EP0368757A1 - Pouch for liquid products - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sachet (10) formed from sheets (12, 14) of heat-sealable plastic material assembled by welding lines (18) along their edges, and from a bottom (16) also made of plastic sheet heat-sealable allowing the bag to be placed in the upright position, also comprising a frame (24) extending substantially from the bottom of the bag to its opposite upper edge, characterized in that the frame comprises a vertical rod (26) approximately length equal to the height of the bag (10), and two crosspieces: an upper crosspiece (28) along the upper edge (18s) of the bag, and a lower crosspiece (30) along the bottom (16) of the bag.

Description

The present invention relates to a sachet for liquid products.

More and more frequently, liquid or semi-liquid products are packaged in sachets formed of one or more sheets of heat-sealable plastic, assembled together by welding lines along their edges, in order to form in the sachet a storage compartment for a liquid.

In a certain number of cases, these sachets have a bottom, also made of a sheet of heat-sealable plastic material, by means of which the sachet can be placed approximately upright, at least temporarily.

In use, a corner of the bag is cut to create an outlet orifice through which the liquid can be poured.

The advantage of such sachets is that, once empty, they are easily discarded insofar as they then occupy a negligible volume, in comparison with rigid sachets of equivalent capacity and their destruction poses relatively few problems, both in terms of energy consumption and rejection of polluting elements.

However, the flanks of the sachet have a quite relative rigidity, and the sachet often tilts, which risks spilling its contents outside.

For these reasons, the dimensions and volumes of these sachets remain relatively small, and these sachets are used only once.

An example of a bag of this type is described in document FR-A-2 436 719.

As taught in documents FR-A-1 120 327 Rudolf EY, US 3 523 637, F.J. STEC or GB 202 857 HARBORD, the bag can be completed with a frame to improve its retention in the standing position.

In the EY bag, the frame simply consists of a rod generally placed in the center of the bag from its top to its bottom. The strengthening of the sachet is however limited, which restricts the application of this solution to sachets of small capacity.

In the HARBORD sachet, the frame is designed as a frame formed by rods which follow all the edges of the sachet, certain rods being foldable so as to allow the frame to be laid flat when the sachet is empty. This device is relatively complex and only applies to parallelepiped sachets.

In the STEC sachet, the frame is a relatively rigid single piece, with an I-section, which can only be applied to parallelepiped sachets and cannot be laid flat.

Other types of bags are known which have frames as illustrated in the documents GB 802 292, US 3,799,914, FR 2,076,112, FR Add. 73 595, FR 2 171 001, US 3 670 927, GB 788 012, GB 651 638 and GB 1 048 308.

One of the aims of the present invention is to produce sachets which can be placed in an upright position and which have an effective frame, which makes it possible to manufacture sachets of larger capacity, for example up to 5 (five ) liters.

Another object of the invention is to produce such a bag with an armature which can be easily laid flat when empty.

Another object of the invention is to produce a sachet provided with an inexpensive frame, light and simple to manufacture.

In accordance with the invention, these objects are achieved by means of a sachet formed from sheets of heat-sealable plastic material assembled by weld lines along their edges, and from a bottom also made of sheet of heat-sealable plastic material making it possible to place the sachet in the standing position, also comprising a frame extending substantially from the bottom of the bag to its opposite upper edge, characterized in that the frame comprises a vertical rod of length approximately equal to the height of the bag, and two crosspieces: an upper cross member along the upper edge of the bag, and a lower cross member along the bottom of the bag.

Thus, thanks to this frame, the bag has better rigidity and the risk of tipping is largely reduced.

According to an improvement of the invention, the frame comprises a tubular section passing in leaktight manner through the wall of the bag and a closure plug for the tubular section. Thanks to this improvement, there is a nozzle for pouring the liquid.

In addition, the sachet can advantageously include a dosing compartment. Indeed, a certain number of liquids are marketed in relatively large volumes and must be fractionated by the user into unit doses. Most of the devices currently known include a dosing cap intended in turn to close an outlet and metering container orifice of a predetermined volume of liquid.

