiment, indicia  68  may be provided on one or both of gusseted side portions  20 ,  22 . For example, according to one embodiment, indicia  68  may include nutritional information regarding animal feed  62  and be provided in a first language (e.g., English, etc.) on one of gusseted side portions  20 ,  22  and be provided in a second language (e.g., Spanish, etc.) on the other of gusseted side portions  20 ,  22 . 
         [0022]    According to one embodiment, opening mechanism  24  provides a secure closure for feed bag  10  until feed bag  10  is opened, and provides a quick and easy way for a user to open feed bag  10  when desired. As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , prior to feed bag  10  being opened, opening mechanism  24  secures front portion  44  of body  12  to rear portion  46  of body  12  (see  FIG. 3 ) to securely retain animal feed  62  within feed bag  10 . Opening mechanism  24  includes a first tape or strip  28  and a second tape or pull strip  30  that are secured to body  12  at top portion  14  by a thread  32 . Strip  28  is folded over the top of body  12  and extends beyond the width of body  12  to either side of body  12 . Pull strip  30  is provided on one side of body  12 . Thread  32  secures pull strip  30  and strip  28  to body  12  at top portion  14 . According to one embodiment, thread  32  is provided in a fashion that permits a user to move pull strip  30  away from strip  28  to release (e.g., unravel, unthread, etc.) thread  32 , thereby permitting a user to remove and discard strip  28  and pull strip  30  and open feed bag  10  (as discussed in further detail below). Referring to  FIG. 11 , according to one embodiment, thread  32  secures strip  28  and pull strip  30  to body  12  using a series of looped portions  70  that are inter-meshed when feed bag  10  is closed, and become un-meshed as pull strip  30  is pulled away from strip  28 . Strip  28  and/or pull strip  30  may be made from a variety of materials (e.g., paper materials, polymers, etc.) using various constructions. 
         [0023]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1-4 , closure device  26  will be discussed in greater detail. Closure device  26  is configured to selectively engage body  12  to retain feed bag  10  in a closed or sealed condition. As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , closure device  26  is an elongated member that is secured to a surface (e.g., front surface  44  or rear surface  46 ) of body  12  proximate to top  14  of feed bag  10 . It should be understood that terms such as “front” and “rear” are used for convenient reference, not limitation, on an exemplary embodiment and other embodiments may reverse the structure relative to the “front” and “rear” and the like. Closure device  26  includes two deformable members, shown as tabs  34 ,  36  (e.g., projections, extensions, deformable members, ends, etc.), that extend beyond the sides of body portion  12  to permit a user to grasp and manipulate tabs  34 ,  36 . Tabs  34 ,  36  may be bent (e.g., contorted, etc.) by the user to a desired configuration and retain this configuration. According to one embodiment, closure device  26  is located approximately 2.5 inches from the top edge of body  12 . According to various alternative embodiments, closure device  26  may be located at any suitable location on a surface of body  12  that provides the proper closure features. 
         [0024]    According to one embodiment, shown in  FIG. 4 , closure device  26  includes two deformable or pliable wires  54 ,  56  (e.g., metal wires, such as low carbon steel wires, polymer wires, etc.) that are coupled to or captured with a support member  58  and extend the length of closure device  26 . According to an exemplary embodiment, support member  58  is formed from a polymer material (e.g., a blend of polyethylene resins, etc.) that encapsulates wires  54 ,  56  and couples the encapsulated wires together with a web portion  60 . According to one embodiment, closure device  26  has a width of approximately 0.5 inches (e.g., measured between wires  54 ,  56 ) and extends approximately 1.5 inches beyond both sides of body  12 . Alternatively, closure device may have a width in the ranges of approximately, 0.25 inches to 0.75 inches, or 0.2 inches to 1.0 inch, etc. Closure device  26  may also extend beyond both sides of body  12  by between 0.5 inches to 2.0 inches, 0.25 inches to 3.0 inches, etc. Various other configurations (e.g., sizes, shapes, lengths, widths, etc.) may alternatively be used for closure device  26 . 
         [0025]    Closure device  26  may be coupled to body  12  in a variety of ways. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment, closure device  26  is coupled to body  12  using an adhesive material, such as a hot-glue adhesive, a hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive, etc. According to another exemplary embodiment, closure device  26  may be sewn onto body  12  using a suitable thread material. According to yet another exemplary embodiment, closure device  26  may be incorporated into a weave structure of body  12  (e.g., in cases where body  12  is provided as a woven material, as discussed in greater detail with respect to  FIG. 5 ). Other ways of coupling closure device  26  to body  12  may alternatively be used. 
         [0026]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , according to an exemplary embodiment, body  12  may be made from two substantially perpendicular groups of strips  50 ,  52  of material that are woven into a weave pattern  48 . Weave pattern  48  provides a low-cost, durable construction for body  12  that resists tearing, ripping, etc. of feed bag  10 , and prevents leakage of grease and/or fat from animal feed through feed bag  10 . According to an exemplary embodiment, strips  50 ,  52  are made from a polymer material, but the material for strips  50 ,  52  may be varied to suit a particular application. As discussed above, weave pattern  48  may permit closure device  26  to be woven into the structure of body  12 , providing a secure way of coupling closure device  26  to body  12 . According to an alternative exemplary embodiment, rather than having a weave pattern such as weave pattern  48 , body  12  may be made from a rolled sheet of polymer material or other suitable material. 
