Flexible containers with vent systems

Abstract

The invention provides flexible containers with vent systems. Non-durable self-supporting flexible containers having product volumes and structural support frames are provided with vents to facilitate equalization of the pressure inside the product volume to the pressure of the environment outside of the containers. The vents enable rapid recovery of the structural support from a deformed state, which occurs when a fluent product is dispensed, to an undeformed state. For this purpose, the vents comprise vent paths between the environment outside of the containers and the product volume. The vents may further comprise a non-wetting material surrounding the entrance and exit of the vent path and / or microtexturing or a spacer to maintain space for air flow in the vent path.

Description

technical field [0001] The present disclosure relates generally to containers, and in particular to containers made of flexible materials and having a vent system. Background technique [0002] Flowable products include liquid products and / or pourable solid products. In various embodiments, a container can be used to receive, contain and dispense one or more fluent products. Also, in various embodiments, the container can be used to receive, hold and / or dispense individual articles or separately packaged portions of a product. A container may contain one or more product volumes. The product volume is configured to be filled with one or more fluent products. When filling the product volume of the container, the container receives the fluent product. Once filled to the desired volume, the container can be configured to hold the fluent product in its product volume until the fluent product is dispensed. The container holds the fluent product by providing a barrier around t...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Both types of manufacturing are energy-intensive processes that may require complex equipment

[0008] Second, some conventional rigid containers for flowable products may require significant amounts of material

This may require a significant amount of material, which increases the cost of the container and makes its disposal difficult

[0009] Third, some conventional rigid containers for flowy products can be difficult to decorate

The size, shape (e.g. curved surface) and / or material of some rigid containers make it difficult to print directly on their outer surface

Labeling requires additional materials and handling, and limits the size and shape of decorations

Packaging provides a large decorative area, but also requires additional materials and handling, often at significant cost

[0010] Fourth, some conventional rigid containers used for flowable products may be prone to certain types of damage

If a rigid container is pressed against a hard object, the container can become dented, which can make it look unsightly

And if the rigid container is dropped, the container may break, which can cause loss of its flowable product

[0011] Fifth, some runny products in conventional rigid containers can be difficult to dispense

Other users may need to apply so much hand force that they cannot easily control the degree to which the container is deformed; these users may dispense more runny product than they desire

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