According to a variant of the invention, the sachet comprises a main storage compartment located at its lower part, and a metering compartment at its upper part, attached to the main compartment and connected to the latter by at least one passage, the frame extending into the main compartment and into the dosing compartment. Advantageously, the separation between the two compartments is carried out by a line of welding of the sheets of the bag, an interruption of the line of welding forming the passage.

Preferably, the passage between the main compartment and the dosing compartment comprises a non-return valve preventing the flow of liquid from the second to the first.

According to a variant, the passage is constituted by a tubular section integral with the frame and crossing the weld line separating the two compartments and the non-return valve consists of a flexible strip cooperating with the mouth of the tubular section.

According to a variant of the invention, the frame comprises a part forming a handle, intended for handling the sachet.

According to another variant, the vertical frame consists of a slender piece folded back on itself and extending from the bottom of the bag to its top.

So, thanks to this improvement, we can easily make frames for bags made of plastic sheet which extend over at least twice the height of the bag and close to the side walls thereof.

According to various variants of the invention:
the elongated piece is folded twice, which makes it possible to produce a frame comprising two vertical arms connected by a horizontal section adjacent to the bottom of the bag,
- the elongated part is assembled, after folding, by its two ends to an upper crosspiece placed in the vicinity of the upper edge of the bag,
- the elongated part is assembled, after folding, at the fold at an upper crosspiece placed in the vicinity of the upper edge of the bag,
- The two arms of the frame extend towards the bottom at points transversely distant from each other;
and, as an option, its arms end in folded portions adjacent to the bottom of the bag,
- the bag has two or more such frames,
- the elongated part has zones of folding by reversible deformation,
- the elongated part has zones of folding by irreversible deformation,
the armature has at least one weakening zone,
- the frame comprises two parallel rods connected by connecting elements.

• - la figure 1 est une vue en perspective latérale d'un sachet conforme à la présente invention ;
• - la figure 2 est une vue analogue d'une variante de l'invention ;
• - la figure 3 illustre une autre variante ;
• - la figure 4 illustre un sachet conforme à l'invention et comportant un compartiment doseur ; et
• - la figure 5 illustre une variante de sachet selon la figure 4.
• - la figure 6 est une vue latérale d'un sachet comprenant une poignée ;
• - la figure 7 est une variante de la figure 6 ;
• - la figure 8 illustre un sachet doté d'une armature longiligne repliée sur elle-même ;
• - les figures 9a et 9b sont des vues de face et de côté de la pièce constituant l'armature dans le mode de réalisation de la figure 8, et
• - les figures 10 à 15 illustrent des variantes d'une telle armature.

The details and advantages of the invention will be clearly understood on reading the description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

• - Figure 1 is a side perspective view of a bag according to the present invention;
• - Figure 2 is a similar view of a variant of the invention;
• - Figure 3 illustrates another variant;
• - Figure 4 illustrates a bag according to the invention and comprising a dosing compartment; and
• FIG. 5 illustrates a variant of a sachet according to FIG. 4.
• - Figure 6 is a side view of a bag comprising a handle;
• - Figure 7 is a variant of Figure 6;
• - Figure 8 illustrates a bag with a slender frame folded over on itself;
• FIGS. 9a and 9b are front and side views of the part constituting the frame in the embodiment of FIG. 8, and
• - Figures 10 to 15 illustrate variants of such a frame.

The bag 10 illustrated in Figure 1 consists of two side sheets 12, 14 or a single folded sheet and a bottom 16 of heat-sealable plastic, assembled by welding lines 18 at the edge, to define a volume interior 20 containing a liquid 22.

The bag comprises a frame 24, of semi-rigid material, composed of a vertical central rod 26, of a length approximately equal to the height of the bag, and two transverse branches: an upper cross member 28 which is housed against the upper edge 18s of the bag, and a lower cross member 30 which fits against the bottom 16 of the bag and has a shape adapted to the profile of this bottom for better stability.