         [0027]    Referring now to  FIG. 6 , according to an exemplary embodiment, an animal feed  62  is introduced into cavity  18  through an opening in bottom portion  16 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , during the assembly of feed bag  10 , opening mechanism  24  may be installed at top portion  14  after body  12  is cut to length and prior to closing bottom portion  16 . While bottom portion  16  is open, animal feed  62  is introduced into cavity  18 , after which bottom portion  16  is closed or sealed with thread  42  (see, e.g.,  FIGS. 2 and 3 ) using, for example, a sewing operation. According to one embodiment, closure device  26  may be coupled to body  12  prior to introducing animal feed  62  into cavity  18 . According to an exemplary embodiment, tabs  34 ,  36  of closure device  26  are folded into gusseted side portions  20 ,  22  (e.g., such that they do not extend beyond body portion  12  as shown in  FIG. 1 ) to facilitate transportation and storage of feed bag  10  (e.g., between a manufacturer and retailer, etc.) and prevent damage or inadvertent removal of tabs  34 ,  36  prior to use by a consumer. 
         [0028]    As discussed above, feed bag  10  is intended to provide an easy reclosure feature that enables users to store unused animal feed within feed bag  10  after opening feed bag  10  (e.g., after removing opening mechanism  24  as discussed above). Referring to  FIGS. 7A-10 , one exemplary process of opening and reclosing feed bag  10  will be discussed in greater detail. As shown in  FIG. 7A , feed bag  10  is provided closed at top portion  14 . A user may grasp pull strip  30  and move pull strip  30  away from strip  28 , thereby releasing or unraveling thread  32 , which secures pull strip  30 , strip  28 , and body  12  together at top  14 . Referring to  FIG. 7B , once opening mechanism  24  is removed, front and rear surfaces  44 ,  46  (see  FIG. 3 ) of body  12  may be pulled apart (or may open independently) to form an opening  64  through which the animal feed stored within cavity  18  may be accessed. 
         [0029]    Referring now to  FIG. 8A , after removing the desired amount of animal feed from feed bag  10 , the user may fold top portion  14  over, for example, the portion of closure device  26  coupled to bag  12  (e.g., toward front surface  44  in the illustrated embodiment). The user may then secure bag  12  in the closed position by folding tabs  34 ,  36  over front portion  44 . Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 8B , the user may fold top portion  14  over, for example, surface of bag  12  opposite the surface with closure device  26  (e.g., toward rear surface  46  in the illustrated embodiment). According to yet another embodiment, shown in  FIG. 9 , top portion  14  may be folded at fold line  66  such that after folding, any text, images, etc. that are provided as part of indicia  40  (originally inverted as shown in  FIG. 7B ) appear in the upright position when feed bag  10  is folded or closed. Wires  54 ,  56  act to permit a user to manipulate or fold closure device  26  and tabs  34 ,  36  as required to secure top portion  14  in the folded position, yet provide sufficient strength to maintain feed bag  10  closed and prevent spillage should feed bag  10  be tipped, dropped, etc. by a user. In order to reopen feed bag  10 , a user simply straightens tabs  34 ,  36  and unfolds body  12  to access cavity  18 . Feed bag  10  may then be closed again as discussed herein. 
         [0030]    While  FIGS. 8 and 9  show feed bag  10  being closed with a single fold at top portion  14 , as shown in  FIG. 10 , multiple folds may be used to fold top portion  14  and reclose feed bag  10 . According to alternative embodiments, the user may employ any of a variety of folding techniques, directions, configurations, number of folds, and the like to obtain the desired level of closure or seal to the animal feed container. 
         [0031]    Referring now to  FIG. 12 , a process for making an animal feed bag according to an exemplary embodiment is illustrated. First, a flexible hollow body (e.g., such as body  12 ) is provided (step  80 ). The top of the body is closed with a removable portion (e.g., such as opening mechanism  24 ) and a closure device (e.g., such as closure device  26 ) is coupled to the body (steps  82  and  84 ). Animal feed (e.g., such as animal feed  62 ) is then introduced through the opening at the bottom of the body (step  86 ), after which the opening at the bottom is closed to seal the animal feed within the body (step  88 ). 
         [0032]    Referring now to  FIG. 13 , a process for opening and reclosing animal feed bag  10  according to an exemplary embodiment is illustrated. In order to gain access to the animal feed, the removable portion is removed from the top (step  90 ), after which the desired amount of animal feed may be removed. The feed bag may then be reclosed by folding the top of the body one or more times (step  92 ) and then bending a first deformable member to engage a first side of the body and a second deformable member to engage a second side of the body (step  94 ). Steps  92  and  94  may be reversed and repeated as required as animal feed is removed from the feed bag over the course of multiple uses. 
         [0033]    It should be understood that feed bag  10  maybe provided in a wide variety of shapes and sizes to accommodate different packaging requirements and differing amounts of animal feed. For example, feed bag  10  may be provided to contain varying weights of animal feed (e.g., 20 pounds, 40 pounds, 50 pounds, etc.) and may have varying dimensions of length (L), width (W) and height (H). For example, feed bag  10  may be provided as a 15 inch (L)×4 inch (W)×25 inch (H) container (to hold, for example, 20 pounds of animal feed), a 17 inch (L)×5 inch (W)×33 inch (H) container (to hold, for example, 40 pounds of animal feed), an 18 inch (L)×5 inch (W)×32 inch (H) container (to hold, for example, 40 pounds of animal feed), and/or an 18 inch (L)×5 inch (W)×36 inch (H) container (to hold, for example, 50 pounds of animal feed). According to various alternative embodiments, feed bag may be provided with various other dimensions to accommodate other amounts of animal feed. 
         [0034]    It is important to note that the construction and arrangement of the elements of the animal feed bag as shown in the exemplary embodiments are illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited in the claims. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. The order or sequence of any process or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according to alternative embodiments. In the claims, any means-plus-function clause is intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures. Other substitutions, modifications, changes and/or omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the preferred and other exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention as expressed in the appended claims.