Alternatively, the upper cross member is taken in the upper horizontal weld line.

In a top corner of the bag is provided a cutting line 31 in order to define a pouring orifice for the liquid product 22 contained in the bag.

According to the variant of FIG. 2, the upper cross member 28 comprises a section of tube 32 which crosses the wall of the bag, for example at the level of the upper weld line 18s of the bag, the two sheets 12, 14 being fixed in a sealed manner around the tube section 32, by welding, gluing, or any suitable method.

The section of the tube thus constitutes a means of pouring of the liquid product contained in the sachet. Of course, the tube 32 can be closed by a plug 34.

The variant of reinforcement 24 illustrated in FIG. 3 comprises a single upper cross member 28 and two divergent vertical rods 26a, 26b, each ending in a corresponding lower cross member 30a, 30b. This frame will improve the stability of the bag in the standing position.

When the bag is empty, it takes up no more space in the garbage than the previous one. Indeed, the two vertical rods and the two lower crossbars fold flat against each other.

Among the possible materials for the frame, choose easily incinerable plastics. In particular, the same material can be chosen as for the sheets forming the walls and the bottom of the sachet.

According to a variant not shown in Figure 2, the vertical rod itself is constituted by a pouring tube.

According to an additional characteristic, illustrated in FIG. 4, the interior volume of the sachet is subdivided by a substantially horizontal welding line 36 into a main storage compartment 38 at its lower part, and a metering compartment 40 at its upper part, so that the dosing compartment is capable of containing a predetermined volume of liquid corresponding to a unit dose of liquid product.

In order to constitute a passage 42 allowing the flow of a liquid contained in the main compartment 38 towards the metering compartment 40, the horizontal weld 36 comprises at least one interruption 42. To avoid the flow of liquid in the opposite direction, a non-return valve 44 is associated with the passage 42, in the following manner:
a short section 46 of flattened tubular heat-sealable plastic sheet is partially caught in the weld line 36 and extends completely in the direction of the metering compartment 40.

As a variant, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the passage 42 between the two compartments is constituted by a tubular section 42 ′ integral with the frame 24 and crossing the weld line 36 for separating the compartments 38, 40, and the non-return valve 44 is produced in the form of a flexible strip 46 ′ cooperating with the mouth of the tubular section 42 ′ of the side of the dosing compartment 40.

The device is used as follows:
a dose of liquid product is caused to flow from the main storage compartment 38 to the metering compartment 40, by manually compressing the sachet, which forces the liquid to flow via the passage 42.

Manual compression is stopped when the dosing compartment is filled with liquid. The flow of the dose of liquid thus contained in the metering compartment 40 back to the main compartment 38 is prevented by the non-return valve 34. The pouring orifice 32 is then opened, after which the dose of liquid is discharged outside via port 32, by manually compressing the dosing compartment, then port 32 is closed.

During each subsequent use, it then suffices to compress the main compartment 38 again until a new dose of liquid product is transferred to the metering compartment 40, the orifice 32 of course remaining closed during this operation, then to pour this new dose to the outside by opening the orifice, then compressing the dosing compartment.

This series of operations is repeated until the liquid contained in the main compartment has been used up.

The empty bag is then discarded. We observe that it then occupies little space in the garbage container since it then takes a practically flat shape of negligible volume.

Its destruction by conventional incineration generally poses fewer problems than the destruction of similar rigid containers since it is possible to choose from heat-sealable plastics those which contain the least polluting compounds.

In all of the above, it will be understood that the term "liquid product" also includes any viscous product or pasty.

In addition, if the invention naturally applies to liquid cleaning and maintenance products, it can be applied to all types of liquid, such as, for example, food liquids, industrial liquids, pharmaceutical or parapharmaceutical products, without these examples being considered as limiting.

Any distinctive, decorative or informative motif may be affixed to the bag, either by printing on the sheets 12, 14, or by means of labels affixed to these sheets.

As a variant, the sachet can be enclosed in a box made of semi-rigid material, in particular cardboard, which receives such impressions.

Finally, in certain applications, in particular for products of high viscosity, or pasty products, it is possible to dispense with the non-return valve. In fact, the return flow through the passage 42 will remain limited, thanks to the viscosity of the product, during its expulsion through the outlet orifice 32.

Note that the frame 24 passes through the two compartments 38, 40, and this allows the metering compartment to remain vertical above the main compartment in all circumstances, the pouring orifice 32 remaining at the top of the bag. Indeed, assuming that the frame is reduced to the sole height of the main compartment 38, the metering compartment 40 would be able to fold down and the product remains in this compartment would risk flowing through the orifice 32 if the plug 34 has been replaced incorrectly.

Thus, thanks to the invention, it will be possible to produce sachets of large capacity up to 3 or even 5 liters, the use of which is done gradually, and the sachet being able to remain upright in a reliable manner.

The bag 10 illustrated in FIG. 6 is similar to that of FIG. 2.

Its frame 24 comprises a vertical central rod 26, of a length approximately equal to the height of the bag, and two crosspieces: an upper crosspiece 28 which fits against the upper edge 18s of the bag, and a lower crosspiece 30 which fits against the bottom 16 of the bag and has a shape adapted to the profile of this bottom.

On the side opposite to the pouring tube 32, the upper cross member 28 comprises a substantially vertical plate 50, pierced with an oblong opening 52, and sandwiched between the two sheets 12, 14 which are welded to it.

In this way, the plate 50, which constitutes a part of the frame, forms a handle for handling the bag 10, an operator being able to pass his fingers through the opening 52.

Of course, this improvement can be applied to all the embodiments and variants illustrated and described in the present description.

In addition, the handle frame part can be located in different places, such as above the upper cross member 28, or take a different shape, such as the shape of an approximately circular ring, or a hook.

In addition, the plate 50 forming a handle may advantageously be extended at its lower end by a tongue 54, taken in the lateral weld 18d and extending to the level of the bottom 16, in order to constitute a stabilizing foot for the bag. In addition, a second tongue 56 may be taken in the opposite lateral weld 18g, over all or part of the height of the bag 10, in order to form a second stabilization foot of the bag.

When this second tab extends over the entire height of the sachet, provision will advantageously be made for it being secured to the upper cross member 28.

In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the handle 52 consists of a strap, one end of which is fixed to the upper part of the frame, for example at the junction of the vertical part 26 and the upper cross member 28, and whose the other end is fixed to the bag in the vicinity of its bottom 16.

The strap passes through a slider 51 fixed along a border of the bag and near the top. The strap thus has two strands 52a, 52b, one 52a between the upper attachment point of the strap and the slider 51 and which allows the bag to be gripped in a vertical position, and the other 52b between the slider 51 and the bottom 16 and which allows the gripping of the bag in an inclined or horizontal pouring position.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, in order to facilitate the manufacture and assembly of the armature, it consists of a slender piece 60 illustrated in FIGS. 9a and 9b, folded into two zones 62 and 64 in order to present two vertical arms 66 and 68 on either side of a horizontal intermediate section 70 extending along the bottom 18 of the bag substantially from the front wall 12av of the bag to its rear wall 12ar.

The two upper ends of the arms 66 and 68 are made integral with the upper cross member 14 by any appropriate means, for example by welding, gluing, interlocking, or the like.

In particular, as illustrated, the arms 66 and 68 can end in flattened tongues 72, 74 received together by force in a housing 76 formed in the upper cross member 14.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIGS. 9a and 9b, the part 60 can be formed of two parallel rods 78, 80 connected from place to place by connecting elements 82 separated by windows 84. The folding zones 62, 64 can be defined by thinned portions of the rods 78, 80 and, where appropriate, connecting elements 82, in order to determine a "reversible" folding, that is to say involving the simple elastic deformation of the material.

According to a variant not shown, the folding zones are not materialized, if not possibly by visual and / or tactile marks and the folding is carried out in an irreversible manner, that is to say by bringing into play a plastic deformation of the material.

It will be noted that, thanks to the invention, a double vertical frame 16 is obtained, the two arms 66, 68 of which run along the front 12av and rear 12ar walls of the bag 12 while effectively keeping them in taut condition, which prevents any collapse of the sachet and its subsequent overturning. The horizontal section 70 also makes it possible to maintain the bottom 18 of the bag in taut condition in order to provide it with a good seat.

Among the materials suitable for making the reinforcement, plastic materials are preferred, in particular those which can be used by injection.

Various variants are illustrated in the following figures.

In Figure 14, the frame has a single fold 63, placed near the bottom of the bag, from which the two arms extend to the upper crosspiece assuming an arcuate shape.

In this case, the arms run along the front and rear walls of the bag only on about their upper half. This variant may be suitable for small capacity sachets.

In FIG. 15, the frame is simply bent over itself and has a loop shape 65. The lower part of the loop runs at least locally along the bottom of the bag, and the lateral parts of the loop constitute the arms 66 and 68 of the frame which run at least locally along the front and rear walls of the bag.

FIG. 11 shows a double frame, that is to say formed of two individual frames 60, 60 ′ of the type of those illustrated in FIGS. 8, 14 or 15, arranged in such a way that their arms 66, 68 and 66 ′, 68 ′ reach the bottom in two transversely spaced zones, the two horizontal sections 70, 70 ′ running along the bottom of the bag in these zones in order to improve its maintenance in taut condition.

This variant will advantageously apply to large capacity sachets having a flat bottom over a certain extent.

In FIG. 12, the armature 60 is of the type of that of FIG. 1, but its two arms have opposite inclinations with respect to the vertical, so that the horizontal section 70 extends substantially diagonally to the bottom of the bag.

This can be obtained by giving this horizontal section 70 a length greater than the width of the bottom and by imparting a slight twist to the entire frame around the median vertical axis XX, this twist may or may not result in permanent deformation of the frame. Once introduced into the bag, the frame retains this shape because the length of the horizontal section exceeds the width of the bottom.

In FIG. 12, an armature has been shown, the two arms 66, 68 of which are connected to the upper cross member at two spaced apart points 67, 69.

The lower horizontal section 70 of the frame can be directed either in the direction of the width of the bottom, or diagonally as illustrated. In this case, too, the shape of the frame can be determined by a slight twist around the median vertical axis XX.

Finally, in FIG. 10, the fold 63 of the frame 60 is located at the upper end of the bag in the vicinity of the upper cross-member 14, and secured to the latter by force fitting into a housing 76. The two arms 66 , 68 are extended by two sections 70a, 70b folded square and horizontally running along the bottom of the bag, from one wall to the other or only over a partial distance.

As a variant, as shown in dotted lines in this same figure, the fold 63 can be made slightly at an angle, so that the arms 66, 68 have opposite inclinations relative to the vertical and join the bottom of the bag at spaced points. transversely. The horizontal end sections are then also spread transversely and ensure better maintenance of the bottom in taut condition.

Of course, the person skilled in the art will be able to design multiple variants from what has just been described either by multiplying the number of reinforcements, or by modifying the arrangement of the folds or of the zones of curvature of the elongated piece constituting the frame, either by changing the shape or profile of the frame.

The invention also provides, in particular for those variants where the frame has a horizontal section adjacent to the bottom of the bag, that the frame includes a weakening zone 86, as indicated in FIGS. 8, 9a and 9b along which the horizontal section can be folded or broken, in order to allow the bag to be placed "flat" when it is discarded after use.

Finally, in all the embodiments described and illustrated, provision may be made to have several vertical frames between the lower cross member and the upper cross member in order to produce large capacity sachets.

Claims (23)

1. Bag (10) formed of sheets (12, 14) of heat-sealable plastic material assembled by weld lines (18) along their edges, and of a bottom (16) also made of sheet of heat-sealable plastic material making it possible to placing the bag in a standing position, also comprising a frame (24) extending substantially from the bottom of the bag to its opposite upper edge, characterized in that the frame comprises a vertical rod (26) of length approximately equal to the height of the bag (10), and two crosspieces: an upper crosspiece (28) along the upper edge (18s) of the bag, and a lower crosspiece (30) along the bottom (16) of the bag. 2. Bag according to claim 1, characterized in that the frame comprises two divergent vertical rods (26a, 26b) from the upper crosspiece (28) and each terminated by a lower crosspiece (30a, 30b). 3. Bag according to either of Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the upper crosspiece (28) comprises a section of tube (32) sealingly passing through the wall of the bag and by which a liquid contained in the bag can be poured, and a stopper (34) for said tube section. 4. Container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises a main storage compartment (38) at its lower part, and a metering compartment (40) at its upper part, attached to the compartment main and connected thereto by at least one passage (42, 42 ′), the metering compartment being capable of containing a dose of product of a predetermined volume and comprising a pouring orifice (32), and in that 'It includes a non-return valve (44) in said passage. 5. Container according to claim 4, characterized in that the main compartment (38) and the dosing compartment (40) are separated by a weld line (36) having at least one interruption forming said passage (42). 6. Container according to claim 5, characterized in that said non-return valve (44) consists of a section (46) flattened tubular plastic sheet extending from said weld line (36) in the metering compartment (40). 7. Bag according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the frame (24) comprises a portion (50) forming a handle, intended for handling the bag. 8. Bag according to claim 7, characterized in that said handle (50) is integral with said upper crosspiece (28). 9. Bag according to claim 8, characterized in that said handle consists of a plate (50) extending substantially vertically from one end of the upper crosspiece (28), and in that said plate (50) has an opening ( 52) for the passage of an operator's fingers. 10. Bag according to claim 9, characterized in that said sheets (12, 14) are welded "sandwich" on said plate (50). 11. Bag according to either of claims 9 and 10, characterized in that said plate comprises a tongue (54), taken in a weld (18d) of the bag and extending to the level of the bottom (16 ). 12. Bag according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that said frame (16) is constituted by a slender piece (60) folded (62, 64; 63; 65) on itself and extending from the bottom of the sachet to its top. 13. Bag according to claim 12, characterized in that the elongated part (60) is curved in a loop (65) and in that its two ends (72, 74) meet at the top of the bag. 14. Bag according to claim 12, characterized in that the elongated part (60) has two folds (62, 64) defining between them a horizontal section (70) placed along the bottom of the bag and, beyond them , two arms extending to the top of the bag. 15. Bag according to claim 12, characterized in that the elongate part comprises a single fold (63) located in the vicinity of the bottom of the bag and two arms extending from said fold to the top of the bag. 16. Bag according to claim 12, characterized in that the elongated part comprises a single fold (63) located in the vicinity of the top of the bag and two arms extending from said fold to the bottom of the bag. 17. Bag according to claim 16, characterized in that said arms (66, 68) join the bottom at points spaced transversely relative to the bottom of the bag. 18. Bag according to either of claims 16 and 17, characterized in that the two arms (66, 68) end in horizontal folded sections (70a, 70b). 19. Bag according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that the two ends (72, 74) of the frame join the top of the bag at points separated transversely. 20. Bag according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that said frame has zones of folding by reversible deformation. 21. Bag according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that said frame has zones of folding by irreversible deformation. 22. Bag according to any one of claims 12 to 21, characterized in that said frame has at least one weakening zone (86). 23. Bag according to any one of claims 12 to 22, characterized in that it comprises at least two frames.

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